Chapter 15: Future Plans

Before long, the spring water began to boil, and an indescribably fragrant aroma wafted from the clay pot. In an instant, Fang Yun couldn't help but swallow his saliva. After a while, the spiritual rice was finally cooked through. The finished spiritual rice had swelled to the size of corn kernels, each grain translucent and looking particularly tempting.

Unable to contain himself, Fang Yun picked up a spoon and began to eat directly from the pot. The moment it entered his mouth, it had a delightful, springy texture with an excellent taste and a fragrant aroma. Each bite filled him with a deep sense of satisfaction. Even without any side dishes, Fang Yun enjoyed the meal immensely, completely immersed in the deliciousness the spiritual rice provided.

Unconsciously, he polished off the entire clay pot of spiritual rice. Looking at the empty pot, Fang Yun rubbed his belly and let out a satisfied burp. A warm current gradually spread from his abdomen throughout his body, causing him to lazily lean against the cave wall, feeling no desire to move.

From his past life to the present, there had never been a meal that brought him such intense satisfaction. It felt as if what he consumed didn't just fill his stomach but blended into the very essence of his body. When the warm flow inside him gradually subsided, he sensed that his physical strength had increased somewhat, but his mana didn't seem to have grown.

This meant that the spiritual rice was not for increasing his cultivation but rather for enhancing his physical strength.

Although physical strength is also a part of power, for a cultivator, mana is still more important. Therefore, the original Fang Yun's idea of relying on these spiritual rice as a cultivation resource seems to have been a mistaken notion. He didn't know who told him that.

However, considering that the previous generation of cultivators had died suddenly and the original Fang Yun was suddenly discovered to have spiritual roots and then went to the mountains to cultivate, no one had ever told him about the variety of spiritual rice. Everything could very well be his own speculation.

If he had known about these varieties of spiritual rice earlier, he might not have cared as much and might not have gone down the wrong path. But if that were the case, wouldn't that mean he didn't really transmigrate? So, it's best to leave it as it is! Traveling through time is quite good!

Fang Yun shook his head, casting aside the random thoughts in his mind. He then continued to lean against the wall, resting for a while before beginning to contemplate his future plans.

Since he had successfully broken through to the second level of Qi training, it was time to start practicing the Spiritual Rain Technique. With the Earth Force Technique he had previously mastered, along with the upcoming Spiritual Rain Technique—one responsible for controlling the nutrients in the soil and the other for managing the rain falling from the sky—he would have the two basic spells needed for farming.

Aside from these two spells, there was also the Golden Qi Technique, which could only be practiced at the third level of Qi training, but its main purpose was for pest control, which was not an urgent need at the moment. After all, there were many other methods to replace it. The silkworm silk net he had previously created was a good alternative.

In addition to practicing spells, Fang Yun did not plan to invest too much energy into improving his cultivation level. After all, with the help of his lucky opportunity, the key to advancing was still through farming. Simply relying on absorbing spiritual energy to reach the third level of Qi training was nothing but a fantasy.

Unless he was willing to spend decades slowly absorbing the meager spiritual energy, gradually refining his cultivation, it was simply unacceptable for Fang Yun. Thus, rather than wasting time on cultivation, it would be more efficient to open up more wasteland and plant more crops.

Besides these two aspects, Fang Yun began to prepare for the next stage of planting spiritual rice. This was the most important task for the next stage; as for ordinary crops, there was no rush and they were not as crucial.

This time, Fang Yun did not intend to be as rough as last time. He planned to first carry out seedling cultivation, and once the spiritual seedlings grew, he would then transplant them. He believed this should increase the seedling survival rate, unlike the last planting of spiritual rice, which only had a 60% survival rate.

He also planned to supplement the spiritual energy in the spiritual field to facilitate the next planting of spiritual rice. After all, the six spiritual stones he had invested last time were now nearly depleted. Unfortunately, he only had nine spiritual stones left; if he consumed six more, he would be left with only three spiritual stones.

Without spiritual stones, the planting of spiritual rice in the coming years would not be feasible. This was something Fang Yun found extremely difficult to accept. After all, it concerned his future cultivation path and prospects.

However, he felt a bit apprehensive about leaving the island to search for more spiritual stones. Even if he were lucky enough to break through to the third level of Qi training with the life energy harvested from the crops planted next year, he still wouldn't dare to leave Ling Shui Island lightly.

After all, while a third level of Qi training might be somewhat acceptable on Ling Shui Island, once he stepped into the true cultivation world, that level was far too low. In that realm filled with unknowns and dangers, such a cultivation level could easily cost him his life.

From this perspective, there was essentially no difference between the second and third levels of Qi training. He certainly didn't want to meet the same fate as the previous generation of cultivators.

However, if he didn't venture out, how could he obtain the spiritual stones needed for planting spiritual rice? This situation seemed to trap Fang Yun in an unsolvable cycle, leaving him feeling incredibly conflicted.

Unless the spiritual rice he planted could reduce his dependence on spiritual stones, extending the usage time of the stones he had on hand, he wouldn't consider leaving Ling Shui Island until he had a deeper cultivation level and a certain degree of self-protection ability.

With this thought in mind, Fang Yun turned his gaze to the spiritual spring beside him.

If he didn't use spiritual stones, the only feasible solution would be to rely on the spiritual energy in the spiritual spring. After all, he wouldn't need to rely on this energy for cultivation in the future, so directly using the spring water from the spiritual spring to irrigate the spiritual rice would not be a bad idea.

Moreover, the current spiritual rice he had on hand did not have a high dependence on spiritual stones; it only required the spiritual field to maintain a certain concentration of spiritual energy. If the spiritual energy in the spiritual spring could be directed into the spiritual field, it might suffice to meet the growth needs of the spiritual rice without requiring additional spiritual stones.

However, there was a distance between the location of the spiritual field and the spiritual spring. To direct the energy from the spring there without it dissipating along the way was something Fang Yun was currently unable to do. Unless he mastered some knowledge of formations, achieving this might be impossible.

Since he wasn't entirely confident that the spiritual energy in the spring would not dissipate during its flow, he decided to move the spiritual field closer to the cave. Once the spiritual field was relocated, the water from the spring would flow directly into it as soon as it emerged from the cave, maximizing the amount of energy available for the spiritual rice.