The next morning.
Chu Ning got out of bed and after breakfast, he first took a stroll in the fields where spirit rice was grown.
After using the Clearing Technique to remove a few weeds, he immediately went to the high-level spirit field where the Ink Spirit Bamboo was cultivated.
[Cyan Wood Evergreen Technique (Yellow Tier Lower Grade), Second Layer (17/900)]
Before cultivation, Chu Ning glanced at his Cyan Wood Evergreen Technique's progress on the second layer.
Just as he had thought before, despite diligently cultivating during this period,
because after using the Accelerating Technique he needed to restore magical power through meditation and cultivation, Chu Ning still couldn't reach 1 point of proficiency per day.
Now, after 21 days, Chu Ning's proficiency on the second layer had only reached 17.
At this moment, Chu Ning didn't hesitate at all, selecting a range with bamboo shoots of the Ink Spirit Bamboo.
He directly operated his magical power, performed the hand formulas, and then cast a Cyan Wood Spring Blossom Skill.
After repeating multiple times, Chu Ning chose a spot to sit down, waiting for the Cyan Wood Spring Blossom Skill to take effect on the Ink Spirit Bamboo.
According to his insight from the past three months, beginning to cultivate the Cyan Wood Evergreen Technique after half an hour yields the best results.
Thus, half an hour later, Chu Ning began cultivation with crossed legs.
The speed at which he absorbed spiritual qi, which was completely different from before, instantly filled Chu Ning with a sense of satisfaction.
He continually wielded the cultivation technique, absorbing the spiritual qi conducted from the tips of the bamboo shoots.
After cultivating like this for a full hour and a half, Chu Ning stopped his cultivation.
The first thing he did was check the cultivation effects.
[Cyan Wood Evergreen Technique (Yellow Tier Lower Grade), Second Layer (18/900)]
His proficiency increased by 1 point.
Truly, using the Cyan Wood Spring Blossom Skill boosts cultivation effects significantly.
Ordinarily, it would take a day to gain 1 point of proficiency, but now it increased by 1 point in just one session.
"If alongside morning and evening cultivation, the proficiency can increase by 2 to 3 points a day.
This speed is 2 to 3 times the previous rate, meaning within a year to a year and a half, I can complete the middle stage of qi refining for the second layer."
Chu Ning contemplated this, feeling much more secure in his heart.
Glancing at the Ink Spirit Bamboo in front of him, Chu Ning once again cast the Cyan Wood Spring Blossom Skill.
These Ink Spirit Bamboos would be an important source of income for him in a few months, so they must be well cultivated.
Casting the Cyan Wood Spring Blossom Skill every day was naturally essential.
The effects of the Cyan Wood Evergreen Technique he had just absorbed were now replenished.
After casting the Cyan Wood Spring Blossom Skill, feeling the vibrant vitality of the area with Ink Spirit Bamboo, Chu Ning left satisfied.
After lunch, Chu Ning did not choose to visit the spirit field again but went to the mountain behind the courtyard.
In the past twenty days, he had to suppress the thought of cultivating the Thorn Technique and the Vine Armor Technique to quickly plant the Red Spirit Rice and the Ink Spirit Bamboo well.
Now, he could finally give it a try.
Theoretically, the Thorn Technique can be performed on any plant driven by magical power, but the best still requires the plant itself to be vine-like.
And Chu Ning had long observed that the mountain behind the courtyard had a plant called Iron Wire Vine that was very suitable.
Though it has no thorns, its inherent toughness makes it quite suitable for practicing the Thorn Technique.
During this period, although Chu Ning didn't have time to practice, he had long memorized the spell formulas by heart.
Reaching the mountain, Chu Ning found a spot with Iron Wire Vine.
The Iron Wire Vine vines weren't thick, gray-black like iron wires, with not very large but very lush leaves, with some mature Iron Wire Vine even blooming purple flowers.
Chu Ning stood by the Iron Wire Vine, looked at a tree nearby, quickly forming spell formulas, and pointed a finger.
A strand of Iron Wire Vine "whooshed" as it shot toward the tree quickly.
"Thud!"
The next moment, it fell straight down again.
Upon seeing this, Chu Ning shook his head; he hadn't controlled his magical power properly earlier, leading to spell failure.
He took a deep breath, gathered his heart spirit, and began casting the spell again.
The vine rose again, flying to the tree under Chu Ning's command, and wrapped around the tree with a bowl-sized diameter.
Seeing this, Chu Ning pinched the spell formula again.
