Chapter 78: Just That Fast
Chapter 78: Just That Fast
Half an hour later, Li Yan's expression was extremely grim.
Looking at the patch of thin bamboo ahead, each stalk barely half a person tall, all appeared listless and droopy. From time to time, a few glistening raindrops would weakly drip from the branches and leaves, falling to the ground with a soft plop after a while.
Li Yan’s heart couldn’t help but twitch with that sound.
“Still continuing? Including the consumed ‘Snow Evening Crystals,’ you already owe the sect six low-grade spirit stones.”
A voice came from behind him. Li Yan’s already-twitching heart thumped even more violently. This cool and detached voice had sounded four times in the past half hour, and each time it felt like another knife had been stabbed into his already bleeding heart.
In half an hour, not only had he failed to earn a single spirit stone, he had actually ended up in debt of six low-grade spirit stones.
Newcomers receiving tasks needed the supervisor here to guide them through the steps. This Sixth Senior Sister looked at the scene before her with a trace of pity and helplessness.
After Li Yan had failed twice, she had already reminded him, not because she gave him special treatment, but because she did this for all rookies. After giving instruction, she would observe their spellcasting. If it didn’t work, a reminder would follow.
However, it was her first time seeing a novice like Li Yan. Those who had come here to do tasks before had, to some degree, experience in spirit plant cultivation. Even in just half an hour, they could usually succeed once or twice.
Gong Chenying stood dozens of steps behind, beside a large patch of fully grown Ink King Bamboo. She had her arms folded across her chest, leaning against a black bamboo stalk, which made her chest all the more prominent.
When Li Yan failed again, she hesitated for a moment before finally asking a question. Then she pointed to the patch of thin bamboo.
“These damaged ones, will you harvest them yourself, or do you want to post a task for someone else to do it? But the spirit stones for posting the task will have to come from you!”
“I… will… harvest… them… myself!”
Li Yan gritted his teeth and forced out each word.
By now, he had understood the difference between these Ink King Bamboos and the ones outside. The bamboo covering the mountain outside were also Ink King Bamboo, but their quality was grade two or three. Those were typically used to make basic spiritual artifacts.
What was cultivated in the Spiritual Plant Garden, however, were grade one Ink King Bamboos, used to refine high-grade spiritual artifacts. For example, the courtyard where Li Yan lived was built from refined, mature, grade-one Ink King Bamboo.
The Ink King Bamboo covering the mountain came from here, they were failed cultivations of grade-one bamboo, harvested and then transplanted outside. There, they would reproduce naturally and sprout new bamboo shoots.
These small bamboo shoots, once grown, became grade-three Ink King Bamboo. But grade-three Ink King Bamboo would no longer produce shoots, meaning there wouldn’t be a lower grade than that.
The ones Li Yan had damaged on the platform were exactly grade-three Ink King Bamboo. The reason they could regenerate after surface damage was because the original root system was still intact and could continue growing. Once bamboo takes root, it spreads underground extensively. Only by uprooting it entirely can it be eradicated.
The damaged grade-one Ink King Bamboo in the Spiritual Plant Garden had suffered damage mainly to their root and spiritual core systems, making it impossible for them to become mature grade-one stalks again. Their rank had already fallen.
Harvesting wasn’t a simple matter, it had to be done by uprooting the entire plant, which required a cultivator with at least “Flowing Sand Technique” at minor accomplishment level.
They first needed to use “Flowing Sand Technique” to loosen the soil around the root system, then uproot the entire bamboo and transport it to a designated location in the Spiritual Plant Garden for unified storage. Later, these would be divided and replanted by the mountain’s servant disciples based on the level of damage.
The vacated area would then be replanted with new grade-one Ink King Bamboo seeds. With the ambient spiritual energy here, after three days they’d grow to the thickness of a thumb.
At that point, they would need to be watered with “Snow Evening Crystals” to continue growing. Otherwise, after a month, they would degrade from grade one to grade two, and eventually fall to grade three.
Therefore, the harvesting of Ink King Bamboo had to be done by cultivators proficient in “Flowing Sand Technique,” and at minor mastery level or above.
As such, specialized personnel were assigned to do the harvesting, and also to deliver the damaged bamboo to designated locations. This service wasn’t free. typically, one low-grade spirit stone per ten mu; even for less than ten mu, the minimum fee was still one stone. The charge wasn’t exactly cheap.
