From Celestial Official to Great Celestial Venerable

Chapter 54 Germination
A hint of doubt flashed across Qin Chuan's eyes.

Previously, Master Huo had clearly said he would take him to see some old friends to "gain some face," but now he was taking the initiative to ask for the magic formula for him. The change in attitude was really abrupt.

Huo Yuanjue seemed oblivious to his disciple's doubts, and only smiled wryly:

"If you continue to flaunt your precious darling everywhere, I'm afraid it won't just be Stone Tiger coveting you!"

It turns out that yesterday, Shi Hu sent a message through a communication talisman, saying that the archaeological task was heavy, and although Qin Chuan had only been there for a few days, he had already shown the potential to work independently. He wanted to ask for Qin Chuan to take a few days off and help out at the archaeological team for a while.

—It sounds nice to call it "borrowing," but it's clearly poaching talent!

Huo Yuanjue was furious.

In just a few days, Shi Hu, that stubborn old man, has gone to great lengths to win over this student, demonstrating the special nature of his precious student. If he were to let him meet with other old men again, he would be creating an enemy for his teacher.

It wasn't that he wanted to monopolize this student, but rather that he knew that the "Jiuchuan Agricultural and Spiritual Economy" project, which was highly valued and entrusted with important responsibilities by Sun Qinghan, was the career with a greater future for Qin Chuan; nothing else mattered!

"Disciple...is someone eyeing him?" Qin Chuan was slightly taken aback.

"Did you master their archaeological techniques in just one day?" Huo Yuanjue retorted irritably.

"So that's why?" Qin Chuan was both amused and exasperated. "This disciple did not do it on purpose."

"Of course I know you didn't mean it!"

Huo Yuanjue's beard trembled slightly. "In short, there's no need to go to the archaeological team for now. Since Shi Hu has already taken a liking to us, if this plan fails, he will definitely bring out the archaeological department's cultural relics protection masters, and even the old scholars from Fudi, to demand our return. If that happens, the county temple will be in a much more difficult position. Don't forget, you now bear the heavy responsibility of the agricultural economy of Jiuchuan. How can you spend your days surrounded by old papers and broken tiles?"

Qin Chuan gave an awkward smile.

Although he knew that archaeology would offer more opportunities to work with cultural relics, asking him to give up his promising future in the specialized training program personally overseen by Sun Qinghan and start from scratch in archaeology would be tantamount to cutting off his feet to fit the shoes.

"Disciple understands."

Huo Yuanjue's expression softened slightly, and he earnestly advised, "Archaeology is ultimately not the right path. You should focus on preparing for Xuanji Zhenren's assessment. If you can go on a trip to the outer heavens with the group, your resume will be more impressive upon your return. Not to mention the qualification for the Spirit District, you will also have a better chance of being promoted in the future. But no matter how well you do in archaeology, it is ultimately a cold and uninteresting clerical job, which is of no benefit to your cultivation."

"This disciple has learned much." Qin Chuan bowed solemnly, inwardly marveling at how worried Master Huo was about him "jumping ship."

"Now you are only lacking the technique for the metal element among the five elements. Don't worry, I have contacted an old friend who is even more troublesome than Shi Hu, and he will definitely get you the technique. Once the five elements are complete, even if the technique is still shallow, you will surely come out on top in the assessment a month from now, simply by nourishing your spiritual seed with the true energy of the five elements!"

Seeing his teacher so diligently paving the way, Qin Chuan felt a warmth in his heart. Unable to bear the thought of him wasting precious materials to obtain a technique he no longer needed, he took a deep breath and said:
“Master, your disciple no longer needs the Metal Element Technique.”

"Why?"

Qin Chuan coughed lightly, formed a hand seal, and instantly golden light flowed, condensing into a miniature phantom of a treasure bottle hanging down his arm, exuding an aura of indestructibility—this was the effect he had deliberately suppressed.

Even so, Huo Yuanjue still paled: "This, this is the Zhou Ting Ancient God Seal!"

Having cultivated for nearly two hundred years, he possessed extraordinary insight; how could he not recognize such a famous Dharma seal recorded in history?
Since the revival of archaeology in Dongsheng, although many ancient methods have been rediscovered and incorporated into Taoist texts, only one in ten thousand can directly perceive the Taoist essence from cultural relics and reproduce the ancient methods!

