Chapter 60: Combing the Spiritual Birds’ Feathers
Chapter 60: Chapter 60: Combing the Spiritual Birds’ Feathers
During the day, Chen Mo had gone to the marketplace and spent five taels of Spiritual Sand to purchase a copy of the Vitality Technique. Naturally, since this magic was originally used to treat hidden ailments, it wasn’t too expensive.
The concept of "hidden ailments" was merely a term used in the Mortal Realm. After stepping onto the path of cultivation, a cultivator’s body was constantly nourished by Spiritual Qi, rendering them almost immune to all diseases. Perhaps Chen Mo was the only one willing to spend five taels of Spiritual Sand on this most basic Vitality Technique.
Upon returning home, the four little chicks were already crying out to be fed. Just like yesterday, Chen Mo fed them a handful of chaff before he began to study and ponder the Vitality Technique.
Basic Cultivation Techniques had almost no barrier to entry for cultivation. In less than an hour, Chen Mo had roughly grasped the acupoint-probing and vitality-stimulating methods explained within this magic. Probing acupoints meant locating the pressure points of all living creatures, not just cultivators. Having learned it, the next step was to practice.
Chen Mo walked over to the small cage, reached in, and pulled out a little chick, placing it on his lap. At first, the Spiritual Bird was somewhat unaccustomed to it and struggled to escape. However, the moment Chen Mo’s fingers stroked its downy feathers, it instantly settled down. The Spiritual Bird closed its eyes in extreme comfort, even rolling over to expose its belly.
"Is it really this obvious?" Chen Mo was quite astonished. He hadn’t expected the Vitality Technique to be so incredibly useful!
Just as he opened his interface to observe the experience transformation, the little chick on his lap slowly opened its eyes and began to chirp. CHEEP CHEEP CHEEP. It even rubbed its little head against him, signaling Chen Mo not to stop and to keep going!
"Time for the next one," Chen Mo muttered. Based on his calculations, grooming one chick took about half a cup of tea’s time—roughly five minutes—and yielded two experience points. Four chicks would take twenty minutes and grant eight experience points. The time required wasn’t too much, and the experience gained wasn’t too little either.
The Sturdy Talent required this to be done once every three days. Chen Mo figured that as long as his cultivation allowed for it, he should still groom them daily. This way, the Vitality Technique would also improve quickly!
In no time at all, he finished massaging three of the chicks. The only one left was the most hyperactive and gluttonous chick: Kang. Chen Mo couldn’t even tell the other three apart yet, but he had already given this one a name! He couldn’t help it; every time he fed them, this little guy would gobble up half the food. It was hard not to pay attention to it.
He reached his hand into the cage. The Spiritual Birds that had just enjoyed their massages eagerly craned their necks to rub against his hand. Only Kang relentlessly pecked at his palm! Seizing the perfect opportunity, Chen Mo pinched its neck and, despite its fierce resistance, firmly pinned it down on his lap.
"CHEEP CHEEP CHEEP! CHEEP CHEEP CHEEP!" Kang fought back violently.
"You sure have a lot of strength from eating so much!" Chen Mo sighed in amazement. With his other hand, he began to groom the Spirit Chicken’s feathers, tracing along its acupoints.
Unlike the other three chicks, even though it clearly felt very comfortable, it continued to squirm on Chen Mo’s lap, incessantly letting out sharp chirps. It was as if it were saying, "Don’t think you can buy me off with a massage!"
Naturally, Chen Mo ignored it. Half a cup of tea later, regardless of whether it wanted more or not, he tossed it straight back into the cage. Clearly, the moment Kang returned to the cage, it was still a bit dazed. Then, it fluttered its wings and began bobbing its head, aggressively pecking in Chen Mo’s direction.
"Weren’t you just resisting?" Chen Mo originally wanted to tease it, but to his surprise, the little guy acted as if it could understand him. It jerked its head away and haughtily refused to look at him anymore.
With his duties as a Spirit Nurturer concluded for the time being, Chen Mo resumed his austere cultivation routine.
