Volume 1 Chapter 19

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Volume 1 Chapter 19: The Teased Grass

When Yue Qingru had finished preparing the land and planted all the seeds, he was about to use the "Plant Spirit Technique" to help the flowers grow, when he saw Xu Qingfan running towards him, stumbling as if he had just seen a ghost.

Surprised about what could have happened to make his usually calm junior so startled, Yue Qingru quickly went up to him and asked, "Junior, what’s wrong? Did something happen?"

Xu Qingfan, with a flower at the tip of his finger, stammered to Yue Qingru, "Brother, you, you have to see this flower."

Only then did Yue Qingru notice the flower at the tip of Xu Qingfan’s finger, and he exclaimed, "Oh? Isn’t that the Ring Flower? Where did you find it, Junior? Normally, the back mountain is dense with trees, and there is little sunlight, so this flower shouldn’t grow here."

At that moment, Xu Qingfan finally calmed down and explained to Yue Qingru what had just happened, even demonstrating the "Finger to Flower" trick in front of him.

This time, it was Yue Qingru who was left speechless. Even with his vast knowledge, he had never heard of such a strange occurrence. The two brothers stared at each other for a long time, before Xu Qingfan sighed and said, "I finally understand some uses of ‘The Formula of Wither and Flourish’; it actually helps the Ring Flower to mature."

Yue Qingru frowned after hearing Xu Qingfan’s words, but as an observer, he immediately said, "You should try other seeds."

There were still many seeds left in the basket that Yue Qingru hadn’t used, including frankincense flowers, jasmine flowers, and night blossoms. After Xu Qingfan followed the same method, circulating the Spirit Qi within him and carefully sensing the Spirit Qi waves from the seeds, he could also transform the seeds of other flowers and herbs into green mist and draw them into his body. Moreover, when he circulated the Spirit Qi again and imagined the waves from those seeds, he could endlessly conjure those flowers and herbs!

"I never expected ‘The Formula of Wither and Flourish’ could be used like this," Yue Qingru murmured.

"To be able to ripen plants without seeds, it seems I can only be a gardener in this life, and without needing any capital," Xu Qingfan said, laughing at himself.

"I understand now!" Yue Qingru suddenly exclaimed.

"What do you understand, brother?" Xu Qingfan asked. After learning the use of ‘The Formula of Wither and Flourish’, he suddenly felt a bit down. This cultivation method really seemed less useful, though it wasn’t completely useless; for a gardener, it was indeed excellent.

"’The Formula of Wither and Flourish’ is not just a simple cultivation method; it’s actually a magical combination of cultivation method and Taoist technique. Practicing it not only increases one’s power but also grants the ability to absorb seeds and endlessly promote the growth of plants," Yue Qingru said excitedly.

"What good is that? The wood-type Taoist technique has limited power. Even if I can endlessly promote plant growth, what’s the use? I never planned to be a gardener," Xu Qingfan replied, feeling discouraged.

"You shouldn’t say that, brother. You should know that the ability to promote plant growth is not just a little thing," Yue Qingru said with a smile, looking very happy.

"What good is that?" Xu Qingfan asked.

"You know? There are many plants in the Shenzhou Continent that have amazing properties. For example, the Explosive Flame Flower explodes with just a touch; the Blade Grass is as sharp as a sword made from the finest steel; and there’s the white Spiritual Herb that can heal wounds, the Misty Flower that can create fog, and the Iron Vine…" Yue Qingru grew more excited as he spoke. "If you can get the seeds of these plants, you won’t have to worry about having no way to attack!"

Hearing Yue Qingru’s words, Xu Qingfan’s eyes lit up and he said even more excitedly, "Lingzhi! Ginseng! He Shou Wu! If I can grow these magical herbs without limits, then we will never worry about not being able to improve our skills again!"

Even though Xu Qingfan usually claimed to be free from desires, he couldn’t help but feel hopeful and invigorated now.

"Yes!" Yue Qingru said happily, laughing.

"Where can we find these seeds?" Xu Qingfan asked excitedly.

"At the Hundred Herbs Store, there are not only various magical herb seeds, but also Uncle Hu, the Martial Uncle, loves to collect rare flowers and herbs, so there must be plenty of these seeds. I will go ask for them right away. Uncle Hu shouldn’t mind if it’s just for seeds." As he spoke, Yue Qingru quickly walked toward the front mountain, while Xu Qingfan stood in place, foolishly laughing, feeling like the future was full of possibilities.

Unfortunately, good things like that are rare in the world.

When Yue Qingru brought back seeds of various rare flowers and magical herbs, the two brothers couldn’t wait to test them one by one. However, the results disappointed them greatly and deepened their understanding of "The Formula of Wither and Flourish."

