Spirit Plant Entry: Immortality Begins with Farming

When Chen Yuan returned to Medicine Valley, it was already broad daylight.

He first went to plot number seventy-three to see the Ghost Flower.

The black flower was in full bloom, its eight petals fully extended, and the pale white light in the center of the stamen was steady and soft.

Zhou Ming squatted on the edge of the field, carefully scraping the dew off the leaves with a bamboo stick—the dew was too heavy and would crush the petals.

"Senior Brother Chen!" Zhou Ming's eyes lit up when he saw him. "You're out! Are you alright?"

"It's alright." Chen Yuan squatted down and placed his hand lightly above the flower. His palm didn't touch the petals, but his fingertips felt a subtle, cool sensation—the trace of flowing Yin energy. The flower was in good condition, even more vibrant than it had been three days ago.

"Master Su came to see it twice," Zhou Ming said in a low voice. "People from the Array Academy also came, led by Senior Brother Zhang. When they saw the flowers blooming, their faces turned very ugly, and they left without saying anything."

Chen Yuan nodded. He had won the first step of the bet, but the court wouldn't let it go so easily.

She stood up and patted Zhou Ming on the shoulder: "You've worked hard."

After leaving plot number seventy-three, he did not return to his residence, but went straight to Su Wanqing's herb garden.

Half of the blood ginseng is still in the soul-nourishing soil. The amber tears at the crack in the ginseng head are still there, though their color has faded. All eight leaves have fallen, leaving only a bare stem, but very faint dark gold patterns have emerged on the surface of the stem—patterns that share the same origin as the tree-shaped mark on Chen Yuan's right arm.

Chen Yuan squatted down and placed his right hand on the ground.

The tree-shaped mark on my palm felt slightly warm.

The next second, the view changed.

It wasn't the kind of vision of energy flow that comes with "Life Source Perception," but rather a more detailed, almost "anatomical" perspective—he saw the structure of every grain of the Soul-Nourishing Soil, the concentration gradient of spiritual energy within the soil, and the direction and connection points of the dark golden patterns inside the Blood Ginseng stem.

In the center of my vision, a few lines of small text appeared:

【Name】：Destiny Blood Ginseng (Yang Body)

[Status]: Symbiotic stability, but soul fragmented.

[Growth Requirements]: Blood Refinement Earth Vein Connection (Slightly Satisfied), Destiny Main Body's Essence Blood Nourishment (Already Bound)

[WARNING]: The absence of the genitals leads to growth stagnation; forcibly inducing childbirth will shorten the lifespan of the destined individual.

The handwriting is clear and neatly arranged, as if it were imprinted on the retina.

Chen Yuan blinked; the words were still there. He withdrew his hand, and his vision returned to normal.

New abilities?

Not entirely. The previous entry tree seedlings had an identification function, but it required focused attention to "see," and the information wasn't as detailed. Now it's more like... as long as he touches a related object, the information automatically floods in.

He stood up and walked towards the "Crimson Sun Vine" used for experiments at the edge of the herb garden. His fingers had barely touched the vine—

The perspective changes again.

【Name】: Red Sun Vine (Juvenile Stage)

[Status]: Healthy, with slight spiritual energy deficiency

[Growth Requirements]: Fire elemental energy (insufficient), sunlight (sufficient), water (moderate).

[Extractable Term]: Faint Fire Spiritual Energy (Requires contact for three breaths)

Chen Yuan kept touching her, silently counting to three in his mind.

A subtle suction force came from his fingertips—not that he was sucking the vines, but that something was being drawn out of the vines, flowing into his body through his fingertips and into his sea of ​​consciousness.

In the sea of ​​consciousness, the word space that originally had thirty-seven light spots floating on the edge now has an additional dark red light spot.

At the same time, the leaves of the Crimson Sun Vine visibly wilted, and the fire patterns on the vines dimmed.

Extraction successful.

However, the cost is damage to the plant's essence. This didn't seem to happen before... or rather, previously what was extracted were "fragments of the term," but now it's the "complete term"?

Chen Yuan withdrew his hand, and the Crimson Sun Vine slowly recovered, but very slowly. He noted this down and turned to leave the herb garden.

