Chapter 716
The One Who Cultivates Spirit Rice! Promoted to Bronze Medal
Zhang Lingshan was originally willing to teach Song Yi the Xuantian Extreme Fire Technique simply to establish a good relationship, and did not have high hopes for him.
However, because the mental tempering method given by the other party was too excellent, Zhang Lingshan changed his mind. The Xuan Tian Ji Huo Gong that he taught was the one that he painstakingly improved for Song Yi.
In addition, Zhang Lingshan also gave away a little bit of his fire power.
This tiny bit of fire power was something he secretly generated from his own body while teaching Song Yi the Profound Heaven Extreme Fire Technique; it was almost imperceptible.
Once Song Yi has mastered the Xuan Tian Extreme Fire Technique, he will be able to slowly absorb the fire power from his surroundings.
Because this technique was tailor-made for Song Yi by Zhang Lingshan, Song Yi will definitely be able to learn it.
After Zhang Lingshan finished imparting his teachings, he closed his eyes and began refining his own Immortal Elixir, no longer interfering with Song Yi's comprehension and cultivation.
when!
The morning bells rang.
Song Yi opened his eyes, bowed to Zhang Lingshan, and then began his work for the day.
He soon discovered that his extraction process today was surprisingly easy.
It's unbelievable that I've achieved such a significant improvement today after just one night of practicing the Flame Tempering Technique!
Song Yi was extremely surprised and couldn't help but glance at Zhang Lingshan, only to find that the other party had suddenly started spitting blood.
what's the situation?
When you were refining before, there were no problems at all. You could control the intensity of the flames and your divine sense. Not only could you easily meet the daily target, but you could also refine several more items.
Why are you coughing up blood today?
Could it be because I practiced my mental tempering technique?
Song Yi felt somewhat sorry for Zhang Lingshan.
The flame tempering technique the other party gave him was incredibly powerful. In just one night, it enhanced his flames. Moreover, he could absorb flame power from his surroundings at any time to strengthen his flames and continuously improve his strength.
However, the mental tempering method he taught others ended up making them vomit blood.
Isn't this just setting someone up for a scam?
Thinking of this, Song Yi stopped and waited until Zhang Lingshan had finished refining before asking, "Fellow Daoist Zhang, how do you feel about my spirit tempering method?"
Zhang Lingshan said, "It's great. I feel much more energetic after practicing."
Song Yi asked, "But why are you vomiting blood?"
Zhang Lingshan exclaimed in surprise, "Isn't your method about becoming stronger the more you vomit blood? I need to vomit blood to stimulate my spiritual potential."
"this--"
Song Yi was taken aback, and after a long while said, "But, expending so much energy and blood to stimulate spiritual potential greatly diminishes one's lifespan. I had no other choice but to do so before, but you clearly don't need to do this, so why waste your lifespan? As I said before, this method should be used to escape when facing danger, not for this purpose."
Zhang Lingshan laughed and said, "It's alright, I have plenty of health. Let's not talk about that. What do you think of my Flame Tempering Technique?"
Upon hearing this, Song Yi immediately became serious and said, "This is a unique skill in the world. With this flame tempering method, I feel that my weakness in flames will be overcome. If I have the opportunity to go back to forging weapons, I will never be demoted to a fire-tending boy again."
"If Fellow Daoist Song finds it useful, then I'll continue refining. Fellow Daoist Song, you should also begin refining. The more you use this flame tempering method, the faster you'll improve."
Zhang Lingshan said.
Song Yi immediately nodded emphatically.
when!
As the evening bell rang and dinner was served, Song Yi, unusually, received a bottle of Immortal Elixir. He said, "Fellow Daoist Zhang, thanks to you, I'll give you this bottle of Immortal Elixir."
Why bother?
Zhang Lingshan waved his hand and said, "We've exchanged cultivation techniques and both benefited, so we're even. There's no need for me to give you any more Immortal Spirit Pills. Besides, I think Fellow Daoist Song needs this pill more than I do."
"I……"
Song Yi opened his mouth, wanting to continue, but seeing that Zhang Lingshan had already closed his eyes and started refining the Immortal Spirit Pill, he had no choice but to shut his mouth.
However, he secretly vowed that he would repay the kindness of this flame tempering method in the future.
This bottle of Immortal Elixir is nothing at the moment; even a hundred more bottles couldn't repay the kindness of Zhang Lingshan in passing on his cultivation techniques.
I can only repay this kindness when I return to the ranks of weapon refiners and rise in status.
Although the other party's flames are powerful, he is not a weapon refiner after all, and his future advancement will be limited. In the end, he will definitely need Song Yi's help.
