vstars Chapter 32 Twice the Speed of Mana Refining
Chapter 32 Twice the Speed of Mana Refining
Green sprout rice, priced at one and a half ling, is a better staple food than green rice.
A mid-grade first-level spiritual vein costs 100 fragments of spirit energy per month—a privilege only mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators can enjoy. It is said that early-stage Qi Refining cultivators can refine their mana twice as fast.
For a moment, the independent cultivators were restless and began to whisper among themselves, but most of them turned their attention to Fang Shi without prior arrangement.
Zhao Hu said frankly, "Brother Fang, you're sure to get the job! You understand formations; who else but you can do the job of repairing them?"
Most independent cultivators also think so.
Since we're recruiting, they definitely need some skills. They should either know earth magic and understand building structures, or they should know about formations.
Fang Shi had distinguished himself in the array master assessment at the Sanpan Bieyuan, so he was naturally the best candidate for the job.
However, the young Taoist shook his head and said loudly, "Anyone can apply, regardless of skill."
These words caused an uproar.
The young Taoist said, "Elder Xuanmu is compassionate. Seeing that the houses and formations in Zone B are severely damaged and the disaster victims are displaced, he has ordered that they be repaired and rebuilt as soon as possible so that the people can be settled quickly. Those who know earth magic, understand house construction, and are familiar with formations will naturally be better off. Those who do not know these skills can do some manual labor such as moving supplies and clearing ruins. In short, everyone can do their part."
As soon as he finished speaking, the rogue cultivators became excited.
"Elder Xuanmu is merciful! We rogue cultivators have no way to repay you but to do our best."
"That's right. The elder extinguished that turbid energy that soared into the sky with a single finger, and now he's still thinking of giving us work to do and providing spiritual veins for cultivation. This kindness is greater than the heavens."
"Yes, if it weren't for Elder Xuanmu, we would have all been swallowed by the turbid energy long ago. The elder is kind, and the Three Plates Temple is truly kind!"
Even Zhao Hu was excited. He had just congratulated Fang Shi, thinking he had no chance, but now that he found he could also sign up, he beamed with joy.
Fang Shi's expression remained unchanged.
He knew his own abilities and thought that applying for the job wouldn't be a problem. However, he estimated that there were about a hundred people in the Jia section. If so many people were hired, how many Soul Shards would that require?
But then he thought again that the entire area belonged to Sanpan Temple, and any amount of supplies would be just a drop in the ocean for Sanpan Temple, so he stopped thinking about it.
At this moment, Zhou De'an suddenly spoke up.
His gaze fell on Fang Shi, and he asked, "Are you Fang Shi?"
Fang Shi respectfully cupped his hands and said, "Yes, junior Fang Shi."
Zhou De'an asked, "I've heard that you slightly lost to Chen Santai in the assessment at the Three Pan Villas. Is that true?"
Fang Shi said, "Yes, this junior's skills are not good enough, I'm sorry to have made you laugh at me, senior."
Zhou De'an said, "Alright, go and repair the formation, and give me five more Soul Shards every day."
Upon hearing this, the other cultivators cast envious glances, but also felt it was only natural.
Following that, other independent cultivators in the Jia-character districts who understood formations and building structures were also named and received the same preferential treatment.
The treatment is the same as Fang Shi's, with an additional five Soul Shards per day.
Afterwards, the young Taoist gave a few instructions and told the rogue cultivators to go back and pack up, as they would be starting work soon.
Zhao Hu and Fang Shi left together, but after taking only a few steps, Zhao Hu suddenly slapped his thigh and exclaimed with a bitter face, "Oh no!"
Fang Shi asked, "What's wrong?"
Zhao Hu looked around and transmitted his voice, "Brother Fang, I was just thinking about that mid-grade first-level spiritual vein and felt like I'd made a huge profit. But now that I think about it, when we go to work in Zone B, carrying bricks and materials, clearing ruins, which of those things doesn't drain our meridians? After a day's work, our meridians are exhausted like dead dogs, how can we cultivate? Only those with children, letting their kids cultivate, are truly making a profit. Of course, there are also talents like Brother Fang, although cultivating formations is also tiring, it's still better than us carrying bricks."
