MTLNOVEL Chapter 153: **Chapter 154: Two Years Later**
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However, when He Song began inscribing formation patterns onto the formation plates and flags, he encountered significant resistance.
Inscribing formation patterns on spirit stones is entirely different from doing so on formation plates and flags.
Even though He Song was skilled at carving patterns on spirit stones, the process of inscribing them onto formation plates and flags proved to be much more challenging.
As a result, after crafting the formation plates and flags and beginning to carve the patterns, it took him several months to fully complete the patterns for the Minor Spirit Gathering Formation.
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Once the patterns were carved, He Song refrained from setting up the formation within the Earth Sect because exposing his talent in formation techniques would be risky.
Although he was now capable of deploying the Minor Spirit Gathering Formation, he chose not to activate it inside the sect.
Instead, he discreetly left the sect once and set up the formation in a remote area.
After confirming that the formation was functioning properly, he collected the formation plate and flags, returned to the Earth Sect, and resumed seclusion until now.
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He Song had no intention of establishing a cave residence in the outside world before mastering an advanced concealment formation capable of evading spirit sense scans.
If a Foundation Establishment cultivator happened to pass overhead and performed a spirit scan, they could easily uncover all of He Song's secrets.
To avoid drawing attention to his unusual abilities, He Song decided to exercise patience.
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After successfully setting up the Minor Spirit Gathering Formation once, He Song turned his attention to a concealment formation described in *Introduction to Formation Dao*: the Mist Veil Formation.
The Mist Veil Formation was a concealment array capable of deceiving spirit sense scans.
It could generate highly realistic illusions that appeared authentic from both near and far.
Additionally, after deploying the formation, thin wisps of mist would form around its perimeter.
Any ordinary person or cultivator who came into contact with the mist would instinctively avoid the area where the formation was located.
The formation also included other features, such as concealing one's presence and blocking sound.
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After successfully setting up the Minor Spirit Gathering Formation, He Song began studying the Mist Veil Formation.
Once he mastered it, he would be able to establish a hidden cave residence outside the Earth Sect, which he could use as a place for daily cultivation.
At that point, his cultivation speed would increase even further, allowing him to reach the Foundation Establishment stage more quickly.
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By now, after two years of diligent cultivation, He Song's cultivation level had advanced significantly in Qi Condensation Stage Eight.
His body contained a much greater amount of spiritual energy, and he felt that reaching Qi Condensation Stage Nine was not far off.
Meanwhile, through continuous study, He Song gradually gained a deeper understanding of the Mist Veil Formation.
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It was worth noting that during these two years, while He Song spent most of his time in seclusion, he also took advantage of his free moments to familiarize himself with every corner of the Earth Sect.
Over this period, he explored nearly every accessible location within the sect, including all areas available to outer disciples.
His knowledge of the Earth Sect grew increasingly comprehensive.
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Meanwhile, after Wei Fan advanced to Foundation Establishment, he soon moved out of the outer disciples' living quarters and became neighbors with Meng Guan.
Both being Foundation Establishment cultivators, they built their cave residences close to each other and often spent time drinking tea and chatting.
Occasionally, He Song visited them as a guest, and they warmly welcomed him.
However, since both Wei Fan and Meng Guan had only recently broken through to Foundation Establishment and were mostly occupied with seclusion to practice their new techniques, He Song didn't frequently disturb them.
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Foundation Establishment cultivators typically remained in seclusion for about ten years after their breakthrough.
During this period, they needed to switch to new cultivation methods, practice Foundation Establishment spells, and become familiar with high-grade artifacts, among other tasks.
Some even required over a decade of seclusion to fully develop the combat capabilities expected of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Their schedules were quite busy.
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For instance, two years ago, Meng Guan had emerged from seclusion early in his fifth year to take on external missions in order to secure a Foundation Establishment Pill for Wei Fan—a rare occurrence.
This was only possible because Wei Fan had helped Meng Guan numerous times in the past, prompting Meng Guan to sacrifice those two years.
For anyone else, such a favor would have been unthinkable.
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Now, two years had passed in the blink of an eye.
Seated cross-legged on a meditation cushion, He Song calculated something with his fingers and sighed deeply.
"Alas, having too many spirit fields does have its downsides.
Even after purchasing another storage pouch, I can barely fit this year's harvest of spirit rice."
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Over the past two years, the hundred acres of spirit fields He Song owned had begun producing spirit rice.
Four years ago, He Song started cultivating new spirit fields.
Two years ago, he completed the expansion, totaling a hundred acres.
Around the same time, he returned to the sect to witness Wei Fan's breakthrough to Foundation Establishment.
Last year, half of the fields he cultivated had already been converted into spirit fields, yielding over fifty thousand pounds of spirit rice.
This year, all of his fields had been fully converted, and the first batch of spirit rice was ready for harvest.
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Based on previous yields, this year's harvest from the hundred acres of spirit fields was estimated to produce around eleven thousand pounds of spirit rice.
Such a massive quantity posed a problem.
Even though He Song had purchased an additional storage pouch last year to accommodate the fifty thousand pounds of spirit rice, this year's harvest—combined with the sixty thousand pounds of spirit rice he still had from the previous two years—would exceed the capacity of his two storage pouches.
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The total of twenty-two thousand pounds of spirit rice would completely fill both of his storage pouches.
Thankfully, the Earth Sect's storage pouches were relatively spacious, leaving him some room for personal belongings.
But if he harvested another eleven thousand pounds this year, there would be no space left for anything else.
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The limited capacity of the storage pouches forced He Song to make a decision.
Every two years, he would need to sell his spirit rice; otherwise, it would take up too much space.
If he didn't clear out the accumulated rice regularly, it might become difficult to sell large quantities quickly in the future.
Selling smaller batches every two years would provide a more stable income stream and ensure he wouldn't face a situation where he urgently needed spirit stones but couldn't sell the rice in time.
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Deciding to act immediately, He Song carried his two storage pouches and swiftly left the Earth Sect, heading toward his spirit fields.
His first stop was a valley containing thirty acres of spirit fields.
After harvesting over thirty thousand pounds of spirit rice and replenishing the spirit stones powering the protective formations, He Song moved on to another field he had cultivated.
After harvesting the rice and replacing the spirit stones there, he proceeded to the next field.
Repeating this process, he soon completed the harvest from all his fields and replenished the spirit stones in the protective formations.
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By the end, both of his storage pouches were filled to the brim with twenty-two thousand pounds of spirit rice, leaving almost no room for anything else.
Thankfully, the Earth Sect's storage pouches were large enough to allow him some space for personal items.
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Standing at the last field, He Song looked up at the sky and recalled the map he had memorized earlier.
He needed to find an immortal market to sell his spirit rice.
After a moment of thought, he turned his gaze northwest and took off in that direction.
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To the northwest lay an immortal market called the Flame Light Immortal Market, the closest one to He Song's current location.
(End of Chapter)
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