Chapter 351: Spatial Evolution
At the turtle’s silent request, Jiang Chen raised a hand and channeled a stream of pure Water Spirit Qi into it.
He had never formally cultivated a water-attribute technique, so the corresponding energy in his Qi Sea was sparse. Most of it was a recent acquisition from his… essence harmonization with the mermaid attendants.
The Memory Turtle absorbed the energy and froze solid. A moment later, the intricate, vein-like patterns covering its shell began to pulse, one by one, with a soft, ethereal blue light.
Simultaneously, a torrent of information flooded Jiang Chen’s mind—a wealth of water-attribute cultivation techniques and magical arts, all presented with exceptional clarity.
**Water-Attribute Cultivation Techniques:**
*Gentle Water Art, Profound Water Scripture, Layered Waves Technique, Cold Spring Art, Wandering Ripple Technique*
**Water-Attribute Magical Arts:**
*Water Arrow, Water Screen, Entangling Silk Water, Water Discerning Art, Water Evasion*
Jiang Chen quickly made his choice for the cultivation technique.
**[Gentle Water Art]***Renders one’s Spirit Qi as pliable and yielding as water, reducing resistance when moving through liquids. Possesses a minor nourishing effect on the body.*
*When engaged in Dual Cultivation with a Water Spirit Root cultivator or spirit, Spirit Qi compatibility is enhanced, allowing for an additional 10% absorption of Water Spirit Qi.*
Next, he considered the magical arts.
**[Entangling Silk Water]**
*Transforms Spirit Qi into flowing, silken threads that bind a target’s limbs and torso, inducing a powerful slowing effect.*
With his water-attribute selections made, Jiang Chen channeled a stream of Metal Spirit Qi into the turtle. The patterns on its shell shifted from ethereal blue to a sharp, brilliant white-gold. Instantly, the information in his mind changed, the torrent of water knowledge replaced by the unyielding nature of metal.
**Metal-Attribute Cultivation Techniques:**
*Sharp Metal Art, Jade Forging Technique, Shattering Gold Scripture, Engraving Metal Art, Edge Turning Technique*
**Metal-Attribute Magical Arts:**
*Golden Blade, Golden Pellet, Golden Net, Sharp Metal Thorn, Shattering Gold Finger*
His choice of cultivation technique was swift.
**[Engraving Metal Art]**
*Greatly enhances the precision and control of Metal Spirit Qi.*
*Success Rate for crafting Spirit Talismans, Spirit Weapons, and Magical Artifacts: +40%.*
*Spirit Qi Consumption: -20%.*
*Allows for the inscription of unique Engraving Metal Patterns, increasing the durability of crafted items by 30%.*
He didn’t waste much time on the magical art, either.
**[Golden Blade]**
*Condenses Spirit Qi into razor-sharp golden blades. Can be thrown from a distance and controlled in flight via Spiritual or Divine Sense.*
*Can be infused into Spirit Weapons or Magical Artifacts to grant them enhanced cutting power.*
Considering he possessed a sword pellet made of bone, this art was a perfect fit.
His choice of water technique might have seemed casual, but it was deliberate. He planned to use his contribution points in the Dragon Tiger Immortal Sect to exchange for a superior technique later. For now, one that enhanced his Dual Cultivation was the most pragmatic option. After all, news that he’d acquired a Water Spirit Source Crystal in Mystic Heart City was bound to get out. It was better to lean into it and openly acknowledge his new affinity.
Of course, there was another, more compelling reason. Back in the Water Spirit Palace within the Dragon Locking Abyss, he had stumbled upon a jade slip enveloped in living water. Its name was the *Nine Transformations of the Wandering Dragon*. He had no doubt it was a water-attribute technique or art of an exceptionally high grade.
Having made his selections, Jiang Chen turned and left the trading house.
The moment he stepped outside, the unnerving sensation of being watched returned, even stronger than before. Yet, whether he scanned the area with his naked eye or swept it with his Divine Sense, he found nothing. Not a trace.
It was the first time he had ever encountered something so bizarre, and a sliver of unease settled in his heart. Without a second’s hesitation, he moved swiftly toward the Jiao Nest District.
Fortunately, the journey was uneventful. He reached the Suppressing Jiao Tower without incident, and the moment he stepped inside, the feeling of being watched vanished completely. It seemed the tower’s formation had blocked his observer.
