115: Cultivating the Fog-Condensing Fir

"Again!"

Zhang Sheng let out a low cry and once more formed hand seals to cast the Spring Breeze Turning into Rain Technique.

This time, the condensed spirit rain water sphere was carefully controlled by him, precisely watering the mist-condensing spirit fir.

The spirit fir's branches and leaves trembled slightly, greedily absorbing the dew containing pure Spiritual Qi.

After more than half of the watering, the spirit fir finally stopped absorbing. Water light flowed between its branches and leaves, but no obvious changes were visible for now.

"I can only wait and see..." Zhang Sheng retracted his hand seals, his gaze falling on the spirit fir, a hint of anticipation in his eyes... Meanwhile, within the Planting Base of the First Cultivation University's Spiritual Plant College.

A young man was fully focused on forming seals and casting a Spell.

As his hands flew, wisps of Spiritual Qi gathered, and a solid spirit cloud, ten meters in diameter, slowly formed above his head.

The young man, Xie He, looked at the massive spirit cloud, an uncontrollable joy flashing in his eyes.

Just two days ago, he had only just learned this Spring Breeze Turning into Rain Technique. At that time, even with all his might, he could only condense a small cloud mass one meter in diameter.

After just dozens or a hundred practices, he had made such rapid progress!

"Xiao He, that's amazing!" A kind-faced middle-aged uncle beside him praised with a smile, "Young people learn things so quickly!"

This uncle, known as "Uncle Dashan," was over forty years old, but he had Awakened a decent SS-Rank Talent and passed the First University's general recruitment.

To cope with the increasingly severe situation and demand for Talent, First University now conducts general recruitment once a month.

Although the intervals are short and the quotas are small, the goal is clear—to absorb elites and continuously supply fresh blood to special forces.

The entire university's education system is also rapidly improving.

Colleges like the Artifact Refining College and Spiritual Plant College, which were once mere facades, now gradually have substantive courses and achievements. Malicious incidents like Xu Anmin's have not been heard of since then.

"Uncle Dashan, you flatter me," Xie He scratched his head, a little embarrassed. "Compared to my senior brothers and sisters, I'm still far behind."

The uncle gently patted his shoulder: "Don't rush, Xiao He, you're still young, you have plenty of time. You'll definitely catch up to them, and even surpass them, in the future."

Coming to Huaxia and entering the First Cultivation University was like stepping into a new world for Xie He.

He quickly learned the Huaxia language and worked hard to adapt to the pace of life here.

However, the sense of disparity with reality also accompanied him at all times.

In this place where Geniuses gathered, S-Rank and SS-Rank Talents were everywhere. His once proud Talent seemed ordinary here.

This disparity transformed into a burning motivation in Xie He's heart.

He dared not slack off in the slightest; Cultivation occupied almost all his time. There was no entertainment, no relaxation, only one thought in his mind: he must not embarrass the "Big Brother" who brought him back—Zhang Sheng.

Just then, Xie He's Smart Terminal vibrated on his wrist.

Seeing the words "Brother Sheng" flashing on the screen, Xie He's heart skipped a beat, and an indescribable excitement instantly surged within him!

These past few days, he had checked his terminal countless times, both anticipating news from Zhang Sheng and vaguely worrying whether his progress would satisfy the other party.

"Brother Sheng..." He took a deep breath and answered the call.

After receiving Zhang Sheng's instructions, Xie He didn't delay for a moment and quickly ran towards Zhang Sheng's residence.

Soon, he stood before Zhang Sheng.

After only a few days apart, Zhang Sheng found that Xie He had a completely new look. His fluffy, messy hair had been cut into a neat short style, just like his own. He was full of vigor, and his eyes were much brighter, no longer showing the disheveled state he was in before.

"Brother Sheng, you called for me," Xie He saluted respectfully.

"Xie He, are you getting used to things here?" Zhang Sheng observed him, his tone gentle.

"How to put it?" Xie He's face was beaming with a sincere smile. "It feels like a dream, like I've come to heaven. Everyone takes good care of me, everything is so good it feels unreal."

"Haha, it's good that you're getting used to it." Zhang Sheng smiled and cut to the chase, "How is your Cultivation of the Heavenly Circulation Method progressing?"

Zhang Sheng had a dual purpose in bringing Xie He back:

Firstly, to delve deeper into his rare SS-Rank Talent, Practice Makes Perfect, and secondly, to Cultivate an absolutely loyal and capable assistant.

"Brother Sheng, I spend most of my day Cultivating the Heavenly Circulation Method," Xie He's voice was a little lower, with a hint of apprehension,

"I've now reached the 'One Refining Twenty-Six Spirits' Realm... I wonder if you are satisfied with this progress?"

"How do you utilize your Talent during Cultivation?" Zhang Sheng pressed.

