25: Daily Practice

Several months quietly passed amidst the ceaseless sound of waves on Black Reef Island.

Inside the stone house, Lin Feng slowly opened his eyes, his gaze sharp yet contained, his aura profound and condensed. He spread his palm, and the skin on his palm displayed a subtle bronze luster. With a forceful grip, the air seemed to be squeezed, emitting a faint crackling sound.

"Body Refining Third Stage!" he murmured to himself, with a hint of satisfaction. Over the past few months, by relying on Jushou to attract powerful Qi Refinement Late Stage Yao Beasts, undergoing countless perilous battles, and passively using Demon Slayer in conjunction with the Rock Body Tempering Art, he had forcefully pushed his Body Refining Realm to the Third Stage, equivalent to his Qi Refining cultivation!

His Physical Body strength, defense, and recovery ability had all undergone a qualitative leap, and his close-quarters combat capability had soared. Coupled with the control of the demon binding hook and the sharpness of the fenshui sword, ordinary Qi Refinement Late Stage Yao Beasts could no longer pose a fatal threat to him.

In terms of Qi Refining, he did not rush to Breakthrough to the Sixth Stage, but instead repeatedly studied the "Solid Foundation Method," continuously tempering and compressing the Spiritual Qi in his Dantian with its principles.

Now, the purity and condensation of his Qi Refinement Fifth Stage Peak Spiritual Qi far surpassed that of ordinary Qi Refinement Sixth Stage Cultivators! His Dantian Qi Sea was like refined iron that had been repeatedly forged, its walls tough, and its Spiritual Qi like mercury. He had a premonition that once he Breakthrough to the Sixth Stage, his Foundation would be incredibly solid.

On the table, stacks of newly made blank Talismans emitted a fresh herbal scent. Lin Feng picked up his brush, concentrating. The brush tip was fully dipped in ink prepared primarily from the venom sac of a sawtooth arrowfish. Spiritual Qi was evenly injected into the azure bamboo Talisman brush.

The brush moved like a Dragon, the Talisman lines smooth and flowing, imbued with a profound and stable Concept.

"Buzz!"

As the final stroke fell, a yellowish light flashed on the Talisman, and an "Earth Prison Talisman" containing stable restrictive power was successfully created! This was already the fifth Earth Prison Talisman he had successfully made today.

"Low Grade Intermediate Talisman, the success rate is already close to 30%." Lin Feng placed it into a specially made Jade Box. Long periods of practice, coupled with the nourishment and enhancement of his Divine Sense by the crimson flame jujube pear, had led to significant progress in his Talisman Dao.

Unfortunately, he only had this one Intermediate Talisman Legacy, and he had not been able to find others in the market.

Beside the Talismans, many failed Formation Plate fragments and discarded Formation Flags were scattered. Lin Feng picked up the "Basic Formation Manual," his brows slightly furrowed.

He had been studying Formations for over a year, expending a large amount of Low Grade Materials (mainly inexpensive portions from his Spiritual Plant field output and Yao Beast hunts) for practice. From initially only being able to set up the simplest "Dust Repelling Array" and "Minor Spirit Gathering Array," he could now barely set up the Low Grade Intermediate Formation "Misty Illusion Array" recorded in the "Detailed Explanation."

This Formation primarily focused on confusing and interfering with vision and Low Grade Divine Sense detection. When activated with a Formation Plate, it could cover an area of ten zhang, which was the limit he could currently master. The setup process was still difficult, with a high failure rate, and each success was accompanied by the loss of several Spirit Stones.

"It's a pity that the Family's Formation Legacy is broken, with no one to guide me. I'm relying entirely on self-exploration, and the efficiency is too low." Lin Feng looked at a piece of Formation Foundation Material in his hand, etched with complex patterns, which had just been rendered useless again due to unstable Spiritual Qi guidance, and shook his head helplessly.

This kind of self-taught study, while capable of laying a Foundation, required guidance from a famous master or a more Advanced Legacy to truly enter the inner sanctum.

