Chapter 7: A Cultivation Prodigy
Chapter 7: A Cultivation Prodigy
A five-hundred-year Spirit Fruit Tree?
After a brief moment of stupor, Lu Hangzhi quickly noticed the unusual changes happening to his body. He looked left and right, showing a silly grin.
Hmm, aside from his vision becoming excellent, his hearing was almost supernatural, and his mind was very clear.
This all seemed thanks to the benefits brought by over forty Essence Spirit Fruits.
“Awesome!”
Though a bit panicked, what was done was done. Lu Hangzhi knew that apologizing wouldn’t solve the problem, and besides, ignorance was no crime! He believed even the young lady herself wouldn’t have expected this to happen. Of course, if she really wanted to hold him responsible, there was nothing he could do.
Feeling reassured, Lu Hangzhi soon put the matter behind him and returned to the hall, sitting cross-legged.
It was already late, and he needed to master the remaining three spells as soon as possible.
Whether it was due to the overpowering nature of the Spirit Gathering Array or the Essence Spirit Fruits enhancing his magic power, Lu Hangzhi found practicing these three spells unusually easy. It felt very natural and effortless. With a spit, spiritual energy the thickness of a finger gathered into a sword and whooshed, hitting a piece of granite not far away, drilling a two-inch deep pit.
“Pretty easy to master.”
“Even though it’s just a first-rank spell, the power isn’t small. If used against a person, one sword would make a hole.”
Lu Hangzhi clicked his tongue and soon practiced each of the three spells several times in a row.
Rainfall Art was a small-scale spell primarily used for watering Spiritual Grain fields and herb gardens. It required relatively high magic power and was a bit difficult.
However, the most valuable one was Activation Art!
This spell was a secret technique the Zhu Residence intercepted at a high price of five hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones before the auction began. After casting, the user became like a Spiritual Energy Vortex, slightly increasing the spiritual energy fluctuations around themselves and enhancing the recovery rate of magic power.
For any cultivator, mastering this spell was equivalent to saving a large amount of cultivation resources.
“There’s still time.”
Lu Hangzhi murmured, “In the future, I probably won’t have another chance to cultivate using the young lady’s Spirit Gathering Array. I must seize every minute and second to improve my proficiency with the four spells.”
Although the teacher who guided his initiation was very incompetent, there was a saying on Earth: “Read a book a hundred times, and its meaning will become clear.” There was also a saying: “Sharpening the axe won’t delay the chopping of firewood.” Diligent practice was definitely not wrong.
Immediately, Lu Hangzhi began practicing repeatedly on the Spirit Gathering Array. Besides the effortless Water Control Art, he cycled through the three spells. In the room, one moment there was a Tongue Sword shattering stone, the next spiritual energy creating rain, and then spiritual energy whistling—it was quite lively.
If it were an ordinary cultivator, such exertion would have long ago drained their vitality. But Lu Hangzhi had just eaten over forty Essence Spirit Fruits, and his body was comparable to a Second Rank Peak cultivator, with extremely strong endurance. Continuously casting and practicing these basic spells was no problem at all.
The fragrance of the spirit fruit in the room gradually faded as time passed…
The next morning, Zhu Fuqin returned to the residence after seeing off her sect members. As soon as she reached the courtyard, she heard constant, lively noises from the room and instinctively stopped to listen.
The more she listened, the stranger her expression became.
“This kid has already passed the best cultivation period, yet in just half a day he has reached this level… Could he be a cultivation prodigy?”
She opened the door and entered, and the sounds immediately stopped.
“Young lady!”
Lu Hangzhi stood up from the floor.
Zhu Fuqin looked at him carefully for a while, her surprise growing.
Compared to when she left yesterday, Lu Hangzhi’s skin seemed to have become more delicate and fair, looking very clean, and he had gained an aura of a cultivator, clearly having reached the realm where spiritual energy was visible externally.
Zhu Fuqin marveled inwardly but didn’t think about the five-hundred-year Spirit Fruit Tree placed in the room. She only felt that her Senior Brother indeed had a good eye for talent, and she grew more appreciative and expectant of Lu Hangzhi. She smiled and said:
“How is your cultivation going?”
“Thank you for your help, young lady. Hangzhi has mastered the four spells.”
Hearing this, Zhu Fuqin gave a slight smile and advised in a tone of experience:
“It’s too early to say you’ve mastered them now. You are casting spells within the Spirit Gathering Array. Once you leave here and go to a place poor and lacking in spiritual energy, casting spells will be difficult and will consume your own spiritual energy and vitality. It will take some time to adapt.”
Lu Hangzhi nodded.
“Remember what I told you. Your surface identity is still a servant of the Zhu Residence. However, I will use the excuse of having you care for that damaged Spirit Tree so you don’t have to go to the back garden. Usually, you can practice in your room and strive to master them thoroughly as soon as possible.” Zhu Fuqin had already planned everything.
“Alright, return to your room to cultivate. I will call you when needed.”
“Yes, young lady.”
His own residence was a woodshed, separated from the maids’ rooms, so he wouldn’t be easily disturbed.
Leaving the Spirit Gathering Array, Lu Hangzhi clearly felt the spiritual energy surrounding him weaken significantly. Entering the woodshed, the spiritual energy was pitifully scarce.
Oops!
“I’ve heard that within the sects, spiritual energy is abundant, and there’s no need to worry about spellcasting energy. The cultivator families in Violet Cloud Town… still fall far short compared to those sects.”
Lu Hangzhi shook his head and sighed.
Initially, his goal was to enter a sect. He didn’t expect the Zhu family’s young lady to show up halfway and keep him at the Zhu Residence.
But since he was here, he might as well make the best of it!
Fortunately, this young lady was quite good to him.
