Chapter 14 Magical Genius

At the beginning of the hour of Chen (7-9 AM), the golden sunlight dispelled the thin mist in the mountains, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth gradually became more turbulent.

Ji An finished his cultivation and left the bamboo house feeling refreshed.

The sky was like a blue gemstone, crystal clear and without a single impurity.

He strolled to the vicinity of the spirit field, crouched in the shade of the bushes, and waited patiently.

Although Lao Huang said he would arrive at 3:45 AM, he couldn't arrive right on time.

If you ask someone for guidance but arrive later than others, it will negatively impact their impression of you.

He squinted, his mind focused on the stone tortoise.

[Master: Ji An]

[Taoist Rhyme: 0]

[Spiritual Insight: Kan Spirit 0.5, Kun Spirit 0.4, Xun Spirit 0.2]

[Spell: Minor Cloud Rain Spell (Minor Success Rate 1%)]

Thick Earth Technique (Mastery 71%)

[The Art of Withering and Flourishing (Mastery 8%)]

He fiddled with the branches, casually unleashing the Withering and Flourishing Technique.

A barely perceptible, faint aura enveloped the branch, and clusters of tiny, emerald-green light gathered in his palm.

At the same time, the green leaves quickly turned yellow and the branches dried up.

The Lesser Cloud Rain Technique and the Thick Earth Technique are casting spells that consume mana only when cast, and their effects last for a certain period of time.

The Withering and Flourishing Technique is different; it is a guided spell.

In other words, once a spellcaster starts a spell by consuming mana, the spell will continue to consume mana.

The spell's effects persist until the caster cuts off the mana supply.

Upon seeing a ball of grass-green liquid the size of a soybean gathered in his palm, Ji An cut off the supply of magical power.

He stared at the sap containing the spiritual energy of wood, and a bold idea came to him. He stuck out his tongue and licked the sap.

This shrub is not poisonous, so the ingested Wood Essence Liquid should also be non-toxic. So, can I consume the spiritual essence liquid to restore my mana?

If feasible, this would be a shortcut to practicing the "Withering and Flourishing Technique".

It has a slight sweetness at first taste, but is mostly bitter; overall, it's not good to drink.

As the juice entered his stomach, a few wisps of spiritual energy dissolved and were instinctively absorbed by his immortal veins.

Hey! I'm a genius.

Ji An sat down cross-legged, swallowed the Wood Elemental Liquid, and immediately began circulating the Pure Source Scripture.

The more he took the dose, the more bitter it became, but he didn't care.

In a sense, this elixir could be considered a medicinal pill, right?

As the cultivation technique was activated, the spiritual energy contained in the spiritual liquid was rapidly extracted, refined into magical power by the immortal veins, and channeled into the Qi Sea acupoint.

The stone turtle seemed to come alive, its mouth twitching as it devoured half of the refined magical power.

The spiritual energy in the spiritual liquid was quickly refined, and Ji An withdrew from cultivation, focusing his mind on sensing the changes in the total amount of magical power within his body.

He grinned, revealing red lips and white teeth.

After a rough estimate, the refined spirit liquid replenished half of the spell's consumption. Considering the portion that was devoured by the stone turtle, it was at most a 10% return on investment.

The approach is feasible, but not very meaningful.

I wonder if the Wood Element Pearl condensed after mastering the Withering and Flourishing Technique can be swallowed, and what its effects would be. I can conduct an experiment then.

Just as he was lost in thought, a voice called out to him.

"Xiao An, we can begin now."

Old Huang walked over with his hands behind his back, facing the morning light, and looked at him with a smile.

"Alright, please give me your guidance, senior brother!"

Ji An cupped his hands in greeting and walked to the edge of the half-acre spiritual field he had cultivated.

With a nervous yet confident expression, he cast a spell with all his might, and a dense white cloud quickly appeared, soon enveloping the entire spirit field.

Holy crap!

Old Huang's eyes widened. Only the third level of the Lesser Cloud Rain Technique could have such a large rain-casting range!

The same exclamation arose from the bottom of Ji An's heart. His magic was rapidly improved by refining spiritual energy, and this was the first time he had cast the Lesser Cloud and Rain Technique at the minor completion level.

He felt the powerful suction force of his magic power rapidly drawing it away, and his Qihai acupoint quickly became empty.

