Ji An took a pudun from the room and invited Old Huang to sit on a chair; it's not proper to talk while standing.
"Senior Brother, please sit. It's a bit simple here, and there's nothing to serve you, please forgive me."
Old Huang sat down on the chair calmly:
"Junior Brother, you're too polite. For us cultivators, simplicity is key."
Ji An sat on the pudun and said:
"Senior Brother, I want to plant a few fruit trees in the yard, so I can serve guests with fruits in the future. Do you know where to buy Spiritual Peach and Spiritual Apricot seeds?"
Old Huang shook his head:
"Brother Xiao'an, this piece of land doesn't even reach the entry level. Planting spiritual fruit trees is very challenging and hard to sustain.
At least, a first-grade spirit field is required to plant them."
"If I manage to enhance my Small Cloud Rain Technique and Thick Earth Technique to the Great Success level, would it be possible?"
Ji An was not giving up. For a long time in the future, planting would be his main means of earning crystal stones, so arranging spiritual fruit trees was necessary in advance.
If a Qi Refining disciple can achieve Foundation Establishment, they can select a mountain with a tier one spirit vein node as their grotto mansion and own twenty mu of tax-free spirit field.
Spiritual fruit trees take at least a decade to bear fruit. The older the spirit tree, the better the quality of the spirit fruit.
Preparation now would be beneficial after Foundation Establishment, making hosting guests seem less frugal.
"It's not possible.
I heard from a senior brother working in the medicinal garden that even though he had achieved the Great Success level in his Small Cloud Rain Technique, Thick Earth Technique, and Life and Death Technique and planted a Spiritual Peach tree in his yard.
The tree survived but remained stunted, hardly growing over ten years, with the trunk at most the thickness of a child's arm."
Ji An nodded thoughtfully, realizing that perhaps certain necessary trace elements were missing in the magic technique, failing to meet the nutritional needs of the Spiritual Peach.
"Senior Brother, how many years did it take you to cultivate that tier one spirit field?"
"Let me think... hmm... about seven or eight years."
Seven or eight years seemed too long; he wondered if the Thick Earth Technique at the Perfection Realm could accelerate the process, and if so, by how much?
Ji An was still determined to cultivate a small piece of land for planting spiritual fruit trees, and his pursuit of the Thick Earth Technique wouldn't stop at Great Success; Perfection was his goal.
The more prepared he was now, the smoother his path would be in the future.
"Brother Xiao'an, I think instead of worrying about spiritual fruit trees, it would be better to plant more spirit grain and first enjoy the benefits of the first year.
Improving cultivation and magical technique levels are what's most important."
"Senior Brother, you are absolutely right; I will remember that."
Old Huang, seeing his earnestness, nodded in satisfaction and stood up:
"Junior Brother, I will let you be. I need to go to the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall to pay this quarter's land tax.
If you need any spirit stones, just let me know."
"Ji An is very grateful, Senior Brother."
Ji An knew Old Huang was offering further investment, but at the moment he wasn't short of spirit stones, so he would consider it later.
"Senior Brother, I have another question: how many Contribution Points are needed to learn the Fourth-layer Technique of the planting method?"
"You want to exchange for the Fourth-layer Technique?!
You... have you had several sudden realizations again?"
Old Huang was startled; only sudden realizations could significantly accelerate the comprehension of magic techniques.
"It seems so."
Ji An scratched his head. Demonstrating technique in the Stone Turtle Space was indistinguishable from sudden realization in others' eyes; the notion of sudden realization made perfect sense!
Old Huang's tone quickened: "Have you comprehended the Great Success Technique already? Which one?"
"Not yet. It feels like I'm getting close with the Small Cloud Rain Technique."
Feeling close? So it was just an illusion.
Old Huang inexplicably felt better and said:
"Regardless of which Fourth-layer Technique you want to learn, you need to pass the sect's assessment first.
