https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-27-Divine-Arts-and-Cultivation-Methods/12549103/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-29-Now-This-is-What-Cultivators-Eat/12549105/
Chapter 28: Nurturing the Seven-Star Spirit Fruit
Chapter 28: Nurturing the Seven-Star Spirit Fruit
For the next few days, Chu Ning's cultivation became highly targeted.
Previously, he had also spent some time practicing life-saving techniques like Golden Sword Art, Thorn Art, and Vine Armor Art, but now he put them all on hold.
After all, he didn't plan on going out anywhere in the near future.
He could stay safely within the protection of the sect, cultivating and tending to his spiritual plants.
His sole focus now was to cultivate the Green Wood Eternal Spring Art relentlessly.
Chu Ning spent almost the entire day among the Ink Spirit Bamboo, and at night, he sat in the courtyard filled with Iron Wire Vines, continuously cultivating the Green Wood Eternal Spring Art.
When his spiritual energy was depleted, he would practice the Green Wood Eternal Spring Body Refinement Technique to restore his energy and then continue with the Green Wood Eternal Spring Art.
If he felt too exhausted from these two practices, he would perform the Nine-Layered Body Refinement Technique once or twice.
This routine instantly brought his body back to peak condition, ready for more cultivation.
Of course, if he felt his body reaching its limits, Chu Ning would also allow himself a good night's sleep to ensure sufficient rest.
With Chu Ning's relentless dedication, day and night...
Seven days later.
In the upper-tier spirit field of Ding District.
Chu Ning stood before the Ink Spirit Bamboo and, without forming any intricate hand seals, casually lifted his hand. A stream of spiritual energy directly struck several stalks of the bamboo.
Soon, a pleased expression appeared on his face.
"Green Wood Eternal Spring Art, instant cast!"
The Green Wood Eternal Spring Art, which he had already mastered to perfection, finally became fully internalized.
It had reached the level of an instant cast, transforming into an innate divine ability!
Without hesitation, Chu Ning immediately dug up a large amount of spirit soil from the spirit field.
Then, he rushed back to his courtyard and went to a corner of the back garden.
This corner had already been enclosed by Iron Wire Vines, forming a small shelter.
Chu Ning carefully prepared the soil and then gently took out the Seven-Star Spirit Fruit sapling from the jade box, planting it into the soil.
He continuously cast the Green Wood Eternal Spring Art, instantly channeling it toward the sapling.
Only after casting the technique ten times did he finally stop.
Half an hour later, the Green Wood Eternal Spring Art took effect, and spiritual energy swiftly converged toward the Seven-Star Spirit Fruit sapling.
Witnessing this, Chu Ning finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He stepped out of the shelter formed by the Iron Wire Vines and carefully inspected the area before he was truly reassured.
Unless someone was deliberately looking for it, no one would be able to discover that such a rare spirit plant was being cultivated in this back garden.
As for why he didn't choose to plant it in the spirit field, there were two reasons. Firstly, the spirit field was not technically within the protection range of the sect's grand formation.
Secondly, Elder Zhuang Yunde had mentioned that the Spirit Plant Hall's Executor He Changyou would also come to inspect the growth of the Ink Spirit Bamboo in the spirit field.
Chu Ning worried that if he planted it there, it might be noticed by He Changyou.
On the other hand, this back garden was usually off-limits to visitors.
In fact, aside from Qiu Shuny and Zhuang Yunde, most people rarely came looking for Chu Ning.
His neighbor, Senior Qi Chongmao, was often seen around, but even he mostly stayed in the fields or outside the courtyards.
To date, neither of them had visited each other's courtyards.
Xianxia cultivators seemed inherently reluctant to let others intrude upon their cultivation spaces.
In the following days, Chu Ning kept a low profile, leading a reclusive life mostly between his courtyard and the spirit field.
He dedicated himself to nurturing the Seven-Star Spirit Fruit, caring for the Ink Spirit Bamboo and Spirit Rice, and cultivating the Green Wood Eternal Spring Body Refinement Technique, the Nine-Layered Body Refinement Technique, and several spells.
In the blink of an eye, more than three months passed. During this time, Qiu Shuny invited him out on several occasions, but Chu Ning declined each time.
Midway through, Zhuang Yunde paid him a visit to share the news of his successful recommendation and gave Chu Ning a technique for crafting talismans.
All that was left was for the Ink Spirit Bamboo to mature, and Chu Ning would be able to officially start crafting talisman papers.
The two spirit plants he cultivated were also nearing their harvest time.
