Chapter 41: Spiritual Plant Cultivator Certification

Spring departs and summer arrives.

In Spirit Field Valley, everything is flourishing.

Of the twenty-four Summer-born Flowers Lin Donglai had planted previously, twenty had survived, and all had already sprouted flower buds; they were due to bloom within a few days.

In truth, this was largely due to the use of the Sun-Gathering Array. This formation gathered the Yang energy from the sunlight during the day and slowly released it at night.

Aside from the Myriad Wonders Flowers, these Summer-born Flowers required essentially the same conditions, so they had been transplanted together.

In addition to this, there was a new patch of Spirit Grain in Spirit Field Valley. It was neatly arranged, covering a full twenty acres. The seeds had been purchased collectively with spirit stones by the Eight Friends of Spirit Field Valley and planted during the spring; the harvest would be distributed according to the amount of spirit stones each had contributed.

As for the other several types of low-grade spirit herbs, they had matured once during this period, and the harvesting was done right in front of Xiao Yi's eyes.

This time, because there were more people helping out—each with their own strengths—the quality was even better than when Lin Donglai had tended them alone.

The quality of spirit herbs could be divided into three grades: First Grade (Qualified), Second Grade (Good), and Third Grade (Superior).

Previously, most were Qualified with a few Good ones; now, more than half were Good, with a few Superior ones.

Even though they were merely low-grade herbs, it was enough to demonstrate Lin Donglai's talent in spirit cultivation.

Ning Feng, Niu Fusheng, and the others said, "By growing these Summer-born Flowers, the Myriad Wonders Flowers, and the Spirit Grain, you have cultivated three types of low-grade First Grade spirit plants. You can now be considered a low-grade First Grade Spirit Planter. Congratulations, Leader Lin."

Lin Donglai nodded. "It wouldn't have been possible without everyone's help. I will head to the Spirit Plant Hall in a moment to find Senior Sister Huang Yue and see how to certify this spirit cultivation skill."

"When the time comes, I will make it clear that this was not my achievement alone, but the achievement of the eight members of our Spirit Field Mutual Aid Society. The most important point in a spirit plant assessment is having a spirit plant spell cultivated to the stage of 'Great Success.' It should not be a problem for all eight of us to become low-grade First Grade Spirit Planters; the Spirit Plant Hall has no reason to hold us back."

Lin Donglai's Sprouting Gestation Technique had actually reached the stage of Great Success. Aside from tending the plants daily, he let his Spirit Root Dao Seeds cultivate automatically. After all, if he cultivated manually, he could only manage an extra hour of cultivation before needing another hour to recover his mental focus, which was inefficient.

It was better to use spells more often and spend his leisure time contemplating Spirit Leaf spells.

After the Sprouting Gestation Technique reached Great Success, a corresponding spell rune seed appeared within Lin Donglai's sea of consciousness.

It was essentially the same as what he had seen in the spell jade slips before, and even seemed to slightly surpass them.

Lin Donglai thought to himself, "With this Great Success level of the Sprouting Gestation Technique, it shouldn't be too much to ask to take first place in the spirit plant assessment and claim that Azure Essence Fruit!"

He had already thought of his excuse: since the eight of them had let him use their Spirit Grain for germination practice, it shouldn't be considered excessive.

After all, beyond Great Success, there were three more realms: Perfection, Limit-Breaking, and Primordial Spirit.

Perfection meant that one's mastery of the spell had reached the level of the ancestors who created it, with an extremely thorough understanding and application.

Limit-Breaking meant one could exert power beyond the original limits, faintly touching upon the corresponding laws.

Primordial Spirit meant "Spells Giving Birth to Spirit." The spell would no longer be a mere technique but would possess a simple form of sentience—for example, it could transform into a small bird, a small snake, or a turtle.

A Primordial Spirit spell could release spells autonomously; as long as the master provided timely spiritual energy, it could exist indefinitely.

The *Chronicles of Cultivation* stated that most spells could reach Great Success through diligent practice, but reaching Perfection required serendipity, while Limit-Breaking required transcendent wisdom and comprehension.

As for giving birth to a Primordial Spirit, an additional condition was required: one must possess a Heavenly Spirit Root and have comprehended certain laws of Heaven and Earth.