Having used a large amount of ordinary Ore Materials for practice, and relying on his increasingly powerful Divine Sense and control over details, he could now barely set up several Low Grade Intermediate Formations recorded in the Jade Slip, such as the "Minor Maze Formation" and the "Thick Earth Defense Formation."

But the speed of his progress was far inferior to that of Talismans and cultivation.

Without guidance, relying solely on a basic classic to explore on his own, every step was exceptionally difficult.

The Formations he set up had limited power and unsatisfactory stability.

He deeply understood why the Legacy of a Formation Master was so precious.

However, something was better than nothing. At least for the protection of the core area of Black Reef Island, there were a few more self-comforting barriers.

He walked to the window and looked at the Spiritual Plant field behind the house. Amidst the mist, twenty Azure Jade Spirit Peach Trees were lush with branches and leaves, their peach blossoms having bloomed and faded, already bearing fruit; ten crimson flame jujube pear trees were scattered, their crimson flowers perpetually in bloom; most eye-catching were the two azure thunder bamboos in the corner, which, under continuous Rain Prayerripening, had already grown to over three zhang tall and were as thick as a bowl!

The bamboo stalks were verdant and dripping, with faint lightning patterns flowing, and electric arcs leaped along the edges of the bamboo leaves. The aura they emitted had surprisingly reached Second Stage Perfection, just a step away from Third Stage! The immense Wood Spiritual Qi mixed with pure lightning power even stirred up a small-scale Spiritual Qi vortex.

In the air, nearly ten thousand Jade Emperor Bees, like flowing jade-white mist, diligently shuttled between the peach forest and the crimson flame jujube pear flower sea.

The scale of the bee colony had far exceeded its initial size. If Lin Feng hadn't forcefully controlled their reproduction rate through the Jade Emperor Bee Queen, their numbers would have long since spiraled out of control.

Deep within the beehive, accumulated jade emperor honey was golden in color and rich in Spiritual Qi; and in the innermost core, a small puddle, about the size of a thumb, of amber-gold liquid emitting a unique three-element refined fluctuation, was the precious jade emperor nectar!

This was the result of two years of continuously urging the crimson flame jujube pear trees to bloom. Although the quantity was small, it was a priceless treasure!

Looking at this "blessed land" that had consumed countless efforts, Lin Feng sighed softly. He could clearly feel that the already weak Low Grade First-Grade Spiritual Vein underground was on the verge of collapse due to the continuous extraction by the two Second Stage Perfection azure thunder bamboos and numerous Spiritual Plants.

The Spiritual Qi was pitifully thin, relying entirely on the Rain Prayer Divine Ability to forcefully stimulate vitality.

This was already the limit the current Spiritual Vein could bear. Planting even one more Spiritual Plant could completely destroy the Spiritual Vein's Foundation, leading to more harm than good.

"It's time to do something for the Family."

Lin Feng's eyes flickered. After two years of accumulation, the resources he held were quite astonishing.

He carefully selected three of the best-growing and oldest Azure Jade Spirit Peach Trees and one crimson flame jujube pear tree sapling. He carefully dug them out with their roots and soil intact and placed them into a specially made Storage Pouch.

He then took out several large jade jars and filled them with high-quality jade emperor honey.

...

Taking advantage of another trip to transport Spiritual Plants back to the Family land, Lin Feng returned to the Contribution Pavilion.

Elder Lin Qingsong looked at the three peach trees before him, full of Spiritual Qi, with gnarled main trunks and covered in unripe fruit, and a vibrant crimson flame jujube pear tree sapling, as well as the dozen jars of fragrant, golden honey. His usually stern face revealed an undisguised shock.

"Lin Feng, these... Where did you get them from?" His voice carried a subtle tremor.

Lin Feng had already prepared his explanation, his demeanor respectful with a hint of "luck": "Replying to Elder, during my time stationed on Black Reef Island, I discovered a small area protected by a broken Formation Plate deep within a hidden reef cave outside the island. Inside were several Spiritual Plant rootlings and a beehive left by a predecessor.

I carefully transplanted and cultivated them, and they fortunately survived. Grateful for the Family's nurturing grace, I dared not keep them to myself and specially offer them to the Family. This honey is produced by those spirit bees."