Chapter 38 The Spirit-Capturing Array is Acquired

Three months later, it will be harvest season for the Spirit Valley again.

The bright moon shines among the pines, and the mountains and fields are dotted with yellow-green lights, which are the glows emitted by fireflies.

The mountain's outline resembles a crouching giant beast, with dark tree shadows swaying.

The bamboo house was filled with the fresh aroma of yellow rice sprouts.

Two beeswax candles, each as thick as a child's arm, burned quietly, illuminating the small building as brightly as day.

Ji An was cutting talisman paper, and the candle flame occasionally crackled, with drops of wax flying out.

After finishing his work, he stretched, his bones cracking.

After counting the number of talismans, he smiled smugly:

"Two acres of talisman grass produced 120 sheets of first-grade mid-quality talisman paper, with a high-quality rate of over 30%. From now on, I can become rich by making talisman paper."

Ji An examined the talisman ink one by one, and a faint scent of pine wafted from the jade bottle.

He put away the talisman paper and ink, placed the cutting tools under the table, and then walked to the door of the bamboo house and opened the door.

With a series of hand gestures, a yellowish-brown spiritual light enveloped the courtyard, turning even the emerald green vegetable leaves a withered yellow hue.

He then changed his hand seal, and white clouds enveloped the courtyard inside and out. Dense raindrops fell on the bamboo building and vegetable leaves, making a lively and crisp sound.

Listening to the rain falling, Ji An's mind became peaceful and serene.

After a while, he went back inside and lay down on the bed.

Before going to sleep, his mind was drawn to the stone tortoise.

Within his dantian, the stone tortoise emitted a faint, almost invisible spiritual light, rising and falling amidst the gaseous magical power.

[Master: Ji An]

[Taoist Rhyme: 0]

[Spiritual Interpretation: Kan Spirit 36.8, Kun Spirit 0.1, Xun Spirit 18.2]

[Spell: Minor Cloud Rain Spell (Perfect 6%)]

Thick Earth Technique (Mastery 82%)

The Art of Withering and Flourishing (Mastery 29%)

Flame Spell (Mastery 68%)

[Sharp Metal Formula (Great Success 5%)]

Once the Lesser Cloud and Rain Technique reaches perfection, it is no longer realistic to rapidly improve it through refining spiritual energy, at least not at present.

The Kanling accumulated over a month can only increase the progress by 1%, so Ji An simply kept all the Kanling for future use.

Once he enters the spiritual vein node to cultivate, the stone turtle will be able to absorb more spiritual energy, and this predicament will be alleviated.

The Lesser Cloud Rain Spell is a spell that needs to be used constantly. He has a pretty good aptitude for it, and his proficiency can increase by about 1.5% every month.

Even without refining the spiritual energy, five or six years is enough time to practice the spell to perfection.

The Great Completion level of the Withering and Flourishing Technique was sufficient, so Ji An also stored away the Xunling.

His consciousness grew increasingly hazy until he finally fell into a deep sleep.

When Li Changqing arrived at the appointed time to collect the spirit grain, Ji An set aside spirit grain crystals for exchanging for grain seeds and paying land rent and taxes. He then packed all his belongings and flew to Biyue Market on a talisman bird.

"Junior brother, didn't we agree that I would come to see you tomorrow?"

Wei Songnian asked in surprise, as he had only been in the square for a short while and hadn't even finished displaying all the goods in his storage bag.

"I can't wait!"

Ji An patted the small package hanging on his chest, his eyes burning with excitement. He was someone who would be able to use the spirit-capturing array in the future.

In this way, with elixirs, spiritual rice, and formations all in place, one could say that all the external resources for cultivation had been acquired.

Although his aptitude was only average and half of his refined magic power was devoured by the stone turtle, it didn't matter!

Among the Qi Refining disciples, there is a widely circulated saying: "As long as there are enough crystals, even a pig can reach the Foundation Establishment stage."

However, the vast majority of disciples face the problem of not having enough crystals.

