noffsinger Chapter 15 The Realm of Proficiency
Chapter 15 The Realm of Proficiency
Wu Tong, carrying a bag of rice, noticed Fang Shi's unusual expression and asked, "Brother Fang, are you interested in that?"
Fang Shi withdrew his gaze and said calmly, "A little. Do you know anything about those rice varieties?"
Wu Tong said, "Brother Fang, you've come to the right person. I've been wandering around Qiyuan Town for years, and I've passed by Li Laosan's stall a hundred or eighty times every month. I can tell you about his stuff even if I just squint."
Fang Shidao said, "Tell me."
Wu Tong said, "The rice seeds that Li Laosan sells are divided into two categories. One category is the proper Biling Seed and Qingya Seed, which requires loosening the soil, fertilizing, catching insects, and taking good care of. It is specially for those cultivators who farm."
"The other type is the wild rice seed that the woman was cursing earlier. That stuff was picked up from the wilderness; to put it bluntly, it's just unwanted wild grass seeds. Without enough spiritual energy, the germination rate is frighteningly low. If one or two out of ten seeds sprout, you're lucky. Moreover, if the spiritual energy isn't enough, even if it sprouts, it might not grow, and even if it grows, it might not produce ears of rice—all that effort for nothing in the end."
Fang Shidao said, "Wouldn't that make me a useless piece of trash?"
Wu Tong said, "It's not entirely useless. Wild rice has one advantage: you can throw it in a crack in a rock, and it will grow; you can throw it in sand, and it will grow too. It doesn't need watering, fertilizer, or even the sun. As long as you give it a breath of spiritual energy, it won't die. Other spiritual plants wither after three days without spiritual energy. This wild rice can survive even after three months without spiritual energy."
He pursed his lips and said, "But then again, what's the use of something that doesn't live long? It's not like you can eat it. So serious cultivators who farm don't care about it. It's just that Li Laosan uses it to fool ignorant little kids."
Fang asked, "What's the price of those rice seeds?"
Wu Tong thought for a moment and said, "Green Sprout Seeds are expensive; ten seeds cost one and a half Spirit Stones, they're very precious. Jade Spirit Seeds are cheaper, ten seeds cost one Spirit Stone. As for the wild rice seeds—hehe, Li Laosan isn't stupid, he knows they can't be sold individually, so he always sells them bundled together. If you buy a hundred Jade Spirit Seeds, he'll give you a whole bunch of wild rice seeds for free. If you buy them individually, nobody will buy them."
Fang Shi said, "What's the point of having these wild rice seeds if we can't plant them?"
Wu Tong said, "Yes, it's edible. Although it doesn't have the spiritual energy of spirit rice, it's still of the quality of ordinary grains. Those rogue cultivators living on the edge of the Great Wilderness can't afford spirit rice, so they eat this. Old Li San relies on this to attract repeat customers."
Fang Shi said, "So that means even if the wild rice grows up, it's useless?"
Wu Tong scratched his head and said, "It's not that it's useless. I heard from people on the edge of the Great Wilderness that if the wild rice has enough spiritual energy, what grows is even better than that green sprout seed. But the problem is, there's never enough spiritual energy. So this thing always grows half-dead, producing a few shriveled grains, which is better than nothing."
Fang Shi was silent for a moment, then said, "Let's go."
Wu Tong assumed it was just a momentary curiosity, and that he would stop after asking the question. He didn't say anything more and followed behind with the rice bag in his hand.
……
The next morning, Fang Shi completed the seven steps of summoning the spirit in the courtyard and practiced the "Small Water Cloud Technique" for half an hour. Looking at the sun, it was already Chen Shi (8:00 AM).
He then finished his practice, cleansed his body with a dust-repelling spell, and headed towards Panshi.
As the market approached, shouts could be heard from afar, buzzing like a swarm of bees.
Li Laosan had already set up his stall and was bending over to arrange the ceramic pots, humming an unknown tune, completely at ease.
Seeing Fang Shi walking straight towards him from afar, his eyes lit up, and he immediately put on a smile, saying, "Fellow Daoist! What would you like? Jade Spirit Seeds or Green Sprout Seeds? They're both good stuff; plant them in the ground, and you can harvest them in two months!"
Fang Shi walked up to the stall and said bluntly, "I want Jade Spirit Seeds, fifty of them."
Li Laosan's smile deepened.