Just as I reached the mouth of the valley, I bumped into someone.

It's Zhao San.

He was talking to two disciples from the Array Academy when he saw Chen Yuan. His fake smile froze for a moment, then he quickly put on a new one: "Oh, Junior Brother Chen, you're out? Three days in the forbidden area, you must have gained quite a bit, right?"

Chen Yuan ignored him and walked straight ahead.

"Hey, don't rush off," Zhao San stopped him, lowering his voice. "Senior Brother Zhang asked me to pass on a message: the Yin Soul Flower has bloomed, but the bet was 'blooming and bearing fruit.' Right now, it's only bloomed, the fruit hasn't ripened yet. There are still two months left, so don't let your guard down."

Chen Yuan stopped and turned to look at him: "Are you done?"

"And another thing," Zhao San leaned closer, his eyes filled with schadenfreude, "Senior Brother Wang Mo is very disappointed in you. He said you've been inside for three days, and the furnace core hasn't shown any movement at all—he told you to go and clean off the contamination, but you acted like you were just strolling around your own backyard. That's not in accordance with the rules."

"Rules?" Chen Yuan laughed. "What rules? The rules for feeding the furnace heart?"

Zhao San's expression changed: "What nonsense are you talking about!"

"What nonsense am I spouting?" Chen Yuan looked at him. "The Forbidden Land Record clearly states that the furnace core needs to be fed every three years. Senior Brother Wang let me in, wasn't it just to feed it? Unfortunately, I didn't die, nor did I go mad, and I came out alive. It's normal for him to be disappointed."

Zhao San took a half step back, his eyes filled with surprise and uncertainty.

He was clearly unaware of the existence of the Forbidden Land Record.

Chen Yuan said no more and walked past him.

After walking a dozen steps, he heard Zhao San whisper to the two disciples of the Array Academy behind him: "Go quickly and tell Senior Brother Zhang that he knows about the Forbidden Land Record..."

Chen Yuan didn't stop walking, but his right hand unconsciously clenched.

The tree-shaped mark on my palm felt slightly warm.

On his way back to his residence, he passed the notice board in the Medicine Valley's public area. A new notice was posted there, and several disciples were gathered around discussing it. Chen Yuan hadn't intended to join the commotion, but as his gaze swept over the notice, a few lines automatically "jumped" into his eyes:

[Outer Sect Quest: Clear the Demon Rat Cave in West Mountain]

[Requirements: Qi Refining Level 5 or above, three-person team]

[Reward: 50 Contribution Points, 20 Low-Grade Spirit Stones]

[Note: A small amount of "Yin Iron Ore" is found in the cave; you may collect it yourself.]

He didn't look at them intentionally; the words just became "eye-catching" on their own. It was as if, against a gray background, these few lines of text were highlighted without anyone noticing.

Chen Yuan stopped in his tracks.

He stared at the notice, trying to concentrate. Additional notes appeared beside the lines of text in his field of vision:

[Actual threat assessment of the Demon Rat Cave: Can be handled by a single person at the sixth level of Qi Refining]

[Yin Iron Ore Reserves: Approximately 30 catties, valued at 60 spirit stones]

[Potential Risk: A faint blood-like aura is detected deep within the mine, suspected to be a leak from a branch of the Blood Refining Vein]

The annotations are small, semi-transparent, and float next to the original text.

Chen Yuan shifted his gaze to another notice beside him—one about the alchemy room recruiting apprentices specializing in spiritual plants. Again, several lines of annotation appeared:

[The Alchemy Room's Real Needs: Urgently Needs a Stable Supply of Fire-Attribute Mutant Spiritual Plants]

[Internal competition: Two outer disciples have already reserved their spots through Elder Liu's connections]

[Recommendation: Without special channels, the success rate is less than 30%]

He blinked, and all the annotations disappeared.

Information overload. My head is a little throbbing.

Chen Yuan rubbed his temples and quickly left the notice board. Only after returning to his residence and closing the door did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, he closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into the sea of ​​knowledge.

The seedlings have changed.

