Chapter 20: Bright Eyes Piercing the Night, Five Elements Perceiving the World

The flickering lamplight cast dancing shadows as Zhao Xing stared at the pages of his book. Suddenly, his vision brightened.

He had initially assumed this was merely a normal fluctuation in the light, but the brilliance intensified until, in a heartbeat, the room was as bright as day.

"Huh?" Zhao Xing looked up, set his book aside, and scanned his surroundings.

He realized it was not dawn; it was still deep into the night. His calendar confirmed it was the Hour of the Rat, with nothing out of the ordinary. A glance at his interface panel brought instant clarity.

[You have read the "Canon of Materia Medica" by night. Vital energy has entered your eyes, and you have comprehended the spell: "Night Vision Eyes."]
[Night Vision Eyes: Novice-level spell]
[Proficiency: 20/9999]
[Effect: Grants the ability to see in the dark and view objects up to one kilometer away.]

"A utility spell—I actually managed to trigger it."

Zhao Xing smiled faintly. He had not been reading for long, yet the harvest was immediate and incredibly practical.

"I’m not far from the third rank of Yuan Gathering, so it was high time I acquired this spell."

Night Vision Eyes was an adaptive spell, capable of functioning both as a passive trait and an active ability, adjusting automatically to the surrounding environment. It was standard for those in the Ninth Rank, and even those who had not yet attained a rank had a small chance of obtaining it. Martial artists found it the easiest to acquire, often gaining it at the first rank of Yuan Gathering because their vital energy primarily focused on strengthening their physical bodies; for Agronomists, it usually came a bit later.

"It’s highly practical," Zhao Xing mused. "Later, it can be upgraded to 'Insight into the Minute.' It won't just allow me to observe finer movements and fluctuations in vital energy, but even grasp the psychological activities of others—though that only works on those of a lower rank than myself."

Against peers or those of higher standing, one’s vital energy remained a seamless whole, locked within to prevent leakage, making it nearly impossible to detect, let alone capture internal thoughts.

"The Justice Ministry's 'Mirror of Inquiry' is even more potent; it is peerless for interrogating criminals."

With Night Vision Eyes, reading became significantly easier. Zhao Xing continued his study of the *Canon of Materia Medica*, the *Grand View of Trees*, and the *Compendium of Herbs*.

For the Agronomist profession, the ultimate goal was always the cultivation of crops. These three texts provided a comprehensive introduction and classification of all flora under heaven. By utility, they were categorized into medicinal, edible, and fodder types. They were further divided into families, classes, lineages, phyla, and species.

For instance, the page of the *Canon of Materia Medica* he was currently reading mentioned a miraculous plant called the "Selaginella," also known as the "Soul-Returning Grass." It was capable of healing damage to the soul and was classified under the Herbaceous Class.

Turning the page, Zhao Xing encountered another familiar name.

"In the Mushroom Family, it speaks of a strange mountain in Mingdao Province where the 'Chameleon Mushroom' grows. It can change its color to blend into its environment. If touched, it explodes, releasing a toxic gas that can cause blindness, poisoning, fainting, or, in severe cases, death."

Zhao Xing had grown many Chameleon Mushrooms in his previous life. They grew fast, were easy to raise, were inexpensive, and offered decent effects. They were an essential choice for any Agronomist player looking to sabotage others.

By species, they were categorized as "Native" (those naturally existing in the world) or "Derived" (artificially created later). They were also classified by the Five Elements, Wind, and Thunder attributes—like the "Purple Lightning Bamboo" he had once cultivated.

It belonged to the Thunder attribute, and its bamboo joints could discharge purple lightning to attack. It was a plant with relatively strong offensive capabilities within the bamboo lineage.

The disadvantage for Agronomist players in the early stages was that they were restricted to positional and defensive warfare, requiring pre-deployment, as the plants could not move. However, once they reached the fiftieth rank of Yuan Gathering, this worry vanished.