Not to mention the symbolic significance of such insight in the archaeological world, which far exceeds the value of the technique itself by a hundred times!
"Does Shi Hu know about this?" Huo Yuanjue's voice trembled slightly.

"This disciple has not revealed it."

In fact, Qin Chuan had already asked Yue Chen if anyone could glean ancient methods from cultural relics, and that person would be regarded as a treasure by the archaeological community.

However, there were no taboos regarding the cultivation techniques. After all, he was a Heavenly Register Daoist, and the Heavenly Court had approved his cultivation of immortality. In his work, it was his own business what techniques he cultivated, and there was no violation of the Heavenly Laws.

Knowing this well, he dared to reveal it to Master Huo, but would never dare to show it in front of the archaeological team.

"It's good that he didn't say anything!" Huo Yuanjue breathed a sigh of relief, still feeling lingering fear. If Shi Hu had known that Qin Chuan possessed such extraordinary comprehension, the archaeological community would have been willing to enlist even a powerful figure at the grotto-heaven level. Such a prodigy should be dedicated to a grand cause that benefits the country and its people; how could he be buried in the dustbin of history?
Fortunately, Shi Hu only caught a glimpse of the tip of the iceberg and had not yet realized the full extent of this extraordinary talent.

This unexpected event occurred.

Huo Yuanjue was even more determined to keep a close eye on Qin Chuan. He absolutely could not allow Qin Chuan to be poached by Shi Hu during the Xuanji True Person assessment this month. Even if he couldn't be poached, causing some trouble could still affect Qin Chuan's assessment results.

If he cannot win first place and cannot join the group to visit outer space, it will have a significant impact on the young student's future.

As a result, Qin Chuan didn't have time to help the archaeological team for the next few days.

After he set up the spirit-gathering array, he discovered that the spiritual energy in his acre of spiritual field was two to three times that of the outside world. This was equivalent to using public resources to create a temporary cave suitable for cultivation.

Qin Chuan naturally wouldn't give up this good opportunity for cultivation.

So, in the following days, after he also reached the threshold of the Flowing Dragon Walking the River Force and was included in the panel.

Without hesitation, he added points to all three magic arts: water, earth, and fire.

[The furnace master has consumed 150 points of mana – the Flowing Dragon River Force has broken through to the seventh level!]

[The furnace master has consumed 150 points of mana—the Earth Emperor's Mountain-Crushing Cannon has broken through to the seventh level!]

[The furnace master has consumed 100 points of mana—the Burning Wood and Separating Fire Technique has broken through to the seventh level!]

Looking at the panel again, here are the other Five Elements techniques:

The Yi Mu Qing Tian Jue is also at the seventh level.

The special Golden Treasure Bottle Seal Technique is of a higher quality than the other four-line techniques. Considering its value of five hundred magic essences, Qin Chuan estimated that the Golden Treasure Bottle Seal Technique could be of the same quality as the ninth level of the Yi Wood Azure Sky Technique.

And under the perfection of the five elements.

With the help of the spirit-gathering array in the spirit field, he successfully circulated the Five Elements Immortal Foundation Technique to the sixth level and stepped into the sixth level of Qi Refining!

After reaching the sixth level of Qi Refining.

The five elements within his body were in unprecedented harmony, and his spiritual power increased by several times, allowing him to easily mobilize the true energy of the five elements within his body. He then specially drew a 'Five Elements Spirit Transmission Talisman' to match the required proportions of the ten spirit grains, which he inserted into a small wooden pole, making it look more like a small banner.

It was on the third day that the small spirit banner was erected in the three-foot-square spirit field where ten grains of the Five Elements Spirit Valley were sown.

The Five Elements Spiritual Valley sprouted!

That very day, it caused a sensation among all the Taoists participating in the assessment in the entire special class. They looked in disbelief at the tiny sprouts of the five-colored spiritual grain emerging from the Qin Chuan spiritual field—like a five-colored rainbow hanging on the tip of a leaf. Although small, they were exquisitely beautiful.

For a while.

Not only did the five Taoist priests from the Dragon and Tiger Blessed Land appear solemn, but they also felt the pressure.

The three people from the county's agricultural institute had unpredictable expressions.

because……

Qin Chuan's spirit grain was the first to sprout. If nothing unexpected happens, it will have a head start, and its growth and development will be one step ahead of theirs in every aspect!
Could it be... that the winner of this trial in the Spirit Valley is already out of the running?!

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(End of this chapter)