By now, the vast majority of his magic had reached Minor Achievement. However, progressing toward Great Success was stalled due to the limitations of his current Realm; he was unable to glimpse the deeper charm of the worldly Dao, and therefore couldn’t advance an inch further. The Geng Metal Finger was exactly like this.
In addition, functional magic like the Qi Crossing Technique and the Rainfall Technique could technically be spammed to grind experience. However, not only did he lack the necessary resources, but casting them out of thin air also felt like a waste. Therefore, Chen Mo’s primary focus right now remained on elevating his Realm.
With the Low Grade Spirit Stone in hand, he cultivated non-stop in his wooden cabin for three consecutive days! Over the course of these three days, aside from Kang, the other three little chicks had been completely won over by him. Chen Mo even let them out of the cage, allowing them to roam freely. Whenever the time came, these three chicks would eagerly trot over and rub against Chen Mo’s calves, hinting that it was time for their massage.
As for Kang? It remained locked in the cage. Every day, it comfortably enjoyed Chen Mo’s massages and grooming while proudly holding its head high, perpetually hyperactive.
Of course, Chen Mo didn’t take any of this to heart. He was just raising chickens, after all. As long as they didn’t die, he would still sell them for Spiritual Sand in a couple of years anyway.
On the fourth day, a knock echoed on the door of Chen Mo’s wooden cabin. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK. He immediately withdrew his cultivation power, stood up, and opened the door. The visitor was none other than an old acquaintance—Wei Wuwei!
"Mr. Wei? What brings you here?" Chen Mo asked, quite surprised.
"I have some matters to handle, and since I happened to be in your area, you should come along as well," Wei Wuwei replied. He looked rather exhausted, as if he had just endured a long and arduous journey.
"Alright."
Chen Mo tidied himself up a bit and quickly stepped outside. He glanced around and eventually spotted the man’s figure standing in the middle of Xiao Changhua’s Spirit Field. Naturally, Wei Wuwei was not the only one standing there! As he approached, he realized that He Zhiping, Lan Ling, and four or five Spirit Plant Cultivators he didn’t recognize were also present.
Chen Mo’s heart skipped a beat. He feared that the news of Xiao Changhua’s death had been exposed! The Ancient Dust Marketplace and Niu’s Shop must have found out, which was why Wei Wuwei had been sent here.
However, Chen Mo feigned perfect composure. He had destroyed the corpse and erased all traces, even burying the body deep in the soil. Under normal circumstances, it was absolutely impossible for anyone to find it. Based on past occurrences, the Marketplace usually wouldn’t even notice if a Spirit Plant Cultivator or two died. But why, this time, did they...
Soon enough, Wei Wuwei’s words answered his doubts.
"Purple Cloud Peak has issued an order. Every Marketplace has been commanded to inspect all the Spirit Fields within their territory to ensure they are all being cultivated by Spirit Plant Cultivators."
So the order came from Purple Cloud Peak! That made sense.
"Since this year has been plagued by disaster," Wei Wuwei continued, "Purple Cloud Peak postponed the grain tax until next year. To prevent another failure to collect taxes next year, they must ensure that every plot of Spirit Field is being farmed!"
The surrounding Spirit Plant Cultivators listened intently. None of them even dared to breathe too loudly.
"I just walked through almost half of the Spirit Fields surrounding the Marketplace. Nearly thirty acres of Spirit Fields are lying barren, and the Spirit Plant Cultivators responsible for them have died who-knows-where. Now that I’ve reached your area, I find that these ten acres of Spirit Field are also uncultivated..."
"Isn’t this farmed by Xiao Changhua?" He Zhiping muttered softly.
"He’s dead," Wei Wuwei stated bluntly.
Dead? Chen Mo furrowed his brows slightly. How did the Ancient Dust Marketplace know Xiao Changhua was dead? It had only been a few days. Had the body been discovered? No! Even if they found it, how could they possibly identify that it was him?!