God of Pets

Chapter 274 Familiar Opening
"You mean to say that this Valley of a Hundred Beasts, like the Old Ginseng Mountain, is a place where rare and precious materials have come to life?" Chen Guan pondered the story Zhu Hongzhi had told him.

"That's hard to say. I'm not sure about anything either. After all, my experience at the old ginseng mountain felt like a dream to me. I'm not even sure if it was real or not."

After a pause, Zhu Hongzhi continued, "Although we weren't responsible for clearing this area initially, the person in charge was a very experienced old commander. He was known for his caution and maturity. If there was originally a valley here, what were the chances of it going undiscovered?"

Chen Guan then understood what Zhu Hongzhi meant. He was saying that the Valley of a Hundred Beasts did not exist originally and was moved from another place.

Just like he said, the old ginseng mountain mysteriously disappeared. How likely is that?
With such incredible power as moving mountains and filling seas, is there really such a terrifying existence within this blessed land?
Zhu Hongzhi added, "If, and I mean if, the situation in Hundred Beast Valley is truly similar to that of Old Ginseng Mountain, then the existence of this valley must be very limited. Whether or not to go and pick the Ganoderma lucidum requires a decision to be made soon."

"What do you mean?" Chen Guan roughly understood what Zhu Hongzhi wanted to say.

There's nothing wrong with the picked stone Ganoderma lucidum, but the spirits that picked it will cause problems. As long as those spirits that picked the stone Ganoderma lucidum are sacrificed, the stone Ganoderma lucidum can be picked back.

"Regardless of whether this valley will disappear or not, let's pick some Ganoderma lucidum now," Zhu Hongzhi said.

Chen Guan nodded slightly: "You should discuss it with Commander Bai."

"Let Vice Commander Chen and Vice Commander Bai tell her about the current situation of the two battalions. If I tell her these things, she might overthink it," Zhu Hongzhi said, shaking his head.

"That's fine too. I can only relay your answer. Whether Deputy Commander Bai is willing or not is up to her," Chen Guan said after thinking for a moment.

"If she's unwilling, I hope she'll agree to let our battalion harvest independently." Zhu Hongzhi then instructed Chen Guan not to tell anyone about the old ginseng mountain incident. Most people would just think he was talking nonsense, or that he had secretly harmed his teammates and made up this story.

Chen Guan agreed and went to Bai Yueguang and Jiang Tianqing to tell them about Zhu Hongzhi's idea of ​​sacrificing his pet to harvest the stone lingzhi as soon as possible.

"The Valley of a Hundred Beasts is shared by both the Jade Kirin and the Ink Kirin camps. Whether or not we should harvest it as soon as possible, Vice Commander Bai can discuss it further with Vice Commander Zhu," Chen Guan said.

“Chen Guan, let’s talk alone.” Bai Yueguang pondered for a moment, then looked up at Chen Guan and said.

Chen Guan didn't know what Bai Yueguang wanted to talk to him about alone, but he still agreed.

The two arrived at a secluded place. Bai Yueguang hesitated for a moment before speaking to Chen Guan, "Chen Guan, the situation in this Hundred Beast Valley is very similar to a place I've seen before."

"This opening line sounds so familiar. Is she going to tell me the story of Old Ginseng Mountain too?" Chen Guan thought to himself.

Bai Yueguang continued, "The Ancestral Court has a department that specializes in studying the plants within the secret realm. However, their research focuses not on medicine, food, or agriculture, but on the relationship between the plants and the spirits within the secret realm." "According to their research report, the plants in the secret realm are actually a type of spirit. However, unlike animal spirits, plant spirits feed on the free-floating primordial energy within the secret realm. And because they cannot move, they give people the illusion that they are just plants, not spirits."

"However, not all plant spirits are immobile. Early plant spirits could indeed only be considered food and could not actively attack or harm humans or other spirits. But if a plant spirit grows to a certain level, it can detach itself from the earth, fly and burrow underground, and survive without roots or support by relying on the energy of heaven and earth. Such spirits not only possess the ability to move freely, but also have a high degree of intelligence."

"You mean, the stone lingzhi in Hundred Beast Valley is this kind of plant spirit?" Chen Guan pondered.

"The stone lingzhi that has been picked is fine, but the pet that picks it will have problems. This is very likely the stone lingzhi's last act of betrayal before it dies, possibly because the stone lingzhi here has already acquired some spirituality and ability."

Bai Yueguang paused for a moment before continuing to speak to Chen Guan: "I once went to a place with that department. It was also a valley, and in the valley grew a plant called the Ethereal Grass. These Ethereal Grasses did not grow on the ground, but floated in the air, rooted in the clouds, moving with the wind and following the clouds. These Ethereal Grasses were very close to ordinary Mystic Spirits. The fragrance they emitted also had a poison-like effect. At that time, many people were killed by the Ethereal Grasses."

“But the most terrifying thing isn’t the poison of the Ethereal Grass.” Bai Yueguang hesitated for a while before saying, “Among those Ethereal Grasses, there was one that had already taken human form, almost indistinguishable from a humanoid spirit, even more terrifying. When we found him, he only glanced at us, and our entire team was almost wiped out. Only a few of us responsible for security survived because we hadn’t touched the Ethereal Grass, but we still don’t understand how the others were killed.”

"There's a gag order for this, so I can't just tell anyone. You can just listen to it and forget about it. Don't spread it around. If you're not careful and the higher-ups find out and come knocking, I will absolutely deny ever saying these things to you," Bai Yueguang said very seriously.

Chen Guan nodded slightly: "Are you afraid that the stone spirit mushrooms and the ethereal grass inside are the same thing, or that there are stone spirit mushrooms that have already taken human form?"

Bai Yueguang nodded slightly: "That's exactly what I meant."

Chen Guan pondered for a moment, realizing that what Bai Yueguang said and what Zhu Hongzhi described about the old ginseng mountain were actually quite similar.

The difference is that Bai Yueguang and his group survived because they didn't touch those rare and precious herbs; while Zhu Hongzhi dug up a lot of old ginseng, so he thought that as long as he didn't touch the innermost part, there might be something there, so digging up some benefits wouldn't hurt.

Both of them actually believed that there was an extremely terrifying plant-based mystic spirit inside the cave, and according to them...

Plant-type spirits are very weak in the early stages, and cannot even resist being harvested by humans. However, because they take a long time to grow, once they can grow to the point of breaking free from the limitations of the earth and taking on their own form, they become extremely terrifying.

However, these are all just their guesses. Whether the situation in Hundred Beast Valley is similar to what they have seen is still uncertain.

“We really have to be on guard.” After returning, Chen Guan talked to Zhu Hongzhi again and told him about Bai Yueguang’s concerns, but he didn’t mention the Void Grass.

Ultimately, we decided to wait for the test results of the Ganoderma lucidum and the pet before deciding whether to use the pet to harvest the Ganoderma lucidum, in order to avoid unnecessary sacrifices.

(End of this chapter)