Chương 38: Chapter 37

Over a hundred and ten thousand Talent Points! And that was just to upgrade one white talent to red. At Nascent Soul, Elara would have five talent slots. If each talent needed another hundred and ten thousand points, how long would she have to keep growing Rank One spirit plants? They really want me to grow more varieties. The staggering cost reminded her how Seed of Ascension's loot pools worked.

For players who chose the Spirit Gardener profession, the developers might put one Talent Point reward, two Fortune rewards, and a handful of skill proficiency rewards into the Glowmist Grass pool. Everything else would grant a day of cultivation or restore a little qi. The chance of drawing a Talent Point reward might be one percent. Fortune, two percent. Skill proficiency, a few percent. And once a rare reward had been drawn, it was gone.

A new player who grew nothing but Glowmist Grass would eventually exhaust its rare rewards. After that, every orb would grant either a day of cultivation or qi restoration. To replenish the pool, players had to "explore more of the game's content." In other words, grow something else. Spirit rice, perhaps. Or Mindveil Grass. Or Wellspring Grass. Growing new varieties added Talent Points, talents, Fortune, and skill proficiency rewards to the new-player bonus pool. But there was a catch.

Rare rewards unlocked by growing Mindveil Grass or Wellspring Grass could still drop from Glowmist Grass or spirit rice. The odds were just lower. That kept new Spirit Gardeners growing a little of everything. Even plants with few practical uses would find someone willing to cultivate them. By the time Elara had started playing Seed of Ascension, the game had been out for a while. She hadn't given much thought to which plants she grew early on. It was a game.

A click took care of the work, and if that wasn't enough, there was always the cash shop. Living in this world made the arrangement considerably less appealing. Glowmist Grass matured in seven days. Mindveil Grass took two weeks. Wellspring Grass took a month. For Rank Two, Rank Three, and Rank Four spirit plants, growing times were measured in years. At least I'm in the Moonwatch Sect. The disciples here need enough different plants to keep me busy. As she considered her options, a solution emerged. Commissions.

The Moonwatch Sect had more than five thousand outer disciples alone. Between them, the inner disciples, and the Foundation Establishment cultivators, there was demand for an enormous variety of spirit plants. Some had little commercial value. Anyone who needed them had to pay extra to make the work worthwhile for a Spirit Gardener. Those were the commissions Elara wanted. First, though, she needed the skills to complete them—and a reputation that would make people willing to hire her.

Qualifying as a Rank One Spirit Gardener would be a good start. She had learned Stormcalling. Together with her five basic arts, that made her eligible to take the certification examination. Passing it was another matter. Her Stormcalling proficiency was still low, she was only at Tier 4 Qi Refining, and she was still using a basic cultivation method: Minor Origin Breathing Art. Expecting to pass now was probably asking too much.

She settled on a short-term goal: improve Stormcalling, learn the Verdant Moon Method, then take the Rank One Spirit Gardener examination. With that decided, she got back to work. Elara planted the Mindveil Grass and Wellspring Grass seeds in her courtyard's spirit field, then filled the remaining space with Glowmist Grass. She began forming hand seals. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. [You have successfully cast Stormcalling. Proficiency +1.] [You have successfully cast Soften Earth. Proficiency +1.] [You have successfully cast Raincall. Proficiency +1.]... Once she had spent all her qi tending the plants, she went inside to meditate and replenish it. Another round of work and recovery followed. By the time she finished, the moon was high overhead. Midnight. Elara activated a Soul-Calming Talisman. I, Elara, seek to carry on the legacy of the Seeds of Ascension. Grant me entry to the Dao Realm. The familiar realm appeared around her.

This time, she didn't spare the Stairway of the Great Dao a glance. Instead, she recalled the teachings of the Verdant Moon Method she had purchased, sat cross-legged, and began to practice. One day passed. Then a second. Then a third. She still hadn't mastered the basics. The following day, she returned to the Dao Realm and tried again. [You have successfully practiced the Verdant Moon Method. Proficiency +1.] [46/100] At last.

With her time in the realm nearly up, Elara had finally managed to practice the Rank One cultivation method successfully. She quickly opened her status panel. … Personal Status Race: Human Cultivation: Qi Refining, Tier 4 (3/100)... Rank One Cultivation Methods: [Verdant Moon Method] (Level 1: 46/100) … Her qi felt considerably denser than before. That made the sight of [Qi Refining, Tier 4 (3/100)] a little easier to bear.

