To prevent the strange spiritual vine from once again siphoning off the spiritual energy in the field, Chen Jinshu promptly sealed it away.
She used a simple confinement technique—a spiritual force barrier—encircling the vine to restrict its movements. The barrier would last a day or two at most.
Sensing that it had been restrained, the vine lashed its tendrils wildly in protest, whipping at the barrier in an attempt to escape.
"Enough of that! You're not stealing any more spiritual energy," Jinshu scolded, hands on her hips. "I've already loosened the soil around here. The underground leyline is starting to release energy again."
After addressing the vine, she emptied the last of her Frost Pond Water from her storage flask onto the spiritual field.
Once she activated the formation again, she made another trip to collect fresh Frost Pond Water before finally leaving the medicinal garden.
She planned to water the spiritual fields within her inner planting space as soon as she returned.
…
Three quarters of an hour later, following the markings on her sect's map, she finally located the Sect Scripture Pavilion.
It was situated on Huayang Peak, one of the five central peaks of the Xuanming Sect. Though it was the smallest of the five, it was also the most heavily protected—its defensive formations were unparalleled. After all, this was where the sect's thousand-year legacy was stored.
Jinshu walked across the iron chain bridge suspended between the peaks and arrived at the middle one—Huayang. From there, she climbed the stone steps along the mountainside and at last reached the entrance to the Pavilion.
Several other disciples were making their way up as well, but none were familiar to her, so she kept her distance.
Soon, with her disciple's token in hand, she entered the Scripture Pavilion. From the outside, the Scripture Pavilion looked spacious; inside, it was even more vast than expected.
As an outer sect disciple, she was only permitted access up to the third floor. Servant disciples were limited to the first and second floors.
The first floor housed travelogues, sect history, and cultivation memoirs. The second floor was where basic cultivation techniques and arts were stored. The third contained their advanced counterparts. As for the fourth floor—she'd heard from her senior brother that only Foundation Establishment elders were allowed access.
Her objective today was clear: choose one main cultivation technique, and three supportive arts.
Among the options commonly practiced on Medicine King Peak, there were three primary cultivation techniques recommended: Xuanming True Scripture, Verdant Wood Rebirth Formula, and Five Elements Heaven-Derivation Method.
The Xuanming True Scripture was the most widely practiced technique in the sect. It was neutral in attribute, suitable for disciples of any spiritual root. Though it lacked specialized advantages, it offered a solid foundation and robust spiritual energy.
The Verdant Wood Rebirth Formula was the favored choice among disciples of Medicine King Peak. Its wood-based spiritual energy accelerated spiritual plant growth and carried healing properties.
The final one, Five Elements Heaven-Derivation Method, was the most unique. It could be cultivated by any combination of roots and allowed even single-attribute cultivators to harness the five elements. With her triple roots of gold, fire, and wood, Jinshu could use them as a base to derive water and earth, completing the elemental cycle. With mastery, she could use five-elemental spiritual energy to fuel any spell.
Upon reaching the third floor, she quickly settled on the Verdant Wood Rebirth Formula.
Her current family-taught method, Chángqīng Jué, was already rooted in wood-based energy, so switching to a similar technique would make the transition easier.
"If I'm going with the Verdant Wood path, I might as well pick complementary techniques."
She already had Rainbow Step for quick escapes, Veiled Breath Art for concealing her cultivation, and two offensive techniques—Golden Needle Art and Spring Thunder Strike. All she lacked now was a defensive spell.
After a while, her gaze landed on a jade slip labeled Wooden Spirit Shield.
Wooden Spirit Shield allowed her to conjure a shield of spiritual vines in front of her, maintained by her internal wood energy. As long as she had spiritual power to sustain it, the shield could remain active indefinitely.
Her next choice was Blinding Flame Mist, which created a three-zhang radius of fire-gold mist around her. It disrupted spiritual senses and could both obscure her movements and hinder enemy tracking.
For her final technique, she selected Woodland Recovery—a healing art that treated minor wounds. It was specifically designed to pair with the Verdant Wood Rebirth Formula.
After securing her techniques, she spent some time searching the archive for information on the Frost Pool Medicinal Garden.
…
Two hours passed in a flash. By the time she returned to Ink Plum Courtyard, the sun had already dipped toward the western horizon.
She fed some golden-grain rice beneath the Shadow Finch's nest before heading into her room.
Despite combing through records, she found little mention of the Frost Pool Garden in sect documentation. Most references concerned the shattering of the Ice Spirit Pearl and how its remnants merged into a nearby spiritual vein.
Still, she did uncover a few anomalies: several plots in the garden exhibited strange phenomena. No matter how much Frost Pond Water or spiritual fertilizer was used, the spiritual energy in these fields would mysteriously vanish by the next day.
As a result, those plots had become the worst-performing sections of the garden. The spiritual herbs grown there received so little nourishment they either withered or grew stunted and malnourished.
Even the golden core elders of Medicine King Peak had investigated but came up empty-handed.
Upon reading this, her thoughts instantly turned to the strange spiritual vine. It had likely been feeding on spiritual energy for years without anyone noticing.
"Why was I the first to discover it?"
She pondered briefly before realizing the cause. The garden had been left untended for too long. The frigid surroundings must have frozen the energy flow, starving the vine. Driven by hunger, it had finally slipped up and revealed itself.
When she first spotted that broken-off tendril, she'd mistaken it for a dead spiritual plant. Who would have guessed it was a living vine?
"What exactly is this vine? It even developed spiritual awareness…"
Her curiosity grew. She pulled out the Compendium of Rare and Spiritual Flora she had borrowed from the Scripture Pavilion and began flipping through it. A few moments later, she'd practically worn the book out—but still hadn't found a match.
"Forget it. I'll water the field first."
She set the book aside and activated her spiritual space.
Inside, four acres of fields stood ready—and four exquisite Snow Lotus Flowers were in full bloom.
Their snowy petals shimmered with golden light, the yellow-tinted cores glowing faintly with multicolored radiance. Each flower stood about ten inches tall.
"They actually bloomed! Though it'll be a few more days before they're fully mature."
She knew they reached maturity when the yellow center darkened toward purple and the petals became pure, crystalline white.
"Let's test the Frost Pond Water."
From her storage bag, she retrieved a fresh flask and began watering the plants. As the water splashed down with a soft whoosh, a fine mist of sparkling droplets rose into the air. It looked like a rainbow was being born above the field.
Moments later, a cool fog of spiritual energy drifted across the planting space—a sure sign of oversaturation.
"The spiritual energy content… It's even richer than Spiritual Rain Art."
Delighted, she moved to the roots of two Wood Spirit Peach Trees and poured the remaining water.
…
Half an hour later.
Chen Jinshu sat cross-legged in her room, beginning her first cultivation session with the Verdant Wood Rebirth Formula. As the advanced version of her family technique, it posed no major difficulty.
Within thirty minutes of focused practice, she was already beginning to grasp its essence.
Still, to be safe, she took a dose of Moonspirit Honey—a rare elixir known to boost comprehension. The moment it touched her tongue, her lotus-shaped birthmark on her forehead pulsed and absorbed it. A faint golden mist of enlightenment slowly emerged.
As she inhaled the mist, the once-fuzzy circulation patterns of the technique crystallized clearly in her mind.
"So that's how it flows…"
As she activated the technique, a soft green glow enveloped her body. Her features took on a gentle radiance, her skin becoming smoother, paler—almost ethereal.
After three complete cycles, she felt an extraordinary inner calm. And, curiously, she noticed something else:
"This technique… refines beauty too?"
Her reflection in the water mirror was noticeably fairer than before.