Chapter 36: Geng Metal Finger, Great Success! Awakening, Metal Spirit Root!
Chapter 36: Chapter 36: Geng Metal Finger, Great Success! Awakening, Metal Spirit Root!
HOWL!
The evil entity, never seeming to learn its lesson, lunged at Chen Mo once again. However, all that awaited it was naturally a flash of blue light and scorched skin.
After a repeated cycle of attacks followed by the window slamming shut, the monster outside gradually fell silent. When Chen Mo pushed the window open for the fifth time, preparing to deliver a Flaming Palm, the black, hideous evil entity had finally abandoned its ambush. Dragging its sickly body, it left the wooden cabin and departed from the spirit field.
Of course, out of safety concerns, Chen Mo didn’t step outside. Instead, he continued leaning against the two-finger-wide crack in the door, keeping a close eye on the state of the spirit fruits. He finally felt a sense of relief. Since they could attract monsters to lie in wait, it meant the appeal of these spirit fruits was quite potent. Although he didn’t know if eating them could awaken a Metal Spirit Root like the loose cultivator who sold him the seeds had claimed, one thing was certain: at the very least, these things were edible.
Chen Mo didn’t close his eyes for a single moment that night. Only when dawn gradually broke over the horizon did he let out a long breath of relief.
Right then, the spirit fruits on the withered plants grew increasingly plump. In the blink of an eye, a dry branch—unable to bear the weight of the first fruit any longer—snapped with a CRACK, dropping it to the ground. Before he could even react, the fallen spirit fruit rapidly decayed. In just a few breaths, it completely rotted away, leaving behind only a few dozen crystal-clear spirit seeds.
Seeing that several more fruits were about to plummet to the ground, Chen Mo didn’t hesitate. He dashed out the door and swiftly caught a fruit with both hands. However, something bizarre occurred. The moment the spirit fruit landed in his palms, before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, it began to rot rapidly—just like the one that had fallen onto the soil. From start to finish, the process took no more than a few breaths of time!
How could he accept this? How long had it even been? Watching the remaining spirit fruits threatening to drop one by one, Chen Mo immediately reached out, plucked one, and took a bite. Instantly, a sweet, refreshing taste filled his mouth, leaving a fragrant aftertaste. The euphoric sensation left him utterly entranced. Without further hesitation, he devoured it with lightning speed, swallowing the entire fruit in the blink of an eye.
While he was busy wolfing it down, three or four more ripened fruits fell, dissolving into puddles of mushy pulp and leaving behind over a dozen seeds.
Eat more! Chen Mo had no time to think. Grabbing one in each hand, he took a bite from the left and then a bite from the right. By the time he had swallowed five spirit fruits, that entire patch of the spirit field had completely withered into a pile of dead leaves, entirely devoid of life.
Naturally, Yi Tingsheng, the loose cultivator who sold the seeds, hadn’t told Chen Mo that he scavenged seeds every time he visited the Tooth Cave. Despite going there so many times, he had only managed to eat a red fruit once! Tonight, if the evil entity hadn’t shown up and put Chen Mo on high alert, perhaps by morning, only a field of spirit seeds would have remained. How else would he have ever seen the spirit fruits that were currently making his entire body burn with heat?
Having eaten five spirit fruits in a row, Chen Mo suddenly felt rolling waves of heat surging within his body. A massive amount of Spiritual Qi accumulated inside him, giving him the overwhelming sensation that he had to vent it out or explode! He sat cross-legged, attempting to suppress the manic Spiritual Qi through cultivation, but no matter how he cultivated, he couldn’t alleviate the pressure in the slightest.
Left with no other choice, he continuously executed the Spirit Snake Body Technique and repeatedly cast the highly draining Flaming Palm, hoping to vent out the violent Spiritual Qi. Yet, even this was just a drop in the bucket. There was nothing he could do; he had simply eaten too many fruits!
