Plant VS Cultivation

Chapter 8: Resource Support

Hearing Yao Shifeng's words, the four of them snapped back to attention and looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

Moments later, hesitation appeared on everyone's faces. The favor Yao Shifeng was asking of them was to lend him money—or more precisely, cultivation resources.

Yao Shifeng's reasoning was that by pooling the group's cultivation resources to quickly boost one person's cultivation level, that person could then protect and assist the others.

While this logic was sound, cultivation resources were extremely important to those with inferior spiritual roots. With poor talent, the only way to improve was through resources. Without them, increasing one's cultivation would be exceedingly difficult.

Moreover, why should Yao Shifeng be the one to benefit from the group's resources first? Wu Jinfeng, who was the second most talented among the five, certainly had his own thoughts about this.

Seeing the hesitation on their faces, Yao Shifeng felt uneasy. He knew he was being a bit hasty, but he had no choice—his plans had been disrupted, and he had to take a risk. Still, the fact that no one had outright refused meant there was room for negotiation.

Indeed, though hesitant, no one intended to reject the proposal outright. After all, Yao Shifeng's plan was quite feasible.

The cultivation world was far from safe. Even within a sect, competition existed. As servant disciples with inferior spiritual roots, they were the most vulnerable to bullying. But having a strong protector could prevent a lot of trouble.

"Brother Yao, how about we give you half of our resources? Without cultivation resources, we won't be able to progress. If we can't reach the Qi Refining Stage within a year, we'll be forcibly assigned to those undesirable peaks." After exchanging glances, Chu Feifei finally spoke up.

"Deal!"

Yao Shifeng nodded. This was already a very favorable outcome. Expecting them to hand over all their resources was unrealistic.

Upon hearing this, the others didn't hesitate and took out three spirit stones. In truth, they only had two types of cultivation resources: three Qi Condensation Pills and three spirit stones.

If they had to choose one, they'd definitely part with the spirit stones. Although spirit stones had various uses—they could assist in cultivation, be used in array formations, or help refine magical artifacts and tools—they were also the universal currency of the cultivation world.

However, when it came to directly aiding cultivation, pills were far more effective.

Yao Shifeng wasn't surprised by this. He knew none of them had used their pills yet. For those with scarce resources, they wouldn't consume pills unless they hit a bottleneck in their cultivation.

But since spirit stones were the universal currency, they could still be used to purchase other cultivation resources.

However, when Gu Mo handed over his resources, Yao Shifeng was surprised to see that he had offered three Qi Condensation Pills.

With the essence of the sun at his disposal, Gu Mo didn't need pills for cultivation. What he truly needed were spirit stones. The spiritual energy in his flowerpot was gradually depleting, and soon, he would need to replace the stones in it. Naturally, he couldn't part with his spirit stones.

"Boss Yao, how about I trade these three Qi Condensation Pills for three of your spirit stones?" Gu Mo calculated his upcoming spirit stone usage. To be on the safe side, having three more stones would be more secure.

"Of course!"

Gu Mo's words snapped Yao Shifeng out of his thoughts, and he promptly exchanged three spirit stones for Gu Mo's pills. At this stage, pills were far more valuable than spirit stones.

"My friends, I promise you that the resources you've provided today will be repaid many times over in the future," Yao Shifeng declared solemnly as he stood up after collecting their resources.

This would be the starting point of his rise. By leveraging the group's strength to secure more resources, he could advance his cultivation ahead of others. From there, each step forward would come faster and easier, until he eventually became a powerful figure admired by all.

Of course, beyond his verbal promises, Yao Shifeng shared all his cultivation insights with the group. Once everything was settled, they agreed to meet again in a month.

The reason for the longer interval was that Yao Shifeng planned to devote himself entirely to cultivation, aiming to reach the Qi Refining Stage as soon as possible.

"Gu Mo!"

Just as Gu Mo was about to leave, Chu Feifei called out to him. "You promised to share your insights on cultivating the Cleaning Technique."

"I haven't forgotten!"

Gu Mo smiled and then turned to Hu Hai and Wu Jinfeng, who were also preparing to leave. "Do you two want to join us?"

Both of them shook their heads. They clearly had no interest in the Cleaning Technique. Now that they had given up half of their resources, they needed to focus even harder on their cultivation.

Seeing that Hu Hai and Wu Jinfeng weren't interested, Gu Mo didn't press them. He began explaining his insights on the Cleaning Technique to Chu Feifei. Given that he had already mastered the technique, guiding Chu Feifei was more than sufficient. In fact, with Gu Mo's guidance, Chu Feifei immediately felt a sense of clarity.

At that moment, Chu Feifei found Gu Mo somewhat mysterious. Though she hadn't formally started learning the Cleaning Technique, she had studied it for several days. From her perspective, Gu Mo's understanding was far beyond that of a beginner.

"Gu Mo, thank you!"

After absorbing his insights, Chu Feifei gave him a deep bow. In the cultivation world, teaching someone was a significant favor. It wasn't just Yao Shifeng's feasible plan that had convinced them to give up half their resources; they were also grateful for the insights he had shared.

"I might come to you for advice next time," Gu Mo said with a wave of his hand. After saying their goodbyes, Chu Feifei went back to practice the Cleaning Technique. With Gu Mo's guidance, she felt confident about mastering this minor spell.

Gu Mo also resumed his cultivation. It would take about two more months for him to reach the Qi Refining Stage.

But just half a month later, something major happened. Fan Shaoming, the first servant disciple to reach the Qi Refining Stage, was attacked by a stranger and seriously injured.

As the incident stirred, more information came to light. Fan Shaoming's rapid progress in cultivation was thanks to a magical treasure that could gather spiritual energy.

A magical treasure—an artifact more advanced than ordinary tools—was an incredibly valuable item for a servant disciple. Once exposed, it would inevitably attract unwanted attention.

Fan Shaoming's possession of the treasure was revealed because his swift progress drew suspicion. After some investigation by those with ulterior motives, the truth quickly came to light.

The subsequent attack was only natural. Had this occurred outside the sect, the matter would have been brushed aside—killing for treasures was all too common out there. The fact that Fan Shaoming survived, albeit seriously injured, was already fortunate.

However, since this happened within the sect, the matter was far from over.