[Name: Li Ye]
[Spirit Root: Low-grade Earth-Wood Root]
[Remaining Lifespan: 73 years (3 years deducted due to overdrawn vitality)]
[Skills: Planting Tier One - Intermediate (514/2000), Alchemy - Beginner (15/2000), Artifact Crafting - Beginner (12/2000), Talisman Crafting - Beginner (1358/1500)]
[Herbal Essence: Emerald Bud Essence ×251]
[Essence Trait: Vitality Level 1]
[Experience: 3349]
…
Underground quiet chamber.
Li Ye opened his status panel, and just a glance was enough to flood him with the joy of harvest once again.
With this amount of experience, not only could he upgrade his planting skill to Tier One - High Grade as originally planned,
but he could also bring his alchemy skill to the edge of truly breaking into the beginner level!
And then there was all this Emerald Bud Essence...
"Just fifty strands of this essence previously helped me recover my vitality and reach the fourth level of cultivation. If I refine all 250 strands now…"
"Reaching the fifth layer shouldn't be difficult at all!"
Li Ye muttered to himself, eyes practically glowing.
Ever since he finished refining the initial fifty strands keeping just one or two in reserve his cultivation speed had slowed to a crawl.
Even eating spirit rice couldn't compare to the pure medicinal potency of the Emerald Bud Essence.
Going from luxury back to scarcity was truly a pain.
Without the essence's assistance, the minor increase in his mana over the past half year had been so slow it made him want to cry just thinking about it.
"But I can't just burn through all of the Emerald Bud Essence at once…"
Li Ye frowned, deep in thought.
He still had plans to use Herbal Essence as material for alchemy.
In the future, the essences he acquired would likely be even more precious than the Emerald Bud Essence. If he didn't use this now to practice, was he supposed to waste the rare ones later?
That would be way too extravagant!
Besides, if things went as he hoped, then pills refined using such pure medicinal power would likely contain far less pill toxicity. That way, using pills for cultivation would become even more efficient!
Thinking it through, Li Ye made up his mind and first allocated his experience to upgrading his planting skill maxing out its proficiency and triggering the breakthrough.
Whoosh
In an instant, Li Ye's consciousness blurred.
Detailed knowledge and techniques for tending to Tier One spirit herbs and plants even some basic insights into lower-level Tier Two plants rushed into his mind.
As he gradually absorbed and familiarized himself with the information, it became part of his skill set.
Tier One - High Grade… achieved!
A faint smile appeared on Li Ye's face like a seasoned farmer's and for a moment, he genuinely felt as if he'd gained years of agricultural experience out of thin air.
Still immersed in the realization, he muttered to himself:
"I can now handle the cultivation of Tier One spirit rice with ease. As for tending to various spirit herbs, I know the dos and don'ts like the back of my hand…"
"Even with Tier Two spirit plants so long as they're hardy and not too picky with the help of the [Vitality] trait, keeping them alive might not be too difficult!"
With that, Li Ye finally felt confident about competing for the spiritual farmland under Elder Ji Qing's domain.
After upgrading his planting skills, he still had over 1,800 experience points left.
Li Ye glanced again at the panel.
[Planting Tier One - High Grade (0/3000)]
That kind of experience requirement was not something he could fulfill quickly.
The most practical use for the remaining points… was still alchemy!
The many insights into medicinal theory gained through the improvement of his alchemy realm could, in turn, enhance his planting techniques becoming an additional edge for him on this path!
With a solid plan in mind, there was no need to hesitate any further.
Li Ye poured his experience points into alchemy, and his proficiency soared rapidly.
[Alchemy - Beginner (1878/2000)]
Just one step away from truly mastering the basics!
A flood of clarity washed through Li Ye's mind concepts that were once obscure and difficult to grasp, such as the transformations of medicinal properties, control of flame intensity, and various intricate techniques, now became crystal clear.
Even those basic alchemy methods in his inherited jade slip cobbled together, poorly connected, riddled with errors were suddenly reorganized in his mind. They became structured and much easier to understand.
"So that's what it meant… I get it now."
Almost unconsciously, he pulled out the jade slip again and re-read its contents, his face lighting up with comprehension as he went.
But the more he understood, the more strange his expression became.
Smack!
Eventually, Li Ye couldn't hold it in. He slapped the jade slip down on the table and cursed aloud:
"I didn't realize before, but now that I do this thing is an absolute mess… You couldn't even put together a proper inheritance? No wonder the Li family only ever raised a bunch of useless fools!"
It wasn't that Li Ye was being overly harsh
the inheritance was just that bad.
Now that he was close to stepping into the alchemy realm proper, he could see: that without the panel's help, someone with his level of talent could've studied this so-called inheritance for a lifetime without getting anywhere!
Had the content not been just barely coherent despite being stitched together from random sources, and had it not been so deeply obscure, Li Ye might've suspected the Third House of the Li family of tampering with it behind the scenes...
Come to think of it, the few alchemists in the Li family who had managed to reach entry-level using this mess were probably low-key geniuses in their own right.
Ridiculous!
And if the alchemy inheritance was like this, the Artifact Crafting inheritance he got probably wouldn't be much better either…
Another skill he'd have to brute-force his way through with experience points!
Shaking his head, Li Ye calmed his thoughts and reflected on the feeling of leveling up multiple times.
"The panel's improvements… seem to focus more on directly enhancing my mastery of the craft itself, and then using that higher level to reorganize and fill in the gaps in the inheritances I already possess…"
"So even though the inheritance is incomplete, I can still improve but there will always be certain limitations…"
"If the opportunity arises, I really should look for some complete inheritances to study!"
"Junior Brother Li, while Elder Ji is considered reasonable, he's also famously reclusive and powerful among the sect elders…"
"That's why he never cares about forming ties with the others and prefers to choose disciples who have no connections to other elders to tend his spiritual fields…"
"When you go meet him, remember to be cautious and respectful don't act recklessly!"
The old man, Elder Luo, was nagging at Li Ye, speaking with careful sincerity.
"Don't worry… Brother Luo, surely you know how steady I am?"
Li Ye smiled as he replied.
The old man chuckled at that, visibly relieved.
"True, true. You're always calm and adaptable. Even if things don't work out this time, at least you won't risk offending the elder…"
Now that they were on the subject, his expression turned a bit more serious.
"It's just that your competitors this time are all from the Spirit Herb Garden. Their planting skills are probably close to the Tier Two level. Do you think you can hold your own, Junior Brother?"
While his recommendation was mostly because he hadn't formed ties with many spirit-farming disciples, and figured it was worth investing in Li Ye...
If Li Ye truly had the skill and managed to be chosen by the elder, it would benefit him even more!
"All I can do is give it my best and leave the rest to fate…"
Li Ye answered calmly.
"Brother Luo we're here."
Looking up, he saw a mountain shrouded in mist and clouds, its form indistinct.