Cultivation begins with harvest.

The flowers of the Void Flower Tree are delicate and sway slightly with the wind generated by the formation, as if they might fall off at any moment. When the flowers are fully open, they are actually the size of a palm, and if you count them carefully, there are nine out of ten of them.

"As expected of my junior brother, he is exceptionally talented, even managing to cultivate flowers from the illusory flower tree."

Senior Brother He, who came from the Earth Hall, showed surprise. The accompanying Deacon Longma was even more astonished. He had been in the branch building for some time and naturally knew what it meant for the Void Flower Tree to produce flowers. Moreover, it wasn't just a lucky few results; it was nineteen flowers that fully met the payment requirements.

Busy with his own cultivation, Longma neglected to pay attention to the entire branch building. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Wan Longjing and several other branch building disciples looking proud. Longma knew he was the last to know about this.

"Being assigned to a different building is just a stepping stone... personal cultivation is the most important thing."

Longma, amidst the surging waves and cascading rapids, felt as if he were an immovable rock.

Senior Brother He didn't even glance at Longma, but walked warmly to Chen Guang's side: "Last time, when Old Master Zhou favored you, many people thought it was just ordinary. Now, looking at it again, it's clear that you, Junior Brother, possess inner brilliance and extraordinary strength."

"Did you know that most spiritual farmers cultivate illusory flowers and trees out of curiosity and a sense of challenge, while the other half do not cultivate them for the purpose of them blooming?"

"I know," Chen Guang nodded.

The flowers of the Void Flower Tree have a wide range of uses. As a top-grade first-level spiritual object, many cultivators are eager to obtain it. However, the cultivation process is too difficult, so many cultivators have to settle for second best. When the first wave of ferocious insects attacked, they cut off their own arm to save their lives. They used high-intensity light to release the spiritual power of a Void Flower Tree to repel the ferocious insects, and then sold the rest of the Void Flower Trees to the Earth Hall.

This is a compromise. The sect's reward for these mature, almost-blooming illusory flower trees is decent, but considering the overall income and expenditure, the profit is relatively limited. Individual cultivators can profit from it, but they often have their own abilities to cultivate illusory flower trees and ensure good returns, so it cannot be carried out on a large scale.

This also establishes the basic logic that, under normal circumstances, whoever plants illusory flowers and trees will lose money.

The sect can maintain the scale of the Void Flower Tree through this acquisition. The Void Flower Tree is not as old as other spiritual trees, and large-scale cultivation would result in significant losses. This approach is a win-win situation, allowing for steady progress while maintaining the scale of the tree.

However, if one can reliably produce virtual flowers and wood flowers, the latter is naturally better, as obtaining them directly and purchasing them for cultivation come at two different costs.

"A qualified illusory flower is worth at least eight hundred taels of silver. Although Junior Brother has cultivated his flowers, the quality is a bit poor. The extra four flowers can only be given as six hundred taels of silver each. What a pity, what a pity." Senior Brother He said with some regret. "Three qualified illusory flowers are equivalent to one excellent quality spiritual plant; ten excellent quality flowers are equivalent to one hundred-year-old spiritual plant."

This is the true value of artificial flowers and wood flowers.

"Then we'll need the Brilliant Qi and the Smooth Water, as spiritual objects with traces of the Universe are always rare." Chen Guang smiled wryly.

The traces of the mantle beetle cannot be used directly. They can be used medicinally, but they do not meet the requirements of the virgin flower tree.

The traces of the universe in the Mangpi insect need to be cleaned, purified, and then extracted before being specifically modified into the specific traces of the universe required by the illusory flower wood. Not to mention Chen Guang, there are almost no Qi Refining cultivators who can perform such high-precision operations on traces of the universe. It is better to seek purer traces of the universe than to pursue this path.

If this path works, Chen Guang will immediately start planting the Linquan Pumpkin. The amount of magical storage artifacts like the Thousand Water Gourd is more than enough.

Therefore, the mainstream is still to use professional-specific spiritual items such as water skiing, just like food. However, the benefits of being full are different if you are satisfied with the experience of enjoying each meal.

"I think Junior Brother has great potential. However, the fact that he was able to make the Void Flower Tree bloom with such a large number of flowers on his first attempt shows that some things cannot be explained by mere good fortune." Senior Brother He had a lot of confidence in Chen Guang.

"The best solution for the Void Flower Tree is naturally the Radiant Qi and the Smooth Water, but there is another way to provide it with some traces of the Universe Dao so that it can bloom one or two more flowers," Senior Brother He said in a surprising way. "However, this requires a special formation. This formation is recorded in my Earth Hall and is extremely precious. It cannot be given to others easily. I am willing to help you, Junior Brother, but you still have two requests to hear."

