Cultivation begins with harvest.

Using his magic to invade the seedlings of the Ice Rush and the seeds of the Concentration Flower, Chen Guang obtained information about the two spiritual plants and learned roughly what kind of environment they needed. Then, he began to activate the Ice Mist Array to make adjustments.

The fog gradually thickened until Chen Guang couldn't help but shiver before it stopped.

He had prepared heavy clothing, and with the foundation of the "Blood Pan Classic," Chen Guang was able to withstand the low temperature.

The ground became harder as a result.

"This temperature should be enough." Chen Guang wandered around the ice mist array, found a good spot, and then bent down to plant a young Ice Pine sapling. When his fingertips touched the Ice Pine, he activated the Earth-Wood Interaction. A stream of magic power extended along the branches, stems, and leaves of the Ice Pine, gradually understanding its condition.

The magic power even sensed how the purple spirit soil felt to the Ice Lupine through its root system. What might be hell for other spirit plants was quite pleasant and comfortable for the Ice Lupine.

"They're a little thirsty and somewhat listless. Zhong Qi and the other person aren't spiritual farmers, so their handling of the situation isn't perfect; that's normal."

Chen Guang checked it over and, after confirming there were no problems, simply watered it, tamped the soil, and placed the pine tree in place.

When planting the second tree, Chen Guang followed the same method. This time, as his magic power extended along the roots, he suddenly sensed another green dot on one side, which made the Ice Pine tree somewhat resistant—it was another Ice Pine tree.

A vague idea formed in Chen Guang's mind: if they continue to grow like this, sooner or later the two Ice Pine Trees will fight each other for growth resources and squeeze each other's living space.

Once the connection between earth and wood ceases, that feeling vanishes completely.

Using the Earth-Wood Symbiosis technique again, I released my magic along the roots. When I came into contact with another Ice Pine, that feeling of resistance finally reappeared and intensified.

Chen Guang showed a look of delight.

The more he used the Earth-Wood Interaction Technique, the more proficient he became. Each time he used it to explore a spiritual plant, he felt a special kind of Qi being brought back from the plant, opening up hidden acupoints and small meridians in his palm that could not be reached by normal cultivation methods. Gradually, his Earth-Wood Interaction Technique became stronger.

Moreover, the spiritual plants whose mysterious "qi" was taken away were unaffected. Chen Guang could not even perceive what they had lost or reduced. Such changes only occurred the first time he used the Earth-Wood Interaction technique on them. The higher the quality of the spiritual plant, the more obvious the changes were. He did not even feel anything when using spiritual rice and other spiritual plants. In addition, the spiritual plants themselves did not have any adverse reactions, so he continued to cultivate in this way with peace of mind.

Until today, we have finally discovered some new changes in the interaction between civil and wood elements.

It is no longer limited to the perception of a single spiritual plant, but can also perceive the mutual influence between different spiritual plants, and even the possible future influence and trends.

Chen Guang held his breath and concentrated.

A phantom light screen, visible only to oneself, quietly appeared, displaying information about the spiritual plant.

[Spiritual Plant Practitioner (Beginner)] 3299/10000

Chen Guang quickly swept over it and placed it on the skill below.

[Earth-Wood Interaction (Basic)]: Allows you to easily use your magic to move within the body of a spirit plant without affecting it, sensing details such as compatibility, nutrition, and condition changes between the spirit plant and the spirit soil.

+ (Experienced) can vaguely detect and predict the impact of the surrounding environment on the plant itself and its future through the earth's energy, but the results are rather vague.

"Um?"

Chen Guang immediately noticed the difference.

Compared to the previous one, the initial description of the interaction between earth and wood remains unchanged, but the skill name now includes the suffix "basic" and is followed by the description "expert".

Each use, or rather, the tiny, inexplicable "qi" that one feels is taken away from the spiritual plant, is also a kind of gain. With each accumulation, the time for transformation finally arrives.

"That seems to be the right answer. The master leads you through the door, and the rest is up to me to work hard."

Chen Guang felt something; if he didn't use the Earth-Wood Interaction frequently, he might never see the day when the reward orb helped him improve his Spirit Plant Master skills.

Perhaps I will gain new skills as a spirit plant master through the reward orbs, but I will not improve them. I don't want to stagnate. Ultimately, I need to take things one step at a time.

"Ah ha," Chen Guang immediately puffed out his chest, "I also reaped the rewards through hard work and sweat; I certainly didn't rely on handouts!"

Despite saying that, Chen Guang obediently bent over and moved Bing Lusong to a more distant place. Suddenly, he had a flash of inspiration and moved it to an even more distant location before simply planting it and activating the Earth-Wood Interaction again.

