I Can Upgrade My Talent Infinitely

After all, the pills currently aiding their cultivation were rarely of the Lower Grade. If any Lower Grade pills did appear, they certainly weren’t refined by Supreme Elder Fang Yun.

"By the way, why have the sect’s higher-ups changed their tune like this?"

"Isn’t it obvious? If you think about it, it must be related to Elder Fang Taishang. Just remember what he did in the Celestial Demon Sect’s territory back when he was an Elder."

"Several of the Celestial Demon Sect’s subordinate Foundation Establishment Influences were eliminated by our Elder Fang Taishang... Ah, I see."

"I’m already a mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator. I wonder if I’ll be able to take on one of the first missions into the Evil Sects’ territory."

"I doubt it. From what was said at the meeting, the initial missions are more suited for early-stage Foundation Establishment Elders."

...

「Three months had passed since Fang Yun’s first time attending a high-level sect meeting.」

At this very moment, Fang Yun was in a Second Tier Lower Grade Spirit Field, tending to the Three-Core Spirit Flowers that were in their seedling stage.

As he was tending to them, Fang Yun noticed something unusual about one of the Three-Core Spirit Flowers.

’This Three-Core Spirit Flower seems to be growing a bit faster than the others.’

After muttering this to himself, Fang Yun immediately began a professional inspection. This type of examination was far more mentally taxing than the routine care he gave the Spirit Medicine.

A smile spread across Fang Yun’s face. ’It really is growing faster than the other Three-Core Spirit Flowers. Looks like it’s mutated.’

There are many types of Spirit Medicine mutations.

This one was a mutation related to growth speed.

Faster growth undoubtedly meant faster maturation.

This type of mutation was incredibly rare and also offered immense benefits.

According to Cultivation Miscellaneous Books on planting, when the Three-Core Spirit Flower was first cultivated, it took a total of fifteen years and two months from planting the seed to harvesting the mature plant.

Through continuous breeding, selection, and cultivation by Spirit Plant Masters, the time it took for the Three-Core Spirit Flower to mature was reduced with each passing generation.

It eventually stabilized at the current twelve years, with no further reduction possible.

This showed that the current growth period was the limit for the Three-Core Spirit Flower. If one wanted to go further, the conventional methods of Spirit Plant Masters were no longer effective; induced mutation was required.

The greatest factor in mutation is its unpredictability, and inducing it is no easy task.

’This will be the mother plant for all future Three-Core Spirit Flowers.’ Fang Yun began to mark it.

With this plant, the next crop of Three-Core Spirit Flowers would undoubtedly grow faster from seed to harvest. In the long run, this meant the sect could obtain far more Spirit Medicine resources.

A Second Tier Lower Grade Spirit Medicine theoretically has a growth period of no less than ten years. This was a rule established by countless senior Spirit Plant Masters.

If a mutation caused a Second Tier Lower Grade Spirit Medicine’s growth period to drop below ten years, it meant the plant had devolved into a Tier One Spirit Medicine.

Such a Spirit Medicine would rarely be kept unless, after devolving into a Tier One plant, it could be used to aid in the refining of many Second Tier Spirit Medicines into pills. That would be a different story.

This, too, was part of the unpredictability of mutation.

What Fang Yun could be certain of was that this Three-Core Spirit Flower had not devolved into a Tier One Spirit Medicine.

Fang Yun carefully inspected it again.

’If all goes well, this Three-Core Spirit Flower should only need about eleven years to reach maturity. In the future, with some advanced cultivation techniques, it might even be possible to shorten its growth period to just over ten years.’

Before this mutation, the Three-Core Spirit Flower’s growth cycle had already been shortened to its absolute limit.

But now that it had mutated, it was theoretically a new type of Spirit Medicine, meaning it might be possible to cultivate it to shorten its growth period once again.

Of course, it was also possible that its current, post-mutation state was the new limit for the Three-Core Spirit Flower, and no further shortening was possible.

Both were possibilities, but judging from past records, the former was more likely.

Just as Fang Yun finished tending to the Three-Core Spirit Flower, Mi Xiaoqi appeared before him at the perfect moment.

"Supreme Elder." From a short distance away, Mi Xiaoqi bowed in greeting.

