Chapter 75

Ge Bai smiled, not forcing the issue.

After the three of them chatted for a moment longer, Liu Hao and Wu Dami headed back first.

"Don't push yourself too hard, get back early."

Before leaving, Liu Hao gave a final, concerned reminder.

"I know, you two hurry back." Ge Bai waved at them.

By now, the sky had already darkened. While Ge Bai was chatting, Da Liu had already switched his practice skill from Willow Whip to Wind Blade.

Xiao Tao was still playing over by Qian Dai. Ge Bai had sharp eyes; Qian Dai had been coaxing Xiao Tao and had already condensed several Spirit-Restoring Peaches for her. She wasn't lacking in Spirit Power; she was likely just craving a snack.

Ge Bai had also tasted the Spirit-Restoring Peaches; they were fragrant, sweet, and refreshing—really quite good.

If Qian Dai was truly this fond of peaches, perhaps he should let her taste a Spirit-Snatching Peach later to see if they tasted the same, and incidentally, check the effects of the Spirit-Snatching Peach.

Ge Bai pondered this, and the more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

Aside from the business of coaxing fruit from Xiao Tao, Qian Dai's practice was going smoothly. She seemed to be making significant progress; although the Pseudo Qian Dai Sword couldn't yet reach a frequency of two shots per second, if she kept practicing like this, she would likely reach the set goal in less than two days.

Ge Bai walked toward Qian Dai and the others.

"Practicing well, aren't you? Qian Dai, Xiao Tao, I'm planning to take Da Liu to the Plum Garden. The Spirit Power there is denser and suitable for Da Liu's meditation. It should take about two hours."

"What are you two planning to do? Keep practicing here, or go back to the Spirit Awareness Space to rest?"

Qian Dai stopped what she was doing. "The Plum Garden? I want to go too."

Ge Bai didn't refuse, only offering a reminder.

"Sure, but it's not good to practice skills in the Plum Garden; it will disturb others."

Xiao Tao let out a big yawn. "Bai Bai, I want to go back and sleep."

Ge Bai patted Xiao Tao's little head, sent her back to the Spirit Awareness Space, and then said to Qian Dai:

"By the way, I haven't asked you yet—does your Spirit Power grow through meditation?"

Qian Dai looked puzzled. "Meditation? No. Doesn't Spirit Power just get stronger as we slowly grow up?"

Speechless.

Ge Bai felt he had asked a particularly foolish question.

This little orchid, over two years old, only had a Spirit Power value of Level 8 Mortal Spirit Realm, and she spent every day in the Spirit-rich Secret Realm space. One didn't need to think to know she had just drifted along; what else was there to ask?

Picking up Qian Dai, Ge Bai walked straight toward Da Liu and waved his hand. "Da Liu, come on, we're going to the Plum Garden."

Da Liu very nimbly transformed back into his mini-form, scurrying on the two little legs formed by his roots toward Ge Bai, and jumped directly onto Ge Bai's shoulder.

Ge Bai suddenly noticed that Da Liu was becoming more and more agile. He didn't know if it was because of the growth in Spirit Power or the added properties of the Time Soil, but Da Liu's jumping ability had even improved significantly.

Previously, Da Liu had needed to jump to Ge Bai's arm first and use his willow strands to grab Ge Bai's clothes to climb up to his shoulder, which had left Ge Bai's clothes constantly wrinkled during that time.

Now, it was great; he could jump directly onto his shoulder from the ground.

Ge Bai thought this, took out his Spirit Power Badge, used his thumb and index finger to flick the badge into the air, mobilized his Spirit Power, and communicated with the badge.

The tunnel communicating with the Plum Garden appeared smoothly. This was the first time Ge Bai had communicated with the Plum Garden on his own. He let out a long breath; it was simpler than he had imagined.

Striding into the tunnel and seeing this magnificent, vast starry sky again, the shock was no less than the first time.

Without walking two steps, Ge Bai entered the Plum Garden with Da Liu and Qian Dai.