Normal spirit trees are much more resilient. As long as it's not excessive, a little roughing around won't hurt. There aren't many spirit trees as delicate and beautiful as the Ice Flower Wutong.

This time, Bing Lusong no longer felt any resistance. Instead, he felt a sense of loneliness and a desire for companionship. It was a faint feeling, but Chen Guang carefully used the Earth-Wood Interaction Technique to sense it again and finally confirmed this fact without saying a word.

Bing Lusong, after sensing the presence of its own kind, would resist getting too close and feel lonely if it stayed too far away.

Is it cheap?

But then I thought, a virtuous person is sociable but not partisan, maintaining distance from each other while relying on one another. Perhaps this is why pine and cypress trees had such a good reputation in their past lives.

Chen Guang knew he was overthinking things. After all, resources in a certain area are limited, and too many spiritual plants would be harmful to each other. But the special spirituality of Bing Lu Song still surprised Chen Guang.

No wonder it's called a spiritual plant. Although it has no consciousness, there is a trace of spirituality in its simple instincts.

Chen Guang moved the location again until he found a spot where the Ice Pine wouldn't feel repelled or lonely, thus finishing the planting of the second spiritual plant. With an example, the third one was easy. He planted the three Ice Pines in a triangular pattern, each occupying nearly 25 square meters of space. Right now, they were just seedlings only the length of a palm, but they would need this much space in the future.

Spiritual plants also need various nutrients, the most important of which are the nourishment of spiritual energy and the supply of spiritual vitality. Spiritual soil can provide this, but it is also limited, hence the concept of space.

The same principle applies to planting 76 Jade Heart Grass plants on one acre of land, just like planting three Ice Pine on 75 square meters of land.

One mu (approximately 0.16 acres) is about 600 square meters, which is barely enough to plant about 26 Ice Pine trees. Ice Pine trees are relatively sociable, while the Linquan Pumpkin is even more domineering, ruthlessly eliminating other plants around it. Both are top-tier first-class plants, and seven seeds are already enough for half a mu of land.

Chen Guang then took out more than ten ice flower stones. Each stone was shaped like a slightly flattened head, round and smooth. Affected by the cold air, it immediately turned water blue and some frost appeared. Peony-like patterns bloomed on the stone and covered the entire ice flower stone.

I carefully placed a piece of ice flower stone next to an ice pine tree. Under the interaction of earth and wood, the ice pine tree immediately conveyed a comfortable feeling. I placed another piece, but the ice pine tree immediately felt tense.

Too much!

The special effect of ice flower stone on ice pine is that one piece is enough for such a seedling.

Each Ice Pine Tree was fitted with an Ice Flower Stone. Excess Ice Flower Stones were piled up away from the Ice Pine Trees. In the cold environment, these Ice Flower Stones were better preserved. If they were placed in a storage artifact, some of their spiritual energy would be quietly lost, but the process would be very long, taking several years or even decades. Although the loss was small, it was still a loss. It was better to leave them in the Ice Mist Array.

As for who dares to steal it, they're really asking for trouble.

That's true, but money can be a powerful motivator. Without the cover of the Ice Mist Array, if the Ice Flower Stones were left right by the roadside, it would be hard to guarantee that no one would have any ulterior motives and temporarily lose their minds. The Ice Mist Array has the cover of mist inside and also has a certain degree of protection. Within the Qingheng Sect, even cultivators in the late stage of Qi Refining could be deterred from entering.

I glanced at the spirit stones on the array plate. The spiritual energy loss was minimal. The spirit stones were merely a driving force for activation. The rich spiritual energy environment was the primary factor contributing to the minimal loss of spiritual energy.

Although he couldn't see the outside world through the fog, it was already dark to the point that everything was dark just twenty or thirty steps away, so Chen Guang prepared to go home and rest.

"I was so focused on planting Ice Pine that I neglected the fact that the fog was too thick and the sunlight couldn't get in. Purple Spirit Soil can provide a substitute for sunlight, but it will affect the quality of the Ice Pine. If we pursue high quality, the sunlight is still irreplaceable. Also, the seeds of Concentration Flower and Frost Grass haven't been planted yet. That's tomorrow's work."

Chen Guang surveyed the area briefly before leaving the ice mist array.

Wearing heavy clothes, as soon as I left the ice mist array, I immediately felt the blood rushing to my stiff fingers. As soon as I came out, I saw Cao Fang standing there on the bluestone road, each holding a pot of spiritual plants that looked like hazy clouds but were in the shape of tea seedlings.

The Lingcha tea seedling has arrived.