Chunfeng looked at his grandson for a long time before sighing, leaving the garden. The family inevitably had several factions, but if his grandson was truly talented, then his Verdant Grove faction would do its best to support the emergence of a Talisman Hall.
Fortunately though, as a family, many matters were easier. Instead of the many procedures of a sect, as long as people agreed and the matter wasn’t too difficult, there would be nothing stopping them. Even if the benefits of others became less, as long as it benefitted the family in total, most elders, who are the leaders of the factions, won’t disagree.
Only families that have fallen on bad times will be conservative. Families that no longer have the advantage of families over sects, the advantage of closeness and unity, aren’t far off from decline. Their Fu Clan, while only over 200 years old, has never forgotten its core principles and ingrained them into every new clan member, ensuring prosperity even without the aid of their backers. Of course, if they performed badly, then the backers would have long forgotten them.
Sighing one last time, Chunfeng had already walked out of the courtyard and made his way to the Verdant Grove. The grove was his lineage and faction’s greatest asset, so he spent most of his days there. He even had a courtyard in the grove, only returning so often to check in on his grandson, as even his daughter was in the grove most of the time.
...
Muyu didn’t think about his words much after he left. They were his sincere hopes and thoughts and wouldn’t be revoked no matter what. But such things were far in the future, so he focused on the present!
"Which plant should I choose? Perfecting it—although I don’t think I’ll only perfect trees in the future, learning this part is extremely important!
And!
Grandpa said I’d get the certification!"
When he thought of this, his eyes lit up brightly like the stars.
Certification—this was something only the Creation Guilds could bestow upon cultivators who have reached certain levels with their creation arts.
The Creation Guilds were made of the Seven Main Creation Arts, forming Seven Creation Guilds, united by a Creation Guild Alliance. These seven guilds were of course: Planting Guild, Herding Guild, Alchemy Guild, Talisman Guild, Refining Guild, Formation Guild and Weaving Guild.
Generally, places with second-stage spiritual veins have at least three guilds: the planting and herding guilds, and another guild of the five elements. Places with third-stage spiritual veins have all seven guilds.
There are also various major and minor guilds, their classification based on their total members. Places with third-stage spiritual veins and higher usually have some of these, while those below depend entirely on the local specialty.
For example, a place with abundant fruits might have a Winery Guild even without an Alchemy Guild being around. Because of their erraticness, these guilds are less honoured outside. Usually, even if you’re a Winery Master, you will try to gain an Outer Membership of the Alchemy Guild, or if you’re a Feng Shui Master, you’ll get an Outer Membership of the Formation Guild.
"A full membership at the Planting Creation Guild will require a certification of a proper low-grade planting master! This is not just about farming—and farming isn’t just about grain. It’s about simply planting plants, watering them and taking care of their outer environment. This is far from a planting master who can see things to the core—and those that can, become a full member of the creation guild and can earn various benefits!"
Muyu knew for a fact that the reward for a low-grade first-stage planting master in the creation guild would be planting equipment! Such items were difficult to refine and rarely found in the market. It’s said that even just using them normally, one can improve their planting efficiency by 10%!
His eyes lit up brightly, but he didn’t lose his focus. Choose a plant!
"A mid-stage plant, hmm... I should take a plant that is more suitable for the Cleansing Talisman. Even if the inscriptions are just distantly related, by taking care of the plant, I should be able to rapidly increase my successrate. Proficiency is all about hard work, but I get more proficiency from successful talismans than from failed talismans, so choosing the right plant is essential!"
Having said so much, he no longer hesitated and walked to the plants he knew about.
There were three plants in the garden that had the effect of cleansing, as this wasn’t a particularly effect. They were: a bamboo, lavender and a willow tree.
"Bamboos have all kinds of positive effects, so the cleansing part might not be prominently displayed. Lavender... while it’s indeed good, it might also have some inscription lines about scent, beauty, flowers and so on.
Willows... they represent clarity and bending, so they’re quire suitable, even if the tree doesn’t hold the full meaning of cleansing, it should be the closest and the one with most symbolism in this garden."
He made a choice and directly walked to the willow tree. Of course there were others, but they were either low-grade or high-grade, the former was too little, and he wasn’t confident about the latter, so he chose the willow.
Arriving in front of it, he saw its appearance:
A low tree, only about three metres tall, but it had several hanging branches with many leaves. It looked quire beautiful, and around it, there was a small pond.
"This is the mid-grade first-stage Evening Rain Willow, a willow that gathers moisture in the air in the evening and forms droplets on the leaves, which then fall like rain, forming a small pond or pool around its foundation."
He instantly sat down in front of the willow and inspected it deeply with his eyes. Before using his special perception, he wanted to see whether there were any obvious solutions. After all, the perception exhausted him greatly, while just looking didn’t do much.
After a short while, as expected, he saw that some branches were stronger than others, which is likely a characteristic that can be easily spotted on all plants.
Instantly, he enhanced his vision and started observing—