Five mu of spirit fields, treated with the 【Geng Metal Technique】 to kill pests, irrigated with the fourth layer of the 【Minor Cloud and Rain Technique】, and loosened with the Spirit-Shaking Hoe. Looking across the entire sect, no one had ever cultivated spirit rice with such meticulous care. He was now very curious to see how much the yield of these five mu of spirit fields would increase this year.

With cultivation at the eighth level of Qi Refinement, he was more than capable in terms of spiritual power. If the yield of these five mu of spirit fields increased significantly, he could fully apply this meticulous farming method to the fifty mu of spirit fields he had rented from the sect. Then he would instantly become the wealthiest among all the outer sect disciples!

This thought made his heart race. There was nothing more solid than spirit rice and spirit stones!

The success of his first attempt at artifact refining gave Brian Carter tremendous encouragement. The streak of bad luck he’d had lately seemed to have vanished, and his studies of the other three techniques were gradually progressing, especially the 【Grass and Wood Technique】. Each of the three techniques had a different function. The 【Crimson Flame Technique】 was used to activate seeds, able to stimulate the growth of their embryos. Besides that, it also gathered the essence of the sun, making it most suitable for yang-type spirit plants. The 【Earth Qi Technique】 could gather earth energy, especially suitable for the growth of yin-type spirit plants.

The 【Grass and Wood Technique】, on the other hand, was similar to the 【Minor Cloud and Rain Technique】, with no distinction between yin and yang. But it was far more domineering than the 【Minor Cloud and Rain Technique】, extracting the essence of grass and wood to nourish the growth of spirit rice. The essence of the 【Grass and Wood Technique】 was plunder—it seized the essence of other plants to nourish itself.

Its use required extreme caution. Although Wukong Mountain was lush with trees, a slight misstep could easily cause the trees to wither and die.

Every time he used the 【Grass and Wood Technique】, Brian Carter was extremely careful, fearing he might destroy the ancient trees in the mountain. Ancient trees were not easy to grow and survive; they had to endure hundreds or even thousands of years to take shape. Although there was no explicit rule in the sect, if he caused a large number of ancient trees to wither and die, nothing good would await him.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the trees, casting dappled shadows in the forest. The climate of Wukong Mountain was excellent—dry and pleasant, with cool breezes flowing through the woods and not a trace of dampness or stuffiness. All around was quiet; this place was quite secluded, and besides Brian Carter, no one would come here.

Brian Carter calmed his mind, circulated his spiritual power, and his hands moved in changing patterns, clearly still not very skilled at the 【Grass and Wood Technique】.

After the initial awkwardness, his movements quickly became smoother, his fingers blooming like flowers. With each motion, faint ripples of spiritual power spread out in the air, radiating in circles.

As the spiritual power rippled, threads of verdant light flew from the trees, gathering at Brian Carter’s hands.

In just a moment, the verdant light grew brighter and brighter. Brian Carter stopped the technique, and a small, lustrous green bead fell into his palm. This was a bead condensed from the essence of grass and wood. After putting the bead away, he checked the surrounding ancient trees—their leaves had lost much of their luster, and some even showed signs of yellowing.

Brian Carter took out a jade slip from his robe. The jade slip contained a detailed record of the topography of Wukong Mountain, which had taken him quite some time to compile.

He found his current location on the jade slip’s map of Wukong Mountain and made a mark. Next time, he would have to change locations; this area would need some time to recover.

The domineering nature of the 【Grass and Wood Technique】 even made Brian Carter a little uneasy. This was only the first layer, yet it could so easily drain the vitality from trees. What would it be like at higher levels?

Carefully putting the grass and wood essence bead away, he prepared to head back.

This bead needed to be used within three hours, employing a specific method from the 【Grass and Wood Technique】 to disperse the essence into the spirit plants. Otherwise, it would quietly dissipate.

He left the woods, following the mountain stream, hurrying back toward his small courtyard.

Suddenly, he vaguely heard the sound of a woman softly crying.

A woman?

He didn’t stop, but the further he walked, the clearer the crying became.

Most of the female disciples in the sect were in the beast-rearing chamber, responsible for tending spirit beasts. Brian Carter had never really interacted with her and didn’t want to invite trouble, so he was about to take a detour.

Suddenly, he heard the female disciple sobbing and murmuring, “Wuwu, mama…”

Brian Carter’s steps faltered, and a soft spot in his heart was fiercely poked.

Mama…

That strange sense of familiarity rose in his heart again.

Damn it! he cursed inwardly. He hated this feeling. Every time this strange familiarity appeared, it always made his heart feel blocked, an indescribable discomfort. Though he cursed, his thoughts churned uncontrollably in his mind.

Who am I? Where is my home? Who is my mother…

He felt a bit irritable and distracted, yet his feet involuntarily carried him toward the sound of crying.

After a few steps forward, behind a rock, a female disciple was curled up. Her apple-shaped face was streaked with tears, looking pitiful and delicate. She was curled up like a kitten, her shoulders trembling from time to time.

“What are you crying for? So annoying!” Brian Carter snapped irritably, plopping down to sit.

The other party shrank back like a startled kitten, but when she saw the outer sect disciple uniform on Brian Carter, the fear in her eyes faded. She said timidly through her tears, “Sorry, senior brother…”

Hearing her timid and weak voice, Brian Carter felt even more annoyed. “Sorry my ass, what does your crying have to do with me? It’s so annoying.” Noticing his attitude was a bit too harsh, he forced himself to suppress his irritation and asked impatiently, “Speak, what’s the matter?”

“It’s nothing…” she whispered, her voice barely audible.