Cultivation begins with harvest.

Baishui Creek is lush with flowers and plants. If you bend down, you can see that under the dense foliage is a two-foot-deep stream of clear water, icy cold and turbulent. In some places, it is even several feet deep. Countless weak beasts and insects have accumulated enough spiritual energy here to transform into demons.

Every day, you can find a few spiritual herbs and flowers that have been transformed by the stream water containing traces of spiritual energy.

This valley, which is ten or so feet wide and a thousand feet long, has benefited countless lives.

It was common for two groups of cultivators to meet.

The sudden appearance of the cultivator opposite them, and the fact that he had come by diving, surprised both sides.

"Clear Vision still can't completely replace detection spells."

The Clear Vision has two main functions: to see changes in aura and to track filth. In fact, it focuses more on the second point. The fact that Chen Guang has been able to use it for reconnaissance all along is already a testament to the excellence of the secret technique. The fact that he was unable to detect the Black-bellied Feathered Serpent in time before and cannot accurately capture the appearance of this cultivator now are proof that it is a reconnaissance spell with a more special purpose.

The black-robed cultivator held a spirit fish with pink edges in one hand, while flicking out a handkerchief with the other. The handkerchief spun around and quickly grew larger, its patterns seemingly blooming, completely protecting him behind him. Then he slowly took a few steps back.

Chen Guang also took two steps back to show that he meant no harm.

The tacit understanding between the two sides brought them both a sigh of relief. The black-robed cultivator took a few steps back and then suddenly leaped into the water with a "plop," pushing aside the waist-deep weeds and disappearing from sight.

Even seasoned bandits, when they meet in the wild without any conflict of interest, will tacitly back down. There's no need to fight to the death on the spot. Fighting at such a resource point is even more unnecessary and will only anger others.

Aside from the most vicious and ruthless individuals, the independent cultivators also cherish the resource points. This is a tacit understanding in their behavior. Although these resource points are generally declining slowly due to overexploitation, because the independent cultivators' desire for resources inevitably outweighs long-term considerations, they also know how to exercise restraint. Unless absolutely necessary, this area is considered a peaceful zone.

"Let's head down to Daoying Gorge." Chen Guang led Dongfang Lieming down the gorge to avoid the water.

There is a spiritual vein at Huaquankou, which forms several spiritual springs with relatively thin spiritual energy. Many rogue cultivators occupy that area, which is also the reason why spiritual creatures frequently emerge in the downstream Baishuixi and Daoyingxia. The higher you go, the more common the cultivators are, and the lower you go, the fewer the spiritual creatures and cultivators there are.

The water-attribute spiritual atmosphere was somewhat restraining for Chen Guang, who was skilled in fire magic. This was an unavoidable flaw for cultivators who specialized in magic, as they were greatly affected by their environment. Nowadays, apart from the Qingheng Sect, no one really studied magic in depth. The reason why most sects in the south mainly focused on the art of controlling artifacts was that...

The Qingheng Sect has a clear understanding of the art of magic and has well-defined standards for judgment.

Mastering three sets of spells of the same attribute is the most basic requirement. Chen Guang has just mastered the second set of spells of the same attribute. Each set of spells can be used independently, and it is also involved in offense and defense, escape, reconnaissance, healing and so on. However, it is still too thin. Therefore, three sets of such spells are needed to be considered complete in all aspects.

The proper standard for a Qi Hall is to select and form a new spell group of the same attribute from these three established spell groups left by predecessors. The new spell group is the most suitable for oneself and is refined according to one's own characteristics. Although it is derived from the three spell groups at the beginning, the final spell group will not only include the spells already involved. Only then can the foundation for spells in a single attribute be considered solid.

After that, one can progress from dual-attribute to multi-attribute spells until one has completely mastered one's own set of five elemental spells, only then can one be considered to have entered the inner sanctum of the Qingheng Sect's magical arts.

Some drawbacks of single-attribute spells are difficult to overcome: for example, wood attribute lacks burst damage, fire attribute lacks sustained healing ability, and earth attribute spells are generally slow...

