Chapter 132 - 127: Choice

Chapter 132: Chapter 127: Choice

’Xiaohua can finally advance to the high-grade.’

Li Changsheng suppressed his delight and stared at its cultivation level.

However, after staring for a long while, the Golden Finger showed no reaction, nor did the advancement information he was expecting appear.

’A bottleneck?’

Li Changsheng’s brow furrowed.

It was only then that he suddenly remembered. Although Xiaohua had awakened an innate Magic, it was still fundamentally an ordinary Tusked Pig Spirit Beast.

Like snow goats and Red Foxes, the highest grade a Tusked Pig could reach was only mid-grade.

Looking at Xiaohua, who had returned to its normal form, Li Changsheng’s eyes flickered.

’According to the requirements for the swarm’s advancement, it isn’t that Xiaohua *can’t* break through its rank, but that my Golden Finger doesn’t have enough information to solve Xiaohua’s advancement needs.’

Li Changsheng waved a hand to dismiss Xiaohua, muttering softly, "Tusked Pig..."

After pondering in the courtyard for a moment, he turned and went back to the second floor.

WHIMPER...

Just as he entered, he felt a weight drop into his arms, and a joyous thought suddenly flooded his mind.

’Huh?’

Li Changsheng froze for a moment, quickly closing his eyes to feel that thought.

「A moment later.」

He opened his eyes and looked at Xiaobai squirming coquettishly in his arms. A thought stirred in his mind.

YING?

Xiaobai’s body stiffened. Its beady eyes darted around, furtively glancing at its surroundings.

Seeing its reaction, the corners of Li Changsheng’s mouth couldn’t help but slowly curve upward. Sensing the slightly nervous thought in his mind, he sent another thought to it.

GROWL...

This time, Xiaobai was truly frightened. Its body tensed, its back arched slightly, and its narrow eyes scanned the surroundings as it bared its teeth.

"Hahaha..."

Li Changsheng couldn’t help but laugh out loud. After a few moments, he stopped.

He rubbed Xiaobai’s head, connecting with its mind and sending a soothing thought. ’Don’t be afraid, it’s me.’

It was quite magical. After forming a spirit contract with Xiaobai, he could not only feel its emotions but also transmit his own thoughts to it.

He didn’t know if it was because Xiaohua was too stupid or just too stoic. In any case, he hadn’t been able to sense Xiaohua’s emotions just now.

’Or is it its rank? Its spiritual nature?’

Li Changsheng wasn’t sure. After calming Xiaobai, he walked over to the Snake Saliva Spirit Tree.

RUSTLE... The branches and leaves of the Snake Saliva Spirit Tree danced, and a vague, friendly thought flowed into his mind.

At this moment, the trunk of the Snake Saliva Spirit Tree was covered in complex patterns, adding a touch of mystery to its already bizarre appearance.

Li Changsheng checked its information again, then flipped his hand and took out a jade jar storing minced meat, pouring half of it into the wooden vat.

He also left a spirit snake and ten stalks of Jade Grass for Xiaobai before turning to go up to the third floor.

He sat cross-legged on the soft couch.

Li Changsheng flipped his hand, took out the last Jade Returning Pill, and swallowed it. He then took out the jade slip recording the "Blood River Refining Yang True Skill" and began to study it.

The night passed quickly.

「The next day.」

Li Changsheng packed his things, hopped onto Xiaohua’s back, and urged it toward the edge of the mountain.

His three mu of Spirit Fields were tilled, and he had the seeds of three Tier Two Low-grade Spirit Plants: Concentration Flower, Water Spirit Flower, and Golden Embryo Grass.

But he wasn’t sure which of these Spirit Plants was the most valuable.

He needed to ask around before deciding which Spirit Medicine to plant.

After all, these were his own Spirit Fields. He didn’t need to worry about the distribution of pills after refinement; he just needed to know which was most valuable and plant that.

「Not long after.」

Riding atop the swaying Xiaohua, Li Changsheng arrived in front of the small courtyard belonging to Dong Xing and his two companions. He glanced inside.

