Chapter 104: Eating Vegetables, Awakening the Wood Spirit Root!
Chapter 104: Chapter 104: Eating Vegetables, Awakening the Wood Spirit Root!
Chen Mo stood still, carefully reflecting on every movement and word Ban Xiaowei had just demonstrated and spoken. Having studied the *Tier One Spiritual Array Outline* multiple times, he had gained a certain level of insight into Arrays.
The reason Spirit Arrays were considered one of the three great disciplines of talent, alongside Alchemy and Artifact Refining, was their inherent difficulty—they required adapting to local conditions. For every change in the Array’s environment, the corresponding formation method had to be adjusted.
Ban Xiaowei moving the stone table and snapping the tree branches was equivalent to altering the environment! Therefore, to truly master an Array, one needed to thoroughly understand the fundamental essence behind every step and action. Only then could one avoid failing to deploy an Array due to external changes.
Ban Xiaowei remained on the sidelines, allowing Chen Mo to ponder for a long time without interrupting his train of thought. In the path of Arrays, comprehension was paramount. A person’s true talent was entirely demonstrated through their actions!
About half an incense stick’s time later, Chen Mo moved. He took six steps to the left and three steps forward. The moment he firmly planted his feet, Ban Xiaowei’s eyes widened behind him, a flash of surprise appearing on his normally tranquil face.
Seeing Chen Mo correctly locate the Array Hub and bury the Green Concealing Stone underground, Ban Xiaowei remained silent. Correctly executing the Seeking Dragon step meant the Array was largely complete. What followed was the meticulous Walking Snake process.
However, during the ensuing Walking Snake, Chen Mo made three consecutive mistakes. The energy gathered by the Array instantly dissipated! Everything returned to dead silence.
Chen Mo sighed and turned to look at Ban Xiaowei. "I failed."
Ban Xiaowei nodded, offering neither discouragement nor comfort. Instead, he gave precise feedback on every mistake. For the rest of the day, Chen Mo repeated his actions over and over, while Ban Xiaowei continued his instructions with an expression as placid as an ancient well.
"Let’s stop here for today."
Recovering from his deep immersion, Chen Mo nodded, cupped his fists, and bid the man farewell. Then, he left the Master’s Mansion alone.
Not long after he left, Song Yunxi walked out of the house. Although he had been handling mundane affairs, he had still observed the entire second half of the process.
"How was it?" Song Yunxi asked.
Ban Xiaowei turned and looked at him expressionlessly. "Didn’t you see it yourself?"
"I saw it, but I have to understand it to know how he did!"
"Why watch if you don’t understand?"
"You!"
Every time Song Yunxi conversed with Ban Xiaowei, he was left utterly stifled. Talking to this man was truly frustrating!
"I underestimated him. Though his innate talent is average, his comprehension in the path of Arrays is exceptionally outstanding... Hmm, it seems, perhaps..." Ban Xiaowei cupped his chin in a thoughtful pose. "He has about seventy percent of my ability."
On the way back, Chen Mo wasn’t discouraged. To him, learning was merely a matter of navigating the sea of knowledge. Furthermore, he possessed a modern person’s mindset—as long as something was considered knowledge, there were systematic techniques to master it. It was precisely because of this that he had been able to independently comprehend the Mountain Gazing Shadow Retaining Array without a teacher!
Upon returning home, Chen Mo watered his twenty acres of Spirit Fields and cleared out the newly sprouted weeds. Then, he combed the feathers of his twenty-three Spirit Chickens. Only after finishing these chores did he return to his room to meditate and cultivate.
The newly hatched Pentagonal Heavy Lizard stayed closely by his side. Just like any other fierce beast, it showed no signs of its innate ferocity as a hatchling; in fact, it even looked somewhat cute. However, Chen Mo had already made up his mind. He would raise it for half a year and then slaughter it for meat. At worst, he could chop it up and feed it to the chickens!
His life as a Spirit Plant Cultivator in the White Snake Marketplace was gradually getting on track. Chen Mo spent half the day tending to his Spirit Fields and feeding the chickens, headed to the Marketplace at noon to study Arrays, and returned home at night to diligently practice the Huai Mountain Qi Cultivation Technique.