He picked up the ceramic pot with the Jade Spirit Seeds stuck in it from the stall, saying incessantly, "Fellow Daoist has a good eye! I got these Jade Spirit Seeds from Daoist Feng of Sanpan Temple. The germination rate is 99%, and the rice grains that grow from them are plump and full..."
He counted fifty grains, wrapped them in a small piece of yellow paper, and handed them over with both hands, respectfully, as if presenting a treasure.
Fang Shi accepted the money, took out the Five Broken Spirits from his pocket, and paid with one hand while taking the goods with the other.
After collecting the fragmented spirit seeds, Li Laosan rummaged through the underside of the stall and pulled out a dusty cloth bag. He scooped up a large handful of wild rice seeds, about half a pound, wrapped them in another piece of coarse paper, and stuffed them into Fang Shi's hand, saying with a smile, "Fellow Daoist, this is a gift. You bought the Azure Spirit Seeds, so I'm giving you half a pound of wild rice seeds. The taste is no worse than the grains of the mortal world."
Fang Shi nodded, said "thank you," and turned to leave.
……
Upon returning home, Fang Shi closed the courtyard gate and went straight into the cultivation room.
He stood before the Spirit Locking Array, closed his eyes, and focused his mind, carefully reviewing the changes made to the Qi-guiding patterns of the Spirit Locking Array yesterday.
After confirming that everything was correct, he opened his eyes, made a hand seal with his right hand, and a pale blue light burst forth from his fingertip, probing into the formation like a thread.
In a short while, the patterns of the spirit-locking array developed several fine branches, like an old tree sprouting new branches.
[Purifying Yuan Formation Proficiency +1]
【Pure Yuan Formation (Beginner): 7/100】
Fang Shi stopped the incantation and looked again at the spirit-locking array on the wall.
In the blink of an eye, it was indeed three times faster. The wisps of spiritual energy were drawn from the earth's veins and gathered silently in the cultivation room. However, the records on the array pivot stone remained unchanged, like a rat stealing oil, leaving no trace.
He nodded in satisfaction, his gaze falling on the southeast corner of the cultivation room—a small, two-foot-square space against the wall, usually cluttered with miscellaneous items and covered in dust.
He cleaned up the debris, revealing the blue brick floor underneath.
Then he went to the kitchen and found two old ceramic pots.
One big, one small.
After rinsing clean.
Fang Shi took out fifty wild rice seeds and divided them into two basins—thirty seeds in the large basin and twenty seeds in the small basin. He covered them with a thin layer of soil and gently patted them down.
He rewrapped the remaining wild rice seeds in coarse paper and placed them in the corner.
As for the Azure Spirit Seed...
They are no longer for sale.
It's worth spending five pills to do an experiment since you got the Soul Shards for free.
If wild rice seeds absorb too much spiritual energy and don't have enough for themselves, then dig them up and plant less of them.
……
Time flies, and half a month has passed in the blink of an eye.
As winter approaches, the weather grows colder day by day, the air is crisp and invigorating, and even our breath turns into white mist.
Today is the end of the month, and Fang Shi is setting up a stall at the market to sell talismans as usual.
The sun was nearing its zenith, and the protective talismans on his stall were sold out. He was packing up to go home.
Suddenly, they heard Old Liu, who was selling spirit meat next door, talking loudly to someone.
"You have no idea how powerful Chen Santai is these days!"
As Old Liu sliced the meat, he said to the customer in front of him, "This morning I went to Sanpan Villa to pay the rent and saw it with my own eyes—Chen Santai was wearing a brand-new blue Taoist robe, with a wooden plaque from Sanpan Temple hanging from his waist. He came out of the side hall, followed by two young Taoist boys, one holding a book for him and the other holding a teacup. The pomp and circumstance, wow, it was even more impressive than Li Daoyuan's back then!"
The guest, a middle-aged man, clicked his tongue in amazement upon hearing this: "This Chen Santai, wasn't he just a rogue cultivator before? How did he suddenly rise to such prominence?"
Old Liu said, "Don't you know? A while ago, when Immortal Zhou Yan was selecting array cultivators, nine people took the exam, and he was the only one selected. His monthly salary is one hundred spirit fragments! One hundred spirit fragments! Can you believe how impressive that is? Now, if any family in Qiyuan Town has a broken spirit-locking array, they have to go to him for help. Even Steward Tian has to be very polite to him and doesn't dare to put on airs."