They could then perform "Dantian Breeding," opening a small patch of pure vital soil that served as a mobile reserve base. When encountering enemies, they could project this "Pure Yuan" into the real world, allowing plants to appear at a specific location and take root instantly. With a mere wave of the hand, one could summon an army of flora!

As for the later "Resurrection" version of the game, one could breed plants directly within their internal landscape. These plants possessed even more miraculous properties and could take root in the void, completely detaching from the influence of terrain and environment. That was the most powerful era for the Self-Origin school of Agronomists...

"I truly miss it. I wonder if I can live long enough to see that time."

"Under the Fortune Dynasty system, emperors live at most a thousand years. The longest-lived official was Peng Zu of the Yin Dynasty, who lived for eight hundred years."

"This shackle was broken later by the Martial Emperor. Officials began to live longer than emperors, while the emperors' lifespans grew shorter. It was because the dynasty began its decline, and everyone was 'stealing fortune to prolong their lives.'"

Zhao Xing counted on his fingers. "I must rely on the Fortune Dynasty system to extend my life if I am to wait for the future era of resurrection. After Emperor Jing and the Martial Emperor, there are fifteen more emperors. As long as I can survive the Martial Emperor's reign, the subsequent ones are all short-lived."

"Each dynasty averages only a little over a hundred years... Extending my life will be much easier then. As an Agronomist with abundant vitality, outliving those short-lived ghosts shouldn't be a problem."

"The most difficult period is Emperor Jing’s reign. Not only is he a diligent emperor, but he is also stingy; he is very miserly when it comes to extending the lives of officials. The Martial Emperor, however, is generous; he would often wave his hand and fully replenish the lifespan of a general..."

Distracted, Zhao Xing shook his head and returned to his reading; his immediate goal was to change his profession.

[You have read the "Grand View of Wood" by night. You have comprehended the spell: "Five Elements Observation."]
[Five Elements Observation: Novice-level spell]
[Proficiency: 1/9999]
[Effect: Distinguish the vitality of plants using the principles of the Five Elements.]

"Ha, my luck is truly good. Another practical spell." Knowledge of the spell surged into Zhao Xing's mind, profound and mysterious.

The world was filled with countless rare flowers and herbs. Even the Agronomists of past dynasties had failed to document everything; much remained unrecorded. Five Elements Observation was essentially an advanced detection spell for the Agronomist profession.

If he encountered an unknown plant, he could observe its internal vitality from afar and use the principles of the Five Elements to discern its utility. When combined with other spells, he could accurately identify almost anything.

Agronomist players possessed many other identification skills, such as the "Body-Melting Identification Method."

By cutting off a small piece and tasting it, using one's own body as a crucible, one could more precisely experience the specific effects. However, this skill was incredibly treacherous. Many Agronomists were poisoned to the point of despair; Zhao Xing had often seen people on the forums complaining about being poisoned to death by some herb or another.

"With this, there is no need for a Shennong to taste a hundred herbs; one look is enough."

Having acquired two practical spells in succession, Zhao Xing was in high spirits. Even though the Hour of the Rat had passed, he continued to read with tireless diligence.

The texts issued by the imperial court carried a certain miraculous power that could help people comprehend the Dao. A single book could typically be used for such enlightenment twice. After that, it would lose its miraculous efficacy and only serve to consolidate the knowledge of the spells already learned.

Time drifted by, yet Zhao Xing remained entirely unaware, immersed in a marvelous sensation. Although the power within the texts was faint, it would occasionally grant him a "flash of insight." This was the feeling of "enlightenment"—very brief, like a meteor streaking across the sky, but as long as one seized it, the satisfaction was boundless.

"Cock-a-doodle-doo!" A rooster crowed outside. The oil lamp had long since burned out. Zhao Xing looked up and realized dawn was approaching; the faint, auspicious glow on the pages had completely vanished.

"What a bountiful night. With the Dao Embryo Pill and the blessing of the second-tier fortune, I managed to gain so much even from these standardized texts."

Zhao Xing glanced at his panel.