Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Qi Refinement Level 8, Jingzhe’s Invitation
In the blink of an eye, a few more days passed.
After confirming that the beaver had recovered and the panel prompt showed it could share and bind, Li Ye gradually received a few more Hungry Bones from the Spiritual Mechanism Vine.
As it turned out, although this guy could only bind to one bloom, it cleverly pushed its fellow tribe members forward as well.
It would gather with its kin every now and then, gnawing and transporting lotus petals, lotus root chunks, wheat ears... all while chirping.
Its companions, although their expressions weren’t as vivid and seemed rather dazed, genuinely appeared to be listening attentively.
It was as if they were expounding and discussing the Dao.
So clever that Li Ye found it inconceivable, wondering if he wasn’t even as smart as a beaver.
To avoid being outdone by his own Spirit Pet, he also began diligently cultivating, patrolling his crops daily to collect his daily portion of Spiritual Qi.
Just like that, he quickly progressed from the Sixth-Layer of Qi Refining to the Eighth-Layer.
And it had only been a month since he absorbed the Peach Blossom Spiritual Qi at the Peach Blossom Gathering, ascending to the Sixth Layer.
Moreover, the pure Spiritual Qi from the Spirit Plant and Spirit Beast made his foundation incredibly solid, with no signs of chaos whatsoever; it was truly miraculous.
The only discomfort left was his meridian damage.
"These injuries are as persistent as a bone-devouring parasite."
He let out a deep breath of turbid air.
At this moment, he could clearly sense the injuries caused by the demonic deviation and meridian collapse, marked by a small scar coiling within.
No matter how he used Spiritual Power to cultivate and mend, that scar stubbornly remained there.
Occasionally, it would give him a pricking pain, and even the Spirit Pill from Senior Su Ya couldn’t fully cure it.
It seemed the only complete remedy lay in entering the Four Seasons Sect to purchase a Replenishing Vein Pill.
Li Ye stood and looked at the continuous blue-purple lotuses in the yard, the verdant Spirit Water Phoenix Eye Lotus beside them, the lush wheat farther off, and the beavers chirping on the dam in the distance.
A small courtyard full of vitality, and abundant in Spiritual Qi.
"Senior Spiritual Mechanism Vine said it’s best to have the Spiritual Power of Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth Five Elements Spirit Beasts or Spirit Plants when establishing Foundation at the Tenth-Layer of Qi Refining, I now have..."
He lowered his head to look at his palm.
A wisp of golden-red flame first ignited at his fingertips.
Then a cluster of hazy moisture gathered.
Finally, a glimmer of peach blossom radiance flickered in and out.
He casually dispersed the Spiritual Qi.
The Wood, Water, and Fire attributes’ Spiritual Power had already entered his body, only Gold and Earth were missing.
"Looks like it’s time to accept the invitation."
A few days ago, when the Spiritual Mechanism Vine sent a new batch of Hungry Bones, it also brought an invitation from Su Ya.
It mentioned Jingzhe approaching and invited him to see a spectacle at the Zhou Family’s Spring Thunder Wheat fields.
He gladly accepted, of course.
The next day, Taoist Friend Zhou personally came by to extend the invitation again.
It was then he finally learned Taoist Friend Zhou’s real name.
"Zhou Qiumai."
"This name..."
Li Ye couldn’t help but chuckle a bit.
No wonder Taoist Friend Zhou was initially reluctant to reveal his name; it was somewhat rustic, yet had an earthy charm.
He shook his head, burying the odd thought deep within, and calculated that tomorrow was Jingzhe.
It was just the right time to go for the meeting, and perhaps see if he could purchase Gold or Earth attribute Spirit Beasts or Spirit Plants.
...
The next day.
When Li Ye left, he unexpectedly saw a delicate-featured girl waiting outside the door, dressed simply in cloth garments, not particularly striking but very pleasant to look at.
A carriage was parked beside her, pulled by a first-level Spirit Beast, the Power Spirit Horse.
But this girl had no cultivation, she was a mortal.
The girl quickly approached upon seeing Li Ye, pulling out a Token.
"Immortal Li.
"I’m a member of the Zhou family, instructed by Cousin Zhou Qiumai to bring Senior Immortal to our Zhou home."
Li Ye glanced at the Token, verifying it was indeed Zhou Qiumai’s, and nodded casually: "Then let’s go."
He boarded the carriage directly, and then the girl deftly fed the Spirit Horse a bunch of tender leaves before skillfully driving the carriage onward.
The carriage interior was clean and tidy, without any strange sachets, just purely clean, which made Li Ye feel very comfortable.
He remembered that in his previous life, there were always strange scents in vehicles that made him very uncomfortable, and now with a more sensitive smell, unpleasant scents would be even worse.
"It’s quite nice."
Li Ye leaned against the window, gazing at the swiftly retreating scenery. With his current eyesight, he could see everything clearly. Although the carriage was fast, it hardly jostled around.
"Leaving Huiya Marketplace."
The original "him" had come from outside.
Yet it was his first time leaving the marketplace, which was within Four Seasons Sect’s sphere of influence, surrounded not by sects but family clans.
These families provided various supplies to the Four Seasons Sect, as well as talented cultivators, while the sect granted them different Dharma Methods and various Magical Medicine.
With this in mind, he lifted the curtain and asked the girl driving outside: "How many two-hour periods will it take?"
"Oh! It’ll only take half a two-hour period."
A half two-hour period was an hour, with the horse’s speed... an hour could cover more than a hundred miles, the Zhou family’s distance from Huiya Marketplace was indeed quite far.
After receiving an answer, he made a slight "嗯" sound, closed his eyes to rest in the carriage, and recalled the various spells he’d learned during this time.
Half a two-hour period passed swiftly.
"Huh."
As Li Ye sensed the carriage stop and opened his eyes, he saw that the sky was already overcast.
The sun, which should have been high in the Heavenly Dome, was obscured, silver snakes swimming among the dark clouds, with tempestuous winds.
Yet, most amazingly, the farther sky was clear, seeming to possess such conditions only in this area.
Could this be the "spectacle" that Senior Su Ya spoke of?
He dismounted the carriage, unsurprisingly greeted by a smiling Taoist Friend Zhou Qiumai, who nodded at the girl driving the carriage, and then the carriage was driven away.
Then Zhou Qiumai took Li Ye by the arm.
"Daoist Friend, this is our Zhou family’s Spring Thunder Wheat field, upon which we rely every year."
He gestured to the distance.
There lay an expansive field of wheat.
Tall as small trees, with a bluish sheen on their surfaces, the wheat stood proudly under the somewhat overcast sky, seemingly awaiting the scrutiny of Heavenly Thunder.
A rough glance showed several hundred acres of this wheat field.
If Spring Thunder Wheat required the blast of spring thunder for harvest, such a scene of hundreds of acres receiving Heavenly Thunder was indeed not lesser than a Celestial Tribulation!
What was most important was how did the Zhou family ensure that there would definitely be Heavenly Thunder aiding in the harvest?