The time was nearing noon.
Ji An wiped the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve, licked his lips, and walked into the shade of a tree.
After spending half a day, the magical power inside him was completely exhausted, and he finally completed the sowing of the spirit grain.
According to Old Huang's instructions, he needed to use the Small Cloud Rain Technique once more at night or in the morning, and then the entire sowing task would be complete.
"Hehe, cultivate well at night, and by tomorrow morning when my magical power is replenished, I will perform the rain spell again."
Upon returning to the valley, near Jade Water Lake, the acquisition of the Kan Spirit returned to normal, allowing him to use the third-layer Small Cloud Rain Technique for tomorrow's rain spell.
Before the spirit grain ears matured, relying on the Spiritual Mechanism absorbed by the Stone Turtle, he was certain to elevate the other two spells to minor achievement level.
With approximately a month of free time after the sowing, he needed to carefully plan how to utilize this period.
He couldn't cultivate his cultivation method during the day, but he didn't want to waste time either; earning a spirit crystal would be beneficial.
He needed to gather crystal stones to buy a Yellow Bud Pill, test the pill's effect, and then decide how to proceed with cultivation.
Due to the Stone Turtle's devouring of magical power, his current aptitude was likely equivalent to the lower grade, and probably at the bottom of the lower grade.
Without consuming pills, advancing to the second-layer Qi Refining could take a long time.
He hoped to advance before the spirit grain ears matured, estimating it would cost a lot, so he needed to carefully think about the next steps.
No rule says one can only cultivate with crystals earned by oneself, borrowing to pursue cultivation is also an option.
He decided to package himself as a spell genius persona.
Upon returning to the bamboo building, he cleaned up the courtyard.
Due to the lack of crystal stones, even the dharma prohibition was not activated for his bamboo house, and being so poor, there was no fear of anyone coveting it.
Entering the house, with nothing to do for the time being, he instinctively picked up the Spirit-Seeking Rat Wood Carving to play with and pondered the options for borrowing crystal stones.
At long last, evening came, and he left the bamboo building to head to Old Huang's place.
Lacking crystal stones and having nothing valuable to offer, he could only come empty-handed.
"Senior Brother Huang."
No response came.
Ji An raised his voice: "Senior Brother Huang?"
Still, no response.
He exhaled deeply, stood at the fence gate, and gazed into the distance.
With smoke spiraling up, the years seemed peaceful, but he knew that most Qi Refining Stage disciples lived busy lives, counting grains of rice as they cooked.
The golden-red clouds hovered over the mountains in the sky, and as twilight faded, the colors of the clouds transformed into a bluish-gray, merging slowly with the night sky.
The stars hung low over the plains, the moon cold and hook-like.
"Cultivation is not easy."
Ji An sighed sincerely, for no matter the world, life at the bottom was always full of hardships.
The silent moon passed over the treetops, and a thin figure hurried along the path.
"Who's there?"
The tone carried a subtle threat.
"Senior Brother Huang, it's me, Ji An."
"Little An."
Old Huang approached, his tone softened, "Do you need something from me?"
Ji An cupped his hands and said with a smile:
"You are a veteran, Senior Brother, and I wanted to ask if there are methods suitable for a first-layer Qi Refining practitioner to earn crystals."
He continued, somewhat embarrassed, "I should have brought some food and wine to share with you, but I am indeed broke, with only air in my sleeves, and can only repay you once life gets better."
Without crystal stones, he could only swallow his pride and ask questions.
This kind of question might receive an answer from kind-hearted people, allowing him to gauge whether the other person was worth befriending deeply.
"No need to be so formal. Since you call me Senior Brother, I won't just let you call me for nothing."
Old Huang lifted the fence gate:
"Come inside and talk. Back in the day, I went through hard times much like you..."
Upon entering the bamboo building, he lit a candle.
Ji An glanced around the interior decor; it was hardly different from his own place, except for a few extra jars, whose contents were unknown.
"For a first-layer Qi Refining cultivator wanting to earn spirit stones, it's difficult.
Let alone a first-layer; even early-stage Qi Refining disciples find it hard to scrape by.
At this stage, disciples are not proficient in spells, and their magical power is sparse. Even if they wanted to go out and risk their lives, no senior brother would bring them along."
Old Huang spoke while lifting three fingers on his left hand:
"When I entered the sect, I was already at the second-layer Qi Refining.
I endured hardships to reach the third-layer Qi Refining, which took over a year.
Without the support of crystal stones, rapid improvement in cultivation was impossible.
If you follow the rhythm and revolve around the spirit field, there's hardly any hope of advancing to the mid-stage Qi Refining.
I had no choice but to venture out during the agricultural off-season with some equally struggling brothers to try and find fortune.
Four of us left, one and a half returned.
After that, I stayed in the sect honestly, attempting every method imaginable to earn crystal stones..."
He reminisced on past hardships, with an indescribable sigh in his words.
"You are only at first-layer Qi Refining now; I can only think of two ways for you.
First, try your luck in the woods outside the sect's gates; maybe you can find some low-tier spirit medicines or grasses, but be sure not to venture too far.
Second, go to Jade Water Marketplace for a temporary job. But with your low cultivation, there might not be much work."
The Jade Water Marketplace is an internal marketplace set up by the sect, frequented by Qi Refining disciples along the shores of Jade Water Lake.
Ji An wore a troubled expression and nodded slightly:
"Thank you, Senior Brother, for your guidance."
He didn't feel disappointed since he already had an understanding.
Earning spirit stones as a first-layer Qi Refining in Immortal City would only yield an income slightly better than a mortal martial artist.
The main purpose of his visit today was not to find ways to earn spirit stones.
"Senior Brother, I completed the spirit grain sowing today and am preparing to perform the rain spell tomorrow morning.
It will be my first formal rain spell, and without experience, I'd like to invite you to guide me."
"Nothing much to guide, just position the cloud formation over the spirit field."
Old Huang seemed puzzled.
"Hehe, I feel somewhat anxious. It won't take much of your time, Senior Brother.
I've realized that I have a good comprehension of Five Elements Magic and feel that the spell is about to level up."
Could his spell really be leveling up to mastery level? Judging by the time, it's about right.
With his first-layer Qi Refining magical power achieving this in spell practice, he indeed showed commendable comprehension.
Old Huang nodded:
"Alright, I will come and have a look.
However, I need to extract the Water Element Essence from Jade Water Lake first, and I should be at your spirit field by 7:45 AM."
Ji An cupped his hands:
"Thank you, Senior Brother."
It was settled; with him agreeing to come, this would be his debut performance.
First-layer Qi Refining, third-layer Small Cloud Rain Technique, face that if you dare!
He paused, then asked:
"Senior Brother, what is Water Element Essence?"
About Water Element Essence, he had heard his father talk about it and knew a little.
His current persona was that of a newcomer to the Cultivation Realm, a blank slate with 'ignorance' written all over his face.
"Little An, if you have free time, you should often visit the Library in the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall to learn some basic knowledge."
Even dumber than I was back then... Old Huang glanced at the other party and explained:
"Water Element Essence is a type of Five Elements Essence, extracted by cultivators using the Spirit Extraction Technique from Five Element objects' primordial qi, with diverse applications.
Artifact refiners use it to enhance magical artifact's spirituality, pill masters use it to improve pill quality...
If you reach the mid-stage Qi Refining, extracting the Five Elements Spirit Essence would be a decent job."