Chapter 45: Returning to the Canyon

As Fang Yun arrived at the canyon, he didn't rush in immediately; instead, he went to the five vines he had planted earlier.

It had been several days since he last visited, but these vines should have been doing well.

As he approached, he could feel the joyful emotions they were transmitting.

This was a stark contrast to how they had been when he first arrived here.

Getting closer, he noticed that the area around the vines was now overgrown with weeds, and among the tall grass, he could vaguely see some bones hidden within.

Clearly, during this time, these vines had preyed upon quite a few beasts.

The vines were also hidden among the weeds, making it impossible to spot them from the outside.

Seeing that they were thriving, Fang Yun didn't feel the need to search for the vines specifically.

Instead, he stood outside and used the Grounding Technique and Spirit Rain Technique to replenish some energy and spirit energy for the vines.

After doing so, feeling the joyful emotions they transmitted back, Fang Yun finally left the riverbank and entered the canyon.

It had been a while since his last visit, and the canyon was now overrun with weeds.

However, having broken through to the third level of Qi Training, Fang Yun felt no desire to wield a hoe and clear these weeds again.

After some thought, he decided to directly use the Grounding Technique.

With the proficient Grounding Technique, and the ample mana from being at the third level of Qi Training, Fang Yun directly expanded the technique's reach to a distance of several dozen zhang.

He then collected all the ordinary energy from the surroundings, concentrating it in a small area.

Using this method, Fang Yun created about ten such energy-rich spots within the canyon.

Without the support of energy, these weeds would wither away in less than two days.

Two days later, Fang Yun set fire to all the weeds in the canyon, cleaning them out completely, and then used the same method to redistribute energy throughout the entire canyon.

In truth, this approach was rather wasteful of mana and not very efficient.

It would have been better to use a hoe to clear the weeds.

One could say that Fang Yun was being somewhat pretentious at this point.

After completing these tasks, he spread all the previously collected weed seeds throughout the canyon.

Even in the rice paddies, he drained all the water after some modifications and planted the weed seeds.

Next, he needed to wait a while for these weeds to enter their growth phase before proceeding to accelerate their growth.

Taking advantage of this waiting time, Fang Yun began to practice the Golden Qi Technique.

"Gathering golden spirits, sharp light shining, spiritual energy like a tide, golden radiance illuminating…"

As he recited the incantation and formed special hand seals, the Golden Qi Technique began to manifest.

However, after several attempts, Fang Yun still couldn't condense the metal-attributed spiritual energy.

It was significantly more challenging than practicing the Grounding Technique before.

From this performance, Fang Yun realized that he likely didn't have a metal spirit root.

That would explain the difficulty he was experiencing.

If he were to define his spirit root based on the effects of the spells, Fang Yun speculated that his spirit root might consist of water, wood, and earth attributes, with water being the strongest, wood second, and earth the weakest.

Of course, this was just a guess, and he wasn't entirely sure.

To know for certain, he would need to leave Ling Shui Island and find specialized detection equipment.

With this speculation in mind, Fang Yun was somewhat prepared for his struggles with the Golden Qi Technique.

However, the final result was not as disheartening as he had feared.

After dozens of attempts, he finally managed to condense the metal-attributed spiritual energy.

Although he had yet to successfully cast the Golden Qi Technique, he had gathered the metal energy, and success was within reach.

Based on previous theories, it seemed he might still have a bit of a metal spirit root.

This wasn't entirely impossible; perhaps the interactions of the five elements had contributed to the successful casting of his spells.

Putting these speculations aside, Fang Yun spent several more days waiting for the weeds to reach their growth phase before finally succeeding in casting the Golden Qi Technique.

"Gathering golden spirits, sharp light shining. Spiritual energy like a tide, golden radiance illuminating…"

As he recited the incantation, the special hand seals followed, and his mana flowed according to specific patterns, emitting mysterious fluctuations.

A bright white light appeared in Fang Yun's hand.

Upon completing the hand seal, a burst of bright light shot from his hand.

Once it reached the air in front of him, it suddenly exploded, forming a dense array of golden light spots.

These light spots moved around in front of him, guided by his intent.

Gently extending his palm, Fang Yun directed these light spots to strike his hand.

Without exerting much force, he could still feel a slight stinging sensation on his palm.

If he were to target those green beetles and unleash his full power, these golden light spots would likely penetrate through them entirely.

Perhaps that was the reason the Golden Qi Technique could eliminate pests.

But it could only eliminate pests.

Even when gathered, this power could at most kill some ordinary people.

Against cultivators with mana and spells, it was clear that the Golden Qi Technique would be ineffective.

Before successfully casting the Golden Qi Technique, Fang Yun had still held some hope.

But after witnessing its true power, he could only shake his head helplessly.

So far, he had mastered four spells.

However, each spell could only be used for farming.

None possessed any lethal capability.

To deal with enemies, he would ultimately have to rely on talismans and the broken blade he carried.

This left Fang Yun feeling quite helpless.

But given the situation at the outset, there was little he could do, even if he felt frustrated.

As he had thought initially, although his start was low, at least the environment was stable.

With the successful casting of the Golden Qi Technique, the weeds had now entered their growth phase.

Without hesitation, Fang Yun directly used the Growth Technique.

As he cast several Growth Techniques upon the weeds, the plants in the canyon rapidly reached maturity.

Next, after waiting a while longer, he would be able to harvest the weeds.

Once the harvest was complete, he would plant soybeans.

If he planted another batch of soybeans, he should be able to expand the cultivation with the seeds he obtained.

Even if the seeds were not enough, he could start with a portion of the planting, leaving the remaining seeds for later use.

With this plan in mind, a few days later, Fang Yun began the weed harvest.

He reaped a large batch of weed seeds, along with two points of life energy.

Then he started planting the soybeans.

The seedling stage of soybeans took longer compared to the weeds.

During his free time, Fang Yun returned once again to the area where the Five Bead Vines were located.