Therefore, instead of being sentimental and giving him the Immortal Elixir now, it would be better to become a powerful and respected weapon-refining master in the future, and then find a way to repay Zhang Lingshan for his help today.
For Song Yi, although his mental tempering method was very strong, it was far inferior to the flame tempering method taught by Zhang Lingshan.
Moreover, and most importantly, Zhang Lingshan doesn't have his own spiritual tempering method, yet he can still thrive in the Refining Hall.
If Song Yi hadn't possessed Zhang Lingshan's flame tempering technique, he probably wouldn't have survived long enough to die.
So, they not only taught me the techniques, but also extended my life.
If he didn't repay such a life-saving grace, how could Song Yi have the face to live in this world?
On the first day after obtaining the Flame Tempering Method, this was what Song Yi thought.
On the thirtieth day.
Song Yi's mind changed.
He discovered that this flame tempering technique was ridiculously powerful, practically defying the heavens. He even had a feeling that this technique was specially created for him, Song Yi, perfectly matching his own Dharma Aspect Realm cultivation method.
As he practiced his technique day and night, he was shocked to discover that he could not only absorb the power of the flames around him, but also transform his original technique into the power of flames.
in this way.
In just thirty days, his flames had more than doubled in strength, and during this time, he hadn't coughed up a single drop of blood.
This is such an incredible thing.
From the moment he stepped into the Weapon Refining Pavilion, this was the first time he had ever felt that life could be so easy.
If this trend continues, in another thirty days, the intensity of my flames can double again.
At that time, I estimate I can refine ten more items a day and obtain ten bottles of Immortal Elixir.
Oh my goodness.
Receiving ten bottles of Immortal Elixir as a reward in a single day is something I never dared to dream of before, but now it's about to become a reality.
At this moment, Song Yi finally understood that Zhang Lingshan had not only saved his life, but also given him a second chance at life.
How can this debt of gratitude ever be repaid?
puff!
As Song Yi was feeling grateful for Zhang Lingshan's life-saving grace, he saw Zhang Lingshan spit out another mouthful of blood, and he felt even more ashamed.
If I had known that he would not cherish his life so much, I should not have taught him the mental tempering method.
Although this method can enhance spiritual awareness, it is like drinking poison to quench thirst.
This isn't helping them; it's harming them.
“Fellow Daoist Zhang, you mustn’t waste your lifespan like this. If you need to enhance your spiritual sense, I will buy you a spiritual-type immortal pill from the Alchemy Pavilion after I return to the position of weapon refiner and advance to a higher level.”
Song Yi finally couldn't help but offer some advice.
Zhang Lingshan's interest was piqued upon hearing this, and he asked, "Fellow Daoist Song, how do you know that the Alchemy Pavilion possesses spirit-type immortal pills?" "This—"
Song Yi thought for a moment and said, "There should be. If the Immortal Realm doesn't even have such elixirs, how can it be called the Immortal Realm?"
Zhang Lingshan said, "But I've heard that elixirs in the Immortal Realm are not easy to refine. It's even harder to enter the Alchemy Pavilion than the Weapon Refining Pavilion, and it's even more difficult to obtain an immortal elixir. So, instead of pinning your hopes on the Alchemy Pavilion for immortal elixirs, it's better to work hard to refine them yourself."
After saying that, before Song Yi could continue to dwell on his vomiting blood, she added, "By the way, I haven't yet asked Fellow Daoist Song how you got into the Weapon Refining Pavilion. As far as I know, it's not easy to get in here; you need someone's help."
Song Yi said, "I received help from a benefactor."
"I have three spiritual roots: metal, fire, and wood. I was initially sent to grow spiritual rice. By chance, I managed to grow a acre of medium-grade spiritual rice. A young woman passing by saw this and gave me a storage ring, instructing me to store the rice and deliver it to her after it matured."
"After that, she asked me what my special skills were, and if I could work wherever I wanted, I chose the Weapon Refining Pavilion."
"I just didn't expect that the weapon refining pavilion would be much more difficult than I imagined. I am a well-known weapon refining master in our mortal realm, but here, I almost couldn't even make it to the first level."
"If it weren't for Fellow Daoist Zhang's fire tempering technique, I think I would already be dead. Alas—"
Towards the end, Song Yi couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
Zhang Lingshan was not interested in his long sigh, but he was very interested in the spirit rice, so he asked, "You have grown spirit rice before. How do you grow it? Is it easy to grow? Do you have spirit rice to eat every day?"
Song Yi shook his head and said, "I'm very tired, and there's no spirit rice to eat."
"It's all physical labor, and it doesn't require much mental strength, but the more you do it, the more tired you get. The physical exhaustion affects your spirit, and in the end, you're almost numb."