After testing each kind of seed one by one, Xu Qingfan and Yue Qingru found that using the previous method on these strange flowers and plants, like the Explosive Flame Flower, allowed Xu Qingfan to just barely sense the Spirit Qi fluctuations of the seeds after he used "The Formula of Wither and Flourish," and he could turn it into green mist to absorb it into his body.

Other strange flowers and plants, like Blade Grass, White Spiritual Herb, Misty Flower, and Iron Vine, were similar, but each one was harder to sense than the last. The Spirit Qi needed to grow these strange flowers and plants also increased with each type. The Spirit Qi Xu Qingfan used to grow the Ring Flower was almost negligible.

As for the powerful Willow Whip or the Spiritual Herb like Lingzhi, Xu Qingfan couldn’t sense any Spirit Qi fluctuations from their seeds at all.

After seeing this result, both Xu Qingfan and Yue Qingru felt a bit disappointed for a moment.

Remembering the process of growing those strange flowers and plants, Xu Qingfan suddenly asked, "Senior Brother Yue, how long does it take for the Explosive Flame Flower to grow from seed to full bloom?"

Yue Qingru didn’t know why Xu Qingfan asked this question, but he replied, "It takes about five years."

"How about the Ring Flower?" Xu Qingfan asked again.

"A few months is enough."

"And what about Blade Grass, Misty Flower, and Iron Vine?"

"It takes about ten to fifteen years, what’s wrong?" Yue Qingru asked curiously.

"I finally understand," Xu Qingfan said slowly after a deep sigh, his voice full of disappointment.

"What do you understand, martial brother?" Yue Qingru asked with curiosity.

"The grass on the plain grows and fades every year," Xu Qingfan suddenly recited a well-known poem instead of answering Yue Qingru directly.

"You mean…" Yue Qingru began to understand something vaguely, but he wasn’t sure.

"‘The Formula of Wither and Flourish’ means that growth and decay represent one year. The two Spirit Qi in my body represent this growth and decay. Just now, when I was trying to create the Ring Flower, I imagined the Spirit Qi waves of the Ring Flower seeds in my mind, and the Spirit Qi in my body circulated once, meaning one year passed, and the Ring Flower appeared in my hand. But when I tried to create the Explosive Flame Flower, I needed the Spirit Qi in my body to circulate five times to succeed. As for the Iron Vine, it needed to circulate fifteen times, which is almost my current limit," Xu Qingfan explained slowly.

"So, martial brother, are you saying that the years the plants need to grow relate to how many cycles your Spirit Qi has to complete?" Yue Qingru asked to confirm.

"Yes. Moreover, I need to sense the Spirit Qi waves of the seeds fully before I can turn them into green mist and take them into my body. Only then can I create these plants without seeds. But I estimate that the longer the plant takes to grow, the more subtle and difficult its seed’s Spirit Qi waves are to understand. Even if I can completely master these seed waves and take the seeds into my body, creating these plants will still be very hard. For example, willow trees take at least a hundred years to grow, and spiritual herbs may take thousands of years to mature, while my current ability can only circulate the Spirit Qi in my body around sixteen or seventeen times," Xu Qingfan said with a bitter smile.

Yue Qingru was very disappointed too, but when he saw Xu Qingfan looking downcast, he encouraged him, "Martial brother, don’t be disappointed. No matter what, you now understand the amazing use of ‘The Formula of Wither and Flourish’, which means you can infinitely create many different magical plants, like suddenly mastering various Taoist spells. Besides, even if you can’t create those Spiritual Herbs right now, having a clear goal for the future doesn’t mean you can’t succeed later. I believe that one day you will be able to."

Xu Qingfan was originally an easygoing person. After hearing Yue Qingru’s words, he felt relaxed and waved his hand, smiling, "Brother, you don’t need to say more. I understand all of this. I have already been secretly happy that I suddenly gained many powers for no reason. The Shenzhou Continent is so vast and filled with many wonderful plants. I will only become stronger. Moreover, in the future, I might even be able to cultivate spiritual medicine! I was just hoping that the bigger the wish, the bigger the disappointment. You don’t need to worry about me."

Seeing Xu Qingfan’s expression become relaxed again, Yue Qingru also felt relieved and said with a smile, "Alright then, I will wait to taste your cultivated spiritual medicine."

"Okay, brother, just wait," Xu Qingfan replied with a smile.

He suddenly felt a bit absurd in his heart. To circulate Spirit Qi a thousand times in one breath, he needed to reach the Mahayana Stage, but he was still far from reaching the Condensed Core Stage. Besides, after reaching the Condensed Core Stage, the benefits of spiritual medicine for improving strength would be limited.