Rising from Small Cloud Rain Technique

Chapter 40: Chapter 38: Obtaining the Spirit Capturing Array

Three months later, it was once again the harvest season in Spirit Valley.

The bright moon shone through pine branches, and in the wilderness, yellow-green lights flickered like the glow of fireflies.

The outline of the mountain peaks resembled crouching beasts, and the shadows of the trees swayed gently.

In the bamboo house, the fragrance of Yellow Sprout Rice filled the air.

Two beeswax candles, as thick as a child’s arm, burned quietly, brightening the small building as if it were daytime.

Ji An was cutting talisman paper, the candle occasionally crackling, sending out drops of wax.

After finishing his work, he stretched lazily, his bones making a crisp sound.

He counted the pieces of talisman paper, and then chuckled triumphantly:

“From two acres of Talisman Grass, I’ve made 120 pieces of Tier One Middle Grade Talisman Paper, with an excellent quality rate of over thirty percent. In the future, just by making talisman paper, I’ll be able to prosper.”

Ji An inspected the Talisman Ink one by one, a faint pine resin aroma wafting from the jade bottle.

He packed away the talisman paper and ink, placed the cutting tools under the table, and then walked to the bamboo house entrance, opening the door.

Pinching a spell with his fingers, an earth-yellow spirit light covered the small courtyard, turning the green vegetable leaves into a withered yellow color.

He switched the Dharma Seal, and white mist enveloped the inside and outside of the courtyard, dense raindrops falling on the bamboo house and the vegetable leaves, making a lively and crisp sound.

Listening quietly to the rain, Ji An’s mind became peaceful and tranquil.

After a while, he went back inside, lying down on the bed.

Before sleeping, his mind connected with the Stone Turtle.

In his Dantian, the Stone Turtle emitted a faint, almost invisible spirit light, floating in the gaseous magical power.

[Master: Ji An]

[Dao Rhyme: 0]

[Spiritual Mechanism: Kan Spirit 36.8, Kun Spirit 0.1, Xun Spirit 18.2]

[Magic Spells: Small Cloud Rain Technique (Perfection 6%)

Thick Earth Technique (Great Success 82%)

Life and Death Technique (Great Success 29%)

Flame Fire Spell (Mastery 68%)

Sharp Gold Technique (Great Success 5%)]

After achieving Perfection in the Small Cloud Rain Technique, quickly improving through refining the Spiritual Mechanism is no longer realistic, at least for now.

A month’s accumulation of Kan Spirit can only improve the progress by 1%, so Ji An decided to save the Kan Spirit for emergencies.

When he enters the Spirit Vein Node for cultivation, the Stone Turtle will be able to absorb more of the Spiritual Mechanism, alleviating this predicament.

The Small Cloud Rain Technique is a spell that needs to be used constantly. His comprehension is quite good, allowing him to increase in proficiency by about 1.5% each month.

Even without refining the Spiritual Mechanism, five to six years should be enough to practice the spell to Great Perfection.

The Great Success level of the Life and Death Technique is already sufficient, so Ji An saved the Xun Spirit as well.

His consciousness grew more and more blurred, and he eventually fell into a deep sleep.

…

When the agreed time came for Li Changqing to collect the Spirit Grain, Ji An set aside Spirit Valley Crystal Stones for exchanging Grain Seeds and paying field rent taxes, packed all his possessions, and rode the Talisman Bird to Jade Water Marketplace.

“Junior Brother, didn’t we agree that I’d find you tomorrow?”

Wei Songnian asked in surprise. He had just arrived at the square for a while and hadn’t finished displaying his goods from the storage bag.

“I can’t wait any longer.”

Ji An patted the small bag hanging on his chest, his eyes blazing, knowing that he too could use the Spirit Capturing Array in the future.

With this, pills, Spirit Rice, and arrays were all complete, and it seemed his cultivation resources were maxed out.

Although his aptitude was only mediocre, and Stone Turtle absorbed half of his refined magical power, it didn’t matter!

Among Qi Refining disciples, a saying was widespread: as long as there were enough Crystal Stones, even a pig could be boosted to Foundation Establishment.

