7:05 AM, golden sunlight dispelled the mountain mist, and nature's spiritual energy gradually became restless.
Ji An finished his cultivation, feeling refreshed as he left the bamboo building.
The sky was like a blue gemstone, crystal clear, without a trace of impurity.
He strolled near the spirit field, crouching in the shade of the bushes, patiently waiting.
Although Old Huang said he'd arrive at 7:45 AM, Ji An couldn't afford to be late.
When seeking guidance, arriving later than others would hurt his impression.
He squinted, linking his mind to the Stone Turtle.
[Master: Ji An]
[Dao Rhyme: 0]
[Spiritual Mechanism: Kan Spirit 0.5, Kun Spirit 0.4, Xun Spirit 0.2]
[Magic Technique: Small Cloud Rain Technique (Minor Achievement 1%)
Thick Earth Technique (Mastery 71%)
Life and Death Technique (Mastery 8%)]
He fiddled with a branch, casually casting Life and Death Technique.
An almost invisible weak spirit light enveloped the branch, and tiny clusters of greenish light the size of millet gathered in his palm.
Meanwhile, the green leaves quickly turned yellow, and the branch grew dry.
The Small Cloud Rain Technique and Thick Earth Technique are cast-based magic techniques, consuming magical power only during casting, with effects lasting a certain time.
Life and Death Technique, however, is a guidance-based magic technique.
In other words, after the caster expends magical power to initiate the technique, it continues to consume magical power.
Until the caster cuts off the magical power supply, the effect persists continuously.
Seeing a pea-sized orb of grass-green liquid gather in his palm, Ji An cut off the magical power supply.
He gazed at the liquid infused with Wood Element Spiritual Energy, having a daring idea, he extended his tongue to taste it.
This shrub is non-toxic, so the Wood Element Essence Spirit Liquid collected shouldn't be toxic either. Then perhaps consuming the spiritual juice could recover the magical power expended?
If feasible, that would be a shortcut to practicing Life and Death Technique.
The taste was slightly sweet, but more so bitter; overall, not pleasant.
As the liquid entered his stomach, threads of spiritual energy dissipated, instinctively absorbed by the immortal vein.
Haha! I am truly a genius.
Ji An sat cross-legged, swallowing the Wood Element Essence Spirit Liquid, and immediately began circulating the Qingyuan Scripture.
Increasing the dosage, the bitterness intensified, but he paid it no heed.
In some sense, this glob of spirit liquid might classify as a pill, wouldn't it?
With the cultivation technique in motion, the spiritual energy contained within the liquid was rapidly extracted, the immortal vein refining it into magical power, merging it into the Qi Sea Acupoint.
The Stone Turtle seemed to come alive, its mouth moving slightly, swallowing half of the refined magical power.
The spiritual energy in the liquid was swiftly refined, and Ji An ceased his cultivation, concentrating to perceive the changes in his body's magical power total.
He grinned, baring his teeth.
After a rough estimate, the refined spirit liquid replenished half of the magical power consumption, taking into account the portion devoured by the Stone Turtle, his net gain was a mere ten percent.
The method works, but the significance is minor.
He wondered whether, after mastering Life and Death Technique to Minor Achievement, the resulting Wood Element Bead could be consumed, and how effective it would be. He could conduct an experiment then.
Just as he was lost in thought, a call came out.
"Little An, it's time to start."
Old Huang, hands behind his back, walked over in the morning light, smiling as he looked at him.
"Alright, please guide me, Senior Brother!"
Ji An cupped his hands, heading to the edge of the half-acre spirit field he had cultivated.
Nervous but thoroughly confident, he exerted full force in casting a spell, a dense white cloud quickly appeared, soon covering the entire spirit field.
Wow!
Old Huang's eyes widened. The third-layer Small Cloud Rain Technique could cover such a large range for rainfall!
The same exclamation escaped Ji An's heart; the magic technique had rapidly improved by refining the Spiritual Mechanism, and it was his first time performing Small Cloud Rain Technique at Minor Achievement Level.