The moment they stepped into the Plum Garden, the dormant Dragon Roaming Jade Calyx Plum opened her eyes.

The Longyou Zhuzai would never admit that the last time Ge Bai and Professor Luo Wan left the Plum Garden, she had left a wisp of her aura on Ge Bai.

Whether Ge Bai stepped into the Plum Garden or arrived around the planet where she was located, she would know immediately.

Yes, the planet where the Dragon Roaming Jade Calyx Plum truly resided was not one of the five controlled by the Alliance, though in recent years, the Interstellar Alliance battle teams had also been consciously expanding their garrison there.

After arriving at the Plum Garden, Ge Bai didn't rush to let Da Liu start meditating, but instead strolled around the garden.

Last time he came, although Professor Luo Wan led the way and it went very smoothly, heading straight for the trial point, it was precisely because it was too smooth that Ge Bai wasn't very clear about the surrounding scenery and layout.

Searching around, Ge Bai found that one really couldn't underestimate the wisdom of predecessors; the treehouses spaced quite far apart were the best places for rest and training.

Just as he was tilting his head, searching everywhere for an empty treehouse, a magnetic female voice reached his ears.

"Are you a new apprentice member of the Y Bureau?"

Ge Bai turned his head abruptly. A tall woman in a fitted outfit was standing on a tree trunk not far away, looking down at Ge Bai. Seeing him look over, she took a leap, easily jumping down from the 3- or 4-meter-high trunk and landing steadily.

That agility was quite good.

"Yes, I am." Ge Bai gave the woman a friendly smile.

"My name is Jiao Jun, hello." The woman had a very straightforward personality. "I've seen you circling here a few times; are you looking for an empty treehouse?"

Ge Bai nodded.

"Let me tell you, usually there will be a sign hanging outside a treehouse that someone frequently stays in; they are very easy to recognize."

After Jiao Jun pointed to a small sign outside the treehouse she had just jumped down from, she saw Da Liu on Ge Bai's shoulder and continued.

"I see the Pet Beast you contracted is a Weeping Willow? Does it have any primitive growth-type skills? If it does, having the Pet Beast help build a new treehouse yourself will be more comfortable."

Primitive growth-type skills—Ge Bai had heard of them; they were a type of high-level skill that had a probability of appearing on some high-level arbor-type Spirit Plants.

Spirit Plants with this type of skill could consume their own Spirit Power to rapidly stimulate the growth of plants and trees.

It had to be said, this skill was truly the most suitable for building a treehouse.

Ge Bai shook his head. "My name is Ge Bai, and these are my contracted Pet Beasts, Da Liu and Qian Dai."

"You're Ge Bai?" Jiao Jun was clearly a bit surprised.

"I've heard Lu Nan mention you recently; I can also be considered a student of Professor Luo Wan."

The smile Jiao Jun raised for Ge Bai became even brighter.

"Big Senior Sister?"

Ge Bai was also a bit cheeky; suddenly remembering Lu Nan's nagging, he asked without thinking.

Unexpectedly, Jiao Jun laughed out loud. "It seems that kid Lu Nan has told you about me too; it probably wasn't anything good."

"He didn't say much, just mentioned it once." Ge Bai pursed his lips, holding back a laugh. "I heard you cleared the Plum Garden trial a long time ago."

Jiao Jun wasn't pretentious and said directly:

"Yes, but there are a few rare Overlord Spirit Plants in the back mountain of the Plum Garden. I took a fancy to one, and I've been pestering him for a long time, but he just refuses to contract with me."

Speaking of this, Jiao Jun was a bit annoyed, and suddenly she slapped her forehead.

"By the way, it seems you've contracted wild Spirit Plants; do you have any secrets to pass on?"

Ge Bai didn't expect the legendary Big Senior Sister to ask him for advice, so he looked at her with some confusion and didn't make a sound.

Jiao Jun saw Ge Bai's confusion. "Hey, don't look at me as being a few years older than you, with contracted Spirit Plants of higher Spirit Power levels and cultivation degrees; I still get rejected by wild Spirit Plants often."