When Fang Yun was not at this Spirit Field, Mi Xiaoqi would occasionally come over to check on the growth of the Three-Core Spirit Flower seedlings.

He wanted to understand how well Fang Yun was tending to them.

This would also allow him to gauge Fang Yun’s true talent in the way of Spirit Plants.

He hadn’t realized it at first, but after a few visits, he understood that Fang Yun’s talent for Spirit Plants was far greater than he had imagined.

These Three-Core Spirit Flower seedlings were being cared for exceptionally well. If this level of care continued, most of them would ultimately reach Upper Grade quality.

Part of this was certainly due to Fang Yun’s Realm. A Core Formation Cultivator tending to Second Tier Lower Grade Spiritual Materials would have a much easier time than a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, all other factors being equal. But a larger factor was the talent Fang Yun displayed in the way of Spirit Plants.

Today, Mi Xiaoqi was here to take Fang Yun to learn from and observe the Spirit Field Institute’s Elders as they planted and cared for Spirit Medicine.

This was something Fang Yun had arranged with him.

They were to do this every so often, with the goal of helping Fang Yun advance more quickly in the way of Spirit Plants.

Previously, he had taken Fang Yun to learn from and observe Elders caring for Second Tier Middle Grade Spirit Medicine. Starting today, it would be Second Tier Upper Grade Spirit Medicine.

"Elder Mi, come and see what this is."

Fang Yun walked over to the mutated Three-Core Spirit Flower plant and gestured for Mi Xiaoqi to come closer.

"Yes, Supreme Elder." Mi Xiaoqi hurried over.

The moment he drew near, he saw how the Three-Core Spirit Flower Fang Yun indicated was different from the others.

They were all Three-Core Spirit Flowers planted on the same day, but this seedling was clearly larger than the others.

With Mi Xiaoqi’s experience, he quickly understood what had happened.

The Three-Core Spirit Flower had mutated, and the mutation was one that accelerated its growth speed.

After a moment’s thought, Mi Xiaoqi knew the value of this Three-Core Spirit Flower to the entire Celestial Cloud Sect.

Once all the Three-Core Spirit Flowers in the sect were replaced by this mutated version, the number of Spirit Ascension Pills the sect produced each year would increase.

"Supreme Elder, this is an incredible mutation!"

At this moment, Mi Xiaoqi’s face was flushed, and he was uncontrollably excited.

The significance of this mutated Three-Core Spirit Flower was immense.

"Yes. I hope it can reach Upper Grade quality and become a mother plant," Fang Yun said, nodding lightly.

The Seed Stage, Seedling Stage, Growth Stage, Maturation Stage, Seeding Stage, and Withering Stage.

Most Spirit Plants have these six stages.

Among them, the vast majority of Spirit Plants have their highest medicinal value during the Maturation Stage.

The energy a Spirit Medicine absorbs during the Seeding Stage is almost entirely used to develop its seeds.

This mutated Three-Core Spirit Flower definitely couldn’t be harvested at maturity. To serve as a mother plant, it had to live past the Maturation Stage and reach the Seeding Stage, which was when it would realize its greatest value.

When selecting a Spirit Medicine to become a mother plant, naturally, the higher its quality, the better.

Right now, there was only one mutated Three-Core Spirit Flower, so it and only it could become the mother plant. Thus, there was no choice to be made.

The worse the quality of the mother plant, the worse the quality of the seeds.

The Sect Elders used high-quality seeds for the Second Tier Spirit Medicine they planted, but even so, many of the plants only reached Lower Grade quality by the time they matured.

If the seeds themselves came from a Lower Grade mother plant, then most of the Spirit Plants would fail to reach maturity at all, regardless of their care.

"I believe that with your current skill in caring for Spirit Medicine, Supreme Elder, it won’t be difficult to raise this mutated Three-Core Spirit Flower to Upper Grade quality." Mi Xiaoqi wasn’t just spouting pleasantries; he was speaking from the heart.

The growth state of the Three-Core Spirit Flower seedlings in the Spirit Field was the best proof of his words.

Fang Yun responded to Mi Xiaoqi’s heartfelt words with a light nod.

Then, he said, "Let’s go see the other Elders at the Spirit Field Institute."

"Supreme Elder, this way, please."

Hearing this, Mi Xiaoqi immediately led the way.