Chapter 20: Qi Refining Second Layer! Flaming Palm Minor Achievement! Setting Off!
Chapter 20: Chapter 20: Qi Refining Second Layer! Flaming Palm Minor Achievement! Setting Off!
Phew!
Chen Mo exhaled a breath of stale air.
He naturally had no idea that the Tribulation Cultivators from last year were still waiting for him, but one thing was certain. If he went to the Marketplace with the strength of the Qi Refining First Layer, nine times out of ten, he would follow in Yin Zheng’s footsteps.
Nearly a month had passed since the grain harvest. During this time, Chen Mo cultivated day and night, and the Spiritual Sand Wang Lixia had left him was consumed at a rapid pace.
The experience of his Qi Cultivation Technique increased methodically, maintaining a steady pace of one point every five days. However, for a purely offensive Magic like the Flaming Palm, cultivating it without regard for expenditure caused its experience to skyrocket! It had reached nearly seventeen or eighteen points a day!
The price for this was that Chen Mo only slept once every three days, and each time for no more than three hours. Fortunately, cultivation and meditation naturally restored some energy. If he had ground this hard in his past life, he would have died from overwork long ago!
Of course, Chen Mo still never tired of this intense grind.
He unleashed the Flaming Palm over and over. This Magic, which couldn’t be any more ordinary, now possessed a flawless, natural beauty in his hands. The flames on his palms grew increasingly intense, giving off the feeling that they could detonate the air at any moment.
Finally, after thirty-four days of bitter cultivation, his sole offensive Magic reached the critical point of a breakthrough. Seeing that the Flaming Palm was about to reach Minor Achievement, Chen Mo unexpectedly stopped.
For the next few days, he sat cross-legged, unmoving, devoid of any vitality like a statue. If it weren’t for the occasional stirring of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, probably no one would have noticed that there was a Spirit Plant Cultivator desperately cultivating in the fields.
Xiao Changhua would occasionally shoot him a glance, sneering inwardly. In his eyes, this Spirit Plant Cultivator surnamed Chen had wasted over half a year tending to his Spirit Field, naturally neglecting his Cultivation. Trying to cram at the last minute now—did he really think he was a prodigy like Li Shangxian?!
Foolish!
Chen Mo also noticed the other man’s occasional stares, but of course, he didn’t care. To him, strength was all that mattered!
The second day of winter.
Snowflakes unexpectedly began to drift down at the foot of Purple Cloud Peak. Before the snowflakes could land on Chen Mo, they vanished instantly.
On this day, the Spiritual Sand in his hands completely crumbled to dust, and an indescribable power surged forth from his Dantian!
The next moment, a line of bright yellow text floated past his eyes.
[Qi Cultivation Technique +1]
It upgraded!
Chen Mo tossed the dust from his hands, letting it scatter across the world alongside the falling snow. He opened his panel:
[Name: Chen Mo]
[Profession: Spirit Plant Cultivator (Unlocked), Spirit Nurturer (Locked)...]
[Lifespan: 30/77]
[Cultivation: Qi Refining Second Layer]
[Cultivation Technique: Qi Cultivation Technique (1/200)]
[Magic:]
[Rainfall Technique (Mastery): 59/400]
[Flaming Palm (Mastery): 399/400]
[Talent: Increased Production (Blue), Breeding (Green)]
"Breeding?" he wondered.
The joy of breaking through to the Qi Refining Second Layer hadn’t yet faded, but Chen Mo was instantly captivated by the changes on his panel! He fixed his gaze, and the information instantly entered his eyes.
[Breeding (Green): Channels Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi into the seeds of all things, nurturing life within. On the day all things sprout, life will burst forth. This method can be integrated into Qi Crossing Magic, increasing the success rate of breeding by 50% (This Talent requires the cultivation of Qi Crossing Magic, reaching the Proficient Realm before it can be integrated).]
"Breeding, Breeding?!" he muttered to himself. "Could it be that from now on, I can breed seeds myself?"
