Chapter 207 - 178: Descending the Mountain, Trouble

Chapter 207: Chapter 178: Descending the Mountain, Trouble

「A moment later.」

Li Changsheng opened his eyes and raised his arm. A wisp of black-and-red Spiritual Power flowed from his palm, slowly swirling in his hand.

Looking at it, Li Changsheng frowned slightly.

If Spiritual Power were water, then the three properties were like sand, stone, and wood mixed within it.

Separating them was fine, but as soon as he tried to merge them, it was as if an invisible barrier naturally existed between the three, preventing them from mixing.

Even when forcefully mixed, they were like a pool of murky water. They seemed to be fused, but in reality, they remained distinctly separate.

Not only would this prevent him from unleashing the true power of the properties, but it would also greatly weaken them.

This was also due to his shallow foundation. He had no master and lacked systematic training, so he only had a partial understanding of many things.

Fortunately, given his status, these were problems he could solve just by asking.

This incident also made him realize that even with a top-grade Cultivation Technique and countless resources, without guidance, the path of cultivation was like a rugged, winding mountain trail.

It was possible to walk it, but he would have to face all the dangers and obstacles on his own.

Thinking of this, Li Changsheng revealed a smile.

He wasn’t a Loose Cultivator. With a wide, open road beside him, why should he subject himself to the winding path?

Lan Cai Shen and the others needed him, and he, in turn, needed them. It wasn’t as if he were walking a single-plank bridge where only one person could cross.

Li Changsheng decided that after he adapted to his new cultivation level, he would go and ask Lan Cai Shen and the others.

Not just about the properties, but also how to advance his Vein Condensation Realm cultivation, and more...

"The weather is getting colder..."

Li Changsheng gazed at the trees outside the courtyard, their branches now bare, and sighed. He turned and walked to the kitchen doorway.

Watching Big Smarty diligently polishing the spirit ore, he nodded in satisfaction. Then, with his hands behind his back, he hummed a little tune and returned to his wooden house.

「Day by day passed.」

As if they knew Li Changsheng needed time to adapt to his sudden surge in cultivation, Tan Hu and the others, after delivering their congratulatory gifts, tacitly avoided disturbing him.

However, Dong Yao and Wu Yong, having heard from someone that he had advanced to the Vein Condensation Realm, came to congratulate him, bringing Yun Wan’s two daughters along.

Li Changsheng studied the two little girls carefully.

He had to admit, although Dong Yao and her husband were a bit cunning and couldn’t be called good people, they were raising these two little girls very well. While they hadn’t regained the rambunctious spirit of their younger days, the cautious, fearful look in their eyes was gone.

Their clear, bright voices calling him "Uncle Li" reminded him of his own younger sister.

Li Changsheng’s heart softened. He not only gave each of the girls a packet of Spirit Stones but also some talismans and pills he had accumulated in his early years that he no longer needed.

As for his own sister, Li Pan’er, she certainly didn’t lack such things.

They shared a happy and harmonious meal.

After they left, Li Changsheng went to the edge of the mountain peak and began to practice the various Daoist Techniques he had learned.

Among them was the perfected Sharpening spell. When cast with his Vein Condensation Realm cultivation, he could freely manipulate it into various shapes, such as sabers, spears, swords, halberds, and so on...

As for its power, well, without a Vein Condensation Realm Magic to compare it to, he couldn’t really judge.

But he figured it was probably just so-so.

When he cast the Golden Turtle Shield, the Magic that came with the Golden Turtle Spirit Storage Technique, the shield formed from Spiritual Power was no longer limited in size, thickness, or number. If he wished, he could instantly conjure dozens of them around his body.

He just didn’t know if it was because the Magic’s level was too low.

He had Xiaobai and Little Wooden Head try to attack it. Although it could block their attacks completely, the rate of Spiritual Power consumption was too fast, leaving him a bit uncertain.

The perfected Lesser Cloud and Rain spell, on the other hand, made him quite happy. Cast with his Vein Condensation Realm cultivation, it could directly cover an entire acre of land.

Farming had become much more time- and labor-efficient.

Also, after advancing to the Vein Condensation Realm, his control over the Magic "Spirit Pact" had become more fluid. With a mere thought, he could know the condition of his insect swarm.

The Senluo Flower Demon, symbiotic with Xiaohai, was no longer so resistant to his commands.

Over the past few days, on his orders, it had been relentlessly hunting the demonic beasts around the Spiritual Land.

Aside from the Blood Food it needed for its daily sustenance, it brought all other Blood Food back to the courtyard.

Little Wooden Head, Xiaobai, the Insect Mother, and even the green serpent that often soaked in the pool all benefited, and their cultivation levels rose quickly.

Everything was developing in a positive direction.

「Half a month later.」

Li Changsheng woke up early and went out into the courtyard.

Looking at Xiaohua and Big Flower, whose fur had grown deeper in color, and listening to the crisp sound of vegetables being chopped in the kitchen, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

Big Smarty was just too useful. Aside from needing to return to the Soul Nourishing Jade for fifteen minutes of nourishment each day, it could attend to him at all other times.

Now, it handled almost all the chores in the courtyard, big and small, as long as it was capable of doing them.

A true workhorse of a ghost.

And a workhorse that never complained, at that.

If you asked if it was tired, it would thoughtfully flash you a brilliant smile.

This life, like that of a feudal lord, left Li Changsheng extremely satisfied. ’This is what it means to be a true Cultivator!’

’I must ask Senior Brother Tan if he has any more when I go down the mountain this time.’

After Xiaohua and Big Flower finished their meal,

Li Changsheng summoned Xiaohua, vaulted onto her back, and then commanded the insect swarm to open the courtyard gate.

Big Smarty, meanwhile, transformed into a black shadow and merged into his own.

Outside the courtyard gate, Li Changsheng looked toward his Spirit Field in the distance.

At this time, the half-acre plot of Concentration Flowers had mostly grown to be calf-high. Their leaves were as green as jade, and they were topped with large flower buds.

Li Changsheng calculated in his mind. In about another month, the Concentration Flowers would reach maturity. At that time, he wouldn’t have to worry about them being unable to withstand a large amount of life force, and he could directly irrigate them with it to ripen them quickly.

"Why haven’t the Jade Bamboos arrived yet?"