He miscalculated! He hadn't finished casting the spell yet.

The casting range of the Master level Lesser Cloud Rain Technique is more than twice that of the Beginner level, and it consumes twice as much mana.

Based on this calculation, he felt that when his body was full of magical power, he would have more than enough to cast spells.

To his utter surprise, the casting range of the minor-level spell increased explosively, and the mana consumption also increased significantly. Even after draining his dantian, he still couldn't complete the spell.

Damn, what should I do?

The clouds began to churn, a sign that the spell was breaking down.

This is the final stage of casting the spell. If we stop casting, we will inevitably suffer a backlash from the spell, and more importantly, the show will be ruined.

He also wanted to borrow some spirit stones from Old Huang, claiming to be a magical genius.

Hesitation leads to defeat. In his moment of uncertainty, Ji An felt spasms coming from his dantian, his immortal meridians began to shrink, and magic was squeezing every last bit of spiritual energy from his body.

It's too late to stop the spell now.

When Uncle Qin Yan was giving a lecture, he mentioned that one should never use one's full strength when casting spells beyond one's level.

Unless you are in dire straits, never try this.

If the body's mana is insufficient to complete the spell and it is not interrupted in time, life force will be drained to complete the final spell.

In the face of imminent danger, the stone tortoise residing in the Qihai acupoint exhaled a breath of light and ethereal energy.

It was as if a spring had been dug open, and magical power gushed out.

Like a dried-up riverbed receiving long-awaited rain, the withered immortal veins expanded again, and the spell was successfully completed.

The churning clouds quickly stabilized, and raindrops the size of grains of rice began to fall in a pattering sound.

Ji An wiped away imaginary sweat from his forehead with lingering fear. Only now did he truly understand the weight of the saying, "Behind many inconspicuous rules are blood and tears."

His initial elation at obtaining the stone tortoise gradually settled back down.

Old Huang patted him on the shoulder:

"Brother An, that was brilliant! Did you have an epiphany just now?"

To comprehend the Lesser Cloud and Rain Technique at the minor completion level with only the first level of Qi Refining is something I've never heard of before.

Ji An feigned disappointment:

"My cultivation level is too weak, and my magical power is almost insufficient."

"Haha, you can tell at a glance that you have no experience."

In the future, be more careful when casting spells; you can change your hand seals when the clouds and mist first appear.

Just don't use your full power to cast the spell; the effect will be slightly weaker, but the impact will be minimal.

Old Huang reached his hand into the fertile field, letting the rain soak his sleeves:

"In the first year, Lingnong disciples do not have to pay land rent or contribution points, and the sect also provides them with Linggu seeds."

With Xiao An's talent, he'll be able to support his daily cultivation on his own in a year.

His eyes were filled with envy. Back then, he thought he had a decent comprehension and practiced magic day and night.

As long as he had magical power within him, he used it all to practice the Lesser Cloud and Rain Technique.

It took him eight months to finally master the Lesser Cloud and Rain Technique to a minor level, making him the most outstanding among the group of spiritual farmers.

Ji An sighed, a cloud of worry appearing between his brows:

"Sigh, I have too little magic power, which affects my efficiency in practicing spells."

"If my cultivation level reaches the second level of Qi Refining, I'm confident I can also master the Thick Earth Technique to a minor degree before the Spirit Valley sprouts its ears."

Is this magical genius really that confident? Old Huang felt a pang of envy.

If he has such strong magical talent, he will definitely try to embark on the path of Foundation Establishment.

For Lingnong disciples, the first year after entering the sect is particularly crucial.

If you can master the Lesser Cloud Rain Technique and the Thick Earth Technique to a minor level within this year, the road ahead will be much easier.

Once these two spells reach a minor level of mastery, they will directly increase the production of spirit grains, and the effects will stack. However, spirit grains can be planted in all four seasons of the year!

Ji An, observing the expressions and sensing that the time was right, cupped his hands and said:

"Senior brother, I have a favor to ask. I would like to borrow a spirit stone to buy pills so that I can advance to the second level of Qi Refining as soon as possible."

After this season's harvest of spirit grain, it will all be returned.

Thank you to Taibai Yaoyue Jiuzhongxian for the recommendation vote. Please recommend and add to your favorites.

(End of this chapter)