Early morning.
The Golden Crow had just leaped up, and a ray of morning light pierced through the clouds, passing through the window gap and landing on Zhang Yan. It illuminated him with a brilliant glow, making him look sacred and inviolable, as if he were an immortal descended to earth.
His eyelashes fluttered slightly as he opened his eyes. Exhaling a breath of turbid air, Zhang Yan’s eyes seemed even brighter than before.
"After a whole night of practice, I’ve only gained a sliver of Spiritual Energy. Who knows how long it will take to become a true Qi Refining Stage cultivator." Although he had practiced all night, Zhang Yan did not feel tired at all; in fact, he felt refreshed and invigorated.
Especially when he felt a trace of warm energy flowing through his body, he became even more excited.
Qi Refining cultivation.
To step into the Qi Refining Stage, one must absorb the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth, refine it into Magic Power, and then open up the acupoints and meridians. The human body has twelve major meridians; for every layer opened, one's strength increases.
Once all twelve meridians are opened, that is the Great Perfection of Qi Refining. Moreover, because all twelve major meridians are open, connecting the entire body, one's strength is far beyond that of an ordinary Qi Refining Stage cultivator.
Zhang Yan had already achieved the state where his Qi was as thin as silk. Based on his current progress, he could potentially become a true Qi Refining Stage cultivator in less than half a year.
"Bang, bang, bang."
Just as he was deep in thought, a knocking sound came from outside the door.
"Get up and get to work!"
"Coming!"
Hearing Elder Lin's voice, Zhang Yan immediately got up, tidied his clothes, and walked out.
"Today, you are responsible for hoeing the fields and weeding."
Elder Lin was still wearing that tattered Daoist Robe. Although he was smiling, the deep ravines on his face made him look somewhat uncomfortable.
"Yes, Elder Lin." Zhang Yan nodded in response.
Although he and Elder Lin were nominally both disciples of the Spirit Plant Garden, with no distinction of status.
In reality, Zhang Yan had to obey Elder Lin's orders. Otherwise, he might not be able to earn a single Spirit Stone and would have to wait until he reached the Qi Refining Stage to apply for his own Spirit Field to grow Spirit Rice and earn Spirit Stones.
Following Elder Lin now, while potentially tiring, allowed him to earn some Spirit Stones and learn from experience. Such a good opportunity was hard to come by.
"Good, let's go." Elder Lin was very satisfied with Zhang Yan's attitude.
"In our Qingheng Sect, there are tens of thousands of Spirit Plant Gardens like ours, and the Spirit Fields owned by our Qingheng Sect are countless. It can be said that within Azure Heng Mountain, our Qingheng Sect is the sky!"
"You were able to join the Qingheng Sect, which is a blessing from your past life. Although your Aptitude is a bit poor, don't be discouraged. Save up more Spirit Stones, and when the time comes, marry a wife and have a child; perhaps their Aptitude will be better."
"I won't hide it from you, I had a daughter before with a Mid-grade Spiritual Root. She is now an Inner Sect Disciple of our Qingheng Sect and has hopes of reaching Foundation Establishment in the future!"
When he said this, Elder Lin's eyes shone, and his tone became much livelier.
"An Inner Sect Disciple!"
A look of envy appeared on Zhang Yan's face.
This was not faked.
It was genuine envy.
The disciples of the Qingheng Sect were divided into Outer Sect Disciples, Inner Sect Disciples, and True Disciples.
If the sect were compared to a company, then Elders and Stewards would be the managers who could obtain huge profits, while True Disciples would be management trainees, nurtured with all the sect's resources.
Inner Sect Disciples were the middle management of the company; the upper management ate the meat, and they drank the soup.
As for Outer Sect Disciples, they were the most basic employees.
They did the hardest and most tiring work and received the fewest benefits.
They often received no benefits at all. After all, a company has to pay wages, but as Outer Sect Disciples, the sect not only gave them no wages but even exploited them.
For example, seventy percent of what they produced after working hard in the Spirit Plant Garden for a year had to be handed over to the sect, and only the remaining thirty percent was their own.
From this, it could be seen that for the Qingheng Sect, True Disciples were their top priority. Inner Sect Disciples were left to fend for themselves; if they achieved results, that was best, but if not, it didn't matter.
And Outer Sect Disciples, like Zhang Yan, were purely objects of exploitation.
Yet, sadly, there were many people who didn't even have the qualifications to be exploited.
Zhang Yan felt deeply helpless about this.
However, since he could not change the Rules, he would strive to adapt to them.
He set a small goal first: once he entered the Qi Refining Stage, he would contract two hundred mu of Spirit Fields and make a huge profit!
The Spirit Fields contracted by Elder Lin were not far from their garden.
Passing through the lush forest and treading along the weed-covered path, they finally arrived beside a Spirit Field.
At this moment.
It was summer.
Under the scorching sun, a breeze blew, and the green Spirit Rice swayed like waves, one after another, endless and continuous, looking quite comfortable.
"This entire Spirit Field is contracted by me."
"You brat, learn well from me. Once you've learned, if nothing else, at least you'll have a basic guarantee."
Seeing the shock on Zhang Yan's face, a look of pride appeared on Elder Lin's face.
Although his cultivation level was not high.
He had quite a bit of Talent in the way of cultivation.
Otherwise, given his cultivation level and Aptitude, it would have been impossible for him to marry and have children in the Qingheng Sect.
"Your job today is to weed. The Spiritual Energy in this Spirit Field is dense, but weeds grow here and compete with the Spirit Rice for Spiritual Energy. You just need to remove the weeds from the field." As Elder Lin spoke, he corrected him, showing him what was a weed and what was Spirit Rice.
These weeds grew quite similarly to the Spirit Rice; if one didn't identify them carefully, it was very possible to mistake them.
As he spoke, he casually pulled two weeds from the Spirit Field.
"These weeds absorb Spiritual Energy. After pulling them out, you must throw them to the side of the road. Do not throw them back into the Spirit Field, or they will grow back in just one night."
"Yes, Elder Lin!"
Zhang Yan nodded.
Then he reached out to pull the weeds.
"Hmm?"
The weed was not tall, but Zhang Yan pulled with force several times, and it didn't budge.
"The root system of this weed often takes root dozens of meters deep. If you pull like that, you won't be able to pull it out. Just use this to hoe it out." Seeing this, Elder Lin patted the Storage Bag at his waist.
Then a hoe appeared in his hand, which he handed to Zhang Yan.
"Thank you, Elder Lin." Zhang Yan sighed; this Cultivation World was indeed magnificent.
Even a single weed had managed to stump him.
"Good, work hard. I'm going to water the plants." Elder Lin handed over the hoe and turned to leave.
Zhang Yan didn't speak, just stared at the hoe in his hand.
He had been wondering yesterday when he would encounter the next piece of equipment.
He hadn't expected that in just one day, he would encounter a second piece of equipment.
【Name】: Spirit Hoe
【Quality】: Gray
【Equipment Effect】: Sharpness, Spirit Plant Nurturing Minor Accomplishment, Spirit Plant Identification
"This..."
"It's actually also a piece of equipment!"
Seeing the Spirit Hoe in his hand, Zhang Yan's eyes widened. Moreover, this equipment actually had three effects.
Sharpness: Your Magic Tool attacks carry an additional layer of Sharpness effect.
Spirit Plant Nurturing Minor Accomplishment: You are now barely an Entry-level Spirit Plant Master!
Spirit Plant Identification: You can now identify ordinary Spirit Plants.
✦✦✦