Chương 35: Chapter 34

Night had fallen over the Moonwatch Sect. In Courtyard C7 of Azuremoon Peak's outer disciple residences, Elara dipped her brush in ink and traced a talisman pattern onto the paper before her. A faint blue glow followed the tip. With the final strokes, the qi flowing through the pattern settled into place. [Soul-Calming Talisman] (Level 2: 7/100) Another success. She put the talisman away, leaned back in her chair, and wiped the sweat from her face. Something cracked beside the table. Elara glanced at Prim.

The little scarecrow stood beside her, looking as blank as ever. A split had opened where its arm met its shoulder. Guilt stirred.

"Prim, I can barely afford anything right now. But once I borrow some seeds from Alistair, things will start looking up for us." The straw creaked again. Prim said nothing. It merely raised its arm, showing her the gap where the woven spirit rice stalks had pulled apart. Elara pretended not to see. The little scarecrow pattered around the table, stopped directly in front of her, and raised its damaged arm again.

"All right, all right. You're getting far too clever." Admitting defeat, she patched the damaged section, then summoned what little qi she had left and cast Grassweaving Art. A glimmer swept over Prim's shoulder. The loose strands of spirit rice straw wound together, drawing the split closed. Prim tested its arm, then swayed on the spot, its expression as vacant as ever. Elara activated her Soul-Calming Talisman. Student Elara seeks to carry on the legacy of the Seeds of Ascension. Grant me entry to the Dao Realm.

She recited the words silently and returned to the familiar trial realm. The fifth step of the Stairway of the Great Dao stood before her. She had no intention of going near it. The fourth trial had matched her against a sword cultivator from an immortal realm sect. She had needed talismans to beat him. By the fifth, the Dao Realm had stopped doing her the courtesy of choosing human opponents. Last time, it had produced a spirit beast with a True Spirit bloodline. A True Spirit bloodline.

Any beast born with one was a prodigy among its kind. The worst part was never knowing what she would face. Being allowed to choose the battlefield wasn't much help when she had no idea what would be fighting her on it. The fifth trial could wait until she reached Tier 5 Qi Refining. For now, she remained in the plaza and reviewed the instructions for Stormcalling. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. She formed the hand seals and set her qi in motion.

Wind swept around her, driven by the current of spiritual energy. This was the technique's first stage: raising the wind. In practice, it meant controlling the movement of qi. Once she could fully control its flow within a given area, she had to gather that qi and condense it into rain. Learning to shift freely between those two states would give her a basic grasp of the Rank One mystic technique. Getting there could be dangerous.

Her qi circulation, the precision of her hand seals, even changes in her surroundings could affect the casting. A failed attempt could damage her dantian and meridians. She would never have dared experiment this recklessly outside. In the Dao Realm, she could afford mistakes. As she was about to demonstrate. She had barely unleashed the first stage when the qi inside her body began churning as violently as the energy around her. She tried to force the casting through.

Blood rose in her throat and trickled from the corner of her mouth.

"Dao Realm, restore my condition." White light flashed. The pain vanished. She immediately began working through what she had felt, trying to identify where the casting had gone wrong. A few minutes later, wind rose around her again. Another attempt. Another mouthful of blood. She kept at it. Practice Makes Perfect helped her learn from each failure. The Dao Realm repaired the damage, leaving only the mounting strain on her consciousness. At last, she managed a barely functional cast.

Qi flowed through the spirit rice, threading between the stalks a few inches above the soil. The remaining energy gathered overhead and condensed into fine rain. It drifted over the golden field, filling the air with rich spiritual energy. [Stormcalling] (Level 1: 1/100) The proficiency entry had appeared.

"Yes!" Elara beamed. A full day of grinding in the Dao Realm, and she had finally managed to perform the Rank One mystic technique. The exhausting string of failures only made the success sweeter. Outside, she would have needed at least a day of rest after every two or three failed attempts. Without pills to heal her injuries, learning the technique would have taken about a month. Even with them, she would have needed two weeks. Here, one day had been enough.

Now that she had succeeded once, all she had to do was grind proficiency. That, she could handle. [2/100] [3/100] … Progress was slow. Both stages of Stormcalling demanded constant control over the qi's movement and its transition from one state to the other. Near the end of her three days, just before she had to leave, Elara opened her status panel. … Personal Status Race: Human Cultivation: Qi Refining, Tier 4 (23/100) Fortune: 8 Talents: [Practice Makes Perfect (White)], [Spirit-Touched Foundation (Green)]...

Rank One Mystic Technique: [Stormcalling] (Level 1: 24/100) … At Level 1, with twenty-four proficiency points, she trusted herself to use the technique when sowing spirit rice. Once the rice had stalks, though, she would probably tear the plants out of the ground. Still, it was enough for now. Back in the real world, Elara went straight to sleep. The next morning, she washed, stepped outside, and settled in the courtyard to wait. Shortly before nine, someone knocked.

"Boss, it's me!" Alistair called.

"I got your message." Elara took a deep breath and went to open the gate. He stood outside in the uniform of a servant disciple assigned to one of the Moonwatch Sect's shops, wearing a smile so broad it was almost ingratiating.

"Boss! I heard a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator took you as his disciple. How does it feel? Did our new master give you an artifact?"

"You wish." Elara ushered him inside, unable to keep the irritation out of her voice.

"So far, I've only met my master and Celia. I haven't even seen his other disciples." Alistair obligingly poured her tea, then stationed himself beside the stone table with a knowing look.

"I understand. My family has enough petty squabbles, and we're only House Li. You've joined a future Golden Core master's household."

"Celia's actually been very kind to me."

"Don't worry, boss." He thumped his chest.

"Whatever happens, I'll be there to back you up." He seemed so convinced he had unraveled the intrigues of her master's household that Elara could only shake her head. Then she smiled.

"Alistair, have you thought about what I mentioned in my letter?"

"I'm not about to leave my boss in a tight spot!" he declared solemnly.

"I'll cover all the spirit plant seeds you need."

"Just like that?" She hadn't expected this to be so easy. Alistair chuckled.

"My father gave me plenty of Spirit Stones to build connections with Moonwatch Sect disciples. You're a Moonwatch Sect disciple, aren't you? And you're apprenticed to a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator!" Despite her earlier joke, Elara had no intention of swindling him. She was confident she could grow the crop. Time to show Alistair what she could do.