SWDnovel Chapter 96 Mortal Earth Contains Spirits
Chapter 96 Mortal Earth Contains Spirits
Shen Qing stopped in the middle of the valley, squatted down and grabbed a handful of soil.
Although the soil was ordinary mountain soil, mixed with gravel and dead leaves, it was no different from any other soil on Qingyun Mountain.
However, in Shen Qing's divine sense, the earth energy in this land was gushing like a spring, making it the best location to cultivate spiritual fields.
Shen Qing scattered the soil back onto the ground and took out four mid-grade spirit stones from his storage bag.
The spirit stones glowed with a warm, soft light in the twilight. Each unused spirit stone was brimming with spiritual energy and had a clear, yellowish hue.
Shen Qing embedded the spirit stones into the four corners of the valley, and then used several low-grade spirit stones to connect them into array patterns according to the spirit-guiding array in the spirit field development method.
After doing all this, Shen Qing sat down cross-legged in the center of the valley.
As Shen Qing formed hand seals, the Twelve-Rank Flawless Dao Platform in his dantian began to rotate faster, and the five elements of spiritual energy surged out from the platform, flowing along the meridians to his entire body.
Shen Qing did not rush to draw upon the earth's energy. Instead, he first used his own Dao Platform as the core to construct a spirit-guiding array with himself as the array's eye.
The core principle of the Spirit Field Opening Method is to use an array as a bridge to draw the energy of the mountain roots and earth veins from deep within to the surface, and then use a spirit-guiding array to lock the earth energy in a designated area, repeatedly nourishing the soil with the power of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements.
However, Shen Qing has now missed the best time and can only use spirit stones and his own Dao foundation as a way to make up for the deficiency.
This process requires a high degree of control over one's own spiritual energy. If one is not careful, the reverse flow of earth energy will damage the meridians and may even cause the altar to shatter.
The Dao Platform in Shen Qing's dantian slowly rotated, releasing some of its aura. Using the Dao Platform as a guide, a small vortex was formed in his dantian.
The vortex spun faster and faster, gradually forming a vortex composed of the five elements of spiritual energy, with a pure, earth-yellow light at its center.
That is the earth elemental energy that originates from the same source as the earth beneath our feet.
A moment later, Shen Qing suddenly opened his eyes, and his hands simultaneously changed hand seals. The earthy yellow vortex in his dantian suddenly exploded, transforming into countless strands of spiritual energy that surged out from various acupoints around his body and went in all directions.
The spiritual energy lingered in the air for a moment, then, under Shen Qing's prompting, it all fell into the ground, extending deeper into the soil along the cracks.
At the same time, the four mid-grade spirit stones lit up simultaneously, and four beams of clear yellow spiritual energy rose from the spirit stones, intersecting with the spiritual power erupting from the low-grade spirit stones in the air to form a simple spirit-guiding array.
As the array patterns flowed, an invisible suction force emanated from the array, beginning to draw in the earth's vein energy from deep underground.
The ground beneath Shen Qing's feet trembled slightly, as if an earth dragon were turning over. Shen Qing's divine sense had already captured the trajectory of every tremor.
Thousands of strands of spiritual energy spread underground, passing through three feet of soil, through cracks in the rock strata, and deep into the mountain's root veins.
The moment the first wisp of spiritual energy touched the root of Shen Qing's nose, his whole body trembled, and the rotation speed of the 12th-grade flawless Dao Platform in his dantian suddenly increased.
The spiritual energy within the earth's veins is entirely different from the ordinary spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Its existence is turbid and heavy, carrying the vicissitudes and weight of the earth itself.
The earth's veins are like a sleeping dragon, coiled deep within the mountain, each breath causing a subtle pulsation throughout the entire mountain.
The moment Shen Qing's spiritual energy touched the earth's veins, he felt that the power was too great. Even the slightest pull caused his meridians, which had been tempered, to ache faintly.
Shen Qing gritted his teeth, activated his divine sense at full power, and selected a branch of the earth vein centered on his dantian, pulling it upwards.
When that section of the earth vein broke through the cracks in the rock strata and the surface soil, the air over the entire valley changed.
It was an invisible and colorless power, like the fields after a spring rain, filled with the scent of freshly turned soil.
