Li An smiled slightly at Wang Dazhu’s arrival.
“Brother An, I wanted to come sooner, but new disciples only get the last day of the month free. So I made it today… How’s your body doing?” Wang Dazhu looked at Li An with concern.
Li An sighed. “Well, my spirit root’s still damaged, but I got lucky… reached the First Layer of Qi Refining.”
Wang Dazhu lit up. “That’s great! I knew you weren’t ordinary, Brother An! …Hmph, at the last gathering, Zhao Xianchuan said you’d never cultivate in this life…”
“Gathering?”
“Yeah, our batch of new disciples agreed to meet up on the last day of each month, share tips, and improve together… Next time, I’ll make sure they know you reached Qi Refining!”
His face showed excitement. Clearly, at the gathering, he’d taken some flak over Li An’s situation.
Now that Li An had succeeded, he wanted to set things straight.
Li An chuckled, saying nothing.
Even if Wang Dazhu spread the news, it wouldn’t matter much.
With a little digging, Zhao Xianchuan and the others would learn that, in most cases, Li An was stuck at this level for life.
Wang Dazhu eagerly shared his own experience in the sect.
After joining the Clear Sun Sect, he and other registered disciples were taught by an outer sect elder, learning breathing techniques, cultivation methods, and more.
Registered disciples got great treatment: five spirit stones and ten bags of spirit rice a month!
Wang Dazhu trained hard, practicing a fire-based method, and was already at the First Layer of Qi Refining.
In just two months, he was nearly at the peak of the First Layer, ready to aim for the Second.
That was the perk of good resources!
By comparison, at Li An’s current pace, it’d take at least a year to get there.
“Official disciples have it even better. They get an outer sect elder as a personal teacher and ten spirit stones a month. Brother An, I heard Mu Qingwan’s already at the Second Layer of Qi Refining. She’s highly valued.”
Official disciples like Mu Qingwan, Zhao Xianchuan, and Wang Jian lived well, with bright futures.
Compared to the group of youths who entered the sect together, Li An had fallen far behind.
“Brother An, I saved two spirit stones these past two months…”
Wang Dazhu pulled out a spirit stone and offered it to Li An.
Li An smiled. “No need, Dazhu. I don’t use many spirit stones here. Three years from now, registered disciples will get tested. The best can become official disciples. Keep it for yourself.”
Wang Dazhu grinned. “Alright, Brother An, I’ll listen to you. If you need anything, just come to me.”
“Oh, Brother An, want to join our next gathering?”
Li An thought for a moment. “Sure.”
…
Mid-month, Fan Jie finally returned.
This time, he brought a large batch of pesticide, all the same kind Wang Zilin had used.
Li An guessed Fan Jie’s earlier trip was to test which pesticide worked best.
Now, sure of its effect, he’d bought it in bulk.
“The first batch of spirit rice matures in a few days. You must control the rice borers!”
“If anyone’s fields lose yield due to pests, I won’t let you off!”
Fan Jie’s cold threat hung in the air.
His gaze flicked over Zhang Susu, her tired and anxious look sparking a faint smile in his eyes.
But seeing the even more exhausted Wang Zilin nearby, his face showed a trace of disgust.
“Immortal,” Li An approached Fan Jie after Zhang Susu and Wang Zilin left.
“What is it?”
Li An spoke respectfully. “A few days ago, a friend from the sect visited me. He mentioned wanting to buy some special spirit food…
Recently, I noticed some rice borers in the fields seem spiritualized. So, I thought about catching these bugs to sell to my friend.
But without your permission, Immortal, I didn’t dare act on my own or tell him.
What do you think, Immortal?”
Fan Jie’s brow furrowed slightly.
“What’s your friend’s name? Official disciple or registered?”
He asked carefully.
“He’s Wang Dazhu, a new disciple this year, currently a registered disciple, but with good talent.”
Li An answered.
Fan Jie paused, thinking. A registered disciple willing to befriend a menial?…
This made him take Li An a bit more seriously.
Plus, the spiritualized bugs in the spirit rice fields couldn’t be spread. If someone investigates…
His tone softened. “Those bugs won’t sell for much. Focus on tending the spirit rice. Do well, and I won’t shortchange you. Next month, I’ll talk to the sect about increasing your rations.”
Li An bowed respectfully. “Thank you, Immortal.”
This was his way of putting Fan Jie on notice!
Fan Jie’s skimming was too blatant.
Now, Fan Jie would think twice.
…
Ten days later, the first batch of spirit rice matured and was harvested.
