Cultivation is just so scientific!

Additionally, the greatest gain this time was not the design plans but the inheritance of the Array, and through the mutual exchange of ideas with Yin Shilan, he truly neared the level of an Array Master.

What he lacked to become an Array Master was only materials and practical experience; in this aspect, he was temporarily unable to resolve the issue because his financial resources were insufficient to support the research of an Array Master.

As for the Spirit Turtle Shield, it was worth only a few Spirit Stones; the value of the Array inheritance that Yin Shilan offered was likely worth dozens of times more than the shield.

"Since I've accepted your design plans, I'm giving you this First-Grade Breaking Realm Pill as a gift, so you can break through to the Qi Refining Middle Stage sooner; your current Spiritual Power is insufficient for crafting Arrays," Yin Shilan explained as she placed a jade bottle in front of Li Shiming, as if afraid he would refuse.

A Breakthrough Pill, as the name suggests, is used by cultivators to break through realms; First-Grade indicates that it is a Breakthrough Pill meant for the Qi Refinement Realm.

Li Shiming looked at Yin Shilan's expectant expression and smiled as he accepted the jade bottle.

"Visit me on Eagle Beak Island when you have time," he said, glancing at the time and standing up.

"I'll send the Array design plans to you in a few days!" Yin Shilan then stood up and said while opening the cabin door.

As if by agreement, yet somehow casual, the two set their next meeting.

Li Shiming leapt onto the island, watching the Flying Boat gradually pick up speed as it left, a faint sense of parting sorrow rising within him.

It was only then that he remembered he still had the other Array design plan in his hand.

Back in his cave abode, Li Shiming opened the jade bottle.

An elixir exuding a purple aura came into view, and upon seeing it, he couldn't help but inhale sharply.

After having learned about the knowledge of Qi Refining Cultivators, he had gained a certain understanding of Elixir Pills.

Elixirs for the Qi Refinement Realm are First-Grade Elixirs, which are further divided into Lower-Grade, Intermediate, Upper-Grade, and Top-Grade.

Lower-Grade Elixirs have a white aura, Intermediate Elixirs have a red aura, Upper-Grade Elixirs have a blue aura, and the most superior, Top-Grade Elixirs, have a purple aura.

The Breakthrough Pill in his hand was a Top-Grade First-Grade Elixir, second only to the Foundation Establishment Pill for cultivators in the Qi Refinement Realm.

To his knowledge, such a Top-Grade First-Grade Breakthrough Pill would be extravagant not just for breaking through the Qi Refining Third Level, but even for breaking into the late-stage Qi Refining at the Sixth Level.

Because the greatest use of a Top-Grade First-Grade Breakthrough Pill was in conjunction with the Foundation Establishment Pill; for cultivators in the Qi Refining Ninth Level attempting to reach the Foundation Establishment Stage, a Top-Grade Breakthrough Pill could increase their odds by nearly half.

Do not underestimate that half chance; often, it can be the difference between heaven and earth.

Yin Shilan casually giving away a Top-Grade First-Grade Breakthrough Pill aroused indescribable feelings in Li Shiming's heart.

The hardest favors to accept are those from a beauty; Li Shiming felt this sentiment for the first time.

He did not use the Top-Grade First-Grade Breakthrough Pill to break through; using such a resource for breaking through the Qi Refining Third Level, he feared being struck by lightning.

Besides, after using the Spiritual Tea, he was very close to reaching the peak of the Qi Refining Third Level; he had to at least attempt a self-breakthrough first, keeping the Top-Grade Breakthrough Pill as a last resort.

Li Shiming sent a message to Qiu Tan using the Identity Jade Disc, ordering a batch of Basic Array Materials and a large quantity of mortal metals.

In the following days, he would not need to cultivate Spirit Rice, which meant more available time for him.

Basic Array Materials were for practice and matched what he could currently afford.

The mortal metals were for renovating the underground space; he planned to use his spare time for necessary experiments.

Qiu Tan responded that the ordered materials would take twenty days to arrive; Basic Array Materials could be obtained within the sect, but the mortal metals had to be transported through channels in the mortal world, consuming most of the time.

Li Shiming was not in a hurry, as cultivation of Spirit Plants would halt for nearly six months, leaving him plenty of time.

Of course, even though he wouldn't be cultivating Spirit Rice, he still planned to cultivate the spirit seeds he had brought back using a small section of the spirit field.

And he couldn't just ignore his spirit fields just because he wasn't planting in them; otherwise, after six months, the quality of the spirit fields might fall to that of Low-Grade Spirit Fields.

