Chapter 346

Chapter 346: Spiritual Farming, Sword Pavilion’s Sorrow

“Ah Qing, is this the spiritual field you just opened up?”

In the courtyard halfway up the mountain, the old doctor gazed at the spiritual field Lu Qing had opened two days ago, awestruck.

The nearly two acres of spiritual field brimmed with spiritual energy, a dramatic change from when he was away.

Even the medicinal herbs

in the nearby medicinal field had seen a noticeable change. The herbs had grown considerably taller.

The old doctor had finally finished his free clinic and, upon returning to the courtyard halfway up the mountain, was captivated by Lu Qing’s newly opened spiritual field at the back.

“Master, you’re back just in time! I was just about to plant these spiritual grain seeds today,” Lu Qing said with a smile.

“Okay, I’ll help you.”

The old doctor was quite skilled in farming.

He immediately rolled up his sleeves and trousers, preparing to sow the enlightened rice seeds with Lu Qing.

Xiaoyan, who had been doing her homework in the courtyard, saw this interesting activity and immediately came out to help.

Even Xiaoli, curious, grabbed some rice seeds with her paws and tossed them into the field bit by bit.

Of course, it never liked water, so it just played on the ridge of the field and was absolutely unwilling to go into the field.

Lu Qing didn’t care about the two naughty little guys. Anyway, he had a lot of rice seeds this time, more than enough to plant two acres of spiritual fields.

Even if they wasted some, there would still be enough.

Besides, sowing is not a technical job, and children can do it well.

Two acres of spiritual fields are not a lot. With the hard work of three people and one beast, it didn’t take long before they were all planted.

Lu Qing then pinched the magic formula, and clouds suddenly gathered above the spiritual fields.

After more than ten breaths, raindrops containing spiritual energy began to fall sparsely, nourishing the newly sown rice seeds.

“Master, after planting this spiritual grain, you need to practice the Spiritual Rain Technique to water it regularly.

The same goes for cultivating spiritual herbs. This Spiritual Rain Technique is also easy to learn.

I’ll carve these planting techniques into jade slips for you later.”

“Very well. I’m looking to cultivate some medicinal herbs with better efficacy lately, so I could learn the Spiritual Herb Cultivation Technique.”

The old doctor nodded without refusing.

“Master, have you encountered any difficult or complicated cases during your free clinics recently?”

Lu Qing knew something was amiss when he saw his master’s expression.

“Indeed, during my recent outings, I’ve discovered that the illnesses suffered by the villagers outside are generally much more difficult to treat than before.

The main reason is that patients often harbor a buildup of pathogenic energy, something we haven’t seen before.

The herbal remedies we commonly use are ineffective in clearing this energy.

Unless we increase the dosage, however, all medicines are toxic, and if we’re not careful, it can easily overwhelm the patient.

Therefore, during this free clinic, I’ve mostly been using acupuncture in conjunction with medication, and sometimes even incorporating spiritual energy to cure the patient.”

The old doctor, with a serious expression, slowly recounted his experiences from the free clinics.

“So, Master, you wish to cultivate spiritual herbs to address this situation?” Lu Qing understood.

The old doctor nodded, “Yes, even if we can’t cultivate spiritual herbs, as long as we can enhance the efficacy of the herbs we currently use, that would be excellent.”

“Then I’ll engrave a jade slip for you when I return.”

Lu Qing and the old doctor inspected the spiritual field again, confirming that there were no problems, and then returned to the courtyard.

Now that the rice seeds had been planted, the rest of the process was much simpler.

Lu Qing only needed to regularly water the fields with the Spirit Rain Technique, remove weeds, and keep pests away.

If all went well, he should be able to harvest the first crop of spiritual rice in about two or three months.

Rice planting generally requires raising seedlings first.

Sowing the seeds directly in the field would result in uneven distribution, leading to patchy growth.

Furthermore, the seeds wouldn’t take root deeply, making them susceptible to windblowing.

However, this wasn’t a problem for Lu Qing. He wasn’t growing ordinary rice, so he skipped this step.

Upon returning to the courtyard, Lu Qing immediately engraved the Lihuo Sect’s key principles for cultivating spiritual herbs onto a jade slip and handed it to his master.

The old doctor immediately returned to his quiet room and began to study it diligently.

With nothing else to do, Lu Qing told Xiaoyan not to wander around and then began to cultivate.

