Chapter 110: Cultivating the Spirit Tea Tree

"For me, the cultivation difficulty of the Life-Severing Finger is actually greater than that of the Annual Ring Technique."

After obtaining the cultivation method for the Life-Severing Finger, Zhou Changwang naturally began practicing it immediately. However, two hours had passed, and he had yet to even make an entry. This was not because the Life-Severing Finger was superior to the Annual Ring Technique; rather, when practicing the Annual Ring Technique, Zhou Changwang had the foundation of the Quickening Technique, and the already simplified rune structure had saved him countless hours of grueling work.

The Life-Severing Finger, however, was different. It was an entirely unfamiliar spell that required him to familiarize himself with it piece by piece and outline it step by step. Fortunately, Zhou Changwang had considerable experience in cultivating various spells. By the third hour, he finally made an entry. By then, the moon was high in the sky, so he gave up on drawing talismans, activated his minor Spirit-Gathering Array, and entered into meditation.

In the blink of an eye, several days passed.

Spells: Annual Ring Technique (Minor Success 32/400), Life-Severing Finger (Minor Success 1/400).

Looking at these two spells on his attribute panel, a trace of satisfaction appeared on Zhou Changwang's face. After this period of arduous cultivation, he had finally brought both spells to the realm of Minor Success.

The Minor Success Annual Ring Technique not only significantly reduced his casting time—dropping from the original nine breaths to three—but its effects had also greatly improved compared to when he first mastered it. A single casting of the Annual Ring Technique was now equivalent to fifteen days of normal growth for a Red-Leaf Spirit Tea Tree. This meant that once the spell was cast, the spiritual soil around the Red-Leaf Spirit Tea Tree would be completely drained, making it impossible to cast a second one immediately.

The Life-Severing Finger also had a terrifying effect. During this time, he had been using it on the weeds and spirit herbs in his spirit fields. With a single flick of the finger, the lush, thriving weeds and herbs would instantly wither and die, their vitality severed. In his palm, droplets of emerald-green "Vitality Spirit Liquid" would then condense.

It was a pity, however. Though the weeds around his spirit fields were nearly all drained, perhaps because the "vitality" was too thin, it did not produce much Vitality Spirit Liquid. By the time he had brought the Life-Severing Finger to the realm of Minor Success, he hadn't even managed to fill a single bottle; he only had a shallow layer, equal to about one-third of a bottle.

"To fill a whole bottle of Vitality Spirit Liquid, I estimate it would take nearly a thousand uses of the Life-Severing Finger, and it would have to be on plants with abundant vitality."

Zhou Changwang resisted the urge to use the Life-Severing Finger on his Spirit-Gathering Grass and instead pointed it at a slightly crooked spirit bamboo. With one stroke, the three-zhang-tall spirit bamboo's branches and leaves turned yellow at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the entire trunk withered and sunken, losing its life force. In his hand, a thumb-sized drop of emerald-green spiritual liquid condensed—it was exactly the Vitality Spirit Liquid.

"This is only a Minor Success level Life-Severing Finger, yet it can completely extinguish the vitality of this spirit bamboo that has been growing for nearly two years."

Zhou Changwang sighed with emotion, then hurried over to the Red-Leaf Spirit Tea Tree, pointed at it, and used the Life-Severing Finger to channel the essence into it. In an instant, the already thriving Red-Leaf Spirit Tea Tree became even more lush, as if it had been completely rejuvenated.

Then, Zhou Changwang rapidly cast the Annual Ring Technique. One, two, three... after five full castings, the spiritual soil at the feet of the Red-Leaf Spirit Tea Tree cracked, showing signs of insufficient spiritual energy. Seeing this, Zhou Changwang remained unbothered. He knew this was the result of the spirit plant having fully absorbed the "Vitality Spirit Liquid" he just channeled, and because the supply was insufficient, it had begun to draw energy from the spiritual soil.

