Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Skillful Level Spirit Rain Technique

Shen Ji stopped closing the door, the disgust on her face deepening.

"What, your sweetheart gets into the Outer Sect and suddenly you think you have a backer? Are you trying to threaten me?"

Jiang Xu quickly denied it.

"No, no, no, that’s not what I mean."

Jiang Xu cleared his throat, a confident look on his face as he spoke:

"You were right at the beginning. Nie Mengyun’s cultivation aptitude is poor. I did indeed sponsor her with a lot of cultivation resources, which is how she managed to reach the Qi Cultivation Third Layer."

"But do you know why, even after giving Nie Mengyun a large portion of my harvested Spirit Rice, I’m still on the verge of advancing to the Qi Cultivation Third Layer?"

Shen Ji was drawn in by Jiang Xu’s words and couldn’t help but ask:

"Why?"

"It’s all because I’m exceptionally talented. My understanding of the Spirit Rain Technique is unique. The Spirit Rain Technique I cast can drastically increase the yield of the Spirit Rice in the Spirit Fields. That’s how I was able to support the cultivation expenses of two people."

Jiang Xu clasped his hands behind his back and gazed at the sky, putting on a profound and mysterious air.

"This..." Shen Ji was speechless. "Why are you telling me all this? What does it have to do with me?"

"Of course it does!"

Jiang Xu said decisively.

"As long as I cast a more advanced Spirit Rain Technique on Fellow Daoist Shen’s Spirit Field, your Spirit Rice yield will increase accordingly. And all this will only cost you a small loan of Spirit Rice!"

Shen Ji was visibly tempted.

The 2,400 catties collected by the General Affairs Hall was a fixed quota.

As long as you handed over that amount, they didn’t care about the rest. Even if you grew five or six thousand catties, the General Affairs Hall only required you to turn in 2,400; the rest was yours.

But since the Spirit Fields cultivated by servants were of the lowest grade, their yields weren’t high. The servants were also only at the beginning of Qi Cultivation and had no way to increase their Spirit Field’s output. They were lucky if the yield didn’t decrease.

But if what Jiang Xu said was true, it meant she could harvest more Spirit Rice for herself.

In that light, lending Jiang Xu a little Spirit Rice seemed like a trivial matter in comparison.

The strength in Shen Ji’s hand slackened slightly, and her attitude toward Jiang Xu softened a little, but she still asked doubtfully:

"If what you’re saying is true, shouldn’t you have started earning commissions from the other servants for casting your Spirit Rain Technique long ago? Why would you need to come running to me?"

Jiang Xu’s eyes lit up. He knew Shen Ji was about to take the bait. He immediately sighed and said:

"Alas, you don’t understand. I once thought about doing what you suggested, but I gave up on the idea.

You’re inexperienced with the ways of the world; you don’t understand the concept of insatiable greed.

I can only cast the Spirit Rain Technique a few times a day. Besides my own Spirit Field, I can only cast it for two or three other people’s fields.

Tell me, how would the other servants who couldn’t get what they wanted look at me? By then, it would probably turn into jealousy and hatred, wouldn’t it?"

Shen Ji hadn’t expected Jiang Xu to have such a thorough understanding of human nature. In her shock, her opinion of him changed drastically. She even started to think there might be a hidden reason for why Jiang Xu had sponsored Nie Mengyun.

But Shen Ji was still a bit puzzled:

"Then based on what you said, why would you come here and expose your ability to me? Also, is your Spirit Rain Technique really that powerful?"

"You were kind enough to warn me back then, so I know you’re an upright person. Plus, I’m truly at a dead end right now, which is why I chose to trust you. As for my Spirit Rain Technique, you’ll know once you see it."

After speaking, Jiang Xu pulled back his smarting foot and, without looking back, headed toward Shen Ji’s Spirit Field.

Seeing Jiang Xu leave and head toward her Spirit Field, Shen Ji didn’t hesitate. She pushed the door open and chased after him.

Hearing the footsteps behind him, Jiang Xu remained outwardly calm, but inside, he was ecstatic.

’Haha!’ 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

’This little girl hasn’t been around many people. She really is easy to fool!’

That was right.

In reality, Jiang Xu had been spouting nonsense. His goal was simply to borrow Spirit Rice from Shen Ji so he could save up his Spirit Stones to buy Elixirs.

As for why Jiang Xu was still on the verge of advancing to the Qi Cultivation Third Layer after giving so much Spirit Rice to Nie Mengyun...