Ge Bai asked tentatively, "How do you usually contract wild Spirit Plants?"

"Fight a battle first, and if I beat them into submission, I prepare to contract; if they refuse to contract, I fight another battle." Jiao Jun said it righteously.

Ge Bai was silent for a long time, then asked, "Then have you ever contracted a wild Spirit Plant this way?"

"Of course I have; my Yan Huo Qiang Wei was contracted that way."

Ge Bai deeply suspected that this Yan Huo Qiang Wei had masochistic tendencies, or else its brain wasn't working too well.

"I'm not like that. I think that if a wild Spirit Plant is willing to follow a Spirit Plant Master and leave the place where it has grown for many years, it must be because of trust, or perhaps there is some other reason they want to leave."

What he said sounded very profound, but it was truly Ge Bai's real thoughts.

Jiao Jun raised an eyebrow after hearing this. "That makes some sense. I didn't expect you to be quite so sincere; I'll try that next time."

Ge Bai swallowed his saliva; he really couldn't hold it back and asked another question: "How many times have you beaten—no, won against that wild Spirit Plant in the back mountain of the Plum Garden?"

Jiao Jun heard what Ge Bai meant and also fell into silence. After a long while, she said as if to comfort herself:

"It's okay, next time I'll beat him down again, and then have a good chat with him."

This Big Senior Sister was quite interesting.

Ge Bai turned his head away; he was almost unable to stop himself from laughing.

"This would take half a day to talk about. I won't disturb you; I'll go first. You go about your business."

Before Jiao Jun walked toward the teleportation point, she didn't forget to point out a treehouse to Ge Bai. "That treehouse is one I built before; no one lives there permanently at the moment. If you don't build one yourself for the time being, just go there."

Ge Bai thanked her hurriedly, and Jiao Jun waved her hand and walked away quickly.

Seeing her walk far away, Ge Bai also climbed up to the treehouse.

The space in this treehouse wasn't small, about a dozen square meters. The room was partitioned into two, with the outer room being slightly larger, with a few straw cushions on the floor, and the inner room being slightly smaller, with a single bed covered with a mat.

Ge Bai sat cross-legged on a straw cushion in the outer room, placed Da Liu on the straw cushion opposite, and pointed to another straw cushion for Qian Dai, who space-shifted over herself.

"Come on, Da Liu, let's start. I'll take you to meditate together."

"Qian Dai, pay attention to the form of Spirit Power circulation in Da Liu's body. I'll take Da Liu through it twice and then come teach you."

According to the general education of the Interstellar Alliance, the way Spirit Plants increase their Spirit Power is the same as that of Spirit Plant Masters.

Both involve running a meditation method, mobilizing the Spirit Power in the body, and letting the Spirit Power in the Spirit Awareness Space travel a complete cycle along the meridians in the body.

During this process, they absorb the Spirit Power wandering in the surrounding environment to replenish themselves, and while mobilizing the internal and external, they further broaden the meridians and the Spirit Awareness Space in the body to achieve the goal of increasing Spirit Power.

Da Liu was already very familiar with this set of meditation methods, but it was beneficial for both sides' Spirit Power growth for a Spirit Plant Master and a Spirit Plant to meditate together.

Qian Dai watched Da Liu carefully from the side. Ge Bai and Da Liu's Spirit Power intertwined, and due to the circulation of Spirit Power, Da Liu's whole body was emitting a faint glow.

After watching for just a while, Qian Dai's face showed surprise. This Da Liu's Spirit Power growth was indeed fast—much faster than the growth she got from sleeping in the Secret Realm space.

Seeing the effect, Qian Dai watched even more seriously.

What Ge Bai and the others didn't know was that the Longyou Zhuzai was also silently watching them at this time.

Watching Da Liu and Ge Bai running the meditation method, Qian Dai was surprised, while the Longyou Zhuzai frowned slightly.

