After binding with a genius, I became an immortal by exploiting loopholes.

Lu Qingchen didn't react much, but silently pondered: Su Qingxue has dual spiritual roots of water and wood, and also possesses the Pure Spirit Body, so she is indeed suitable for the path of spiritual plants.

The Spirit Plant Master needs to deal with plants, and her spiritual roots and physique are both advantageous, so choosing a Spirit Plant makes sense.

She had successfully guided her Qi into her body for nearly a hundred days, and there had been no news of what skill she had chosen before. How come she suddenly entered the Spirit Plant Hall today?

Just then, Li Si leaned over and nudged his shoulder suggestively: "What are you thinking about? Are you thinking about Su Qingxue?"

Lu Qingchen smiled helplessly: "What are you thinking? I haven't even passed the Spirit Plant Hall's assessment yet, and I'm not even sure if I can become a Spirit Plant Master. I don't have time to worry about these things."

Li Si chuckled and didn't ask any further questions.

They chatted for a few more minutes before going their separate ways.

Back in his room, Lu Qingchen sat cross-legged on the bed and continued his cultivation for the day.

He first circulated the "Azure Wood Spirit Nourishing Technique" for a full cycle, nurturing his spiritual power.

These past few days, I've become more and more proficient in my cultivation techniques, and my spiritual energy circulation has become smoother than at the beginning.

Then I began to condense the pure energy.

Close your eyes and concentrate, compressing, purifying, and condensing the spiritual energy in your dantian.

About half an hour later, a faint wisp of pure energy appeared in his dantian.

Including the one I refined a few days ago, I now have a total of five and a half paths—the half path could dissipate at any time, so I need to spend more time stabilizing it.

After finishing his cultivation, Lu Qingchen once again immersed himself in his sea of ​​consciousness.

The light bead in Chu Yunfeng's illusory dantian grew larger, radiating a warm golden light.

He hadn't used it these past few days, and the cultivation within the light pearl was accumulating more and more.

He hesitated for a moment, but still did not activate it.

Now is not the time.

......

Soon, a month after the 100-day assessment passed quietly in this daily routine of work and practice.

Every morning, Lu Qingchen would first go to Panlong Peak to tend to the spirit fields, and then return in the evening to cultivate. Although the days were hard, they were exceptionally fulfilling.

The seedlings are growing better than he expected.

Those seedlings that had been blessed were already a little taller than ordinary ones, with greener leaves and thicker stems, making them particularly eye-catching in the morning light.

Lu Qingchen squatted by the field and looked at it again and again, becoming more and more certain in his heart that the spirit-infusing technique of the Dao Stele was indeed effective on spiritual plants.

Besides tending to the spirit fields, he would also sit on the ridges of the fields for a while each day, trying to stimulate the vitality of the spirit rice seedlings according to the methods of the "Green Wood Spirit Nourishing Technique".

At first there was no reaction. After trying many times, he finally felt a faint life force emanating from the seedling and slowly flowing into his body along with his spiritual power.

That glimmer of life was extremely faint, but it was indeed a little faster than usual when condensing the pure energy.

He also discovered that the seedlings that had been blessed with spirits exuded a much stronger vitality than ordinary seedlings—but the amount of spirits applied was too small, so the combined effect was not significant.

In any case, the path of cultivating by harnessing the vitality of plants has been successfully followed.

After a month, he had condensed his thirteenth strand of pure energy.

At the normal pace, it might have taken another two or three days to condense this essence, but now the effects of cultivating by harnessing the vitality of plants are already evident.

......

Evening, in the cafeteria.

As usual, the group sat down together for a meal.

Wang Ming had been feeling down for days, and today he finally couldn't hold it in any longer.

"I've decided to give up."

He put down his chopsticks, his face contorted with grief, and said, "I'm really no good at alchemy."

Lu Qingchen, Li Si, and the others remained silent and did not offer any further advice.

They had all seen Wang Ming's frustration these past few days, and since he had made his decision, further persuasion would be counterproductive.

"So what do you want to do?" Li Si asked.

Wang Ming remained silent for a moment, then tapped his chopsticks lightly against the rim of his bowl before whispering, "Refine the weapon."

"Both alchemy and weapon crafting require fire elemental roots, which I possess, making them a perfect match. I've been thinking about this for the past few days, and instead of obsessively focusing on alchemy, I might as well try a different approach."