Furthermore, Lin Donglai could claim that he had only achieved half of Great Success. The Sprouting Gestation Technique could be divided into the "Sprouting Technique" and the "Gestation Technique," representing the difference between positive and inverse applications.

Lin Donglai used the Sprouting Technique more often and the Gestation Technique less frequently; therefore, it was perfectly reasonable that the Sprouting Technique had reached Great Success while the Gestation Technique was only at the stage of Small Success.

Lin Donglai had already inquired and learned that among this batch of Immortal Seedlings, several disciples pre-selected by Inner Sect Elders were following the "Combat Disciple" path. They placed great emphasis on cultivating spells, intending to make a name for themselves during the Immortal Seedling Competition. Most ordinary disciples, however, focused their efforts on their cultivation base, seeking to advance their cultivation levels.

This was primarily because the Azure Essence Fruit could purify Wood Spirit Roots, increasing the efficiency of Wood-based cultivation, and also nourished the Wood Spirit Physique. This was perfectly suited to Lin Donglai; it could serve to mask his heaven-defying talent in spirit cultivation and lay a foundation for his future development.

Otherwise, Lin Donglai truly wouldn't have wanted to compete for that first place in spirit cultivation.

What a dilemma!

Two days later, the Summer-born Flowers bloomed. Sown in winter and blooming in summer, they had passed through the stages of: the first Yang causing sprouting, the second Yang causing leaf growth, the third Yang causing stem elongation, the fourth Yang causing ear formation, the fifth Yang causing bud formation, and finally, with the arrival of the sixth Yang, they bloomed.

Huang Yue had arrived at Spirit Field Valley ahead of schedule, accompanied by a deacon from the Spirit Plant Hall to assist with the certification. The deacon's surname was Liu, and his name was Liu Jinyang. He was at the seventh level of Qi Refinement, and his proficiency in spirit plants had reached the peak of the First Grade. He was currently assisting the Fifth Elder, learning to tend to low-grade Second Grade spirit plants.

He looked at the eight members of Spirit Field Valley. Each of them was at the second level of Qi Refinement. Logically speaking, tending a single acre of spirit field would be quite a struggle, yet here there were a full twenty acres planted with Spirit Grain, averaging 2.5 acres per person.

Moreover, there were not just Spirit Grain here, but two other types of spirit herbs.

When he saw the Sun-Gathering Array disk, he was shocked: "Is this something a poor disciple of our Spirit Plant Hall could afford to use?"

The Summer-born Flowers were fine, as there were only twenty.

But these Myriad Wonders Flowers—over a hundred of them occupying an entire acre and growing so vigorously—could not possibly have been planted by Immortal Seedlings who had only studied spirit cultivation for half a year.

"Did you plant these?" Liu Jinyang questioned.

Lin Donglai shook his head. "It is true that I did not plant them alone; the eight of us planted them together."

Liu Jinyang remained skeptical. "Even if you combined the assets of all eight of you, you couldn't afford this Sun-Gathering Array, let alone this many spirit flower seeds!"

Lin Donglai cupped his hands. "The Deacon has keen eyes! We indeed could not afford it. However, we became acquainted with a senior alchemy apprentice from the Alchemy Hall. He was an Immortal Seedling from the previous batch and commissioned us to help grow the Myriad Wonders Flowers and several other low-grade spirit plants, as he intends to strive for the rank of low-grade First Grade Alchemist. This Sun-Gathering Array was rented by that senior, and the seeds were also provided by him. We were hired by him, which is how we were able to grow these low-grade First Grade Myriad Wonders Flowers."

"However, these Summer-born Flowers were grown from twenty-four seeds I purchased from the Spirit Plant Hall after consulting Senior Sister Huang Yue. Additionally, these Spirit Grains were also grown using seeds we collectively purchased from the Spirit Plant Hall."

Upon hearing this, Liu Jinyang couldn't help but say, "Perhaps I should call that disciple from the Alchemy Hall to ask him myself?"

Lin Donglai nodded and immediately sent a transmission to Xiao Yi using his Outer Sect token.

A moment later, Xiao Yi—who was working hard to earn spirit stones and build his wealth in hopes of renting a Earth-Fire Chamber for alchemy—rushed over. "Junior Brother Lin, are the Myriad Wonders Flowers about to mature?"

(End of Chapter)