The lamplight flickered, and Zhao Xing stared at the dimming and brightening book, his vision gradually clearing.
He originally thought it was just a normal fluctuation, but the feeling of brightness grew stronger and stronger until, at a certain moment, it became as bright as day.
“Huh?” Zhao Xing looked up, put down the book, and scanned his surroundings.
He found that it wasn't daylight outside; it was still deep night, and the calendar showed it was the Hour of the Rat, with no unusual occurrences.
Looking at the panel record again, he suddenly understood.
“You read the ‘Classic of Materia Medica’ at night, Origin Qi entered your eyes, and you comprehended the Spell ‘Clear Sight Night Vision’.”
“Clear Sight Night Vision: Novice Spell”
“Proficiency: 20/9999”
“Effect: Can see in the dark, can see a thousand meters away.”
“A common Spell, and I actually got this one.”
Zhao Xing smiled slightly, not expecting to gain something so quickly, and a very practical skill at that.
“However, I’m not far from the third stage of Gathering Origin, so it’s about time I Acquired this Spell.”
Clear Sight Night Vision is an adaptive Spell, both passive and active. It can adapt and change with the surrounding environment.
Those in the Ninth-Rank Realm generally have this as standard, and even those not ranked have a certain chance of acquiring it. Among them, the Martial Artist profession is the easiest to obtain, achievable at Gathering Origin First Stage, because their Origin Qi primarily enhances their physical body. Farmers, however, acquire it a bit later.
“It’s very practical. Later, it can advance to ‘Perceptive Insight,’ which not only allows one to observe more subtle movements and Origin Qi fluctuations but also to grasp a person's psychological activities, though it's only effective against those in a lower Realm than oneself,” Zhao Xing mused.
If it's someone in the same Realm or a higher Realm, their Origin Qi is integrated, able to be locked and not leak, making it difficult to detect, and psychological activities are even harder to capture.
“Even stronger is the ‘Mirror of Inquiry’ of the Scribe profession, which is excellent for interrogating criminals.”
With Clear Sight Night Vision, Zhao Xing found reading much more convenient.
He continued to study the Classic of Materia Medica, the Grand View of Trees, and the Compendium of Herbs.
The ultimate goal of the Farmer profession is to cultivate crops. These three books introduce and classify the plants between heaven and earth.
By efficacy, they can be classified into medicinal, edible, and livestock-use categories.
There are also divisions of 'Family,' 'Class,' 'Order,' 'Phylum,' and 'Species.'
For example, on a page of the Classic of Materia Medica Zhao Xing was currently reading, it mentioned a miraculous plant called 'Resurrection Plant,' also known as 'Soul-Returning Grass,' which can heal soul damage and is classified under the herbaceous class.
Turning a page, Zhao Xing saw a familiar name again.
“In the Mushroom Family, it describes a peculiar mountain in Mingdao Prefecture where a plant called ‘Color-Changing Mushroom’ grows. It can change color to blend with its environment, explodes upon touch, and the explosion releases toxic gas that can cause blindness, poisoning, and fainting, with severe cases leading to death.”
Color-Changing Mushrooms, Zhao Xing had planted many in his previous life. They grew fast, were easy to cultivate, inexpensive, and quite effective. They were practically a must-plant for Farmer players looking to set traps.
By species, there are native species (naturally existing between heaven and earth) and derived species (Acquired, artificially created).
There are also classifications by the Five Elements, wind, and lightning attributes, such as the ‘Purple Lightning Bamboo’ Zhao Xing had planted in his previous life.
It belongs to the Five Elements lightning attribute. Its bamboo nodes can emit purple lightning attacks, making it one of the more aggressive plants in the bamboo family.
The disadvantage of Farmer players in the early stages is that they can only fight positional and defensive battles, requiring prior deployment, because plants cannot move.
But after reaching Gathering Origin Fiftieth Stage, this problem no longer exists.
Because they can perform ‘Dantian Seed Cultivation,’ opening up a small plot of pure Origin soil, which is equivalent to a mobile reserve base.