These are all characteristics of their respective attributes. Forcing a solution is extremely difficult and tantamount to unreasonable demands like "fire is cold and clouds are heavy." The combination of multiple attributes is the most orthodox balance.

However, it is extremely demanding; once you master a spell set, learning spells of different attributes becomes an obstacle.

The differences between spells of different attributes are enormous. While mastering one attribute, one will naturally tend to become accustomed to the process and results of the previous attributes, which will disrupt the learning of other attributes.

Qingheng's skills are most renowned for their magic and formations, but Chen Guang was shocked when he first heard about the demanding entry requirements for magic.

According to Wei Donglai's description, he was already considered an elite member of the Qi Hall simply because he possessed a dual-attribute spell set.

In the five-year competition, only those with three-attribute magic can achieve good results. Those who rank at the top, like Zhong Qi, are basically starting to explore four attributes.

However, very few people have ever met the requirements of the Five Elements attributes. It might not happen even once every five years. Once someone does appear, there has never been a case of failure in Foundation Establishment. Therefore, every year, cultivators put in a lot of effort to learn the techniques and delve into this path.

However, this skill is too difficult. Of all the cultivation skills, magic is the easiest to come into contact with, but most cultivators are confused about where to start and how to achieve it. Without being enlightened on this relationship, Chen Guang would not even have the idea that magic is also one of the hundred arts of cultivation.

What kind of skills are involved in such magic?

Many magical techniques are used for combat, but what are their combat skills like?

These questions were not unique to Chen Guang, nor could he understand them. He only knew that this path was extremely difficult. Let alone having all five elements, the mere presence of multiple attributes made Zhong Qi and Wei Donglai disheartened and give up on this "shortcut" to Foundation Establishment, since it was hard to say which one was closer.

Wei Donglai once said that the cloud magic he was good at belonged to the Five Elements, but it did not have the image of the Five Elements, so it was not a fundamental method. In other words, he only had one-fifth of the conditions for building a foundation in the Five Elements magic. If he mastered all the Five Elements magic first and then mastered the cloud magic, it would be icing on the cake. Otherwise, it would be twice the effort for half the result. That's why he chose the "Long Night Qi Acupoint Technique" and the Ice Flower Wutong tree to reduce the difficulty of the connection between heaven and man.

After all, the three stages of Foundation Establishment are a more precise path. Reducing the difficulty of one of the stages, while not guaranteeing Foundation Establishment, certainly increases the chances.

Each of the five elements has its own advantages and disadvantages. The attribute you start with will inevitably affect your perception of subsequent attributes. For example, Chen Guang is now used to the speed and explosiveness of the fire attribute. He has also studied the wood attribute spells, but he is not used to the slowness of the armor formation. It will be difficult to make up for it later.

Therefore, at this stage, Chen Guang is clearly restrained, at least in terms of magic. Moving away from the current water-based spiritual atmosphere is the right choice.

The two ran downhill, walking along the edge of the valley, and soon disappeared from sight.

……

More than ten days later, Chen Guang stood under the tree.

From afar, one can see that the surrounding peaks and ridges have abruptly disappeared, leaving only a barren, yellowish land—withered and fallen vegetation lies sprawled across this land, and amidst the still lush and green earth, the feeling of autumn and winter has finally arrived.

It's winter...

Upon reaching the top of the tree and seeing the Fire Beard Cave, Dongfang Lieming's first reaction was this: after spending more than twenty days to get here, he felt little joy.

The wilderness is hard to snow, and spring lasts all year round.

Having traversed over 700 li, Dongfang Lieming was left with little room for thought or emotion. Chen Guang ultimately insisted on abandoning everything unusual.

She would stay away from any valuable spiritual plants she encountered and avoid other cultivators, not getting involved in anything. At most, she would kill a few lone flesh-toothed demon beasts and gather some ordinary spiritual herbs. Only then did she reach the edge of the Fire Beard Cave without any major incidents. Even though it was tough on Dongfang Lieming, all she could do was follow. Many dangers were beyond her ability to face alone. She no longer asked why or what the reasons were. She would just do whatever Chen Guang suggested.