All three small courtyards were empty.

Li Changsheng recalled the location of the Spirit Fields and guided Xiaohua down a small path toward the base of the mountain.

The island’s "mountain" was really just a small hill, not very high at all.

He hadn’t been walking for long when a faint sound reached his ears.

「A moment later.」

Four connected mu of Spirit Fields appeared before his eyes.

One mu was a patch of vibrant green, planted with Water Spirit Flowers.

At that moment, Dong Xing and the other two were swinging their hoes, tilling the fields.

Each of the three men worked on one mu. Every time they tilled a new patch of the Spirit Field, they would vigorously beat the man-high thicket of weeds in front of them to drive out any snakes, beasts, or insects that might be hiding there.

Li Changsheng smiled and guided Xiaohua over to the Spirit Field planted with Water Spirit Flowers.

When Dong Xing and the other two saw him, they froze for a second before shouldering their hoes and jogging over.

"Greetings, Lord Steward," Xu Li and Fang Fan said, running to his side and clasping their hands.

Dong Xing chuckled. "Chief Steward Li, what brings you to our neck of the woods today?" He paused, then asked quizzically, "Are your Spirit Fields already planted?"

Xu Li and Fang Fan also looked at him with curiosity.

Li Changsheng waved a hand and smiled. "No need for formalities. I just came to see how you’re progressing."

"I only have a few mu of Spirit Fields. It only took a few days to finish planting them."

’Only a few mu?’

The three of them were stunned. They exchanged a silent glance and nodded. "As expected of Steward Li."

They had to plant more than thirty mu of Spirit Fields; how could they not know how difficult Tier Two Spirit Fields were to cultivate?

It was a world of difference from what they had planted on the miscellaneous peaks before. Not only was the soil of a Tier Two Spirit Field incredibly hard, but the weeds that grew there had tough, well-developed root systems.

Every time they cleared a tiny bit of the Spirit Field, they had to stop and meditate to recover their Spiritual Power before continuing to till the land...

Working continuously like this, even if their bodies were made of iron, they were starting to wear out, which made their progress exceptionally slow.

Unaware of their thoughts, Li Changsheng pointed at the Spirit Field full of Water Spirit Flowers and asked, "How many Spirit Medicines are planted in this one mu?"

Dong Xing thought for a moment and said, "Around six hundred plants." He then sighed. "Alas, Tier Two Spirit Plants are just too delicate. I don’t know if we’re caring for them wrong, but every day some plants wither and die."

"We asked Steward Ye, but he didn’t know the reason."

Dong Xing clasped his hands. "Chief Steward Li, could you take a look for us?"

"Yes, please, Lord Steward, help us take a look." "Mhm, mhm."

Xu Li and Fang Fan’s faces lit up with joy, and they quickly clasped their hands as well.

"Alright, but I don’t have much experience either. Don’t blame me if I can’t find the problem."

Li Changsheng nodded, crouched down, and placed his palm on the Spirit Field.

The Three-leaf Mark on his brow shimmered with spiritual light, and a jade-green color slowly flowed from his palm.

"As expected of the Lord Steward." "Sigh..."

Seeing that jade-green color, Dong Xing and the others looked on with envy.

Because Steward Ye often came to inspect their progress with the Spirit Medicines, they had learned through conversation why their treatment was so different from Li Changsheng’s.

They had merely been lucky enough to develop a sliver of a Spirit Plant Master’s ability, while Li Changsheng had actually become a Spirit Plant Master.

The difference between them was not just that of clouds and mud; it was an endless chasm. They simply couldn’t be compared.

「A moment later.」

Li Changsheng slowly opened his eyes. After pondering for a few breaths, he asked the three men who were staring at him expectantly, "Are you infusing some life essence into the Spiritual Vortex every day?"

Hearing this, looks of confusion appeared on their faces, but they nodded.

"We heard that Spirit Plants grow faster and better when they absorb life essence, so we’ve been watering them with some every day."

