13: Smart Zhao Guanyin

After a small wave of shock,

Xiao Qingyuan looked at the prerequisites for the Blood Rain Technique.

He had to Cultivate the Spirit Rain Technique to Perfection before he could learn it.

What's the concept of a Spell reaching Perfection?

Initiation, Minor Achievement, Proficiency, Subtlety, Major Achievement, Perfection.

The earlier stages were fine, but the difficulty lay in Subtlety.

Breaking through to Major Achievement, one could then Breakthrough to Perfection step by step.

However, whether one had the corresponding talent or suitability could be seen from Subtlety.

For the same Spell, many people understood it at a glance and could quickly Breakthrough to Subtlety.

Some people couldn't even touch the threshold of Subtlety; no matter how hard they tried, they could only remain at Proficiency.

This was a sign of unsuitability.

It also wasted a significant amount of time from Initiation to Proficiency.

Therefore, Xiao Qingyuan felt conflicted upon seeing this.

He had tried to cast the Small Spirit Rain Technique dozens of times before succeeding.

This proved that his talent as a Spiritual Planter was only mediocre.

He didn't know how long it would take to learn the complete Spirit Rain Technique.

Thinking of this, he no longer had the mood to Cultivate here.

He hastily absorbed a Spirit Stone, closed his eyes, and finished casting the Small Spirit Rain Technique.

Then he turned and left.

What a bother!

Cultivating fields, drawing talismans, and Cultivating the Spirit Rain Technique—another half a month quickly passed.

Xiao Qingyuan's daily routine was a two-point line; when his magic power was depleted, he absorbed Spirit Stones.

In the evenings, he returned home and Cultivated with Zhao Guanyin using Spirit Stones.

It was quite extravagant.

His cultivation speed was ten times faster than before.

This allowed Xiao Qingyuan, who had been stagnant for eighteen years, to finally experience the cultivation speed of a pseudo-Spiritual Root.

With ample resources, he felt that he could Breakthrough again in another month or so.

Moreover, the Small Spirit Rain Technique had also progressed rapidly; the area of the spiritual cloud could now expand to two hundred square meters.

Reaching Proficiency.

Under the frenzy of drawing talismans, his wealth also rapidly soared.

He had accumulated over three hundred Low Grade Fireball Talismans.

And he had increased the probability of producing excellent talismans to as high as twenty percent, yielding a full 50 excellent talismans.

Furthermore, the failure rate was negligible.

A total value of over 150 Low-Grade Spirit Stones—a veritable fortune!

It was comparable to the Family's declared annual income.

Xiao Qingyuan was overjoyed.

However, by now, most of the Spirit Stones in Xiao Qingyuan's possession had been consumed.

All the talisman paper was also used up.

Only then did he awkwardly realize that he was poor again!

..."Oh, my husband, you're back so early today?"

At noon, in the courtyard of the second house, Zhao Guanyin was about to eat and hastily tried to clear the dishes from the table.

Seeing this, Xiao Qingyuan frowned.

"Guanyin Nu, is this all you're eating?"

The dishes on the table weren't shabby; there were four dishes and one soup.

During this time, Xiao Qingyuan had entrusted Zhao Guanyin with managing the Mortal businesses in town.

Given his Family's wealth, this was already very frugal.

But they were all Mortal items.

"Didn't I tell you to switch to spiritual rice? And the Yao Beast meat we bought last time."

He had starved too much in his previous life.

When it came to food, this was as important as Cultivation.

He could forgo Cultivation, but he couldn't forgo eating.

After gaining wealth, he would not be frugal in the slightest concerning food.

He would eat whatever was best.

Now, it was even elevated to another level.

Are you kidding?

When he had no Spirit Stones, he dared not eat or drink.

If he had Spirit Stones and still mistreated himself, wouldn't he have earned the Spirit Stones for nothing?

As long as it was eaten, it wasn't wasted.

A catty of Yao Beast meat was less than half a Spirit Stone; even if they ate it every day, his Family could afford it.

"Husband, don't worry, I'll go make some for you!"

"You still want to cook it yourself?" Xiao Qingyuan was stunned: "Don't you know you're pregnant? And you're still going into the kitchen?"

