Chapter 17: Both Breakthrough

Jin Zhuyuan, inside the bamboo forest.

When Lin Jing and the Pine-Needle Rat were tired, they would sit in meditation to rest, absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to recuperate. Once they recovered, they would immediately throw themselves back into the logging.

Following the inspection by the forest-guarding Senior Brother, Lin Jing felt that the time left for them was already running short. Both sides had a premonition that a great crisis might descend at any moment.

Sure enough, they hadn't been working for long when two long rainbows streaked across the sky, descending into the bamboo forest and landing right before them.

The arrivals... were an elderly man in blue robes with a dark face, and an elderly man in black robes with an expression of shock and suspicion.

"Elder Yu... and Elder Mo? You have returned?"

Lin Jing and the Pine-Needle Rat were astonished to see them.

At this moment, Elder Yu felt a toothache upon seeing the ground covered in spirit bamboo.

This was... something a first-layer Qi Condensation disciple and a third-layer Qi Condensation Pine-Needle Rat could accomplish?

He really wasn't pained by the spirit stones; it was mainly... that making a mechanical bamboo dragon didn't require this many materials at all!

"These... are all harvested by you?" Elder Mo looked at the red flying leaf held by the Pine-Needle Rat, let out an "eh," and immediately discovered the extraordinary nature of this leaf.

A special spirit plant!

Its species was unknown.

With this, for the Pine-Needle Rat, it was like a cultivator picking up a magic treasure; it could indeed enhance magic power. However, where did Lin Jing and the others obtain this leaf?

Moreover, throwing such a flying leaf must consume a massive amount of energy for a Pine-Needle Rat with low cultivation. Such a large amount of bamboo was still too exaggerated; were they logging day and night without rest?

What perseverance.

Suddenly... Elder Mo thought of something, and his heart pounded wildly!

"Reporting to Elder... yes." Lin Jing said, "In order not to delay the activities of the Dragon Ascension Festival, the Pine-Needle Rat and I have not dared to be lazy at all these past few days, sleeping only two hours a day."

"Hahahaha! Well done!" The next moment, Elder Mo laughed loudly, then patted Elder Yu on the shoulder, saying, "Old Yu, look at how diligent the disciple I brought back is. I estimate that this much spirit bamboo is enough for you to build your mechanical dragon, so why not let him go back and get some rest."

"Remember not to skimp on the mission rewards..." After finishing, he stepped forward and summoned clouds to sweep Lin Jing and the Pine-Needle Rat away, leaving behind only a bewildered Elder Yu.

"Damn it! It must be that old scoundrel Mo Wuya who gave this Longevity Body special treatment! Otherwise, how could a third-layer Qi Condensation Pine-Needle Rat achieve this level." Elder Yu cursed in a low voice, "With this much spirit bamboo, it's enough to build a bamboo dragon with Foundation Establishment cultivation."

"During this year's Dragon Ascension Festival, no one is going to have an easy time! I'm going to turn up the intensity for you all!"

Outer Sect courtyard.

Elder Mo brought Lin Jing back and kept sizing up Lin Jing and the Pine-Needle Rat, probing, "Where did you get this red flying leaf?"

Lin Jing said, "Elder Mo, this red flying leaf... was created by the Pine-Needle Rat itself using a divine ability. Not long after I formed a contract with it, it underwent a racial mutation! The disciple guesses that it might have mutated in the direction of the rare beasts you once spoke of!"

"Rare beast..." Elder Mo's breathing quickened, his face flushed red, and he said, "It really is so."

"Yes." Lin Jing nodded and said, "We have been waiting for you to return, Elder Mo. May I ask, is its current situation... normal?"

Elder Mo looked up and laughed heartily.

"Six pairs failed, but this time it finally succeeded, hahahahaha..."

Damn!

Watching Elder Mo's crazed appearance, Lin Jing and the Pine-Needle Rat both took a step back.

After a moment, Elder Mo stared at Lin Jing and the Pine-Needle Rat again and said, "What is its innate divine ability?!"