However, the reality for most disciples was that they didn’t have enough Crystal Stones.

For example, as Old Huang said, many Spirit Farmer disciples, after entering the sect for three years, would only manage to achieve Minor Achievement in the Small Cloud Rain Technique and Thick Earth Technique.

Their harvests after paying sect field rent taxes were only enough to buy a few pills to aid cultivation.

Three months yielded only a few pills, which was the reality for most disciples; it was only after they broke through to Mid-stage Qi Refining that the situation slowly improved.

New disciples with low cultivation levels couldn’t practice many spells due to limited magical power, marking this as the most challenging phase for most Qi Refining disciples.

“Once I close my stall, let’s find a place to make the trade.”

Wei Songnian packed the bottles and jars back into his storage bag, speaking with a mix of envy and respect:

“With the Spirit Capturing Array, Junior Brother’s cultivation conditions aren’t far off from those of the direct lineage disciples of the great families.

Heh, I remember getting rewarded with a basic quality Spirit Capturing Array only after breaking through to the late-stage Qi Refining by my family.”

“Senior Brother overestimates me. Even with the array, spirit stones are necessary to support it.

I’ve estimated that with my current harvest, I wouldn’t be able to use the Spirit Capturing Array more than a few times a month.”

Ji An laughed, using the Spirit Capturing Array was like consuming Spirit Stones, and he didn’t have the financial capacity to use it daily.

With Crystal Stones in hand, he instinctively wanted to spend them, believing even minor strength improvements were worthwhile.

“Junior Brother is too modest. As your cultivation advances, you’ll cultivate more Spirit Fields and harvest more Crystal Stones for cultivation.

What a perfect state that will be!”

Wei Songnian had packed up all his goods and folded the beast hide laid on the ground into his storage bag:

“Let’s go, we’ll trade at Junior Brother Liang’s place and enjoy a small drink together.”

The two of them went to Liang Hill’s small tavern and entered a private room upstairs.

Wei Songnian took out a brand-new bronze disc and placed it on the table:

“This is the Spirit Capturing Array.”

The array disc, as big as five plates and four fingers high, was engraved with elegant patterns on the surface.

“The seller left five nearly depleted spirit stones within the array, which should last for half an hour. I’ll activate the array for Junior Brother to feel the effect.”

Wei Songnian placed the discs around the room, adjusting their positions, and activated the array.

The patterns on the disc seemed to come alive, transforming into lush, green leaves, occasionally flashing with a glow.

Inside the array, a faint white mist rose, manifesting dense spiritual energy.

“Junior Brother, cultivate in it for a while and feel the effect.”

“Alright!”

Ji An exhaled and stepped into the Spirit Capturing Array.

He felt all the pores of his body open in an instant, as if he had drunk a jug of ice water on a blazing summer day, feeling extremely refreshed.

“I’ve been to Cui Bamboo Peak and Red Copper Mountain, and the spiritual energy concentration feels similar.”

“Haha, in truth, they’re not comparable.

Junior Brother probably hasn’t entered the core areas of Cui Bamboo Peak and Red Copper Mountain. These places are built on Tier One Top-grade Spiritual Veins, with a Spirit Gathering Array in the core areas, preventing spiritual energy from leaking out.”

Wei Songnian sighed softly, explaining:

“Though the Spirit Capturing Array is strong, it’s far from achieving this effect.

Our Spirit Capturing Array provides a cultivation environment between a Tier One Lower Grade and a Tier One Middle Grade Spiritual Vein.

Junior Brother shouldn’t waste time; quickly circulate your cultivation technique and experience the effect of cultivating on a spiritual vein!”

Ji An sat cross-legged on the ground, circulating the Qingyuan Scripture, greedily breathing in the rich spiritual energy.

The spiritual energy flowed through his Immortal Vein, and he faintly had a feeling of being overstuffed, his refinement speed for magical power multiplying several times over.

Ji An wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but he felt the external spiritual energy concentration rapidly decline. He assessed the cultivation effect and slowly exited cultivation.

Wei Songnian’s amused face leaned over and said:

“Junior Brother, half an hour just flew by. How did it feel?”