He cast the Spirit Rain Technique and, at the same time, flipped his hand to take out a medicine bottle. This bottle contained the Vitality Spirit Liquid he had extracted during this period. Using the Life-Severing Finger technique, he extracted one-third of the liquid from the bottle and quickly injected it into the Red-Leaf Spirit Tea Tree. Sensing that the tea tree was rapidly absorbing the Vitality Spirit Liquid, he began casting the Annual Ring Technique once more.

One, two, three... he did not stop until after fifteen castings. By this time, the Vitality Spirit Liquid within the tea tree had been completely consumed, and it had begun to absorb spiritual energy from the soil again.

Meanwhile, due to his frantic spell-casting, the Red-Leaf Spirit Tea Tree, which had originally been only waist-high, began to grow rapidly. Almost at a speed visible to the naked eye, it shot upward. Its branches and leaves expanded, growing tea leaves and fresh buds, while its roots continuously extended and strengthened. It grew instantly into a tall, leafy spirit tea tree.

"Twenty castings of the Minor Success Annual Ring Technique, equivalent to three hundred days of natural growth. Adding the previous cultivation time, this spirit tea tree is now effectively a one-year-old plant."

Looking at the tea tree now, Zhou Changwang couldn't help but feel satisfied. The value of tea leaves from a one-year-old Red-Leaf Spirit Tea Tree was already quite high. Harvesting the whole tree would yield about ten catties, which would turn into two or three catties of dried tea—enough to fetch about a hundred low-grade spirit stones on the market. Second-grade spirit tea had a sweet taste, an endless aftertaste, and was rich in spiritual energy, with the effects of calming the mind, nourishing the spirit, and aiding enlightenment. Its value was naturally high, and the key was that it could be harvested year after year.

With the tree now one year old, Zhou Changwang began the harvest. He didn't miss a single leaf, pulling them all off. In the end, he obtained fifteen catties of tea leaves, which he dried using the Fireball Technique, resulting in over three catties of dried tea.

He carefully put them away.

Zhou Changwang then took out another bottle of Vitality Spirit Liquid. This bottle was one of the two he had obtained from the wealthy woman, Gong Baixue. According to her, one bottle of Vitality Spirit Liquid was worth fifty low-grade spirit stones and could help a spirit plant grow for two to three years. Zhou Changwang intended to cultivate the tea tree; relying solely on the Annual Ring Technique would drain all the spiritual energy in his backyard, so he had to rely on this Vitality Spirit Liquid.

He used the Life-Severing Finger again to absorb the liquid and injected it into the tea tree. Once the tree was saturated, he began casting the Annual Ring Technique. Each casting of the Annual Ring Technique fell upon the tea tree, constantly strengthening its physique and increasing its growth age. Leaves and buds sprouted rapidly with the stimulation of his technique. When the Vitality Spirit Liquid was exhausted, he would absorb more and inject it again.

He repeated this process, cultivating it frantically. Soon, after thirty percent of the Vitality Spirit Liquid was consumed, the age of the Red-Leaf Spirit Tea Tree increased by another year. If one were to cut a cross-section of the tea tree, one could clearly see two distinct annual rings, indicating that its age had reached two years.

The second wave of harvesting began, followed by the third. However, after the third wave, he discovered that after all the tea leaves were harvested, the amount of spiritual energy required for the tree to regrow them was much larger, significantly slowing down its growth. Therefore, starting from the fourth wave, he stopped harvesting the tea leaves. To save spiritual energy, he even began to prune the branches and leaves, controlling the tree's growth direction and size.

With limited conditions, he focused primarily on increasing its annual rings. Soon, the second bottle of Vitality Spirit Liquid was consumed.

"Seven years of age."

Looking at the Red-Leaf Spirit Tea Tree before him, Zhou Changwang sighed. At this moment, its roots had extended over a zhang in radius. The tree stood seven chi tall with three main branches in a triangular shape, supporting smaller branches covered in red spirit tea leaves that emitted a crystalline glow.