Early one morning, after completing a round of the Green Wood Eternal Spring Body Refinement Technique and the Nine-Layered Body Refinement Technique, Chu Ning slowly approached the Seven-Star Spirit Fruit tree to observe its progress.
By now, the Seven-Star Spirit Fruit had taken on the appearance he had seen back when he was with Old Man Sun.
The colorful leaves were vibrant, and tiny green fruits had started to grow.
What was different from the one he had seen in Old Man Sun's courtyard was that these fruits were noticeably smaller, but their colors were much deeper.
Chu Ning could clearly sense that their quality was higher than that of the one Old Man Sun had cultivated.
As for the reason, Chu Ning speculated that it was because he had used the Green Wood Eternal Spring Art from the very beginning to help the fruit absorb spiritual energy from the heavens and earth.
Over these 100 days, Chu Ning had consistently cast the Green Wood Eternal Spring Art ten times in a row every day.
For fear of affecting the growth and quality of the Seven-Star Spirit Fruit, he had never relied on it for his own cultivation.
Even though the Seven-Star Spirit Fruit was more effective at absorbing spiritual energy, even better than the Ink Spirit Bamboo.
However, every day, Chu Ning would go to another corner of the courtyard to cultivate, relying on the Iron Wire Vines instead.
"In about three more months, this Seven-Star Spirit Fruit should be ripe," Chu Ning estimated the time.
Then, Chu Ning began to walk out of the courtyard.
The Seven-Star Spirit Fruit was not yet mature, but the Spirit Rice and Ink Spirit Bamboo were already close to maturity, nearing harvest season.
Especially the Spirit Rice, it had ripened to the point where it had to be harvested immediately.
As he walked out, Chu Ning sank his consciousness into his mind, observing his cultivation progress.
【Green Wood Eternal Spring Body Refinement Technique (Lower Yellow Grade), Second Layer (167/900)】
【Nine-Layered Body Refinement Technique, First Volume, Unbreakable Skin 97/300】
After about three months of cultivation, both his cultivation technique and body refinement had made significant progress.
The progress of the Green Wood Eternal Spring Body Refinement Technique remained stable, and every day, Chu Ning could feel himself improving. At this moment, his realm had reached the late stage of the fourth layer of Qi Refining.
Chu Ning could sense that when his second layer of cultivation reached around 200, he would be able to reach the peak of the fourth layer and prepare to break through to the fifth.
"This second layer of the Green Wood Eternal Spring Body Refinement Technique seems to be more difficult than the early stages of Qi Refining, where the proficiency increases evenly. Could it be that the second layer corresponds to 200 points for the fourth layer, 300 for the fifth, and 400 for the sixth?"
Chu Ning vaguely felt that this was a possibility, as it would add up to exactly 900 proficiency points.
Of course, he would only know for sure once he reached those later stages of cultivation.
What surprised Chu Ning slightly was that the cultivation of the Nine-Layered Body Refinement Technique was not as difficult as he had imagined.
He persevered in his daily practice, and the time spent might even be less than that of the Green Wood Eternal Spring Body Refinement Technique.
Moreover, he did not have the advantage of the Yin Wood Spirit Body or the Green Wood Eternal Spring Art, but the increase in his proficiency was very close to one point per day.
"Could it be that I'm naturally suited for the path of body refinement?" Chu Ning couldn't help but wonder to himself.
However, he quickly dismissed the thought.
After all, aside from having the Yin Wood Spirit Body and cultivating wood-attribute techniques, he didn't seem to have any talent in other areas.
During this period, his Thorn Art and Vine Armor Art had progressed to the point where he could cast them instantly.
However, his progress in other attributes' techniques was not very impressive.
His cultivation of the Golden Sword Art was painfully slow, and Chu Ning was considering giving up on it altogether due to its low efficiency.
It consumed a significant amount of his time with little to show for it.
As for the techniques he already knew, like the Rain Technique, Blade Art, Fireball Technique, and the newly learned Drying Technique for making talisman paper, his progress was also quite average.
Chu Ning's energy was limited, so he didn't spend too much extra time cultivating these techniques.
For example, the Rain Technique, Blade Art, and Fireball Technique were only practiced to the point where they were barely usable.
However, he had practiced the Drying Technique quite a bit, naturally, in preparation for making talisman paper later on.
Chu Ning first arrived at the upper-tier spirit field of Ding District.
The Ink Spirit Bamboo had been planted a few days later and indeed needed a longer growth period.
Chu Ning only took a quick look before leaving for the medium-tier spirit field where he had planted the Spirit Rice.
Chu Ning had just left the upper-tier spirit field for a while when he encountered a group of people on the road, which surprised him slightly.
(End of Chapter)
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