Seeing Xiao Qingyuan's displeasure, Zhao Guanyin immediately became flustered.

She became helpless.

"Sigh!"

Xiao Qingyuan sighed and reached out to press his wife onto the stool.

He also picked up his chopsticks and started eating.

"It's not that I can't eat these; I've been eating this way for the past eighteen years."

"I just want you to eat well. I don't care about myself, but now you are two people!"

Mortal things could also satisfy an Immortal's hunger.

There was no talk of harming the Immortal body, it just couldn't increase cultivation.

Spiritual rice, however, was different.

Once eaten, it didn't require active refining.

It could be slowly absorbed by the body.

Aside from being a bit slow, it was arguably the most cost-effective and risk-free method of Cultivation.

Spiritual chefs were also like this, but unfortunately, the Family did not have this Legacy.

And he possessed the reincarnation seal, which allowed him to receive feedback from his offspring's Cultivation; this was a secret he couldn't tell anyone.

Therefore, he had to start building a persona of loving his wife and children from now on.

Not to mention, he was also satisfied with Zhao Guanyin.

They treated each other with respect, and at night they were inseparable.

Their feelings warmed up extremely quickly.

Naturally, he couldn't bear to see his wife suffer.

"Husband~" Hearing this, Zhao Guanyin's eyes were full of tenderness, but her face began to show shame: "I know how good you are to me, but I've consumed several times more Spirit Stones than you during this period, so I wanted to save a little.

"Moreover, the chef at home is really skilled, and if we ate spiritual rice and demon meat, where would we find so many dishes? I was just craving it, I promise not to make you angry next time!"

As she spoke, she suddenly retched.

Xiao Qingyuan was startled and quickly patted her back.

"Alright, alright, you can eat what you like, but from now on, don't eat ordinary staples; you must switch to spiritual rice."

His face was filled with helplessness, and his voice softened.

"And if you hadn't said anything, I wouldn't have known your morning sickness was so severe!"

He wondered how he could get a Spiritual Chef's Legacy.

A faint smile flickered in the corner of Zhao Guanyin's eyes.

Every day since she married, she had been filled with happiness.

The tragic fate she had anticipated never appeared; instead, she enjoyed a luxurious and affluent life she dared not even dream of.

Her husband doted on her, and now she had a child.

With a future full of hope, she naturally wanted to do her best to manage this home.

In her opinion, for a Mortal like her to meet an Immortal husband like Xiao Qingyuan was a blessing cultivated over several lifetimes.

Not to mention, her husband had no airs of an Immortal; in fact, his personality was gentler than that of Mortal couples.

She would never ask for more.

It was just that her husband was not home, working hard in the fields outside.

If she were to indulge in lavish eating and drinking, she would despise herself!

"Alright~ I understand, thank you, husband. Come and try this Squirrel Fish; I truly never tire of it."

Comforted by this, Xiao Qingyuan no longer brought it up.

He hadn't been very angry to begin with.

He was just worried about the child's Innate deficiencies.

With the unreserved investment in Zhao Guanyin's unborn child during this period, he felt that his own foundation had also changed.

His originally withered Spiritual Root seemed to have become somewhat healthier under the abundant Spiritual Qi.

This made him even more certain that if he wanted to go further on the path of a Cultivator,

Then his children must not lack resources from an early age.

The two sweetly finished lunch and then turned to play chess.

While making a move, Xiao Qingyuan casually brought up the issue of spiritual talismans.

As his closest companion, he hadn't hidden the success rate of his talisman crafting from her.

Small secrets could bring two people closer.

But it wasn't because of Zhao Guanyin's adoring little gaze.

Suddenly, Xiao Qingyuan's expression faltered.

Clack, Zhao Guanyin blocked with a white piece.

The offense and defense shifted.

Careless!

He couldn't be distracted when playing chess with Guanyin Nu; her skill was truly impressive!

All his current assets, apart from forty Spirit Stones,

Were the talismans that needed to be converted into cash.

But he hadn't figured out how to do so.

If he didn't find a solution soon, the Family would run out of supplies in less than a month.

And in these past days, he had already come to understand Zhao Guanyin's intelligence.

She was another one who was almost a Yao!