"Just as Wen Xun said, taking care of this place hardly requires much effort. Aside from maintaining the balance of water and soil, all that's needed is careful observation to catch signs of any potential disease early on..."
After making a round through the grove and tending to each Spirit Mulberry Tree, Li Ye couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
At this moment, a faint gleam in his eyes became increasingly vivid and hard to suppress.
Almost everyone who saw him would instinctively look into his eyes and immediately recoil and avoid eye contact.
He had been tending this grove for nearly ten days now. Other than the first few days, which took a bit more time, it now took him less than half an hour to check on all three hundred trees.
However, perhaps because the trees were already mature and simply accumulating age, it took longer for him to establish a connection through the system panel. So far, he hadn't received any feedback from a single tree.
On the other hand, that cultivator surnamed Xiao had made it a habit to visit him daily. Over time, they had become quite familiar.
"Senior Brother Li, done with the grove so quickly again today? You make it look effortless are you heading back to refine pills now?"
Sure enough, just as he stepped out of the grove, Junior Brother Xiao came over with a smile.
But today, the moment he met Li Ye's gaze, the overflowing gleam in Li Ye's eyes made him instinctively avert his head, unable to meet his eyes directly.
"That's right. I still have quite a few commissions to complete," Li Ye replied casually. Since this cultivator's skill in spirit planting was nearing the second tier, he didn't mind chatting a bit he might even pick up something useful.
But as they spoke, Li Ye couldn't help but notice that Junior Brother Xiao's attempts to flatter him were even more exaggerated than those of the servant disciples from the Elder's residence.
It reminded him of the recent rumor circulating in the market about him gifting pills to Wen Xun...
For a moment, he found it both amusing and ridiculous.
He could still remember watching Li Zongyin desperately trying to curry favor with Cai Shiwei, hoping to gain a little benefit under his wing.
And now had it only been that long?
How was it that in the eyes of other disciples, he was starting to look like the Cai Shiwei of back then?
"That's an ominous thought..."
Shaking the idea from his mind, Li Ye took his leave, with Junior Brother Xiao sending him off respectfully.
"Safe travels, Senior Brother Li. If you're ever too busy to come by, I'll gladly look after the grove on your behalf no need to worry."
"Then I'll thank you in advance…"
After leaving the Spirit Herb Garden, Li Ye didn't head to the pill refinement room as usual but returned straight to his residence.
Over the past few days, through his cultivation of the Thousand Thoughts Divine Refinement Technique, he had come to realize he had some talent in spiritual cultivation he could feel his progress with each passing day.
The discovery had nearly moved him to tears. Damn it, finally I'm not just some guy who needs to brute-force everything with resources!
After only a dozen or so days of cultivation, his spiritual power had grown significantly, nearing the threshold of mastering the first level of the technique.
Perhaps it was because his foundation had been laid well enough after finishing his work among the Spirit Mulberry Trees today, his relaxed mind became suddenly active, as if on the verge of transformation.
This was a chance he couldn't afford to miss!
He shut the door, activated the restriction formation, and even placed an extra talisman to ensure no one could disturb him.
Lighting a stick of Focus Incense, Li Ye sat cross-legged and gradually calmed his mind, focusing on the faint pulsing in his Niwan Palace (the spiritual center of the mind).
The soothing scent of the incense flowed into his nose and turned into a refreshing sensation that surged into his mind.
As the cultivation method activated, his lively spiritual power steadily climbed and solidified.
He had no idea how much time had passed when he suddenly felt a moment of clarity his floating spiritual power suddenly collapsed inward, compressing into one, and then split into two.
He slowly opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing within them only this time, the glint quickly faded, no longer beyond his control.
There was a strange expression on his face.
Raising a hand, he summoned his Blackwood Sword and the Radiant Pearl simultaneously.
The former transformed into a streak of black light, while the latter emitted a brilliant glow and the two began dueling in midair right inside the room!
The Blackwood Sword was swift and agile; the Radiant Pearl excelled in both offense and defense. They fought like two beings with independent wills, clashing loudly in the confined space.
Eventually, the Radiant Pearl shuddered, momentarily losing control, and hurtled toward the wall.
