9: Send clouds and rain, plant swords and dragon roars

In the courtyard.

Gu Changsheng lay on a rattan chair.

Before him, Li Gongyi opened a satchel, from which spilled a pair of tiger teeth, a turtle shell, a tuft of wolf hair, and a blue pearl.

“Brother Gu, as you instructed, everything has been brought to you.”

Li Gongyi looked at the items before him with a hint of covetousness.

He knew that the demonized bodies of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect's fiends were all incredibly valuable after their transformation.

What lay before him were the essences from the fiends beheaded last night.

Especially that blue pearl, it was the Black Fish Spirit’s Inner Core, containing the essence of water vapor.

If not for his fear of Gu Changsheng’s strength, he would have tried to embezzle it.

“You're thoughtful.”

Gu Changsheng gently swayed in the rattan chair, replying indifferently.

Li Gongyi slapped his head and quickly pulled out a stack of silver notes, respectfully handing them over.

“Look at my memory, I almost forgot Brother Gu’s reward.

That night, thanks to Brother Gu’s intervention, otherwise, let alone merit, our brothers would have been burning incense to their ancestors just to keep their lives.

It’s three thousand taels in total, please accept it.”

A glint flashed in Gu Changsheng's eyes as he swiftly took the silver notes and chuckled, “That night, Brother Li also put in no small effort.

Here, this is all for Brother Li to enjoy some drinks.”

Li Gongyi took the silver notes, which were only a few thin sheets compared to the amount he had handed out.

‘Five hundred taels, that’s decent enough.’

However, it was a far cry from three thousand taels.

Considering that he would have to subsidize the injured and deceased brothers, he might even have to add more.

His mood was inevitably a little low.

Soon, Li Gongyi left.

Gu Changsheng examined the blue pearl before him, which contained an incredibly rich essence of water vapor.

Bringing it close to his ear, he could even hear the sound of a great river surging.

This Black Fish Spirit had likely refined a great river.

“This pearl is perfect for casting the Spring Breeze Transforming Rain Technique, combined with the plant Qi from the tree heart, it’s just right for nurturing the Human-faced Beast-hearted Fruit Tree.”

No sooner said than done.

Gu Changsheng dug a deep pit in the courtyard and placed the roots of the Human-faced Beast-hearted Fruit Tree into it.

Swish—

The longquan sword pierced directly through the tree roots and was inserted into the hole.

The remaining plant Qi within the roots rapidly dissipated.

As the verdant tree heart was crushed, an even richer plant Qi permeated the courtyard.

Gu Changsheng formed a hand seal, and the plant Qi gathered into a long Dragon that poured into the roots.

Immediately, the roots grew wildly, coiling around the longquan sword like a verdant scabbard.

Sword Planting Technique is the method of planting a sword in a tree heart and nourishing it with plant Spiritual Qi.

As the spiritual wood grows, the longer the time, the greater the power of the planted sword.

“It’s not enough…”

Gu Changsheng held up the Black Fish Spirit’s Inner Core, forming hand seals to cast the Spring Breeze Transforming Rain Technique.

A surging blue water vapor spread out.

Suddenly, the sky changed color, and winds and clouds gathered.

With a clap of thunder, fine drizzles began to fall, growing heavier moments later.

Outside the city.

Cracked fields.

An old farmer, with parched lips, gazed despairingly at the wheat seedlings withered from lack of water.

If this continued, his family’s food might not last until the autumn harvest.

His grandson might also starve to death.

Suddenly, a coolness touched his head, and fine raindrops fell onto his shriveled scalp.

“This is… it’s raining!”

The old farmer spread his arms, his eyes welling up.

At the same moment, countless farmers in Lin County cried tears of joy, kneeling on the ground, welcoming the pouring rain.

“It’s raining! The Dragon King is sending rain!”

“Thank you, Dragon King!”

“My whole family won’t have to flee from famine now, haha.”

Lin County Yamen.

Magistrate Chen Gu was frantically dealing with official documents.

Most of them reported water shortages and food shortages from various regions.

Suddenly, Master Tang rushed into the yamen in a hurry.

Chen Gu frowned.

“Why did you come in without announcement?”

Master Tang panted heavily, pointing outside the door, and said with difficulty, “My Lord, outside… outside… it’s raining!”

“What!”

Chen Gu slammed his hand on the table and hurriedly walked outside the door.

He saw the torrential rain pouring down as if from the sky.

“Haha, we’re saved, my Lin County is saved!

Thank you, Dragon King!”

Chen Gu laughed madly, kneeling in worship.

At this moment, Gu Changsheng, the instigator, stood in the courtyard, painstakingly extracting the water essence dissipating in the air and gathering it onto the newly grown sapling.

Half an hour later, the essence of the Black Fish Spirit’s Inner Core was exhausted, shattering into countless specks of light.

The Human-faced Beast-hearted Fruit Tree sapling had also grown to over three zhang tall.

Its bark was dark green, with dense branches, and its verdant leaves were thick and broad.

Because it had not been fed flesh and blood, and was purely nurtured by plant Qi and water essence.

This somewhat sinister spiritual plant instead appeared vibrant with Spiritual Qi, without a trace of Evil Qi.

Under the Spirit Eye Technique, the tree heart tightly enveloped the longquan sword, having completely fused with it.

“Excellent, it truly worked!”

Gu Changsheng’s choice to plant the longquan sword was naturally deliberate.

The longquan sword itself was forged from refined steel, and as the saber of his ancestor, a founding general, it had slain countless living beings, harboring a hidden Evil Qi.

After three hundred years, passed down to Gu Changsheng, most of its Evil Qi had been worn away, leaving only a trace of purified Evil Qi.

Evil Qi could suppress ghosts and evil gods.

