A Stardew Valley farmer came to Gensokyo.

Change is formless and indeterminate; it can be solid or vaporous, which is the wonder of adaptation and transformation.

Purification is the power to cleanse impurities and restore clarity; it is the power of purification and cleansing.

Healing means nourishing all things and replenishing life force; this is the power of treatment and recovery.

The word "藏" (cáng) signifies a deep, still pool, or a vast ocean that embraces all rivers, embodying the nature of tolerance and accumulation.

Based on these five core characteristics, a rich variety of water magic has been developed. Basic water magic mainly includes five practical spells:

Water Creation: The foundation of magic, it involves understanding the existence of water, guiding magical power to combine with water vapor in the environment, creating something from nothing, and condensing pure water. It is the basis for all subsequent water magic.

Water control: a skill that involves manipulating existing water, controlling its flow, shape, direction, and force. It requires a deep understanding of "flow" and "change".

Water Purification Spell: Combining the qualities of "purity," it removes impurities, toxins, odors, and even trace amounts of unclean energy from water, restoring it to a pure state suitable for drinking or specific magical purposes.

Underwater breathing: A special magical membrane forms on the surface of the water, filtering air from the water for breathing.

Wound Healing and Moisturizing: This technique draws upon the healing power of water, stimulating the vitality of water or bodily fluids to accelerate wound healing, relieve fatigue, and moisturize dry tissues. It is a preliminary form of healing magic.

Xia Xun was completely absorbed in reading it. The various novel knowledge in the magic book opened up a whole new world for him, explaining the existence of magic in detail through different methods such as words, runes, drawings, and arrays.

Eagerly, Xia Xun closed the book, shut his eyes, and began to try out the water-making technique taught in the book.

Take a few deep breaths to gradually calm your excited mood.

Next, following the instructions in the book, Xia Xun sank his consciousness into his body, trying to sense the faint magical power. Then, he clearly meditated on the image of water and its inherent properties.

Using the spirit as a bridge, it connects inner magic with the external water element.

Xia Xun silently recited the key points, trying to use his will to guide the magic power within his body to gather in his palm. At the same time, he released his mental perception, resonating with the water molecules that were everywhere in the air, and guiding them to arrange and combine according to the technique.

Chapter 42: A Breakthrough?

At first, nothing happened.

Just as Xia Xun was wondering if she had made a mistake, a slight coolness suddenly came from her palm, followed by a faint blue light that appeared like a dream.

"Success?" Xia Xun was overjoyed. In his excitement, the blue light that had just appeared suddenly disappeared, and the water-themed state of mind he had been maintaining also broke down.

"Hiss... Calm down, calm down." Xia Xun patted his forehead in frustration, took a deep breath, and tried to calm himself down.

He now truly understands why magical practice, and many other arts, consider meditation as the most fundamental skill.

Without a clear, focused mind, one cannot even maintain the simplest energy guidance and imagery connection, let alone construct complex techniques.

Fortunately, having previously generated magic through meditation, he had already found his own way of meditating.

Xia Xun closed her eyes again, cleared her mind of distractions, focused her attention, and calmed her chaotic thoughts completely.

After a dozen seconds, Xia Xun's expression became extremely focused.

Having learned from his first failure, he was more skilled this time.

With practiced ease, I channeled the magic power slowly into my right palm. In my mind, the image of water was reconstructed, this time with greater clarity.

About ten seconds later, the familiar coolness returned to my palm.

The pale blue magical light shone again, this time more stable and brighter than before. Within the light, countless tiny water elemental points were attracted, gathered, and arranged and combined within the miniature magical framework.

a drop.

A crystal-clear droplet of water, formed entirely from magic and water elements in the air, appeared in Xia Xun's palm!

"I did it! I really did it!" Overwhelmed with joy, Xia Xun's efforts to maintain his concentration on the spell were instantly shattered.

He jumped up suddenly, cupped the drop of water in his hands as if it were a priceless treasure, looked at it from left to right, and a bright smile spread across his face.

Fortunately, the water-making technique was completed by then; otherwise, the spell would have failed again.

However, after the excitement, a strong sense of emptiness and exhaustion followed.

Xia Xun felt his body sway, and the already limited magical power within him was almost entirely consumed in order to condense this tiny drop of water!