Only then did Li Ye retract his spiritual energy, recalling both sword and pearl.
"Multitasking with split focus… I've officially entered the introductory level of the Thousand Thoughts Divine Refinement Technique!"
Feeling the enhanced strength of his spirit and this newfound ability to split his focus, he couldn't help but sound excited.
"This is just the beginning. Once I fully master the first layer, I'll be able to focus on three things at once. But even now, the benefits are already enormous…"
Before he could test further, his expression suddenly shifted joy flickered across his face.
Thanks to the spiritual breakthrough, he felt a subtle shift in his inner energy his bottleneck seemed to loosen!
It had been nearly half a year since he'd reached Qi Refining Stage Six. During this time, he had cultivated diligently, regularly taking Wood Origin Pills, and had steadily built up his spiritual power.
But with the bottleneck in place, his progress had been minimal during his two months in the market.
He had thought it would still take more time to break through, yet now unexpectedly the shift had begun.
Without hesitation, he sat down cross-legged again, took out a two-mark Wood Origin Pill, and swallowed it, his expression turning solemn as he entered meditation.
As the medicinal power surged through him, his already active spiritual energy was boosted further. With his newly sharpened spiritual control, he guided the flow of his cultivation precisely.
Moments later, a green light shimmered from his body, and his aura surged dramatically.
He had broken through just like that!
Li Ye stood up, quietly sensing the surge in his inner energy almost 50% stronger than before. There was an almost disbelieving joy on his face at how smoothly it had gone.
"Qi Refining Stage Seven… I'm officially in the late stage of the Qi Refining Realm now!"
He couldn't hide the delight on his face it felt like a gift had fallen straight from the heavens.
He instinctively took out his various magical tools and tested them one by one, marveling at the difference in their power.
Though there was only a single layer's difference between Stage Six and Stage Seven, the leap in combat ability was enormous.
His thoughts drifted to the mid-aged Flying Feather Sect cultivator he'd once punched to death at close range.
No wonder that guy had been so arrogant given the gap between us, how could anyone have accurately judged my strength back then?
After letting out his excitement and becoming familiar with his newly improved powers, Li Ye gradually calmed down.
After a moment of thought, he opened up his status panel.
[Name: Li Ye]
[Spirit Root: Low-grade Earth-Wood Dual Spirit Root]
[Remaining Lifespan: 72 years (3 years deducted due to vitality overdraw)]
[Skills:]
Planting: Tier 2 - Low (27/7000)
Alchemy: Tier 1 - High (536/8000)
Artifact Crafting: Not Started (12/2000)
Talisman Crafting: Tier 1 - High (145/4000)
Gu Crafting: Tier 1 - Medium (56/4000)
[Herbal Essence:]
Emerald Bud Essence ×94
Blood Grain Rice Essence ×1600
Sunfire Essence ×5
[Essence Traits:]
Vitality Lv.1
Absorption Lv.1
[Experience: 12025]
After the last upgrade, he still had over 12,000 experience points.
Meanwhile, his alchemy skill had steadily improved through near-daily practice over the past two months.
If Li Ye kept up his pace, he could raise his alchemy to Tier 2 within two or three years.
For most cultivators, this was a huge accomplishment. Even for Li Ye, it was a solid path forward he didn't need to rush.
Now that the Zimo Forest market was growing more active and various factions in the Kingdom of Huan were falling by the day, Li Ye figured that soon, the array formation inheritance he desperately wanted might finally hit the market.
When the time came, he would need to save some experience to instantly gain entry-level mastery.
If he managed to enter the Zimo Forest itself, he'd like to improve his planting skill again and farm some Zimo spiritual essence but since that plan had fallen through, he'd have to settle for second best.
Now that his spiritual power had improved and his cultivation had reached the late Qi Refining stage, he could withstand the backlash from failed talisman-crafting attempts. Trying to raise his talisman skill to Tier 2 was no longer an issue!
After all, the Sunfire Serpent Talisman barely counted as Tier 2.
If he could refine more Tier 2 talismans, he'd feel much safer in this increasingly unstable world…
After carefully weighing everything, a thought crossed his mind.
"System panel level me up!"
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