Chapter 97: Absorbing Vital Life Essence, the Ripening Effect

Chapter 97: Chapter 97: Absorbing Vital Life Essence, the Ripening Effect

Back in his cabin.

Li Changsheng opened his storage pouch. Instantly, a bizarre assortment of weeds, vines, and leaves spilled onto the floor.

"Don’t let me down..."

Li Changsheng muttered to himself. He held a Stinky Fern in his left hand and, with his right, picked up a palm-sized, six-leafed herb that was purple and black. He tore off a small piece and put it in his mouth.

It was dry and slightly numbing in his mouth... then, a piece of information flooded his mind.

[Unknown: Weed. Contains a weak toxin.]

Li Changsheng set it aside and continued to test the unfamiliar plants and vines.

[Unknown: Weed. Useless.]

[Unknown: Common vine. Leaves are slightly sweet.]

...

Soon, he had tested over half the pile of plants on the floor. Most were useless, and some were edible, but he still hadn’t found a plant that could neutralize the Stinky Fern’s odor.

Li Changsheng wasn’t discouraged. He tasted them one by one until he picked up a yellowish-green sprig of leaves, which had clearly been torn carelessly from a tree.

Instantly, a powerful stench assaulted his nostrils.

It was the kind of smell that would come from a thousand stinky socks piled together and left to ferment for days.

[Unknown Plant: Taste is bittersweet. Contains a mild hallucinogenic toxin.]

Before he could throw it away, another piece of information flooded his mind.

[When mixed with Stinky Fern, it removes the foul odor, neutralizes the toxicity, and increases nutritional value.]

’Fighting poison with poison?’

Li Changsheng was slightly pleased but also couldn’t help feeling a bit speechless.

He then put the sprig of leaves into his storage pouch and continued testing the remaining plants. By the time he tested the last one, he hadn’t found a second usable plant.

Li Changsheng looked at the pile of weeds and leaves on the floor and said softly, "You’ll be perfect for an experiment."

He placed his palm on the weeds and leaves, closed his eyes, and focused, sensing the partially constructed Three-leaf Spirit Absorption Vein Map between his brows.

「A few breaths later.」

Li Changsheng felt his mind ripple as his consciousness instantly sank into a vacant state. From his perspective, the wooden cabin disappeared, and his surroundings became empty and hazy.

At its center stood a three-leafed sprout composed of intricate veins, swaying gently with his every breath.

Li Changsheng’s consciousness subconsciously merged with it.

BOOM...

The world seemed to flash in and out of existence for a moment. When he came to his senses, dots of emerald green light, like fireflies, appeared before his eyes. They emitted an aura that was pleasing to both body and soul, compelling Li Changsheng to involuntarily grab them in his palm.

BUZZ...

The emerald light points vibrated slightly, then suddenly transformed into streams of light and merged into his body.

Li Changsheng’s mind wavered for a moment, and the scene before his eyes dissipated like a dream.

When he regained his senses and saw the scene before him, he snatched his hand back with a SWISH, as if he had been stung.

The pile of weeds and leaves on the floor, which had just been a vibrant green, was now withered and yellow, emanating an aura of decay.

HISS...

Li Changsheng was stunned for a moment. He drew in a sharp breath and muttered, "What a domineering life-draining effect."

He then touched the space between his eyebrows, feeling the abundant life force of the plants flowing through the slightly raised veins. An immense joy welled up inside him.

’The Three-leaf Spirit Absorption Vein Map is a success!’

If anyone had been there, they would have seen a faint green, fingernail-sized, three-leafed sprout appear on his brow.

Li Changsheng waved his hand, collecting the withered branches and leaves from the floor. He walked to the vegetable garden in the backyard and casually tossed the dead foliage outside the yard.

He walked up to a tomato plant bearing unripe fruit, touched its stem, and focused his mind on the veins between his brows. With a slight thought...

A light flickered on his brow, and dots of emerald fluorescence flowed from his palm into the tomato stem.