Fang Shi also sent a telepathic reply, saying, "I can't do it. The so-called repair of the formation probably means rebuilding it from scratch, which is a very delicate task and will exhaust my meridians."
Zhao Hu gave a wry smile and transmitted his voice, "Those Three Plates Temples still can't bear to let us make any money for nothing. But at least we have some green sprout rice to eat, which is better than wasting our time in this shabby tent."
……
After they finished tidying up, Fang Shi and his group followed the young Taoist to a completely unrecognizable ruin.
The young Taoist turned around and said to the crowd, "This is Zone B. Everyone, let's get started."
Everyone looked at each other.
One of the rogue cultivators couldn't help but say, "This...isn't this reconstruction? Didn't they say that reconstruction would be arranged uniformly in three days? Why are they starting now?"
The young Taoist glanced at him and said indifferently, "The past is the past, the situation is different now, we can't wait three days. Elder Xuanmu has ordered that construction in Zone B must begin today. If anyone has any objections, you may leave."
Upon hearing this, the rogue cultivator dared not utter another word.
After the young Taoist priests had assigned the scattered cultivators to their posts—some to clear the ruins, some to move bricks and tiles, and some to build walls and beams—the ruins were filled with the clanging and clattering of metal.
Fang Shi and the other rogue cultivators responsible for repairing the array were led aside.
The young Taoist handed them a roll of blueprints, saying, "Look at the blueprints first, and only start working on them after you understand them. Only come and ask me if you really don't understand."
Fang Shi took his copy of the blueprint, found a flat rock nearby, sat down, and unfolded it to examine it closely.
The blueprint was three feet square, and it still depicted the Spirit Locking Array. However, since the houses in Zone B were rebuilt as a whole, the array structure was correspondingly more complex. It was densely covered with the direction of the array patterns, the location of the nodes, the coordinates of the array pivot stones, and even the width and depth of the Qi-guiding channels were clearly marked.
Fang Shi looked at the blueprints three times from beginning to end, and then mentally sketched out the routes of the air intake channels. He picked up the blueprints again and pondered the connections between the various nodes.
[Spirit Locking Array Proficiency +1]
[Spirit Locking Array Proficiency +1]
[Spirit Locking Array Proficiency -1]
After some time, Zhao Hu came over carrying a shovel and said, "Brother Fang, are you done looking? Let's get started! The foundation over there is almost cleared, now we're just waiting for you to set up the formation and build the walls."
Fang Shi agreed, took the cinnabar, the array pen, and the array pivot stone, and then walked towards his workstation.
The ruins have been cleared to create an open space. The outline of the foundation has been drawn on the ground with white lime, and several wooden stakes have been driven into the four corners. Straw ropes have been used to delineate the area around the house.
The bricklayers had already started laying the first layer of bricks, and Zhao Hu was carrying blue bricks to the construction site one trip after another.
Fang Shi squatted beside the foundation, first burying a pivot stone into the soil according to the coordinates on the drawing, pressing it down with his hand, and then using his magic power to probe into the stone to confirm that the interface between it and the earth veins had been opened and the spiritual energy between them had been connected.
Then he picked up the array brush, dipped it in cinnabar, and started from the array pivot stone, sketching array patterns stroke by stroke on the blue bricks of the foundation.
Where the brush tip touched, a pale blue luster seeped out, spreading slowly along the lines, like a stream flowing into a canal, dense and long.
After finishing drawing the main array patterns, he began to set up the Qi-guiding channels.
The channels are finer than the main patterns, and the requirements are more precise—each stroke must maintain a fixed angle with the main pattern, without deviation or slant. The magical power must be continuously injected into the brush tip from the fingertips to shape the framework of the array pattern; too much will overflow, and too little will break it.
It all depends on keeping your mind focused; you can't afford to relax for even a moment.
If you lose focus even slightly, the cinnabar will become smeared, the framework of the pattern will fall apart, and the entire brick will be ruined, requiring it to be pried out and repainted.
