"Yawn..."
Qinghe County, secluded valley, within the stone room Fang Yuan used for training.
Fang Yuan stood up, stretched and looked at his own hands and legs. He chuckled. "In the dream, I am an indestructible, immortal-killing demon, but in this world, I am nothing..."
"The difference between reality and dream is scary... I've heard that some dream masters were so deeply immersed in the dream world that they forgot their true selves, voluntarily staying in the dream world..."
Fang Yuan looked solemn.
In reality, who could say that the dream world was not a real one?
Compared to just existing in the real world, the dream masters who could achieve something in the dream world were better off.
"These types of reparation are a form of escape, and I will never accept it!"
Fang Yuan took a quick glance at his stats window:
"Name: Fang Yuan
Essence: 8.0
Spirit: 7.9
Magic: 4.5
Profession: Dream Disciple
Cultivation: [Martial Artist (11th Gate)]
Technique: [Black Sand Palm (Grade 5)], [Eagle Claw Iron Skin Technique (Grade 11) (Able to harness Elemental Force)]
Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 3)]"
"Very good! This time after the dream, I was able to gain '0.4' in magical energy, and had quite a bit of dream disciple cultivation..."
He was pleased with the result. As he triggered the mechanism, the stone moved aside and sunlight poured into the room, making him squint his eyes.
"Young master!"
Outside the room stood a young servant, who approached Fang Yuan to pass him a towel.
"Little Pearl... How long have I been inside?"
Fang Yuan wiped his forehead and asked.
"One day and one night!"
Little Pearl had baby cheeks, white skin, a plump figure and looked flirtatious in her smile. He didn't know how Zhou Wenwu found this girl; she was rather thoughtful.
When Fang Yuan returned to the pavilion, a chef served a bowl of porridge made from spiritual rice and a few other dishes.
"One day and one night?"
Little Pearl scooped some soup and proceeded to feed him, while Fang Yuan remained in shock. 'It seems that time passes much faster in the dream world, and will change the rate of how fast time passes? This is a little advantage... Without reaching Wu Zong, I am able to let the elemental force nourish my body. Which martial artist would dare to isolate himself for more than three days?'
After sorting his thoughts out, Fang Yuan opened his mouth and a mouthful of porridge came.
He just had to look at the dish, and Little Pearl would get it for him; she was extremely thoughtful. Fang Yuan could enjoy the life like a master.
"Little Pearl, where are you from?"
He pinched her cheeks, which felt extremely smooth to the touch.
"I... I am from Lieyang County, and was sent by my aunt to Master Zhou's place..."
Little Pearl looked down and whispered softly.
"I see..."
Fang Yuan realised that Zhou Wenwu spent a lot of effort in selecting the servants for him, and as for how many families he destroyed, no one would know.
"Are you literate?"
"A little!"
"Very well, I will teach you a part of a magical technique, and you can pass it on to the other servants!"
Fang Yuan squinted his eyes. "The servants of the secluded valley must be different from the rest!"
With the resources he had, it was effortless for him to train and maintain a batch of martial artists. He had even prepared the Xuan Yin Heart Technique for them to learn!
This was a secret technique passed down within the Five Ghosts Sect, and could be used to cultivate up till Wu Zong, which was a testament to its potential.
Furthermore, after reaching a high grade, there might be consequences and therefore Fang Yuan was unwilling to try it out for himself; he only took parts of it to adapt, but now he finally found a use to it.
What would be the consequence?
Fang Yuan glanced at Little Pearl.
Seeing the potential of these servants, if they did not have his help, it would be lucky for them to train and harness inner force on their own; they wouldn't think about the Four Heavenly Gates.
If the Xuan Yin Heart Technique really had to potential to break through Wu Zong, then no one in the right mind would present it as a gift.
After his meal, Fang Yuan became energetic and walked around the secluded valley.
"Good day Young Master!"
"Good day Young Master!"
Amidst all the greetings, Zhang Sheng was sweeping the floor, undisturbed. Fang Yuan left him alone, nodded his head, and went to the spiritual farm.
"Master Fang!"
A few farmers who were farming came over. "The Vermilion Jade Rice is growing very well, and cannot be compared with the previous farmed I worked at. We are going to get a bountiful harvest soon!"
They were all sweating profusely and were jubilant at their efforts.
Of course, other than them, the guard of the spiritual farm, and the Flower Fox Ferret had their contributions too.
Although Fang Yuan did not put too much thought about these small things, he still had to guard against those who would secretly target the Vermilion Jade Rice.
Because of that, the Flower Fox Ferret stayed in the secluded valley. With it serving as a deterrence, and Zhang Sheng as a spy, no one could plot anything on the farm.
"Keke!"
Fang Yuan became speechless as he saw the Flower Fox Ferret sit at a side and instructed a servant in green to roast meat for him.