A magical scene unfolded before his eyes.

The tomato plant’s withered leaves suddenly pulsed with life, turning as vibrant as new. The unripe fruits on it swelled to the size of a fist at a visible rate. Then, a blush of crimson appeared on their surface and spread rapidly across the entire fruit.

In just a few breaths.

A once-withered tomato plant with unripe fruit had transformed into one with crisp, lush leaves, now hung with bright red tomatoes.

It emitted an alluringly sweet fragrance.

Li Changsheng adjusted his thoughts, cutting off the flow of life force. Ripening this one tomato plant had consumed more than half of the life force he had just absorbed.

Looking at the crimson tomatoes.

Li Changsheng thought for a moment, plucked a few, and walked into the animal pen.

"Here, give this a try. See if it’s tasty. I ripened this with a grand technique."

Li Changsheng tossed a tomato in front of a male snow goat lying in the pen, watching it with a look of anticipation.

BAA...

The snow goat bleated, lowered its head, and began to munch on the tomato. In just a few bites, it had finished the whole thing.

After finishing, the snow goat continued to chew, staring at him with its big eyes.

He waited for a full hour.

Seeing the snow goat was still acting normally, Li Changsheng breathed a sigh of relief and cheerfully turned to leave the pen.

Back in the cabin.

Li Changsheng washed a tomato, picked up a crimson one, and took a bite.

The moment the flesh entered his mouth, his eyes lit up.

"Mmm... delicious."

Ripened by the life force, the tomato’s texture was soft and mealy, its juice perfectly balanced between sweet and sour. It was very appetizing and refreshing.

Li Changsheng ate three in a row before wiping his mouth, still wanting more. He sighed, "This life force is truly amazing. The ripened tomatoes taste much better than naturally grown ones. I’ll have to try this on other fruits and melons one by one."

If other Spirit Plant Masters knew that he had used precious life force to test ripening an ordinary tomato plant, and that wasn’t even enough for him...

...but that he even wanted to continue wasting life force ripening other common fruits and melons, they would absolutely spit on him in disgust.

’Common fruits are worth pennies, but a Tier Two Spirit Plant is worth how many Spirit Stones!’

’This brat is such a spendthrift! He is not one of us; we’d be ashamed to be associated with him.’

Li Changsheng closed his eyes and meditated, inspecting the veins between his brows. After confirming everything was fine, he headed up to the second floor.

He had already constructed about seventy percent of the complex leaf veins; less than thirty percent remained until it was completely perfected.

At that time, his face would also gradually recover as it adapted to the veins.

「The days passed one by one.」

In his spare time from constructing the leaf veins, Li Changsheng planted the branch that could neutralize the Stinky Fern in his backyard. He frequently watered it with life force until it grew to be as thick as a calf and over two meters tall, at which point he stopped.

After that, he would take his swarm of insects into the nearby mountain forest.

He only drew a little bit of life force from each tree. After absorbing the life force from several hundred trees, the Three-leaf Veins finally approached saturation.

He also discovered that after absorbing the life force, his body gradually became more vigorous, and his strength and stamina had both increased to varying degrees.

This made him overjoyed. For some inexplicable reason, the idea of simultaneously practicing a Body Refining Technique popped into his head.

This gave him a fright; he almost thought he was suffering from cultivation deviation.

’I’m just a Little Spirit Farmer, how could I possibly be worthy of such a high and mighty profession!’

Because of this, he spent several days in soul-searching before finally extinguishing the terrifying idea of dual-cultivating Body Refinement.

From then on, Li Changsheng devoted all his spare time to advancing his cultivation.

「One month later.」

Second floor of the wooden cabin.

Li Changsheng slowly opened his eyes, his gaze fixed on himself.

[Cultivation: Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer "99%"]

’I’ve finally reached Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer Perfection.’

Li Changsheng held his breath and focused for a moment. He flipped his hand, producing a jade vial, and poured out a ruby-like Barrier-Breaking Pill, which he swallowed.