After killing a Pallas's cat-like monster that was guarding the sacred pine tree, Dongfang Lieming climbed up.

This was the first time Chen Guang had taken the initiative to contact these spirit trees.

Although there are many spirit trees in the wilderness, especially older ones, they are mostly dangerous. The abundant spiritual energy of these spirit trees will attract monsters to come and gnaw on them, and even flesh-toothed monsters will not mind eating some. Ordinary rogue cultivators will also want to cut them down, as the good parts can be used as spiritual items, and the bad parts can be burned into spirit charcoal.

Therefore, any spirit tree with age will be used by some high-level rogue cultivators as a fishing spot, either to catch demonic beasts or other rogue cultivators.

This spirit tree is only a hundred years old. Its survival to this day is partly due to luck. In addition, it is in this open, sunny area, where fire-attribute reconnaissance magic can be fully utilized. That's why it chose to occupy it, actually for a pine cone on the tree.

Dongfang Lieming climbed the tree, but a thin layer of purple mist always enveloped her, ensuring her safety. This arrangement was to allow her to relax a bit after more than twenty days and nights of traveling day and night, which had kept her on edge.

When one is at a high place, with clear views of the surrounding landscape, a vast sky and light clouds, one can naturally relax and find comfort in nature.

"Senior brother, are you talking about this pine cone?" Dongfang Lieming asked, pointing to a pine cone from which new buds were sprouting from all directions. His voice finally showed some joy and vitality.

Although they are new shoots, they have a dark green color, and all the pine needles stand upright in neat rows.

"Not bad, it's a [Heavenly Needle Pine]. See if you can find any resin. You can collect some too; it can directly increase your mana. It's not comparable to elixirs, but it's easy to refine." Chen Guang took the pine cone, played with it for a while, and then put it away.

The ancient tree before us, besides being a pine, has not undergone any specific evolution. Currently, it shows a tendency to transform into a "brown sap pine," but the fruit it bears is a "heavenly needle pine." Such a strange phenomenon is undoubtedly a fantasy to those who do not understand the changes involved.

This is related to the gestation of spiritual plant seeds. There are two methods for the spread of spiritual plants: artificial seed condensation and natural gestation. In fact, artificial seed condensation is also a method that imitates natural gestation. It should be said that the gestation of spiritual plants is basically the same. They are gestated under the combined effect of sufficient specific spiritual energy and spiritual atmosphere. The difference is that seed condensation is active, while natural gestation is slightly more demanding. However, spiritual plants also choose areas suitable for their survival and reproduction to live long.

The appearance of this Heavenly Needle Pine seed represents another possibility in the process of natural development. It basically only exists in spiritual plants that have transformed from mortal seeds into spiritual seeds and whose specific attributes have not yet been determined. The spiritual energy of such spiritual plants is the purest, but it also contains a trace of chaos. It is possible for them to transform into any other spiritual plant of the same kind.

Of course, a pine tree cannot transform into a chrysanthemum, and a needle pine will not evolve into a type of pine or arbor; a fire-attribute environment will not abruptly transform into a type that leans towards the water attribute.

Their seeds have many more possibilities than the original plant itself, and are more likely to be cultivated into other spiritual plant seeds. This is also a kind of natural gestation. The seeds of the Heavenly Needle Pine were obtained from a brown pine that was about to take shape.

In ancient times, this was the earliest form of seed condensation, full of random instability. At that time, the art of spiritual plant cultivation was still attached to the alchemist system. It only began to break away and flourish after the appearance of the sage known as "Qingfu". Even today, there are still independent cultivators and some spiritual plant masters who use this seed condensation method.

Right now, Chen Guang is concerned about the significance of the appearance of the Heavenly Needle Pine. It is a kind of spiritual pine that is easy to form after the spiritual energy begins to awaken and burst forth. Its needles point to the sky. This spiritual energy is particularly conspicuous on this spiritual tree, which makes Chen Guang involuntarily focus his gaze on the roots of the Heavenly Needle Pine. Could it be that some spiritual creature is about to be born down there?