Immortality and Cultivation: Starting with Improved Spirit Rice

Chapter 38 Collateral Damage

Zhao Cheng'an's aura was deeper and more profound than ever before, his spiritual energy restrained yet inexhaustible.

Shen Yanshan's eyes lit up, and he suddenly stood up from his seat, asking in surprise.

"You...you've already broken through to the second level of Qi Refining?"

Zhao Cheng'an nodded slightly, "I just broke through today, and I wanted to tell you the news as soon as possible."

"Excellent, excellent!"

Shen Yanshan said "not bad" twice, then his smile faded a bit, and he turned and walked deeper into the room.

"Now that you've broken through to the second level of Qi Refining, it's time to hand this over to you." Seeing Shen Yanshan's mysterious demeanor, Zhao Cheng'an was also a little curious.

From the shadows of the study came the sound of rummaging through drawers and cabinets, dust swirling and dancing in the beam of light. A moment later, Shen Yanshan coughed softly and emerged from inside.

He held a delicate wooden box in his hands and handed it over.

"This is……"

Zhao Chengan reached out and took it, then gently opened it.

Inside, two grass seeds, radiating a verdant glow, lay quietly. Their surfaces were covered with fine, natural patterns, clearly indicating that they were some kind of spiritual plant of considerable quality.

Shen Yanshan pointed to the grass seeds and explained.

"This is sword-leaf grass, a basic material needed to perform the Grass Sword Technique."

"The Grass Sword Technique is a low-level spell suitable for those with wood or metal elemental spiritual roots. Moreover, as your cultivation level increases, this spell can be expanded into different high-level variations such as the Thousand Leaf Sword Formation, Azure Light Sword Rain, and Life and Death Grass Sword Technique, showing great potential."

"Compared to the Golden Needle Technique, which is also a low-level technique commonly used by cultivators in the early stages of Qi Refining, the biggest advantage of the Grass Sword Technique is that it requires fewer runes to be inscribed by the cultivator himself."

Shen Yanshan explained, "This is because the runes in this spell are divided into two parts. One part needs to be inscribed into the body by the cultivator using their true spirit, while the other part exists naturally in the matching sword-leaf grass."

"So theoretically, even a cultivator at the second level of Qi Refining can cast spells instantly if they use Sword Leaf Grass. This can give you a huge advantage when fighting enemies."

Zhao Cheng'an's heart stirred slightly, and he keenly sensed the problem.

"Master, since this technique is so powerful, why wasn't it passed down in the Imperial Academy before?"

"There are two main reasons."

Shen Yanshan replied, "On the one hand, sword-leaf grass is a medium-quality spiritual plant with an extremely long growth cycle, requiring up to ten years to fully mature, making it expensive."

"On the other hand, the sword-leaf grass is easily damaged in combat. Under normal circumstances, a single blade of grass can only be used to cast spells three to four times before it completely crumbles and is destroyed. The cost is too high, so this spell is somewhat of a waste among low-level cultivators."

"Now that the teacher has taught me this technique, I believe these problems will definitely be solved to some extent," Zhao Chengan said.

"good."

Shen Yanshan smiled and nodded.

"This time, I went to Floating Scale Cave Heaven not only to gather information about the Dao Court's assessment standards, but also to use the subsidies issued by the Imperial Academy to replace a batch of spellcasting materials. This Sword Leaf Grass is one of them."

"The sword-leaf grass in your hand is a new variety that has been improved and bred by Qingyan Zhenren of Changqing Dao Academy."

"Not only has its growth rate increased, shortening from ten years to three to six months, but it has also gained a self-repair function. Even if it suffers wear and tear during battle, as long as it is combined with specially made spiritual soil and nourished by the cultivator's own spiritual energy, it can regrow and recover after a period of time."

Shen Yanshan looked at Zhao Cheng'an:

"Although you have dual-attribute spiritual roots of wood and fire, your primary attribute is wood. I believe you are very suitable for this technique."

"If you can master this technique, you should have an advantage in future assessments."

Zhao Chengan fully agreed with Shen Yanshan's judgment.

He carefully put away the wooden box containing the grass seeds and then took several thick books from Shen Yanshan. These books detailed the cultivation methods for sword-leaf grass, the key points of casting the grass sword technique, and the related rune structures.

Before leaving, Shen Yanshan instructed Zhao Cheng'an: "Cheng'an, I have some similar spellcasting materials in reserve here. If you have any new ideas about cultivation and spellcasting, feel free to try them out without worrying about losses."

Zhao Cheng'an respectfully thanked him, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, Master."

Shen Yanshan laughed and waved his hand.

"Go ahead, it's a little privilege reserved for geniuses."

……

……

As Zhao Cheng'an left Qiansui Valley and stepped outside, he heard a great commotion coming from the square not far away, where a crowd of onlookers had gathered.

Although Zhao Cheng'an usually spends most of his time cultivating, there's no reason not to take advantage of a free gift.

Upon closer inspection, they discovered that Guo You was the one surrounded.

Guo You was being pinned to the ground by two burly servants, struggling violently. Through the surrounding chatter, Zhao Cheng'an understood what had happened.

With the support of forces such as Western Chu, the Four Seas Merchant Guild, and Eastern Ning, the power of the Great Yin Kingdom greatly increased, and the situation completely stabilized. Unable to defeat the impregnable cities of the Great Yin, the barbarians had no choice but to redirect their forces northward.

This is truly a case of collateral damage caused by a fire at the city gate.

Among the seven kingdoms, the Northern Wei was the weakest in terms of both national strength and population.

In less than six months, the situation deteriorated rapidly. Not only did the capital fall, but the Prince of Wei was publicly dismembered, and more than 100,000 people were killed or wounded in a horrific scene. Having lost the support of the royal family, Guo You, unable to pay the exorbitant tuition fees of the Imperial Academy, was now facing forced expulsion.

Guo You struggled violently, his hair disheveled, his appearance deranged, and he shouted loudly.

"Let me go!"

"I am a prince of Northern Wei, how dare you treat me like this!"

"Aren't you afraid I'll exterminate your entire family?"

Upon seeing Zhao Cheng'an in the crowd, Guo You lost control of his emotions.

Only two years have passed. Two years ago, he was still mocking Zhao Cheng'an for the destruction of his country and the ruin of his family, but now their positions have been completely reversed. Such a disparity is too cruel; he cannot accept reality.

Guo You, with strength he didn't know he came from, lunged at Zhao Cheng'an like a madman.

"It's all your fault!"

"It's all your fault!"

"Why won't you just obediently die? If only it was the Great Yin Kingdom that was destroyed!"

He reached out to grab Zhao Cheng'an's face.

But a large foot flew out from nowhere, kicking Guo You so hard he was sent flying like a tumbling gourd.

A tall figure appeared beside Zhao Cheng'an; this person was Xiang Yunyuan.

"Brother Zhao, are you alright?" Xiang Yunyuan turned and asked.

Zhao Chengan shook his head.

"He's nothing serious, just a madman."

"Hurry up and take this guy away, leaving him here is embarrassing." Xiang Yunyuan waved his hand at the servants.

The two servants beside him suddenly realized what was happening and immediately ran over to grab Guo You's arms and forcibly drag him away.

Guo You's curses echoed along the mountain path, gradually fading into the distance.