Chapter Eight: The Geng Metal Finger Advances

Exterminating pests is, in truth, not an easy task. These creatures possess their own aggression—when pressed, they bite, and their tiny claws can rend human flesh with ease. Some of the spiritual insects even carry potent venom within their bodies. Thus, cultivators must proceed with utmost caution—when removing pests, they must kill without alarming them.

Zhou Changwang steadied himself, held his breath, and summoned the spiritual energy within, condensing a spell. One breath, two, three... After seven full breaths, the spell took shape. In a flash, a streak of golden light flickered by, swift and silent. An armored green beetle froze in place and toppled to the ground.

Geng Metal Finger +1.

At that very moment, Zhou Changwang’s mind was flooded with a wealth of cultivation experience related to Geng Metal Finger. It felt as though, in that instant, he had undergone hundreds of cycles of practice with the spell. Having experienced this before, he understood immediately: Geng Metal Finger had advanced, leaping directly from novice to proficient.

His eyes fell upon the attribute panel. Sure enough, the value beside Geng Metal Finger under the spells column had changed from Novice to Proficient. Geng Metal Finger (Proficient 1/200). It had leveled up.

Zhou Changwang clenched his fist in excitement. Though it was merely the proficient level, few spiritual farmers could cultivate Geng Metal Finger to such a degree. The reason lay in the limitations of spiritual roots and aptitude. Spiritual roots, the foundation of one’s cultivation, were not always aligned with the metal element. Most spiritual farmers possessed water, wood, or earth roots, and their main cultivation techniques corresponded—like the Water Spirit Formula, Everlasting Spring Formula, or Thick Earth Formula. Even if their roots included metal or fire, these seldom became the focus of their cultivation and did not benefit from specialized enhancements.

Reaching even the novice stage of Geng Metal Finger was already an achievement for most. Few possessed both the right roots and the necessary insight to deepen their mastery of the spell. Zhou Changwang’s roots were unremarkable, but he had all five elements, and each was fairly balanced. He cultivated the Five Elements Formula, his spiritual energy imbued with multiple attributes, allowing him to learn any type of spell.

Of course, his aptitude was ordinary—nothing remarkable, certainly not the prodigy type. But he possessed the attribute panel. With every practice, he made tangible progress. The critical advantage was that he could bypass bottlenecks; as long as experience reached the threshold, he advanced naturally to the next realm of mastery, without fear of regression.

After all, whether in martial arts or cultivation, there is a saying: "A day without practice, and the body grows sluggish; a year without diligence, and one’s realm regresses." But Zhou Changwang’s attribute panel offered two unique traits: "Heaven rewards diligence" and "Certainty of attainment."

He had now fully realized the potential of his attribute panel. Yet despite his improved mastery, he restrained himself from immediately unleashing the full power of his proficient Geng Metal Finger. Spiritual energy was precious; it could not be wasted.

Once more, he carefully searched the spirit fields. After several minutes, he discovered another spiritual insect—an Earth-Boring Cicada. He wasn’t sure if this was the same one he’d seen earlier, but previous encounters had taught him just how watchful these insects were. He’d spotted them several times but had always lost his chance to act before they escaped.

Now, with Geng Metal Finger at the proficient level, he was eager to test his skill.

Zhou Changwang approached cautiously, stopping just over ten feet away. He directed his spiritual energy to flow and swiftly condensed the runic structures needed for the spell. One breath, two, three... Perhaps thanks to his improved mastery, his casting speed increased markedly—only five breaths were needed to complete the runes and form the spell.

Geng Metal Finger +1.

At that instant, the Earth-Boring Cicada, which had been gnawing at the spirit grain’s roots, seemed to sense something. It stopped abruptly and tried to burrow into the ground, but a flash of golden light pierced its head and, with unspent force, bored into the earth, leaving a seven-inch-deep hole. The insect fell lifeless to the ground.

“Success.” Zhou Changwang’s face lit with joy. He marveled at the power of the proficient Geng Metal Finger—the casting was not only faster, shortening from seven breaths to five, but its power had more than doubled. Most importantly, the casting range had increased from just over ten feet to more than twenty.

Every aspect had improved.

Moreover, the spiritual energy required for the spell had barely increased—a negligible difference. In fact, using the spell in “training mode” now produced destructive power equivalent to the “casting mode” at the novice stage.

Zhou Changwang quickly realized the implications and was delighted. First, he’d save spiritual energy. Second, with the same spiritual reserves, he could now exterminate twice as many pests.

...

“Oh, I really can’t deny my age anymore. This has worn me out…” Old Xu massaged his aching back as he walked over to Zhou Changwang and plopped down beside him on the furrow.

“How did it go today, Changwang? These spiritual insects are getting more numerous in the fields. If this keeps up, in a few days I’ll have to ask the Spirit Herb Hall for help.”

“Not bad, nine spirit insects.” Zhou Changwang answered, ignoring the old man’s complaints. He knew the real cause lay across the river, in Xu Zhong’s fields. Though they’d once been cleared by the spiritual herbists, that only lasted a day; Xu Zhong hadn’t wanted to spend more spirit stones for further help. Now, his fields were again overrun with insects, and the spirit grains were suffering—many stalks were turning yellow, and a reduced harvest was inevitable. If left unchecked, total crop failure was possible.

Given their proximity, it was natural for pests to migrate to their fields as well. That explained why, despite their daily efforts, the number of insects only seemed to increase.

“So many? Let me see.” Old Xu, surprised, quickly peered into Zhou Changwang’s cloth bag. His eyes widened in astonishment. “There are three Earth-Boring Cicadas? Those things are really sharp—you’re lucky to catch even one, and usually they escape before you get close. You need to cast from at least fifteen feet away to have a chance.”

Suddenly, as if recalling something, he asked, “Changwang, your Geng Metal Finger—it couldn’t be that…”