Chapter 346: Spirit Field Cultivation, The Sorrow of the Sword Pavilion

Chapter 346: Spirit Field Cultivation, The Sorrow of the Sword Pavilion

September 19, 2024

"Lu Qing, is this the new spirit field you've created?"

At the Half-Mountain Cottage, the Great Doctor gazed at the spirit field that Lu Qing had recently cultivated, a look of astonishment on his face.

The spirit field, spanning nearly two acres, was filled with a dense spirit aura, a stark contrast to what it was like when the Great Doctor had left.

Even the adjacent spirit fields had undergone noticeable changes, with the medicinal herbs growing significantly taller.

The Great Doctor had just returned to the Half-Mountain Cottage after his charity clinic and was immediately drawn to the new spirit field cultivated by Lu Qing.

"Yes, Master, your timing is perfect. I was just about to sow these spirit valley seeds today," Lu Qing said with a smile.

"Good, I'll help you."

The Great Doctor was indeed an expert when it came to farming.

Without hesitation, he rolled up his sleeves and pant legs, ready to join Lu Qing in planting the infused rice seeds.

Xiao Yan, who had been practicing in the courtyard, couldn't resist joining in on the fun.

Even Xiao Li, driven by curiosity, used its claws to pick up some rice seeds and carefully tossed them into the field.

Of course, being a creature that disliked water, it preferred to play on the edge of the field rather than venture into it.

Lu Qing paid no mind to the two mischievous kids, as he had infused a substantial number of rice seeds, more than enough for the two acres of spirit fields.

Even if they wasted some, there would still be plenty left.

Moreover, planting wasn't a highly technical task, and even children could handle it well.

With the three of them working together, it didn't take long to finish planting the entire two acres.

Lu Qing then pinched an incantation, and clouds began to gather above the spirit field.

After a dozen breaths, raindrops infused with spirit qi began to fall lightly, nourishing the freshly sown seeds.

"Master, after sowing these spirit valley seeds, we need to use the Spirit Rain Technique to water them regularly.

The same goes for nurturing spirit herbs; learning this Spirit Rain Technique is quite straightforward.

Later, I'll engrave these cultivation techniques onto a jade scroll for you."

"Good idea. Recently, I've been wanting to cultivate some medicinal herbs with better efficacy. I can practice this spirit herb cultivation technique."

The Great Doctor didn't refuse but nodded in agreement.

"Master, did you encounter any challenging or unusual illnesses during your charity clinic?" Lu Qing asked, sensing something was amiss from his master's expression.

"Indeed, during my recent trip, I noticed that the villagers outside had contracted diseases that were significantly more difficult to treat than before.

Most patients had accumulated a type of pathogenic energy in their bodies, which we hadn't encountered in the past.

The herbal medicines we commonly use now seem to have less effect in dispelling this pathogenic energy.

Unless we increase the dosage, but as the saying goes, 'Medicine is three parts poison.' If we increase the dosage, we risk harming the patients if we're not careful.

That's why during my charity clinic, I mostly used acupuncture and moxibustion to support the medication. Sometimes, I even had to use spirit qi to heal the patients."

The Great Doctor's expression grew solemn as he slowly recounted his experiences from the charity clinic.

"So, Master, you want to cultivate spirit herbs to address this situation?" Lu Qing realized.

The Great Doctor nodded, "Yes, even if we can't cultivate spirit herbs, as long as we can enhance the efficacy of the herbal medicines we currently use, that would be excellent."

"Then, I'll engrave the jade scroll for you as soon as I return."

Lu Qing and the Great Doctor inspected the spirit field once more to ensure everything was in order before heading back to the cottage.

With the rice seeds sown, the subsequent tasks became much simpler.

Lu Qing only needed to regularly water the field with the Spirit Rain Technique, remove weeds, and be vigilant against pests.

If all went well, they should be able to harvest the first batch of spirit valley rice in about two to three months.

Typically, when cultivating rice, one would start by nurturing seedlings.

After all, directly sowing seeds in the field could result in uneven distribution, leading to sparse and dense patches.

Additionally, issues like shallow root systems and vulnerability to wind could arise.

However, these concerns didn't apply to Lu Qing, as he wasn't cultivating ordinary rice. Thus, he skipped this step.

Upon returning to the cottage, Lu Qing's first task was to engrave the cultivation techniques for nurturing and cultivating spirit herbs from the Flamefire Sect onto a jade scroll and hand it to his master.

