Chapter 200: Ripening Spirit Plants

Two days later.

Wu Jiang returned to Wangyue Island but did not immediately seek out Qin Ming.

Instead, he held his head high, strode with an air of utter arrogance, and approached his clansmen, wearing a smug, self-satisfied expression as he asked: "Do you know where I went these past two days?"

Mu Ruyin, seeing his triumphant, almost celestial demeanor, couldn't help but pinch his waist hard and spit: "Look at you, all puffed up—stop dragging it out and just tell us! Did Qin Dao You ask you to do something else?"

Then she poured him another cup of tea.

The Wu family members, watching their young master act as if he'd soared to the heavens, were also intensely curious.

"Young Master Wu, did Elder Qin give you a Foundation Establishment Pill?"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Wu Jiang choked violently at the question, "Cough! Cough! Cough!"

Only then did he regain his composure and glare at the man: "Foundation Establishment Pill? How dare you even think that?"

"Even if Qin Dao You were willing, our Wu family could only exchange equal-value resources. Get back to farming hard."

"Accumulate enough spirit stones for my Foundation Establishment, and work toward the rise of the Wu clan."

"Forget it, let's not talk about that now."

Wu Jiang switched to a beaming smile and addressed his clansmen: "I went to the core zone of Canghai Xiancheng—let me tell you, the sights there, Zezeze..."

"What?!"

"The core zone deeper than the inner city? How could you possibly get in?"

Wu Jiang immediately pulled out the Canghai Token and waved it before them. "Hehe! With this, isn't getting in easy?"

Mu Ruyin recognized the gilded token in his hand and gasped, covering her mouth: "It's the Canghai Token! Did Qin Dao You give it to you?"

"Hehehe! This Canghai Token is truly powerful! I showed it, named Qin Dao You, and right away, a Foundation Establishment mid-stage overseer from Canghai Xiancheng came out personally to host me!" Wu Jiang embellished his two-day legendary tale and boasted lavishly before his clansmen.

"So you see, joining me here was the wisest choice—according to what I've heard, even Canghai True Person holds Qin Dao You in high regard. Clinging to this big tree is the right move for our Wu clan!"

After hearing Wu Jiang's brainwashing, the Wu family members were thoroughly fired up.

A mid-stage Foundation Establishment powerhouse personally receiving a Qi Refining cultivator—how great an honor was that?

"Young Master Wu, you must cultivate closer ties with Elder Qin."

"Absolutely! Among Wu clan youths, I've always known Young Master Wu would amount to something!"

"Enough said—I'll farm for Elder Qin on Wangyue Island for the rest of my life."

"Grow spirit rice and bring glory to our ancestors!"

Wu Jiang watched their passionate reactions and wore a deeply satisfied expression.

Beside him, Mu Ruyin could no longer bear it and urged: "Enough already—go deliver your report to Qin Dao You. If you delay, you'll regret it."

"Don't worry, don't worry—I'm going right now, hehe."

…

Inside the cave dwelling on the island, Qin Ming had observed every moment with his spiritual sense; he couldn't help but twitch his lips, torn between laughter and exasperation: "This Wu Jiang... is truly amusing."

Moments later.

Having basked in glory before his clansmen, Wu Jiang arrived before Qin Ming, flushed with pride, and handed him a small pouch: "Qin Dao You, I've fulfilled your request—I've brought back the eggshells of the Flame-Tailed Oriole. Check if they're suitable."

Qin Ming took the pouch, opened it, and saw several white eggshells the size of fists, covered in crimson spiritual patterns—identical to the illustrations in the Spirit Plant Compendium.

"Hmm, these are the right ones. You did well."

"It's nothing, Qin Dao You. Next time you need something like this, just give the order." Wu Jiang then returned the Canghai Token and the remaining dozens of spirit stones to Qin Ming, his gaze lingering wistfully on the token.

Qin Ming tucked away the Canghai Token and tossed the remaining spirit stones back to Wu Jiang: "Consider this your labor fee."

"Thank you, Qin Dao You —I won't refuse such kindness!" Wu Jiang snapped back to himself and happily stowed the spirit stones.

Having finished his task, Wu Jiang returned to the lower part of the island to help others tend the spirit fields.

'The Wu clan's loyalty to me is now at its peak...' Qin Ming watched Wu Jiang depart and mused inwardly.

'Still, Lü Liang showed proper respect. Next time I go to Canghai Xiancheng, I'll pay him a visit.'

With the Flame-Tailed Oriole eggshells in hand, Qin Ming immediately went to the Spirit-Transforming Herb and crushed the shells, spreading them evenly over the Xun Wood Spirit Soil.

Instantly,

the crushed shell fragments reacted with the Xun Wood Spirit Soil, forming a fine net that gathered the wood-element spiritual energy radiating from the soil within its range, while a faint crimson spiritual aura rose, nourishing the plant.

Thus, the third-rank spirit plant, the Spirit-Transforming Demon Herb, took root and grew fully in this patch of soil—completely revived and successfully cultivated.

Fresh emerald-yellow sprouts emerged from its stem, unfurling four peculiar leaves.

The Spirit-Transforming Demon Herb given to him by Nalan Xi was already five hundred years old, bearing demonic fruit once every decade.

Qin Ming's 【Ripen】 term had been fully consumed; he planned to plant more low-rank spirit herbs to refresh new terms.

As for the 【Temporal Leaf】 term, he still had three left in his spiritual sense—using them to ripen this already mature Spirit-Transforming Herb would be overkill.

He intended to wait until he obtained spirit seeds, then use the 【Temporal Leaf】 term to grow an entirely new Spirit-Transforming Herb for his own use.

In the days that followed,

Qin Ming planted fast-growing low-rank spirit herbs outside his cave dwelling in the herb garden.

Several months later,

Qin Ming received five new 【Ripen】 terms and rushed immediately to the Spirit-Transforming Herb.

After consuming three 【Ripen】 terms, the new sprouts of the Spirit-Transforming Herb visibly grew at an astonishing rate before Qin Ming's eyes.

A branch gradually formed, its tip blooming four palm-sized yellow leaves.

Then dozens of spirit flowers opened, their rich, exotic fragrance making the Xuan Water Crocodile and Silver-Winged Frost Bees drool.

The pollen from these third-rank flowers could not be wasted; Qin Ming immediately summoned the bee swarm to pollinate the plant.

A few days later, the four-winged frost bees each showed a surge in aura—they had clearly gained great benefit, and upon returning to brew royal jelly, they would soon ascend again.

Seven more days passed; the dozens of spirit flowers withered, and only three heart-shaped green spirit fruits successfully formed.

Unfortunately, no new term refreshed on the spirit plant this time.

Otherwise, Qin Ming would have been curious whether third-rank spirit plants might yield more powerful terms.

'It seems that at the third-rank level, fruiting rates become extremely rare.'

'Perhaps it's also related to the second-rank spirit vein environment of this spirit island.'

Qin Ming then consumed the remaining two 【Ripen】 terms.

Half a day later,

The green spirit fruits instantly grew and ripened into three earth-yellow fruits the size of eggs, surrounded by astonishing spiritual aura; a rainbow-like radiance shimmered over the entire plant, remarkably divine.

(End of Chapter)