nashuaworldcup Chapter 12 Unexpected Changes
Chapter 12 Unexpected Changes
Chapter 12 Unexpected Changes
The spiritual energy of plants and trees is gentler than the demonic energy of monsters. With Chen Yi's current physical condition, he can absorb far more of this spiritual energy than he did at the beginning.
If left unchecked, it could devour all the spiritual energy from several feet of spirit wheat in a single day, turning it into ordinary wheat.
But this is too obvious. If the cultivators discover it, Chen Yi will likely be captured and have his soul searched and dissected.
Therefore, he had always been very discreet, only absorbing about 10% of the spiritual energy from each grain of spirit wheat when no one was around.
The biggest impact is that the number and quality of the wheat grains in the spirit wheat knot will be lower, but if it's not done too badly, even cultivators won't notice.
But now?
Several acres of spirit wheat fields were flooded by the lake, and the spiritual energy of the spirit wheat in this area was visibly fading.
The lake water in the wheat field had already been diverted away by the cultivators' magic, but the silt in the field, the miscellaneous fish and demonic insects in the lake had mixed with the spirit wheat, making it difficult for the cultivators to remove them over a large area with their magic.
Therefore, a large number of people are needed to do this.
Martial artists like Chen Yi were assigned to save Lingmai and rebuild the town; the small tasks were handled by the elderly, children, and women.
In the mud, Chen Yi's feet were enveloped in a crimson aura of blood and qi. His senses were incredibly sharp; he could detect any small demonic insects that approached him in advance and then unleash his blood and qi to strangle them.
After spending about fifteen minutes killing two iron bull worms and one sickle shrimp, Chen Yi felt that his task for the day was almost complete.
For the rest of the time, he moved through the spirit wheat, and wherever he went, the spiritual energy of the spirit wheat and plants he touched was quickly absorbed.
In just half a morning, Chen Yi had already absorbed enough.
His body reached its limit; his flesh and bones were being improved by the spiritual energy of the plants, resulting in a significant increase in Chen Yi's internal strength.
His liver, in particular, was nourished by the green wood energy, resulting in a significant enhancement in its detoxification and self-healing abilities.
Over the years, his body, weakened and empty due to demonic power and the draining of his vital essence, has been greatly replenished.
The spiritual energy of the plants restored Chen Yi's life force!
Along with this, the upper limit of the qi and blood power that his body can accumulate is also raised once again.
Although he may appear to be still at the level of a first-rate martial artist, his talent has actually improved.
Chen Yi's current problem is that he doesn't have a special innate cultivation method for developing Qi and blood. In the future, after all the Qi and blood in his body are transformed into Gang Qi, he can only blindly rush to break through to the innate level without a definite direction.
"Martial arts for mortals aren't valuable. I'll try to find a way to get a primordial cultivation technique based on refining qi and blood."
Fortunately, he had just entered the first-class martial artist realm, and the amount of internal energy he had generated was still small, so this matter was not too urgent.
In the days that followed, Chen Yi spent every morning in the spirit wheat field, absorbing the spiritual energy of plants and trees to his physical limits.
In just seven days, Chen Yi's physical limits increased by two levels.
By absorbing the spiritual energy of plants and trees to the limit each day, the power of Qi and blood gradually contains the special energy of the life force of Yi wood. When Qi and blood circulate, a faint blue healing energy appears in the meridians.
When attempting to break through to the Innate Realm in the future, one might choose a cultivation method that focuses on the body's self-healing abilities.
The liver nourishes the green wood energy, minor injuries heal in a few breaths, scars on the body completely disappear, and the former aged appearance is completely restored by the spiritual power of herbs and trees, reversing the physiological age to around 25 years old.
The hidden injuries to the meridians caused by overexertion in early martial arts training were nourished by the vitality of Yi Wood, the stagnation of Qi and blood disappeared, and the overexertion of vitality caused by the loss of lifespan was also eliminated.
In just seven days, a significant portion of the spirit wheat in the vast field of spirit wheat, which was submerged in lake water, suffered severe loss of spiritual energy.
Chen Yi chose to devour a portion of each area, some more and some less, while leaving no obvious pattern in the areas, thus minimizing human intervention.
"Although the degeneration of the spiritual wheat is difficult to detect, if I keep harvesting it, I'll easily give myself away. Now, I'm harvesting it by area without any rules, which is the safest approach."
When the Li family discovered the problem and came to investigate, they couldn't find the cause and could only attribute it to the fact that the spirit wheat had been ruined after being soaked in lake water containing demonic energy.
