Chapter 33

After seeing off Instructor Zhang Yu, Chu He turned around and went to clear the two plots of spirit fields that had been ravaged by the iron-shelled bugs.

Using the Withered Wood Spirit Gathering Technique, he extracted the wood spirit energy from the remaining roots of the Green Spirit Grass in the two plots. He quickly used farming tools to till the land and then scattered the wood spirit energy into it.

After finishing these tasks, Chu He gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath. He then took a deep breath to calm his mind.

After half a month of continuous labor and cultivation, he was on the verge of breaking through to the sixth layer. That moment could come at any time. A calm mind was crucial for steadily entering a new realm, so Chu He suppressed his anger and tried to think positively, letting go of his grievances.

It was fortunate that he could distinguish right from wrong. If it were an ordinary person, they would have already exploded in rage after repeated provocations and might have already stormed over to seek justice.

However, Chu He would eventually settle the score. As for when the counterattack would begin, it depended on whether the other party intended to stop.

Due to the founding master of Green Spirit Mountain being a wandering cultivator, the sect had a deep aversion to malicious acts among disciples. Therefore, the rules regarding such matters were very strict.

If the other party did not show any signs of stopping, Chu He would no longer hold back. For an enemy who persisted in harassment, a severe blow was necessary to make them stop.

After clearing the two plots of spirit fields, Chu He did not plant new seeds. He used the Sweet Rain Technique to water the other spirit fields and then returned to his house.

He did not plan to go out and accept missions for the next few days. He intended to break through to the sixth layer of the Qi Condensation Realm first. The faint spiritual movement in his heart already told him that the moment was approaching.

After taking five high-grade Qi Enhancing Pills, Chu He began to channel his energy to break through.

The sixth layer of the Qi Condensation Realm, like the fourth layer, was a minor checkpoint. There were three minor checkpoints in the Qi Condensation Realm: the fourth, sixth, and ninth layers.

Once one broke through to the sixth layer, the seventh and eighth layers could be reached through gradual accumulation. This was why the sixth layer was one of the qualifying standards for spirit farmers and alchemy and artifact apprentices. Green Spirit Mountain recruited apprentices with the goal of cultivating intermediate-level talents, so this was the elimination line.

The medicinal power from the five high-grade Qi Enhancing Pills was very strong, more than twice what Chu He usually endured.

With the Purifying Fire present, the impurities in the medicinal power were completely devoured, leaving only pure energy.

Chu He slowly refined this energy for his own use. As the spirit energy circulated faster, his meridians began to ache.

The cultivation method of the Qi Condensation Realm aimed to widen and stabilize the meridians, strengthen the body, and accumulate and refine spirit energy. This was to ensure that the meridians could later withstand higher-quality innate true energy and that there was enough spirit energy to convert into innate true energy.

Therefore, while breaking through was good, it also involved considerable pain from the drastic changes in the meridians. It was a mix of pain and joy.

This powerful medicinal power allowed Chu He to achieve his goal and step into the sixth layer of the Qi Condensation Realm.

"Phew!" Chu He opened his eyes and sighed in relief, suddenly realizing that he was drenched in sweat with a pungent odor.

Indeed, each level was a small cleansing of the meridians.

At the same time, his previously moist and gentle body suddenly felt a wave of heat that lingered, making him very uncomfortable.

The young woman in the green robe was right; upon entering the sixth layer of the Qi Condensation Realm, the fire attribute was activated and began to cause trouble.

It seemed he needed to quickly complete the transformation of his spirit body to balance water and fire, so they could coexist peacefully.

Once he achieved the initial stage of the water-fire spirit body, he could cultivate the Two Instruments True Technique. Given time, people like Wu Hai would only be able to look up to him.

With a true realm-level technique, the Purifying Fire, and a water-fire spirit body, if he could not leave these people far behind, he might as well give up and hang himself with a noodle.

However, all of this depended on successfully transforming his spirit body. If the transformation failed, everything was just a fantasy.

Thinking about the materials needed for the spirit body transformation, Chu He felt a headache. To achieve this, he had been working tirelessly to earn spirit stones. At this moment, those bastards were causing trouble again! He hated them so much.

After soaking in the hot spring for a while, Chu He's mood improved. He then busied himself with watering the Green Spirit Grass.

He planned to stay at home for the next few days to confuse those bastards. Unexpectedly, there was a small surprise: the Sweet Rain Technique had broken through to the fourth layer!

Chu He's spirit body was primarily water-based, so he naturally had an advantage in cultivating water techniques. With his powerful spirit energy, which was not inferior even to those at the eighth layer of the Qi Condensation Realm, breaking through the Sweet Rain Technique to the fourth layer was a natural progression.

That day, the weather was still clear. Suddenly, a clear light of a spell rose from Chu He's residence and flew toward a distant peak.

At the top of Lotus Mountain, Wu Hai looked at the clear light and laughed, "Hehe, he's off on another mission. This is your chance to earn some merit, You."

"Wu Senior Brother, this isn't right. The iron-shelled bugs incident has been posted on the Spirit Plant Alert by Instructor Zhang. They might already be suspicious. If he discovers this, I'll be in big trouble!" Zhao Youlu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said urgently.

"How could you be caught? Don't we trust your abilities, Zhao Junior Brother? Besides, his mission to Xias Mountain will take at least half an hour, not including the travel time. If you get caught, you're no better than a pig!" Luo Wu said with disdain, trying to persuade him.

"Right, as long as you release the herb-eating beast and run away, no one will know it was you." Wu Hai added, encouraging him.

"If anything goes wrong, Uncle San will help you out." Luo Wu added to boost his confidence.

"After this, half a bottle of low-grade Essence Cultivating Pills will be yours. Oh, you don't have to wait until it's done; here's the bottle now as a reward for your effort. And after this, we won't bother that kid anymore, so you won't have to take any more risks." Wu Hai offered a big incentive, directly handing a small porcelain bottle to Zhao Youlu.

Half a bottle of low-grade Essence Cultivating Pills was equivalent to eight or nine hundred low-grade spirit stones, more than twice Zhao Youlu's current monthly salary.

Zhao Youlu's reason was immediately swayed. Whether he succeeded or not, he would get the pills, and if he failed, someone would protect him. It seemed like a good deal, and the task was easy to accomplish.

"Senior Brothers Wu and Luo, wait for my good news!" Zhao Youlu took the spirit beast bag from Luo Wu and said confidently.

Inside the bag was a second-level herb-eating beast. This creature lived on grass, especially favoring Green Spirit Grass, and was skilled in earth burrowing.

In terms of the damage to Green Spirit Grass, this beast was far more dangerous than a thousand iron-shelled bugs. If it was released into Chu He's spirit fields, it would destroy more than half of the seedlings in less than half an hour.

As Zhao Youlu rose on his flying device and turned into a beam of light heading toward Luogang Ridge, Wu Hai and Luo Wu couldn't help but exchange a few sinister smiles.