Chương 32: Chapter 31

Still inside the Dao Realm, Elara reshaped the terrain into a practice ground and got to work on Pest Ward. Its proficiency climbed steadily from [63/100] to [101/100]. At last, the art reached Level 3. Her time in the Dao Realm ran out soon afterward. Her vision blurred, and she found herself back in her cottage. Outside the window, dusk was falling. House Li's banquet was that evening. She took the Glowmist Grass seeds from her Storage Ring and hurried into the courtyard.

Prim sat alone, looking as vacant as ever. When it spotted her, the little scarecrow wobbled to its feet. Its mouth opened and closed as though complaining about how dreadfully boring the past few days had been.

"All right, all right. Once we reach the sect, I'll plant you a whole field of spirit plants. You'll be the finest scarecrow around." Elara stroked its rough little head. Somehow, this straw puppet had developed a mind of its own. Looking after it was every bit as satisfying as having a pet. It never made a fuss. Its only hobby was working. A spirit pet like that was a rare find, even in the cultivation world. Unfortunately, advancing a puppet's rank took considerable resources.

Unlike living creatures, puppets couldn't simply eat and absorb spiritual energy to grow stronger. Taking an unranked puppet all the way to Rank Two, Rank Three, or beyond… Elara could already imagine the expense. Fortunately, she had the Spiritwell Flask. Better still, it produced spirit liquid much faster inside the Dao Realm. With an average concentration of ambient spiritual energy, a Low Arcane-grade Spiritwell Flask produced roughly one drop of Rank One spirit liquid a day.

Inside the Dao Realm, hers had produced twelve drops in three days. Given nine days, it could even produce a drop of Rank Two spirit liquid. Each Rank One drop provided a spirit plant with roughly ten days' worth of growth. She had twelve Glowmist Grass seeds left and a flask of spirit liquid to speed their growth. Her next harvest was suddenly a lot closer. Dreaming of the money she would make, Elara planted the seeds in her tiny courtyard plot.

Then she carefully tipped a single drop of spirit liquid onto the soil and formed the hand seals for Raincall. Spiritual mist gathered above the plot. Tender green shoots broke through the earth. With the spirit liquid and Raincall working together, the seedlings grew rapidly, unfurling new leaves before her eyes. But the spirit liquid had attracted something else.

"Oh, no. Pests." Black specks dotted the Glowmist Grass leaves. Elara immediately cast Pest Ward. Hands of qi swept over the plants, destroying the insect eggs before they could hatch. At Level 3, Pest Ward was just strong enough to keep the infestation in check. The plants continued growing. Elara wiped her forehead. Good thing I spent today working on Pest Ward. With so much spiritual energy nourishing the Glowmist Grass, pests could multiply as fast as the plants grew.

Without Level 3 Pest Ward, she wouldn't have been able to keep up. Now, at least, she could protect her crop. This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. The maturity readings for all twelve plants climbed rapidly. [10/100] [30/100] … [100/100] After eight drops of Rank One spirit liquid and several castings of Raincall, all twelve stalks of Glowmist Grass were fully mature. Twelve reward orbs appeared in the plot. Eleven white. One green.

"A green one!" Elara eagerly reached for the white orbs first. [You have collected a White Random Reward Orb. Reward: One day of cultivation ×8.] [You have collected a White Random Reward Orb. Reward: Restore a small amount of qi ×3.] [16/100] Her Tier 4 Qi Refining progress had increased by one point, and her qi reserves were full again.

"So it takes seven and a half days of cultivation to earn one experience point now." With that figured out, Elara turned to the green orb. [You have collected a Green Random Reward Orb. Reward: Metal Gathering Art (Modified) proficiency +50.]"Oh?" [Metal Gathering Art (Modified)] jumped from [Level 2: 12/100] to [Level 2: 62/100]. She studied the change. This was the first time an orb had given her skill proficiency. It made sense, though. These rewards were meant to help new players catch up.

The developers might be reluctant to hand out equipment, pets, or Spirit Stones, but they could afford to be generous with things that otherwise required hours of grinding. The whole point was to help newcomers catch up with established players. Why wouldn't skill proficiency be included? She had already received a talent, even if it was only white-grade. Soft footsteps interrupted her as she was about to harvest the Glowmist Grass. She turned to find Prim staring blankly at the plot. Elara giggled.