Thanks to the Spirit Gathering Array, not only did he master four spells in advance, but he also accidentally ate the fruits of an entire five-hundred-year Spirit Fruit Tree. It should be considered a blessing in disguise—he heard that ordinary mortals who enter a sect start as outer sect laborers.
Since he had stepped onto the path of cultivation, he might as well begin.
Lu Hangzhi tidied the room a bit and then sat cross-legged on the kang, sensing the surrounding spiritual energy.
Half a minute passed before small clusters of liquid slowly appeared around him.
Water Control Art!
A few more seconds passed, and a water ball the size of a fist condensed in front of his chest.
“The spiritual energy is really thin. It took half a minute just to connect with the surrounding spiritual energy. The size of the water ball… Huh? It seems even larger than the one Lü’e condensed.” Lu Hangzhi instinctively compared it to when he practiced in the Spirit Gathering Array and when Lü’e cast spells, showing a slightly surprised expression.
“Logically, the woodshed should have the thinnest spiritual energy density in the entire Zhu Residence. If spiritual energy density is proportional to water ball size, it should be smaller than Lü’e’s… Besides, Lü’e has practiced Water Control Art for a long time…”
The more Lu Hangzhi thought about it, the more he felt his aptitude was unusual. He became full of confidence.
His gaze shifted, landing on the potted Spirit Fruit Tree with the damaged trunk not far away. An idea came to him, and he stood up and walked over.
Water Control Art!
Following the previous method of nourishing the Spirit Fruit Tree, he controlled the water ball, bit by bit, injecting it into the tree. His movements and proficiency were even faster than Lü’e’s.
Lu Hangzhi quickly understood:
Although Lü’e had mastered Water Control Art for a long time, she only cast it twice a day, which wasn’t really that much. In contrast, he had repeatedly and continuously cast Water Control Art thanks to the Spirit Gathering Array. His control over the water element had reached a meticulous level, so familiar it couldn’t be more familiar. Every movement came naturally.
And!
After being tempered by the Essence Spirit Fruits, his senses became exceptionally sharp. The changes in the Spirit Fruit Tree clearly reflected in his mind, without any error, making it even smoother.
Before long, the water ball was completely injected into the Spirit Fruit Tree.
Unfortunately, most of the spiritual energy in the water ball was absorbed by the damaged part of the Spirit Fruit Tree. Only a small amount of magic power nourished the tree, far from satisfying it.
“Continue!”
Without hesitation, Lu Hangzhi cast Water Control Art again, pulling another water ball from the air and methodically acting as a tree caretaker.
Time flowed…
Half an hour passed. Lu Hangzhi continuously cast Water Control Art three times, finally managing to barely nourish and care for all the leaves and roots of the Spirit Fruit Tree. It shook off its wilted aura and burst forth with vibrant, lush vitality.
“Whew, exhausted.”
Lu Hangzhi quickly threw an Activation Art on himself. A barely noticeable Spiritual Energy Vortex slowly formed, gently pulling spiritual energy from all directions to nourish his body and convert it into magic power. Then, nearly drained, he lay back on the kang to recover.
Lying on the kang, Lu Hangzhi felt indescribably comfortable.
The Essence Spirit Fruits were indeed extraordinary.
When ordinary mortals first set foot on the path of cultivation, their bodies were like undeveloped containers, capable of holding only a little spiritual energy. Casting Water Control Art even once was quite difficult, let alone persevering to care for an entire Spirit Fruit Tree…
Caring for the Spirit Fruit Tree using Water Control Art was equivalent to continuously releasing Tongue Sword Art five times. Yet he had cast Water Control Art three times in one go. That meant his container could already hold more than fifteen first-rank spells.
For a rookie cultivator, this was simply incredible!
Just then, footsteps approached outside the door, followed by Lü’e’s voice:
“Is Brother Hangzhi in?”
“I’m here, Sister Lü’e.”
He stood up and opened the door to see Lü’e and Cong Fang standing gracefully outside. Lu Hangzhi smiled:
“Sister Cong Fang is here too?”
“What? Only welcoming your Sister Lü’e, not welcoming your Sister Cong Fang?”
“Of course not. I haven’t had time to clean up properly, and I’m afraid I’ll neglect both sisters.”
“Such a sweet talker.”
The two women entered the room and looked around, their delicate brows slightly furrowed. Covering their noses, they said:
“This used to be a woodshed. It’s not cleaned often, so it really needs a good tidying up.”
“It’s alright, I don’t mind.”
“True, although you’re a little kid, you’re still a smelly man.” Cong Fang joked.
Lü’e, sharp-eyed, saw the Spirit Fruit Tree placed at the head of the kang. Turning back, she noticed the faint pallor of exhaustion on Lu Hangzhi’s handsome face, and her heart ached:
“You’ve just started cultivating; you can’t force yourself to cast Water Control Art. Didn’t the young lady tell you that overcasting spells can cause backlash and damage your vitality?”
The young lady really hadn’t said anything.
Lu Hangzhi felt somewhat awkward but didn’t dare tell the truth. He could only mumble in response, which only confirmed the two women’s thoughts.
“Brother Hangzhi, although spells are mysterious and powerful, you must be careful when practicing. Don’t push yourself too hard, or you’ll only hurt yourself.”
“Hmm, just leave that Spirit Fruit Tree be. Do you really think you can heal it and go to the Xuanxin Sect? Don’t even think about it. Not just you, a child who just started learning spells, but even if Lü’e and I combined our efforts, we couldn’t take good care of it,” Cong Fang said. “Just give up on the idea of going to the Xuanxin Sect. Staying with us at the Zhu Residence isn’t bad either.”
Was this like a confession to him?
Lu Hangzhi felt a little excited.