Lin Jing said, "Glazed Immortal Pupils. They possess the property of turning stones into gold and can synthesize a certain amount of low-grade resources into another type of high-grade resource!"

"Glazed Immortal Pupils?" Elder Mo said, "This red flying leaf must have been synthesized by the Immortal Pupils."

"Yes!"

"Demonstrate it for me?" Elder Mo looked at the Pine-Needle Rat.

At this moment, the Pine-Needle Rat, upon hearing this, immediately put on a panting appearance, its body swaying as if about to fall, looking at Elder Mo with eyes full of exhaustion.

"That's right, logging spirit bamboo must have consumed a great deal of your energy." As he spoke, he took out a jade bottle, poured out a white pill, and threw it to the Pine-Needle Rat.

"This is the 'Spirit-Replenishing Pill.' After taking it, your state can recover to its peak!"

"Zhi?!" The Pine-Needle Rat happily caught it and crunched the Spirit-Replenishing Pill. The next instant, the power of the pill turned into a stream of spiritual energy, flowing through every part of its body. Unexpectedly, after taking this pill, the Pine-Needle Rat didn't just recover its spiritual power to its prime; green light swirled in its pupils, its aura surged, and it actually broke through to the fourth layer of Qi Condensation in one breath!

Besides this, Lin Jing, who had a bloodline contract with the Pine-Needle Rat, finally felt what the so-called beast-taming feedback felt like. Following the Pine-Needle Rat's breakthrough, his blood also churned, spiritual energy surged within his body, and his cultivation realm actually broke through the barrier of the first layer of Qi Condensation in one breath, reaching the second layer!

Both broke through!

Regarding the Pine-Needle Rat's breakthrough, Elder Mo wasn't very surprised. Not to mention its "cultivation" in the bamboo forest and its own talent, just the fact that it was a rare beast... he wouldn't be surprised by anything that happened to it!

Having broken through to the fourth layer of Qi Condensation, the Pine-Needle Rat returned to a state full of vigor. It originally wanted to go synthesize another red flying leaf, but suddenly, it was surprised to discover that the spirit beans planted in the courtyard were almost ripe.

Seeing this, the Pine-Needle Rat, very curious about what the effect would be after synthesizing the spirit beans, quickly went to pick and shell them. Two, four, six... soon, a full ground of over a hundred spirit beans were collected.

"Spirit beans, basic spirit plants, effect same as spirit rice. After eating, they can replenish a trace of spiritual energy." Seeing this, Elder Mo nodded.

And the Pine-Needle Rat began to cast the Glazed Immortal Pupils on the spirit beans!

It didn't know if it would succeed either.

But fortunately, very luckily, the Glazed Immortal Pupils shone with immortal light. The pile of brown, peanut-like spirit beans on the ground was immediately wrapped in emerald light, and then... they were synthesized into a single green spirit bean that was fragrant and brimming with spiritual energy!

"Elder Mo, this is the Glazed Immortal Pupils. However, this is the Pine-Needle Rat's first time synthesizing spirit beans, so we don't know what the effect of this new spirit bean... will be." Lin Jing sized up the green spirit bean, feeling... it seemed very fragrant and definitely highly nourishing.

Looking at its vibrant vitality, it might have healing effects, reminding Lin Jing of "Senzu Beans."

"Hmm." Elder Mo flicked his sleeve, and a black bear appeared in the courtyard, looking dazed.

"Master, what for?" The Black Bear Monster spoke, seemingly having just been sleeping.

"There's a good thing there, go taste it." Elder Mo pointed to the green spirit bean on the ground.

"What? Let me see!" The Black Bear Monster was startled, its nose twitched, and it immediately picked up the green spirit bean and put it into its mouth.

The next moment.

Boom!

The spirit bean exploded. It had considerable power; the mutated spirit bean actually had the effect of a spiritual energy bomb and could not be eaten. ===== CHAPTER 18 =====