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Chapter 272 - Dig Talent
🕑 Added 2025-03-25 07:00:06 +0000 UTCAnda had no problem showing the radar to Tamina. She had already passed her character scent inspection test, meaning she hadn't done anything heinous in the past. Of course, a person's past doesn't always dictate their future, but it was a good enough indicator of their character. After all, who knows what might happen in the future to change someone completely?
"What? This kind of spirit artifact exists? Lady Anda, does your continent specialize in arrays and formations? Even our continent hasn't been able to replicate spiritual sense abilities of this level yet. That's amazing! Only a few Spiritual Cultivators in our Howling Kingdom could do something like this," Tamina said, scrutinizing the radar with excitement.
"Spiritual Cultivator? What's that?" Anda asked, her curiosity piqued.
"Eh? You don't know? They're people who specialize in cultivating their spiritual sense," Tamina replied.
"Don't we all gain spiritual sense after reaching the Foundation Building Realm?" Anda asked, tilting her head.
Tamina then explained in more detail what a Spiritual Cultivator was and how they differed from regular cultivators.
"I see," Anda said, nodding thoughtfully. "We do have people who specialize or have great talent in spiritual sense on my continent, but we don't have a specific classification like that. Maybe it hasn't been fully explored yet."
With this new information, Anda became convinced that Leyvi had the potential to be a great Spiritual Cultivator. At the same time, it made her wonder why Spiritual Cultivation in the Cloud Continent wasn't as developed as in Protogaea. Was it a coincidence that the majority of cultivators in the Cloud Continent, especially the average ones, weren't aware of spiritual pressure?
After interacting with many top figures and organizations in the South Region, Anda had realized that knowledge about spiritual pressure wasn't being suppressed by anyone, as she had initially suspected. It was simply that no one seemed interested in exploring it. Now that she thought about it, she recalled that among the hundreds of organizations gathered in New Fork City to send their representatives to the Mystic Realm, not a single one was related to spiritual sense.
Anda felt a growing determination to investigate this further when they returned. Something must have happened in the past that led to the stagnation of the Spiritual Cultivation path in the Cloud Continent, and she intended to find out what it was.
"Miss Tamina, do you have a cultivation method for Spiritual Cultivators? I'll buy it from you," Anda asked.
"Do you know a potential Spiritual Cultivator, Lady Anda?" Tamina inquired.
"Hehe, it's my husband. His spiritual sense is extraordinary, so I need the cultivation method for him. With it, he'll become the first Spiritual Cultivator in the Cloud Continent and, in the future, the greatest Spiritual Cultivator in the world!" Anda declared proudly.
Tamina chuckled inwardly. Lady Anda sure likes to brag about her husband. She must adore him very much, she thought. On the other hand, thinking about her fiancé always left her feeling conflicted. His strong feelings for her would likely prove to be a hindrance in achieving her goals.
Tamina quickly snapped out of her thoughts and replied, "I'm sorry, Lady Anda. I don't have any on me because no one in my family has the talent to be a Spiritual Cultivator. They're quite rare, after all. But don't worry—when we reunite with my fiancé, I'll help you buy it from him and give it to you. He's a pretty resourceful guy."
Anda blinked, feeling a bit puzzled. "If that's the case, then I can buy it from him myself. You don't have to trouble yourself to be the middleman, Miss Tamina."
Tamina made a difficult expression and said, "Lady Anda, actually, my fiancé is quite... difficult to deal with. In fact, no one in the kingdom can easily handle him. So, I don't think it would be a good idea for you to interact with him directly. But I'll help you get the cultivation method from him, don't worry."
"What? Difficult to deal with? Is he a domestic abuser or something? Miss Tamina, leave him! Break your engagement and run away with us to the Cloud Continent! You can marry my husband instead and join our harem!" Anda exclaimed, grabbing Tamina's hands in her enthusiasm. In the heat of the moment, she had forgotten her own rule about not interfering in others' relationships.
Tamina was stunned. Is this how I should recruit other ladies into the harem in the future? she wondered.
"Lady Anda, you misunderstood. My fiancé is good to me; you don't have to worry," Tamina said, giggling. "He's just difficult to deal with when it comes to other people."
"Ah... I see. I thought he made your life difficult and that you hated him," Anda said, feeling slightly embarrassed for jumping to conclusions.