Even ordinary vengeful spirits would not dare to provoke it.

Coupled with three hundred years of continuous inheritance and incense offerings, the longquan sword and the Gu Family's Bloodline were already closely linked.

Once it transformed from mortal to spiritual, the longquan sword would definitely be the most suitable Magical Artifact for Gu Changsheng.

A month later, Gu Changsheng accumulated enough lifespan and successfully upgraded all five Animal Husbandry Methods to the third-tier Peak.

Among them, three techniques gave birth to the [Elementary Strength] effect, instantly elevating [Elementary Strength] to [Intermediate Strength].

Gu Changsheng tested it, and under the cover of black Qi, his strength increased by approximately five times compared to before.

Coupled with the strength increase from breaking through to the Late Stage, his immense power surpassed ten thousand catties.

If he encountered the Willow Tree Spirit again, he could slay it in a single encounter.

In addition, the Animal Husbandry Method. Tortoise gave rise to a [Divination Technique] on the panel.

Burning a turtle shell and judging good or bad fortune based on the direction of the cracks.

The divination results were also very simple, divided into five types: Great Misfortune, Minor Misfortune, Neutral, Minor Fortune, and Great Fortune.

The better the quality of the turtle shell, the higher the accuracy of the divination.

During this period, Gu Changsheng tried it several times with the turtle shell left by the Turtle Daoist.

Most of the divination results were Neutral, with only one Minor Fortune.

On that day of Minor Fortune, he picked up one tael of silver on the road.

This also allowed Gu Changsheng to determine the extent of good and bad fortune's influence on himself.

The Animal Husbandry Method. Scorpion, on the other hand, gave birth to an [Elementary Poison Resistance].

Similar to [Elementary Strength], it was a passive attribute that could not be improved.

Unless he cultivated a poison-attribute Contemplation Method in the future, there would be a chance to upgrade it to Intermediate.

Gu Changsheng tried the arsenic used to poison rats at home; it tasted like chewing sugar, just bitter.

After eating it, he felt completely fine.

A year later, in the early morning.

Gu Changsheng sat cross-legged, the black Qi within him churning like a raging sea, incomparable to how it was before.

Suddenly, the black Qi sharply contracted towards his heart, forming a pool of water.

Within the heart space, the strangely shaped Fox Spirit greedily absorbed it, and the thin pool of water rapidly rose.

[Experience +50]

“Finally, I’ve broken through.”

Gu Changsheng exhaled a mouthful of turbid Qi.

On the panel, the Realm column, the two characters for Contemplation quickly blurred, transforming into Foundation Building.

In one year, he had finally surpassed the Peak and entered a new Realm.

“After the Contemplation Realm, it’s the Foundation Building Realm, then.

That’s quite fitting.”

Gu Changsheng comprehended for a moment, then understood what the Foundation Building Realm was.

He extended his arm, and black Qi churned, his entire arm transforming into a pitch-black python, with black scales extending from his wrist to his shoulder.

A surge of immense power spontaneously arose.

Looking closely, one would notice that this black python was identical to the Fox Spirit's python tail.

The Foundation Building Realm meant the Fusion of the body with the Spirit, allowing for the display of various wondrous abilities.

It was far beyond the simple organ transformation of the Animal Husbandry Method.

“In the Early Stage of the Foundation Building Realm, only a portion of the body’s Spirit can be materialized.

Even so, just a single python arm far surpasses ordinary cultivators.

No other reason, my Spirit is simply too strong.”

Through introspection, the Fox Spirit, having fused multiple Contemplation Methods, had reached the sixth-tier, its appearance having undergone earth-shattering changes.

Fox body, tiger teeth, leopard skin, turtle shell, python tail, scorpion tail… it looked like a monster.

Gu Changsheng estimated that it was only him.

If it were another cultivator, let alone cultivating, just a glance at the Fox Spirit would probably shatter their Dao Heart.

In the courtyard, the Human-faced Beast-hearted Fruit Tree had already grown to three zhang tall, with a thick trunk, standing majestically like a canopy.

Inside, a faint sword hum subtly emanated from the tree heart.

“Alas, it’s just a hair’s breadth away from giving birth to a Sword Spirit.

This last bit is also the most difficult.”

A Sword Spirit is the true spirit of a sword.

Once it is born, the longquan sword can skip the Magical Artifact stage and directly become a Spiritual Artifact.

Thanks to three hundred years of incense offerings from the Gu Family, the longquan sword bypassed centuries of accumulation, with its mortal iron body having the potential to become a Spiritual Artifact.

Gu Changsheng estimated that it would take at least a hundred years to finally cross this threshold.

Or… the Sword Planting Technique could be improved, enhancing the sword-nurturing effect.

Techniques, unlike Contemplation Methods, cannot be directly improved by consuming lifespan.

Cultivating them is very slow.

Aside from his drawing skills, Gu Changsheng's only other third-tier technique was the Qingfeng Swordplay.

At this moment, smoke swirled, and in a trance, a naked woman appeared before Gu Changsheng.

“Master…”

The alluring woman’s lips parted slightly, her fox tail swaying behind her, exuding an indescribable temptation.

Bang—

The smoke dispersed, and besides a white fox, there was no trace of the beauty.

Gu Changsheng gave the white fox a sharp rap on the head.

“Xiao Bai, you’ve gotten quite bold, haven’t you?

You even dare to tease your Master now.

I’ll punish you by not allowing you to consume secret medicine for three days.”

“Ying ying~”

The white fox whined, putting on a pitiful act.

After a year, having consumed a large amount of secret medicine, the white fox had actually gained some power; although it hadn’t transformed into a demon, it had mastered a bit of illusionary magic.

He estimated that it wasn't far from fully transforming into a demon.