“These are earth-attribute techniques, pick one. This is the Lightning Bolt Talisman I promised you!”
Manager Meng tossed a thin book and a talisman onto the counter. Mu Jiuxiao caught them, offered Manager Meng a word of thanks, and after inspecting the pages closely, selected the Earth Spirit Spike.
The book also recorded the Earth Splitting Technique and the Earth Wall Technique, both standard Qi Condensation techniques. He would have liked to learn them all, but his purse was light, leaving him no choice but to start with the Earth Spirit Spike.
The Earth Spirit Spike counted as an offensive technique. Once mastered, he would finally possess a measure of self-preservation.
“Choose already and be off!”
Manager Meng urged him impatiently. Mu Jiuxiao quickly asked, “Manager, now that I have reached the first layer of Qi Condensation, might I be permitted to tend another mu of land?”
Manager Meng cast a sideways glance at him. “There are no vacant plots at present. If you want more land, you can clear it from the wilderness outside.”
“Then I must ask Manager Meng to keep me in mind should anything open up.”
Mu Jiuxiao cupped his fists in a salute, turned, and left.
With the Lightning Bolt Talisman tucked safely against his chest, his sense of security increased significantly. He had not thought to ask how many spirit stones the method for drawing the talisman would cost, but it was undoubtedly a sum beyond his reach for now; he could always ask another time when the opportunity arose.
Back at his quarters, someone still came by to ask for his help harvesting spirit rice, but upon learning that Mu Jiuxiao had sold his Cold Iron Sickle, the man turned away without another word.
Mu Jiuxiao expected as much and said nothing. The fewer people who knew he had stepped into the first layer of Qi Condensation, the better.
After finishing his daily cultivation, he set to work on the Earth Spirit Spike. Though his talent for cultivation was ordinary, his aptitude for spellcasting proved quite good. In just a single day, he had mastered the technique.
When he successfully conjured his very first Earth Spirit Spike, Mu Jiuxiao nearly jumped for joy like a child. This was the first true technique he had ever learned, and it offered him his first real glimpse into the wondrous side of the cultivation world.
calming his excitement, he resumed his diligent practice.
Any technique, once mastered thoroughly, could unleash formidable power-even a low-tier technique like the Earth Spirit Spike!
For the next half-month, aside from his routine cultivation and talisman crafting, Mu Jiuxiao devoted every spare moment to practicing the Earth Spirit Spike. Whenever his Dantian’s Spiritual Qi was depleted, he sat cross-legged to recover; the moment his reserves filled again, he resumed his practice.
…
“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”
In a freshly harvested patch of spirit fields, Mu Jiuxiao’s mind stirred, and three Earth Spirit Spikes shot forward in rapid succession.
A rat with two prominent golden teeth was pinned to the final earth spike, its body twisting in frantic struggles. Unfortunately, the more it thrashed, the faster its lifeblood drained, until a final twitch of its limbs brought stillness.
“Not bad. Though it is only an unranked burrowing mouse, these pests love to gnaw on the roots of the Gold Spirit Rice. Eliminating it early removes a hazard from the field.”
With a wave of his hand, Mu Jiuxiao dismissed the three spikes, letting the carcass drop to the ground.
After weeks of practice, he could now cast the Earth Spirit Spike instantly and fire three at a time. Its power far exceeded what it had been when he first learned it.
Hard Work Makes Up for Clumsiness-truly, the adage did not deceive. With this trick in hand, he finally possessed some means of defense.
Mu Jiuxiao stepped forward, intending to toss the burrowing mouse into his provisions for a meal, when the creature-supposedly dead-suddenly sprang off the ground and bolted forward!
“Whoosh!”
With another flick of his thought, Mu Jiuxiao sent out a fresh Earth Spirit Spike, pinning it once more. He walked over and picked the creature up. “Tenacious little beast, aren’t you?”
The mouse thrashed left and right in his grip, unable to break free. Mu Jiuxiao caught it by the tail. “Save your energy and be a good meal.”