The Great Doctor immediately retreated to his meditation chamber to study the contents of the jade scroll.

With nothing else to do, Lu Qing instructed Xiao Yan not to wander off and decided to cultivate himself.

As he entered a meditative state, Lu Qing 'saw' within his energy core that the Five Elements Gourd occupied the central position, constantly absorbing and refining the spirit qi he cultivated.

With each cycle, his spirit qi became a little purer.

After only a few days, Lu Qing could sense that his spirit qi had increased in purity by at least ten percent compared to before.

Don't underestimate this seemingly small improvement. For body cultivators, the purity of their spirit qi directly correlates with the advancement of their physical bodies.

The purer the spirit qi, the more powerful the forged physical body becomes.

Lu Qing's spiritual power had become one level purer, representing that his physical body could also be strengthened by one level.

Lu Qing focused his mind and guided the Five Elements spiritual power in his dantian, following the Five Elements Body Refinement Technique, and began tempering his physical body.

As his spiritual power was continuously tempered and infused, his physical body gradually strengthened.

"Flame" had been observing Lu Qing's cultivation.

Sensing the gradual increase in Lu Qing's aura, it was amazed.

In the ancient times of cultivation, the Five Elements Body Refinement Technique was notoriously difficult to enter and slow to progress.

However, these two points were completely absent in Lu Qing.

It had witnessed all this in the past few days.

Lu Qing had many tasks to attend to every day, either refining items or infusing the rice seeds.

He even had to go out to save and pick up people.

The time he actually spent on cultivation wasn't much at all.

Yet, despite this, Lu Qing's cultivation was steadily improving.

According to Flame's calculations, at this rate, Lu Qing would likely not need much time before he could enter the middle stage of Qi Refinement.

His progress was so rapid that it would make countless geniuses from the ancient cultivation era blush with shame.

Not to mention, with Lu Qing's foundation and background, even though he was only at the middle stage of Qi Refinement, his true strength was likely not inferior to even Foundation Establishment stage cultivators.

It was no wonder that during the initial changes of heaven and earth, he had attracted tribulation clouds, a true monster.

Cultivation was indeed something that couldn't be measured by common sense.

"Flame" couldn't help but feel relieved about his initial choice.

With Lu Qing's rapid cultivation progress, if it hadn't surrendered back then, by the time Lu Qing reached the Foundation Establishment stage, it would likely have been thoroughly refined and annihilated.

Lu Qing was immersed in his cultivation, on a tall mountain more than ten li away from Jiuli Village.

A mysterious figure was hiding in a giant tree, observing Jiuli Village, which was shrouded in misty vapor.

"Spiritual Qi is gathering here. This small mountain village actually has a formation protecting it. It must be the secret cultivation ground of that person."

Elder You stared at the direction of Jiuli Village, his eyes filled with apprehension.

To be able to set up such a protective formation at the very beginning of the world's revival was extraordinary.

The heritage this person carried must be exceptional.

Perhaps it was the core heritage left behind by some powerful ancient Immortal Sect.

After staring for a while, Elder You didn't dare to approach any further. Instead, he silently memorized the location of Jiuli Village and quietly retreated.

When he had set out, he was quite confident.

He believed that with their cultivation, there were very few places in the world that they couldn't reach.

However, that night, the old doctor's flying sword technique had completely shattered his confidence.

If not for the treasure bestowed by the master of Wuguilou, he might have met the same fate as the others, dying within the Wei family estate.

Elder You knew that the old man who had acted that night was likely the master mentioned in the intelligence report, the teacher of the pair.

If the master was so formidable, then the disciple, who according to rumors had turned the entire Holy City upside down, must be even more terrifying. Elder You didn't dare to take any more risks.

What if he went a little further and was discovered by that person?

Their mission this time would be considered a complete failure.

Now that he had discovered the secret cultivation ground of that person, he could at least return and report.

The rest would be decided by the master of Wuguilou.

Elder You took one last look at the direction of Jiuli Village and then quickly left using his movement technique.

He had achieved the primary purpose of his trip.

There was still some time before the agreed-upon secret realm rendezvous.

Since he had the opportunity to come out, he had enough time to make other arrangements for the Wuguilou lineage.

Elder You left Cang County and began to travel the four corners of the world, investigating the current state of the world.

After a few days, he arrived in another large province, Jizhou.

On this night, as Elder You was on his way, he suddenly sensed a powerful aura ahead, and his whole body trembled.

