Chapter 42: Spirit Gathering Pill, Metal Qi

Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Spirit Gathering Pill, Metal Qi

’They’re all little masters...’

Despite his words, Li Changsheng showed no sign of impatience. After all, his future of living the good life depended on them.

He unstrapped the wooden plow from Xiaohua’s back and stepped inside the house. A moment later, he came out carrying two wooden buckets.

He placed the buckets in the courtyard.

With a flicker of his thoughts, Li Changsheng’s Spiritual Power slowly flowed into the meridional diagram of the "Lesser Cloud and Rain Art."

Within a few breaths, the diagram began to glow with a hazy spiritual light.

Li Changsheng formed a hand seal for the Technique and whispered, "Lesser Cloud and Rain Art, condense!"

An invisible ripple instantly spread out.

Wisps of cloud and mist gathered in midair, coalescing in the blink of an eye into a dark cloud about a meter wide.

It was positioned directly above the wooden buckets.

Seeing the cloud gather, a smile touched Li Changsheng’s eyes as he softly commanded, "Fall!"

HUMM...

The cloud trembled, and a light drizzle of raindrops suddenly began to fall. Under his deliberate control, all the water landed in the two buckets.

A Cup of Tea’s Time passed.

Once the buckets were full, Li Changsheng willed his Spiritual Power to disperse.

Without the Spiritual Power to sustain it, the cloud in midair collapsed into mist and vanished completely.

"Xiaohua, have some water."

Li Changsheng carried a bucket over to Xiaohua, stroking its coarse hide before placing the bucket in front of it.

SNORT SNORT...

Xiaohua grunted twice, stuck its snout into the bucket, and with a few big gulps, drained it to the bottom.

SNORT SNORT...

After drinking the Rootless Water, which was rich with Spiritual Qi, Xiaohua’s eyes seemed to brighten. It snorted and nudged the bucket, clearly wanting more.

"It’s getting late. Time to eat first."

Li Changsheng chuckled and patted its head. He glanced up at the sky, then carried the two buckets into the kitchen.

Flames burned in the stove pit, sending up a plume of green smoke.

CHOP...

Inside the kitchen, the familiar sound of chopping vegetables rang out.

In the small courtyard, Xiaohua’s large body lay by the door, like a big guard dog.

The Red-winged Blood Bamboo, which had been busy all day devouring poisonous insects and worms filled with Spiritual Qi, didn’t need to be fed again.

The swarm scattered around the wooden house, guarding it while digesting the Blood Food they had consumed during the day.

「An hour later.」

Li Changsheng walked out of the kitchen with two buckets. The aroma of pig feed made Xiaohua get up and circle around him.

Inside the pen, Big Flower also peeked through the cracks.

Ever since Big Flower had advanced to the middle grade, he no longer had to prepare their feed separately, saving him a lot of effort.

After pouring out the feed for Xiaohua, he went into the pen.

Since there was no trough in the pen, he just fed it directly from the bucket.

While feeding Big Flower, Li Changsheng observed the piglet. It had doubled in size since birth and was now as long as an adult’s forearm.

Li Changsheng nodded in satisfaction. ’It can be weaned in a few more days.’

He then considered that after he was done with the Spirit Field, he would build two more pens—one for the piglet and one for the two Red Foxes.

It wasn’t right for the Red Foxes to keep sleeping in the Spirit Beast Bag; he had to make them productive.

After Big Flower finished eating, Li Changsheng turned and left the pen, his gaze sweeping over his surroundings.

’One step at a time.’

Looking at the mottled, old courtyard, Li Changsheng shook his head and went back inside.

He put down the buckets and went straight up to the second floor.

The afternoon had passed, and though the second floor was still a bit damp, the water stains were gone.

After feeding the Little White Jade Fox and the Red Foxes.

Li Changsheng ate some dried meat to fill his stomach, then sat down cross-legged.

With a flip of his hand, he produced a jade bottle. He uncorked it and tilted it slightly.

A milky-white Elixir Pill with a faint blueish tint appeared in his palm, and an unusual fragrance immediately wafted into his nostrils.

’A First-rank Lower Grade Spirit Pill, the Spirit Gathering Pill, suitable for the early stages of Qi Cultivation.’

The description of the Elixir Pill flashed through Li Changsheng’s mind as he pinched it and placed it in his mouth.

It didn’t melt in his mouth as he had imagined. The Spirit Gathering Pill was slightly astringent and had a light, fresh scent of herbs and wood.