He noticed Fang Yuan and swiftly ran to his side, trying to please him.
Disregarding the spiritual tea and spiritual rice, in the heart of the Flower Fox Ferret, he preferred Fang Yuan's roast meat over the that of the servants.
He tapped his chest, as though he meant that he was hard at work making sure that nothing happened around the spiritual farm.
"You guys have worked hard!"
Fang Yuan stroked the Flower Fox Ferret's head and got everyone around the spiritual farm to gather. "When the spiritual rice ripens, everyone will get their share!"
"Thank you, master!"
The servants were jubilant after hearing this and offered their thanks.
"Hmm!"
Fang Yang waved, turned a few rounds to appease the crowd, and left the secluded valley.
Behind the mountains, the Iron-tailed Black Eagle was waiting and stared at Fang Yuan as he approached.
"Let's go! To the Green Peak spiritual land!"
Fang Yuan leapt on the back of the Iron-tailed Black Eagle and was decisive.
The secluded valley was his connection to the outside world; his real base was the large Green Peak spiritual land.
"Chirp!"
The Iron-tailed Black Eagle shot into the sky and disappeared...
Green Peak spiritual land, middle of the mountains.
A few straw pavilions were made out of rough workmanship, and there was a simple garden in front, albeit not well-maintained.
"The riches of this world is like a passing cloud..."
After experiencing the world and how everyone wanted to bribe him with riches, he had a totally different feeling after arriving here.
His cultivation as a dream disciple made him appreciative of nature. He came down from the eagle's back and immediately went to check on the Questioning Heart Tea and Flame Jade Rice.
Loosening the soil, fertilizing, watering... Every move was real.
After doing everything, and looking at both spiritual plants growing well, Fang Yuan sighed. "We now have a steady supply of Questioning Heart Tea, but we will have to wait for a few more seasons for the Flame Jade Rice..."
One stalk of rice would obviously not be enough for consumption. Fang Yuan was also a generous person. He would not forget the Flower Fox Ferret's and the Iron-tailed Black Eagle's share.
"Simmering the spiritual rice could damage it. I've heard that some alchemy masters can directly produce spiritual pills from spiritual rice. One pill would be able to sustain one for days, and the nutritious value would be preserved in the pill, which makes it the most efficient way of using spiritual rice..."
With random thoughts in his head, he looked at the other spiritual objects and was surprised.
"This is..."
He approached the small platform which in it planted the spiritual bamboo. He noticed a few small shoots appearing from what was a flat ground, and one would not notice it if they did not look hard enough.
"The bamboo fruit has germinated?"
Fang Yuan was ecstatic.
In his view, a cloud of red-white smoke appeared and was absorbed by the stats window. The 'Level 3' behind [Botany] became blurred.
Under all his hard work, he had already filled the proficiency points for [Botany] to the brim and was just lacking in opportunity for him to break through.
The germination of the bamboo shoots fulfilled the criteria, like how he managed to plant the spiritual plants the previous time. The [Botany (Level 3)] jumped a little, and became '4'.
[Botany (Level 4)]!!!
Fang Yuan was filled with emotions and looked at the description:
"[Botany (Level 4)] - Your hands have now surpassed a mortal's, and through your cultivation of the spiritual plants, the chances of a special trait evolving have increased, and now there is some chance of awakening some special abilities."
"[Botany (Level 4)], indeed requires the experience of planting a high-level spiritual plant!"
Fang Yuan clenched his fist and had a rough plan to break through his [Medicine].
"Increasing in chances of special traits evolving. Does that mean that my spiritual plants now have a higher probability to be evolved?"
He thought through carefully about the description and focused on every word. "Chance of awakening some astonishing ability? What does that mean?"
The system on him was not sentient and had no mind of its own; he had to base on his own deductions, and the answer would not just appear.
The surprised Fang Yuan looked at other spiritual plants, hoping for another such thing to happen.
However, this time, only one of the many germinated.
"The growth of the spiritual bamboo may take hundreds of years... Even though I might have the spiritual fertilizer, there is only so much time I can expedite..."
Walking out of the garden, Fang Yuan sighed.
"Maybe... The only hope is to keep increasing my [Botany] Level!"
Since he could increase the chances of evolving a special trait, shortening the growth period of the plant could be a possibility?!
Fang Yuan's thoughts ran wild. If he could plant plants that require hundreds or thousands of years in a matter of years, then his [Botany] would be the top of the world!
Of course, the condition was that he had to keep his skill a secret, or cover and hide from spies.
With some motivation, Fang Yuan went to take a look at the red-eyed white kind bird.
It decided to not eat any food and became skinnier. It was pitiful, but Fang Yuan had no thoughts of releasing it. If it did not agree to be tamed, he would let it die here!