Chapter 7: Chapter 5: It’s in the Bag (2) "Alright, junior brother, if there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask me." Old Huang happily accepted the Spirit Grain seeds. "Senior brothers, there’s something I don’t understand, and I hope you can enlighten me. During our chat earlier, you mentioned that planting Spirit Grain is the worst task in the sect. Why would Senior Brother Liu Yu willingly come here?" Ji An couldn’t understand, with Liu Yu’s family background, getting into the Artifact Refining Hall and Beast Taming Hall shouldn’t be a problem. Old Huang pondered: "I speak directly, junior brother, so don’t mind me. To you and me, becoming a Spirit Farmer in the sect is indeed the worst outcome. New disciples, with their low realm and shallow techniques, can only plant Tier One Spirit Grain. Natural disasters, pests, and when the Spirit Grain matures, birds and beasts come to eat. With poor techniques, the harvest barely ensures survival. After two or three years, as their planting techniques gradually deepen, life gets a bit better. But being a Spirit Farmer has one advantage, new disciples have no sect duties in their first year, and time is entirely theirs to manage. Those from the great family clans use this year to advance to the Late-stage Qi Refining. With family backing, they find a good master, and immediately escape the management of the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall. This is just a stepping stone." The air became silent, and all three felt a bit disheartened. After a while, Ji An thanked them and left. Declining Senior Brother Wei’s offer to see him off, he walked along the path to his residence—Unit Guiwei Thirteen. As a Qi Refining Cultivator, he had the strength of two hundred jin in his arms, making it easy to carry two half-bags of grain. The bamboo house had a bedroom and kitchen, and Ji An lit a candle to inspect it. The bedroom was simply furnished with a table, a chair, a pudun, and a bed. The kitchen only had a water jar and an empty rice jar. The previous owner seemed to have moved out only a few days ago, as there wasn’t even dust on the table. He poured rice into the rice jar, all mortal world white rice, almost devoid of any spiritual energy. He took clothes out of his bag and placed them on the bed, then took out a palm-sized wooden carving and placed it on the windowsill. It was a beast shaped like a Spirit-Seeking Rat, which his father had carved, with golden tumor-like veins. The toy had accompanied him for ten years, with some parts worn smooth and shiny. Ji An took out a Jade Slip and placed it on his forehead, using his Divine Sense to read its contents. Skipping the sect rules, he carefully studied the Qingyuan Scripture. After Meridian Opening and entering the Qi Refining Stage, due to the lack of a suitable Cultivation Method, he relied solely on his body’s instinct to absorb and refine nature’s spiritual energy, which meant there wasn’t much Magical Power in his Qi Sea Acupoint. Without Magical Power, practicing Magic Techniques was out of the question. Having studied at the Daoist School for years, understanding this Cultivation Technique wasn’t difficult, especially since his comprehension and Divine Sense had greatly improved after merging with another soul. In less than a double hour, he had grasped seventy to eighty percent of the technique. The Cultivation Technique was the most orthodox path of the Immortal Sect; it clearly explained how to channel spiritual energy into the body and circulate it in the Immortal Vein, and how to coordinate the breathing in every step. The Qingyuan Scripture and the Meridian Opening Method were similar; the difference being that one operated inner qi in ordinary meridians, while the other guided nature’s spiritual energy into the body and circulated it in the Immortal Vein. Once he’d memorized the technique, Ji An pushed open the window, letting moonlight fill the room, bathing the wooden carving on the windowsill in its glow. He sat cross-legged on the pudun, beginning the first active absorption of nature’s spiritual energy. Clearing his mind and regulating his breath, the spiritual energy entered through his nose and mouth, circulating in the Immortal Vein. Everything went smoothly, with the spiritual energy eventually being refined into Magical Power and stored in his Qi Sea Acupoint. After a double hour, Ji An slowly exited his cultivation, feeling refreshed and comfortable all over, clearly indicating some advancement in his merit. However, there was no joy on his face, and instead, his brows were knit tightly together. The previous evening, after drinking spirit wine, when the spiritual power was absorbed and refined into his Qi Sea Acupoint, he felt a portion being devoured by the Stone Turtle. The same thing happened just now when he circulated the technique and the refined Magical Power entered his Qi Sea Acupoint. He sensed it, and a full half of his magical power was devoured by the Stone Turtle. Bitterness showed on Ji An’s face, and he was gritting his teeth in frustration. He hadn’t even had a chance to rely on his golden finger to gain big advantages, and his hard-earned Magical Power was already being siphoned away. This was cutting half of his magic power; sadly, he only had Middle-Grade Talent, and his efficiency at absorbing spiritual energy was already not high. At this moment, he started worrying about not being able to advance to the Qi Refining Fourth Level on time. Failing to reach Mid-stage Qi Refining within three years means he’d have to pack up and leave. For Qi Refining Cultivators, whose immortal veins are just opened, they