Chapter 37: Chapter 35: Surpassing the Limit After bidding farewell to Wei Songnian, Ji An changed his course and flew towards the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall. Through the conversation with the other party, he gathered two very useful pieces of information. First, there are individuals with high spell talents who, even if they can’t reach the level he demonstrates now, are not far off. Second, even if he shows his talent, there isn’t much danger. However, these are all just Wei Songnian’s words, and he needs to verify the truth slowly. His visit to the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall aims to search for records of Companion Spirit Treasures, and to exchange some grain seeds. After raising the Small Cloud Rain Technique to perfection, the mana consumption increased by half, but the rain range could be multiplied several times, making only planting four acres of Spirit Field a waste. He estimated the mana consumption during the elongation stage of Spirit Grain and decided to plant two more acres of Spirit Grain. Although Talisman Grass earns more Crystal Stones, it takes longer, so he would rather save time to practice his spells. The Spiritual Mechanism in the Stone Turtle is his reliance, but it’s not everything, so he has never slackened in practicing spells. Ji An landed at the Library at the back of the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall and began to browse various books on cultivation knowledge. He flipped through quickly, and after about a double hour, he indeed found some extremely favorable records. It was a book about Talent Dao Bodies, which documented the basis of talent classification. It also mentioned that besides talent, Immortal Cultivators also have various special cultivation physiques. The Five Elements Spirit Body is a relatively common type of physique. For example, cultivators with the Fire Spirit Body achieve twice the results with half the effort when cultivating Fire Attribute Cultivation Methods and Fire Attribute Spells. Reading this, Ji An relaxed, as he could fully be a cultivator with the Water Spirit Body! He browsed for a while longer but didn’t find any records on Companion Spirit Treasures, so he stopped seeking and turned to leave. Arriving at the main hall of the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall, Ji An looked around and, upon seeing Li Changfeng, walked over with ease. "Senior Brother, I want to buy seeds for two acres of Spirit Grain." He handed over the Jade Token and a Spirit Stone, feeling the remaining 10 Spirit Crystals, and nodded slightly. Again, spending the Crystal Stones sparingly, all on essential needs. "One Spirit Stone exchanges for 20 Contribution Points, and Spirit Grain Seeds cost 8 Contribution Points. So, the Junior Brother’s Jade Token has 12 Contribution Points left." Li Changfeng quickly completed the transaction and laughed silently to himself. This was the first time this junior’s Jade Token points exceeded 10. Ji An received the grain seeds and said with a smile: "Senior Brother, I’d like to ask a question. I heard that Spirit Farmers can also take on tasks of managing the Medicinal Garden. How do I take on such tasks?" "Junior Brother wants to take on the task of managing the Medicinal Garden? This task requires the Small Cloud Rain Technique, Thick Earth Technique, and Life and Death Technique all to reach Great Success level..." Li Changfeng glanced at him and lowered his voice: "Has Junior Brother practiced the Life and Death Technique to Great Success?" "Yes, but once I went to the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall to exchange for the Great Success Life and Death Technique spell, I was told it wasn’t available in the Sect." Ji An spread his hands, "At the time, Senior Brother happened to be away. The Senior Brother on duty said that in planting techniques, both the Life and Death Technique, Sharp Gold Technique, and Flame Fire Spell didn’t have Great Success level techniques." "That’s true, indeed. These three techniques are adequate when comprehended to the Minor Achievement level, so everyone is unwilling to invest more research. Any further progress relies on personal comprehension." "Then what’s the point of practicing the Life and Death Technique to Great Success?" Ji An felt exasperated, regretting he hadn’t saved up his Xun Spirit. "Because the Minor Achievement level of the Life and Death Technique plunders too slowly from high-grade Spirit Plants, Junior Brother would understand if you took the task of guarding the Medicinal Garden." Li Changfeng nodded, understanding that his family specialized in planting and had a clear understanding of its intricacies. He paused and continued: "Junior Brother, it’s very tough to get the task of managing the Medicinal Garden in the Sect. There are thousands of Qi Refining Disciples, and many Spirit Farmer disciples. Many meet the requirements, and any vacant Medicinal Garden can be filled instantly." Is the competition that fierce? Ji An was stunned, furrowing his brows, as he had planned to hang around the Spirit Vein Node. "Is there no chance? If one day I reach perfection in the Small Cloud Rain Technique or Thick Earth Technique, shouldn’t I have a chance?" Li Changfeng pulled Ji An outside the hall and sighed: "Junior Brother, the task of managing the Medicinal Garden is highly paid, and the interests involved are deeply rooted. Unless you have support from the upper echelon, it’s tough..." ... Ji An returned to his Spirit Field and expanded it by two acres, then sowed the grain seeds. At night, he once again cast spells over the Spirit Field, initiating rain. The Spirit Rain containing special essences pattered down as his thoughts merged with the rain. When the clouds dispersed, Ji An exhaled and turned to leave. Li Changfeng’s words cooled his passionate heart, emphasizing that sometimes it’s not about ability, but about relationships and benefits. Human nature, indeed, is the same in any world. Cultivation can make a person stronger and grant longer life, but it cannot make one noble. Ji An completely abandoned the idea of demonstrating the perfection level of the Small Cloud Rain Technique, deciding to only perform the rain spells at night moving forward. Since there’s no benefit, it’s best to stay low-key. Without the task of managing the Medicinal Garden, he’s unlikely to get a chance to cultivate at the Spirit Vein Node before reaching Foundation Establishment Stage. If he can’t change the environment, he can only change himself. Ji An resolved to earn more Crystal Stones and strive to advance to Foundation Establishment early. At Foundation Establishment Stage, he can choose a Spirit Vein Node to make a Grotto Mansion, allowing the Stone Turtle to absorb more Spiritual Mechanism daily, and he can own a twenty-acre Tier One Spirit Field. With a more tangible goal, one won’t be lost. Ji An cultivated with peace of mind daily, mixed Talisman Ink, and studied spells, leading a tense yet fulfilling life. The vegetables in the small courtyard were watered with the perfection level Small Cloud Rain Technique, which contained spirituality reaching half the level of true Spiritual Vegetables, an unexpected delight. Since the rain’s range was too large, the weeds outside the courtyard flourished. To conceal the effect of the rain, he cast the Flame Fire Spell on the land outside the courtyard daily, rapidly improving this rarely used spell. In this way, with enough Jade Pills and a constant supply of Spirit Grain and Spiritual Vegetables, Ji An’s cultivation advanced without the slightest hindrance, steadily improving. More than two months passed. The Spirit Valley Talisman Grass matured about ten days earlier than usual. After harvesting the Spirit Grain and husking it, Ji An weighed it and clenched his fist tightly. He planted a total of five acres of Spirit Grain, and with some eaten by birds, the harvest should logically be below 1500 pounds. However, upon weighing, he found that the harvested Yellow Sprout Rice actually amounted to 1600 pounds. The perfection level Small Cloud Rain Technique had altered the genetic limit of the Yellow Sprout Rice! Though it was just an extra Spirit Stone’s income, it was extremely significant. Cultivating advanced Spirit Medicine typically takes tens or even hundreds of years, and the perfection level Small Cloud Rain Technique could shorten this time, so if he learned more potent spells, could they greatly shorten the maturation time of Spirit Medicine and enhance its efficacy? The future is bright, filling Ji An with vigor. The earlier maturity of the Spirit Valley Talisman Grass gave him more time for making Talisman Paper. He planned to sow seeds ten days later than others henceforth, planting two acres of Talisman Grass, thus securing more income.