But immediately afterward, the sumptuous dinner that was served not long ago, mainly consisting of silver star crucian carp soup, is now being efficiently digested and absorbed by the body.

The rich nutrients and life energy contained in high-quality food are continuously transformed into energy and vitality, replenishing the body's consumption.

And a portion of this energy and vitality naturally begins to transform into magic.

Within minutes, Xia Xun felt her fatigue greatly reduced and her spirits lifted.

More importantly, he sensed that the total amount of magic power within his body had not only returned to the level before casting the spell, but had even increased slightly!

"So that's why the magic book repeatedly emphasizes 'ensuring sufficient nutrition during cultivation, especially recommending high-quality food'!" Xia Xun suddenly realized.

Magical training is not only about honing one's spirit and skills, but also about accumulating and enhancing one's life energy.

High-quality food is the best fuel for efficiently replenishing life energy and promoting the growth of magical power.

As the stars and moon shift, the lights in the human world gradually go out, leaving behind a profound tranquility.

Only in the backyard of the cottage was a single light always on.

Xia Xun, like a child who had received a new toy she had always dreamed of, was completely immersed in the mysteries of magic.

He raised his hand again and again, mobilizing the ever-circulating, slowly growing magic within his body to construct a clear image of "water" deep within his consciousness—clear, flowing, condensing, and nourishing.

"Water-making technology".

Pale blue magical light shone in his palm again and again, and at first, the water droplets condensed intermittently.

But with each attempt, the halo became more and more stable, and the water droplets condensed faster and faster.

Tick, tick, tick.

Glistening water droplets kept forming, starting as small as grains of rice, gradually growing to the size of beans, then stringing together, and finally turning into a thin but continuous stream of water that slid down his palm and accumulated in a small patch of moisture at his feet.

Xia Xun could clearly feel her own progress.

Each successful spellcasting gave him a deeper understanding of the properties and composition of "water".

It was no longer an abstract description in a book, but an almost instinctive perception. He could almost hear the pulse of water vapor in the air and see the water element gathering under the guidance of magic. A wonderful sense of resonance was established between him and the water element.

Out of curiosity, he also tried other basic creation magic recorded in "Detailed Explanation of Basic Magical Principles and Elementary Spells".

When he tried the earth-making technique, although he was unfamiliar with it, he could vaguely feel the weight and support of the earth beneath his feet, and a small clump of fine soil slowly condensed in his palm.

When performing the wood-making technique, one can feel a faint sense of vitality, as if calling for the growth of plants, and finally, with great difficulty, a small green bud sprouts from the fingertips.

However, when he turned to fire-making and metal-making, the situation was quite different.

When attempting to meditate on the heat and ascension of "fire," only a vague sense of heat remains in one's consciousness; magic cannot resonate with it, and not even a spark of warmth can be maintained, let alone a spark.

The art of goldmaking is even more difficult. Imagining the sharpness and solidity of "gold" only results in rigidity and isolation. Magic cannot guide the gold element to condense even a fraction.

Xia Xun immediately understood the root of the difference—the blessing.

To achieve comprehensive development, improving mining and combat skills must also be prioritized.

Xia Xun pondered to herself, but her hands never stopped moving. Right now, making good use of the existing advantages and mastering water magic as soon as possible was the right thing to do.

Magic energy is rapidly depleted in this high-intensity cycle, and quickly replenished by the energy converted from high-quality food.

Each process of being "emptied" and "refilled" is like a tempering and expansion of the magical energy channels. Xia Xun can feel that the seed symbolizing magic in his sea of ​​consciousness is absorbing nutrients and growing stronger at an unprecedented speed.

But this rapid growth came at a price.

After practicing for just over an hour, the feeling of fullness from the sumptuous dinner in my stomach had completely disappeared, and a strong feeling of hunger came like a tide, reminding me that my energy was being rapidly consumed.

“As expected, magical training is physically demanding.” Xia Xun scratched his head, but didn’t stop.

He turned back into the house, took out the remaining Silver Star quality vegetables from the food box, boiled them simply in water, and swallowed them whole.