What was going on? Was this little girl Ge Bai still using such an introductory meditation method to improve her Pet Beast's Spirit Power?

Immediately, she seemed to think of something. It was true; the Intermediate Meditation Technique was one of the rewards for the 2nd layer of the trial, and the Advanced Spirit Meditation Technique was the reward for the 4th layer of the trial.

According to the rules set by the Longyou Zhuzai herself, the secret methods and experiences obtained from her could not be shared with Spirit Plant Masters who had not undergone the trial.

She had set this rule at the time out of kindness. Although the meditation methods popularized in the Interstellar Alliance's general education had average effects, they were safe; even if something went wrong with the Spirit Power circulation or it was suddenly interrupted, there would be no bad consequences.

But the Intermediate Meditation Technique and Advanced Spirit Operation Technique she provided not only had learning thresholds, but if the Spirit Plant Master's talent wasn't enough or they didn't grasp it well, it was easy to get injured during meditation.

But what puzzled her most was, why did Shennong just watch Ge Bai use the most basic meditation method? During the time the Longyou Zhuzai's thoughts were turning, Ge Bai had already taken Da Liu through a full cycle of Spirit Power using the meditation method.

"Shennong, don't you have a more efficient meditation method?"

The Longyou Zhuzai's Spirit Sense moved slightly, connecting to the Shennong 2.7 System.

The system was silent for a while, as if it didn't really want to make a sound.

"Shennong, don't play dead. You know that Dongtian and I have a good relationship; she told me everything."

"Sigh."

When communicating with Longyou and Dongtian, the Shennong System always inexplicably popped up some emotions that couldn't be hidden, and it was very anthropomorphic.

"I've already made it very clear to Dongtian that it's best for us to communicate less and have less contact; that's good for everyone."

"Cut the crap. Ge Bai will definitely come to my Secret Realm space in the future. I've long since taken sides with the Interstellar Alliance; what's there to avoid suspicion about? You're just being troublesome."

The Shennong System couldn't win an argument with Longyou and chose to skip this topic.

"I have a more efficient meditation method, but the threshold requires the Spirit Plant Master's Spirit Power to be able to handle an Overlord-level Spirit Plant. She is far from it."

There was nothing to hide from Longyou about this; after all, the source of their high-level meditation methods was more or less the same.

"Then what have you been doing all these years? Haven't you improved it a bit?"

Longyou's words were a bit heart-stabbing, and the Shennong 2.7 System exploded instantly upon hearing them.

"You've had a leisurely life for so many years, with time and energy."

"What about me? I'm just a drifting, helpless system."

"It's not easy for me to survive, and I still have a bunch of troublesome things to deal with!"

"Where would I get the energy and computing power to do small things like improving meditation methods?"

"You've only been growing leaves and not brains for so many years, right!"

"Don't always hang out with that Dongtian; she doesn't even have such a thing as a brain."

When the Shennong System first started going on a rampage, Longyou was still a bit resentful and didn't dare to make a sound.

But seeing that Shennong was scolding more and more harshly, and had even escalated to personal attacks, this couldn't be tolerated.

"Stop scolding! If you scold again, I'll call Dongtian!"

The Longyou Zhuzai's tone was unhappy. "I only said one sentence; look at you, why bother?"

The system took a breath and didn't want to bother with Longyou.

"Then I'll teach Ge Bai both the Intermediate Meditation Technique and the Advanced Spirit Operation Technique."

"As you wish, just think of a good excuse." The system didn't object to Ge Bai getting the Intermediate Meditation Technique and Advanced Spirit Operation Technique from Longyou.

Even if she couldn't get them now, she would be able to when the trial reached that stage.

It was just a bit earlier.

"What excuse is needed? I find Ge Bai pleasing to the eye, so I'm willing to give it. Who cares about me?"

The Longyou Zhuzai said it indifferently, and the system was silent again.

One shouldn't spoil a child like this.

To spoil a child is to kill them! Do these flowers, grasses, and trees understand this at all!