When Chen Guang looked serious, Senior Brother He continued, "First, you must reach the first level in formation techniques. Second, you must become a disciple of the Earth Hall."

"This formation is extremely profound. It uses spiritual objects that dissolve other traces of the universe to release those traces. It is not something that can be learned casually. If you try to read it, you will have endless wild thoughts and not understand anything, which is meaningless. Secondly, this is the result of the Earth Hall. It is only reasonable to become an inner disciple of the Earth Hall and then enjoy this method."

"However, if you can accomplish one of these within five years, I can request the Ministry of Justice to make an exception and let you learn this formation. It will not only benefit the Void Flower Tree."

Chen Guang was somewhat surprised. Listening to Senior Brother He's words, it seemed that he had some hope of achieving a certain condition within five years. He had never shown any talent in formations, and the eye-catching ice mist formation was also Zhong Qi's work.

The only hope is that I can be admitted to the underworld through my own efforts.

There were rumors that An Yumian of Shenglingtang had entered the inner sect ahead of time, but unexpectedly, the same thing happened to him.

The Qingheng Sect does indeed make special arrangements. Disciples who perform exceptionally well are always given priority in promotion. Those who do not follow the usual step-by-step promotion process are not valued. By selecting enough disciples, a sufficient number of Daoists can be obtained, which is the foundation of the sect.

The next step is to cultivate even more powerful cultivators from among the Taoists. This is a safe and secure path, though it may be less frequent.

However, if one is required to possess extraordinary talent and wisdom that transcends mountains and seas, then the proportion of disciples who are promoted ahead of schedule and given special privileges is often much higher.

If one were to follow the rules too closely, it would only dampen the spirit of these exceptional individuals.

If one were to be promoted despite not meeting the usual requirements, it would be a glorious achievement in one's life, and this feeling would give one a sense of pride and satisfaction.

"Then Junior Brother must do his utmost to seize this five-year opportunity," Chen Guang said earnestly.

"Well, then we'll take these illusory flowers with us." Senior Brother He didn't linger any longer. His task was to check whether the quality of these illusory flowers met the standards for transplanting to the Earth Hall. Now that he could directly pick the flowers, there was no need to waste time here.

Besides the illusory flower tree, there are also unique spiritual plants such as the [Flaming Willow] and the [Copper Mountain Fruit] that need to be examined. After that, those that need to be transplanted should be transplanted by someone, and those that need to be contained and exterminated should be disposed of by someone. For example, the Flaming Willow often burns and destroys itself during the cultivation process. It will also conceive and randomly release spiritual fire that is difficult to extinguish at a moderate frequency. It is a substitute for the Beak Flame for many cultivators.

Summer is a peak season for such occurrences, and the remains of the remains will erupt with an inextinguishable spiritual fire that is often difficult for spirit farmers to handle. Leaving them there will only cause the spiritual soil to burn to ashes and lose its spiritual power.

After seeing off Senior Brother He and the others, Chen Guang, filled with excitement, took another tour of the spirit field of the Void Flower Tree. Others assumed that Chen Guang was delighted by the good news and was particularly fond of the spirit field, but little did they know that Chen Guang's gaze swept across the spirit field and locked onto the pure white orb of light that only he could see.

Senior Brother He and his group were indeed punctual. They arrived just as the produce was ripe, leaving Chen Guang no time to collect his reward.

As if by some strange twist of fate, Chen Guang noticed some crooked and ugly dents on the bark of the False Flower Tree when he passed by. They looked like deep, small wounds and scars, some of which were still damp and bloomed with a deeper green that filled the flower spots—these were the result of fighting with the ferocious insects. Although he could always deal with the insects before they could harm the flower buds, some traces were inevitable.

Previously, Chen Guang would feel heartache because of these wounds and the damage to the illusory flowers and trees, but now, after carefully examining and investigating them, he immediately had a different feeling.

"These marks from insect infestation and battles are difficult to repair, but this kind of invasion by foreign spiritual energy is a kind of tempering for the spiritual plant. If it's excessive, it will damage its essence, leading to persistent diseases, weakness, and death; if it's just right, the spiritual energy will solidify. Therefore, planting without any external hidden dangers will result in a high lower limit for the quality of the spiritual plant, but the upper limit will not reach the absolute limit."

Some insights come in an instant, elevating one's understanding of the path of cultivation to a new level. Through accumulation and further understanding, layer upon layer, a towering building is built.