Chapter 51: Harvest Season
Chapter 51: Harvest Season
In the days that followed, neither Luo Hongping nor Lu Yunfang from the neighboring residence bothered Chu Ning about Qi Chongmao again.
Furthermore, Chu Ning no longer felt the prying sensation he had experienced when Qi Chongmao lived next door.
This could mean one of two things: either they didn't find anything noteworthy about him, or they had not cultivated the Refining God Technique despite Qi Chongmao having practiced it.
Chu Ning was more inclined to believe the latter, as when he had cultivated the technique himself and extended his spiritual sense towards their residence, they hadn't seemed to notice.
However, regardless of the reason, Chu Ning remained vigilant.
During this period, Chu Ning rarely ventured outside, spending most of his days tending to the spirit fields and his courtyard.
Even when sleeping at night, he maintained his usual precautions, keeping several talismans and the blackwood sword close at hand.
The talismans allowed him to cast spells instantly, and while he could only wield the sword in a straightforward manner, it could still block certain attacks.
Moreover, aside from sleeping at night, he spent most of his time in the spirit field cultivating the Green Wood Eternal Spring Art and refining his qi foundation with the Green Wood Longevity Technique, aided by the presence of the Ink Spirit Bamboo.
He also diligently practiced the Nine-Layered Body Refining Technique and the Refining God Technique.
His progress with the Nine-Layered Body Refining Technique had stabilized, but the Refining God Technique continued to surprise him.
Before he had condensed his spiritual sense into droplets, even with his naturally strong spiritual sense and diligent cultivation, he could only manage to increase his proficiency by one point every two days.
It was the slowest progressing technique he had encountered since he started on the path of cultivation.
Chu Ning had once believed that it would be impossible for this secret art to show results in a short period.
However, after that day, by cultivating it once in the morning and once at night, he was able to increase his proficiency by one point each time.
Moreover, after resting at night, he felt even more energetic and spirited, showing no signs of mental strain.
The effectiveness of the Refining God Technique far exceeded Chu Ning's expectations.
As for his training in spells, Chu Ning didn't devote much effort.
Realizing that it would be difficult to improve his Gold Sword Technique and that the cost-benefit ratio was too low, he had completely given up on it.
However, during this period, after demonstrating his proficiency in Thorn Technique to the disciples in the transmission room, he learned another elementary intermediate-level offensive wood-attribute spell called Wood Thorn Technique.
This spell allowed him to form wooden thorns in the ground to injure his opponents, and when used in conjunction with the Thorn Technique, it proved to be quite effective.
Nevertheless, Chu Ning still felt that his offensive power was lacking.
Additionally, the mental message he had received from Luo Hongping and Lu Yunfang some days ago had prompted him to take the initiative to learn the Mental Message Technique.
As for other basic wood-attribute spells, Chu Ning had already mastered most of them and turned them into innate divine spells that could be cast instantly, so he didn't need to spend much time cultivating them.
In his spare time, Chu Ning also practiced the Fireball Technique more frequently.
Although he lacked the bonus of the Yin Wood Spirit Body, his proficiency in the spell improved with repeated practice.
Over the past two months, Chu Ning had barely visited the market street. In any case, no one seemed to be inquiring about the talismans he had bought for Mu Ling.
Even if someone did ask, he intended to brush them off with the excuse that he had bought a large quantity in one go.
Time flew by, and before he knew it, two months had passed. Chu Ning became busier as the harvest season arrived once again.
The maturation period of the Purple Thistle was shorter than that of the Ink Spirit Bamboo, so it had already been harvested over a month ago.
Unlike spirit rice, which required the rice grains to be threshed and dried after harvesting, the Purple Thistle could be pulled out directly by its roots.
However, there was nothing he could do about it. The weather over the past few months had been a bit cold, and there weren't many spirit plants that could be directly cultivated.
Fortunately, Chu Ning didn't worry too much about this small income.
For him, the true source of spirit stones was the high-quality Ink Spirit Bamboo from his superior spirit field.
Turning the Ink Spirit Bamboo into talisman paper was the real path to wealth.
Standing in front of the Ink Spirit Bamboo field, a smile appeared on Chu Ning's face.
During the last harvest season, in order to avoid exposing his rapid cultivation progress, Chu Ning had been conservative in using the Green Wood Eternal Spring Art on the bamboo that would be turned over to the sect.
But now, having already agreed with Zhuang Yunde to exchange talisman paper for his dues, Chu Ning cultivated all of this season's Ink Spirit Bamboo to the highest quality.
Moreover, Chu Ning had now completely mastered the Green Wood Eternal Spring Art, achieving instant activation.
So, from the very first day the bamboo was planted, he nurtured it daily with pure Green Wood Eternal Spring Art.
Last season, Chu Ning had made 4,800 talismans from one type of Ink Spirit Bamboo and 6,000 from the other.
And now, even though he hadn't started crafting yet, he was confident that he would surpass 12,000 talismans.
Of course, the actual number would only be known once he began the crafting process.
Chu Ning drew upon his Blade Technique and began the harvest.
Compared to the previous season, his harvesting speed had increased significantly.
After all, his cultivation had improved considerably, and his skill in various spells, including the Blade Technique, had become more proficient.
In just two days, Chu Ning had harvested and transported all the Ink Spirit Bamboo back to his home.
Then, he began the process of making talisman paper.
With the experience from the last season, Chu Ning was now adept at the process.
Whether it was boiling, separating, shaping, coating, or drying, Chu Ning performed each step with ease and efficiency.
With the additional bonus from his Spirit Talisman Body, Chu Ning's success rate was extraordinarily high.
Previously, his success rate was around 85%, but now it had reached 95%.
This was also because the art of making talisman paper was relatively simpler compared to the more complex art of making talismans.
A few days later, Chu Ning stored pile after pile of talisman paper into his storage bag, a smile spreading across his face.
"This quantity has truly exceeded my expectations."
Initially, Chu Ning thought he would definitely make more than 12,000, but when he actually finished crafting, he had an astonishing total of 15,000 talismans.
After deducting 3,500 to be turned over to the sect and 600 to be given to Zhuang Yunde as their agreed-upon share, Chu Ning would still have 10,900 talismans left for himself.
This number was even 100 more than what he had before the last harvest season.
Of course, the number he would report to Zhuang Yunde would be different.
"Hmm, I'll tell him I made 8,000, which is about 2,500 more than last season. That should sound reasonable."
Chu Ning stroked his chin as he walked out of the courtyard.
"Mu Ling's consumption of talisman paper is quite high. Buying 1,500 for her each month shouldn't be a problem, right?"
He no longer intended to wait for Zhuang Yunde to come for the harvest; instead, he planned to go to the outer sect to find him and also sell some talisman paper to Mu Ling.
There was one more important thing he wanted to discuss with Zhuang Yunde—his intention to participate in the promotion test for the Level 3 Outer Sect.
At this moment, he had already reached the "Fourth Layer of Qi Refining"!
(End of Chapter)
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