In just a dozen breaths, under the augmentation of the Ancient Withered Wood Staff, the Bodhi Spirit Flower seemed to have experienced decades or even a century of Years.
At first, it was merely a delicate seedling, its verdant leaves gently swaying, exuding vibrant vitality. Under the augmentation of a large amount of Wood-Yin Spiritual Qi and the power of Years, the Bodhi Spirit Flower rapidly grew stronger, becoming lush and leafy.
The Bodhi Spirit Flower's vitality was instantly fully released; its roots penetrated deep into the soil, its leaves gradually expanded, full of green, and soon after, the Bodhi Spirit Flower ushered in a crucial moment in its life—blooming.
The flowers appeared sacred white, enveloped in spiritual mist, their petals gently unfurling, emitting an enchanting luster. Dozens of Spirit Flowers instantly bloomed, releasing a delicate, refreshing fragrance that permeated the air.
As the flowers bloomed, the Bodhi Spirit Flower entered its fruiting period. The fruits initially presented a light green color and gradually enlarged, becoming plump, growing into individual fruits the size of longans.
The color of the fruits also continuously changed, from light green to dark green, then to slightly yellowish, and finally turning golden yellow, emitting a serene and sacred aura, which also indicated that the Bodhi Spirit Flower's vitality was gradually fading.
...
Li Mu's eyes were wide open, gazing at the growth state of the Bodhi Spirit Flower, continuously outputting Wood-Yin Spiritual Qi, not daring to relax for a moment.
At this moment, the Bodhi Spirit Flower had completely matured and began to decline from its peak. All its vitality gathered into dozens of fruits, and its branches and leaves withered at a visible speed. A gentle breeze blew, turning them into ash.
However, this withering power did not affect the fruits of the Bodhi Spirit Flower. On the contrary, the dozens of fruits became plumper and more mature, emitting an even richer aroma.
The fruits fell and were held by Li Mu's Divine Sense. With a slight force, one of the fruits was crushed, revealing its pulp and a seed. The seed was the spiritual seed of the Bodhi Spirit Flower.
After checking, Li Mu confirmed that the Bodhi Spirit Fruit cultivated using the Wither and Flourish Art contained less than one percent of the Spiritual Qi and medicinal power of a normal Bodhi Spirit Fruit. Its seed characteristics were largely normal, but whether it could continue to grow was unknown.
Li Mu carefully inspected the Bodhi Spirit Fruit and obtained 120 seeds of the Bodhi Spirit Flower.
However, the Wood-Yin Spiritual Qi and the power of Years consumed in this Wither and Flourish experiment were more than enough to purchase ten Bodhi Spirit Fruits.
Under normal circumstances, using this secret art to obtain fruits is not worth it, especially for high-grade Spiritual Plants, which require Years and special environments for precipitation.
However, Li Mu's goal was not the fruits, but the spiritual seeds. If these spiritual seeds could be planted normally and grow successfully, this cost would be acceptable.
The growth rate of a fifth-grade Bodhi Spirit Flower was too slow, and it also consumed the vitality of a fifth-grade Bodhi Wood. Continuing to use the Wither and Flourish Art on its spiritual seeds would be too costly.
To verify whether Spiritual Plants obtained using the Wither and Flourish Art could grow normally, Li Mu took out a few second-grade heavenly phoenix grass spiritual seeds, planted them in the Spiritual Field, and continued to use the Ancient Withered Wood Staff for catalysis.
The growth requirements of second-grade heavenly phoenix grass were not as high, and the consumption of using the Wither and Flourish Art was much smaller.
Soon, under the shroud of powerful Wood-Yin Spiritual Qi and the power of Years, a miraculous scene occurred again: tender green Heavenly Wind Grass plants broke through the soil and grew rapidly.
...
After a hundred breaths, several heavenly phoenix grass plants declined from their peak and rapidly withered. Li Mu obtained thousands of second-grade heavenly phoenix grass spiritual seeds.