As Zhang Susu saw her yield, she broke down in tears.
Her fields were already poor, and despite her best efforts, she barely met the standard. With the pest damage, she was short by about 200 pounds.
Wang Zilin’s mood crumbled too. Spending so much time helping Zhang Susu left his fields’ yield just 100 pounds above the standard, earning him only about five pounds as a reward.
Li An had the biggest haul, exceeding the standard by 800 pounds.
By reward rules, he’d get around 40 pounds of spirit rice.
For a menial, that was a huge gain.
After all, 100 pounds of spirit rice could trade for one low-grade spirit stone.
“Zhang Susu, your rations are fully docked this month. Wang Zilin, no change. Li An, you get an extra 40 pounds of spirit rice!”
Fan Jie announced, expressionless.
Li An felt a quiet thrill. His earlier move had worked.
Fan Jie skimmed Wang Zilin’s five-pound reward but didn’t touch a bit of Li An’s!
Wang Zilin and Zhang Susu burned with jealousy but, remembering past lessons, kept quiet.
Next, Fan Jie distributed the monthly rations.
Li An weighed his bag. The spirit stone wasn’t a measly piece anymore—it was a full one!
His rations were fully met too.
…
“Brother Li,” Zhang Susu approached, biting her lip. “Could you… lend me some spirit rice?”
With her rations gone, she didn’t have enough to eat this month.
“Sister Susu, I still owe you some spirit rice.”
Li An didn’t refuse, returning the exact amount he’d borrowed from her.
Not a grain more.
Zhang Susu took the handful but didn’t leave. Her face flushed. “Brother Li, could you lend me a bit more?”
This wasn’t enough to eat.
“How much?”
“One bag. Just one. I’ll pay you back on time when next month’s rations come.”
Li An shook his head. “Sorry, I can only lend you half a bag.”
“My spirit root’s still badly damaged. I need the rice.”
Not lending would make Zhang Susu resent him.
Lending too much would earn Fan Jie’s ire.
Zhang Susu’s eyes showed disappointment, but she thanked him. “Alright, half a bag. Thank you…”
She left with the rice.
…
During this time, the Life Seed in Li An’s body had fully unfurled its first leaf, about the size of a thumbnail.
Nourished by the Life Seed, his spirit root showed a tiny change.
But Li An’s heart felt heavy. At this pace, fully mastering the First Layer of Qi Refining would take at least half a year…
Lack of spirit stones was one issue, but the core problem was… the Art of Nurturing Life and Forging Immortality was slower than other methods.
Still, Li An wasn’t rushed. He felt his vitality slowly growing, adding over a decade to his lifespan.
Even taking ten years to break through the First Layer would be fine!
Build strength, grow slowly!
“It’s time to practice some techniques.”
Li An murmured.
He aimed for steady growth this life, but the cultivation world was harsh. Without combat skills, he’d be defenseless.
Luckily, from a cultivation clan in his past life and reaching Core Formation, he had plenty of methods in his mind.
“For now, Water Arrow Technique is the most practical!”
Water Arrow Technique, Low Grade Yellow Tier, used moisture in the air to form sharp water arrows to kill enemies.
Its attack power was solid.
He chose it because it shared traits with the Cloud and Rain Technique, letting them boost each other. He could practice it during daily work.
After a dozen tries, water droplets formed in the air before him, compressed into a small arrow. With a burst of spiritual qi, the arrow shot out, piercing a piece of wood a meter away.
“My spirit root’s too weak. It took many tries to get it right.”
“Right now, the range is only one and a half meters. For real damage, it needs to reach about ten meters!”
“But the spiritual qi from the Art of Nurturing Life and Forging Immortality is purer and thicker, and it recovers fast. A normal First Layer Qi Refining cultivator can use Water Arrow Technique twice before running dry, but I can manage five!”
Li An was pleased.
Over the next few days, while using the Cloud and Rain Technique, he subtly practiced Water Arrow Technique.
Its range soon reached four meters.
His Cloud and Rain Technique improved too, spreading rain evenly with spiritual qi flowing smoothly.
The spirit rice visibly grew better.
…
Midway, the second batch of spirit rice was harvested.
But pest damage worsened, and Fan Jie’s pesticide grew less effective.
Li An’s Cloud and Rain Technique bonus was offset by pests, leaving his yield about the same as last time.
Zhang Susu and Wang Zilin lost even more.
After the second harvest, Fan Jie finally reassigned the spirit fields!
(Chapter End)