And this is just one brick—a room would have at least a hundred bricks.
[Spirit Locking Array Proficiency +1]
Zhao Hu carried the blue bricks past him and saw Fang Shi squatting on the ground, sweating profusely as he drew. He transmitted his voice and said, "Brother Fang, your work is too meticulous. I get tired just watching it."
Fang Shi transmitted his voice, saying, "Sanpan Temple will never arrange easy tasks for you to take advantage of."
Zhao Hu said, "At least you still have five Shattered Spirits."
As the sun gradually moved to its zenith, the young Taoist priest used his magical powers to carry ten large wooden barrels over, shouting, "Stop work! Stop work! Eat first, then we'll continue!"
The independent cultivators all put down what they were doing and gathered around the wooden tub.
The buckets contained rice cooked with green sprouts, and each person had a large bowl, which they ate while squatting on the ruins with a dish of pickled vegetables.
Fang Shi, holding his bowl, huddled among several array cultivators. They squatted together, eating and talking as they went.
"This air intake channel is too narrow. I drew three channels on the third household side, but each one was off-center. I had to pry up two bricks and start over."
"That's good. I was drawing the main pattern on the sixth brick, but halfway through, the brushstrokes split and the cinnabar smeared into a mess, ruining the whole brick. I had to dig it out and repave it, which took up almost half an hour."
"The hardest part wasn't the drawing itself, it was the pivot stone. The location marked on the drawing was accurate to the inch, and I measured it several times before I dared to bury it. But when I drew in the spiritual energy, it still went astray, so I dug it out and buried it again."
The group chatted amongst themselves, all complaining about the tediousness and intricacy of setting up the formation.
They had all participated in the Three Courtyards Assessment, and their array formation skills were much more solid than those of ordinary independent cultivators. However, they still found it difficult to deal with the rebuilt residences in the Yi District.
Fang Shi squatted to one side, eating silently without interrupting.
A formation cultivator surnamed Sun suddenly turned to him and said, "Fellow Daoist Fang, you drew the best formation diagrams in the separate courtyard assessment. Although you lost to Chen Santai, everyone was convinced. Just now, the formation you set up at the seventh household, I noticed that the angles of the qi-guiding channels were handled particularly smoothly. How did you draw it?"
Fang Shi put down his bowl and said, "There's no secret. When you're guiding the spirit, don't rush to fill the entire passage with your magic power. First, go through the main path and let the spiritual energy flow through the main runes, then draw the branches. Draw the angles of the branches in the direction of the tangent to the main runes, and they'll naturally align."
The man suddenly realized and said, "Tangent direction—how come I didn't think of that? I always draw the branches first and then connect them to the main line, no wonder it's always off-center."
Before he finished speaking, several more rogue cultivators came over to ask him questions, and Fang Shi answered them one by one.
[Spirit Locking Array Proficiency +1]
[Spirit Locking Array Proficiency +1]
[Spirit Locking Array Proficiency +1]
Everyone expressed their gratitude.
Fang Shi waved his hand and said, "You're welcome."
After everyone finished asking their questions, the topic gradually shifted to other things.
"Setting up an array is too taxing on my meridians. After a whole morning, the meridians in my arms are numb. Even if I can go to cultivate in a mid-grade first-level spiritual vein tonight, I still won't be able to refine my magic power."
"You should be content. At least we still have five Soul Shards, while those bricklayers don't even have any."
"But bricklaying doesn't take much mental effort; you can rest as soon as you're done. Our job, however, keeps us constantly on edge, and it's much more tiring than bricklaying."
Several array cultivators nodded in agreement.
The man surnamed Sun said, "That's right. I drew four houses this morning, and my mind is completely blank now. There are still six more to go this afternoon. I don't know if I can manage."
"Only those with children profit. Children don't have to work; they use our tokens to cultivate in the spiritual veins—it's a freebie. Those of us without children work ourselves to the bone, and in the end, we don't even have the energy to cultivate."
Upon hearing this, the array cultivators who had children fell silent, lowered their heads, and quietly drank their porridge.