Next, Li Mu began to process these heavenly phoenix grass spiritual seeds, keeping a portion of them for normal planting. These spiritual seeds were the product of accelerated ripening, and their vitality still existed. As long as they were given enough nutrients and Spiritual Qi, they could continue to grow, if the experiment was successful.
In the future, as long as Li Mu obtained Spiritual Plants, he would no longer have to worry about spiritual seeds.
For another portion of the heavenly phoenix grass spiritual seeds, Li Mu decided to continue using the Wither and Flourish Art for catalysis. He wanted to see if these spiritual seeds could still continue to grow even though they had already withered.
If he could successfully catalyze the growth of these spiritual seeds, it would be a huge gain for Li Mu.
Li Mu planned to control the growth period of this portion of heavenly phoenix grass spiritual seeds, ripening them to maturity, and confirming whether these Spiritual Plants could absorb Plant Spirit Light Orbs during their mature phase.
If they could successfully absorb Plant Spirit Light Orbs, he could use this art in the future to predict the Plant Spirit attributes of each Spiritual Plant in advance, no longer needing long breeding and cultivation.
To achieve this goal, Li Mu expended a large amount of Wood-Yin Spiritual Qi and the power of Years, beginning to stimulate the growth of the heavenly phoenix grass spiritual seeds, while also controlling their state to keep them in their mature phase without completely withering.
Once, twice, ...
Li Mu conducted dozens of ripening experiments on the Heavenly Phoenix Spirit Grass, finally grasping the approximate consumption of Wood-Yin Spiritual Qi and the power of Years needed to ripen each second-grade heavenly phoenix grass to maturity.
However, when Li Mu cut down a mature heavenly phoenix grass and performed Plant Spirit Absorption, no Plant Spirit Light Orbs were found at the cut section of the plant.
This made Li Mu feel very disappointed and confused, and he began to ponder where the problem lay. Was the quality of the spiritual seeds not high enough, or was this ripening method unable to obtain Plant Spirit Light Orbs? Or was the scale of the heavenly phoenix grass not enough? Perhaps planting more might yield Plant Spirit Light Orbs?
Li Mu was unwilling to give up and decided to conduct the experiment again.
This time, Li Mu ripened hundreds of heavenly phoenix grass plants at once, planting a small Spiritual Field. Soon, a small patch of heavenly phoenix grass grew rapidly.
Li Mu raised his hand and gently waved it; a golden light swept across, and hundreds of mature Heavenly Wind Grass plants were cut at their roots.
Dozens of green light orbs floated into the air. Li Mu's spirit was invigorated, and he quickly reached out and drew all dozens of small light orbs into his body.
Li Mu eagerly looked at the panel log.
【Talent Divine Power - Plant Spirit Extraction activated. You absorbed a Plant Spirit. Free Proficiency Points +0.1】
【Talent Divine Power - Plant Spirit Extraction activated. You absorbed a Plant Spirit. Free Proficiency Points +0.2】
【Talent Divine Power - Plant Spirit Extraction activated. You absorbed a Plant Spirit. Free Proficiency Points +0.1】
...
Looking at the dozens of proficiency point gain notifications in the log, Li Mu paused slightly, filled with both surprise and joy.
This is great! Spiritual Plants ripened by the Wither and Flourish Art can still yield Plant Spirit Light Orbs. However, the attributes and probability obtained are significantly lower. Compared to the massive consumption of Wood-Yin Spiritual Qi and the power of Years, this small gain is negligible.
Despite this, Li Mu was still very excited. He had always hoped to ripen Spiritual Plants through the Wither and Flourish Art to obtain more Plant Spirit Light Orbs. Now, this wish had finally come true.
Although Spiritual Plants ripened by the Wither and Flourish Art could yield Plant Spirit Light Orbs, the attributes and probability obtained were significantly lower. This made Li Mu feel a bit disappointed. However, through this method, he could verify the Plant Spirit attributes of high-grade Spiritual Plants, and in the future, he would no longer need to spend a lot of effort and time cultivating the seedlings of other spiritual seeds.
