Chapter 91: Advancement, Inspection

Chapter 91: Chapter 91: Advancement, Inspection

In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.

During that time, Dong Xing came to his courtyard once to ask for help harvesting Spirit Rice.

Li Changsheng gladly agreed, as he had been worrying that his own supply of Spirit Rice was running low.

It took two days to help him finish harvesting the Spirit Rice.

Dong Xing seemed to be in a very good mood, directly giving him one hundred and fifty catties of Spirit Rice as payment.

After that, he disappeared again.

Li Changsheng had his suspicions. ’The only thing that could make Dong Xing lock himself away day and night must be the Spirit Plant cultivation inheritance.’

He didn’t ask how he was doing.

In any case, when Steward Ma gathered them again, he would find out who had practiced the Spirit Plant cultivation inheritance.

WHINE, WHINE...

Just then, a cry like a baby’s brought Li Changsheng back to his senses.

Li Changsheng turned his head to look.

He saw Xiaobai wagging its tail, staring at him with its sky-blue eyes.

At this point, Xiaobai had grown to the size of a mutt, its fur pure white without a single speck of another color.

As Li Changsheng gazed into its pupils, a fragrant scent wafted to his nose, and a sudden, baseless feeling of fatigue washed over his mind.

Hmm!

’What is this?’

Li Changsheng’s expression shifted slightly as he fixed his gaze on Xiaobai.

[Target: Xiaobai]

[Race: Mutated White Jade Fox (Female)]

[First-Rank Middle-Grade: 1%]

[Innate Magic: Mind-Bewilderment.]

[Status: Healthy.]

"Sure enough, Xiaobai has awakened her Innate Magic!"

Li Changsheng was delighted, his gaze fixed on the Innate Magic section.

[Mind-Bewilderment: Releases a gas that causes hallucinations and confuses the mind.]

The sudden fatigue that had washed over him just now was caused by this mind-confusing effect.

Before he could dismiss it, another faint box appeared before his eyes.

[Magic Enhancement: Consume one Dream Grass and one Spirit Flower daily. After three consecutive days of consumption, its hallucinogenic effect will be enhanced.]

"A first-rank, middle-grade Spirit Plant, Dream Grass... and a Spirit Flower..."

Li Changsheng frowned slightly. Dream Grass was easy enough to find, but the Spirit Flower would be difficult.

This was mainly because they weren’t sold anywhere.

Spirit Flowers also had the ability to gather Spiritual Qi. Although the effect was slightly weaker than a Spirit Tree’s, a large number of them could be even better than a single Spirit Tree, making them highly favored by the major cultivation clans.

Li Changsheng temporarily dismissed the idea of enhancing Xiaobai’s magic. He picked her up by the scruff of her neck—the scruff of fate—and warned, "Don’t use your magic on me in the future, or I’ll turn you into a scarf."

WHINE, WHINE...

Xiaobai thought he was playing and wriggled, trying to pounce on him.

Li Changsheng couldn’t be bothered with the little fool. He tossed her aside, sat down cross-legged, and began to cultivate.

Not long after he entered a meditative state.

A man with an ordinary face, dressed in servant’s attire, walked up to the outside of his small courtyard.

"Is the master home? By order of Steward Ma, everyone is to gather at the main intersection by the Spirit Fields in two hours."

The man shouted this several times before turning to leave.

’The time has come...’

Li Changsheng opened his eyes, stood up, straightened his robes, and walked down from the second floor.

He went to the courtyard gate, swung himself onto Xiaohua, opened the gate, and headed for the main intersection.

The swarm of Red-winged Blood Bamboo rose into the air, flying in circles around him. They occasionally dived down into the weeds to snatch up plump insects.

「Soon.」

Li Changsheng arrived at the main intersection and scanned the crowd.

A good number of people were already standing at the intersection, gathered in twos and threes, talking in low voices.

He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but he felt that the expressions on their faces were somewhat off.

’Could it be that they all practiced the Spirit Plant cultivation inheritance? And all of them failed?’

Li Changsheng was startled by his own thought.

Just then, a clear voice sounded from beside him.