As the food entered his stomach, the familiar warmth and the feeling of being rejuvenated surged back, supporting him as he returned to the courtyard to repeat the monotonous yet captivating spellcasting motions.

Tick, tick, tick...

The sound of water droplets falling was exceptionally clear in the quiet night, as if it carried a certain rhythm.

Xia Xun was completely absorbed in it.

The spellbook emphasized that "water creation" was the foundation of all water magic, a view he wholeheartedly agreed with.

Just as building a house requires laying a solid foundation, controlling water flow, purifying water quality, and even treating and nourishing water all rely on a deep understanding and creative ability regarding the essence of "water" itself.

Therefore, he focused wholeheartedly on the most basic techniques.

From unfamiliar to proficient, from intermittent to continuous.

From needing to concentrate for ten seconds to condense a single drop of water, to being able to draw a trickle of water with the slightest thought.

The blue halo in his palm was almost an extension of his body, stable and gentle.

I don't know how much time passed, perhaps after the hundredth or the thousandth successful spellcasting.

In a daze, Xia Xun heard an incredibly clear "ding-dong" sound coming from the depths of her consciousness.

In the sea of ​​consciousness, the magical seed that had already sprouted and grown a tender green leaf, finally let the crystal-clear dewdrop that had been hanging on the tip of the leaf for so long fall.

The dewdrops fell, but did not disappear; instead, they transformed into a tiny yet vibrant spring.

Clear water, symbolizing understanding and control over water, gushed forth from this spring in his heart, permeating his entire conscious space.

In that instant, Xia Xun felt her senses being refreshed.

The world is still the same world, yet it is completely different.

The ubiquitous moisture in the air, the dampness, the moisture deep within the soil—all this information about water becomes incredibly clear and vivid.

He no longer needs to meditate deliberately; with just a slight thought, he can perceive the active water elements in the air and sense their direction and density of flow.

He subconsciously made a grasping motion towards the area in front of him where the air was most humid.

Without even deliberately mobilizing much magic power, he simply guided the surrounding water elements with his thoughts, and in the blink of an eye, a water droplet condensed in his palm, faster and easier than any previous spell he had ever cast.

"So, I've... broken through?"

Chapter Forty-Three: The Peeping Tom

Xia Xun stared in disbelief at the water droplets in her palm, her heart filled with immense joy and enlightenment.

He realized that he seemed to have crossed an important threshold in water magic, and might now be considered a novice mage.

The blessings and food provided by the Stardew Valley system allowed him to cultivate magic at an astonishing speed.

However, just as Xia Xun was feeling happy, a strong drowsiness and fatigue suddenly struck her.

怎麼回事？

Xia Xun was shocked, but then subconsciously looked at the time—2:00 AM.

Oh no, we're doomed!

"Pfft."

Her body could no longer hold on, and Xia Xun's vision went black as she fell straight backward, landing on the courtyard ground that had been wet during her previous practice. She instantly fell into a deep sleep.

A night breeze blew by, bringing a touch of coolness.

Just then, the space around him seemed to be torn apart like a scroll by an invisible hand, and a crack silently appeared.

The gaps were embroidered with bows, and inside was not nothingness, but rather filled with countless eerie pupils.

A slender, fair arm gracefully extends from the gap.

"Hehe, an interesting little fellow."

A mature female voice with a lazy smile gently rang out, and Yakumo Yukari peeked out, looking at the sleeping Natsumi with great interest.

He grabbed the unconscious Xia Xun by the back of his collar, lifted him up like a kitten, and brought him close to his eyes for a closer look.

With her eyes slightly narrowed, Yukari Yakumo carefully examined this new human child who had just arrived in Gensokyo.

As one of the founders of Gensokyo and the Sage of Youkai, no one loves this land more than her.

Therefore, Yukari Yakumo will carefully examine every newcomer to ensure that Gensokyo will not be destroyed tomorrow.

However, as an ordinary human, Xia Xun would not normally attract Yakumo Yukari's attention.

The reason she came today was because she had casually picked up some gifts from Natsumi Shrine yesterday.

At this moment, after carefully confirming that Xia Xun was not seriously injured and should not cause any harm to Gensokyo, she casually flicked her arm.

Xia Xun was thrown into another gap that led to the bed inside the room, and landed on the bed with a thud.