"Seven years old, still a long way to go. Given that one bottle of Vitality Spirit Liquid provides three years of growth, to reach a hundred years, I need at least thirty-one bottles. In reality, thirty-one bottles will be far from enough, because the further along it gets, the more Vitality Spirit Liquid the tea tree requires..."

Zhou Changwang calculated silently, feeling the difficulty. Cultivating a hundred-year-old Red-Leaf Spirit Tea Tree was indeed not as simple as he had previously imagined. Thirty-one bottles of Vitality Spirit Liquid were not expensive—only 1,550 low-grade spirit stones—and even if the demand increased significantly in the later stages, it shouldn't exceed his budget too much. At worst, he could just go out and harvest the Vitality Spirit Liquid himself.

Thinking of this, Zhou Changwang fixed his gaze on the cliff below. Below the cliff was a dense forest of shrubs, containing many spirit plants, vines, and even spirit wood. Although most were of low grade, there was no shortage of spirit wood over a hundred years old.

Zhou Changwang hurried to his meditation chamber, pried up a floorboard, and revealed an underground tunnel. He had dug this tunnel specifically when he felt he was in constant danger. The passage extended downward, with an exit on the cliff face, only about twenty zhang from the bottom. He climbed down to the exit area, pushed aside a massive stone slab, and looked down. The mountain forest was uninhabited, and only in the far distance could he vaguely see some spirit farmers working in the fields at the foot of Changling Mountain.

"This height is not much of a problem for me," Zhou Changwang muttered. To be safe, he took a rope, slid down to a point three zhang from the ground, and then, with a flash of spiritual light, he cast the Lightness Technique. With a gentle leap, he landed on the ground.

"Compared to up above, the spiritual energy here is much thinner, not much different from the outskirts of the market." Silently sensing the spiritual energy of the world, Zhou Changwang began to walk forward, and soon he spotted a spirit plant. It was a blood-sucking vine wrapped tightly around a century-old tree, sinking into it by several inches, almost twisting it apart.

Zhou Changwang's expression was relaxed. With a flicker of spiritual power, he cast the Life-Severing Finger and pointed it at the vine. In an instant, the vitality specific to the blood-sucking vine was extracted and condensed into droplets of emerald-green spirit liquid. One drop, two, three... after five drops, the vine's vitality was extinguished. It withered, turned yellow, and lost all its previous green vibrancy. He reached out and tapped the vine, and it snapped like rotten wood, becoming loose and brittle.

"This is the Life-Severing Finger. Sever the vitality, and the spirit dies at the touch. One point, and no matter what kind of spirit plant it is, it cannot escape being drained."

As Zhou Changwang sighed, he quickly collected the five drops of Vitality Spirit Liquid into a jade bottle. One hundred drops make a bottle. He only needed twenty more such vines to fill a bottle, which was not difficult.

His gaze soon fell upon another piece of spirit wood. This was a spirit tree at least thirty years old; though not tall, it was very sturdy. Without hesitation, he cast the Life-Severing Finger again. One, two, three... after seven drops, the spell dissipated. This didn't mean the tree only held seven drops, but that his current Minor Success level spell could only extract seven at a time. Zhou Changwang didn't mind and cast the spell again. Seven more drops flowed out, but the tree became extremely listless, its leaves turning yellow and falling with the slightest movement.

"Sever the life, but keep the soul; leave half behind. In three to five years, this spirit wood will recover."

Zhou Changwang knew the principle that too much is as bad as too little. Except for harmful plants like the blood-sucking vine, he tried to leave a glimmer of life in the spirit trees, not completely destroying them.