The pill entered his stomach, and within a few breaths, a large amount of cool medicinal power was released.

Li Changsheng didn’t dare to be complacent. He closed his eyes and began circulating his Cultivation Technique to refine it.

An unknown amount of time passed.

BUZZ...

Li Changsheng’s brow twitched. An invisible suction force erupted from his body, and the Spiritual Qi wandering between heaven and earth swarmed into him.

A Cup of Tea’s Time later, the suction force dissipated.

"Huuu..."

Li Changsheng exhaled a breath of turbid air and opened his eyes. He felt the Spiritual Power surging in his Spirit Veins and fixed his gaze on himself.

[Target: Li Changsheng]

[Cultivation: Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer "1%"]

[Cultivation Technique: "Golden Turtle Spirit Technique (7/9)" Traits: "Toughness, Spirit Recovery"]

[Magic: Three-leaf Spirit Absorption Vein Map "Lesser Success 1%", Insect Seal (Remnant) "Greater Success 34%" / Five Poisons Spirit Refining "Lesser Success 35%", Golden Turtle Shield "Lesser Success 51%"...]

His Minor Cloud and Rain Art, Sharp Metal Art, Water Purification Technique, and others... had all progressed.

With a slight thought, Li Changsheng dismissed the panel and circulated his Cultivation Technique to nourish his meridians.

Time passed quickly.

Sunlight streamed through the crack in the window, gradually brightening the dim room.

Just then, a shout came from outside.

"Junior Brother, are you home?"

"Hm?"

Li Changsheng’s eyelids twitched. He opened his eyes, calmed his Spiritual Power, and walked downstairs.

When he walked out the door, he saw three people standing there, led by Steward Ma.

Among them was the familiar Dong Xing, and another was a large man with an indigo-blue face, a crooked mouth and eyes, and a ferocious, terrifying appearance.

’So ugly...’

Li Changsheng’s expression froze.

Little did he know, the moment the three people outside saw him, their eyelids couldn’t help but twitch as well!

"Steward Ma."

Li Changsheng hurried forward, opened the courtyard gate, and cupped his hands in greeting.

"Ahem, ahem..."

Steward Ma coughed dryly, forcing himself to focus his gaze on the spot between Li Changsheng’s eyebrows.

When he saw the faint green Three-leaf Mark on Li Changsheng’s brow, a hint of delight appeared on his face. He asked, "You succeeded too?"

Li Changsheng smiled slightly and nodded humbly. "I just barely managed to cultivate it."

HISS...

Seeing his smile, all three of them sucked in a sharp breath.

Dong Xing even flipped his hand to produce a black silk scarf, strode up to him, and, to Li Changsheng’s utterly baffled expression, draped it over his face.

"Quick, put it on, put it on..."

Li Changsheng snapped out of it and glared at Dong Xing, touching his face. "Is it really that bad?"

’Is that what you call "bad"? That’s what you call "terrifying"!’

The three of them subconsciously nodded.

Dong Xing muttered under his breath, "I told you, a description of your face alone is enough to make a crying child go silent."

Li Changsheng’s face immediately darkened. He hesitated for a moment, then raised his hand to tighten the black scarf.

’Phew... much easier on the eyes.’

Steward Ma breathed a sigh of relief internally and smiled. "Hold on tight. I’m taking you to see the Lord Steward."

With that, he took out a jade-green Jade Ruyi, poured Spiritual Power into it, and a burst of green light erupted, wrapping up the three of them and shooting into the sky, disappearing over the horizon in the blink of an eye.

Li Changsheng felt his body lighten, and then an invisible force supported him. Before he could even get a feel for it, he felt his feet touch the ground again.

"Everyone, let’s go."

Steward Ma dispersed his Spiritual Power, called out to the group with a smile, and strode towards the Spirit Field Hall.

’A talismanic artifact or a Magical Artifact?’