Chapter 93: Life-Bound Spiritual Plant

Qin Ming unleashed his full power to pilot the Spirit Light Flyer, vanishing instantly into the horizon.

He had barely left.

Two Foundation Establishment figures landed moments later at the scene.

One of them was Gu Elder of Lingyu Gate, his stern face now filled with rage.

He glanced around and spoke coolly: “Who was responsible? Could it be another sect’s Foundation Establishment cultivator?”

“From my view, this doesn’t look like the work of orthodox cultivators—look at how they died. They were clearly attacked by demonic cultivators,” said the other Foundation Establishment Elder beside him, frowning.

“Even demonic cultivators have appeared?”

“Will the news leak out?”

“Alas! Fate is fickle. Let us hope it was merely a coincidence.”

“Let us gather the remains and return quickly to discuss our response.”

With that, the two cleared all traces of the scene and departed in haste.

On the other side.

Qin Ming flew at full speed, secretly returning to Qingyang Market.

“I never expected Lingyu Gate’s ambitions to be so great.”

Now it was clear.

Whether Lingyu Gate’s grand deception succeeded or not, a bloody storm was inevitable.

At that time, innocent bystanders would surely be caught in the crossfire.

Qin Ming realized his foresight had been utterly correct.

Back in the courtyard.

Qin Ming took out the dozen or so blood pearls and hurled them toward the withered Blood Poison Vine in the courtyard’s corner.

Instantly,

countless black vines surged forth like sharks scenting blood, greedily absorbing the essences within the pearls.

Strange vein-like patterns swelled across the black vines’ surface.

They began emitting a blood-red, alluring glow.

Having absorbed so many blood pearls at once, the withered Blood Poison Vine underwent another mutation.

First, the black vines thickened, twisting and writhing; the fine patterns on their surface suddenly opened like hollow eyes.

As if ready to devour souls.

Radiating an uncanny aura.

The withered Blood Poison Vine grew until it was more than twice its original size, then stopped.

Scattered along the vines were a dozen or so flower buds shaped like eyeballs.

At the same time,

two golden terms appeared in Qin Ming’s vision: [Name]: Withered Blood Poison Vine [Term] Ancient Tree Longevity Technique (Maturity 1%)

[Name]: Withered Blood Poison Vine [Term] Magic Power Crystals x5 (Maturity 1%)

[Ancient Tree Longevity Technique]: Cultivate a life-bound spiritual plant, then nurture it continuously to absorb its plant essence and the timeless vitality of ancient trees, forging a unique innate Wood-elemental body for the cultivator. This method suits those who cultivate Wood-elemental arts.

To cultivate an innate body, one must use a spiritual plant of at least third-rank to serve as the life-bound plant.

Of course, the higher the rank of the plant, the better—its future growth potential increases accordingly.

If it is a rare Heaven-and-Earth spiritual root, the resulting body will be even stronger.

Qin Ming stared at this term, breathing heavily.

“Nurture a life-bound spiritual plant, cultivate an innate body!”

“The Immortal Dao is within reach!”

His four-element pseudo-spirit-root trash quality, when paired with a Wood-elemental innate body, could rival a top-grade spirit root—he finally saw hope!

It was tailor-made for him!

“I already have a Wood-elemental spirit root.”

“And I cultivate the Evergreen Technique, a Wood-elemental scripture.”

Qin Ming had previously worried about Foundation Establishment.

After all, with his pseudo-spirit-root quality, even with Foundation Establishment Pills and Foundation Establishment spiritual items,

the chance of failure remained high.

But once he forged this innate Wood-elemental body, everything changed—he could now continuously improve his cultivation potential.

The higher one advances, the more crucial cultivation potential becomes for breaking through major realms. The gap cannot be bridged by pills alone.

Now that he held these terms, achieving this unique innate body was no longer impossible.

Yet cultivating the Ancient Tree Longevity Technique came with stringent conditions.

Because once a spiritual tree of third-rank or higher is used to consecrate a life-bound plant, it also means at least one third-rank spiritual vein is required to grow and nurture it.

The higher the rank of the spiritual plant, the more specific its environmental needs.

Could he really compete with the major sects for a third-rank spiritual vein? That seemed unrealistic.

Moreover, cultivating the innate body requires years upon years of accumulating temporal power.

The longer the time, the stronger the body—cultivation often takes a century before results appear.

“Sigh! The end result is powerful, but the payoff is painfully slow.”

If he spent a hundred years in rigorous cultivation, he might be dead before the innate body even formed.

Qin Ming turned his gaze back to the withered Blood Poison Vine.

“This black vine is so extraordinary—could it be a sapling of a Heaven-and-Earth spiritual root?”

“And as long as it has enough blood pearls to devour, it seems the black vine doesn’t require a high-grade spiritual vein to grow.”

“And it grows quickly too.”

Qin Ming suddenly understood this, his heart quickening with excitement.

Though he didn’t know the exact rank of this withered Blood Poison Vine, all signs suggested its final mature form would be formidable.

Thinking of this,

Qin Ming no longer hesitated.

He activated his intent and consumed the [Ripen] term, beginning to accelerate the growth of the black vine.

Three days later,

Qin Ming’s mental sea exhausted all four [Ripen] terms.

He used his fastest speed to ripen the dozen or so eyeball-shaped flower buds.

In the end, he obtained a dozen black fruits, each still containing the spirit seeds used to cast Thorn Spell.

Additionally,

a purple [Ancient Tree Longevity Technique] term and a green [Magic Power Crystals] x5 term appeared quietly in Qin Ming’s mental sea.

He immediately sat cross-legged.

His intent touched the leaf of the [Ancient Tree Longevity Technique] term.

Instantly,

a profound, arcane longevity technique surfaced in his mind, each scripture vividly clear.

Another day and night passed.

Qin Ming opened his eyes.

He formed a complex hand seal, and a fleck of emerald light shot from his third eye.

As Qin Ming pointed toward the withered Blood Poison Vine, the pea-sized light sank into the black vine.

Thump! Thump! The heartbeat sound from when he first revived the black vine echoed again like a drumbeat. In a daze,

blood-red runes flickered across the vine’s surface, eventually intertwining.

“Life-bound spiritual plant—achieved!”

Qin Ming clearly felt the black vine had become one with him, a continuous stream of plant essence flowing into his body.

A mysterious connection strengthened in the depths of his being.

Suddenly, a flood of insights surged into Qin Ming’s heart.

He felt as if he had become an ancient tree, enduring the cycle of seasons, the passage of time, crossing the river of ages. Qin Ming hesitated, then consumed five [Temporal Leaf] terms, applying them to the black vine.

Honestly, Qin Ming had no idea—if he directly ripened the black vine to five hundred years,

would it slip beyond his control?

The black vine surged wildly again, as if enduring countless cycles of seasons; an unprecedented temporal force descended upon the spiritual plant.

Yet,

in Qin Ming’s stunned gaze,

the entire black vine seemed to dissolve into ink, seeping into the soil.

(End of Chapter)