Chen Mo didn’t expect to actually awaken a new professional Talent after his Realm broke through. And it was still related to a Spirit Plant Cultivator!
However, compared to the Talent [Increased Production], [Breeding] didn’t make him overly excited. First of all, what was Qi Crossing Magic? He didn’t know, nor did he know how much such a Magic would cost. Secondly, the seed trade inherently belonged to Niu’s Shop. Even if he harvested a large number of seeds, it would probably be very difficult to sell them. Even if he set up a street stall in the Marketplace, he feared other Loose Cultivators would treat him like a scammer and wouldn’t even spare him a glance.
Still, it was better than nothing. If the opportunity arose, he definitely had to get his hands on a manual for Qi Crossing Magic!
Chen Mo slowly stood up.
Over the next hour or so, a thin layer of snow and frost had covered the Spirit Field. Everything around him was peaceful. A timely snow promised another abundant year ahead.
The other Spirit Plant Cultivators were either cultivating or at the Marketplace. It seemed he was the only figure left amidst this pale, snowy world.
Chen Mo took a deep breath, and the flames in his hands ignited once more. In the next instant, with a loud BANG, the air in front of him suddenly exploded. A wave of heat devoured the snowflakes, actually melting a blank void in the space before him.
"So strong!"
The Flaming Palm had broken through as well!
At this moment, Chen Mo’s mood unexpectedly became incredibly calm. He had cultivated bitterly for months, discarding all distractions, and today, success finally came naturally!
It took Chen Mo a short year or so to just reach the Qi Refining Second Layer. Within the Immortal Sect, this speed of progress was likely at the very bottom. Furthermore, he had already turned thirty. In the eyes of the Immortal Sect, his achievements were nothing more than mediocre.
"My Realm has broken through to the Qi Refining Second Layer, and my lifespan has increased by a year. That’s good news," Chen Mo shrugged and consoled himself.
He had a Golden Finger, yet his cultivation was still this slow. There was truly no one else like him.
Seeing that he had finally broken through, he slowly strolled back to his small wooden cabin. He boiled some water, cooked himself a large bowl of fragrant Spirit Rice, and devoured it in big bites until it was completely clean.
There were no mountain delicacies, no exotic seafood. Just this one bowl of white rice was enough to leave him thoroughly satisfied. After all, among the Spirit Plant Cultivators responsible for growing grain, how many were actually willing to part with a single bite of Spirit Rice for themselves?
After eating his fill, Chen Mo felt a wave of comfort wash over his entire body. He pushed the bowl onto the table and fell right to sleep.
Before drifting off, only one thought remained in his head, "I have money now. I need to get my hands on a Cleaning Technique and learn it."
This nap lasted from daytime all the way to the next daytime.
The relaxation a person experienced after an intense period of mental exertion was the truest form of relaxation.
When dawn broke across the horizon, Chen Mo kipped up from the bed. He washed up simply, changed into a clean and neat set of clothes, pushed his small cart, loaded it with six hundred catties of grain, and set off.
There were still over a thousand catties in the cellar. He would have to make two more trips to handle it all.
Naturally, this cartload of Spirit Rice was to be sold to Niu’s Shop.
The weather had already transitioned into winter.
The Spirit Plant Cultivators who had reaped bountiful harvests had already gone to the Marketplace long ago. There was almost no one who departed as late as Chen Mo did. They counted on exchanging the grain in their hands for Fasting Pills and Spiritual Sand as soon as possible, in order to further their cultivation.
As for Chen Mo?
He had also received Wang Lixia’s favor. Without that inheritance, it would have been impossible for him to cultivate to the Qi Refining Second Layer with peace of mind!
To this end, Chen Mo made up his mind. When the snow melted next year, he would find a forest and erect a cenotaph for his first "friend" since crossing over, as a way of memorializing her, leaving behind a mark that "I" had once lived.
The wheels rolled forward, leaving two ruts on the road. They started from the Spirit Plant Cultivator’s Spirit Field, extending all the way to the Ancient Dust Marketplace...