The guest sighed, "This is fate. We're both wandering cultivators, but some people rise to the top in one step, while we still have to endure the wind and sun in this marketplace."
Old Liu said, "That's right. I heard that Chen Santai repairs the arrays of at least seven or eight families a day. Repairing one family earns three spirit fragments, which is about twenty a day, and six hundred a month. Add to that a monthly salary of one hundred, and that's seven hundred! Seven hundred! We can't earn that much even if we sell meat for half a year! And he does it so easily, without any effort."
Fang Shi listened intently from the side, his expression unchanged, neither pleased nor saddened.
He packed up his stall, said goodbye to Old Liu, and then got up and went back.
Upon returning home, Fang Shi put down his things and headed towards his cultivation room.
Pushing open the door, my eyes first fell on the two ceramic basins in the southeast corner.
Upon seeing this, his eyes lit up.
All that could be seen in the ceramic pot was a patch of green, densely emerging from the soil, much denser than Wu Tong had described.
Eighteen of the thirty seeds in the large pot sprouted, lush and green, crowding together. The stems were already two inches tall, vibrant and green, radiating a faint vitality under the light.
The twenty seeds in the small pot have sprouted eleven plants. The pot is small, but the plants look more lush than those in the large pot.
Fang Shi squatted down and examined it carefully for a long time.
According to what he has learned in the past few days, the spirit rice usually ripens every two months, and now, only half a month has passed, it has already grown to two inches tall, showing promising growth.
In another month and a half, it should be heading and bearing fruit.
He stood up, overjoyed.
He then sat cross-legged on a nearby futon, closed his eyes, concentrated, and began to circulate the "Minor Water Cloud Technique".
[Small Water Cloud Technique Proficiency +1]
[Small Water Cloud Technique (Beginner): 93/100]
[Qi Refining Level 2 Proficiency +1]
[Second Level of Spirit Refinement: 45/200]
……
Time flies like water, and another month has passed in the blink of an eye.
As winter begins, the weather is getting colder.
Qiyuan Town is located at the foot of Sanpan Mountain. Although it doesn't snow heavily in winter, it is still bone-chillingly cold.
However, as cultivators' physical constitutions gradually strengthen, their ability to withstand the cold far surpasses that of ordinary people, making them appear no different from before.
Only the old locust trees along the road have lost all their leaves, their bare branches stretching towards the sky.
However, the market was still bustling with activity, with shouts and calls rising and falling.
At the end of the month, Fang Shi set up a stall at the market again to sell talismans.
As he was tidying up, he suddenly saw a person walking towards him from afar, followed by a boy of about fifteen or sixteen years old.
The man was wearing a brand-new blue Taoist robe, with a wooden plaque for the Sanpan Temple hanging from his waist. His lean face was stern and he walked with his head held high and chest out.
It was Chen Santai.
Fang Shi cupped his hands and said, "Fellow Daoist Chen, it's been a long time. I hope you've been well."
Chen Santai walked up to the stall, his face beaming, and said with a smile, "Fellow Daoist Fang, busy? I've come to buy a few protective talismans to support your business. Otherwise, I'd have to buy them at the Sanpan Temple, which is not only expensive, but they might not even be as good as yours."
Fang Shi said, "Fellow Daoist Chen, you're too kind. How many do you want?"
Chen Santai said, "Give me thirty."
Fang Shi said, "Fellow Daoist Chen, I'm truly sorry, I don't have thirty sheets on hand. I haven't painted much these past few days, so I only have eighteen left."
Chen Santai said, "Eighteen bills it is, take as many as you want, take them all. My son uses them quickly anyway, the more the better."
Fang Shi took eighteen protective talismans from the stall, folded them neatly, and handed them over with both hands.
Chen Santai took out eighteen fragments of spirit from his pocket, placed them on the stall, took the talisman, and casually handed it to the boy behind him, saying, "Yuan Jie, keep it safe."
The boy was fair-skinned and clean-cut, with eyebrows and eyes somewhat resembling Chen Santai. He wore a slightly worn blue robe and had a small wooden plaque tied around his waist with the words "Songyuan Academy" engraved on it.
He took the talisman, a smirk playing on his lips, and casually tucked it into his pocket.
Old Liu, who was selling spirit meat nearby, saw this and asked with a smile, "Fellow Daoist Chen, why is your son so happy today? Did something good happen?"
