Chapter 8 Mastery of the Lesser Cloud Rain Technique

Ji An suddenly thought of a question and asked:

"Senior brother, since those in the early stages of Qi Refining cannot withstand the turbulent spiritual energy during the day, does that mean Senior Brother Liu Yu cannot cultivate during this time either?"

"Xiao An, our cultivation is simply circulating our techniques to absorb the spiritual energy that is circulating between heaven and earth."

Judging from Junior Brother Liu's family background, we can't guarantee a supply of spiritual food, but we should have plenty of pills.

After consuming elixirs and spiritual food, and then practicing cultivation techniques, the spiritual energy contained in the elixirs and food is refined first.

Even if we absorbed a small amount of free spiritual energy, the amount was too small to cause us any trouble.

Ji An nodded slightly, saying that discussing toxicity without considering dosage is simply irresponsible.

"I know all that, but isn't it said that there will always be some erysipelas in the pills?"

Even with Huangya Dan, a medicine made primarily from yellow-sprouted rice, one should wait two or three days between taking one pill.

"Junior brother, have you ever heard of the Spirit-Capturing Array?"

Ji An bowed respectfully and said, "Please teach me, senior brother."

Old Huang enjoyed the thrill of being a teacher. He nodded slightly and said "Mmm," then continued:

“We can draw mana directly from spirit crystals and spirit stones, but the spiritual power contained in the crystals is too violent. Unless it is an emergency, we will not use the crystals to replenish our mana.”

The Spirit Extraction Array can extract the spiritual energy contained within crystals, and this spiritual energy is as balanced and harmonious as the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Although it will cause some losses, compared to the rapid increase in cultivation level, a little loss is nothing.

"Tsk tsk," Old Huang clicked his tongue, "A basic Spirit Absorption Array plate costs twenty spirit stones. Add to that the cost of activating the array and spirit stones, and cultivators who can use the Spirit Absorption Array are all extravagant."

Ji An thought of his own meager possessions of only five spirit crystals, and then of his father, who was at the eighth level of Qi Refining, whose life savings amounted to only twenty-seven spirit stones. He sighed:

"Most people's fate is decided at birth."

Reincarnation is a skill, and those who are born into good circumstances naturally have a very high standard of living.

Ordinary people toil and struggle their whole lives, yet their life's potential doesn't even reach the lower limit of others.

"That's right!"

Spittle flew from Old Huang's mouth:

"Those who are born with open ancestral apertures and manifest immortal veins, once they are accepted into a sect, they don't have to do anything. Pills, spiritual food, and spirit-capturing arrays will all be provided for them."

Furthermore, by practicing the cultivation method most suitable for oneself and not practicing any spells, one will inevitably enter the Foundation Establishment stage within a few months to half a year.

How can one rapidly advance their cultivation level during the Qi Refining stage? Ultimately, it's about absorbing spiritual energy and refining it into magical power.

"A pig receiving such treatment can even become a Foundation Establishment stage pig demon!"

Isn't this just a fantasy version of the saying, "If you stand in the right place at the right time, even a pig can fly"?

Ji An grinned:

"Senior brother speaks very clearly."

"This is how my life is going to be. Neither of my two sons were able to enter a sect. They could only become rogue cultivators and died one after another while hunting demonic beasts."

Now I place all my hopes on my grandson and will spend the rest of my life helping him get a better start.

If Feihu can advance to the Foundation Establishment stage, my life will have been worthwhile.

Old Huang's slightly cloudy eyes first darkened, then flashed with light.

He then gave some pointers on planting techniques and left quickly.

During the period when the spirit grain planted but did not sprout, he spent all his time, except for absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to refine his magic power, working on spirit crystals.

If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't cast spells without magical power, he would have loved to save the time spent cultivating.

Every day at the beginning of the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), before dawn, they would arrive at the edge of the lake to refine the essence of water, and leave when the sun began to shine again at the middle of the hour of Chen (7-9 AM).

At this time, the fire elemental energy became active, while the water elemental essence sank to the bottom of the lake, making it difficult to harvest anything.