Li Mu looked at the thousands of five- and six-grade Spiritual Plant seedlings planted in the 'experimental field', his heart stirring. He prepared for an even larger experiment.
Li Mu looked down at the dozen or so fifth-grade Bodhi Spirit Flower seedlings and decided to start the experiment with the Bodhi Spirit Flower. This time, he planned to ripen one Bodhi Spirit Flower to maturity and obtain its Plant Spirit Light Orb.
Li Mu took a deep breath, holding the ancient withered wood staff, and activated Wood-Yin Spiritual Qi and the power of Years to ripen one of the Bodhi Spirit Flowers.
Li Mu fully concentrated on controlling the output of Spiritual Qi to ensure that the Bodhi Spirit Flower was only ripened to maturity.
Soon, one by one, the Bodhi Spirit Flowers began to grow rapidly under Li Mu's activation. Their leaves became greener, their branches extended continuously, and flower buds began to bloom.
A golden light suddenly burst forth. At the moment the Bodhi Spirit Flower entered its fruiting period and was about to wither and perish, Li Mu instantly cast a spell, cutting it down.
Just as the Bodhi Spirit Flower broke, a yellow Spiritual Light Orb appeared at the broken section of the Bodhi Spirit Flower.
Li Mu was ecstatic when he saw this. He immediately reached out and cupped the yellow Spiritual Light Orb in his palm, eagerly looking at his attribute panel.
【Talent Divine Power - Plant Spirit Extraction activated. You absorbed a Plant Spirit. Dao Comprehension +3.7】
A text notification popped up in the log, and Li Mu felt his Sea of Consciousness clear and his spirit slightly invigorated.
Seeing this result, Li Mu was overjoyed. He hadn't expected the Plant Spirit Light Orb attribute of the Bodhi Spirit Flower to be an increase in Dao Comprehension.
This was an unexpected great gain for Li Mu. Dao Comprehension is the foundation of a cultivator's cultivation of the Dao. The stronger the Dao Comprehension ability, the deeper the understanding of the Dao principles, which relates to the power of the Law Domain and how far one can go in the future. It is an important factor in improving one's cultivation Realm and a key indicator of a cultivator's potential.
This Plant Spirit Light Orb increased Dao Comprehension by 3.7 points. If the Plant Spirit Light Orb of the Bodhi Spirit Flower were obtained through normal cultivation methods, the increased attribute value would be tens or even hundreds of times greater.
The Bodhi Spirit Flower, a fifth-grade Spiritual Plant, had already been included in Li Mu's list for large-scale cultivation.
However, besides Spiritual Qi requirements, the Bodhi Spirit Flower also has special environmental requirements. Large-scale planting of Bodhi Spirit Flowers would require first obtaining a large quantity of fifth-grade Bodhi Wood, preferably transplanting a forest of Bodhi Wood.
However, thinking of the growth environment required by the Bodhi Spirit Wood, Li Mu couldn't help but feel a headache.
The growth environment of fifth-grade Bodhi Wood requires a small amount of fifth-grade Four Symbols Wutu and needs to be watered with fourth-grade celestial one true water from time to time. To transplant this Bodhi Wood, Li Mu waited for a long time before the Wanbao Pavilion managed to acquire it.
To transplant a large quantity of fifth-grade Bodhi Wood, he would need to invest a lot of financial resources and energy to collect such Spiritual Wood.
Li Mu sighed, putting this matter aside for now, and continued to experiment with the seedlings of other high-grade Spiritual Plants.
...
Time flew by, and another half month passed in a blink of an eye.
Li Mu emerged from the Painting World Treasure Mansion and immediately flew to the Spiritual Field.
Li Mu performed the Qingfeng Huanyu Technique with his hand, and an invisible force flowed from his fingertips, transforming into a continuous fine rain that sprinkled over the two thousand mu of Spiritual Field.
Large patches of fine raindrops fell on the two thousand mu of Purple Jade Spirit Ginseng seedlings and Yin Soul Fruit seedlings.
