Chapter Seventy-Four: Mastery of the Five Elements Technique, Seeds of Magic

Zhou Changwang had long known that his Five Elements Formula was nearing perfection.

He had originally planned, when the breakthrough was imminent, to sit quietly in his cultivation chamber, feeling the concentration of spiritual energy far surpassing that of the outside world, so he could carefully savor the effects of his technique reaching mastery.

Even as he awoke in his chamber that morning, he was still mulling over these thoughts.

Yet, when he arrived at the spirit field in the backyard and saw the dense weeds growing there, he could no longer sit still.

As he worked, unexpectedly, he broke through.

At that moment, he was still holding his spirit hoe, poised to dig downward. Suddenly, he felt the spiritual energy within his body circulating at an accelerated pace. A surge of information flooded his mind, and countless insights and experiences about cultivating the Five Elements Formula rushed forth, as if he had practiced the technique thousands upon thousands of times in that brief instant.

Only then did he realize that he had advanced with the Five Elements Formula—from minor accomplishment to full mastery.

Technique: Five Elements Formula (Mastery 1/800)

A glance at his attribute panel confirmed it.

He didn't hesitate; he sat cross-legged right there amid the spirit field, silently contemplating the effects of cultivating the Five Elements Formula at the mastery level.

After a stick of incense's time, Zhou Changwang slowly opened his eyes, his face immediately alight with joy.

With the Five Elements Formula at minor accomplishment, even without actively cultivating, the technique would operate slowly and restore his spiritual energy at all times.

Now, at mastery, not only did the technique retain its automatic operation, it also gained a significant boost in effectiveness.

The automatic operation speed nearly doubled. Previously, it took him two hours to complete one cycle; now, only a single hour was needed.

Moreover, the greatest feature of the Five Elements Formula at mastery was its resonance.

It fully matched his spiritual root attributes and physical condition, automatically extending through his meridians—not only circulating through the original eight extraordinary channels but also expanding into many unknown minor veins.

The complexity of the technique more than doubled.

Yet, this was perfectly suited to his constitution, the most compatible version of the Five Elements Formula for him.

After cultivating, he could clearly feel that the amount of spiritual energy he could absorb from heaven and earth had at least doubled, and the efficiency of converting that energy within his body had also greatly improved.

Calculating the speed of cultivation—

Twice as fast!

Now, his cultivation speed was twice that of the Five Elements Formula at minor accomplishment.

In terms of spiritual root aptitude, his cultivation in the spirit field was now comparable to that of someone with four elemental spiritual roots, with high-level energy conversion efficiency.

If he cultivated in the chamber, it would nearly match the effect of someone with three elemental spiritual roots.

Zhou Changwang silently compared and calculated, his heart filled with delight.

The cultivation aptitude of three elemental spiritual roots was already considered good in the world of immortals. Many disciples of sects were at this level; even his original body's mother had been admitted to a sect because she possessed three elemental spiritual roots.

With the cultivation speed of three elemental spiritual roots, he would have a chance to reach the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refining before the age of sixty—meaning he would have hope of establishing his foundation.

"In the world of immortals, sixty years is a pivotal threshold.

If you fail to reach the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refining before sixty, your bodily functions rapidly decline; even if you later reach that peak, it's nearly impossible to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

Many who break through late do not dare to attempt it.

Because if you fail, your life and path are ended."

Zhou Changwang shook his head, sighing at the hardships of the immortal path.

For now, he had only glimpsed a sliver of hope on his journey.

After thoroughly clearing the weeds from the spirit field, Zhou Changwang went to the water trough where he had previously kept the Spirit Gathering Grass.

He had already poured all ten pounds of Thunder Spirit Rice he had harvested into the trough, soaking it to moisten the seeds.

Then, he began casting the Growth Spell over and over.

The remaining pound of Thunder Spirit Rice was untouched—not out of reluctance, but for fear that something might go wrong with these seeds.

Thunder Spirit Rice was rare, and he could not seek more from Chen Yushu.

If anything happened to these seeds, he would still have options.

Therefore, until these Thunder Spirit Rice seeds sprouted, he would not touch that final pound.

Fortunately,

This batch of seeds had just been harvested and were full of vitality, unlike the dead seeds he had first received from Chen Yushu.

After two days of soaking, and with dozens of Growth Spells cast daily, the seeds were already sprouting.

With another dozen Growth Spells, most Thunder Spirit Rice seeds pushed through their husks, revealing sharp little shoots.

"Luckily, after planting Spirit Gathering Grass, I left a third of the field unused; otherwise, these Thunder Spirit Rice seeds would be hard to sow."