"Hihi. Don't worry about it. I don't hate him," Tamina reassured her with a chuckle. "So, Lady Anda, when are we going to move?"
"We'll start our pandaploration tomorrow. You should rest for another day to recover fully," Anda recommended.
Tamina blinked for a few moments, then smiled. "Sure." She still couldn't get used to the weird terminology Anda used. Maybe in the future, all the words might get fused with 'panda,' she thought.
The next day, Tamina felt completely energetic. After circulating her Qi all night, her body felt refreshed and rejuvenated.
She and Anda were on their way to the area with the highest spiritual energy density, as indicated by the Qi-Seeking Radar.
"I didn't expect you to be an alchemist, Anda," Tamina said, glancing at the special fire following Anda, which acted as a warmer for them. They had both stopped using honorifics, their relationship growing more casual.
Tamina had assumed the heating in the carriage was one of its functions. It turned out that Anda had been using her special fire to heat it.
"Why? Is it weird for an alchemist to be here?" Anda asked, raising an eyebrow.
Tamina nodded. "Alchemists usually don't move around much. It's less likely for them to explore dangerous places like this."
"Hehe. It can't be helped. My husband and I love going on adventures. We actually planned to enjoy exploring this place while seeking treasures, but you know what happened. I wonder what he's doing now..." Anda trailed off, a hint of longing in her voice.
Some time later, they arrived at a small snowy hill.
"We're here. Hmm... the radar indicates that the high spiritual energy density is coming from this hill. Let's look around first," Anda said.
Anda secretly ordered Little Fiery to melt the snow around the area through mental communication. She didn't want to reveal that Little Fiery was a sentient fire to others just yet.
After the snow around the hill melted, Anda scanned the entire area but couldn't find anything that emitted high energy. There was no treasure in sight, as she had expected.
"Anda, I don't see anything. It must be under the hill," Tamina suggested.
Anda nodded, agreeing with Tamina. "Hmm... it would be nice if Scarlet were with us right now. She could help us dig this place easily," Anda muttered.
"Scarlet? Another one of your sisters?" Tamina asked, tilting her head curiously.
"Hehe. No, she's one of my husband's spirit beasts," Anda replied with a smile.
"So your husband is a Beast Tamer? It seems your husband is quite the talented guy—a potential Spiritual Cultivator and a Beast Tamer," Tamina praised, her tone impressed.
Talented? Anda chuckled inwardly. Her thoughts drifted back to the days when she and Leyvi were struggling to find resources for their cultivation in the Mountain Dew Sect. Before the Talent Bead came into Leyvi's possession, they were as average as they could be. Thankfully, the Mountain Dew Sect was a peaceful place, so despite the difficulties in finding cultivation resources, they had been happy and carefree.
"Tamina, I saw your fight with the Demonic Polar Bear that time, and you seemed quite proficient at manipulating earth. Can you dig a hole into this hill?" Anda asked, turning to her with a hopeful expression.
Tamina was slightly caught off guard by Anda's request. Given her status, she had never been asked to do something like this before. She thought for a few seconds, then nodded. "I can try. But I've only ever used my earth manipulation for combat, so I might be a bit inefficient at this. Don't trust my tunnel too much, okay?"
Anda nodded in reply. "Make a path in this direction," she said, pointing with her hand.
Keeping the direction in mind, Tamina summoned her spear and channeled earth Qi into it. She had been using a spear her entire life, and any actions involving earth manipulation felt more natural when she wielded it. Not to mention, her spear was specifically crafted to amplify earth elemental Qi.
She stabbed the spear into the wall of the hill, and slowly, the rocks and soil around the tip began to move apart in a spiraling motion. As the spiraling tunnel widened and deepened into the hill, Tamina began to move forward, maintaining the spear's contact with the earth. Instead of digging out the soil and rocks, she pushed them aside and rearranged them into a compact, spiraling pattern along the walls of the tunnel.
Although she had never done this before, she instinctively felt that creating a tunnel in this way would make it far more stable than simply digging straight through.
As Tamina moved deeper into the tunnel, Anda followed closely behind. She was impressed by Tamina's work, even though it was her first time digging. The tunnel was surprisingly sturdy and well-constructed.
Since digging talent exists, then Tamina might be one of those rare people born with it, Anda thought, chuckling to herself at the amusing revelation.