can’t cultivate continuously; generally, a session lasts a double hour, then they must rest for one or two double hours before continuing. Excessive cultivation time burdens the immortal veins, greatly reducing efficiency. The matter of prolonged closed-door cultivation is exclusive to High-Tier Cultivators; even Foundation Establishment cultivators cannot achieve this. Steadying his mind, Ji An once again placed the Jade Slip against his forehead, beginning to read the information on the Small Cloud Rain Technique. Now that he had Magical Power, learning the Magic Technique would be the perfect opportunity to test the mystery of the Stone Turtle. If the harvest was significant, losing half of his Magical Power wouldn’t be unacceptable. The Small Cloud Rain Technique is merely a Planting Technique, not a high-level Spell; it’s mainly used for showering Spirit Fields and is intended for use by Qi Refining cultivators. The rainwater contains Spiritual Power, promoting the growth of Spirit Grains and Spirit Medicines. If the Spirit Grains and Spirit Medicines aren’t tended to properly during their rainy season, the yield will drastically reduce. The First and Second Layer Spells are relatively simple, requiring no thresholds; with enough practice, they could naturally be reached. In fact, most Magic Techniques are like this, easy to learn but hard to master. When the Magic Technique is cultivated to the Third Layer, which is the Minor Achievement Stage, one must comprehend the Divine Intent and Spirit Charm contained within the Spell. However, if one’s talent is dull, relying solely on diligent practice, the progress is extremely slow. Still, over time, it is possible to grind to the Fourth Layer, entering the Great Success Stage. At this point, some level of comprehension is required. Without sufficient comprehension, attempting to cultivate the Magic Technique to Perfection is like drawing water with a sieve or fishing for the moon in a well—ultimately futile. Casting a Magic Technique requires directing Magical Power to flow within the Immortal Vein in a specific pattern and then activating it with the hand’s Dharma Seal. Both aspects require good coordination, otherwise, the Magic Technique will fail to release or may even damage the meridians. Fortunately, the Small Cloud Rain Technique is just a planting technique at the Qi Refining Stage which has a very low entry difficulty. After Ji An pondered the essentials of the Little Cloud Rain Book several times in his mind, he did not immediately practice the Magic Technique but practiced the Dharma Seal instead. Once his practice was proficient and the changes between the Dharma Seals were no longer awkward, he stood up and walked out of the bamboo tower. The night breeze swept in, bringing waves of moisture, slightly chilly. Taking a deep breath, Ji An steadied his somewhat excited emotions and directed Magical Power to travel along a specific path through the Immortal Vein. Thanks to years of running Inner Qi and experience from cultivating the Qingyuan Scripture, the Magic Technique was completed in one go. With the bright moon overhead, Ji An saw a mist enshrouding the entire courtyard, as a fine drizzle began to fall. A Magic Technique! My very first Magic Technique! Even after two lifetimes, Ji An felt his heart pounding quickly. He came under the mist, closed his eyes, opened his arms, letting the raindrops fall on his face, wetting his hair and clothes. Although he was uncertain of his distance from Ascension to Immortality, he understood that he had taken a solid first step. The journey is long, but the destination shall be reached. The Magic Technique only lasted for half an hour, and when the rain stopped, Ji An crouched down and scratched the ground with his hand, finding the soil only wet to half a finger deep, chuckling to himself. Alright, newly learned Magic Techniques shouldn’t be expected to have excellent effects. However, after feeling the consumption of the Magical Power, his face suddenly stiffened. He realized that even when the Magical Power filled the Qi Sea Acupoint, he could only cast the Small Cloud Rain Technique five or six times. But after cultivating the Qingyuan Scripture for a double hour, it barely filled one-third of the Qi Sea Acupoint. The total amount of Magical Power at the First-Layer Qi Refining is really too little. The Magical Power refined by Cultivation Techniques is really too little! Suppressing the agitation rising in his heart, he closed his eyes and sensed the Stone Turtle. [Master: Ji An] [Dao Rhyme: 0] [Spiritual Mechanism: Kan Spirit 1.1, Kun Spirit 0.8, Xun Spirit 0.4] [Magic Technique: Small Cloud Rain Technique (Entry 1%)] Now, it’s the moment to witness a miracle; whether he can stride onto a broad avenue depends on this moment. Ji An’s breath involuntarily became rapid; his future development was at stake, making him anxious. He focused his attention on the Magic Technique, and a prompt appeared. [Kan Spirit can be consumed to enhance the Small Cloud Rain Technique, proceed with refinement?] Refine! Is there even a need to ask?! Ancestral spirits, bless this! With Ji An’s decision made, his Divine Sense was pulled into a Profound Mysterious Space. The Stone Turtle’s body shone with a hazy light, and he stood in the Kan Position on the turtle’s back, repeatedly casting the Small Cloud Rain Technique, countless insights flowing through his heart... The number behind Kan Spirit steadily decreased until it became ’0’. [Magic Technique: Small Cloud Rain Technique (Entry 1%→ 66%)] Ji An burst out laughing: "Old Turtle, six six six!" The cultivation journey, indeed, is steady!