Chapter 575: Chapter 11: Breakthroughs Without End
Xiao Xian and Yiyi rushed back to the dormitory and finally relaxed.
"Xiao Xian, why didn’t you wait for Senior Brother Wang to finish speaking about the board and lodging deal? Why wouldn’t you take advantage of such an offer?" Desperate times call for desperate measures, Zhang Yiyi felt trapped by the lack of Heaven-defying Value and was thinking about saving wherever possible.
"There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Besides, now that I have 10000 Heaven-defying Value, if we live frugally, we should be able to make it through this semester." Xiao Xian didn’t really suspect that Wang Shuai wanted to harm them; otherwise, he wouldn’t have mentioned it so openly in front of Romeo One.
However, trading is a process of equivalent exchange; once you accept someone’s help, you are restricted by them.
But the very next day after Xiao Xian had made her decision, she regretted it.
When she entered the Wanlin Hills learning mode again, the central computer prompted: "Each entry to Wanlin Hills costs 100 Heaven-defying Value."
That the classroom would charge a fee, and on a per-visit basis, was quite frustrating. With 10000 Heaven-defying Value, even if Xiao Xian didn’t eat or drink, it would all be used up in just 100 class sessions.
Since she had already entered, Xiao Xian had to start the lesson.
"Welcome to Wanlin Hills, this course is divided into 100 class sessions," it was uncertain if the system had calculated accurately, but the Heaven-defying Value needed for the 100 class sessions was exactly 10000.
"Wanlin Hills has an elevation of 499 meters, divided into the foot, waist, and summit zones, respectively growing plants under 10 years, 50 years, and 100 years old, requiring students to learn how to utilize the different plants’ Spiritual Energy effects."
Regarding the effects of Spiritual Energy, Xiao Xian had little exposure; she remembered Zhuo Feng once mentioned that different Spiritual energies are divided into Yin and Yang. As for controlling Spiritual Energy, Xiao Xian was quite confident; she had once subdued the Vincetoxicum fern and had learned to weave mats with Spiritual Energy, which had significantly improved her understanding of how much energy to use each time.
So she confidently chose a common fern that was twenty years old, waiting for instructions from the central computer. "The first step in controlling Spiritual Energy is to extract the fern’s internal Spiritual Energy without harming the plant itself, for personal use—this is the Spirit Control Method."
"It’s different from what I expected, but it’s basically consistent with the Cultivation Techniques of the Mei Family," Xiao Xian thought to herself; previously, she solely relied on the effects of the Silver-grade Space to absorb Spiritual Energy, and had never tried just by herself, and for a moment, Xiao Xian did not know how to proceed.
Perhaps she should ask how the sugarcane seedling absorbs Spiritual Energy. Just as this thought flashed through Xiao Xian’s mind, her connection with the Silver-grade Space was suddenly cut off.
The sugarcane seedling, and even Little White Jiao, and the presence of the Vincetoxicum fern were hidden. It was a very strange sensation, like being suddenly abandoned in the desert with no one around. Between heaven and earth, only Xiao Xian remained alone.
"Is the space being blocked?" Xiao Xian initially panicked but soon calmed down.
"It’s nothing, just back to the initial situation without the sugarcane seedling or the White Flood Dragon, just like when I was at Yunteng Sect with only the garbage space," Xiao Xian recited to herself, wondering what her first step should be when facing unfamiliar plants?
The central computer listed a series of terms, look, smell, ask, check—these are the Four Diagnostic Methods of traditional Chinese medicine, applicable also in observing Spiritual Energy.
Wanlin Hills is perennially spring-like, accelerating the growth of crops, and at a glance, all seemed thriving.
Looking refers to the plant’s appearance. Good Spiritual Energy invariably comes from well-growing crops.
Xiao Xian chose a vine plant. Without the space’s effect, she hesitated a bit when first selecting a test herbellen, but the plant she chose had thick leaves, white flowers, and fruits that looked like buckwheat grains. It had long roots with several melon-segment-shaped tubers, with a reddish-brown surface that could break at hand touch.
"It is a Polygonum multiflorum, with glossy green leaves showing no signs of pest damage or spots, appearing to be well-grown, but the tubers are only the size of a child’s fist, breaking open to reveal no flesh, this is not a good source of Spiritual Energy absorption," Xiao Xian shook her head and again selected another Polygonum multiflorum. This time, the Polygonum multiflorum she chose had leaves that were not as thick as the earlier one, but its root system was robust, and the tubers, thick and heavy, were hard to break by hand.
"Seeing Polygonum multiflorum of similar size, this cluster grew better than the others, but just looking at the appearance is not enough," the first step of looking was completed, now it was time for the second step, smelling.