"There are still many functions of the Spirit Plant Space I haven't fully mastered. Perhaps it can provide lightning attributes for the Purple Thunder Bamboo."
The Snow Lotus, which previously helped her break through a mid-stage bottleneck, had matured and produced seeds precisely because the space offered an optimal environment—pure water-attributed spiritual energy, excellent conditions, and other compounded influences.
As for the immense spiritual energy the Purple Thunder Bamboo required, she would just have to water it with spiritual water more diligently.
Still, this bamboo held great significance. Though it wouldn't yield benefits in the short term, once her cultivation advanced and the spatial flow rate accelerated, she might have the chance to harvest spiritual bamboo again within a hundred years.
Thus, she decided to plant the rhizome of the Purple Thunder Bamboo in the exact center of her spiritual field, fencing it off to prevent its roots from spreading and competing with other plants for spiritual energy.
Moments later, she had dug a half-zhang deep pit in the center of the moonlit white spirit field. She carefully placed the bamboo rhizome at its core, added several medicinal powders to repair its spiritual roots, covered it with a layer of spiritual stone sand, and then topped it off with the original soil.
As for why she didn't plant it beside her bamboo hut—she planned to turn that area into an orchard. Having both bamboo and fruit trees would disrupt the visual harmony.
Next, Chen Jinshu began watering the Purple Thunder Bamboo.
"At last, the most important spiritual plants are done!"
She sighed in relief. The remaining plants were less valuable but still worthy of cultivation. They would serve as materials for future alchemy—like the Purple Spirit Grass and Yellow Root Ginseng, both essential for refining early Foundation Establishment pills such as the Purple Qi Pill.
After tending to those cultivatable plants, Chen Jinshu turned her attention to the newly harvested spiritual seeds:
Six seeds from the Pure Heart Lotus, one from the Night Fragrance Flower, some Flamefruit seeds, and a few from the Wuqing Tea Tree.
Transplanting the Wuqing Tea Tree was difficult. Once uprooted, it withered rapidly—making it one of the hardest spiritual plants to relocate in the cultivation world.
With no confidence in transplanting it successfully, Chen Jinshu opted instead to cultivate new seedlings from the seeds found inside the tea fruit.
Wuqing Tea contained powerful wood-attributed spiritual energy. When taken regularly, it helped purify the body of impurities and could also calm the mind during cultivation.
If grown well, it could reach third-grade spiritual tea quality.
It was worth noting that even the Enlightenment Tea gifted by her master, Shui Huanmeng, was only a degraded second-grade version.
Still, it was Enlightenment Tea—its value was beyond measure. Similarly, the Qingning Tea Tree she'd found while clearing the yard possessed impressive longevity-enhancing properties.
"Once I cultivate the seedlings, I'll plant them next to the Qingning Tea Tree."
She glanced over at a small tea sapling near the three Wood Spirit Peach Trees. It had already grown half a zhang tall and would be ready for its first harvest in about half a year. What truly surprised her, however, was that the peach trees had bloomed again.
"Could the Spirit Plant Space have accelerated their growth? It's blooming half a year earlier than expected!"
"If so, I'll have a harvest of Wood Spirit Peaches in just six months!"
After placing all the seeds into small labeled pots filled with growth-accelerating potion, she turned her attention to the giant fish tank nearby.
The White-Scaled Spirit Fish she had caught from the Dragon Eye Pool—some of the larger ones had already been eaten by her and her two senior brothers.
Only a few young ones remained, along with a dazed-looking little goldfish. At the moment, that goldfish was floating on the water's surface belly-up. If not for the occasional bubbles, she would've thought it was dead.
"It was fine in the Dragon Eye Pool. How did it end up like this just by being taken out?"
She hadn't used much force when catching it.
"If it's pretending... then this little goldfish must be extraordinary," she thought.
"The Moon Spirit Fish fry have grown quite a bit too!"
The white of the Moon Spirit Fish differed from the White-Scaled Spirit Fish—the former shimmered like moonlight, while the latter gleamed with a faint glow.
"They're both white, but you can instantly tell them apart when they swim together!"
After feeding the fish some powdered spiritual pills, Chen Jinshu exited the Spirit Plant Space.
The next morning at the hour of Chen (7–9 a.m.), Chen Jinshu washed up and descended from her mountain cave residence to the front hall. Upon entering, she saw her master and a few senior brothers and sisters having breakfast.
"Greetings, Master! Greetings, Senior Brothers and Sisters!"
"Jinshu! Just in time—the medicinal meal is ready. Come and eat!" Shui Huanmeng looked much more refreshed than she had the day before and even gave Chen Jinshu a warm smile.
Earlier at the hour of Mao (5–7 a.m.), her senior sister had sent a message saying their master would be preparing strengthening medicinal meals over the next few days and that she should come eat at the front hall at the hour of Chen.
The medicinal meal techniques Shui Huanmeng had developed were widely used in the Spiritual Food Hall. So, it wasn't strange she now wanted her disciples to consume body-strengthening meals.
Her master's closed-door cultivation would last at least three years, possibly up to five. Unable to watch over her disciples during this time, she clearly wanted to fortify their bodies so she could focus on her own breakthrough.
"This meal was made with several second-tier spiritual herbs. We're lucky!" said Dai Yuzhu cheerfully.
"Then I must taste it for myself!"
Chen Jinshu took her seat and began eating carefully. Though the meal had a strong medicinal scent, it tasted surprisingly sweet. Barely a third of the way through, she felt the medicinal power coursing through her meridians, clearly strengthening her body.
Her physical defenses lagged slightly behind her cultivation—she was close to breaking through to the eighth level of Qi Refinement, but her body was only at the early seventh level. This disparity was a major disadvantage in close combat—a common issue for many pill refiners from Medicine King Peak.
Her master's concern was well-founded. There was a saying in the cultivation world: Alchemists were weak in combat. Now it seemed there was truth to that.
An hour later, she listened to her master and seniors share their cultivation experiences in the hall and gained many insights into the Qi Refining path.
Soon after, she returned to her Azure Luan Courtyard.
Having eaten the medicinal meal, she could now clearly sense the bottleneck to the eighth layer of Qi Refining.
Perhaps sensing this change, her master had allowed them to leave early.
"Now's my chance—let's break through to the eighth level in one go."
She retrieved a Jade Lantern Fruit from her storage pouch and popped it into her mouth without hesitation.
It tasted pleasantly sweet and tart.
Then, an immense surge of medicinal power was drawn into her lotus-shaped birthmark on her forehead. As she activated her Verdant Wood Rebirth Technique, a torrent of wood-attributed spiritual energy surged toward the bottleneck at her dantian.
From afar, Chen Jinshu's entire body glowed green, and the surrounding wood-element energy turned into green threads that streamed toward her.
Half an hour later, aided by the medicinal meal and the Jade Lantern Fruit, her cultivation broke through smoothly to the eighth layer of Qi Refining.