Before his father could speak, Chen Yuanjie interjected, "Of course I'm happy! You don't know, the teacher at the school said that my 'Little Green Wood Kung Fu' has passed the beginner level and entered the advanced stage! The teacher said I'm a genius!"
Upon hearing this, Old Liu exclaimed, "Incredible! Incredible! To have achieved so much at such a young age, you are destined for greatness!"
Chen Santai quickly waved his hand and said, "Brother Liu, don't listen to this kid's nonsense. He's just average, I've spent a lot of money to support him, he's not some kind of genius."
As she spoke, she turned and glared at Chen Yuanjie, saying, "What nonsense are you spouting outside? What kind of genius are you talking about? You're just making a fool of yourself."
Chen Yuanjie said, "How can you say I'm not a genius? I spent two thousand spirit stones to gain entry into the inner circle. Zhao Yuan from Uncle Zhao's family spent tens of thousands of spirit stones to hire a tutor, but he's still stuck at the beginner level."
Chen Santai's face darkened. He said, "That's because I spent money to support you, that's why you're where you are today! Do you know how hard it was for your father to become a formation cultivator? I work from dawn till dusk every day, repairing formations for seven or eight different families, and I come back so exhausted that I can't even straighten my back. What is it all for? And you, on the other hand, act arrogantly outside, aren't you afraid of losing face!"
At this point, he turned to Fang Shi and Lao Liu, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Fellow Daoist Fang, Brother Liu, I'm sorry. I've spoiled this child too much; he can't keep his mouth shut. I'll give him a good talking to when I get back."
After saying that, he took Chen Yuanjie's hand and turned to leave.
The boy was being pulled along, staggering, but still arguing with Chen Santai.
Old Liu watched the father and son walk away, shook his head, and sighed, "Chen Santai's son is quite promising. He has already entered the advanced stage at such a young age, and he is expected to reach the fourth or fifth level of Qi Refining in the future. This is the advantage of having money—without money, even if you have talent, you will waste your time and squander a good seed."
Fang Shi said, "Yes, without the Shattered Spirit, we can't do anything."
He didn't say anything more, packed up his stall, and headed home.
Back home, Fang Shi went to his meditation room again.
The two pots of wild rice in the southeast corner, whether large or small, are growing lush and green, with stalks nearly ten feet tall, their verdant leaves glistening.
What's even more delightful is that each plant has produced heavy spikes at its tip. Counting them, there are twenty-three plants in the large pot, and every single one has spikes; there are also fifteen plants in the small pot, and every single one has spikes.
The ears of rice were green and plump, and the shape of the grains could already be vaguely seen inside. Although they were not yet ripe, they already looked about 70-80% right.
Fang was overjoyed.
This wild rice grows in a place rich in spiritual energy, and it is indeed no worse than that Azure Spirit Rice—no, judging from the fullness of these ears, it is probably even better.
In a few more days, when the ears of grain turn yellow, harvest them and taste them to see the results.
Next comes another month-end break.
Fang vowed to stop making a living by drawing talismans as he did in the second half of the month and instead focus all his energy on cultivation.
Every morning, I would first walk the Seven Steps of Spirit Invitation in the courtyard to stretch my meridians and allow spiritual energy to flow freely. Then I would return to my cultivation room, sit cross-legged, and circulate the "Small Water Cloud Technique".
One day, two days, three days...
The spiritual energy flows through the meridians, passing through each barrier and adjusting each point.
The seventh day.
Fang Shi sat down on the futon as usual, closed his eyes, and began to circulate his energy. After walking for an unknown amount of time, his spiritual energy reached a fork in the road he had never taken before.
The fork in the road was extremely narrow and thin, and one would never notice it when practicing one's internal energy.
Today, however, a wisp of spiritual energy ventured in on its own.
Fang Shi's heart stirred slightly, but he did not stop him.
The spiritual energy traveled along the fork in the road, becoming wider and smoother with each step.
A moment later, wisps of mist seeped from the walls of the meridians and spread throughout them.
The fog was extremely light and faint, like the morning mist in the mountains or the vapor on the lake, drifting and ethereal.
It's as if a sea of clouds has sprung up from the meridians themselves.
[Small Water Cloud Technique Proficiency +1]
[Small Water Cloud Technique Level Up: Beginner → Proficient↑]