In the following days, Fang Yun stayed quietly in the cave, cautiously circulating his internal spiritual energy to help heal his injured meridians.
During his free time, he took out the "Everlasting Spring" manual and began to study it, familiarizing himself with its various secrets.
At the same time, he delved deeper into the three spells that accompanied this cultivation method.
Among the three spells, the first was the Earth Power Technique, which could mobilize the spiritual energy from the earth to assist in planting crops.
This spell was fundamental for cultivating spiritual fields and didn't require a high level of cultivation; one only needed to reach the first level of Qi Refinement to practice it.
Unfortunately, Fang Yun was still injured and unable to practice.
The second spell was the Spiritual Rain Technique, which could condense clouds to form spiritual water, mainly used for irrigating crops.
This spell required a higher level of cultivation; one must reach at least the second level of Qi Refinement to perform it.
Fang Yun's internal spiritual energy was too thin to cast spells at all.
The third spell was the Metal Qi Technique, which was the only offensive spell, but one shouldn't expect to use it to attack enemies.
This spell summoned metal spiritual energy specifically for killing insects.
For humans, the spell's lethality was extremely low, and it required at least the third level of Qi Refinement to cast.
So, Fang Yun couldn't even think about using it in the short term.
After familiarizing himself with the cultivation method and researching the three spells, several days passed quietly.
Thanks to his healing, Fang Yun's meridian injuries began to show signs of improvement.
At the current rate of recovery, he estimated that he would be back to normal in about a year.
By then, he would officially restore his first level of Qi Refinement and continue his cultivation.
The thought of having to wait a whole year to practice made Fang Yun look at the nearby spring, which occasionally emitted wisps of spiritual energy, with regret.
He couldn't absorb any of the spiritual energy due to his injured meridians, and all he could do was watch it slowly dissipate into the air—it felt like such a waste.
That night, Fang Yun was sleeping soundly on a small bed in a corner of the cave.
Outside the cave, he didn't know when the lightning and thunder began, but soon after, a torrential downpour began to fall.
At that moment, Fang Yun frowned in his sleep, a strange feeling rising in his heart.
It felt as if he had become a seed, trying desperately to break through its hard shell in such terrible weather and then take root and sprout.
This feeling grew stronger and ultimately woke him from his slumber.
Fang Yun furrowed his brows as he got up and walked to the entrance of the cave, looking out at the fierce storm.
However, after just one glance, he stopped paying attention to the weather.
He carefully sensed the feeling in his heart and explored its source.
It was coming from the spiritual field.
"Did something happen in the spiritual field?"
Thinking of this, Fang Yun disregarded the extreme weather outside and rushed into the pouring rain, quickly making his way to the field.
By now, the spiritual field had already been completely submerged by the rushing water from the mountaintop.
However, standing above, Fang Yun could still clearly sense the seeds of spiritual rice striving to break through the soil.
Yes, that intense feeling he had was indeed from the seeds of spiritual rice he had planted days ago.
"Golden finger? Or has my soul's power increased due to my crossing over?"
Upon realizing that the intense breaking sensation came from the spiritual rice seeds he had planted, Fang Yun felt invigorated and excited.
For someone like him, a crossover individual, such feelings were long anticipated.
Whether it was a significant boost in soul power or the arrival of a golden finger, both would be extremely beneficial for him.
After all, he had seen many novels in his past life where such plot points were all too familiar.
However, based on the current situation, it seemed more likely that it was a golden finger.
After all, a significant increase in soul power wouldn't just manifest as a feeling; one would expect to have enhanced insight and perception as well.
So, Fang Yun stood there in the heavy rain, waiting quietly for the spiritual rice seeds to break through their shells.
Fang Yun had no idea how long he had been waiting when suddenly, a crisp "crack" echoed in his mind. Immediately, it felt as if a surge of energy had been released, bringing him a sense of relief. As that sound echoed, more and more similar sounds followed, and the sense of oppression in his heart gradually disappeared.
At that moment, Fang Yun suddenly sensed the appearance of an ancient scroll deep within his consciousness. The scroll slowly unfolded, revealing its contents:
Fang Yun
Cultivation Level: Qi Refinement, Level 1 (Crippled)
Spiritual Power: 10
Controlled Plants: Spiritual Rice (63)
Seeing the scroll in his consciousness and the information displayed, Fang Yun realized his "golden finger" was actually a panel—a familiar concept often found in the novels he used to read. He never imagined that one day, he'd be lucky enough to have such a cheat ability himself.
With the heavy rain still falling and no way to enter the spiritual field, Fang Yun took a closer look at the panel's contents. The information was simple: his cultivation level and spiritual power, both accurate. He was indeed a crippled cultivator stuck at Qi Refinement Level 1. As for spiritual power, Fang Yun couldn't quantify it himself, but the panel's display seemed reliable.
As for the "Controlled Plants," it clearly referred to the spiritual rice in the field. However, the number "63" puzzled Fang Yun—did it mean only 63 seeds had sprouted? He had planted 100 seeds, after all. The survival rate seemed rather low. To confirm, he figured he'd count them later, as 100 was a Spiritual Powergeable number.
By now, the sky was gradually brightening, and at some point, the rain had stopped. The excess water in the field slowly drained down the mountain.
By midday, Fang Yun entered the now-restored spiritual field. Following the sensation from earlier, he crouched down, gently parting the black soil. There, he saw one of the spiritual rice seeds—its shell had cracked open, and a small, delicate white sprout had cautiously emerged.
Seeing this, a smile spread across Fang Yun's face. He carefully covered the seed back with soil and continued walking around the field, sensing the state of each spiritual rice seed. He discovered that, for every sprouted seed, he could clearly feel its emotions and some basic conditions. It was as if a mysterious connection had formed between him and these seeds.
It seemed that his golden finger, besides displaying information on the panel, had additional functions as well. However, for the seeds that hadn't sprouted, Fang Yun couldn't sense anything. He wondered if it was because they hadn't sprouted yet or if they were simply dead seeds.
Either way, with this kind of help from his golden finger, Fang Yun was confident that his farming endeavors would go smoothly in the future. And if farming went well, wouldn't his path of cultivation progress just as smoothly? From the panel's information, it was clear that he was destined to become a spiritual plant cultivator.
Fang Yun had no complaints about the path his golden finger had chosen for him. After all, this was his expertise in his past life—it was just a matter of continuing his profession in this new world. Why not embrace it?