https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-16-The-Middle-Stage-of-Qi-Refinement/12549092/
Chapter 17: Instant Casting, an Innate Divine Art
Chapter 17: Instant Casting, an Innate Divine Art
After finishing the planting of about half a mu of land, Chu Ning went ashore and prepared to return to the courtyard.
At this time, a person from the neighboring field also got up and walked onto the road.
"Are you the new junior disciple?"
Before Chu Ning could get a good look at the other party, the man had already spoken first. Chu Ning hurriedly cupped his hands and greeted him, "Chu Ning pays his respects to senior brother."
The man smiled and returned the gesture, "Junior disciple Chu need not be so polite, I am Qi Chongmao, in charge of the spirit field next door and also your next-door neighbor."
"I hope Senior Brother Qi will guide me in the future," Chu Ning said with another bow, while also sizing up the other party.
This Qi Chongmao appeared to be in his forties or fifties.
However, considering the youth-preserving effects of the Evergreen Pine Technique, a wood-based technique, it was hard to determine his true age.
At this moment, he was dressed in coarse cloth, his pant legs rolled up casually, looking every bit the rustic farmer, which was somewhat surprising to Chu Ning.
After all, cultivators usually tended to their fields using magic, and even menial disciples rarely donned such attire.
As they walked back towards the courtyard, the two chatted casually, getting to know each other a little better.
When they reached the courtyard, Chu Ning smiled and watched Qi Chongmao enter his own residence before turning towards his own.
This Qi Chongmao was quite different from Cao Dongxin.
Although not as talkative and enthusiastic as Shang Zhaoxiang, he gave off a friendly vibe, and Chu Ning didn't think he would be difficult to get along with.
This put Chu Ning's mind at ease.
While he tended to keep to himself, it was always better to have an amiable neighbor than a reclusive one.
In the following days, Chu Ning spent his time in the intermediate spirit field of the Ding district, constantly stimulating the growth of the spirit rice plants.
Because each seed required the use of the stimulation technique to grow, even with Chu Ning's constant attention, the process was still rather slow.
Of course, Chu Ning was also intentionally controlling his speed.
After all, while not many people passed by these fields, the neighboring plot belonged to Qi Chongmao.
If he finished planting his entire spirit field too quickly, anyone would know that he was hiding his true cultivation.
So, while it would normally take around seven days to plant this amount, Chu Ning only finished planting the five mu of spirit rice on the afternoon of the tenth day.
At this point, Chu Ning finally understood the sect's arrangement regarding the allocation of spirit fields.
With his own cultivation at the fourth layer of Qi Refinement and his proficiency in the stimulation technique, it still took him seven to eight days.
For Qiu Shunyong and the others, it would likely take at least half a month.
If they were given more land, they truly wouldn't be able to manage it.
Of course, the spirit rice that Chu Ning was planting was a higher-grade staple food for cultivators compared to the red spirit rice that Qiu Shunyong and the others were cultivating.
After nearly ten days of non-stop practice, Chu Ning had become increasingly proficient in the stimulation technique, and he felt that it was time to move on to planting the Ink Spirit Bamboo.
The planting area for the Ink Spirit Bamboo was in the upper-quality spirit fields of the Ding district. These fields were more independent due to the large-scale planting, as some different spirit plants could affect each other's growth if planted too close together.
So, any spirit field in the Ding district that was of upper-quality or above was divided into independent plots of 5 or 10 mu.
Chu Ning's allotment of 5 mu of upper-quality spirit field was located in a valley not far from his residence.
Early one morning, Chu Ning set out with the bamboo seeds of the Ink Spirit Bamboo.
When he arrived at the field, instead of grabbing a handful of seeds like he did with the spirit rice, he took out only five seeds to start with.
These bamboo seeds were said to be specially cultivated by the sect, requiring a significant amount of time, and were thus very precious to Chu Ning at the moment.
Moreover, the stimulation technique for the Ink Spirit Bamboo was different from that of the spirit rice.
Chu Ning used the Drive Object Technique to evenly scatter the five seeds across the field and bury them in the soil.
Only then did he sit down in the middle of the field, performing hand seals and casting the stimulation technique on the seeds.
After a while, five sharp bamboo shoots broke through the soil, indicating the successful stimulation of the Ink Spirit Bamboo seeds.