When I learned the Fourth-layer Technique of the Small Cloud Rain Technique, it cost me 500 Contribution Points, and 600 for the Thick Earth Technique."
"That's a lot?"
Ji An grimaced. Such a large number of Contribution Points, even selling himself wouldn't suffice.
"Listen to me first, Junior Brother."
Old Huang chuckled. He recalled how he was dumbfounded when he went to exchange techniques at the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall.
"The sect doesn't collect Contribution Points all at once but signs an agreement with us. I signed for a ten-year gradual repayment, and I'll be done by next year.
That's how all Fourth-layer Techniques of production-type magic techniques are handled."
"That's a great approach!"
Ji An praised. First hitch a ride, then pay for the ticket; the sect indeed had foresight!
...
The next day.
Morning light pierced through the valley fog as Ji An completed his cultivation.
He walked into the kitchen, drawn by a faint fragrance, lifted the lid, and the aroma immediately intensified.
Happily finishing a meal of Yellow Sprout Rice and licking the bowl clean, he sat cross-legged on the pudun to refine his magical power.
A simple meal of spirit rice required only half a quarter of an hour to refine, equivalent to an hour without pills.
Currently, his daily cultivation time was just three double hours.
With the help of spirit grain, his progression to Third-Layer Qi Refining would be further advanced, and by then his magical power would suffice to cast the Fourth-layer Small Cloud Rain Technique.
Upon ending his cultivation, he noticed that the Immortal Vein branch had grown slightly longer, which made him even happier.
He remembered Elder Qin Yan's teachings.
"No great journey is without small steps, no great river is without small streams; every effort today adds value to tomorrow's success."
After the spirit grain harvest, spirit farmers generally rested for one or two days before starting the next round of production.
Ji An did not rest; he couldn't afford to. Practicing magic techniques was his relaxation.
Since Entry in the Flame Fire Spell, he hadn't practiced it further.
The Stone Turtle hadn't absorbed the Li Trigram Spirit Mechanism, so he would have to practice more on his own.
For the next season, he planned to plant two mu of spirit field, so he needed to improve the Flame Fire Spell quickly.
He placed the Jade Slip on his forehead and walked towards the spirit field.
Once at the spirit field, he cast spells at a leisurely pace; Fire Element Spiritual Energy spread across the ground, igniting the spirit grain straw, and thin white smoke rose.
Ji An had learned five magic techniques altogether, and he found that even techniques of different kinds shared similarities.
Furthermore, he had reached Mastery Level in the Sharp Gold Technique, so the Flame Fire Spell progressed fairly quickly.
Magic practice has standard answers; casting carelessly didn't enhance perception; only following a mysterious rhythm led to true understanding.
This highlighted the strength of the Stone Turtle; each bit of Spiritual Mechanism effectively improved perception.
When more than half of his magical power was drained, Ji An walked to a nearby forest area and found a lush tree.
This was merely a regular elm, but growing in the sect granted it richer spiritual nourishment, and it was as large as an adult could embrace.
He weaved a Dharma Seal with his hand, his left hand moving like a graceful dancer, every motion smooth and fluid.
Traces of pale green Wood Element Spiritual Energy flew from the tree, gathering in his palm into a swirling vortex of spiritual energy.
More and more Wood Element Spiritual Energy gathered until a pale green Wood Element Bead formed in his palm.
As he watched, autumn leaves spiraled down before him, and when Ji An lifted his gaze, he saw that the once lush tree had many yellowing leaves.
The Life and Death Technique seized the vitality of vegetation, extremely domineering, a calamity to its target.
Ji An marked the tree, knowing he couldn't draw from it again anytime soon.
He then took out a Jade Bottle originally used for pills and deposited the Wood Element Bead inside.
Giving it a little shake, it jingled, a collection steadily built over time.
Since he didn't currently need Wood Element Beads for the spirit field, he planned to exchange them for some Contribution Points during his next visit to the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall.