At the first hint of dawn, Ji An opened his eyes. The very first thing he did was to check inwardly on the stone tortoise within his qi sea.
[Master: Ji An]
[Dao Resonance: 0]
[Spiritual Qi: Kan 0.4, Kun 1.2, Xun 0.6]
[Spells: Minor Rain Technique (Entry 66%)]
His bamboo house was only two li from Bihai Lake. Perhaps for that reason, the increase in Kan-ling was the fastest.
Although he had only possessed the stone tortoise for a few days, Ji An had already pieced together some useful information.
The tortoise could freely absorb the Spiritual Qi contained within the world's spiritual qi, and this absorption had nothing to do with his own efforts.
Last night, he had cultivated the Clear Source Sutra for two hours, but the amount of Spiritual Qi he gained was no different from the previous days.
The good news was that within the sect, the rate at which Spiritual Qi accumulated was more than twice what it had been outside the mountain gates. This showed that the tortoise's intake of Spiritual Qi was directly related to the concentration of spiritual qi in the environment.
The denser the qi, the faster the tortoise absorbed.
He remembered hearing yesterday that the sect was founded atop two second-rank spirit veins, each branching into multiple first-rank veins like a river with a great trunk and countless tributaries.
The two second-rank veins were like twin dragons chasing each other, coiled amid the lofty mountains and the great lake.
The sect's most important halls and the abodes of Foundation Establishment cultivators were built at key nodes along these spirit veins.
Most Qi Refining disciples, however, could only live on the periphery, relying on the leakage of qi radiating outward.
If I ever set foot in one of those vein nodes, Ji An thought, I'll finally be able to test this theory for real.
With more Kan-ling accumulated, he didn't hesitate to convert "capital" into strength.
[Spells: Minor Rain Technique (Entry 66% → 89%)]
According to the jade slip, advancing the first level of the Minor Rain Technique was simple within three to five days; one could reach Proficiency, and with a few months of effort, even Minor Attainment.
But that speed was not something a first-level Qi Refiner could achieve.
At his current stage, even if he spent an entire day doing nothing but cultivating and casting, the mana he could gather would only be enough for ten spell attempts at most.
Without improving his realm, reaching Minor Attainment in a spell might take him years.
And farming didn't stop with water arts like the Minor Rain Technique. There was also the earth-attribute Thick Earth Formula, the wood-attribute Wither-and-Flourish Formula, the fire-attribute Flame Chant, and the metal-attribute Sharp Gold Formula.
Anyone hoping to make something of themselves as a spirit farmer would need to dabble in all five elements, and at a minimum, master two or three.
Ji An let out a long breath. No wonder people say farming is the worst job. The early stages are brutal.
And the yield was only raw material. Just like farmers in his previous life, they earned only meager coins, while all the real profit went to the alchemists.
Even high-ranking spirit farmers made less than alchemists, a rank below them.
Pushing open the door, he saw mountain mists drifting with the breeze, like gauzy veils sometimes dense, sometimes thin, enveloping the bamboo house in a soft dreamlike haze.
Ji An breathed deeply of the fresh air, then returned inside, grabbed his meditation cushion, and came back out to the courtyard to cultivate the Clear Source Sutra.
Diligence leads to mastery, idleness to ruin. He had no capital for spirit rice or pills to hasten his progress. Every moment of cultivation mattered.
The morning light fell like fine golden threads, outlining the valley's ridges.
When Ji An ended his session, his expression was grave.
For some reason, toward the end of cultivation, he had felt a faint burning sensation in his immortal veins. His body hadn't felt nearly as comfortable as it had during yesterday's practice.
What went wrong? He fell into deep thought.
By the shores of Bihai Lake, Old Huang put away his spell. The white jade vial in his hand glimmered faintly with a soft bluish glow.
He grinned. After two hours, he had refined dozens of strands of water-element essence, and another handful of spirit crystals were earned.
Humming a tune, he strolled away lightly, passing right by Ji An's courtyard.
"Xiao An, why are you standing there daydreaming? We can't compare ourselves to Liu-shidi. Hurry up and eat this morning, I'll teach you how to plant spirit grain."
Ji An snapped back to his senses, bowed with a smile, and said,
"I ran into a problem with cultivation, was trying to figure it out, and didn't notice Shixiong arriving. Forgive me. I'll cook right away. Where should we meet later?"
He hadn't expected this senior brother to be so genuinely helpful. His heart warmed.
Old Huang studied him for a moment, then chuckled.
"I can already tell what your problem is.
The Clear Source Sutra is perfectly balanced; it wouldn't cause issues. The problem is the time of day you're cultivating.
When the sun rises, fire-aspect qi in the world grows active. At early Qi Refining, you can't handle even that trace of heat.
And it's not just daytime, you can't practice too late at night either. When the night dew thickens, yin energy swells, and that kind of cold you can't bear either."
So many twists and turns… No wonder cultivation emphasizes having teachers and companions. Without guidance, stumbling along on one's own, who knows how many wrong paths one would take?
Ji An bowed sincerely.
"Thank you, Shixiong, for clearing my doubts."
"Just common sense. In a few days, the Foundation Establishment Shibo will lecture on all the new disciples you must attend."
Old Huang thought for a moment, then added,
"Such lectures are always held at the Logistics Hall. The exact time will be announced beforehand."
Ji An thanked him again, though inwardly he sighed.
These basic matters could have been written into the jade slips. New disciples wouldn't make mistakes then. Clearly, the sect does this to establish authority at least in the hearts of people like me who have no background.
Since his original body had never opened immortal veins, his father had never told him any of this.
Ji An looked at the shovel, hoe, and rake in his hands, then at the spirit field choked with weeds. The lofty, glamorous image of cultivation in his heart crumbled.
He coughed lightly, disappointment in his voice:
"Senior Brother Huang… we're really supposed to tend spirit fields with just these tools?
And you said this plot was harvested only five or six days ago, but the weeds are already knee-high?"
Just now, Old Huang had told him to first pull the weeds, then use the shovel to turn the soil, the hoe and rake to level it, and finally sow seeds.
And these three farm tools were actually magical artifacts, requiring spiritual power to operate.
The productivity of this so-called immortal world can't even match my old Earth! This isn't cultivation, it's just farming with extra steps!
He knew cultivators could make puppets, basically intelligent robots. Why not make puppets to do this drudgery?
Old Huang chuckled.
"Don't get it, eh, Xiao An?
These fields are constantly nourished by spirit rain, overflowing with qi. Once a weed seed takes root, it's normal for it to shoot up this high in just a few days!"
He pointed at the tools, speaking slowly.
"Of course, you won't have to keep using these clumsy methods forever. But you're only at first-level Qi Refining, and you haven't even truly learned a spell, yet you don't have the right to be picky.
These low-grade artifacts are just temporary. Once your spell levels rise, you won't need to work like a common farmer anymore."
Then he pointed to a nearby plot.
"Those ten mu of spirit fields are mine. Come, I'll let you see how I handle a field these days."