Li Changsheng smiled. "That’s the source of the problem."

"Huh?" "Too much life essence?" "Why is that?"

The three of them were dumbfounded. It wasn’t that they didn’t believe Li Changsheng, but everyone from Lan Cai Shen to the other stewards had instructed them to use plenty of life essence for cultivation.

How could it be that using more life essence was actually the wrong thing to do?

Looking at their bewildered expressions, Li Changsheng felt a headache coming on.

After thinking for a moment, Li Changsheng spread his hands and said, "Using a lot of life essence isn’t wrong, either."

’Huh?’

Now Dong Xing and the other two were even more confused. How could he say one moment that using too much life essence was bad, and the next that it was good?

Ignoring their changing expressions, Li Changsheng continued, "After all this time, I’m sure you have a basic understanding of what a Spirit Plant Master is, right?"

Dong Xing and the other two nodded repeatedly.

Li Changsheng held out his palm, and a stream of jade-green light appeared above it. "This is the life essence I’ve gathered. Feel it."

Hearing this, the three men curiously reached out and touched the jade-green light. Instantly, a feeling of vibrant life and fresh vegetation flooded their minds, causing them to involuntarily immerse themselves in its beauty.

「A few moments later.」

Li Changsheng withdrew the life essence.

The three men snapped out of that state, their expressions still a bit dazed.

Li Changsheng explained, "It’s not that using a lot of life essence is bad. It’s that the life essence you’ve gathered isn’t pure enough. Watering them with too much of it prevents the Spirit Plants from being able to digest it, causing them to be ’overfed’ to death."

Dong Xing came to his senses and shook his head with a wry smile. "So that was the reason..."

Xu Li and Fang Fan sensed the life essence in the spiritual veins on their brows and carefully recalled Steward Li’s life essence.

It was like comparing sewage to clean water; the difference was enormous.

Li Changsheng then began to experiment with Dong Xing and the other two to determine the optimal interval for watering the Spirit Field with *their* life essence.

Just as they were crouched in the Spirit Field, deep in their research...

An Escape Light flew in from the horizon and descended toward the four of them.

Feeling the pressure, the four men immediately stood up.

The spiritual light slowly faded, revealing Tan Hu’s burly figure.

Li Changsheng nodded and smiled. "Senior Brother Tan."

"Greetings, Lord Steward," Dong Xing and the other two said, clasping their hands in salute.

Tan Hu waved a hand and teased with a smile, "Junior Brother, you’ve finally deigned to come down the mountain. Perfect timing, I have some business with you."

Li Changsheng looked puzzled. He turned to give a few instructions to Dong Xing’s group, then followed Tan Hu up the small path toward the summit.

"Senior Brother, what did you need me for?" Li Changsheng asked, confused.

Tan Hu’s expression turned somewhat grave. "Cultivators from the Power Demon Sect have appeared on the outskirts of the Ring Mountain Spiritual Land."

’Huh?’

Li Changsheng’s expression changed slightly. He asked in alarm, "The Power Demon Sect?"

"What are they doing outside the Ring Mountain Spiritual Land?"

The moment the words left his mouth, his face flushed slightly.

He had been living in peace for so long that he had almost forgotten this wasn’t the tranquil Cultivation Realm he had imagined.

The appearance of Power Demon Sect Cultivators outside the Ring Mountain Spiritual Land had an obvious implication: the Spiritual Land had become a target.

Tan Hu shook his head. "Don’t worry for now, Junior Brother. After the Demon Hunting Corps detected traces of the Power Demon Sect Cultivators, they sent people to the miscellaneous peaks to request reinforcements."

"Besides, a few days ago, when some Power Demon Sect Cultivators came to scout the Spiritual Land, the Demon Hunting Corps set an ambush and killed several of them. They’ve been much quieter these past few days."

Li Changsheng felt a small sense of relief and was about to ask another question.

But then he heard Tan Hu continue, "But the quieter they are, the more uneasy I feel..."

"Hm?"

Li Changsheng asked, startled and suspicious, "Why is that?"