Chapter 242: Symbiotic Spiritual Plant

Yan Buji clearly understood that, if he hadn't obtained the Tree Person Technique, he would very likely not have chosen to switch his basic Five Elements Technique, because changing cultivation methods cannot break through a realm, it only raises one's upper limit.

Here, the upper limit also involves the broadening of techniques, levels, and horizons, as well as the accumulation of cultivation experience, so switching cultivation methods is inevitable.

The basic Five Elements Technique is too limited; the four techniques I have selected can all be integrated into my Five Elements Mutual Generation concept, making the switch not difficult. Only the cultivation method of the Tree Person Technique conflicts with his Five Elements Mutual Generation concept.

The Swallowing Flame Technique, at least, involves refining Spiritual Fire and then cultivating it oneself, so the Spiritual Fire is also soaked in one's essence, energy, and spirit; whereas the Dust and Sand Technique, although belonging to a variant of Earth Dao, is still a method that utilizes Earth Dao.

The Tree Person Technique differs from these two somewhat different techniques in that the choice of spiritual plant is greatly limited. The Tree Person Technique embodies cultivation relying on the power of spiritual plants, rather than gradually increasing through refinement; it is a symbiotic relationship.

This puts Yan Buji in a dilemma; not to mention that among the spiritual plants he knows, extremely few conform to his Five Elements Mutual Generation concept, and even if such exist, those heaven-and-earth spiritual plants are probably not easy to obtain.

Right now he needs to switch cultivation methods quickly to avoid wasting too much time; if he gets stuck on the Tree Person Technique, it would be better to change to a wood-system technique.

However, the symbiotic concept mentioned in the Tree Person Technique gives Yan Buji a feeling that suits him very well.

With his cultivation speed aided by the Nine Transformations of magical power and high-quality aptitude, it is utterly impossible for him to steadily reach the Foundation Establishment Stage before his lifespan ends; this forces him to seize resources by any means necessary.

Then, seizing resources requires strength, and strength comes from cultivation, thus he has entered a deadlock.

Deceit and trickery can only succeed temporarily; they cannot succeed every time. Yan Buji does not think this world has many fools, and precisely for this reason he will change his cultivation method to further strengthen his foundation.

"In that case... the directions available for my choice are probably only those few."

Yan Buji fell silent for a moment, took out the Hundred Herbs Sect's secret manual, and began to browse it.

As an external force in other great realms, the Hundred Herbs Sect is also proficient in the way of plants and trees; Yan Buji's initial cultivation knowledge all came from this book.

After browsing for a long time, Yan Buji discovered that the book records a kind of heaven-and-earth treasure from Zhong Tian Zhi Yu called the Yin-Yang Inverted Tree, which is a Seven-Transform Immortal Plant, and its description is very suitable for the Tree Person Technique.

However, the Seven-Transform Immortal Plant... even if I know it exists, I probably cannot obtain it. Such a thing is sufficient as a sect's foundation; it would not be casually shown to outsiders.

If one cannot even see it, naturally there is no way to obtain it.

Yan Buji put down the book and carefully examined the introduction of the Tree Person Technique; a clear context gradually formed in his mind.

"If I want to cultivate the Tree Person Technique, with my current foundation I cannot obtain any particularly good spiritual plant. Even if I did, I lack the time to slowly nurture it with the Tree Person Technique and achieve symbiosis, so a high-transform spiritual plant would actually be unsuitable for my present situation."

"My cultivation follows the Five Elements Mutual Generation, or perhaps the Five Elements Mutual Overcoming; in that case the spiritual plant itself cannot possess multiple attributes, and it is best if it is merely wood-attributed."

"Considering long-term development, the Tree Person Technique cannot forcibly elevate a spiritual material originally limited to the Fourfold or Fivefold Transformation into celestial material; therefore it must possess considerable potential..."

Yan Buji kept looking and suddenly thought of a commonplace spiritual material.

"One Leaf Orchid? I recall that this spiritual material only needs time; after passing through the Vegetation Life and Death Tribulation, it can break through to celestial material, and can also reach higher levels."

"Or perhaps Jade Pure Bamboo; this spiritual material also only needs abundant spiritual energy to grow wildly, stopping only when it reaches Six-Transform Immortal Material."

Yan Buji's eyes lit up; after listing several spiritual plants, he began to ponder.

Soon, Yan Buji took out several spiritual materials, placed them before him, and examined them carefully.

The difference between spiritual material and spiritual plant lies in completeness; therefore he could not choose to symbiotically cultivate a tree-like spiritual material that is too large, as that would be troublesome.

Like Jade Pure Bamboo, as long as there is spiritual energy it can grow, and it is the kind that grows taller and thicker with each segment; its greatest use is actually the spiritual fluid born inside the bamboo tube.

In the blink of an eye, Yan Buji looked at the One Leaf Orchid beside him.

This First-Tier Spiritual Material can be taken whole for alchemy or self-consumption, as it is rich in spiritual energy; thus most alchemists in the cultivation world use it as a catalyst, harmonizing the medicinal properties in pills to increase the success rate.

But the problem lies here: the One Leaf Orchid requires time to cultivate; although it is easy to cultivate and can be left unattended without conditions, the time...

"Can I survive long enough for this One Leaf Orchid?"

Yan Buji's face showed a strange expression; if left unattended, this One Leaf Orchid can live at least nine thousand years. If it passes the Vegetation Life and Death Tribulation to become celestial material, that is another matter entirely.

"Eh? If I were to symbiotically cultivate with the One Leaf Orchid, could I share some of its lifespan or the like?" Yan Buji's eyes lit up.

"It's not that there's no such possibility."

But upon further thought, if a spiritual material truly possessed the ability to grant humans increased lifespan, then this One Leaf Orchid would not be priced as it is today.

In other words, if the Tree Person Technique truly possessed such heaven-defying effects, one would think it could not be obtained by oneself.

So Yan Buji was merely thinking about it.

"Wait, let's make a trip to the Youming Jie."

Yan Buji thought, picked up the One Leaf Orchid, took out a stone ball, and turned to go to the Youming Jie.

After arriving in the Youming Jie, Yan Buji secretly planted the One Leaf Orchid on a patch of wasteland. Although it was merely a guess, seeing that the One Leaf Orchid was unaffected....

Yan Buji fell silent, then took out other spiritual materials, about to transplant them, but saw they immediately withered, so he shook his head.

"It seems only the One Leaf Orchid, a spiritual material that truly has no need for spiritual energy, can grow in the Youming Jie. After all, the Youming Jie is vastly different from the Yang realm; it is impossible to open a cave dwelling here just for me to cultivate spiritual materials." Yan Buji looked around the desolate surroundings, feeling somewhat regretful.

I only hate that I lack any ghost or evil dao cultivation methods, otherwise I could cultivate in the Youming Jie; then this excellent place's vast expanses of wild land would be unoccupied, at least allowing me to cultivate to Foundation Establishment and Golden Core should be no problem, right?

After laying out formations in the opened cave dwelling and setting up two bewildering formations, these are all the battle flags previously gathered from the Stopping Dao Lingyu; they require no particular experience.

Having done all this, Yan Buji returned to the Yang realm.

At this moment, Yan Buji can realize how great the benefits of shuttling between the two realms could be, but his current strength does not allow him to do such things.

"First, cultivate; after a month, let's go check the situation again."

Thinking thus, Yan Buji began to replace his Five Elements Technique, starting with the Swallowing Flame Technique.