As for transplanting, no further spirit stones were required.
Bamboo species naturally propagated with ease. Unless there was some special requirement, the servant disciples could handle it.
Half an hour ago, Li Yan had begun his watering business. After a detailed explanation, that Sixth Senior Sister had handed him four hundred “Snow Evening Crystals.”
She then stood behind him, watching him cast spells.
And so began Li Yan’s nightmare. Either he cast “Raincloud Technique” too early while the Snow Evening Crystals in his other hand hadn’t yet been laid out or he laid out the crystals too early, and they melted before they even touched the ground.
Much of their medicinal effect had already evaporated during descent, dispersing uselessly into the air.
Thus, staring at the damaged bamboo before him and the dozen or so wasted Snow Evening Crystals that had vanished without any effect, Li Yan’s face turned ashen.
The few spirit stones he had saved were effectively “returned” to the sect in no time.
And now he heard that harvesting this patch of thin bamboo would also require posting a task and paying spirit stones from his own pocket. That made his head spin. How could he possibly be willing to post the task? Of course he chose to “harvest” them himself.
But then he thought of how he’d just spent so much mana casting “Raincloud Technique” and “Flowing Sand Technique,” and how depleted he was now. He wouldn’t be willing to spend spirit stones to replenish himself, he’d have to rely on prolonged meditation to recover. This meant even more cultivation time would be taken up.
At this rate, he might have to stay here for quite a while. What talk was there of cultivating anymore? His heart filled with frustration.
An hour later…
“Junior Brother, would you… would you consider taking a break? Even excluding the harvesting fee, you’ve already spent eleven low-grade spirit stones!”
Even the usually cold and indifferent voice now carried a slight fluctuation. Her arms, previously crossed, had lowered to a normal stance.
“Heh… heh, hehehe… Sixth Senior Sister, let me try again. I still have a few spirit stones left. I just didn’t expect to lose them this quickly.”
Li Yan’s face was pale, his tone dry with a forced smile. But a faint blood-red glint had begun to appear in his eyes.
The dozen or so spirit stones he had painstakingly saved over the years had more than half vanished from his storage pouch in just one hour.
But this also triggered a fierce determination in Li Yan. Or more accurately, he had the look of a gambler who had lost too much and gone red-eyed, ruthlessly determined.
“Six low-grade spirit stones left, I must succeed.”
Just now, he hadn’t been blindly fumbling. He had been constantly adjusting his timing and casting techniques. Now, he felt at least somewhat improved.
The short-haired, cold and beautiful woman saw how stubborn Li Yan was and no longer tried to persuade him. After releasing her magical tool, she flew off on her own.
Li Yan didn’t even notice his senior sister leaving. At this moment, his mind was filled entirely with how to coordinate the immortal technique and the “Snow Evening Crystal.” He continued to trace patterns and point in the air, carefully pondering the points of failure in each casting and the timing of his actions.
After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he had damaged about half a mu of bamboo forest, the result of three more attempts. He was now able to control the area of his spell within a smaller range.
However, a single piece of “Snow Evening Crystal” required at least a large patch of bamboo forest to fully expend its energy; otherwise, he would have tested it in an even smaller area.
Looking at the damaged half-mu of bamboo before him, Li Yan’s bloodshot eyes began to shine.
From the spot where he stood to further ahead, the color of the bamboo leaves clearly darkened gradually, which indicated the absorption effect of the “Snow Evening Crystal” was improving.
But Li Yan couldn’t help but sigh at this moment, he needed to meditate. His internal spiritual energy had been drained to its limit, and he felt completely exhausted.
Looking up at the darkening sky, he estimated that without the aid of spirit stones, it would take until dawn to fully replenish his spiritual energy. Without further thought, he found an empty patch of ground by the field and sat down cross-legged to meditate.
...
Twenty days later, Li Yan looked at a field of dark green bamboo in front of him with a smile on his face. After twenty days of watering, he had finally achieved his current results.
Excluding the two days spent harvesting previously damaged bamboo, he now only needed sixty-three more waterings, sixty-three more days to complete the fifty-mu watering task.
