Chapter 36: Spirit Eye Technique

The Library of Lingxi Peak only held Qi Refinement stage initial techniques. To exchange for spells, one had to travel to the Outer Sect Teaching Hall of Merit Peak, which was the dedicated location for exchanging cultivation methods and spells using merit points.

Upon arriving at Merit Peak, Lin Donglai first checked the spiritual plant tasks.

Most of them involved purchasing spiritual grain, but they were almost exclusively mid-grade or high-grade Tier 1 varieties, which were supplied to the inner sect disciples.

As for low-grade Tier 1 spiritual grain, the Qingmu Sect actually outsourced its cultivation to small external families and minor sects.

Low-grade Tier 1 spiritual farmers could hardly find any tasks.

At the very least, the spiritual plant tasks released by the Alchemy Hall included the cultivation of several types of low-grade Tier 1 spiritual herbs, but the risks of growing spiritual herbs were too high; one careless mistake could easily lead to a total loss of investment.

After memorizing several types of low-grade Tier 1 spiritual herbs that were frequently purchased, Lin Donglai turned and headed toward the Teaching Hall.

The Outer Sect Elder of the Teaching Hall glanced at Lin Donglai and said, "What spell do you wish to learn? Present your token to register."

Lin Donglai said respectfully, "This disciple wishes to learn the Spiritual Eye Technique!"

After the Outer Sect Elder registered the token, he led Lin Donglai into the first floor, where rows of spiritual slips could be seen, emitting spiritual light and restrictive seals.

The Outer Sect Elder located the spiritual slip for the Spiritual Eye Technique, released the seal, and handed it to Lin Donglai. "You have one hour for comprehension. Return the slip to me within one hour."

"Understood!"

Lin Donglai pressed the spiritual slip against his brow. Suddenly, a rune resembling an eye appeared before his eyes, profound and mysterious; one look was enough to know it was the Spiritual Eye Technique.

Below the rune, there were additional introductory texts and cultivation methods.

"Eh?"

Lin Donglai was surprised. The rune within this spiritual slip was remarkably similar to the Rat-Walking Technique rune he had obtained after killing the giant rat in the Spiritual Field Valley.

"The Spiritual Eye Technique is very useful. It can be used to observe cultivation levels and the condition of spiritual plants, and it can also be used to practice the Morning Sun Qi Gathering Art. Once learned, I can try using the Jianmu Spirit Leaves to carry it."

Perhaps it was because Lin Donglai possessed excellent comprehension, or perhaps it was because the Spirit Root Dao Seed had expanded his Purple Mansion, but in any case, Lin Donglai mastered it in less than half an hour.

However, he still used the remaining half hour to study the details of the runes to avoid any errors or omissions.

The Spiritual Eye Technique was simple to practice; it involved mobilizing spiritual power to nourish the eyes and the bones surrounding them.

If conditions permitted, one could also use certain spiritual liquids, dropping them into the eyes to assist in cultivation.

At the same time, the effects of the Spiritual Eye Technique varied depending on the practitioner's constitution.

For instance, Lin Donglai’s inferior Jia-Wood Constitution leaned toward seeing life force.

Those with ordinary constitutions could see "spiritual light"—a faint glow emitted by spiritual power that is difficult to see with the naked eye. The stronger the spiritual light, the higher the cultivation level.

Furthermore, using different resources for cultivation yielded different results.

If someone used gathered purple qi to nourish their eyes, they could transform the Spiritual Eye Technique into the "Qi-Gazing Technique," allowing them to observe changes in another person's fortune.

Using precious light to nourish the eyes could lead to the mastery of the "Treasure Appraisal Technique."

The simpler the spell, the more diverse its potential transformations.

When Lin Donglai returned the spiritual slip to the Teaching Hall Elder, he watched as the elder injected divine sense into the slip to replenish the depletion of the spell's "true intent" within the internal seed, then applied a seal before returning it to its place.

After leaving the Teaching Hall, Lin Donglai headed toward the Spiritual Plant Hall of Lingxi Peak.

Currently, he had a total of ten spirit stones: eight were from his accumulated monthly salary, two were from after reaching the second layer of Qi Refinement, and the final two were the ones recently given to him by Ding Zhen.

