Regional Influence has not been unlocked.
With a thought, Fang Yun checked the conditions to unlock Regional Influence.
He probably wouldn't look at it again for the next hundred years.
To unlock Regional Influence, two conditions needed to be met.
Become the Sect Leader of the Celestial Cloud Sect, and achieve 100% influence within the sect.
Reality was different from the game.
In the game, you needed a Sect Token to create a sect. Upon successful creation, you would automatically become the Sect Leader, and your influence would reach the maximum level.
In reality, even if you became the Sect Leader, you could still end up as a figurehead. Under such circumstances, your influence might not even reach 30%.
Right now, Fang Yun was an Outer Sect Disciple with not even 1% influence, which further proved how different reality was from the game. Even if he became the Celestial Cloud Sect's Sect Leader in the future, he wouldn't be directly granted 100% influence.
Fang Yun didn't know the specific conditions for reaching 100% influence, but he could make a guess for now.
When he became Sect Leader, the majority of the sect's upper echelons would have to at least acknowledge him and truly respect and obey him.
Gaining their verbal submission would be relatively easier than winning their hearts.
'First, I'll break through to the late Qi Refining Stage and become an Inner Sect Disciple. Then, when I do become an Inner Sect Disciple, I'll try to get my influence in the sect to at least 10%.'
Fang Yun set a preliminary goal for himself.
The term 'influence' was easy enough to understand, but how exactly to exert that influence to raise his standing in the sect would require his own exploration and constant practice.
He currently had 263 Talent Points.
'First, I'll draw some talents.'
This time, it was a double draw.
Alchemy Talent Fragment x1.
Artifact Refining Talent Fragment x1.
With this latest Life Talent draw, he now had a total of six Alchemy Talent fragments, enough for an upgrade.
A sensation even more intense than the previous three times washed over him.
The wondrous feeling faded, and Fang Yun's Alchemy Talent upgrade was complete.
The Life Talent display interface changed at the same time.
Alchemy Talent ★★ (0/24)
Planting Talent ★ (5/6)
Artifact Refining Talent ★ (4/6)
To upgrade a two-star talent to a three-star talent, twenty-four fragments were needed.
Fang Yun was naturally aware of this.
The number of fragments required would become more and more terrifying at higher levels; upgrading from three stars to four would require a hundred and twenty fragments.
The growth rate set by the braindead developers was even steeper than exponential explosion.
Many players of *So-called Cultivation* preferred to call the game *So-called Pay-to-Win*.
To build a powerful faction, spending millions of yuan was just the starting point.
It was precisely because he understood what was to come that Fang Yun was trying every method he could to obtain Talent Points.
'A two-star Alchemy Talent is more than enough for the Qi Refining Stage. The next step is to get into Alchemy.'
In the plan Fang Yun had made for himself, as soon as his Alchemy Talent reached two stars, he could start refining pills.
「The next day.」
Fang Yun was tending to the Purple Corn in his Spirit Field.
Unlike usual, he spent less time on it today and didn't reach his normal standard of meticulous care.
He had a lot to do today, so this was all the time he could spare for the Purple Corn.
"Junior Brother Fang, finishing up so early today?" Tian Ruifeng asked, seeing Fang Yun getting ready to leave.
"Yes, Senior Brother Tian. I have something to do today."
"In that case, let your Senior Brother help you out today."
Tian Ruifeng offered to help.
Their two Spirit Fields were adjacent, and after another half a month, Fang Yun had gotten to know Tian Ruifeng better.
From the very beginning, the fact that Fang Yun had accepted a mission to plant Purple Corn right after becoming an Outer Sect Disciple of the Celestial Cloud Sect had earned him Tian Ruifeng's approval.
Over the following month, his meticulous care for the Purple Corn plants had also won Tian Ruifeng's recognition.
After all, for the past month, Fang Yun's pest control had been perfect every single time.
He hadn't performed a single Standard Pest Control, which was enough to show just how meticulously he cared for the Purple Corn plants.
"Senior Brother, I appreciate the kind offer, but this is fine for today," Fang Yun said, shaking his head to decline Tian Ruifeng's help.
Tian Ruifeng was puzzled. "Why?"
"I'm going to study Alchemy and see if I have any talent for it."
Fang Yun told him the truth. Given Tian Ruifeng's personality, he felt he had to not only refuse the kind offer but also explain the situation clearly.
If Tian Ruifeng helped him now without knowing he was going to study Alchemy, their relatively friendly relationship might shatter completely if he found out later.
As long as it wasn't necessary, Fang Yun still wanted to maintain friendly relationships with his fellow sect disciples.
"Alchemy... Go on, then."
Tian Ruifeng's attitude toward Fang Yun instantly grew much colder.
Seeing this, Fang Yun didn't pay it too much mind. Given Tian Ruifeng's personality, telling him the truth was the best way to handle it that he could think of.
As Fang Yun walked away, Tian Ruifeng watched his retreating back for a moment.
"He has a talent for planting, yet he's thinking about Alchemy. So fickle!"
Tian Ruifeng disliked fickle people.
He recalled how Fang Yun had meticulously tended to the Purple Corn over the past month, as if terrified that even the slightest problem might arise. That had to be born from a love for the path of Spirit Plants; otherwise, he could never have shown such dedication.
Thinking of this, Tian Ruifeng felt that he might have misjudged Fang Yun.
'Junior Brother Fang... I don't think he even has Four Spirit Roots...'
Cultivation with Five Spirit Roots was much more difficult. Without the help of resources, one couldn't even become an Inner Sect Disciple of the Celestial Cloud Sect before the age of sixty.
Dabbling in the path of Alchemy to see if he had any talent for it was also a way of planning for his future.
But by dividing his attention, it would be even more impossible for him to become a Spirit Plant Master.
His and Fang Yun's philosophies no longer aligned.
He had originally thought that he and Junior Brother Fang got along very well and even shared the same philosophy.
Now, it seemed he had been overthinking it.
"I'll help you this one time. Next time, I won't bother."
The old man muttered to himself and walked into Fang Yun's Spirit Field, helping him tend to the Purple Corn with greater care.
Three mu of Purple Corn was a simple task for him, especially since Fang Yun had already tended to them.
「Elsewhere.」
Fang Yun first went to the Spirit Field Institute.
This was also the place that purchased various types of Spirit Rice and Spirit Medicine.
Fang Yun needed to exchange his Purple Corn for Spirit Stones.
Normally, Purple Corn sold for one Lower Grade Spirit Stone per four jin. Naturally, the sect's purchase price was different from its selling price.
Fang Yun had already learned about these matters from Steward Song.
Depending on the market, the Celestial Cloud Sect's purchase price for Purple Corn ranged from five to six jin per Lower Grade Spirit Stone.
As disciples of the Celestial Cloud Sect, the sect always bought from them at a rate of four jin and five liang per Lower Grade Spirit Stone, and would purchase as much as they had to sell. Even if the internal supply of Spirit Rice became saturated, the sect would stop buying from the outside world but would continue to buy from its disciples without fail.
If one wasn't satisfied with the price of four jin and five liang per Lower Grade Spirit Stone, they could set up a stall in the Disciple Marketplace to sell it themselves.
There, they could sell it for a price of four jin and three liang, or even four jin and one liang, per Lower Grade Spirit Stone.
Setting up a stall was too much of a time-waster for Fang Yun; it was completely out of the question.
His time was precious!
He currently had eighty-two jin of Purple Corn on hand and planned to sell eighty-one.