Ji An marveled at the twists of fate.
Two years ago, Wei Songnian had recommended him, with the intention of placing him at Verdant Cliff.
At that time, Li Lingyu had said the quota was already filled, presumably by Liu Yu.
Now, it was Liu Yu who had recommended him here. Two diverging threads of time had, at this moment, converged once more.
"Good. You are already at the ninth layer of Qi Refining. With diligent cultivation, Foundation Establishment is but a matter of a few years."
Ge Ying's face was all smiles. For an orphaned disciple with no backing to reach Qi Refining's ninth layer in just over five years was no small feat. His aptitude must be above average, likely close to a superior grade.
That he had first been assigned as a spirit farmer when he joined… such was fate. Otherwise, she might truly have missed a fine seedling.
This disciple most likely possessed a water-element spiritual constitution. If he had been sent to the Artifact Refining Hall instead, it would have been a tragic waste.
Ji An scratched his head with a sheepish grin.
"Disciple is working hard to accumulate contribution points, hoping to exchange them for a Foundation Pill as soon as possible."
"If you tend the medicine garden diligently, this master will not begrudge you some help when the time comes."
With a wave of her sleeve, Ge Ying led him back into the main hall.
"This medicine garden belongs to the sect. All of the spirit herbs grown here are second- and third-rank, and it has always been tended personally by me.
Now I will show you the section you will be responsible for. Each day, you may also remain in the garden to cultivate for two hours during the daytime."
Ji An frowned slightly. Why emphasize daytime?
He asked directly:
"Master, does that mean I cannot cultivate here at night?"
"That is correct."
Ge Ying shook her head gently, then asked:
"How much do you understand about spiritual veins?"
"Only vaguely. I thought of them as the earth's meridians where spiritual power converges."
Though the term "spiritual vein" was often mentioned, the deeper knowledge was clearly far beyond his current reach.
In truth, he didn't care much what they were. As long as he could cultivate near one, that was enough.
"Your explanation is partial, but not entirely wrong.
The Earth has meridians, just as humans do. Spiritual veins to the land are what immortal veins are to a cultivator.
If a spiritual vein withers, the region becomes a barren land devoid of aura, unfit for cultivation."
"Spiritual veins can absorb ambient heaven-and-earth aura and condense it, yet they also constantly leak aura outward.
If the absorption always exceeds the dissipation, the quality of the vein will slowly improve."
"Cultivators discovered that they could set up formations to gather more spiritual energy, nurturing the vein. As the vein improves, it in turn nourishes the cultivators nearby.
That is why many cultivators gather around spiritual veins indeed, that is how sects first formed."
Ge Ying spoke at length, thoroughly expanding Ji An's understanding of spiritual veins.
He learned that even without farmers, spirit fields atop a vein would still grow spirit herbs, nourished by the vein's aura.
The true role of spirit farmers was twofold: to accelerate the growth of the herbs, and to act as a kind of "fertilizer," thereby reducing the drain on the vein's own power.
By creating an environment through formations where the ambient aura was denser than that within the vein, the vein could be gradually nurtured to a higher quality.
Even a place without a vein at all could, under the hands of expert farmers, eventually give rise to a micro-vein. But the process would take an exceedingly long time.
And since cultivators themselves constantly consumed aura to advance, the higher the rank, the greater their appetite, sects always imposed limits on how many disciples could reside at a single vein-node.
The core territory of the Golden Spirit Sect was built upon a high-grade second-rank spiritual vein. After over a thousand years of nurturing and strengthening, the vein was elevated to peak second-rank, its range expanded greatly, and several branch veins extended outward.
Only from that point onward did the sect gradually develop a true Golden Core legacy.
But even a peak second-rank vein was somewhat insufficient for Golden Core patriarchs. Thus, while the sect cultivated the main vein, they also drew spiritual power from its branch veins through formations to supply the patriarchs' cultivation. After all, only when the sect leader was strong could the sect command true authority.
Ge Ying sighed softly.
"The quality of a spiritual vein greatly determines the strength of a sect.
Of the three sects, Falling Maple Valley is currently the strongest. Five hundred years ago, they successfully cultivated a third-rank spiritual vein, and with it, gave rise to their third Golden Core cultivator."
Originally, the three sects had been evenly matched. But that balance was broken.
The rise of a powerful neighbor was, in itself, a potential threat to others.
Thus, Golden Spirit Sect and Yuanhe Mountain had grown increasingly close, working together to restrain Falling Maple Valley's growing might.
Ge Ying released her flying artifact, carrying Ji An with her. They descended halfway down the mountain at a medicine garden.
She opened the restriction and stepped inside.
"Every disciple of the sect, upon reaching Foundation Establishment, may select a spiritual vein node for cultivation and is granted twenty mu of spirit fields.
At mid-Foundation, that increases to thirty mu; late-Foundation, forty mu. In return, of course, we are required to complete sect missions."
With a wave, she tossed him a jade slip and a jade token.
"This is my private medicine garden, where spirit herbs for Foundation Establishment pills are grown. The jade token will allow you to pass through the formation. The commands for opening and closing the barrier are within the jade slip.
All the cultivation knowledge for these herbs is recorded inside as well. If there is something you do not understand, you may ask Xiang Yong."
"Xiang Yong." Her voice carried softly, yet rippled through the fields.
From a grass hut within the garden, a gaunt old man hurried out, bowing.
"I did not know Senior Aunt had come. Please forgive my discourtesy."
Ge Ying gestured toward Ji An.
"This is Ji An, my newly accepted disciple. He will take Li Lingyu's place. From now on, the two of you will tend this medicine garden together.
Liu Yu later took Ji An to choose a residence. I am returning to my cave."
"Yes, Master. Respectfully sending Master off."
"Respectfully sending Senior Aunt off."
Once she was gone, Ji An smiled.
"Senior Brother, wait a moment. I'll have Junior Brother Xiang show me around the garden so I can get a sense of things."
"Please, Junior Brother."
Xiang Yong led the way, explaining as he pointed out the different plots of herbs:
"Our tasks are simple enough: timely rain-calling, adjusting the earth's qi, periodically condensing Wood Essence Beads, and channeling wood-element aura to meet each herb's growth needs.
But these spirit herbs demand a great deal of power. If there aren't enough hands, our own reserves of spiritual force may not suffice."
Inwardly, Xiang Yong was grumbling. His long-time partner had retired, and even Li Lingyu, so diligent and dependable, was gone.
If this newcomer couldn't carry his share of the workload, the old man's frail body would be driven to exhaustion.
Could it be that Senior Aunt Ge already has someone else in mind to manage the fields, and just hasn't said so outright, hoping I'll quit on my own?
A thousand uneasy thoughts churned in his head.
After a circuit around the garden, Liu Yu brought Ji An away, descending to the foot of Verdant Cliff.
"Junior Brother, the spiritual aura here is far denser than at Bihai Lake. You won't need to live there anymore.
Over there is a row of bamboo lodges. You may choose any except the first; that one belongs to Junior Brother Du Huaiyuan.
These two next to it belong to Qingwan and Lingyu. They value quiet, so don't disturb them. Otherwise, you'll end up being taught a lesson by the senior sisters."
Ji An chuckled.
"Many thanks for the reminder, Senior Brother. Are the lodges any different from one another?"
"They are all the same."
"In that case, I'll just pick one at random."
-support me in Patreon for more chapter, 125+ chapters in there
patreon.com/LordoftheReader