Watching the Purple Jade Spirit Ginseng and Yin Soul Fruit seedlings grow well, with tender shoots and a vibrant appearance, the gloom in Li Mu's heart instantly dissipated considerably.
Each of these Spiritual Plant seedlings carried Li Mu's efforts and hopes. When this batch of Spiritual Plants matured and he harvested their Plant Spirit Light Orbs, that would be the day he advanced to the Soul Transformation Realm.
Li Mu was filled with anticipation, carefully observing the growth of each seedling, constantly adjusting the Yin and Yang Qi environment and Spiritual Qi concentration of the Spiritual Field to ensure they could grow in the best possible state.
...
After more than an hour spent tending to the two thousand mu of Spiritual Field, Li Mu flew back to his Immortal Cave on Crescent Moon Island.
Xue'er saw Li Mu's figure and was about to greet him, but her gaze fell on his face, and she keenly sensed that Lord Li's mood was somewhat off at the moment.
Since Xue'er activated her Heavenly Fox Bloodline, her perception of emotions had become incredibly keen. This could be considered an innate talent of the Snow Fox Clan, allowing her to accurately perceive changes in others' emotions by observing their expressions, movements, and tone.
Seeing Li Mu's expression, that look of unresolved worry, Xue'er couldn't help but feel a little concerned.
Lord Li had always been a very calm and composed person, rarely losing control of his emotions. However, today, his emotions were clearly off; his entire being seemed shrouded in a layer of gloom.
An uneasiness welled up in Xue'er's heart. She didn't know what difficulties Li Mu had encountered, but she could feel his exhaustion and pressure.
Xue'er wanted to go forward and ask, but she was afraid of disturbing him. So, Xue'er stood still, silently observing Li Mu's every move.
"What's wrong?" Facing Xue'er's unusual behavior, Li Mu was puzzled and looked at Xue'er strangely.
"Lord Li, what happened?! Why do you look so troubled? Is there something bothering you?" Xue'er quickly asked with concern.
Li Mu looked up at Xue'er and casually replied, "Nothing, just something about Artifact Refining. Some Spiritual Materials are hard to come by!"
"Hmph! Lord Li, is there anything you can't tell me?! You're lying to me again. I'm so worried about you!" Hearing Li Mu's perfunctory reply, Xue'er huffed, stepped forward, pulled Li Mu's arm, and asked coquettishly.
"I'm really not lying to you. Besides Artifact Refining, there are also auxiliary Spiritual Materials for cultivating high-grade Spiritual Plants, most of which are hard to get! I'm so worried!" Li Mu gave a bitter smile and explained truthfully.
In this Wither and Flourish Art experiment, Li Mu learned about the Plant Spirit attributes of a large number of fifth- and sixth-grade Spiritual Plants, such as the sixth-grade Spiritual Plant that increases Lifespan - Yan Yuan Spirit Grass, the sixth-grade Spiritual Plant that increases star source - Mou Xing Spirit Grass, the one that increases Divine Soul strength - Nether Ghost Ganoderma, ...
However, the auxiliary Spiritual Materials, various complex and miraculous Spiritual Materials, and special growth environments required for large-scale cultivation of these high-grade Spiritual Plants were by no means something he could easily gather alone.
Xue'er sensed no problem with Li Mu's emotional state in this reply and couldn't help but feel relieved.
It seemed that the problem Lord Li encountered was indeed as he described.
Xue'er couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and comforted him with a smile: "Lord Li, if it's difficult to get, just take your time. You're so amazing, you'll gather them all one day."
Li Mu looked at Xue'er, then sighed helplessly again, looking as if he found it difficult to explain.
"If it's really impossible, just ask Sister Ji for help. She should be very happy to help you." Seeing Li Mu's frustrated and dispirited look, Xue'er couldn't help but find it amusing and quickly suggested.
Li Mu nodded with a bitter smile. Besides asking Ji Hanyan, he also wanted to check out the local market. (End of chapter)