At that point, he would earn eight low-grade spirit stones. However, he had already spent twenty-one low-grade spirit stones, meaning this task had cost him thirteen spirit stones out of pocket.
But Li Yan had also gained something from this, firstly, taking on similar tasks in the future would no longer be a problem; secondly, his practical application of immortal techniques had greatly improved.
Previously, he had focused only on improving his immortal arts, spiritual energy, and the cultivation of the Fractured Poison Body, but he had never truly applied them.
Through this task, he had gained a holistic understanding of using immortal techniques, spiritual energy, and the Fractured Poison Body. Although it wasn’t a battle against others, his spirit energy control had become increasingly precise.
He had even taken the risk of being punished by applying a paralyzing variant of the Fractured Poison in his Raincloud Technique. He believed that even when a “Snow Evening Crystal” completely melted, some of its medicinal effect might still be lost when it seeped into the soil.
So Li Yan had a sudden idea: could he enhance the adhesion of the rainwater? As long as the water didn’t contain deadly toxins, could he perhaps increase the effectiveness of the “Snow Evening Crystal”?
Once the thought emerged, he couldn’t suppress it. He had an irresistible urge to try. After much consideration, he gritted his teeth and decided to attempt it.
First, he cautiously controlled a very small black cloud to hover above a dozen bamboo shoots. Then he mobilized one of the twelve poisons from his Fractured Poison Body, the paralysis poison.
This poison wasn’t deadly but could attach to water or mist. Once adhered, it would penetrate the body through pores or plant surfaces, causing localized numbness that would quickly spread throughout the whole body, rendering the target completely immobile.
He had previously tested this toxin using live animals obtained from the outer laborers. The larger the target’s body, the shorter the paralysis duration.
His largest test subject had been a Wild Tusk Boar weighing seven to eight hundred pounds. After being poisoned, the boar lay collapsed on the ground for over an hour.
When he returned the beast to the laborers, it immediately ran into the slaughter room and refused to come out no matter what. When it saw Li Yan peeking in, it howled to the sky, bared its fangs, and bristled its fur, looking like it was ready to fight for its life.
This left the laborers utterly confused. How could the beast that had been led away by the young master in the morning return by itself in the afternoon and voluntarily charge into the slaughter room?
When the rainwater from that black cloud fell along with the “Snow Evening Crystal,” Li Yan’s heart leapt into his throat. Firstly, there was a chance he’d lose another spirit stone or perhaps even more...
Because he couldn’t predict whether the Fractured Poison would spread through the underground root system. Though he had done his utmost to limit the range and released only a tiny trace of the poison, the outcome was unknown.
After completing the technique, Li Yan was dumbfounded. The dozen or so previously strong bamboo shoots suddenly convulsed violently, like eggplants struck by frost. In just a dozen breaths, all the branches and leaves drooped completely, clearly dead.
Li Yan was speechless. Then he carefully checked the condition of the adjacent Ink King Bamboo. After a thorough inspection, he finally relaxed slightly, the surrounding bamboo had not been affected.
With no better option, he quickly cast the Flowing Sand Technique to harvest this small patch of damaged Ink King Bamboo, fearing unforeseen changes. Then he sat by the edge of the field to meditate and recover his spiritual energy.
Over a dozen hours later, Li Yan had fully recovered. Looking at the pile of bamboo, he was deeply frustrated. More spirit stones gone. Thankfully, he had grown somewhat used to it, though it still hurt it was bearable.
He stood up and walked toward the field’s edge, preparing to take the harvested bamboo away. Though these were spiritual plants, and could last for ten to fifteen days even without soil as long as they were stored somewhere with spiritual energy, it was still better to send them off early.
But as he reached the field’s edge, what he saw made him gasp in shock.
The dozen bamboo shoots he had harvested last night, which had clearly been drained of spiritual energy, were now lying horizontally on the ground, but had branches and leaves that were lush and thriving.
The sturdy bamboo branches showed no signs of withering. They were so vigorous that they propped up the main stems several inches off the ground. The bamboo leaves gleamed with green light against the dark black, clearly full of vitality.
This left Li Yan narrowing his eyes in thought, standing there deep in contemplation. He hadn’t expected that aside from spirit stones disappearing fast, the bamboo would grow just as quickly. A pleasant surprise ah.
(Chapter End)