Immortality: Grinding Experience Starting as a Paper Craftsman

Chapter 56 Seeking Seeds in the Spiritual Ruins, Withered Trees Come Back to Life

After a night of light rain, the once ominous land, which was once planted with weeping bamboo, has now been completely transformed by Gu Yan.

The dark soil exudes a unique humus aroma, a fertile legacy left after countless conspiracies and sins have been buried.

Gu Yan squatted by the edge of the field, clutching the last small piece of the bleeding bamboo root in his hand.

As the "Evergreen and Withering Technique" was activated, a faint green light flickered in his palm, and the bamboo root instantly turned into dust, which scattered in the wind.

Gu Yan closed his eyes, feeling the warm current flowing through his body, and then summoned the control panel.

[Everlasting Life Skill: Proficient (189/200)]

[Realm Level: Qi Refining Level 7 (35/100)]

almost.

With just a little more practice, the technique can break through to the mastery level, at which point the efficiency of absorbing life force will experience a qualitative leap.

However, the current inventory is already running out.

For him at his current level, ordinary purple-veined waste bamboo was like drinking plain water—it quenched his thirst but didn't fill him up.

Although the Blood-Weeping Bamboo was highly nourishing, it had already been uprooted. Having too many of those evil creatures would easily attract the attention of the Enforcement Hall, and he certainly wouldn't take that risk.

"We need to find a legitimate, vigorous, and, most importantly, inexpensive alternative."

Gu Yan patted the dirt off his hands and turned his gaze towards the front of the mountain.

There is a small market called Lingxu outside the Liuyun Sect, which is a place for lower-level disciples to exchange goods and services.

The place is a melting pot of all sorts of people, and strange and unusual things often come out there.

Having made up his mind, Gu Yan changed into the faded gray robe of a servant, smeared some cigarette ash on his face to make himself look even more disheveled and haggard, and then went out with a small cloth bag on his back.

The Lingxu market was bustling and noisy.

The narrow streets were lined with all sorts of stalls.

The sounds of vendors hawking their wares and haggling filled the air, creating a vibrant and bustling atmosphere.

Gu Yan hunched his neck as he walked through the crowd, seemingly aimlessly, but in reality, his eyes were sharp as he quickly scanned the goods on each stall.

"Freshly made Qi-restoring pills, three spirit stones a bottle, come and take a look!"

"A fragment of an ancestral magic sword, only one spirit stone. Even if you sell it as scrap metal, it's not a loss!"

Gu Yan turned a deaf ear to this.

He dared not take any elixirs indiscriminately, and he did not need any magical artifacts.

He went straight to the corner of the market, where spiritual plant seeds and seedlings were sold.

Compared to the bustling scene in the pill and magic weapon section, this place seemed rather deserted.

After all, cultivating spiritual herbs is a long-term technical task that is not only time-consuming and labor-intensive, but also dependent on the weather. Most outer disciples who only want to quickly improve their combat power simply do not have that kind of patience.

Gu Yan stopped to inspect each stall.

Spirit Valley seeds? Their growth cycle is too short, and their vitality too weak; I don't want them.

Polygonatum seedlings? Too expensive, five spirit stones for one seedling, I can't afford it, no thanks.

Just as Gu Yan was feeling somewhat disappointed and preparing to leave, a loud argument caught his attention.

"You're ripping people off! The seeds of this Iron Thorn are as hard as stone. They won't sprout even after three years, and even if they do, they won't bear fruit. They're just space-consuming weeds! And you dare to sell them for two spirit stones a pack?"

A burly man who looked somewhat simple-minded was pointing at a stall in front of him and cursing loudly.

The stall owner was a petite female disciple, dressed in the attire of the Spirit Plant Hall.

Her face flushed red from the burly man's scolding, tears welling in her eyes, yet she stubbornly defended herself:

"This is a mutated iron thorn, extremely resilient. Although it doesn't bear fruit, it... can be used as a fence to defend against monsters..."

"Defense my foot! Who needs to water their fence with spiritual spring water every day? It's just a money-losing dummy that only eats and doesn't poop!"

The burly man cursed and threw the packet of black seeds he was holding back onto the stall, then turned and left.

The onlookers shook their heads and dispersed.

The female disciple lowered her head and silently picked up the packet of soiled seeds, tears streaming down her face.

