Chapter 103: Second-Rank Spirit Planter

Qin Ming stared at the scene beyond the wooden door.

He was utterly stunned.

Outside the door.

A golden desert abruptly appeared in his line of sight.

…

Outside the illusion.

The elders of Lingyu Sect were gazing toward the wooden array, discussing among themselves.

“How many disciples do you think will pass this time and advance to second-rank?”

“Hard to say—even the easiest Geng-level illusion has historically seen only a handful pass.”

“Zhuang, your disciple entered once before. Surely he’s guaranteed to pass this time?”

“Ah, don’t mention that useless waste.”

“What do you think of Qin Ming?” Liu Elder asked, stroking his goat-beard calmly.

Zhuang Elder frowned, paused thoughtfully, then said with absolute certainty: “In my view, as long as he avoids high-difficulty illusions, his chance of passing is extremely high.”

Gu Elder, beside him, frowned at these words.

“Though our Lingyu Sect’s historical record is passing the Jia-level trial, no disciple has succeeded in recent years—no one knows if anyone will break it this time.”

As they spoke,

time slowly passed.

Half a day later.

A flash of green light appeared near the wooden array, and a figure materialized.

The man emerged with a gloomy expression—clearly, he had failed the trial.

“Sigh, I never expected my first trial to be the hardest of the Geng-level illusions—the Spirit Plant Heart Trial.”

Soon after, more spirit planters emerged one after another from the illusion.

So far, not a single one had passed the trial.

“This is too hard—I was tested on plant affinity, required to find the original mother spirit plant amid an entire grassland.”

“What’s that? My illusion required me to cure several unfamiliar second-rank spirit plants within a set time.”

…

Unaware of it,

more than half the spirit planters entering the illusion had already exited.

Still, no one had passed.

At that moment,

a familiar figure stepped out of the illusion.

Everyone saw it was Li Yan, the first to enter.

His face was flushed with excitement.

Behind him, one of the wooden steles in the array glowed brightly, displaying: Li Yan—Trial Passed.

Wu-level difficulty illusion completed, time elapsed: three and a half hours.

Time flowed differently inside the illusion; inside, it felt as if one to two years had passed.

Then, a beam of light descended from the wooden array and sank into Li Yan’s spirit planter identity tablet, merging its three leaves into a single spirit plant.

It meant he had successfully advanced to second-rank spirit planter.

Li Yan’s face beamed with joy as he hurried forward and bowed deeply before Elder Zhuang Xiran: “Disciple has not disappointed Master’s expectations—I have passed the trial.”

“Hmm, passing the Wu-level trial is no small feat. You now have a chance to compete for the top three and claim a strand of Ten Thousand Trees Mother Qi,” Elder Zhuang Xiran said, a rare smile of approval on his face.

But then,

two other gifted spirit planters successively passed the trial.

Both had completed illusions of Ding-level difficulty or higher.

One even completed the Yi-level difficulty trial.

Li Yan’s heart sank instantly—if one more planter outperformed him, he would lose all chance at the top three.

Another hour passed.

Most spirit planters inside the illusion had already exited.

So far, only four top-tier spirit planters had passed and advanced to second-rank.

“Isn’t there only one left?”

“It’s Qin Ming—he hasn’t come out yet.”

“If he’s still inside this long, he must have failed.”

The spirit planters present began murmuring among themselves.

No sooner had the words been spoken than a streak of green light flashed—Qin Ming appeared beneath the wooden array.

Just as everyone assumed he had failed,

seven massive wooden steles behind him blazed with blinding light.

Prominently displayed across them: Jia-level Trial Passed!

Time elapsed: five hours.

Instantly, the air fell silent.

The elders of Lingyu Sect and all present spirit planters were stunned.

“Could this be a mistake?”

“A Jia-level trial?”

“That nearly breaks our sect’s historical record.”

“Too bad—he fell half an hour short.”

The Lingyu Sect elders exchanged glances, feeling they had lost more than just a promising disciple.

At this point, the top three of this Spirit Plant Illusion Trial were confirmed.

Qin Ming unquestionably claimed first place.

He himself was stunned—never had he imagined the Jia-level trial’s content would be planting three different spirit plants in a desert.

At the trial’s start, he had to select three suitable spirit seeds from hundreds of second-rank spirit seeds for growth in the desert illusion.

One wrong choice at this first step would mean immediate failure.

Fortunately, Qin Ming had not wasted his time reading spirit plant texts.

Based on his memory, he correctly selected the three plants and moved into the planting and cultivation phase.

He had originally wanted to try completing the trial without relying on entries.

But he soon realized he had vastly underestimated the Jia-level illusion’s difficulty.

Though he successfully grew two second-rank spirit plants inside the illusion, time left before trial’s end was running out.

For the final plant, he still used the [Ripen] entry.

The trial inside the Jia-level illusion equated to two years of real time—his experience and understanding of second-rank spirit plant cultivation had deepened significantly.

After passing, he received the illusion’s reward: seven strands of “Ten Thousand Trees Mother Qi” were now in his possession.

Li Yan stared fixedly at Qin Ming, his heart filled with envy—but he dared not show it.

Gu Elder’s face was grim, his eyes flickering as he pondered something unseen.

Liu Elder, however, wore a faint smile of satisfaction.

The spirit planters present looked at Qin Ming and the others who had advanced to second-rank, their expressions filled with envy.

Qin Ming’s heart swelled with joy—he had waited too long for this moment.

Advancing to second-rank spirit planter.

It meant that from now on, he would be exempt from Lingyu Sect’s corvée labor and regain his freedom, no longer bound by the sect.

Qin Ming suppressed his excitement and stepped forward before the Lingyu Sect elders: “Elders, I have now advanced to second-rank spirit planter. Per sect regulations, I request the cancellation of my corvée agreement.”

At these words, the Lingyu Sect elders had no reply—this had been the sect’s original promise when recruiting cultivators.

Zhuang Xiran hesitated, then asked Qin Ming: “We’ve discussed it among ourselves. Given your talent in spirit plant cultivation, we hope you’ll stay. Your corvée will be waived, and you may choose any elder as your master. Qin young friend—would you reconsider?”

“Thank you, Elder Zhuang, for your kindness—but my decision is final,” Qin Ming replied without hesitation.

Liu Elder sighed. “Ah, well.”

“Gu Elder, bring forth the corvée agreement registry.”

Upon hearing this, Gu Elder reluctantly pulled out an ancient jade slip, glanced at Qin Ming, then handed it to Liu Elder.

Liu Elder scanned the corvée registry and erased Qin Ming’s name along with the attached agreement seal.

In the unseen depths,

Qin Ming felt an invisible weight encircling him vanish completely.

“Qin young friend, congratulations on becoming a second-rank spirit planter. Your corvée to our sect is now lifted—you are free.”

“From this day forward, you may come or go as you please. You have no further ties to our sect.”

Qin Ming’s heart surged with emotion—he bowed deeply to Liu Elder in thanks.

After all, this opportunity had come from Chen Qiaoling’s sacrifice.

Qin Ming already had his plans for the future.

He had no intention of lingering here any longer.

Then.

He paid no mind to the gazes of others.

He walked straight out the Shanmen of Lingyu Gate, summoned his Spirit Light Flying Shuttle, and flew toward Qingyang Marketplace.

(End of Chapter)