Taking Lingnong as an example, according to Lao Huang, many Lingnong disciples only mastered the Lesser Cloud Rain Technique and Thick Earth Technique within three years of joining the sect.

After paying the sect's land rent and taxes, the harvest they obtained from planting was only enough to buy a few pills to aid their cultivation.

For most disciples, the reality is that they only receive a few pills every three months. The situation will only gradually improve once the disciples break through to the mid-stage of Qi Refining.

New disciples have low cultivation levels, and even if they want to practice more spells, they don't have enough mana to use. This is the most difficult stage for most Qi Refining disciples.

"Wait until I pack up, then we'll find a place to trade."

Wei Songnian then picked up the bottles and jars one by one and put them into his storage bag, his words tinged with envy and respect:

"With the Spirit Absorption Array, my junior brother's cultivation conditions are not much different from those of the direct descendants of those great families."

"Tsk tsk, I remember when I broke through to the late stage of Qi Refining, my family only rewarded me with a common-quality Spirit Absorption Array."

"Senior brother flatters me. Even with a magic array, we still need spirit stones to support it."

I've estimated that, based on my current gains, even if I obtain the Spirit Absorption Array, I won't need to use it more than a few times a month.

Ji An chuckled, saying that using the Spirit Absorption Array was like drinking spirit stones; he didn't have the financial means to use it every day.

There was no point in keeping the crystal in his hands, so he subconsciously wanted to spend it and convert it into more strength.

"Junior brother is too modest. When your cultivation improves, you will be able to cultivate more spiritual fields and harvest more crystals for cultivation."

What a perfect state this is!

Wei Songnian had already collected all the goods and folded the animal hides spread on the ground, stuffing them into his storage bag:

"Let's go to Junior Brother Liang's place to make the deal, and have a couple of drinks while we're at it."

The two arrived at the small tavern in Liangqiu and went upstairs to a private room.

Wei Songnian took out a brand-new set of bronze discs and placed them on the table:

"This is the Spirit Absorption Array."

The array consists of five large plates, each about four fingers high, with delicate patterns engraved on their surfaces.

"The seller left five nearly depleted spirit stones in the magic array, which should last for about half an hour. I'll activate the array so my junior brother can experience the effect."

Wei Songnian placed the array plates around the room, arranged them in their positions, and activated the array.

The patterns on the array plate seemed to come alive, transforming into tender, vibrant green leaves, occasionally shimmering with a stream of light.

A faint white mist quickly rose from inside the magic array, a manifestation of rich spiritual energy.

"Junior brother, go in and cultivate for a while to feel the effects."

"good!"

Ji An exhaled and stepped into the spirit-capturing array.

He felt as if all the pores on his body opened up instantly, as if he had drunk a pot of ice water on a hot summer day, feeling extremely refreshed.

“I have been to Emerald Bamboo Peak and Red Copper Mountain, and I feel that the concentration of spiritual energy in them is not much different.”

"Haha, actually, it's incomparable."

"Junior brother shouldn't have entered the core areas of Emerald Bamboo Peak and Crimson Copper Mountain. These two places are built on top-grade first-tier spiritual veins, and their core areas have spirit-gathering arrays, so the spiritual energy won't leak out."

Wei Songnian sighed softly and explained:

"Although the Spirit Absorption Array is powerful, it is far from achieving this effect."

The cultivation environment provided by our Spirit Absorption Array is between that of a low-grade first-order spiritual vein and a mid-grade first-order spiritual vein.

"Junior brother, don't waste any more time. Quickly circulate your cultivation technique and experience the effects of cultivating above the spiritual veins!"

Ji An sat cross-legged on the ground, circulating the Qingyuan Sutra, greedily inhaling the rich spiritual energy.

The spiritual energy flowed through his immortal veins, and he felt a sense of being overfed, making him refine his magical power several times faster than usual.

After an unknown amount of time, Ji An felt the concentration of spiritual energy in the outside world rapidly decrease. He assessed the effects of his cultivation and slowly withdrew from the practice.

Wei Songnian leaned closer with a half-smile and said:

"Junior brother, how are you feeling after half an hour?"

(End of this chapter)