He paused, as if trying to convince himself: "Weapon crafting and alchemy are quite different. One relies on controlling the heat, while the other relies on hammering and forging. I am strong and have a steady hand, so I might be more suitable."

Lu Qingchen glanced at him and asked, "Are you sure you've thought it through?"

Wang Ming gritted his teeth: "I've made up my mind."

"Alright, let's give it a try." Lu Qingchen nodded. "No matter which path you choose, you have to walk it yourself to know if it's right for you."

After a few words of encouragement, the atmosphere gradually relaxed.

The topic somehow veered towards the likes of Chu Yunfeng and Su Qingxue, those prodigies.

"I heard that Chu Yunfeng is about to break through to the second level of Qi Refining."

Zhao Ming lowered his voice, his tone full of envy: "It hasn't been that long. It's infuriating to compare yourself to others."

Li Si also sighed, "A prodigy is a prodigy indeed. While we're still struggling to reach the first level of Qi Refining, they're already at the second level."

"Su Qingxue will be here soon too."

Qian Wanliang interjected, but his tone was much more relaxed than when he mentioned Chu Yunfeng.

The others didn't react much to the news that Su Qingxue was about to break through.

It seems that it's only natural for beautiful women to cultivate quickly, and there's nothing to be surprised about.

"Hey," Zhao Ming turned to Li Si, "Have you seen Su Qingxue enter the Spirit Plant Hall again? Is she going to choose to study spirit plants or not?"

Compared to Su Qingxue's cultivation speed, the group was more concerned about this.

Li Si rolled his eyes: "Who do you think I am? How would I know? I haven't seen you since that one time. If you want to know, go and wait at the entrance of the Spirit Plant Hall."

"I'm not a free spirit."

Zhao Ming muttered something, but still wouldn't give up: "Do you think she might be looking for someone? Maybe she knows someone in the Spirit Plant Hall."

"Does finding someone really require making the trip yourself?"

Qian Wanliang shook his head, "A prodigy like her can be sent by anyone."

"That's where they went to borrow books."

Zhao Ming guessed again, "The Spirit Plant Hall has some specialized books that can't be borrowed from outside."

Qian Wanliang thought about it and felt it made sense: "That's possible. Even though she doesn't farm, it wouldn't hurt for her to learn some knowledge about spiritual plants."

"Alright, alright, stop guessing."

Li Si waved his hand, "Whatever she does is none of our business."

After a few words of discussion without reaching a conclusion, the group changed the subject.

Qian Wanliang recounted interesting stories about the Talisman Dao Hall, and Li Si explained how incredibly difficult some basic array problems were, gradually enlivening the atmosphere.

Although Wang Ming was still a bit listless, at least he was willing to speak.

After finishing their meal, the group headed towards their dormitory.

"By the way, how many Dao of Pure Qi have you condensed yet?" Li Si suddenly asked.

"I have eighteen," Zhao Ming said first, his tone tinged with pride. "I just condensed them a couple of days ago. At this rate, I should be able to reach thirty by the end of the year."

"I'm twenty-one," Li Si said calmly.

Zhao Ming's smugness immediately vanished by half: "...You have four superior-grade spiritual roots, unlike me."

Qian Wanliang scratched his head: "I'm only at fifteen. The array formation path is too time-consuming. Just drawing array diagrams takes two hours every day. I come back exhausted, like a dog. How can I have the energy to cultivate?"

The group looked at Wang Ming.

Wang Ming lowered his head and said in a muffled voice, "Sixteen Dao, as for alchemy... I haven't been able to concentrate on cultivation much."

Finally, he looked at Lu Qingchen.

"Thirteen."

Lu Qingchen told the truth.

Zhao Ming paused for a moment, opened his mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed it back.

Li Si didn't say anything, but patted him on the shoulder: "The speed of five spiritual roots is not slow. It is said that an ordinary five spiritual root can only condense nine paths at most in a month."

Lu Qingchen smiled but didn't reply.

He knew Li Si was trying to comfort him, but the difference between thirteen and twenty-one was undeniable and couldn't be erased by a few words of comfort.

It would be a lie to say I wasn't stimulated, but there's no rushing things.

Back near the dormitory, the group chatted for a few more minutes before going their separate ways.