Chapter 50
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Chapter 50: Pest Infestation
Despite this, Ji Yang continued to use the Small Rain Technique once a day.
His goal wasn’t just to grow spiritual grains; he wanted to harvest cultivation points every day.
In the past few days, his cultivation points had reached thirty-seven.
So even though his He Hua rice had not yielded any grains, Ji Yang was not worried.
On the seventh day after sowing, the He Hua rice still had not produced grains, but its height exceeded two meters, surpassing the rice planted by others.
In the surrounding spiritual field of dozens of acres, it was especially eye-catching.
By the eighth day, the He Hua rice grew to three meters tall. Many disciples came running to watch, and upon seeing Ji Yang’s rice, they were shocked, but they laughed off the fact that it still hadn’t produced grains.
With less than half a month until the ten stone task deadline, even replanting was not an option, and everyone treated it as a curiosity to observe.
On the ninth day, Ji Yang’s He Hua rice finally showed new changes; it produced rice ears!
This scene once again attracted the attention of many disciples, but some still dismissed it:
“Having rice ears doesn’t mean it will yield grains; it just looks good.”
“Even an iron tree can bloom, but where are the fruits?”
“My brother speaks with reason!”
Many nodded in agreement, while some disciples questioned:
“Why don’t we see any pests in his spiritual field?”
While their own He Hua rice faced pest infestations during growth, Ji Yang’s spiritual field had shown no signs of pests for many days, which was quite unusual!
“Hey, pests only target He Hua rice. If it weren’t He Hua rice, there wouldn’t be any pests! Those beetles don’t eat weeds!”
Others found this quite reasonable, and even Ji Yang nodded slightly.
It did seem logical.
However, on the tenth day, that person was proven wrong, as Ji Yang’s spiritual field became infested with pests!
The troublesome three-striped wheat borer had appeared!
The numbers were significant.
This type of moth has a triangular forewing that is pale yellow with a black dot in the center, and it has a tuft of yellowish-brown fur at the end of its abdomen.
They fly fast, reproduce rapidly, and enjoy eating rice ears and grains. Once they enter maturity, ordinary spells are ineffective against them, making them one of the most hated types of spiritual insects among cultivators.
At this time, Ji Yang’s spiritual field contained mostly larvae, which had limited destructive power. However, within a few days, they would grow quickly, and if not cleared out promptly, the entire field of He Hua rice would be at great risk.
Fortunately, the Golden Insect Technique, among low-level spells, worked well against these pests!
Ji Yang had once copied this technique, and it was still in his storage bag, though he hadn’t practiced it much.
He could not afford to waste any more time; with Ji Yang’s talent, learning it would be no trouble at all.
However, others believed Ji Yang’s spiritual field was doomed. With so many larvae present, and given Ji Yang was at the Fourth level of Qi Refinement, they doubted he had mastered the Golden Insect Technique enough to clear all the pests.
After finishing the Small Rain Technique, Ji Yang opened his copied Golden Insect Technique.
This metal-based spell could release small golden needles with strong penetrating power and was easy to control, making it effective for dealing with pests in the spiritual field.
Ji Yang tried a few times and quickly mastered the key to the technique. Besides his own understanding, his cultivation level also contributed to his success.
He then moved through the spiritual field, using the Golden Insect Technique to deal with the larvae in the field.
The three-striped wheat borer larvae were small but very agile, yet they stood no chance against Ji Yang’s Golden Insect Technique!
However, there were too many three-striped wheat borer larvae in one acre of the spiritual field. Even Ji Yang found it quite troublesome to completely eliminate them.
Moreover, each time he cast the spell, he could only launch one golden needle, which was far too slow.
Ji Yang paused to think about how to solve this issue.
He needed a faster and more convenient insect-killing spell, rather than the troublesome method he was currently using.
However, the Golden Insect Technique couldn’t cover a wide area like the Small Rain Technique.
Even if it could, it was not something Ji Yang could manage at his current level! It required extraordinary control and powerful magic, unlike the Small Rain Technique.
Thinking about the Small Rain Technique, Ji Yang felt he had another idea.
Could he combine the Small Rain Technique with the Golden Insect Technique?
This way, he could expand the coverage while ensuring the effectiveness of pest control.
But he needed to consider some issues, such as not harming the He Hua rice after casting the spell.
However, this wasn’t a big concern for now; the spiritual field was still filled with larvae that had not fully grown yet, and their defenses were weak, while the He Hua rice itself was quite sturdy.
Furthermore, Ji Yang had recently noticed that his He Hua rice, in terms of roots and leaves, was much sturdier than that grown by others. He just needed to control the power of the spell.
Thinking to make it happen, Ji Yang began to ponder how to merge the two spells.
As night approached, Ji Yang had some ideas, and since no one was around, it was the perfect time to experiment!
Ji Yang drew on his magic; with one hand, he cast the Golden Insect Technique, while with the other, he performed the Small Rain Technique.
Before either spell fully formed, he allowed them to intersect.
However, what appeared before Ji Yang was a cloudy mass of golden needles.
The first experiment failed!
Ji Yang absorbed the lesson from his failure and continued to experiment!
The second attempt also failed, turning the cloud into a golden color.
On the third and fourth tries…
Failure, failure…
Ji Yang tirelessly cast both spells, trying different approaches.
Finally, after he lost track of how many attempts he made, he watched as a small cloud above began to rain golden drops, and a bright smile appeared on his face.
He had successfully merged the Golden Insect Technique into the Small Rain Technique! Although this reduced the power of the Golden Insect Technique, it should still be effective enough for pest control!
However, the Small Rain Technique produced in this way had a very narrow range, reverting to its original form.
But as long as he had taken the first step, the rest would not be difficult.
Ji Yang combined what he had learned again and finally transformed the new spell back to its previous state.
But when the familiar cloud formed, Ji Yang felt the magic within him surge rapidly, draining even his Foundation Establishment stage’s magic in an instant.
Seeing that the golden cloud was still absorbing his magic, Ji Yang didn’t have time to think; he quickly took out Yun Ling Dan from his storage bag and began to gulp it down.
Yun Ling Dan not only could increase one’s magic capacity but also serve as a replenishing resource.
Though Ji Yang didn’t know what would happen if his True Essence was depleted, he understood it could not be good, and he hoped not to drain himself completely.
Before long, Ji Yang consumed all the Yun Ling Dan he had saved up over the last few days, yet the golden cloud continued to shine even brighter. Realizing he had no choice, Ji Yang activated the Heart Sword divine ability and hurriedly severed the connection between the two spells!
But as he watched the golden cloud he had created slowly rise into the sky, an uncomfortable feeling lingered in his heart.
It shouldn’t be a problem, right?
He had merely combined what he had learned from the Small Rain Technique—more appropriately termed the Large Rain Technique—with the Golden Insect Technique; it just seemed to have spiraled out of control somewhere along the way!