As he carried it along, the creature suddenly twisted its head and sank its teeth into his hand. A sharp pain caused Mu Jiuxiao to loosen his grip, and the mouse instantly scrambled to burrow into the earth.
“You dare bite me? You’re asking for death!”
Never had he imagined a dying mouse could still muster such strength. Ignoring the sting in his hand, Mu Jiuxiao lunged and caught it again, this time wisely forgoing the tail and gripping it firmly by the throat.
“Eh?”
His gaze fell upon the creature’s protruding front teeth, and he realized something was amiss.
Tapping the two golden incisors lightly, he heard a distinct metallic clink, like striking stone.
“This… this doesn’t look like an ordinary burrowing mouse.”
He inspected the creature closely. Standard burrowing mice possessed gray fur, but this one’s coat was a shimmering silver-gray with a faint luster. Its tail was bushy, bearing more resemblance to a rabbit than a rodent.
“Behave. Move again and I’ll knock those teeth out.
Mu Jiuxiao glared and offered a fierce threat. The little mouse rolled its dark eyes as if it understood, instantly freezing in place.
Back at home, Mu Jiuxiao tore a strip of cloth to bandage its wound before placing it inside a small iron cage.
He kept it partly out of curiosity-having never seen such a creature-and partly because, upon closer inspection, it looked considerably cuter than the common pests.
With that, Mu Jiuxiao turned to tend to his spirit rice porridge.
After a full day of cultivation, it was time for his meal. The little mouse had been lying listlessly in the cage, but as the aroma of the cooking spirit rice drifted through the room, it began to squeak, its dark eyes fixed hungiously on the small clay pot.
“Oh? Want a taste of my spirit rice porridge too?”
Scooping out his portion, Mu Jiuxiao caught sight of the creature’s expectant expression and allowed a faint smile. He sat down and ate with evident enjoyment right before the cage.
“Squeak, squeak!”
The little mouse clawed frantically at the iron bars. Once he finished his bowl, Mu Jiuxiao mischievously placed the empty vessel inside the cage.
The mouse looked up at him with an aggrieved expression, rested its front paws on the rim, and promptly bit down on the ceramic edge!
“Crunch, crunch!”
Seeming to defy him, the little mouse used its large golden teeth to chip off pieces of the bowl one by one, swallowing them whole.
“Fine, fine, you win!”
Seeing the bowl devoured, Mu Jiuxiao picked up the cooking pot instead. “Here, let’s see you finish this.”
True to form, the mouse gnawed away most of the small clay pot before finally stopping. Seemingly stuffed, it crawled directly into the remaining half of the pot, stretched out its limbs, and lay completely motionless.
Mu Jiuxiao crouched down to inspect it. That made no sense-how could a burrowing mouse eat ceramic bowls and clay pots? More importantly, its abdomen had been pierced right through earlier; wouldn’t anything it ate simply fall out the other side?
Curious, he reached in, lifted the creature out, and unwrapped the cloth bandage. To his astonishment, the wound on its belly had almost completely healed.
“Good heavens, what kind of monster is this?!”
Only a faint pale line remained where the severe injury had been, as if the piercing wound had never existed. The sight startled Mu Jiuxiao so badly he nearly dropped it.
A moment later, however, reality set in. This was the cultivation world, and he was an immortal sect tenant. Though he had met few immortals, he could not afford to view himself with the narrow mindset of a mortal farmer-even if his current life differed very little from one.
An immortal sect was an immortal sect. Running into a strange spirit beast here should hardly come as a shock.
Why make a fuss like an ignorant bumpkin?
When it came down to it, his starting point was simply too low. Though dwelling within an immortal gate, he lacked both knowledge and experience.
Aside from Gold Spirit Rice, he knew next to nothing about spirit plants or herbs, let alone spirit beasts and Demon Beasts. Viewed in that light, he truly was a country bumpkin of the cultivation world!
Tsk, what a miserable plight.