Visible to the naked eye, thorns began to sprout from the vine, and the whole vine tightened more and more, with the pointed thorns embedded directly into the tree.
Once the vine binds a specific person or object, Chu Ning no longer needs to control it with magical power.
At this time, without needing to continue casting, Chu Ning couldn't help but walk to the tree.
Seeing the vine nearly embedding into the tree, he couldn't help but click his tongue.
"If bound to an ordinary person…"
No wonder mortals revere cultivators so much; a Basic Middle Tier attack technique already possesses such lethality.
Reflecting on this, Chu Ning pinched the spell formula again.
The thorns on the Iron Wire Vine immediately vanished, and the vine loosened from the tree and quickly retracted to its original state.
But the tree was left with deep indentations.
Seeing this, Chu Ning started casting on another vine.
After practicing the Thorn Technique for a while, Chu Ning also practiced the Vine Armor Technique.
Unlike the Thorn Technique, the Vine Armor Technique doesn't require plants; it uses one's magical power to form a protective shield like vine armor around oneself.
For this reason, the caster needs to constantly maintain it with magical power.
Though it is a wood element Basic Middle Tier technique, with Yin Wood Spirit Body's talent playing a role, Chu Ning was able to cast it after a few tries.
However, due to the significant magical power consumption from practicing the Thorn Technique earlier, the Vine Armor Technique only lasted a short while.
Having learned both offensive and defensive techniques, the next step is to practice diligently, shortening casting time, and increasing spell potency.
Seeing twilight approaching, Chu Ning was about to leave.
But as he started moving, Chu Ning paused, looking at the Iron Wire Vine, an idea crossed his mind.
Why not plant this Iron Wire Vine in his courtyard?
This Iron Wire Vine is also a spirit plant, with some medicinal properties, and as an ingredient in some elixirs.
However, because it grows very well and is too common, it hasn't attracted attention, and few choose to plant it.
But for Chu Ning, it's different.
If the Iron Wire Vine blooms, it could decorate the courtyard walls.
Moreover, in case of emergencies, he could directly perform Thorn Technique in the courtyard.
Another significant point is that perhaps he could use the Cyan Wood Spring Blossom Skill on the Iron Wire Vine and cultivate day and night in the courtyard?
The sect doesn't recommend disciples stay in outer spirit fields at night, as patrols don't cover those areas then.
Encounters with demon beasts or loose cultivators happen occasionally, and alone, it's just a matter of chance to get attacked.
Chu Ning had considered using the Cyan Wood Spring Blossom Skill to improve his nighttime cultivation speed.
But spirit plants aren't easy to cultivate, not all spirit plants are as hardy as the Iron Wire Vine.
Most spirit plants demand specific soil conditions to thrive.
Upon thinking this, Chu Ning found the ordinary Iron Wire Vine increasingly agreeable.
He didn't choose to dig the already grown Iron Wire Vine, as its quality was too low.
He wandered the mountain and found one with dark purple blooms, collecting seeds to take back to the courtyard.
Planting was incredibly straightforward for Chu Ning.
One Accelerating Technique applied, and after all the seeds sprouted, Chu Ning planted the Iron Wire Vine in a ring along the courtyard wall.
Then, he cast Cyan Wood Spring Blossom Skill on each Iron Wire Vine in batches.
Testing his cultivation, Chu Ning indeed felt the Cyan Wood Spring Blossom Skill's amplification again.
Just that the Iron Wire Vine's quality wasn't as high as the Ink Spirit Bamboo, so the amplification effect wasn't as noticeable.
Nevertheless, after trying both at night and the following morning, it seemed like he could gain 1 point of proficiency with two cultivations, which was much faster than before.
Adding this to the daytime cultivation in the spirit field with Ink Spirit Bamboo, he could ensure a 2-point increase in proficiency daily and still reserve time to practice spells.
So, in the following time, Chu Ning nurtured Ink Spirit Bamboo and spirit rice.
While practicing the Thorn Technique, Vine Armor Technique, and working on instant casting of Clearing Technique, Blade Skill, Ganlin Technique, and Exorcism Technique.
In between, Chu Ning visited the Transmission Room again to learn Fireball Technique and Qi Observation Technique, both considered basic techniques.
After individual spirit fields were assigned, Chu Ning and others could still visit the Transmission Room to learn cultivation techniques and spell insights, though the frequency changed from bi-monthly to monthly.
In a blink, more than a month had passed again, marking Chu Ning's six months in the Cyan Creek Sect.
That day, just as Chu Ning was about to leave the courtyard for the spirit field in the morning, he heard a shout from outside.
"Chu Ning!"