In the blink of an eye, over half a month passed. The Spirit Yellow Rice and Giant Bone Spirit Rice had already sprouted tender shoots, while the five acres of Cyan Leaf Orchids and Yellow Spirit Grass Flowers had grown into full-sized plants. Judging by their appearance, they would reach full maturity in half a month at most. Thanks to the [Rapid Maturation] Talent, the growth cycle of his crops was cut cleanly in half. Naturally, the yield for these Spirit Plants—which usually only had two harvests a year—would be incredibly abundant!
Over this period, Chen Mo had also completely mastered the [Curved Water Shadow Array].
Now, the formation concealing his twenty acres of Spirit Fields was no longer the Memory Array. If outsiders peered into his land—even Cultivators at the Qi Refining Eighth and Ninth Layer—they would not be able to see through the illusion unless they possessed Illusion-Breaking Divine Techniques. To them, the fields looked exactly the same as those of any other Spirit Plant Cultivator!
When a breeze swept by, the illusory, newly sprouted Spirit Yellow Rice would even sway in the wind. When the actual Spirit Rice matured, the array would similarly simulate the rich fragrance of the harvest.
Additionally, after Chen Mo had studied the [Grass Killing Array] for ten days, Ban Xiaowei had to temporarily return to Purple Cloud Peak on business. Because of this, Song Yunxi demanded four Low Grade Spirit Stones back from him, declaring he would only return the payment when Ban Xiaowei came back!
Clearly, even his close friend kept his guard up around him. It seemed the man truly had a track record of flaking.
However, Chen Mo was quite content. His current situation was vastly superior to his days in the Ancient Dust Marketplace. The secret of his Spirit Fields could finally be concealed. From now on, he just needed to peacefully farm and gradually improve his strength. Everything was naturally falling into place.
Another half a month passed, and the Cyan Leaf Orchids and Yellow Spirit Grass Flowers reached full maturity. Stretching out in lush, vibrant patches, they looked exceedingly beautiful!
Chen Mo counted the harvest: there were roughly 250 Cyan Leaf Orchids and 150 Yellow Spirit Grass Flowers. The numbers perfectly matched the estimates provided by the Steward of Song’s Shop.
This meant that the total number of plants per acre hadn’t changed. The 100% increase in yield was instead reflected entirely in their physical size!
A typical Cyan Leaf Orchid would only grow to calf-height, but the crops in Chen Mo’s fields reached all the way to his knees! A normal Yellow Spirit Grass Flower would weigh around four or five catties, yet the ones Chen Mo grew easily broke the ten-catty mark!
Because of this, the yield per acre for both Spirit Plants skyrocketed to roughly four or five hundred catties, matching the output of his Spirit Yellow Rice.
Having fewer individual plants had its perks. Chen Mo only spent the time it took an incense stick to burn to completely harvest the five acres of land. However, strictly following the records in the *Spirit Plant Atlas*, he left ten plants each of the Cyan Leaf Orchids and Yellow Spirit Grass Flowers untouched, waiting for them to naturally mature and produce seeds.
After storing over a thousand catties of fresh Spirit Plants into his ring, the remaining Storage Space was becoming alarmingly small. He still had nearly three thousand catties of unprocessed Spirit Rice, and now these incredibly bulky Cyan Leaf Orchids had taken up even more room. Realizing he would have to harvest another massive batch of crops in less than two months, Chen Mo actually began to feel that this Storage Ring—which he had spent five Low Grade Spirit Stones on—was far too small!
At this point, there was only one practical solution left: eat them!
Chen Mo washed one Cyan Leaf Orchid and one Yellow Spirit Grass Flower. For his first attempt, he decided to cook them using the most ancient method, one that would perfectly retain the natural flavor of the Spirit Plants—boiling!
He chopped the vegetables into large chunks and tossed them into a pot of boiling water. An hour later, a massive pot of Spirit Plant soup exuding a refreshing, mouth-watering fragrance was ready.
Chen Mo took a sip of the broth. The rich, savory aroma lingered on his tastebuds. He took a bite of the Cyan Leaf Orchid—it was incredibly plump, juicy, and perfectly crisp.
Having not eaten fresh green vegetables for many years, he finally relished the nostalgic taste of his past. And because these Spirit Plants were deeply nourished by Spiritual Qi, their flavor was infinitely more delicious!
After subsisting entirely on Spirit Rice and rice cakes for so long, Chen Mo heartily devoured the meal. In the blink of an eye, the entire pot of vegetable soup vanished into his stomach.
Right at that moment, a line of bright yellow text drifted across his vision!
[Wood Spirit Root +1]