Chen Xia's herb garden indeed thrived remarkably well.
However, farming was ultimately just a way to pass the time. It was essentially moving his daydreaming spot from his chair to the herb garden.
During this period, no one came looking for him.
Perhaps it was because the middle realm was still in disarray; otherwise, as a master alchemist, there would be no reason for cultivators in the middle realm not to seek him out.
The first acre of herbs he planted flourished without much fuss. Whenever a plant grew slowly, Chen Xia simply went up and gave it a slap to intimidate it into growing faster.
His method relied on sheer physical force—a survival of the fittest approach.
He explained this to Zhang Daoming.
But Zhang Daoming refused to believe it, thinking that herbs shouldn't understand such principles.
Chen Xia chuckled and shook his head, believing Zhang Daoming underestimated the herbs. He further explained,
"If a herb refuses to grow, keep beating it until it starts to grow."
Zhang Daoming was stunned and asked hesitantly, "Does that really work?"
"Is farming supposed to be so inconvenient?" Chen Xia retorted.
Zhang Daoming had no response, shaking his head and leaving the house to buy more wine.
This was how things were for the first three years.
Chen Xia diligently tended to his herb garden. By the fourth year, he changed his approach.
He let the herbs take care of themselves, checking them only at dusk each day. Any that hadn't taken good care of themselves received a slap.
The principle of discipline through punishment applied here—good medicine comes from strict methods.
Chen Xia firmly believed in this philosophy, as it clearly worked.
Perhaps it also had something to do with his luck.
By now, his luck points had reached 700, nearly reaching 1000. He wasn't sure what changes would occur once they surpassed that mark or if new abilities would unlock.
His strength points totaled 4600, including those brought back by his small world avatar, equivalent to the power of Inversion Sea sixth layer.
Combined with his own cultivation at Inversion Sea sixth layer, he effectively possessed double sixth-layer strength.
It was unclear if these two layers could stack to form a twelfth layer.
In practice, Chen Xia could hold his own against Heaven Mending third heaven cultivators, though he couldn't win outright. If he needed to escape, it was effortless.
Beyond the third heaven of Heaven Mending realm, however, he would show obvious signs of fatigue.
Each level in the Heaven Mending realm was comparable to nine levels in the Inversion Sea realm.
Imperial bloodlines might cross realms to fight ancient bloodlines but definitely not supreme ones.
For instance, an Emperor-level ancient bloodline could easily strike a Quasi-Emperor-level imperial bloodline, demonstrating strict hierarchical suppression.
Currently, Chen Xia could fight a Heaven Mending third heaven cultivator at Inversion Sea sixth layer, but when he reached third heaven himself, he wouldn't be able to challenge a Quasi-Saint.
Using his current techniques, perhaps the Past Future Technique offered some hope.
However, the backlash from this technique was severe, depending on who was summoned and who was fought.
Last time, Chen Xia used the future version of himself to fight Chen Jiu at Heaven Mending third heaven, resulting in a limp that took decades to heal.
At the time, Chen Jiu was only at third heaven, yet Chen Xia managed to exchange blows with him, so the heavenly backlash wasn't too great.
If Chen Xia wanted to use the Past Future Technique to kill a Quasi-Saint, he might lose half his life, assuming he was already at the Heaven Mending realm.
If he tried this at Inversion Sea realm, he'd likely die first.
These were the limitations of the Past Future Technique.
Besides this ultimate technique, Chen Xia had the Heavenly Dragon Aura, a powerful single-combat skill. Only when he activated this aura did he truly engage in serious combat.
The intensity of battles using Heavenly Dragon Aura added at least three realms of power in the Inversion Sea realm, possibly one realm in the Heaven Mending realm.
This made him stronger than ordinary sword cultivators.
This was normal since the Heavenly Dragon Aura was an extremely rare and dominant bloodline, rarer than Quasi-Saints in the star regions, naturally making it formidable.
Chen Xia also considered his other skills: the three million flying swords and the Cycle Absolute Realm. The flying swords were his most frequently used combat tool, being very effective.
Low-grade spirit swords were easy to handle, while Daoist swords ensured strength, and top-tier bronze swords served as his ultimate flying weapons.
Sword tips of Immortal swords weren't mentioned much, as Chen Xia couldn't control them yet. Using them recklessly could harm him instead of the enemy.
Before reaching the Heaven Mending realm, using Immortal sword tips was too dangerous due to severe backlash.
The Cycle Absolute Realm was a divine technique Chen Xia had studied for thousands of years. Its power might have weakened over time, but its utility remained strong, offering dual-space environments anytime.
He learned this from the Mystic Dao Chapter, which was the only chapter he mastered after thousands of years of study.
Other chapters didn't interest him, while interesting chapters required karmic connections.
Each cultivator could have their unique Dao Chapter.
Chen Xia obtained the Cycle Absolute Realm, which could advance further if he continued studying.
Finally, his combat skills included insights into the Great Dao of Time. At the Inversion Sea realm, this made him virtually invincible.
Stopping time to land a few punches—how could anyone resist?
Even a fully equipped tank couldn't withstand such damage.
Chen Xia was now a top-tier warrior template: high damage, capable of initiating attacks, durable, and able to steal attributes, forcing single combat.
He seemed unbeatable within his realm.
If his Heavenly Dragon Aura improved further and he acquired a full set of Immortal swords, he would truly walk the path of invincibility.
Adding his final reserve points, Chen Xia would undoubtedly become invincible in hundreds of thousands of years, growing stronger indefinitely. His upper limit was likely below the Heavenly Dao, as determined by his luck points.
Now, Chen Xia wasn't afraid of death. He had an external avatar in the Dead Star Region as his ultimate trump card. Even if his main body died, his soul could reincarnate through the external avatar, although he wasn't sure if he could inherit his points.
He currently couldn't contact his external avatar, probably due to the realms'interference. Occasionally, he felt faint connections, but they quickly severed.
One piece of information he had about his external avatar:
It seemed to have absorbed most of the Dead Star Region, surpassing his own realm. Without his main soul controlling it, it wandered aimlessly, eating and waiting for death.
Chen Xia planned to use his Dead Star Region avatar to revisit the Heavenly Sword Sea, taking away the half-set of Immortal swords and seeing the ruins.
A return to old haunts, perhaps?
Shaking his head, Chen Xia glanced at a slow-growing herb seedling and slapped it.
"Grow! Don't slack off!"
The seedling rapidly grew an inch.
Chen Xia nodded.
Perhaps this was the satisfaction of being a farmer?
Maybe he should write a book someday—*Farming: From Beginner to Trainer*.