Ji An formed a hand seal and reached out with his hand. The wooden carving on the windowsill flew into his palm. Object Manipulation, entry level.
He shifted his seals again and felt a light, buoyant energy envelop his body. Taking a single step forward, he shot three meters across the room, Wind Riding Technique, entry level.
Luckily, he'd taken a few steps back before practicing; otherwise, he'd have kissed the wall head-on.
Spiritual power flowed through his body with a cool, refreshing sensation. Ji An cast another spell, and a faint blue half-dome of light appeared in front of him. Water Curtain Technique, entry level.
A second later, the water qi slipped free of the spell's binding, dissipating rapidly until it vanished without a trace.
Last, Ji An began practicing Geng Metal Finger.
Perhaps because of his foundation in the Sharp Gold Art, this spell seemed the simplest of all.
His spiritual power circulated along a specific path through his meridians. With a light tap of his left pinky, a dark-gold glow flared forth, carrying a razor-sharp edge.
The entire process felt smooth and effortless, as if he'd practiced for a long time already. Nothing about it seemed like a first attempt.
This technique didn't demand fine control; he simply had to gather metal qi as densely as possible and then release it in one burst.
"Heh, I was born to be a spell cultivator!"
Chuckling to himself, Ji An focused his mind on the stone turtle.
Perhaps it was just his imagination, but the azure glow on the turtle's back seemed fainter, while the black markings at the Kan, Xun, and Kun positions looked deeper and heavier.
[Master: Ji An]
[Dao Resonance: 0]
[Spiritual Qi: Kan 469.4, Kun 225.7, Xun 162.8]
[Spells: Minor Rain Technique (Perfected 41%)
Thick Earth Formula (Perfected 30%)
Withering-Bloom Formula (Great Accomplishment 88%)
Flamefire Incantation (Great Accomplishment 27%)
Sharp Gold Art (Perfected 1%)
Object Manipulation (Entry 1%)
Wind Riding (Entry 1%)
Water Curtain (Entry 12%)
Geng Metal Finger (Entry 66%)]
"So generous, huh?!"
Seeing the progress in Water Curtain and Geng Metal Finger, Ji An couldn't help but exclaim in delight.
All those countless casts and careful reflections hadn't been wasted; they had finally paid off.
Old turtle, refine the Kan-qi for me. Let's see what our limit really is!
His consciousness was pulled into the turtle's law-woven space, where water mist rose from the Kan position in radiant swirls.
It had been a long time since he'd refined spiritual qi. Insights poured into his mind like a cascading waterfall, exhilarating and wondrous.
The number for Kan-qi dropped steadily, while his Water Curtain Technique climbed: Proficient… Skilled… Great Accomplishment…
When the spell finally broke through to Perfected, Ji An immediately stopped refining, with 78.2 Kan-qi remaining.
Exiting the turtle's mysterious space, he formed the seals again and cast Water Curtain.
The barrier that formed this time was much deeper in color, with the sense of water flowing across its surface. The spell held for a full three seconds before fading away.
During its duration, he even found he could shift the curtain's position at will.
Ji An couldn't hide his grin any longer. A perfected Water Curtain Technique, even the elite members of monster-hunting squads probably hadn't reached this level.
But his smile quickly faded. He realized that when it came to defensive techniques, most people would likely choose gold- or earth-element spells instead.
Take Golden Armor, for example. By channeling metal qi, one could manifest a golden light across the body's surface that absorbed considerable damage, and it lasted much longer.
Alright, I won't get cocky.
Ji An lit a stick of incense, calmed his mind, and cleared away distractions. Then he swallowed a Shen Yuan Pill and began circulating the Clear Source Sutra.
The pill's spiritual energy rapidly refined into mana, though some inevitably leaked away before he could fully absorb it.
That was exactly why he cared so much about improving his aptitude: the higher one's aptitude, the faster one refined spiritual energy, wasting little to none of a pill's potency.
If the Jadegrain Pills weren't already too weak for him, he would never have wasted a Shen Yuan Pill just for training.
The next morning, Ji An finished cultivating, ate a bowl of spirit rice and half a bowl of dried-vegetable rabbit stew, then slung a sack of seeds over his shoulder and strode energetically toward Old Huang's fields.
There stood Old Huang, slightly stooped, gazing at the farmland with eyes full of nostalgia and reluctant attachment.
At his feet lay a dull gray cloth bag.
Ji An cleared his throat and greeted warmly:
"Good morning, Brother Huang."
Old Huang came back to himself, pulled out a handful of Wood Essence Beads, and handed them over.
"Ah, Ji An, you're here! When planting Jadegrain Rice, you need to infuse the field with wood qi at the start. It helps the seeds sprout and grow strong."
"Thank you, Brother Huang. This is something I should have prepared myself."
Ji An accepted the beads with a respectful bow.
"It's nothing. Let's get started."
Straightening up, Old Huang raised his voice:
"The first steps are the same as planting Yellow Sprout Rice. Use the Flamefire Incantation to clear weeds and pests.
But since this is a first-grade spirit field, the weeds and insects in the soil resist spells more strongly. You'll need to cast it several times."
Before he could finish, Ji An had already unleashed his Flamefire Incantation.
The spell spread precisely across the entire mu, burning every last weed short or tall, thick or thin into ash.
A faint scent of roasted flesh drifted on the breeze.
This… he's already reached Great Accomplishment in Flamefire Incantation?!
Old Huang swallowed his words. His own fire spell was still only at Minor Achievement; he usually needed two or three casts to get the same effect.
His throat felt parched. He coughed a few times to cover it, then said:
"Let's continue.
Next, use the Thick Earth Formula to settle the land's energy. Then activate the wood qi from the Wood Essence Beads to nourish the soil, and finally sow the seeds.
When planting, space them about two fingers farther apart than Yellow Sprout Rice; that's ideal."
Ji An nodded calmly, releasing the Thick Earth Formula. Heavy, nurturing earth qi spread across the field, and under the sunlight, the soil glimmered faintly yellow.
Thin threads of green light streamed from the Wood Essence Beads, seeping into the earth.
Forming a seal, Ji An used Object Manipulation. Handfuls of jade-green seeds were scattered like raindrops over the leveled ground.
He had practiced the spell hard the night before. Because the seeds were so light, even in large numbers, keeping control of their landing spots wasn't too difficult.
"Alright, pause a moment."
Old Huang called out, dragging the cloth bag in a circle around the field, spreading the grass ash as evenly as he could.
When he finished, he returned to Ji An's side with a cheerful grin:
"After harvesting Jadegrain Rice, burn the stalks and mix them with other plant ash. That way, during the first two months, the crops suffer far fewer aphid infestations.
I picked up this trick from another brother. Tonight I'll have Feihu bring you a jade slip that records more tips on Jadegrain Rice cultivation."
Ji An looked at Old Huang's smiling face, then bowed deeply.
"Thank you, Brother Huang."
He would certainly plant many mu of Jadegrain Rice in the future. These insights would be invaluable.
Given all Old Huang had done, it would be unthinkable not to look after Huang Feihu more in return.
"Just a little trick, Ji An. Don't look down on it."
Old Huang hurried forward to help him back up.