"That's the lowest level of manual labor. Unlike the weapon refining pavilion, we need spiritual power to assist in refining here. They don't value spiritual power there, so they won't give you spiritual rice."
Zhang Lingshan asked, "What shall we eat?"
Song Yi said, "There is no food, so we can only absorb the faint spiritual energy between heaven and earth, which can be considered as replenishing our strength."
Zhang Lingshan then asked, "Are there any rewards for planting spirit rice?"
Song Yi said, "There is a reward. If you can harvest 300 catties per mu, that's the standard. If you exceed 300 catties, I'll give you a 1% commission. Then you'll have rice to eat."
"So little?"
Zhang Lingshan asked in surprise.
If one mu of land yields 400 jin, then your reward is only one jin, which is enough to eat.
A pound of spirit rice would be eaten up by these fire- tending boys in just a few days, since they had a hearty bowl of rice every day.
In comparison, one can see the level of enjoyment and treatment one receives in the Refining Pavilion, a stark contrast to the experience of cultivating spirit rice.
"What about the mid-grade spirit rice you just mentioned?" Zhang Lingshan asked again.
Song Yi said, "Most of us farmers can only grow low-grade spirit rice. The standards and rewards I mentioned before are for low-grade spirit rice. If you grow mid-grade spirit rice, that's a great achievement. No matter how much you grow, you'll get a 5% commission. If you grow 300 jin, you'll get 15 jin of mid-grade spirit rice."
If Zhang Lingshan didn't know the reward ratio for low-grade spiritual rice, he would definitely say that this little bit is enough for anyone to eat.
But now, in comparison, it's clear how fortunate and wonderful it is to be able to grow mid-grade spirit rice.
"Brother Song, you've grown spirit rice before, so do you know whether the spirit rice we're eating now is low-grade or mid-grade?"
Zhang Lingshan asked curiously.
Song Yi said, "They are low-grade. Mid-grade ones, once discovered, will be specifically taken by someone. Like that young woman I mentioned before."
"I see."
Zhang Lingshan nodded, then asked, "Since both are of inferior quality, why is the rice on the second layer of rice of better quality than that on the first layer?"
Song Yi said, "As far as I know, there should be different levels even among low-grade spirit rice. I've seen many farmers who grew it killed because of its poor quality. Their blood was poured directly onto the ground to nourish the soil, so that they could continue to contribute even after they died."
"It seems that life is better in the weapon refining pavilion."
Zhang Lingshan couldn't help but sigh.
"Yes."
Song Yi also sighed.
If it weren't for my good fortune in growing mid-grade spirit rice, I'd probably still be suffering in the spirit rice field.
After hearing Song Yi's story, Zhang Lingshan understood why Song Yi kept spitting blood to refine his skills and climb the ranks.
Because he knew all too well how difficult life was here, and that if he didn't climb up the ladder, there was absolutely no hope for survival.
If Song Yi were someone who just wanted to coast through life, he wouldn't have been able to grow mid-grade spirit rice.
Despite Song Yi's claim that growing mid-grade spirit rice was due to luck, Zhang Lingshan was certain that the other party had been extremely meticulous during the planting process.
Luck is merely a reward for hard work; it cannot be obtained by simply loafing around and waiting to die.
Even Wei Sheng, though he seems to be living a life of leisure, is actually deep in thought every day.
Otherwise, how could he have understood the rules of the first level so clearly, and even figured out how to help others refine the points outside the rules? How could someone who just loafs around and waits to die do that?
After this exchange with Song Yi, Zhang Lingshan and Song Yi became increasingly familiar with each other.
When they have nothing to do, they chat from time to time.
And before we knew it, another two months had passed.
at last.
Both of them reached the final refining stage.
Mysterious Jade Essence.
Like jade copper steel, it is a special material that can be refined to 100% purity.
The next step was to figure out the properties of the material and begin refining it daily until it reached 100% purity.
In order to improve refining efficiency, Zhang Lingshan and Song Yi exchanged experiences every day.
This day.
"It's done!"
Song Yi shouted in his heart.
But compared to the excitement he felt on the first floor, he was much calmer now.
The increasing intensity of the flames these days made him realize that his success was only a matter of time.
And right after he succeeded.
Zhang Lingshan also successfully extracted 100% pure Xuanyu essence.
But although everything seems to be going smoothly, if you count the days, half a year has already passed since he was promoted to the Iron Rank and went up to the second floor.
In other words, he had been in the Refining Pavilion for a year, and Zhang Lingshan was still just a lowly fire-tending boy, with no end in sight to breaking through to the True Immortal Realm.
When will this kind of life finally end?
Holding his identity token, Zhang Lingshan felt no joy, unsure of how Qi Shuyan and Wei Sheng were doing. (End of Chapter)