In a daze, Chen Mo suddenly remembered the words of the loose cultivator who had sold him the seeds: Metal Spirit Root, Metal Spirit Root! He quickly cast the Geng Metal Finger. A golden-yellow beam of light shot out, and this magic indeed drew out a significant amount of the chaotic Spiritual Qi.
It worked! Chen Mo didn’t hesitate anymore. Aiming both hands at the completely ruined spirit field, he relentlessly unleashed the Geng Metal Finger. At the same time, bright yellow text popped up before his eyes, flashing wildly at a rate of almost once every three breaths.
[Geng Metal Finger +1]
[Geng Metal Finger +1]
In just half a cup of tea’s time, the golden light, which was originally as thick as his pinky finger, had instantly more than doubled in size! The Geng Metal Finger had reached Minor Achievement!
At this moment, Chen Mo felt like he had activated a cheat code. The experience points for this magic were growing uncontrollably. While venting the Gold Attribute Spiritual Qi from his body, he opened his interface panel to observe.
Another half an hour passed. Chen Mo clearly felt the Spiritual Qi in his body settling down. Meanwhile, the experience for this magic he had only recently learned had broken through the 800-point threshold, achieving Great Success in one fell swoop! After that, no matter how many times he cast it, the experience seemed locked, refusing to increase any further.
"It’s over."
Chen Mo slumped heavily onto the ground. Although it had been less than half an hour, he was completely exhausted, both physically and mentally. Even during his battle with the female cultivator over a month ago, he hadn’t been this tired! This was truly terrifying!
Now, the patch of the spirit field he had cleared specifically to plant the spirit fruits was completely barren. It had already been overdrawn, and after Chen Mo’s relentless bombardment, not a single trace of Spiritual Qi remained. Even with the nourishment of the underground spirit vein, this plot of land wouldn’t recover for three to five years. This meant it was no longer suitable for planting spirit rice.
Afterwards, Chen Mo gathered the spirit fruit seeds that had been scattered across the ground by the wind of his finger strikes. Even though they only needed a month to mature, he didn’t dare to plant them again! Planting one batch ruined an entire patch of land. He would have to carefully consider when to plant these highly unsustainable spirit fruits next time. Perhaps planting them after the autumn harvest would be a good choice. Of course, when he did plant them, he definitely couldn’t do it in his own fields.
After simply cleaning up the battlefield, Chen Mo raised his hands. Looking at his fingers, which were faintly glowing with golden light, he fell into a daze for a moment. Fortunately, as he controlled the Spiritual Qi in his hands, his literal "golden fingers" gradually dimmed. From the outside, there was no longer anything unusual about them. So far, it seemed that the man who sold the seeds hadn’t lied to him.
Chen Mo opened his interface panel:
[Name: Chen Mo]
[Profession: Spirit Plant Cultivator (Unlocked), Spirit Nurturer (Locked)...]
[Lifespan: 31/77]
[Cultivation: Qi Refining Second Layer]
[Cultivation Technique: Qi Cultivation Technique (35/200)]
[Spirit Root:]
[Metal Spirit Root (Tier One): 73/100]
[Magic:]
[Rainfall Technique (Mastery): 103/400]
[Qi Crossing Technique (Proficient): 172/200]
[Flaming Palm (Minor Achievement): 56/800]
[Geng Metal Finger (Great Success): 1/1600]
[Spirit Snake Body Technique (Proficient): 132/200]
[Talent: Increased Production (Blue), Breeding (Green)]
Geng Metal Finger, Great Success! He had made a massive profit this time!
Chen Mo was in an excellent mood. Based on his current progress, there was a high probability his realm would break through to the Qi Refining Third Layer by the end of the year, and both his Rainfall Technique and Qi Crossing Technique would rise to the next level! By then, he would finally have the capital to establish himself in the Ancient Dust Marketplace. No one would say a word against him if he contracted ten or twenty acres of spirit fields.
The only thing that might be somewhat difficult to explain was why his realm was increasing so quickly. He had even caught up to the ordinary cultivators at the lowest tier of Purple Cloud Peak.
Of course, what truly pleasantly surprised Chen Mo was the new category on his interface panel—Spirit Root!