These seeds were the result of her failed experiment. If she couldn't sell them and fill the gap in spirit stones, she would be kicked out of the Spirit Plant Hall next month.

Just then, a slightly rough hand reached out in front of her.

"Fellow Daoist, how much is this Iron Thorn?"

The female disciple looked up in surprise and saw a face that, though somewhat dusty, had exceptionally sincere eyes.

Gu Yan squatted down and picked up a black seed.

It feels heavy and as hard as iron.

But his keen senses penetrated the thick outer shell and detected an astonishing, almost violent, vitality within.

It only eats but doesn't excrete? And it can't produce fruit?

This is absolutely fantastic!

For the "Evergreen and Withering Technique", this is the best fuel.

It doesn't need to flower or bear fruit; it just needs to grow leaves and vines to provide a continuous supply of plant essence.

Moreover, this mutant variety is very resilient, which makes up for Gu Yan's lack of planting skills.

"Two... no, one spirit stone per packet."

The female disciple stammered, afraid of scaring away her only customer, "If you buy a lot, I can give you half a bag of spiritual fertilizer for free."

Gu Yan pretended to ponder, as if weighing the pros and cons.

After a moment, he sighed and took out five spirit stones from his pocket: "Wild boars have been digging into the back mountain of my house lately, and I need a sturdy fence. I'll take all five packs."

The female disciple breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly helped Gu Yan pack his things, even giving him an extra bottle of low-grade fertility-inducing liquid, thanking him profusely.

Gu Yan left the market contentedly, clutching a bunch of seeds that others would consider trash.

Back at the back of Qingzhu Peak.

Without taking a break, Gu Yan immediately began planting.

He scattered the five packets of iron thorn seeds around the thatched hut, and then densely sowed them on the renovated site of the old weeping bamboo.

Then, he took out a basin of specially prepared elixir.

This spiritual liquid was mixed with the purple-patterned bamboo pulp he ground with a stone mill, and a bowl of Yin Sha water he collected in the Netherworld Pool.

"It needs to grow fast and grow fiercely."

Gu Yan evenly poured the spiritual liquid onto the seed, then formed hand seals and uttered a low shout:

"By borrowing the law of flourishing and decay, even plants and trees obey!"

Using his special ability to sense plants, Gu Yan could clearly feel that the dormant seeds beneath the soil had been awakened.

They greedily absorbed the nutrients from the spiritual liquid, and even the yin energy in the surrounding air was not spared.

"Click."

The soil was turned over.

One by one, dark green shoots broke through the soil and grew wildly at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In the blink of an eye, a thicket of thorns half a person tall appeared around the thatched hut.

But this is not enough.

Gu Yan reached out and pressed his hand on the thickest iron thorn among them, reversing his cultivation technique.

"suck!"

This time, it's not about plundering, but about giving back.

He infused the vines with the pure essence of evergreen energy within his body.

Stimulated by this high-level wood-type spiritual power, the iron thorn trembled violently. Dark red lines appeared on its originally dark green bark, and its thorns became even sharper and more ferocious.

[Successfully cultivated a mutant plant: Bloodthirsty Ironthorn]

【Characteristics: Resilient (Intermediate), Damage Reflection (Basic), Can Absorb a Small Amount of Blood Energy to Nourish the Host】

[Evergreen Skill Proficiency +5, Breakthrough to "Mastery"!]

"boom!"

As the panel notification sounded, it felt as if a windowpane had been pierced in Gu Yan's mind.

His perception range of the surrounding plants instantly doubled, and he could even hear the rhythm of these plants "breathing".

Secondly, he discovered that he seemed to be able to construct a simple sensory network through these plants.

"As long as it's within the area covered by these iron thorns, no movement can escape my eyes."

Gu Yan looked at the menacing yet vibrant thorn forest before him, a slight smile playing on his lips.

This is not only the best fuel for cultivation, but also the most natural defensive array.

If anyone tries to climb over the wall in the middle of the night again, they'll likely be sucked dry by these bloodthirsty vines before they even reach the window.

"Finding a place to live and make a living is just the beginning."

Gu Yan clapped his hands, turned around and went back into the house.

On the panel, the progress bar for level seven of Qi Refining had quietly moved forward a little bit.

At this rate, reaching the eighth level of Qi Refining is just around the corner.