Switching to a higher-ranked cultivation method was bound to cost her some progress within her current tier. What mattered was that she was stronger. Moving from a basic cultivation method to a rank one method had increased her strength by at least thirty percent. That advantage would hold all the way to the peak of Qi Refining. It would even improve her chances of reaching Foundation Establishment by twenty to thirty percentage points. Minor Origin Breathing Art was at Level 2, with eleven proficiency points.

That gave the Verdant Moon Method forty-five points to start with. One more from practicing makes forty-six. She was beginning to understand. What she had already learned could give her a head start with related cultivation methods and arts. Perhaps she could focus on raising a single art to a high level, then use that foundation to make faster progress with related arts at lower levels. Then she remembered the spirit plants in her courtyard. So much for specializing.

Every day, she needed to cast Stormcalling, Raincall, and Soften Earth several times. Any pests would require Pest Ward. She couldn't even set Grassweaving Art aside, since Prim needed repairs. Her thoughts returned to the Rank One Spirit Gardener examination. After considering it, she decided to give it a try tomorrow. Even if she failed, she had learned both Stormcalling and the Verdant Moon Method. Surely that was worth showing Celia.

Once Celia saw her progress, she would be even more eager to draw Elara into her circle. And what better way to build a closer relationship with her newest fellow disciple than to supply her with a few spirit plant seeds? With that promising prospect in mind, Elara resolved to visit the Hall of Spirit Gardening the next day. She left the Dao Realm and went to sleep.... By the time morning sunlight reached her room, she had already washed and eaten breakfast.

Putting off her first round of gardening arts, she left the courtyard and headed up Azuremoon Peak. Other disciples sped past her, using movement arts or riding spirit pets. Elara might own several Arcane-grade artifacts, but she had barely any Spirit Stones and not a single Contribution Point. She couldn't even afford the local equivalent of a bus fare—a ride on one of the spirit pets. At the summit, at least, her standing in the sect finally proved useful.

Ordinary outer disciples had to wait in line to conduct business, even if they worked for the Hall of Spirit Gardening. Elara, however, was apprenticed to Theron Gu, a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator and an elder of the hall. Celia, a gifted member of the Gu family and another of his apprentices, oversaw much of its daily administration. The moment the cultivator on duty spotted Elara, he directed her to Celia.

As long as Celia was willing to see her, there was no need to wait in line with everyone on official business. The other disciples watched enviously as she walked straight in. Celia was handling some of the hall's affairs for her grandfather. At the sight of Elara, she smiled fondly, then gave her the sort of reproachful look an older sister might use. Elara could almost hear it. Finally decided to ask for help? What took you so long? You should have come yesterday—or the day before. The warmth was unmistakable.

Feeling a little sheepish, Elara bowed.

"I've been busy these past two days, Celia."

"Oh? With what? I told you to get Stormcalling and the Verdant Moon Method, didn't I?" Celia sounded fondly exasperated.

"Wasn't that enough of a hint? I was waiting for you to come and ask me for help." Elara had understood the hint perfectly well. But the teachings she had purchased came with extensive annotations, and those had given her everything she needed to learn both the technique and the cultivation method in the Dao Realm. Asking Celia for guidance right away simply hadn't occurred to her. She had planned to save up her questions for her monthly audience with their master.

Still, with Celia being so welcoming, she was happy to accept. Elara bowed again, then stepped closer with a hopeful smile.

"Celia, I've learned both Stormcalling and the Verdant Moon Method. Do you think I could take the Rank One Spirit Gardener examination?" Celia had been sipping her tea, preparing to give her newest fellow apprentice a little lecture. She nearly sprayed it into Elara's face. She'd learned both? She only bought those teachings three days ago. How could she possibly have learned them already? And how had she practiced a Rank One mystic technique and a Rank One cultivation method without injuring herself?

Celia studied her, at a loss for words. If Elara was telling the truth, her standing among Theron's disciples and associates was about to change completely.

Thank you all so much for your support. I never expected this many people to stand by me. Your kindness has meant so much to me, and I can't thank you enough. I also noticed that the reviews making baseless accusations have disappeared, or at least I can't see them anymore.:) I know my story isn't perfect and has plenty of room for improvement. I welcome fair, honest criticism, but I really don't appreciate accusations with no basis. There's also something I need to clarify: English isn't my first language.

After I finish writing, I usually use AI to help polish my grammar and make adjustments to the wording. My book cover is also AI-generated. Beyond those uses of AI, the story itself and the creative work behind it are entirely my own.