After finishing the matter of the cauldron, Rinne turned her attention to planting the seeds.

Naturally, the Frostfire Sect, with its extreme temperatures, wasn’t an ideal place for farming. The sect was divided into two main areas: the valleys outside, where the cold was biting, and the volcanic mountains, where heat scorched the air. Only plants with dual affinities for both extreme cold and heat could survive in these conditions.

Of course, the sect had its own methods to grow crops. Specific lands were equipped with formations to adjust temperatures, creating an artificial environment suitable for farming.

These lands could be rented by spiritual planters, but there was a catch—rent was not paid in spirit stones but in harvest. Planters were allowed to keep only 30% of their yield, while the remaining 70% had to be handed over to the sect. Rinne found this arrangement unfair and had no intention of following it.

After her usual briefing session in the Soul Library, she opened her eyes, her thoughts clear.

“The preparation is complete. I can start planting the seeds now,”

The formations used by the sect to isolate farming lands were, in her eyes, mediocre at best.

Compared to them, the Phantasmal Mirage Formation she used to decorate her atelier was leagues ahead. It could create an environment so convincing that even the most sensitive biological and spiritual senses would be fooled.

This formation had endless possibilities.

If a plant required the icy depths of the Frigid Abyss Lake to grow, she could recreate that. If another plant thrived only in molten lava, she could replicate that as well. The formation could even adjust the "taste" of spiritual energy, tricking plants into thriving on whatever energy was available.

“Using this formation, even cat poop can taste like chocolate,”

Rinne chuckled, recalling a scene from her past life.

Once, she had hypnotized a group into eating their own fingers and intestines deliciously without feeling pain. Now, she planned to use a similar trick—but this time, her targets were plants.

Of course, while the formation can deceive the plant’s senses, it doesn’t actually change the spiritual energy itself.

If she wanted to replicate the energy fully, it would require much more intricate preparation, something impossible with her current resources. This means some behavioral changes in the plants are likely. By the time they mature, they could become entirely new breeds—different shapes, colors, or even medicinal properties.

Despite this uncertainty, Rinne didn’t seem concerned. Instead, she smiled faintly.

“This is also an intriguing research.”

She activated the formation, manipulating it with her mental power to transform a section of her atelier into a new room. Inside, a three-floor multi-section greenhouse appeared. Each floor had ten sections, and every section could have its own unique environment.

Rinne chose a soilless planting method, using rockwool fabricated directly by the formation. She planted all 18 types of seeds in three sections on the first floor, leaving the remaining sections empty for future use.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“I’ll get more seeds later,”

To accelerate growth, Rinne used her Array Creation Formation to overlay the greenhouse with formations replicating the Spring Rain Blossom Technique and Spring Bloom Strain Technique. Working together, these techniques would ensure the seeds germinated and matured in a fraction of the usual time.

However, there was one issue—the spiritual energy consumption was enormous, far beyond what her spiritual gathering formation could provide. The only solution was to supplement it with spirit stones.

Without hesitation, Rinne threw 20 spirit stones into the energy extraction formation.

“Well, this is a necessary cost,”

The expenditure of spirit stones, worth two months’ resources, didn’t bother her. She knew the return would far outweigh the investment. With 152 spirit stones still left, she had enough to sustain her needs for now. By the time her reserves ran out, the plants would have matured, and she could sell pills to replenish her funds.

Satisfied with her preparations, Rinne stepped back to admire the results.

♠♠♠

With the greenhouse now settled, Rinne shifted her focus to her practice.

The two Spirit Gathering Pills she had taken previously were fully digested, and it was time to consume another pair. She retrieved two superior-grade Spirit Gathering Pills from her stash. Their surfaces were etched with intricate, tiny inscriptions—runes so minute they would require microscopic sight to be properly examined.

Rinne didn’t sell all the pills she made, keeping a portion, especially the superior-grade ones, for personal use. From her previous batch, she had set aside 25 Spirit Gathering Pills and 20 Fasting Pills of superior grade, reserving them for her own practice. Selling them wasn’t even a consideration.

“It’s time to eat the pills,”

She took one of the pills and swallowed it, guiding the spiritual energy into her meridians. Immediately, a warm current spread through her body, filling her with energy.

There was a faint pain, the sensation of her veins being tempered by the influx of spiritual energy. But with her pain perception reduced by almost 90%, it felt like little more than a minor discomfort. Moments later, her body began purging impurities, and dark, oily substances seeped out of her pores. Her body felt noticeably lighter.

“It seems the effect is great,”

Without delay, she consumed the second pill, repeating the process.

The difference between superior-grade and top-grade pills was substantial. Superior-grade pills boasted higher purity, more concentrated spiritual energy, and significantly fewer impurities.

It was known that pills also contained toxins that could hinder future practice, even top-grade pills were not exempt from this problem. It was just that the higher the quality, the lower the level of toxins.

Meanwhile, superior grade pills contained little to no toxins and could be consumed without side effects. The energy contained in the pills was extremely pure and easy to digest.

This could drastically shorten the time it would take Rinne to digest the energy from the pill from about a week, to an estimated time of about a day and a half.

With more pills, the speed of Rinne's body tempering practice also increased, and with more training, the excretion of harmful substances also became faster. Rinne estimated that by the end of the month, all harmful impurities—except for those in her bone marrow—would be completely expelled.

But there was more. As she absorbed the energy, she noticed an unexpected benefit: her spiritual root seemed to be stabilizing faster than anticipated.

With this realization, Rinne felt a surge of motivation.

“It seems that I can practice sooner than I expected,”

Initially, she had calculated it would take around a year for her spiritual root to fully stabilize. Now, with the current situation, she estimates full stabilization will take about four months.

But when she thought again, full stabilization wasn’t necessary to begin cultivating.

As long as the stabilization rate exceeded 30%, she could start practicing her cultivation technique little by little. By cultivating, her spiritual root would naturally adapt, further increasing the stabilization rate. This meant her overall progress would accelerate, reducing the time needed for full stabilization.

What once seemed like a year-long process might now take only a few months.