Entering a state of concentration, Lu Qing “saw” the Five Elements Gourd occupying the center of his dantian, continuously absorbing and discharging the spiritual energy he had cultivated.

With each cycle, his spiritual power would become a fraction more refined.

After only a few days, Lu Qing could sense that his spiritual power had become at least 10% purer than before.

Don’t underestimate this mere 10%. Remember, a physical cultivator’s physical advancement is closely linked to the purity of their spiritual power.

The purer the spiritual power, the stronger the resulting body.

Lu Qing’s spiritual power had now reached 10%, meaning his body could continue to strengthen by another 10%.

Concentrating his mind and calming his breath, Lu Qing channeled the five elements of spiritual power within his dantian, following the principles of the Five Elements Body Refining Art, and began to refine his body.

As his spiritual power was continuously refined and absorbed, his body gradually strengthened.

“Yan” observed Lu Qing’s cultivation.

Sensing Lu Qing’s gradually increasing aura, it marveled.

In the ancient era of immortal cultivation, the Five Elements Body Refining Art was notoriously difficult to master and slow to progress.

Yet, neither of these characteristics was apparent in Lu Qing.

Over the past few days, it had witnessed it all.

Lu Qing was busy every day, whether refining or cultivating rice seeds.

He even had to run outside to rescue people.

The time he actually spent cultivating wasn’t that much.

Yet, despite this, Lu Qing’s cultivation steadily improved.

Yan calculated that if Lu Qing continued at this rate, it wouldn’t be long before he reached the Middle Qi Refining Stage.

His rapid progress would put many of the prodigies of the ancient immortal cultivation era to shame.

Furthermore, with Lu Qing’s inherent strength, even at the Middle Qi Refining Stage, his true power was comparable to even that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. He was truly

a monstrous being who had triggered calamity clouds at the very beginning of the transformation of heaven and earth.

Cultivation truly defied common sense.

Yan couldn’t help but feel fortunate for his original decision.

Given Lu Qing’s rapid progress, if he hadn’t yielded,

by the time he reached the Foundation Establishment Stage, he would have been completely refined and annihilated.

Lu Qing was deeply immersed in his cultivation, perched high on a mountain over ten miles from Jiuli Village.

A strange figure, hidden within a giant tree, gazed upon Jiuli Village, shrouded in mist.

“Spiritual energy is gathering, and this small mountain village is actually protected by a formation. This must be the place where someone cultivates,”

Elder You gazed in the direction of Jiuli Village, a look of fear in his eyes.

To be able to set up such a protective formation at this moment of revival,

the inheritance that person possessed must be truly remarkable.

Perhaps it was the core legacy of a powerful immortal sect from ancient times.

Elder You stared at it for a moment, but ultimately did not approach. Instead, he silently memorized the location of Jiuli Village and quietly withdrew.

When he first set out, he had been confident.

He believed that with his and his companions’ cultivation, there were few places in the world they could not reach.

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

If it weren’t for the treasure bestowed by the building owner, he would have died that night in the Wei Mansion like everyone else.

Elder You knew that the old man who had taken action that year was probably the master of the master-disciple pair mentioned in the intelligence.

If the master was so formidable, how much more terrifying would the rumored disciple, who had turned the entire Holy City upside down and was far more formidable, be?

Therefore, Elder You didn’t want to take any more risks. What if they

went a little further and were discovered by that person?

Then their mission would be a complete failure.

Since they already knew the person’s place of retreat, he could return and report.

What happened next would be decided by the owner of the building and his men.

Elder You took one last look in the direction of Jiuli Village, then used his skills to quickly depart.

The main purpose of this trip had been achieved.

There were still some days before the agreed time for the secret realm to open.

This rare opportunity to come out gave him enough time to make further arrangements for their Wujian Building lineage.

Elder You left Cang County and began to travel far and wide, exploring the current world situation.

A few days later, he arrived at another major province, Jeju.

One night, Elder You was on his way when he suddenly felt a presence coming from the front, and his whole body shuddered.

“Such a strong aura of resentment! What’s happening up ahead?”

Elder You’s eyes flashed with horror.

He took note of the surrounding terrain and discovered that this area was likely the territory of a sect called Qingyun Sword Pavilion.

His gaze shifted several times, and Elder You’s aura suddenly receded

, becoming almost imperceptible, difficult even for those at the Xiantian realm to detect.

Then, silently, he crept forward.