At the beginning of the Si hour, he would leave the sect to refine wood element essence or condense wood element pearls in the nearby mountains and fields.

If you're lucky enough to find a rare medicinal herb or material, it could be another windfall.

Although the harvest wouldn't be much, it was safe. He was just an ordinary spirit farmer who didn't know many offensive spells, but he had mastered a basic escape spell called Wind Riding.

Ji An returned to his spiritual field and dutifully pulled weeds.

Because he needed to remove the weeds by the roots, he used a small cloud rain spell to moisten the soil before starting his work.

New disciples become spirit farmers, and the spirit grain seeds distributed by the sect are only enough to plant two acres. This is the only time they will receive grain seeds for free.

Old Huang advised him to plant only half an acre each time this year, because firstly, his cultivation level was low, and secondly, his magic was not proficient, so it would be difficult to have a good harvest.

He readily accepted the good advice and decided to cultivate only half an acre of sacred land.

With the stone turtle, he can improve his spell level very quickly, but it will be in vain without enough mana.

Once the spirit grain has matured for one season, he will decide how many more acres of spirit fields to cultivate based on the actual situation.

Half an acre, or 300 square meters, doesn't sound like a big place, but it took him most of the day to clean up this spiritual field.

After clearing away the weeds, he went straight back to his bamboo house, took out a jade slip, placed it on his forehead, and checked the contents of the Thick Earth Technique.

There are better production methods to choose from, so there's no need to swing shovels and hoes anymore.

As an entry-level spell, the Thick Earth Technique is not difficult, similar to the Lesser Cloud Rain Technique.

Ji An only spent about half an hour memorizing the essence of the spell.

He began practicing hand seals, and perhaps because there were some similarities between the hand seals of different spells, it took him less time to master the hand seals than he had practiced the Lesser Cloud Rain spell before.

Now that he no longer had enough mana to cast the Thick Earth Technique, he stopped practicing the hand seals and left the bamboo house to solve his own food and clothing problems.

At this moment, wisps of smoke rise from the chimneys, and the farmers who have been busy all day return home in the afterglow of the setting sun, a beautiful scene like an unfolding ink painting.

I steamed a bowl of brown rice and added half a bowl of wild vegetables for dinner.

While steaming rice, he browsed through the sect rules listed in the jade slip.

The moon rises above the treetops, fireflies flicker in and out of the grass, crickets chirp their little tunes, and the night grows late.

Ji An took out a futon, lit insect-repelling incense in the courtyard, then sat cross-legged and began to circulate the Qingyuan Sutra.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth is absorbed into the body, flows in a specific way within the immortal meridians, and finally transforms into specks of magical power that converge into the Qi Sea acupoint.

As expected, half of the magic power still ended up in the stone turtle's mouth.

Sensing that the efficiency of refining spiritual energy was starting to decrease, Ji An stopped cultivating.

He felt refreshed and clear-headed, and all the fatigue from his work vanished.

With magical power within him, he carefully recalled the key points of the Thick Earth Technique, and then mobilized his magical power to create hand seals and begin casting the spell.

The earthy yellow aura was very conspicuous under the night sky, enveloping the small patch of land beneath our feet.

Without even seeing the specific effects of the spell, Ji An immediately activated the stone tortoise with his mind.

[Master: Ji An]

[Taoist Rhyme: 0]

[Spiritual Insight: Kan Spirit 0.2, Kun Spirit 1.4, Xun Spirit 0.7]

[Spell: Minor Cloud Rain Spell (Beginner 89%)]

Thick Earth Technique (Beginner 1%)

Refine all the Kan and Kun spirits!

His consciousness was pulled into that mysterious space. He first stood in the Kan position to practice the Lesser Cloud and Rain Technique, and then suddenly appeared in the Kun position to practice the Thick Earth Technique.

[Spell: Minor Cloud Rain Spell (Beginner 89% → Proficient 1%)]

Thick Earth Technique (Beginner 1% → 83%)

(End of this chapter)