Fang Shi didn't interrupt, holding his bowl and eating quietly to the side.
Before long, the young Taoist priest started shouting again, "Get back to work now that you've rested enough! Section B needs to be half finished today, don't dawdle!"
The independent cultivators rose and returned to their respective places.
Fang Shi picked up the array brush, walked back to the foundation, and continued to draw the array patterns.
Zhao Hu carried another bundle of timber past, his steps much heavier than in the morning.
He stopped beside Fang Shi to catch his breath and transmitted his voice, "Brother Fang, do you think this work is even human? I've been carrying bricks all morning, my back aches and my legs hurt. I thought carrying bricks was the easiest job, but now it seems there's no such thing as an easy job, it's all hard labor."
He wiped the sweat from his brow and asked, "How's it going on your end? You've been drawing meridians all morning, are they alright?"
Fang Shi didn't look up. His proficiency with the Spirit Locking Array was increasing, and he was becoming more and more relaxed. The array brush moved slowly across the blue bricks. He said, "Not bad."
Zhao Hu gave a wry smile: "Not bad? I don't think your job is easy either. We rogue cultivators are really unlucky. The little bit of benefit that the Three Plates Temple gives us, we can hardly actually eat."
After Fang Shi finished drawing a channel for drawing in qi, he straightened his back and transmitted his voice, "Alright, stop complaining. Having work to do is better than having nothing. As long as we got the Green Sprout Rice, it was worth it."
……
The sun moved from east to west, and its orange-red light fell on the ruins, turning the broken walls and rubble into a dark red.
The young Taoist boy brought over ten more wooden barrels, shouting, "That's it! That's it! Let's eat first, then we'll head to the spiritual vein!"
The independent cultivators put down their tools and gathered around the wooden barrel.
Dinner was the same as lunch: rice with green sprouts and a dish of pickled vegetables. This time, Fang Shi and Zhao Hu ate together.
Fang ate quickly, and after finishing, he put down his bowl and performed a set of the Seven Steps of Spirit Invocation in the open space.
As soon as he finished his attack, Zhao Hu wiped his mouth and stood up, his fatigue long since replaced by excitement: "Brother Fang, let's go to the spiritual vein!"
The spiritual vein is located on the side near Panshi, about two miles away from the ruins of the Yi-character district rebuilt by Fang Shi and others.
Fang Shi and Zhao Hu walked over and saw a cluster of low stone houses in the distance.
A faint, ethereal light, like a thin mist, enveloped the entire stone house.
That was the formation set up by the Three Plates Temple—it was because of it that this spiritual vein was not destroyed by the earth vein explosion.
Upon getting closer, Fang Shi discovered that there were not many stone houses, only about ten, each about two zhang square.
A long queue had already formed at the entrance. He looked up and saw that the people at the front of the line were all parents with children. The children were standing close together, some of them carrying schoolbags, clearly waiting to use their spiritual veins for cultivation.
Zhao Hu glanced at the queue, sighed, and said, "Brother Fang, we're late. How long will it take to get here?"
Fang Shi said, "No rush, let's wait."
After waiting for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the line moved forward a little.
Zhao Hu, unable to stay idle any longer, transmitted his voice, "Brother Fang, although our meridians are severely exhausted and we can't refine much mana, this mid-grade spiritual vein can purify our physique and restore mana quickly. Even if we only soak for half an hour tonight, it's better than sitting idly in the tent in Zone A, don't you think?"
Fang Shi nodded, but didn't reply, his mind still replaying the array patterns from the daytime—
[Spirit Locking Array Proficiency +1]
【Spirit Locking Array (Proficient): 30/200】
The line was still slowly moving forward.
When it was Fang Shi's turn, just as he was about to take a step, a woman suddenly cut in from the side.
She pulled a five- or six-year-old girl in front of her and said to Fang Shi, "Fellow Daoist, my daughter needs to take the entrance exam for Songyuan Academy, and she urgently needs this spiritual vein. Your meridians are already so exhausted; going in won't help you recover much. What difference does it make if you go in a moment earlier or later? Why not let her go in first?"