Chapter 28: First Lecture

Chapter 28: First Lecture

Can anyone tell me what a Spirit Plant is?

A powerful voice resonated from an amiable old man standing tall at the front of the lecture hall. His lengthy white hair and drooping beard grazed his black robes, which slightly dragged on the tile floors as he slowly paced the stage, clasping his hands behind his back amidst the gazes of five-hundred Outer Sect Disciples.

The audience of disciples was almost fully composed of practitioners, some younger than ten but none older than the age twenty-five, all considering how to best answer a question they came here seeking the answer to.

Auslen and the others were sitting within the middle of the hall. Fortunately, the floors were generously sloped, so they had no trouble seeing the lecturer clearly. Nathaniel, on the other hand, didnt seem to have trouble seeing anything, as he was currently drooling on his desk between Auslen and Mia.

Having no interest in waking the boy, who thankfully napped in silence, Auslen turned away and focused on the lecturer up front.

They had all seen the lecture schedule from their Sect Handbook, so everyone was already aware that this old man was Outer Sect Elder Josiah, belonging to the Spirit Botanist Association.

The old man offered once more, Anyone?

Hesitant whispers spread throughout the disciples before a young girl raised her hand.

The Elder Josiah smiled as he pointed, The girl in the back, go ahead.

Its a plant that had Profound Qi transferred to it!

Elder Josiahs smile remained, but he shook his head while saying, Yes, one of the primary features of a Spirit Plant is that it has Profound Qi, but that alone does not define a true Spirit Plant.

However, plants that merely hold Profound Qi are still useful for Alchemists and are often involved in the creation of low level Elixirs. These plants are widely known as Pseudo Spirit Plants.

Does anyone else have an educated guess?

Auslen himself had no clue, since he had yet to absorb the information provided by his father in the jade slips.

He felt that it would be more appropriate to understand the topic of Spirit Botany from a beginner's perspective so that he could have a more accurate frame of reference for what he should and should not know, in the case that he needed to discuss Spirit Plants with anyone else at some point.

So he continued to sit back in silence, waiting for the next child to speak.

After the earlier correction, it took a few moments for another hand to rise.

Elder Josiah waved his wide sleeve in the raised hands direction in permittance.

Is it a plant that cultivated Profound Qi on its own?

No. Although that is quite a rare occurrence within nature, it is still the rough equivalent of a Pseudo Spirit Plant.

Elder Josiah looked around the now silent hall before asking, One last guess?

As soon as he finished his question, a hand belonging to a young boy shot up into the air.

Auslens brows raised a bit, eyes shifting towards his left to see Tarek confidently raising his hand.

Elder Josiah's eyes crinkled and he nodded in Tareks direction.

Tarek answered, A Spirit Plant is a Demon.Visit no(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience

At Tareks short answer, murmurs erupted amongst the disciples, many of which turned to gaze in the boys direction with frowning expressions. Beside Tarek, Mia seemed particularly affected, eyes widening as slight signs of terror appeared on her chubby face.

You cannot!

Auslen looked down at the man in subtle annoyance as the surrounding children erupted once more.

This man is blatantly talking in circles. Maybe I should have just used the damn jade slips father gave me earlier

The Elder seemed to draw amusement from their collective confusion and only chose to continue after the audience quieted down.

Practitioners cant manually extract Profound Qi from their own bodies, so they must rely on an outside force! The primary method is with the assistance of a specialized Spell Formation. Spell Formations are important for any cultivation-related profession, so you would be wise to begin learning your glyphs and inscription techniques.

However, there are other, more obscure approaches used to get around the issue of Profound Qi extraction, of which will have to be detailed at another time, in another lecture. Any other questions?

Can we raise Lesser Spirit Plants as practitioners?

Raise your hand next time. And the answer to your question is no, you cannot. Next question? Yes, you may ask your question.

Can anyone become a Spirit Botanist?

Elder Josiah answered, It depends. Spirit Botany has its own set of requirements, just as any other profession you may encounter within the Sect. However, if a cultivator fails to meet those requirements but is willing to compromise, it is still very feasible for them to support their cultivation needs with Spirit Botany.

To be clear, any cultivator or practitioner has the ability to successfully raise a Pseudo Spirit Plant to its Peak state, and it is a wonderful way to gain some extra Merit Points here and there, so long as you do not mind giving up some Profound Qi. The Sect is always in need of supplies, and that includes Pseudo Spirit Plants.

Once we graduate to Lesser Spirit Plants, Wood or Water Elemental Affinities become the gold standard, as cultivators with these Affinities can raise Spirit Plants with any Bloodline.

Cultivators lacking these Affinities can still raise Spirit Plants, however, they can only select those with Bloodlines that complement their Elemental Affinity. If they attempt to forcefully raise incompatible Spirit Plants, the Spirit Plant will break down from the inside, causing all of the previously stored Profound Qi to leak out until the Spirit Plants cultivation is wasted.

Regardless, that is something you have no need to worry about at the moment, because only Foundation Establishment cultivators can raise Lesser Spirit Plants. Any other questions?

The question and answer session continued within the lecture hall while Auslen sunk into his own thoughts.

He had already known of the Elemental Affinity requirements belonging to the Spirit Botanist Profession, but what he was still unclear of was the Bloodlines mentioned several times.

Come to think of it, the wolf-type Demon also mentioned something of Ancient Bloodlines. It sucks that I couldn't find anything within the Royal Library on the subject.

Most of the high-level knowledge within the Royal Library had been restricted from Auslen and Aiden, so many details about cultivation, Demons, and the like were still unclear for him.

Yet another subject I need to research.

It seems like Im going to have to use those jade slips as soon as possible. Hopefully my questions will be sufficiently answered by then

A tired whisper interrupted his thoughts.

Auslen, can we go home now?

Auslen glanced sideways at Nathaniel, who was rubbing his eyes with small fists, before looking around the lecture hall to see the majority of the nearby disciples standing from their seats. After swiveling his gaze to the front, he realized that the Elder originally positioned on the front stage was nowhere to be found.

Laughing to himself for failing to notice the lectures end, Auslen patted Nathaniels brown hair before he lifted himself from his seat with a light stretch.

Yeah, let's go back.