After food and drink, Ji An and the others bade farewell to Zhang Yuanshan, then departed aboard their talisman birds.
Ji An sank his mind into his dantian, connecting with the Stone Tortoise.
The corners of his lips curved upward as he patted his stomach with satisfaction.
[Spiritual Qi: Kan – 121.6, Kun – 665.6, Xun – 390.1, Zhen – 6.6, Qian – 0.2]
In just half a day, the increase in spiritual qi exceeded what he could normally harvest in a full day and night working the fields in his valley. This proved his earlier speculation correct.
Once he broke through to Foundation Establishment and chose a spiritual vein node, the Stone Tortoise's intake of spiritual qi would be enough to sustain his spell practice. He would no longer need to fear the heavier consumption of qi required by Foundation-level spells.
The Stone Tortoise had even absorbed a trace of Qian-qi, which meant that, given the right location, all eight types of spiritual qi could be obtained.
When he first acquired the Stone Tortoise, Ji An had puzzled over why heaven and earth's spiritual energy showed no bias toward any of the five elements, appearing instead as a state of primal chaos. By that logic, the Stone Tortoise should be able to absorb all eight kinds of qi.
Now, he was beginning to understand: spiritual qi was a far more specialized energy. As to what it truly was, that would have to be verified slowly over time.
The talisman bird's speed was far slower than the flying boat's. It took nearly an hour before it finally emerged from the mountain's formation barrier.
Feeling the sudden drop in ambient spiritual energy, Ji An couldn't help but feel a pang of loss.
"Junior Brothers, we'll be heading off first. Until next time."
Zhao Mengyao and Yue Rong seemed to have found some common ground, walking away together with smiles and laughter.
Chu He cupped his hands and said listlessly,
"Junior Brother, after I meet with the elders of my family tomorrow, I'll be leaving to return to Mo Cliff Mountain. When do you plan to go on another demon hunt?"
His mood was low. Though he had long anticipated this day, seeing his former companions stride ahead on the cultivation path while he trudged slowly behind still left him with a bitter, stifling feeling in his chest.
Ji An pressed his lips together in thought before replying:
"I have something important I need to test. For the next half year, I won't have much free time.
If all goes smoothly, I should be able to spare four or five days here and there during the following three months."
He needed to see how long the talisman grass would take to mature and how high the yield of fine talisman paper would be once processed. That would indirectly measure how much his Minor Rain Technique had evolved.
Chu He gave a slight nod. That was fine as well. If their hunting party couldn't find suitable targets, then five people working as four only meant fewer spirit stones to share.
"Junior Brother, farewell then."
"Until we meet again."
Watching Chu He's somewhat desolate figure depart, Ji An let out a quiet sigh.
He could tell that today had shaken Chu He's heart. In the past, Chu He and Zhang Yuanshan had been inseparable, but as time passed, the gap between them steadily widened.
The difference between Foundation Establishment and the eighth level of Qi Refining was already immense, let alone when Chu He still had no Foundation Pill in sight.
Not everyone could be as unafraid as Ji An. His spiritual sense was far stronger than that of his peers, and the Stone Tortoise offered enormous support. His speed at accumulating spirit stones and training spells far outstripped that of an ordinary cultivator.
In his eyes, it was fine to let others sprint ahead first; he could always rise and catch them later.
Chu He's talisman bird dwindled into a tiny black speck on the horizon. Ji An sought out a secluded spot, released the spirit-seeking rat to stand guard, and sat cross-legged to circulate the Clear Source Scripture.
That meal he had traded for with a piece of Red Blood Copper was filled with spiritual food and fruits worth as much as a Nourishing Ginseng Pill. How could he let such energy go to waste?
After refining the spiritual qi from the food, Ji An felt refreshed in both body and mind. Mounting his talisman bird once more, he slowly made his way back toward Bihai Lake.
Life settled back into a steady rhythm. Each day, Ji An used the Thick Earth Formula to nourish his spirit fields, carefully observing the needs of the spirit plants and calling down rain every few days.
Of the time left, he devoted half to practicing the Sharp Gold Art, occasionally working on his Wind Riding spell, and the other half to activating the Spirit-Draining Formation, pushing his cultivation forward with full effort.
One spirit stone after another crumbled into powder, and his cultivation naturally broke through to the ninth layer of Qi Refining.
His immortal veins became thicker and tougher, their length slightly increased, and three more tiny side branches, each an inch long, were opened.
By now, his immortal veins had spread through most of his body, allowing each cultivation session to last a full quarter-hour longer.
Under the daily nourishment of spiritual power, the Dao-seed of the Minor Rain Technique seemed to grow deeper in hue.
Mist gathered and dispersed again and again in the valley. A month and a half quietly slipped by.
Standing in the fields, Ji An looked at the golden waves of talisman grass swaying in the wind. Breathing in their unique fragrance, he smiled brilliantly beneath the sunlight.
Two months, barely two months, and the talisman grass had matured. Their normal growth cycle was three months.
The first-rank fields matured even faster, and he had already harvested one batch.
By this calculation, he could plant two extra rounds of talisman grass each year compared to others. And since the sect only collected its tax every three months, he was, in effect, skimming two rounds of the sect's land rights for himself.
At this moment, Ji An just wanted to shout from the bottom of his heart:
"I'm rich!"
The higher the quality of the talisman grass, the tougher it became. Harvesting was hard work, but Ji An didn't feel the slightest hardship.
Each stalk of talisman grass was a spirit stone in disguise. It was his hope of exchanging for a Foundation Establishment Pill.
The harvest brought a deep satisfaction, as though he were picking spirit stones straight from the earth.
Calling over Huang Feihu to help, the two of them spent two whole days harvesting over ten mu of talisman grass.
As the evening breeze blew, Huang Feihu wiped the sweat from his brow, grabbed a handful of talisman grass, and carefully studied the lines on its blades and stalks. Tugging a few times to test its toughness, he exhaled in amazement:
"Senior Brother, the talisman grass you grow is different from everyone else's."
How could it be the same? This was the merit of a higher-level Minor Rain Technique.
All the truly skilled spirit farmers had already taken up positions managing the sect's medicinal fields. In the entire Bihai Lake area, Ji An's farming skills were likely the best.
In his heart, Ji An grumbled. Honestly, he too wished he could work in the medical field.
Those fields were all established atop spiritual vein nodes. Even the most ordinary of them was considered first-rank middle grade.
Once daily duties were done, workers were also allowed to cultivate there for two hours each day, equivalent to free use of a standard Spirit-Draining Formation.
For Ji An, that would mean even more essence absorbed by the Stone Tortoise, while still leaving him time to tend his own fields back home.
Suppressing a flicker of envy, Ji An smiled and asked:
"Feihu, have you decided which cultivation craft you'll learn?"
"I talked it over with my grandfather, and we've decided on talisman crafting. Since I can grow my own talisman grass, it cuts down on costs."
Though his eyes were honest and straightforward, a flash of shrewdness passed through Huang Feihu's gaze. For beginners, talisman crafting didn't require high-quality paper; low-grade first-rank talisman paper was more than enough.
Besides, he could often seek advice from Senior Brother Ji. Even a few offhand pointers might save him many detours.
Ji An nodded slightly.
"That's a good choice. Compared to alchemy or artifact refining, talisman crafting requires far less investment. It suits poor cultivators like us better.
Once I process this batch of talisman grass into paper, I'll leave all the low-grade sheets for you to practice with."
Huang Feihu bared his teeth in a grin, thinking to himself:
"If Senior Brother Ji still counts as a poor cultivator, then there isn't a single rich Qi Refining disciple left in this sect!"
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