"Senior Brother Li!"

Li Changsheng turned to see Sun Wen Yu walking toward him with a smile.

’Thank goodness, there’s a normal one...’

Li Changsheng felt an inexplicable sense of relief and nodded in greeting. "Junior Sister Sun."

Sun Wen Yu walked up to him, glanced at the swarm around him, and said in a low voice, "Senior Brother, have you practiced the Spirit Plant cultivation inheritance?"

Li Changsheng shook his head. "The Spirit Plant cultivation inheritance is too complicated and difficult. I still haven’t fully comprehended it."

Sun Wen Yu nodded, then paused before saying, "Senior Brother, it would be best if you don’t practice it."

"From what I’ve heard, several people have already died from practicing this inheritance."

Hmm?

Li Changsheng frowned. "How did they die?"

’According to the Three-leaf Spirit Absorption Vein Map, as long as one has the Soothing Incense, there shouldn’t be any life-threatening danger.’

Sun Wen Yu whispered, "I heard it was because they ran out of incense sticks and tried to force their cultivation."

Li Changsheng shook his head. "Their greed was their undoing..."

As the two were talking.

Dong Xing arrived late, wearing a conical bamboo hat.

After arriving, he didn’t speak to anyone, simply finding a remote spot to stand and meditate with his eyes closed.

Li Changsheng glanced at him, a flicker of doubt in his heart.

’Could it be that cultivating the Three-leaf Spirit Absorption Vein Map also damages one’s mind?’

At that moment, a bright green light suddenly streaked across the sky, landing on a simple high platform built by the disciples of the Spirit Field Hall.

The green light dissipated, revealing Steward Ma’s figure to the crowd.

Steward Ma looked at the people below the stage and, without any nonsense, said in a deep voice, "Those who have used up their incense sticks, come to me!"

Li Changsheng and Sun Wen Yu didn’t move. In the crowd, dozens of others also remained still, among them the vaguely familiar Yun Wan and Huang Ping.

Soon, Wu Sheng brought a Spirit Farmer with a blank, numb expression before him.

"My Lord."

Steward Ma gave a soft "mm," raised his hand, and touched the center of the man’s brow, channeling his Spiritual Power into him.

UGH...

With a muffled groan, the man showed no change other than a new red mark on his brow.

Steward Ma withdrew his arm and said flatly, "You may go."

"Yes, Lord Steward."

One after another, people with blank, numb expressions walked onto the high platform.

He examined dozens of them, but the results made Steward Ma’s expression turn ugly.

"Next," Wu Sheng called out.

Dong Xing strode forward, taking off his bamboo hat after stepping onto the platform.

A fist-sized bulge could be seen on his brow, covered with purplish-blue veins.

Steward Ma’s eyebrows raised slightly. He channeled his Spiritual Power and reached out to touch Dong Xing’s brow.

"Oh...?"

This examination made a hint of delight appear on his face.

Although the bulge on Dong Xing’s brow looked terrifyingly abnormal, inside it, a main vein of the Three-leaf Spirit Absorption Vein Map had already been constructed.

"Not bad at all..."

Steward Ma withdrew his Spiritual Power and, to the astonishment of the others, directly took out five incense sticks and handed them to him.

Dong Xing knew that the incense sticks were essential for practicing the Spirit Plant cultivation inheritance. He quickly accepted them and put them away, saying respectfully, "Many thanks, Lord Steward."

"You may go."

Steward Ma waved his hand and continued to inspect the others.

The subsequent inspections revealed a dozen more people who had constructed a corner of a fine vein, a branch vein, or even a main vein like Dong Xing, but all of them were extremely crude.

Because of this, their brows all showed some abnormalities.

Some looked like tangled scars, others like the warts on a toad, and some were just hardened patches...

Each of them was given five incense sticks.

It took four full hours to inspect everyone.

Steward Ma’s gaze fell on those like Li Changsheng who hadn’t cultivated. He said in a deep voice, "Since you have accepted the Spirit Plant cultivation inheritance, you must practice it diligently." He paused, then added, "At next year’s inspection, if you are still like this, don’t blame me for being merciless..."