When encountering enemies, they can perform ‘Pure Origin Projection’ into the real world, causing plants to appear at a certain location and take root in the real world, essentially allowing for instant deployment.
A wave of the hand, and an army of plants appears!
As for the later revival version, one cultivates seeds directly in the Inner Scenery, possessing more miraculous plants, and can even take root in the Void Realm, completely detached from terrain and environmental influences. That was the most powerful period for the Self-Faction Farmers…
“I really miss it. I wonder if I can live to see that time.”
“In the Luck Dynasty system, emperors have the longest lifespan, up to a thousand years, while officials with the longest lifespan was Peng Zu of the Yin Dynasty, who lived for eight hundred years.”
“This restriction was later broken by the Martial God, and officials' lifespans became even longer than emperors', while emperors' lifespans became shorter and shorter. That was because the Dynasty began to decline, and everyone was ‘stealing Luck to survive’.”
Zhao Xing counted on his fingers: “I must borrow from the Luck Dynasty system to extend my life, only then might I be able to wait for the future revival era. Emperor Jing, Martial God, and then there are fifteen more emperors. As long as I can survive the Martial God’s reign, the subsequent emperors will all be short-lived.”
“Each Dynasty only lasts an average of a little over a hundred years… At that time, extending one's lifespan will be much easier. And I am a Farmer with vigorous vitality, so outliving those short-lived ghosts shouldn’t be a problem.”
“The most difficult is the current era of Emperor Jing. Not only is he a diligent emperor, but he is also stingy, very reluctant to grant lifespan extensions to officials. The Martial God, however, was generous, often waving his hand and granting a general a full lifespan extension…”
After a brief moment of distraction, Zhao Xing continued reading. His current goal was still to change professions.
“You read the ‘Grand View of Trees Classic’ at night, and comprehended the Spell ‘Five Elements Observation’.”
“Five Elements Observation: Novice Spell”
“Proficiency: 1/9999”
“Effect: Using the principles of the Five Elements, identify the vitality of plants.”
“Ho, my Luck is really good, another practical Spell.” A profound piece of Spell knowledge appeared in Zhao Xing's mind.
There are countless rare and exotic flowers and plants in the world. Farmers throughout history have not been able to exhaust all of them, and many things are undocumented.
Five Elements Observation is equivalent to an Advanced detection Spell for the Farmer profession.
Suppose one encounters an unknown plant; one can observe its internal vitality from a distance, using the principles of the Five Elements to identify its efficacy.
Combined with other Spells, one can generally make an accurate judgment.
Farmer players also have many other identification skills, such as 【Body Fusion Identification Method】.
Cut off a small part and taste it personally. Using the body as a furnace, one can more finely experience the specific effects.
However, this Spell skill is quite a pain, many Farmer players were poisoned terribly, and Zhao Xing often saw people complaining on forums that they were poisoned to death by a certain herb.
“With it, Shennong doesn't need to taste a hundred herbs; observation will suffice.”
Having Acquired two practical Spells in a row, Zhao Xing was in a very good mood.
Even though it was past the Hour of the Rat, he continued to read tirelessly.
The classics issued by the imperial court carried certain magical powers that could help people comprehend Spells. A single book could usually be comprehended twice.
After two times, it would lose its magical efficacy and would only serve to consolidate the already comprehended Spell knowledge.
Time passed, but Zhao Xing was completely unaware, fully immersed in a wonderful sensation.
Although the magical power in the classics was weak, it would occasionally give him a 'flash of insight.' This was the feeling of 'comprehension,' very fleeting, like a shooting star flashing by, but as long as he grasped it, he would feel immensely satisfied.
“Caw-caw-caw~” The rooster crowed outside, the oil lamp had long since burned out. Zhao Xing felt a sensation, looked up, and found that it was almost dawn, and the faint glow from the classics had completely disappeared.
“Tonight’s harvest was truly significant. With the Dao Embryo Pill and the blessing of the Derived Origin Qi, I was able to gain so much from these standard classics.”
Zhao Xing glanced at the panel.