He wandered through the forest, casting his spell continuously. Before his spiritual energy was exhausted, he patted his insect bag, and a flying insect rushed out. He ordered it to stand guard while he sat cross-legged to recover his energy. This insect was the Golden-Armored King Flying Cicada he had previously controlled with the Insect Control Seal. After being fed for this period, its size had increased, its eight front limbs were becoming sharper, and its wings, when spread, shone with a special metallic luster like blades. It was extremely fast, moving three zhang in a flash, making it an excellent "protector"—even low-level spirit beasts would be no match for it.

After two sticks of incense, Zhou Changwang recovered his spiritual power and began collecting the "Vitality Spirit Liquid" again. Two hours later, he returned to the cliffside. With a flash of light, he cast the Lightness Technique and the Flying Leap Technique, took a step, and launched himself upward. With a flick, he jumped three zhang high, then pushed off to climb another two zhang. Step by step, after seven steps, the tunnel entrance was within reach. He dove inside.

"The Lightness Technique, the Flying Leap Technique, combined with the body cultivation move 'Seven Stars Treading the Moon,' really allows me to easily climb this twenty-zhang cliff and enter the tunnel."

Standing steady, a smile appeared on Zhou Changwang's face. At a height of twenty zhang, ordinary cultivators, unless they mastered flight techniques like sword-flying, would find it impossible to climb. As for his harvest from this trip? Five bottles! Five full bottles of Vitality Spirit Liquid.

"In terms of spirit stones, that's two hundred and fifty low-grade spirit stones." Zhou Changwang was overjoyed. Although this was his first time at the base of the cliff and many trees had never been harvested, he was satisfied with this yield. Five bottles at a time; if he came ten or so times, wouldn't that be fifty bottles? There was no need to go outside to buy the liquid. By producing and using it himself, he could nurture the Red-Leaf Spirit Tea Tree.

For the next period, he spent two hours every day going down to the cliff to extract Vitality Spirit Liquid, all of which he used to cultivate the Red-Leaf Spirit Tea Tree. As a result, in just five days, he had nurtured the tree to thirty years of age.

However, after reaching thirty years, Zhou Changwang discovered that the spiritual energy required by the tea tree had become increasingly massive. Eventually, one bottle of Vitality Spirit Liquid was no longer enough to sustain even a year of growth; it often took two or even three bottles.

Zhou Changwang felt helpless, but he knew this was normal. Regardless of the type of spirit plant, once it reached a certain age, its daily consumption of spiritual energy would increase tenfold or hundredfold compared to its nascent stage. Naturally, the required Vitality Spirit Liquid also rose sharply. Because of this, in the following ten days, Zhou Changwang only increased the age of the Red-Leaf Spirit Tea Tree by fifteen years, bringing it to forty-five years.

It is worth mentioning that the Vitality Spirit Liquid at the base of the cliff was becoming harder to obtain. Previously, he could get five bottles in two hours, but now it often took three or four hours to collect that amount. The increased time made him feel it was becoming less cost-effective, so he decided to slow down this activity.

Of course, besides the Red-Leaf Spirit Tea Tree, Zhou Changwang did not forget the batch of Spirit-Gathering Grass. In his five acres of spirit fields, there were four thousand stalks of Spirit-Gathering Grass. By covering them with the Annual Ring Technique three times a day, their growth rate was extremely fast. At this moment, they had already reached over two chi in height and were approaching three chi, the stage of maturity. Their effect of gathering spiritual energy was gradually manifesting, causing the spiritual energy concentration in the entire backyard to increase significantly. This was actually why the Red-Leaf Spirit Tea Tree was able to grow normally.

In fact, Zhou Changwang gradually discovered that the Red-Leaf Spirit Tea Tree was a second-grade low-level spirit plant, and only a second-grade spirit field could sustain the spiritual energy required for its growth. A first-grade high-level spirit field was okay, but it was a bit of a stretch for a second-grade low-level spirit plant. Now, it was just right, saving Zhou Changwang a lot of trouble. Otherwise, he would have had to activate his minor Spirit-Gathering Array to aggregate spiritual energy for the tree.