He found soil analysis data from the IBM z15, sent the spirit soil from the spirit field into the server room space, and carried out a material analysis on the spirit soil with micron-level precision.

He determined the composition of effective nutrients in the spirit soil, the contents of ammonium nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, available phosphorus, and potassium, and measured the content of organic matter and the pH level.

Although he couldn't gauge the Spiritual Energy in the spirit field through the analysis of the IBM z15, he could use the "Earth Spirit Technique" to adjust it.

Using the optimal standards from his past life's agricultural research, he continuously adjusted the effective nutrients, organic matter, and acidity in the spirit soil, gradually transforming it into its optimal state.

He spent ten mornings on this task, two hours each day, complemented by the "Spring Breeze and Rain Skill" and the "Earth Spirit Technique", and he astonishingly found that the spirit field had been upgraded from a Low Grade Spirit Field to an Intermediate Lower Grade Spirit Field.

By his judgment, the spirit soil in the spirit field was in the optimal state for a Low Grade Spirit Field, but the integration of Spiritual Energy and spirit soil hadn't reached the best state, affecting the grade of the spirit field.

Adjusting the Spiritual Energy in the spirit field is a slow process that needs to be done daily.

Li Shiming had some expectations that in the next planting of Spirit Rice, these five acres of spirit field would be upgraded to a High-level Lower Grade Spirit Field.

This is the best within the Low Grade Spirit Fields, and to upgrade the grade of a spirit field is not as simple; it requires a significant investment in Spiritual Objects to elevate the spirit soil and upgrade the Low Grade Spirit Field to a Mid-grade Spirit Field.

And the yield of Spirit Rice from a High-level Lower Grade Spirit Field far exceeds the initial state of this spirit field.

A small patch of Spirit Plants had already sprouted, and Li Shiming had built a small glasshouse for these seedlings.

These pieces of glass were also part of the not so abundant supplies he had left; after leaving the mortal world, it was too troublesome to buy items from the secular world within the sect.

If he hadn't met Qiu Tan, perhaps he wouldn't even have found a channel to make purchases.

During these ten days, he contacted Yin Shilan daily through the Identity Jade Disc, as both of them were cultivators, and they would open the Identity Jade Disc at a fixed time every noon.

Initially, it was Yin Shilan who contacted him about some computational issues, reaching out to him at noon.

As he was also continuously studying the array heritage, he encountered some problems he didn't understand; to match Yin Shilan's schedule and since he had free time at noon anyway, he contacted Yin Shilan at that time.

For ten days, their contact never broke off, and although they talked about nothing but arrays, it didn't make their relationship cool down due to not meeting each other. On the contrary, they both silently arranged their midday time.

At noon, they ended the communication tacitly after half an hour.

Li Shiming, in great spirits, focused his consciousness into the server room space, where the spirit tea tree had grown for some time and was now thoroughly revitalized.

Originally, he didn't plan to harvest the tea now, as the spirit tea tree had not yet reached its best state.

However, from today's communication with Yin Shilan, he caught the implication that Yin Shilan was planning to visit soon.

Since it was Yin Shilan's first visit as a guest to his cave abode, he had to present something for hospitality.

The only thing he could pride himself on was this Spiritual Tea, which, combined with spiritual spring water, was still not comparable to Yin Shilan's hospitality towards him.

Because the quality of his Spiritual Tea fell short of what Yin Shilan had offered, a fundamental difference in the tea trees themselves.

With great care, Li Shiming's consciousness harvested the tenderest buds from the branches of the spirit tea tree, and even the process of frying them was completed entirely within the server room space.

The ten tender buds were roasted with micron-level control to ensure the best possible quality of the Spiritual Tea.

It wasn't that he was stingy, but because Spiritual Tea is quite special, no more than two leaves should be infused at once.

If he wasn't worried about appearing too miserly, which would make him seem like a stingy host, he would have considered harvesting only four tender buds. The fried Spiritual Tea was then stored in a jade box.

He also drew some water from the Spiritual Spring and stored it in another jade box.

The spiritual spring water in the jade box was scheduled to be changed daily, given that the Spiritual Spring was underground and that area was intended to become his research space.

During the daytime, he lost some time, so he made up for the practice of the "Sword Manipulation Technique" at night.

While practicing the "Five Elements Qi Absorption Technique" at night, he felt the presence of a bottleneck, indicating that he had completely reached the peak of the Qi Refining Third Level, and breaking through this would allow him to enter the Qi Refining Middle Stage.