"Whenever my Mental Energy recovers slightly, I immediately activate my Talent and continue until I feel dizzy before stopping," Xie He answered honestly. "Being able to reach 'One Refining Twenty-Six Spirits' so quickly is entirely due to the effect of my Talent."

Zhang Sheng pondered this. If the SS-Rank Practice Makes Perfect could only achieve this speed, then the gap compared to his own Talent was not small.

Moreover, Xie He's Talent required continuous consumption of Mental Energy to be effective, which was far inferior to his own—his Talent consumed very little Mental Energy only at the moment of learning and comprehension.

The key now was to observe: could Xie He's Practice Makes Perfect push the Heavenly Circulation Method to the Transcendent, or even Perfection, Realm?

If it truly could Cultivate to the Transcendent Realm, how long would it take?

"Xie He," Zhang Sheng made a decision, "From now on, you temporarily don't need to attend the regular courses of the Spiritual Plant College.

Your core task is to focus solely on Cultivating the Heavenly Circulation Method and the Spring Breeze Turning into Rain Technique.

Report your Cultivation progress to me once a day. I will make all other arrangements for you."

"Yes, Brother Sheng! I will obey you!" Xie He agreed without hesitation, his tone respectful and firm.

Initially, Hou Wu brought Xie He back and arranged for him to enter the Spiritual Plant College according to Zhang Sheng's wishes.

Zhang Sheng then dialed Dean Yan of the Spiritual Plant College.

"Oh, it's you, Zhang Sheng!" Dean Yan's hearty voice came from the other end of the communication. "Did the sun rise from the west today? What made you think of contacting this old man?"

"Dean Yan, look at what you're saying," Zhang Sheng chuckled. "It's this Junior's fault for not visiting you recently, I apologize..."

After smoothly arranging Xie He's affairs, Zhang Sheng led him to the tall mist-condensing spirit fir tree.

He reached out and, with a 'snap,' broke off a thumb-thick, vibrant branch from the spirit fir.

"Xie He, take this." Zhang Sheng handed over the branch. "Take it back, find some good spirit soil, plant it, and take good care of it."

"In the coming days, when you Cultivate the Spring Breeze Turning into Rain Technique, use the condensed spirit rain to water it."

Zhang Sheng's gaze held anticipation,

"If you can Cultivate this branch into a big tree like the spirit fir in front of me... then, I will give you a special reward."

Xie He carefully took the verdant branch, as if holding a rare treasure. A drop of milky white sap had already seeped from the cut end.

His eyes were firm, and he solemnly promised: "Brother Sheng, rest assured! I will do my utmost to Cultivate it well!"

Watching Xie He's receding figure as he hurried towards the Planting Base with the branch, Zhang Sheng was lost in thought.

He had long learned from Xiao Ling that the mist-condensing spirit fir on the Tianxing Continent possessed extremely tenacious vitality and could be propagated asexually through cuttings.

If Xie He could successfully Cultivate a seedling, it would mean that this valuable spirit plant had the potential for large-scale cultivation.

The value of the mist-condensing spirit fir was far beyond mere ornamentation.

It could spontaneously condense and enhance the Spiritual Qi concentration of its surroundings, making it an excellent aid for Cultivation. Its cones, when consumed directly, had the miraculous effect of calming the mind and stabilizing the spirit.

More importantly, this tree could grow up to the fourth tier! Although that would require a long time, what Zhang Sheng urgently needed now was a second-tier mist-condensing spirit fir.

—Because its fruit was one of the indispensable main ingredients for refining the spirit gathering pill!

Refining spirit gathering pills solely with Divine Breath Realm Beast meat as the main ingredient was not only inefficient and insufficient to support his own Cultivation needs for breaking through to Perfected State, but also impossible to popularize.

The core requirement for the spirit gathering pill was the essence of a Divine Breath Realm living being rich in Spiritual Qi, not specifically a Yao Beast. A second-tier spirit plant was equivalent to the Divine Breath Realm, and its essence-rich fruit was the perfect substitute.

If the spirit fir could be cultivated on a large scale, the problem of the spirit gathering pill's main ingredient would be easily solved!

Returning to the quiet room in the villa, Zhang Sheng composed himself, preparing to Cultivate the newly acquired second-tier defensive Spell—the Profound Light Shield.

The first-tier "Spirit Shield Spell" was too fragile when facing a large number of Divine Breath Realm attacks, breaking too quickly, and could no longer keep up with his rapidly increasing combat power needs.

It was truly like a pillow arriving just when one was sleepy.

That afternoon, Hou Wu, as usual, delivered several blue Jade Slips found in a Secret Realm.

Zhang Sheng used the extraordinary ability of his Spirit Ring to investigate the Spell or Cultivation Technique information contained within each Jade Slip.

The fluctuations emanating from one of the Jade Slips caught his attention.

Upon identification, a hint of surprise flashed in Zhang Sheng's eyes—it was actually a second-tier Spell specifically for cultivating spirit plants: the Azure Rain Art!