On the path to immortality, I can see destiny.

Zhao Fan pushed open the door to the cultivation room, took a deep breath of the crisp, spiritually rich air, and felt his spirits lift instantly.

He walked to the stone table in the courtyard, where Su Zichen and the other two were still looking at the book left by Zhao Fan, reading it aloud as they went.

"Summer Orchid, hot in nature, with slightly poisonous, yellowish-brown rhizomes..."

Upon seeing Zhao Fan emerge, the three of them quickly stood up.

"How's it going? How many herbs have you memorized?"

Zhao Fan waved his hand gently, gesturing for the three to sit down, and then asked about their memorization progress.

"I recorded seventy-nine plants."

Su Zichen hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"I recorded eighty-two plants."

Su Ziheng followed up with a few words, his tone tinged with a hint of pride.

"I recorded 120 plants."

The last to speak was Su Ziyun, who, without hesitation, uttered an extremely exaggerated number.

Zhao Fan was somewhat surprised when he heard the number.

"Alright, then I'll test you."

Without wasting words, Zhao Fan took out a medicinal herb from his storage bag and asked the three of them.

"What kind of elixir is this?"

Zhao Fan deliberately chose a very easily confused medicinal herb this time, to see if they could tell the difference.

This is a test that goes a step further than simply memorizing; it requires a true understanding of the features, rather than rote memorization.

The three children immediately surrounded them, their little faces tense as they examined them intently.

"This is Frostmoon Grass."

Su Ziyun spoke first, giving the answer.

"No, this should be Night-Breath Grass."

"I also think it's Frostmoon Grass."

Zhao Fan listened to the three of them and continued to ask questions with great interest.

"Why do you think it's Frostmoon Grass, and why do you think it's Night-Breath Grass?"

Su Ziyun was the first to speak.

"Although both Frostmoon Grass and Nightshade Grass have white neck leaves, Nightshade Grass does not like light and prefers to live in a dark environment, so the plant is not so upright and the branches are more messy."

Zhao Fan's eyes lit up when he heard this.

This little girl is really smart.

Although there are other methods of identification, inferring plant morphology from its habits is indeed the most common and effective.

"But the Night-Breath Grass can also grow tall and straight; how can you be sure?"

Su Ziheng immediately offered a different opinion.

"The leaves of Night-Breath Grass are pointed, while the leaves of Frostmoon Grass are oval."

Upon hearing Su Ziheng's words, Su Ziyun proposed a new method of identification.

Now, Su Ziheng was speechless and lowered his head awkwardly.

Zhao Fan then took out several different medicinal herbs for the group to identify.

Although the three of them occasionally made mistakes in their answers, Su Ziyun made the fewest mistakes.

Zhao Fan couldn't help but glance at Su Ziyun a few more times.

"Not bad, Ziyun is really smart."

"That's all for today. You can go back now and come again tomorrow."

Upon hearing Zhao Fan's words, the three of them immediately turned around and left the courtyard.

After the three left, Zhao Fan wandered around the courtyard for a while before returning to the cultivation room to continue practicing his spells.

He first silently reviewed the spiritual energy flow diagram of the "Golden Spirit Shield" in his mind. The meridians through which the spiritual energy flowed were like a detailed star map.

He tried to guide the "virtual" spiritual energy along the path slowly with his mind, without actually mobilizing it, experiencing every turn, every acceleration or deceleration. Once, twice, three times... until this "star map" was deeply imprinted in his mind, and the rhythm of its operation became almost an instinctive feeling.

Then, he opened his eyes and let out a low shout.

"Freeze!"

His metallic spiritual energy surged suddenly, rushing out along the path he had practiced countless times. Compared to yesterday, it was slightly faster and flowed much more smoothly. Pale golden light emerged from his body, spreading rapidly and instantly forming a slightly transparent, eggshell-like golden shield that protected him.

The photomask still has some unevenness in brightness, but the overall forming speed is almost twice as fast, and it looks much more stable.

Zhao Fan reached out and used 20% of his strength to poke at the light barrier. The light barrier slightly dented inward and rippled, but it did not break. He gradually increased his strength, 30%, 40%, 50%... until he used a force roughly equivalent to the full-force attack of an ordinary Qi Refining Level 4 cultivator, at which point the light barrier finally collapsed with a soft "pop".

"That's progress!"

Zhao Fan was overjoyed. Although he was still far from being able to withstand attacks from cultivators of the same level, let alone use magical artifacts, he had at least seen tangible results. This proved that his training direction and reflections were correct.

Without pausing, he focused his mind again and mobilized his spiritual power. This time, he intentionally controlled the rhythm of his spiritual power output, slightly increasing the output at several key points, attempting to make the formed golden spiritual shield thicker and more even.

"Freeze!"

A second golden spirit shield appeared, its light seemingly a fraction more solid than before. Zhao Fan continued testing, adjusting, and casting it again…

Inside the cultivation room, pale golden light flashed repeatedly, only to dissipate again with each tap or self-examination by Zhao Fan. With each re-condensation, his control over the flow of spiritual energy improved, and the strength and formation speed of the Golden Spirit Shield slowly increased accordingly.

Sweat gradually soaked his temples. After performing the technique more than ten times in a row, he felt a faint swelling pain in his meridians, and his spiritual power was nearly half depleted.

He stopped practicing his magic and meditated for half an hour.

The rich spiritual energy, combined with the residual effects of the spirit rice porridge, quickly replenished his energy. Once his spiritual power had recovered to about 70-80% and the discomfort in his meridians had subsided, he turned his attention to the Fireball Technique.

The ferocity and uncontrollability of fire-type spiritual power were on full display at this moment. Zhao Fan extended his right index finger, and with a slight thought, a wisp of pure fire spiritual power was extracted and danced at his fingertip.

He tried carefully, not aiming for immediate formation, but first sensing the volatile nature of the fire elemental power, attempting to use his mind to make it more obedient, and then guiding it to slowly stretch and shape.

The first few times, the flames either exploded suddenly or went out quickly.

Zhao Fan remained calm and composed. He recalled the key points of the "Flame Explosion Technique" regarding controlling fire with divine power and balancing strength and gentleness. He carefully wrapped his divine sense around that wisp of fire spiritual power, while adjusting the output frequency of his own spiritual power, attempting to resonate with it.

Gradually, the wisp of flame at his fingertip stabilized and, guided by his will, began to slowly lengthen and thin, its tip slightly raised, taking on the shape of a small snake, though still illusory and constantly twisting and swaying, extremely unstable.

Zhao Fan was completely focused, and the veins on his forehead were slightly visible.

He struggled to maintain this fragile balance, trying to steer the little fire snake forward.

However, just as the fire serpent's head emerged less than half a foot, the spiritual energy structure suddenly became disordered, and the fire serpent disintegrated into a small ball of sparks.