...

On this day, Zhou Changwang finally finished his busy daily routine and walked out of his yard again. This time, it wasn't because he wanted to go out, but because seven days ago, the owner of the Talisman Fate Pavilion, Wei Xingyuan, had come to him personally to request finished spirit talismans.

At that time, he had taken over twenty finished talismans from Zhou Changwang. Most were Golden Shield Talismans, priced at eighty-five low-grade spirit stones each, and Zhou Changwang had provided ten of them. The remaining ten or so were Lightning and Fireball Talismans, which were slightly cheaper but still worth twenty low-grade spirit stones each.

These talismans were clearly not enough for Wei Xingyuan, because as he had said before, in addition to the quota assigned by the Bai family, the Chen family had also come calling. And the Chen family’s requirements were even higher—they needed a full one hundred finished talismans per month from the Talisman Fate Pavilion. Combined with the Bai family, that was one hundred and fifty talismans, putting immense pressure on him. Seeing that the agreed time was approaching, he had no choice but to come and ask for more.

They agreed that after seven days—which was today—Zhou Changwang would try to refine another fifteen finished talismans. After settling the payment of 1,200 low-grade spirit stones for the twenty-odd talismans, he had also given a deposit of 500 low-grade spirit stones. For such a generous boss, Zhou Changwang would naturally keep his promise.

Of course, the number of finished talismans in Zhou Changwang's possession was far greater than that. Thanks to the functionality of his attribute panel, as the number of talismans he drew increased, the probability of successfully refining a finished talisman kept rising. Even after selling those twenty-odd talismans, he still had seventy left, enough to fulfill his agreement with Wei Xingyuan.

Soon, Zhou Changwang arrived at the Talisman Fate Pavilion and traded the remaining fifteen finished talismans as agreed. After deducting the previous deposit, he had another two hundred low-grade spirit stones in his pocket. Then, he went to other small talisman shops to sell the rest in batches.

However, a small incident occurred: an owner of one of the small talisman shops suddenly took out a finished talisman, claiming that it was traded from a shop, and its talisman patterns were extremely similar to Zhou Changwang's style. Zhou Changwang remained noncommittal. Fortunately, before entering the shop, he had used the Face-Changing and Bone-Shrinking Technique to change his appearance. Seeing that the shop owner had the intention of identifying him, he turned and left without hesitation, ending any thought of further dealings with that owner.

Because of this, it took him twice as long as usual to sell his talismans. Including the gains from the transaction with Wei Xingyuan, the number of spirit stones Zhou Changwang obtained this time broke the 3,000 mark for the first time, reaching a total of 3,925. This was thanks to Zhou Changwang focusing on drawing high-value defensive Golden Shield Talismans and offensive Lightning and Fireball Talismans during this period. Furthermore, with the intensifying conflict between the Bai and Chen families in the market, the price of talismans had soared, allowing him to make a small fortune.

However, he could not keep much of these spirit stones. He went to the Six Directions Pavilion, the Water Cloud Pavilion, the Bai family's firm, and even made a trip to the Spirit Plant Hall, sweeping up all the Vitality Spirit Liquid on the market. In the end, he obtained eighty-six bottles of Vitality Spirit Liquid.

He was determined to go all out and nurture the Red-Leaf Spirit Tea Tree to over a hundred years old. Although the cost in spirit stones was significant—he had even chipped in an extra three hundred or so of his own—he felt it was all worth it. During this time, while processing the one-to-two-year-old Red-Leaf Spirit Tea leaves he had collected earlier, he really felt the uniqueness of their effects. Not only could they calm the mind, but they also had the function of nourishing the spirit and aiding enlightenment. Occasional flashes of inspiration had benefited him greatly.

And this was only from one-to-two-year-old tea leaves. If they were a hundred years old? Would they be even better? Would they have the legendary ability to increase spiritual power or even directly lead one to enlightenment?