As he advanced, Elder You’s heart grew more alarmed.

He could sense the aura of resentment growing stronger,

almost condensing into a physical form.

“What horrific event must have occurred up ahead to create such a terrifying aura of resentment!”

After a while, Elder You hesitated.

The aura of resentment lingering around him was truly overwhelming. It

was so intense that even an elder of Wujian Tower, like him, trembled with fear.

You know, resentment doesn’t form easily.

Even if dozens or hundreds of people were killed in a simple massacre, it wouldn’t necessarily form.

Typically, only those who have endured untold torture and died in excruciating pain would, amidst endless resentment, foster a resentful spirit.

Given the overwhelming aura of resentment surrounding him, Elder You couldn’t imagine what kind of hell lay ahead.

And what kind of terrifying demon could have sought such resentment?

“Ah!!!”

Just as Elder You was hesitating whether to leave,

a shrill, piercing scream suddenly rang out from the front, piercing the night sky.

Hearing this inhuman cry, Elder You paused.

He surveyed the night sky, then touched something in his arms. Ultimately, he decided to stealthily explore the area ahead.

At worst, he could use the power of the precious treasure in his arms once more.

He wanted to see what kind of formidable demon had emerged from this outer world.

Confident in his embrace, Elder You moved forward with even greater caution.

Finally, guided by the screams, he arrived.

Elder You spotted a mountain gate and quietly approached it.

Then, looking down, his eyes suddenly narrowed.

Torches burned in the martial arts arena beyond the gate.

Illuminated by the flames, a scene resembling hell unfolded before him.

A figure, with disheveled hair and a terrifying aura, stretched out its arms and gripped a person.

The person being gripped let out a series of piercing screams.

The screams Elder You had heard earlier came from this place.

Around the two men, scattered human skins looked horrifying.

Not far away, seven or eight more people, bound by ropes, watched the scene with horror.

“Master, spare me, spare me!”

the person being gripped screamed and begged for mercy.

However, the terrifying figure with disheveled hair remained unmoved.

His broad hand simply gripped the man’s head tightly.

Driven by his thoughts, streaks of bloody light emanated from the man’s head and were absorbed into his body.

As the bloody light continued to emanate, the screams of the man he was holding gradually faded.

The body gradually shrank, and when it was completely silent, it had transformed into a piece of human skin.

He casually tossed the skin aside, and it fell to the ground.

Elder You’s heart suddenly sank.

He finally understood where the human skin on the ground had come from.

It was the remains of the flesh, blood, and bones that the demon below had completely absorbed.

He wondered what kind of evil magic the demon below had cultivated .

He could actually absorb and refine the essence of human blood and bones for his own use. It was countless times more evil and bizarre than even their own Wujian Tower!

Elder You was filled with utter horror, and he couldn’t help but suppress his aura even more.

Such a strange and terrifying demon was unheard of, even for him.

If he were discovered, he would be doomed.

Fortunately, the disheveled figure below didn’t seem to notice Elder You.

After shaking off the human skin in his hand, he turned his gaze to the bound individuals not far away.

“Xiao Jianwen, whose essence and blood should I absorb next?”

the disheveled figure said slowly and methodically, looking at the white-bearded old man in the center, his chest stained with blood.

“Devil, devil!” the white-bearded old man’s face was filled with grief and indignation. “I shouldn’t have listened to your slander and let you go that day! I

didn’t expect you, a devil, to be so cruel and ruthless that you wouldn’t even spare the people of your own sect!”

Unfortunately, the white-bearded old man was now weak, clearly seriously injured.

Even if he was filled with grief and indignation, and wanted to kill the devil in front of him with a single sword, he was powerless.

“Don’t say that, Xiao Jianwen.”

The disheveled figure continued to speak slowly without any anger.

“Have you forgotten that you were the one who plotted against me and imprisoned me in that dark, dark place?

And what’s more, between us, it was a fair deal.

Didn’t I say that if you released me, I would reveal the secret of the transformation of heaven and earth?

Didn’t I keep my promise later?”

“If I had known you’d become such a demon, I should have killed you with a single blow!”

the white-bearded old man shouted.

“It’s a pity there’s no such thing as regret in this world. You’ve already missed the opportunity.”

The disheveled figure chuckled, then his expression gradually turned cold.

“Stop the nonsense. Are you going to tell me where that thing is hidden, or not?”

(End of Chapter)