"Such heavy aura of grievance, what happened up ahead?"

Elder You's eyes widened in shock.

He observed the surrounding terrain and realized that he was near the territory of a sect called Azure Cloud Sword Sect.

After a few glances, Elder You's aura suddenly became almost imperceptible, even to those at the Primordial Realm.

Then, without a sound, he stealthily moved forward.

As he advanced, Elder You's heart grew more and more shocked.

He felt that the aura of grievance ahead was becoming heavier and heavier.

It was almost as if it had condensed into a physical form.

"What kind of cruel and tragic event happened up ahead to create such a terrifying aura of grievance!"

After advancing a little further, Elder You hesitated.

The floating aura of grievance around him was too heavy.

It had reached a level that even made Elder You, a senior of Wuguilou, tremble.

To cultivate the aura of grievance is no simple feat.

Even with the slaughter of hundreds, the formation of such an aura is not guaranteed.

Only those who have endured immense torment and suffered greatly in death, fueled by endless resentment, can birth this aura of grievance.

The thick aura of grievance in the surroundings left Elder You in disbelief, wondering what kind of hellish torture awaited ahead.

Who could be the terrifying demon responsible for such grievance?

"Ahhhh!!!"

As Elder You hesitated, unsure if he should leave, a piercing, horrifying scream pierced the night sky.

Hearing this inhuman cry, Elder You halted in his tracks.

He surveyed the night around him and felt something in his embrace. Finally, he decided to stealthily investigate ahead.

At worst, he would use the power of the sacred treasure in his embrace once more.

He wanted to see what kind of demon had appeared in the outside world.

With the confidence from the sacred treasure, Elder You proceeded with heightened caution.

Finally, guided by the screams, he spotted a sect gate. He quietly approached it.

As he looked down, his eyes narrowed.

Below the gate, in the martial arena, torches illuminated a hellish scene.

A wild-haired figure, exuding a terrifying aura, held a person by the arm, squeezing them.

The person being squeezed let out continuous, agonizing screams.

Elder You realized that the screams he had heard earlier came from this very place.

Around the two, human skins were scattered, creating a chilling sight.

Not far from them, seven or eight people were tied up with ropes, their faces filled with terror as they witnessed the scene.

"Junior Uncle, spare me, please spare me!" pleaded the person being squeezed, amidst their screams.

However, the wild-haired figure remained unmoved by the pleas.

His large palm tightly gripped the person's head.

With a thought, strands of blood-red light emerged from the person's head, which the figure then absorbed into his body.

As the blood-red light continued to appear, the screams of the person being squeezed gradually weakened.

Their body withered, and by the time it became completely silent, it had transformed into a human skin.

The figure casually tossed the human skin aside, letting it fall to the ground.

Elder You's heart clenched.

He now understood how the human skins on the ground had come to be.

The demon below had absorbed all the flesh, blood, and essence of the person, leaving only the skin behind.

Elder You couldn't fathom what kind of sinister technique the demon below had cultivated.

It was far more evil and bizarre than the techniques of Wuguilou, making Elder You's heart tremble in fear.

He concealed his presence even further, fearing that if discovered, even he might not escape a calamity.

Fortunately, the wild-haired figure below seemed unaware of Elder You's presence.

After tossing aside the human skin, the figure's gaze turned to the bound people nearby.

"Jianwen, which one should I absorb next for their essence and blood?" the wild-haired figure asked, looking at the white-bearded elder in the center, his chest stained with blood.

"Demon, you demon!" The white-bearded elder's face was filled with grief and anger. "I shouldn't have listened to your slander and released you!

I never imagined that you, a demon, would be so heartless and insane, not even sparing your own sect members!"

Unfortunately, the white-bearded elder's aura was weak, clearly having suffered severe injuries.

Even with his heart filled with grief and anger, wishing to slay the demon before him, he was powerless to do so.

"You shouldn't speak like that, Jianwen," the wild-haired figure said calmly, showing no anger.

"Have you forgotten that it was you who plotted against me and imprisoned me in that sunless place?

And between us, it was a fair trade.

I promised that if you released me, I would tell you the secret of the changes in the heavens.

Did I not keep my promise later?"

"If I had known you would become such a demon, I should have slain you with my sword then!" the white-bearded elder shouted.

"Unfortunately, there's no turning back time, and you've missed your chance," the wild-haired figure said with a light laugh, his face gradually turning cold.

"Enough talk. Will you tell me or not? Where is that object hidden?"

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end