Seeing this, Chen Yi quietly stopped, no longer taking advantage of the spiritual wheat in this area, and chose to retire gracefully.
As for stealing the spiritual energy from the Li family's wheat field, Chen Yi felt no remorse whatsoever.
You don't even treat us like human beings anymore. You don't expect me to be loyal to your Li family, do you?
"Unfortunately, only a small portion of the spirit wheat field was soaked; the rest can no longer be harvested."
Chen Yi looked at another large field of good barley and sighed.
However, he was content with this improvement; the increased vitality meant that his lifespan had not only returned to normal but had also been extended.
Time is on his side; he can look for opportunities later.
Spirit wheat is merely the lowest-grade spiritual plant in the cultivation world. Later, if you encounter spiritual herb gardens or secret spiritual plant realms...
Chen Yi couldn't even imagine how happy he would be.
These days, the lakeside town is becoming more and more lively.
The thousands of mortals who were injured earlier were completely ignored.
In recent days, some outsiders have arrived in the lakeside town, including low-level cultivators and mortal servants.
That evening, when Chen Yi went to Lady Huo's room to sit and chat over tea, he finally understood what had happened.
"This time, the Li family not only discovered two second-tier tortoise-snake beasts, but also first-tier high-grade ice crystal ore at the bottom of the lake, as well as a large number of ice-fire spirit fish."
"That ice crystal ore is an important material for refining ice-attribute flying swords. It was found at the bottom of their cave after the two turtle-snake beasts were driven away that day."
The Ice-Fire Spirit Fish is delicious, and its blood is an important ingredient in alchemy and talisman making, so its price has always been high.
"The news somehow spread like wildfire. In the past few days, quite a few rogue cultivators have come to the Li family's side, saying that the demonic beasts brought back from the sea do not belong exclusively to the Li family, and that every cultivator has the right to exorcise them."
Their real aim was the ice crystal ore and the spirit fish; the Li family was extremely busy dealing with them.
"So many cultivators have come uninvited, yet for some reason, the Li family patriarch has remained in seclusion and has not made any public appearances."
At this point, Madam Huo whispered in Chen Yi's ear:
"Rumors have spread in town that the Li family's Foundation Establishment ancestor is too old and has suffered a great loss of vitality after this battle, so his lifespan may not be long."
Upon hearing this, Chen Yi finally showed a look of surprise, having not even noticed the alluring aura emanating from Lady Huo.
It's important to understand that the very foundation of their survival—that of the Li family, a lineage of cultivators—lies in their very existence.
If even the Li family patriarch is no longer able to survive, then this place will inevitably be fought over by other Foundation Establishment families.
When the cultivators start fighting, no matter the outcome, these mortal servants will inevitably suffer.
"No, we have to think of a way to escape."
This thought was incredibly strong in Chen Yi's mind.
With his current level, if he runs away to the wilderness and hides, he already has some ability to protect himself, as long as he doesn't encounter cultivators or powerful demonic beasts.
"But that's not enough. I need to have the strength to escape with my life from a high-grade first-tier demonic beast."
Lightness skill, hard skill, weapons, and defensive items such as talismans used by martial artists and life-saving pills for critical moments—all of these need to be prepared.
Having lived two lives, Chen Yi was extremely clear-headed. Since even the lowest-ranking mortals knew about it, the news that the Li family patriarch was dying must have already spread throughout the nearby cultivation world.
Whether this news is true or false, it is fatal for ordinary servants like Chen Yi who depend on the Li family for survival.
Having just reaped a huge harvest at the wheat field, he was no longer able to smile.
"What's wrong? Are you so afraid of dying? It's good that the cultivators are fighting. If they don't fight, how will we have a chance?"
Lady Huo secretly encouraged them.
"Old Chen, you survived the ravages of the lake monsters and the breaching of the dikes unscathed, which clearly shows you possess some skill."
How about we join forces and pull off something big? While the Li family is in chaos, let's target the weak and injured cultivators, seize their resources, and maybe even achieve the Innate Realm and awaken our spiritual roots.
"Then we'll fly far away, and ten years from now, you and I will both be cultivators. Who will know about the past then?"
"How about it? If you agree, I have a few friends I've already contacted. I'd like to introduce you to them?"
Lady Huo had clearly planned this all along.
Little did she know that Chen Yi already had more than three escape routes in mind, as well as various details of hiding and surviving in the wilderness.
(End of this chapter)