Shen Qing sat cross-legged in the center of the valley, feeling the earth's energy surging in from all directions, passing through his body and enveloping him.
At this moment, the Dao platform in the dantian began to vibrate at a strange frequency, gradually synchronizing with the pulse of the earth's veins.
Just then, something unexpected happened.
A strong sense of expansion suddenly surged in his dantian; it was the reaction of the 12th-grade flawless Dao Platform after automatically absorbing the earth's energy.
Shen Qing was startled, then suddenly realized.
The vital energy of Tai Cu begins to rise, and the azure sun begins to emerge.
In the first month of the lunar calendar, as the yang energy begins to rise, the vitality contained within the earth's veins, though not as profound as that of the great bells, possesses a burgeoning power of growth.
After this power entered the dantian, it resonated strongly with the original five elements of spiritual energy in the Dao Platform and began to circulate on its own.
Shen Qing closed his eyes and focused his mind on his dantian.
On the platform, five colors of spiritual energy lit up simultaneously. The earth-yellow earth element spiritual energy surged first, followed by the dark green water element spiritual energy, then the turquoise wood element spiritual energy, the crimson fire element spiritual energy, and the pure white metal element spiritual energy.
The five elements of spiritual energy flowed sequentially under the guidance of the Dao platform, forming a complete cycle of mutual generation: earth generates metal, metal generates water, water generates wood, wood generates fire, and fire returns to earth.
Each time a cycle is completed, a unique wisp of regenerative power appears on the platform.
Shen Qing suddenly realized that the method he had devised to remedy the deficiency was not simply about drawing the earth's energy to the surface and soaking the soil.
This process itself is a tempering and completion of the foundation.
Although he missed Huangzhong and Dalu, by forcibly drawing on the earth's energy starting with Taicu, he was essentially using himself as a furnace to re-evolve the missing earth's energy through his own Dao platform.
Of course, this is not without its costs.
The spiritual energy in the four mid-grade spirit stones was being rapidly depleted, and fine cracks had begun to appear on the surface of the spirit stones. As for the low-grade spirit stones, they had long since turned to ashes.
Although the Dao Platform withstood the impact of the earth's energy, it also consumed a large amount of spiritual power.
Although the mutual generation and circulation of the five elements can continuously replenish spiritual power, the rate of replenishment is far slower than the rate of consumption.
At this rate, by dawn, at least half of the spiritual energy in his dantian will be depleted.
Shen Qing opened her eyes and exhaled a breath of stale air.
Trading half of one's spiritual power plus a few spirit stones for the foundation of an acre of spirit field is a great deal.
As night deepens, the peak of the Tai Cu Qi (a vital energy source) is approaching.
Shen Qing closed his eyes and sank his consciousness into the depths of the earth's veins once more, beginning to draw upon the second stream of earth vein energy.
On the twenty-third day of the first lunar month, it was dawn.
When Shen Qing opened her eyes, the sunlight had already pierced through the clouds, turning the entire plateau a pale gold.
The spiritual energy in the four mid-grade spirit stones was almost depleted, but the spirit-guiding array was still operating.
The soil beneath him had quietly changed overnight, turning from grayish-yellow to dark brown, and its texture had become softer and more fertile, as if it had been continuously irrigated by spring rain for several days.
Shen Qing stood up, grabbed a handful of soil, and slowly rolled it in his palm. Wisps of spiritual energy were already flowing through it.
This indicates that the mortal land here has already embarked on the path of spiritual transformation.
Of course, it is still a long way from becoming a complete spiritual field, but the most difficult step of going from zero to one has already been taken.
The road ahead is long, but there is much to be done.
Shen Qing knew, of course, that the transformation from mortal land to spiritual land could not be accomplished overnight.
Starting from the Yellow Bell, it must endure the circulation of the twenty-four solar terms and go through twelve cycles of Yin and Yang, cold and heat, before it can be transformed into a low-grade spiritual field.
It takes another thirty-six rounds of nourishment from the earth's energy and the rotation of yin and yang before it can be promoted to a mid-grade spiritual field.
As for top-grade spiritual fields, Shen Qing never harbored any extravagant hopes.
With its current shallow foundation, Qingyun Mountain is not yet capable of bearing such a destiny.