His throat moved, and he swallowed it.

Li Changsheng closed his eyes and focused, circulating the Golden Turtle Spirit Technique to absorb Spiritual Qi and refine the Elixir Pill.

As the Spirit Gathering Pill dissolved, it released waves of cool Spiritual Qi, which were drawn in by his Cultivation Technique and refined into Spiritual Power.

The night passed in the blink of an eye.

「The next morning.」

Li Changsheng opened his eyes and inspected himself.

[Target: Li Changsheng]

[Cultivation: Qi Cultivation, Second Level "14%"]

[Cultivation Technique: "Golden Turtle Spirit Technique" Trait, "Spirit Return"]

[Magic: Insect Seal (Remnant) "Minor Success 5%," Golden Turtle Shield, Lesser Cloud and Rain Art "Initiate 3%"]

[Status: Healthy.]

Li Changsheng looked at his cultivation status and praised, "As expected of a Spirit Pill. A single one increased my progress by five percent."

Then he saw the Cultivation Technique section.

Li Changsheng’s brow furrowed, and he sighed. ’After I’m done with the Spirit Field, I absolutely must make a trip to the Marketplace.’

Without absorbing Metal Qi, the Golden Turtle Spirit Technique is incomplete, and the Golden Turtle Shield magic is likewise incomplete. They can’t unleash their true power.

With a flicker of his thoughts, the panel shattered and disappeared.

Li Changsheng got up, went downstairs, and turned into the kitchen.

The fire was lit, and green smoke curled upwards.

CHOP...

The crisp sound of chopping vegetables rang out once more.

Time slowly passed, and the sun began to peek over the horizon.

Mist rose from the ground, swirling like threads in the gentle breeze, creating a dreamlike scene.

Li Changsheng entered the courtyard carrying two wooden buckets.

"Sooey, sooey, sooey..."

"Big Flower, Xiaohua, time to eat!"

He called out with a chuckle, looking at Xiaohua sleeping soundly on the ground.

SNORT!

Xiaohua’s body twitched. It suddenly lifted its head and torso, staring at Li Changsheng with bleary little eyes.

Seeing the buckets in his hands, it let out two quick snorts, scrambled to its feet, and waddled over.

SLOSH...

The pig feed was poured into a broken crock.

SNORT SNORT... Xiaohua impatiently stuck its head in and began to gobble down the food.

Li Changsheng patted Xiaohua’s head and entered the pen with a smile.

Once Xiaohua finished eating, it was once again strapped into the wooden plow.

Li Changsheng whistled sharply and shouted, "Let’s go!"

With a snort, Xiaohua started walking toward the Spirit Field.

From all around the wooden house, the Red-winged Blood Bamboo took flight, gathering into a single swarm.

He walked to the edge of the field he had plowed last night.

The swarm entered the Spirit Field first, clearing out the poisonous insects hiding among the weeds.

Li Changsheng channeled his Spiritual Power into the Rune Hoe. Xiaohua needed no urging and walked into the Spirit Field on its own.

SNORT... Xiaohua shook its body.

Li Changsheng steadied the wooden plow with both hands, pressed down slightly, and the hoe sank straight into the Spirit Field.

Xiaohua’s muscles tensed as it stepped forward with all its strength.

RIP...

A furrow more than ten centimeters deep was instantly carved into the dark, moist soil of the Spirit Field.

Li Changsheng called out, "Sooey, sooey, sooey..."

Even though Xiaohua was very obedient, it just felt like something was missing if he didn’t call out.

Time ticked by.

In a Spirit Field a kilometer away, an old man with a dark, weathered face full of wrinkles emerged from his house, shouldering a hoe.

"That little lunatic is certainly diligent."

Dong Xing glanced in Li Changsheng’s direction, pursed his lips, and walked into his own Spirit Field.

His five-mu Spirit Field was planted entirely with Yellow Seed Spirit Rice. With so much land, weeds were naturally a constant problem.

Every morning, he had to patrol his fields to prevent weeds from growing rampant and affecting the Yellow Seed Spirit Rice yield.

And just like that, he hadn’t covered even two-tenths of a mu before he spotted a stalk of Cowgrass, renowned for its toughness.

Dong Xing immediately formed a hand seal for a technique. As his Spiritual Power circulated, a faint golden light spread across his palm.

The golden light flowed like water, instantly covering the flat blade of the hoe and making it gleam with a sharp luster.