Inside the Spiritual Plant Hall, there was an additional cultivator who looked like an old farmer. Huang Yue was standing obediently beside him, saying something.

Lin Donglai did not wish to disturb them. After a while, the old farmer cultivator tossed out a bright green banana leaf fan, sat upon it, and slowly flew away. Only then did Lin Donglai step forward. "Senior Sister, was that person an elder of our Spiritual Plant Hall?"

"That's right. Our Spiritual Plant Hall has one Hall Master, two Deputy Hall Masters, and eight elders. The Hall Master and Deputy Hall Masters are all Tier 3 spiritual farmers, while the elders are Tier 2 mid-grade or high-grade spiritual farmers. That person just now was the Fifth Elder, and he is also my master."

"I see. So Senior Sister is already an inner sect disciple!"

"Haha, not quite. My cultivation is insufficient, and I haven't even been in the sect for ten years. I am merely apprenticed to the Fifth Elder to learn the Way of Spiritual Plants. There are seven or eight such disciples; I am not considered a disciple inheriting his mantle."

"That is still very good," Lin Donglai remarked with envy, then added, "By the way, Senior Sister, besides growing spiritual grain, I want to try growing some low-grade Tier 1 spiritual herbs this time. I saw that the Merit Hall has these tasks and wanted to try in advance so I'd have some experience for the future. I wanted to ask you which kind is easiest for a beginner."

Surprised by Lin Donglai's boldness, Huang Yue said worriedly, "Junior Brother, you've only just learned how to grow a type of spiritual rice and you're already thinking about spiritual herbs? Spiritual herbs are not that easy to grow; the seeds are expensive and the investment is high!"

"Even though you have some experience growing some low-grade herbs, Tier 1 spiritual herbs are completely different from those common weeds."

"How about this: if you have mastered the Sprouting and Gestation Technique and the Spiritual Eye Technique, you could indeed try growing Summer-Born Flowers. This flower is a primary ingredient for refining low-grade Tier 1 pills used to improve the quality of elixirs, mainly for low-level fire-attribute spiritual beasts to break through."

"I have grown them before. If you run into problems, you can come ask me."

"It is best to plant these Summer-Born Flowers now, then perform the Sprouting and Gestation Technique on them once every day—once at dawn and once at dusk, watering them with sweet dew each time. When the Summer Solstice arrives, they will bloom. They are one of the main ingredients for Yellow Bud Pills."

"For seeds, you can get 12 seeds for one spirit stone. If exchanging for merit, two flowers cost 1 point; if exchanging for spirit stones, it is also two flowers per stone."

"These Summer-Born Flowers love fertilizer, sunlight, and water. If you grow them in the Spiritual Field Valley, you must prepare some medicinal wood ash and supplement it with blank spirit stone powder. Plant them every three steps; otherwise, they will compete for spiritual energy and fertilizer, which will actually hinder their growth."

Lin Donglai thought for a moment. "Then I'll buy two spirit stones' worth of seeds to try first. Additionally, I'll buy two catties each of Blazing Sun Rice, Blood Marrow Rice, and Pearl Rice seeds."

"You want to plant three different types of spiritual rice all at once?"

"Doesn't the Sprouting and Gestation Technique help not only seeds to sprout but also stimulate the plants to produce seeds? I was thinking of just selling the seeds when the time comes."

"Spiritual seed gestation consumes a massive amount of spiritual field fertility and spiritual power! If you want to do seed gestation, you certainly cannot plant them densely like before. Furthermore, when the spiritual grain flowers, you need to apply a second round of fertilizer and perform the Sprouting and Gestation Technique once. When it ears, you must apply a third round of fertilizer and perform the technique again to help it expand."

"Including the initial sowing, that is three rounds in total. The investment for each of these three rounds is quite significant; in truth, it isn't much better than growing spiritual grain. All low-grade spiritual herbs are like this—the more you plant, the more you harvest."

"But low-level cultivators have limited energy due to their low cultivation, so they certainly cannot grow too many."

"Once you endure until you can plant high-grade Tier 1 spiritual herbs, things will be much better. Your cultivation will be higher, the value of the herbs will be greater, and you can even take a few apprentices to help you."