*No, that bastard has already fled back to the Dragon Tiger Immortal Sect!*
With this unsettling thought lingering, Jiang Chen made his way to the floor where his companions were resting. As he entered, he saw Jin Fugui and Mo Yu.
“Old Mo, you’re back!” Jiang Chen greeted him.
Mo Yu flashed a smug grin. “I was fishing in the Storm Domain for a few days.”
Jiang Chen couldn’t help but look him up and down. “So, where are the fish?”
Mo Yu’s smile froze on his face. He quickly changed the subject. “Right… so, when are we heading back to the Sect?”
Seeing his reaction, Jiang Chen knew exactly how the fishing trip had gone. It was no surprise at all. “Tomorrow,” he replied. They could have left immediately, but he needed to give Xuan Zhu a day to respond to his proposal.
Jin Fugui chimed in, his voice thick with envy. “Old Mo, while you were fishing for two days in the Storm Domain, Old Jiang was engaged in Dual Cultivation for two days at the Sea Demon Pavilion.”
Mo Yu stroked his chin thoughtfully. “So what you’re saying is, if I keep fishing, he can keep… cultivating?”
Jiang Chen and Jin Fugui stared at him, dumbfounded. “What kind of twisted logic is that?!”
Mo Yu glanced between them, completely unfazed. “Is there a flaw in my reasoning?” he asked, as if it were the most obvious conclusion in the world.
The corner of Jiang Chen’s mouth twitched. “I’m going to rest. You two continue your… intellectual discourse.”
He returned to his room to find Long Ao absent, off doing who-knows-what. Seeing the room empty, Jiang Chen walked behind a privacy screen and, with a single thought, vanished into thin air.
He reappeared an instant later inside his personal grotto-heaven.
Back when his Water Spirit Root had first manifested, completing his Five Elements cycle, he had sensed a tremendous change within the space. Now, seeing it firsthand, he realized he had grossly underestimated the transformation.
With the addition of the Metal Spirit Root, fine, shimmering veins of metal-attribute spiritual energy had begun to grow beneath the once-pure black soil. Deeper down, the earth had hardened, forming a solid stratum of metallic rock that resembled dark brown stone but glinted with the cold light and unyielding hardness of metal.
The Water Spirit Root, however, had brought about the most dramatic change. The central lake, once filled with murky black water, was now crystal clear. Nourished by the new element, the water shimmered with a palpable density of Water Spirit Qi, having transformed into a true Spirit Lake.
The combination of the Water and Fire Spirit Roots had even created a natural microclimate. The warmth and light from his Fire Spirit Root caused vapor to rise from the lake’s surface. As this vapor drifted to the cold edges of the dimension, it condensed into fine droplets, falling back down as a gentle Spirit Rain upon the soil and the lake.
It was a perfect, self-sustaining cycle.
This Spirit Rain not only eliminated the need for manual watering but was also infused with both Water and Fire Spirit Qi, allowing the plants to absorb it and gain enhanced vitality and temperature regulation.
But these were merely the surface-level changes.
With the Five Elements cycle now in place, a seamless cyclical harmony had been born: the black soil nourished the spirit veins, the veins fed the spirit lake, the lake produced the spirit rain, the rain nurtured the plants, the plants influenced the temperature, and the temperature, in turn, enriched the black soil.
As a result, the efficiency of the space’s spiritual circulation had skyrocketed by 30%. The ambient Spirit Qi was purer, more refined. Cultivating any of the five elemental techniques within the grotto-heaven now came with a passive 5% to 10% boost to absorption speed.
In other words, Jiang Chen could now cultivate effectively within his own private dimension. While the boost wasn’t world-shattering, it offered unparalleled stability and privacy.
Yet, the greatest change of all was to the grotto-heaven itself. The solidity of Metal and the containment of Water had reinforced the spatial barriers, making them far more stable. This stability had allowed the space to expand, growing from 100 acres to 120 acres, and it was still slowly, inexorably pushing its boundaries outward.
It was clearly evolving from a minor grotto-heaven into a major one. Perhaps, one day, it would even be capable of nurturing true life.
However, as Jiang Chen turned his gaze to the two acres of Spirit Rice he had planted, he froze, his mind struggling to process the impossible sight before him. He never could have imagined that their very form, color, and elemental attributes would have undergone such an unbelievable transformation.