"I didn't need any help with this batch. Why don't you go rest… Actually, never mind. I'll plant some more when I get back tonight. Then you'll have something to do." The spirit liquid had made the crop grow too quickly for Prim to help. Reassurance was all she could offer. She harvested the Glowmist Grass, packed it into her wooden box, and carried it to Dawnmere Trading House. The twelve stalks sold for three hundred Spirit Coins, equivalent to three Spirit Stones.

Elara spent a hundred coins on twenty more Glowmist Grass seeds. She would grow one more batch. Once she reached the sect, she could move on to more profitable crops, such as Mindveil Grass. That evening, she attended House Li's banquet. After eating and drinking her fill, she returned home, planted all twenty seeds, and left Prim to watch over them. At midnight, she activated the [Soul-Calming Talisman] she had prepared and entered the Dao Realm for three days of cultivation.

[Qi Refining, Tier 4 (21/100)] Before leaving, she attempted the fifth step of the Stairway of the Great Dao. A spirit beast with strength equivalent to Tier 5 Qi Refining thoroughly thrashed her and sent her out of the realm. Elara decided she was done volunteering to get killed. Her next attempt could wait until she reached Tier 5. The following morning, she used fourteen drops of spirit liquid from the Spiritwell Flask to bring all twenty stalks of Glowmist Grass to maturity.

[You have collected a White Random Reward Orb. Reward: One day of cultivation x15.] [You have collected a White Random Reward Orb. Reward: Restore a small amount of qi x5.] [Qi Refining, Tier 4 (23/100)] For now, her time in Valehaven was over. Elara packed her belongings, then paused to look around the little courtyard. She was going to miss it more than she had expected. From today onward, she would no longer be an independent cultivator struggling to get by. She was an outer disciple of the Moonwatch Sect.

Even when Gathering Shadows began, she wouldn't have to live in constant fear of demonic cultivators abducting her and using her to fuel their cultivation. She stepped outside and slowly pulled the gate shut. It felt like closing the door on her old life. Her reflective mood lasted only until she reached the Moonwatch compound. There were far too many people waiting. Cultivators crowded around the grounds.

The independent cultivators watched Elara and Julian with open envy, plainly wishing they could take their places. Valehaven's three great cultivation families and the City Lord's estate had sent representatives, too. People she had once considered far above her now greeted her with warm smiles. Without Alden and Sebastian's stern disapproval keeping them at a distance, Valehaven's cultivators would have spent the past two days pestering her relentlessly.

"Is everything ready, Elara?" The two Foundation Establishment cultivators had been chatting over tea in the main hall. Both smiled in welcome, and Alden spoke kindly. She nodded.

"Thank you for waiting, Elder."

"Sebastian and I have been sampling Valehaven's tea." Alden laughed and glanced at his companion. Sebastian rose, ready to leave. Alden extended a hand. Spiritual energy surged overhead. Before long, an enormous flying ship entered Valehaven and came to a stop above the compound.

"Don't resist, Elara. I'll take you aboard." Alden rested a hand on her shoulder. A current of qi lifted them both and carried them swiftly toward the field-inspection ship. Nearby, Sebastian gave Julian a chilly look, seized him by the collar, and flew up with him dangling like a piece of luggage. From that height, Julian could see all of Valehaven. He looked down at the independent cultivators and family members watching from below. For one agonizing moment, he wished he could simply stop existing.

The difference in treatment became even more obvious when they reached the deck. Sebastian dropped Julian off to one side. Alden gently set Elara on her feet. She was about to thank him when someone called out.

"Boss!" Alistair.

"What are you doing here?" Elara stared at him. He had taken the outer disciple examination, too, and he certainly hadn't passed.

"Greetings, Elder Alden. Master Sebastian." Grinning, Alistair hurried over and paid his respects to the two Foundation Establishment cultivators. Then he gave Elara a conspiratorial wink.

"I applied for a servant disciple position at one of the shops in Moonwatch City. They accepted me." Elara was momentarily speechless.

"Applied" was a generous description. His connections had clearly done the work. Still, having Alistair in Moonwatch City could be useful. Once she started growing spirit plants at the sect, she could ask him to handle the sales. She warmed to the idea.