He only felt a massive suction swiftly drain the magical power within him, his Qi Sea Acupoint quickly becoming empty.
Miscalculated! He hadn't completed the spell yet.
The casting range of Mastery Level Small Cloud Rain Technique was more than twice that of the Entry Level, with magical power consumption doubling.
He calculated that with his abundant magical power, casting the spell was more than sufficient.
Unexpectedly, the casting range of Minor Achievement Level magic had explosively increased, dramatically increasing magical power consumption, draining his dantian dry without completing the spell.
Damn, what to do?
The clouds began to churn, a sign of spell collapse.
This was the final stage of casting; halting now would certainly result in spell backlash. More importantly, the performance effect would be ruined.
He still wanted to impress Old Huang for borrowing some Spirit Stones as a magic technique prodigy.
Hesitation leads to defeat. Amidst his indecision, Ji An felt cramps from his dantian, the immortal vein began to shrink, and the spell squeezed out every ounce of spiritual energy from his body.
Doomed, stopping casting now wouldn't be timely enough.
Qin Yan Shibo mentioned during his lecture that casting across stages should never unleash full force.
Never attempt it unless in utter desperation.
If the internal magical power wasn't sufficient to complete the casting and wasn't stopped in time, it would draw on life force to finish casting.
In a moment of crisis, the Stone Turtle in the Qi Sea Acupoint exhaled a breath of light spirit qi.
As if breaking open a spring, magical power surged forth.
It was like a dry riverbed met long-awaited rain, the withering immortal vein expanding again, casting completion smoothly.
The churning clouds quickly stabilized, the millet-sized raindrops poured down.
Ji An wiped non-existent sweat from his forehead, relieved, finally understanding the weight of "many unnoticed rules are backed by blood and tears."
His once giddy heart due to obtaining the Stone Turtle slowly settled to the ground.
Old Huang patted his shoulder:
"Brother Xiao'an, impressive! Did you just have a sudden insight?
To comprehend Minor Achievement Level Small Cloud Rain Technique at the first-layer Qi Refining, I've never heard of it."
Ji An feigned disappointment:
"My cultivation is too weak, the magical power was almost inadequate."
"Haha, clearly a lack of experience.
When casting in the future, hold back a bit. When the clouds first appear, you can already change the Dharma Seal.
Don't use full force. The effect will be slightly lesser, but not significantly."
Old Huang's hand reached into the spirit field, letting the raindrops soak his sleeve:
"The first year for Spirit Farmer disciples has no field rent, no need to pay contribution points, the sect also distributes spirit grain seeds.
With Brother Xiao'an's talent, after this year, you'll be able to support your daily cultivation independently."
His eyes were full of envy. Back then, he considered himself reasonably gifted, practicing magic without rest day and night.
As long as he had magical power inside him, he used it all to practice Small Cloud Rain Technique.
It took him eight months to barely reach Minor Achievement Level with Small Cloud Rain Technique, the most outstanding among his fellow spirit farmers.
Ji An heaved a sigh, worry clouding his brow:
"Alas, too little magical power, impacting my efficiency in practicing magic techniques.
If my cultivation reached second-layer Qi Refining, I have confidence in mastering Thick Earth Technique to Minor Achievement before the spirit grain heads."
Magic technique prodigies are so assured, aren't they? Old Huang felt subtly envious.
If he'd had such a strong technique talent, he would surely attempt the path to Foundation Establishment.
For Spirit Farmer disciples, the first year in the sect is particularly crucial.
If they can master Small Cloud Rain Technique and Thick Earth Technique to Minor Achievement Level within this year, the path ahead becomes much smoother.
Both techniques directly increase spirit grain yield upon reaching Minor Achievement Level, and their effects compound, with spirit grain cultivatable four times annually!
Judging the timing, Ji An clasped his hands and said:
"Senior Brother, I have an unreasonable request, seeking to borrow a Spirit Stone to purchase pills, aiming to quickly advance to second-layer Qi Refining.
After the Jiling Valley harvest, I will repay in full."