Chapter 77: Chapter 77: The Method of Compensation, the Minor Spirit Gathering Array and the Gathering Spirit Flower!
Since the consumption of Spiritual Energy needed for Alchemy and the elevation of his Cultivation Level came entirely from the Spirit Field Blessed Land, the mere thousand-plus Spirit Stones he had left were simply insufficient.
"In the simulator, it took ten years for the Spiritual Energy in the Spirit Field Blessed Land to become sparse and nearly exhausted... It seems to have little impact on the real me?"
Su Xing shook his head, continuing his contemplation:
"No! After the breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Stage, the consumption of Spiritual Energy will be even greater. If the Spiritual Energy in the Spirit Field Blessed Land really is limited, it might only be enough for another year or two of cultivation..."
Su Xing\'s gaze became more serious than ever before.
For Su Xing, the foundation of everything now was simulator energy.
The greatest source of Su Xing\'s simulator energy was Alchemy!
Alchemy required a Spirit Field Blessed Land brimming with Spiritual Energy. If one day the Spiritual Energy should become depleted, the loss for Su Xing would be devastating.
"No matter what, I cannot just sit by and wait for disaster with such a sign. It seems that in the future simulations, I\'ll have to think about how to replenish Spiritual Energy..."
Su Xing sighed.
Finding Spiritual Energy was incredibly difficult; he had spent many years in the initial simulations and it was only by sheer luck that he had discovered a Qing Yun Spirit Field instance.
Even that Damned Zong had not found a world that could set him back on the path of Cultivation in a hundred years.
Su Xing had several cultivational instance records on hand. With greater strength, he might attempt them.
Su Xing continued the simulation.
[In the fourteenth year, the Spiritual Energy in the Spirit Field Blessed Land becomes thinner and thinner, forcing you to reduce your cultivation time as much as possible. You begin to search for the reason why the Spiritual Energy of the Spirit Field Blessed Land is gradually diminishing.]
[You searched every inch of the Spirit Field Blessed Land and could not find the cause for the dissipation of Spiritual Energy, so you began to peruse the two ancient tomes left by Qing Yunzi.]
[While reviewing the Shennong Spiritual Nurturing Technique, you discovered a previously overlooked detail: the small Spirit Gathering Array is divided into an overt version and a covert version.
The overt one gathers nature\'s Spiritual Energy, nourishing a specific place, while the covert one, hidden in darkness, centers around a Spirit Vein, dispersing nature\'s Spiritual Energy to transform a blessed land into the realm of a cave.]
[You were amazed. The description of the covert Spirit Gathering Array matched the situation within the Spirit Field Blessed Land. So, you paid more attention and found that the small Spirit Gathering Array could be deeply buried underground.]
[Your heart trembled, so you took out your usual farming tools and began to dig.]
[After a day, you dug a hundred meters down, right below the thatched cottage, within the hidden mountain body, where you discovered a hidden space!]
[This space was two zhang long and wide and over a zhang in height. Inside, you found a small Spirit Gathering Array!]
[This revelation set your heart trembling; this entire Spirit Field Blessed Land was actually activated by the small Spirit Gathering Array before you, not a naturally occurring spirit place.]
[At the same time, you discovered at the core of the small Spirit Gathering Array a small piece of Spirit Ore, with powdered mineral surrounding it, most likely the residue from the Spirit Ore after its Spiritual Energy had been completely absorbed.]
[If you have a thought in your heart and understand the reason behind the dispersal of spiritual energy in the Spirit Field Blessed Land, you\'re probably aware that it\'s the small Spirit Gathering Array running out of energy.]
[To restore the Spirit Gathering Array is quite simple; it only requires replenishing its energy. However, at this moment, you have only a few hundred Spirit Stones at your disposal, and more importantly, you have limited knowledge about the small Spirit Gathering Array.]
[Thus, you spend half a year familiarizing yourself with the basics of the small Spirit Gathering Array. Although you\'re unable to set it up yourself, you now know how to replenish its energy. You place the few hundred Spirit Stones following the Formation\'s instructions into the core, then activate the Formation with Spiritual Power.]
[Soon, spiritual energy begins to seep out from the small Spirit Gathering Array, drifting into the air through the Formation.]
[A sense of relief washes over you. As long as you can maintain the small Spirit Gathering Array, you can at least continue your cultivation.]
[In the fifteenth year, you return to the surface and resume your cultivation. But to your disappointment, the few hundred Spirit Stones are not enough to last very long, maintaining less than a year, after which the spiritual energy in the Spirit Field Blessed Land begins to dissipate again, and your cultivation level remains stuck at the first tier of Nascent Soul.]
[Insufficient spiritual energy has become the biggest obstacle to your breakthrough!]
[With no other choice, you continue to study the Shennong Spiritual Nurturing Technique, hoping to find a solution.]
[Heaven does not disappoint those who strive. In the Spiritual Nurturing Technique, you discover a Spirit Plant called the Gathering Spirit Flower. This plant is incredibly delicate, requiring watering three times a day during its juvenile stage with precise amounts or it will die from either thirst or drowning.
Moreover, it needs to be kept in the shade for four hours and under the sun for another four hours each day. This cycle must be repeated for ten years before the Gathering Spirit Flower matures.]
[Once mature, the Gathering Spirit Flower can absorb and produce more spiritual energy from nature, even improving the quality of the spiritual energy in the air. However, a single Gathering Spirit Flower can only absorb a limited amount of spiritual energy. Often, ancient sects would plant hundreds of thousands of these flowers to turn their land into holy cultivation grounds.]
[You carefully compare the seeds of the Gathering Spirit Flower and eventually find three seeds among those left by Qing Yunzi in a seed pouch. You sow them in the most fertile soil and tend to them meticulously every day.]
[In the sixteenth year, under your care, the Gathering Spirit Flowers grow rapidly, reaching three inches in height in just under a year. But you still do not take anything for granted, knowing how easily the flowers can wilt and die.]
[In addition to tending to the Gathering Spirit Flowers, you also carve out time to stabilize your cultivation. But the shortage of spiritual energy in the Spirit Field Blessed Land means you have insufficient energy to break through to the second tier of Nascent Soul.]
[In the seventeenth year, during a momentary lapse of attention, you overwatered and directly killed one of the Gathering Spirit Flowers. Fortunately, the other two plants are growing well, and you estimate they might reach maturity and begin absorbing nature\'s spiritual energy in another year.]
[One day, as you diligently water the plants, the space around you begins to violently shake. The ground splits, rocks and soil fly around, and you understand that the exotic beasts are attacking again.]
[You glance at the date you\'ve recorded, February 16, 2040. Looking at the date before you, a satisfied smile appears on your face.]
[Ding, you died!]
[Your innate skill, "Die Without Regret," activates...]
[This simulation has ended!]
After the simulation, Su Xing felt both shock and joy.
He was joyful because the purpose of this simulation had been successful. Through an alliance with Shadow Protector, Su Xing had managed to delay the destruction of the real world by nearly two years!
From the originally predicted apocalypse in March 2038, it was delayed until 2040, which bought Su Xing more time for cultivation.
It was foreseeable that Demon-Subduing Pass was indeed an important time node. As long as they prevented its collapse before then, there was still hope.
What startled Su Xing was that he encountered another problem, the lack of spiritual energy...