Chu Ning dared not stop there, continuing to cast the stimulation technique until the bamboo shoots were about half an inch tall above the ground. Only then did he stop and nod in satisfaction.
With greater proficiency in the stimulation technique, the results were indeed different. If it were ten days ago, it would have taken much longer to achieve this effect.
The thought crossed Chu Ning's mind, but his hands didn't stop moving as he took out another 10 bamboo seeds. This time, he intended to try stimulating 10 seeds at once.
In this particular spirit field, as hardly anyone came to inspect it, Chu Ning could cast his spells with full force without worrying about being discovered.
Perhaps it was because the stimulation technique had indeed reached a certain level of proficiency, but Chu Ning once again completed the stimulation with relative ease.
As he continued to experiment, Chu Ning found that his current stimulation technique had reached its limit—he could simultaneously stimulate up to 16 Ink Spirit Bamboo seeds.
However, to be cautious, Chu Ning chose to stimulate only 10 seeds at a time.
After all, he had ample time for planting, and there was no need to rush.
It would be unwise to attempt stimulating too many seeds at once and risk an accident that could damage the seeds.
The planting density of the Ink Spirit Bamboo was lower compared to that of the spirit rice.
However, because Chu Ning could stimulate fewer seeds each time and the stimulation process took longer, his planting progress was actually slower than before.
It took him a full day to plant less than half a mu of the field.
It took Chu Ning a full six days to barely complete planting half of the spirit field.
"A little slow!"
Chu Ning, who was eager to finish planting the Ink Spirit Bamboo and continue his cultivation with the Green Wood Eternal Spring Art, was not entirely satisfied with this pace.
However, there was some good news for Chu Ning. With his constant use of the stimulation technique over the past few days, his skill in it had improved once again.
Now, he could easily stimulate 20 Ink Spirit Bamboo seeds, so the remaining half of the spirit field should be planted much faster.
At this moment, Chu Ning scattered 20 bamboo seeds and quickly performed the hand seals, casting the stimulation technique on the ground.
At the same time, a very mysterious feeling welled up within him.
Without any prompt or guidance, a thought suddenly occurred to Chu Ning.
His stimulation technique had reached a new level.
He could cast it instantly!
The thought excited Chu Ning, and he immediately took out another 20 spirit rice seeds and scattered them.
In the next moment, he activated his spiritual power and willed it! Instant cast!
Without performing any hand seals, Chu Ning was astonished to find that the stimulation technique was unleashed.
The bamboo seeds sprouted and broke through the soil even faster than before, their sharp shoots soon poking out from the ground.
After the stimulation technique evolved into an innate divine art, not only did it enable instant casting, but its power also seemed to have increased!
Moreover, Chu Ning noticed that the spiritual power consumed by the stimulation technique was about one-fifth less than before.
"Is this the result of cultivating a spell to the point where it becomes an innate divine art?"
A smile appeared on Chu Ning's face.
If the stimulation technique could be cast instantly, what about other spells? The Yin Wood Spirit Body was beneficial for cultivating all wood-attribute techniques.
Cleansing Art, Green Wood Eternal Spring Art, and even the Thorn Art and Vine Armor Technique that he planned to cultivate in the future.
With this thought, Chu Ning's anticipation grew.
Now that the stimulation technique could be cast instantly, Chu Ning's planting speed increased significantly.
On the one hand, he no longer needed to perform hand seals, and on the other hand, the stimulation process itself was faster.
More importantly, it consumed less spiritual power.
This meant that with the same amount of spiritual power, Chu Ning could cast the stimulation technique about 20% more times.
Altogether, his planting speed had nearly doubled.
Previously, it had taken him six days to plant just half of the five mu field.
Now, with his improved stimulation technique, Chu Ning only needed three and a half days to finish planting the remaining half.
In total, he had planted the entire five mu of Ink Spirit Bamboo in just ten days, a speed that was not at all slower than when he had planted the spirit rice. This undoubtedly delighted Chu Ning.
The real benefit of planting the Ink Spirit Bamboo, however, was that it provided Chu Ning with another opportunity to increase his cultivation speed.
For nearly a month, he had lacked a good opportunity to cultivate using the Green Wood Eternal Spring Art.
Now, he could finally utilize this method to enhance his cultivation speed once more.
(End of Chapter)
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