Seeing the seeds sprouting, Zhou Changwang got busy.

He loosened the soil, cleared the weeds, moistened the earth with the Rain Spell, and finally planted all 502 Thunder Spirit Rice seeds.

By the time he finished, the sun had risen high.

He called out, and his little spirit dog followed him back to the front yard.

That afternoon, he did not tend to the spirit field but stayed in the cultivation chamber, focusing on practicing spells.

He was not training the Thousand Thunder Flash.

That spell was too difficult and taxing, leaving his mind buzzing for days.

So he decided to practice a different spell for a change.

Fortunately,

The earliest spell he had mastered—the Geng Metal Finger—was already at (Mastery 345/800), so he aimed to push it to completion, hoping to max out its experience soon.

He was also curious about what lay beyond mastery.

Activating his spiritual energy—

Fss!

Geng Metal Finger +1

A flicker of golden light struck the spell wall made of spirit-blocking stone.

Buzz~

The Geng Metal Finger faded silently, the only evidence of its casting being a subtle disturbance in the spiritual energy lingering in the air.

Zhou Changwang paid it no mind; after one cast, he immediately continued.

Fss! Fss! Fss!

Geng Metal Finger +1

Geng Metal Finger +1

Geng Metal Finger +1

...

One golden flash after another struck the spell wall, and the experience for his Geng Metal Finger spell steadily increased.

After a stick of incense's time, Zhou Changwang paused and went to the cultivation room to restore his spiritual energy.

He had to admit, the Five Elements Formula at mastery was superb.

Just one cycle restored most of his spiritual energy; he didn't need a second, his dantian was already full.

Without delay, he returned to face the spell wall, continuing to practice Geng Metal Finger...

Repeating this cycle

Several days later,

With Zhou Changwang once again expertly casting the Geng Metal Finger,

Fss!

A dazzling light flashed and vanished.

The speed was astonishing.

When his gaze landed on the spell wall, he thought it must be an illusion, but he saw a small dent.

At the same time, Zhou Changwang felt a flash of inspiration in his mind—a special mark appeared.

A spell mark?

A spell seed?

Zhou Changwang was startled, but the realization suddenly dawned on him.

It was the legendary spell mark, or spell seed, that forms only when a spell is cultivated to perfection.

It was said that, once a spell mark was formed, a mere thought would trigger the spell, firing instantly.

This was a casting method even faster than instant casting.

So-called instant casting merely allows spiritual energy to circulate in a breath, harmonize with the world, and release the spell.

But once a cultivator forms a spell mark—a spell seed—in their mind, the moment a thought flashes, the spell is already activated and can attack with that thought.

The speed of a thought is essentially the speed of casting.

And how fast is thought?

As for power—

Zhou Changwang willed it.

Fss!

A brilliant golden light struck the spell wall.

He saw it clearly this time.

A small pit appeared on the flawless spell wall.

Though the pit was tiny,

It stood out sharply against the wall.

"It is said that even high-level cultivators can't leave a mark on the spell wall; could my Geng Metal Finger now rival a high-level cultivator's strike?"

Zhou Changwang shook his head—he lacked such confidence.

But as he carefully contemplated the Geng Metal Finger cast through the spell mark, he realized something.

This Geng Metal Finger was fundamentally different from before.

The force driving it was no longer solely spiritual energy; it now included a measure of mind power.

In other words, the Geng Metal Finger cast via the spell mark consumed a combination of mind power and spiritual energy.

"Mind power combined with spiritual energy? Isn't that spiritual consciousness?"

Zhou Changwang was both astonished and doubtful.

Upon deeper reflection, he noticed yet another force—a resonance with the laws of heaven and earth.

Three forces in one.

This was why the spell's power was so extraordinary.

It could penetrate the spell wall, leaving a shallow pit.

This was why its might far surpassed the Geng Metal Finger at mastery.

It was undoubtedly his strongest offensive technique at present.

"If there's one drawback to the spell mark, it's the heavy consumption of mind power.

With three forces combined, my mind power becomes the weak link.

At my current strength, I can only use it ten times before my mind is depleted..."

After several casts, Zhou Changwang had a clear sense of its limits.

He knew that, convenient as the spell mark was, it could not be overused. Once his mind power was exhausted, he would fall unconscious—if this happened in battle, the consequences would be dire...

Finally, Zhou Changwang looked at his attribute panel.

Spell: Geng Metal Finger Perfected!

No experience value.

When mastery reached full experience, the spell automatically advanced to perfection, needing no further improvement, nor was it possible.

The spell itself transformed, condensing into a spell mark, a spell seed, becoming instinct—a hidden trump card.

...

(End of chapter)