It was because Jiang Xu actually had Four Spirit Roots, and they weren’t too impure.

Among Cultivators with Four Spirit Roots, his aptitude was considered to be in the better batch.

His Cultivation speed was naturally faster than others with Five Spirit Roots or those with more impure Four Spirit Roots.

As for the reason he chose Shen Ji to borrow Spirit Rice from...

It was, of course, because her home was the closest to his.

Jiang Xu didn’t want to run so far on an empty stomach!

...

Arriving at her Spirit Field, Shen Ji eyed Jiang Xu suspiciously, thinking viciously to herself:

’This guy made his Spirit Rain Technique sound so mysterious. I’d like to see if it’s really as amazing as he claims. If it’s not, hmph hmph...’

Just as Shen Ji was contemplating how she could swing her Spiritual Hoe to vent her anger without breaking Jiang Xu’s arms and legs, the scorching sunlight suddenly vanished.

’Is it getting cloudy?’

Shen Ji looked up, but the scene before her left her so stunned that she didn’t even notice when her treasured Spiritual Hoe—which she never parted with, even in her sleep—fell to the ground.

"Truly... exceptionally talented..."

Meanwhile, Jiang Xu, casting the Skilled Level Spirit Rain Technique for the first time, was also stunned by his own masterpiece.

’Hey, isn’t this a bit of an exaggeration?’

Originally, the Beginner Level Spirit Rain Technique could barely cover a little over one mu of the Spirit Field.

But at the Skilled Level, the Spirit Rain Technique could now cover two to three mu of a Spirit Field in one go, more than doubling its area of effect.

Thick, dark clouds gathered over the Spirit Field like ink-stained silk. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning tore across the sky, shattering the tranquility.

The water vapor and Spiritual Qi within the clouds began to condense, like giant water bubbles, churning and swirling.

As the thunder grew deafening, the bubbles burst. A clear, heavy rain poured down like the Milky Way inverted, instantly drenching the Spirit Field, along with Jiang Xu and Shen Ji.

Before coming to Shen Ji’s home, Jiang Xu had maxed out his Spirit Rain Technique’s Skill Level to 100/100 in his own Spirit Field, allowing the technique to reach the Skilled Stage.

However, this had also left him with insufficient Magical Power, so he hadn’t been able to see what the Skilled Stage of the Spirit Rain Technique was like.

Jiang Xu had only been thinking that the Skilled Stage of the technique should be a bit stronger than the Beginner Stage; as long as the difference was noticeable, it would be fine.

As long as there was a difference, Jiang Xu was confident he could convince Shen Ji to believe him.

’As for whether it can actually increase the yield... well, the Spirit Rice can’t talk anyway.’

’Even if the yield isn’t as high as I claimed when the Spirit Rice matures, I can just say it’s because Shen Ji didn’t take good care of the plants herself.’

’But I’m not that shameless. Once the Spirit Rice is harvested, worst case, I’ll just repay her with double the amount of Spirit Rice.’

But after sensing the Spiritual Qi contained within the falling raindrops, Jiang Xu realized all his worries had been for nothing.

"Hahaha!"

A clear, crisp laugh rang out across the field. Jiang Xu turned to see Shen Ji laughing joyfully, running freely in the rain.

For some reason, his mood suddenly relaxed.

Ever since he’d transmigrated, Jiang Xu had been in a constant state of anxiety.

The change in environment and the crisis of survival had left him breathless.

All of Jiang Xu’s composure was a facade; he was just an ordinary office drone.

Just escaping from the construction site had taken him several weeks to build up the resolve.

He had planned to leave the construction site and start over from scratch, but he never expected that to mean starting over from scratch in a Cultivation World—and a start from scratch with absolutely nothing, not even food.

This piled mountain-like pressure on Jiang Xu, crushing him until he could hardly breathe.

But now, the power of his magic had soared because of his panel, giving Jiang Xu hope for survival and washing away most of his stress with the downpour.

’I was originally worrying about how to escape the Profound Origin Sect, but now it seems that staying in the Sect might be a better choice.’

’It’s hard to escape as a servant, but as long as I can be promoted to an Outer Disciple, there won’t be as many restrictions. When the time comes, I’ll have the option to flee or the option to stay.’

’If it’s safe and secure within the Sect, then I’ll stay. The work might be a bit heavy, but at least the monthly stipend is paid on time, which is better than the construction site in my past life that was always behind on wages.’