It was no longer the lush green sapling it once was, but had become... a tree of light.

The trunk and branches are translucent, with a dark golden light flowing inside, like molten metal flowing in a glass tube.

The roots were still firmly planted in the void of his sea of ​​consciousness, but each root was connected to a tiny point of light at the end—those were fragments of words he had previously stored.

The leaf with the entry was gone, replaced by five "stars" floating around the tree canopy.

Each star has a different color: dark red, pale gold, silver, emerald green, and gray-black.

Chen Yuan's consciousness drew closer to that dark red star.

The star trembled slightly, conveying a message:

[Entry Category: Blood Refinement Laws]

[Includes the following abilities: Blood Resonance, Life Source Perception, and Blood Qi Conversion]

[Status: Symbiotic Integration (37%)]

Pale golden stars:

[Entry Category: Origin of Life]

[Includes the following abilities: Cross-dimensional Resonance, Soul Connection, Life Absorption (Not yet unlocked)]

[Status: Symbiotic Integration (12%)]

Silvery Stars:

[Entry Category: Matter Analysis]

[Capabilities Included: Identification, Extraction, and Analysis]

Status: Activated

Emerald Stars:

[Entry Category: Growth Principles]

[Includes the following abilities: Entry Assignment, Communicating with Spiritual Plants (Unlocked), Environmental Mimicry (Unlocked)]

Status: Activated

Gray-black stars:

[Entry Category: Evil Devouring and Purification]

[Includes the following abilities: Devouring Evil, Purifying Aura, Yin Energy Transformation]

Status: Activated

Below each star is a line of smaller text: [Next stage unlock requirements].

For example, the requirements of the silvery-white star are: "Analyze one hundred different substances, or the host breaks through to the Foundation Establishment stage."

Emerald Star's requirements are: "Successfully cultivate three mutated spirit plants, or establish a deep symbiosis with three spirit plants."

The gray-black star's requirement is the simplest: "To devour ten different types of Yin and evil energy."

The requirements for dark red and light gold stars are grayed out, displaying "Insufficient conditions, cannot be viewed".

Chen Yuan withdrew from his sea of ​​consciousness and opened his eyes.

The term tree is not "bad"; it has evolved.

From a sapling with a chaotic array of functions, it transformed into a system of stars categorized according to rules and laws.

Those abilities that he used to have to actively activate now seem to have become passive effects—for example, identification, as long as he focuses his gaze, the information will automatically appear.

But being passive also means being out of control.

He can't possibly add a bunch of annotations to everything he reads; he'd go crazy sooner or later. He needs to learn to control himself.

Chen Yuan got up, walked to the table, and poured a glass of water.

He stared at the water glass, trying to "turn off" the identification.

There was no response at first.

The words "Ordinary ceramic cup, no spiritual energy" still appeared on the water cup. He concentrated, imagining "concealing," "hiding," and "closing"...

The writing has faded.

Successful.

He breathed a sigh of relief and tried to "turn it on" again.

The writing reappeared. After several attempts, I finally grasped the trick to the switch—it requires a bit of mental guidance, like controlling the opening and closing of your eyelids.

Next came the level of detail in the annotations. He glanced at the pile of odds and ends he'd brought from the shantytown in the corner: old clothes, a broken hoe, half a bag of spirit grain seeds…

As you scan the area, information automatically appears, but this time it only includes the most basic name and status, without any additional annotations.

He focused his attention further, imagining "more" and "in more detail".

The annotations include: 【Old Clothes: Cotton-linen blend, 72% wear, no special value】, 【Broken Hoe: Iron, three chipped edges, requires forging for repair】...

It can be adjusted.

Chen Yuan sat back down on the edge of the bed and began to sort out the current situation:

1. The term tree has evolved into a star system, with clearer ability classifications and well-defined growth paths.

2. The identification and extraction capabilities are enhanced, but extracting complete entries will damage the essence of the spiritual plant.

3. Passive annotation capabilities have emerged, and it is necessary to learn how to control them.

4. Blood ginseng fusion brings new law categories (blood refining, life origin), but the fusion degree is very low.

5. The cultivation of the "Blood and Bone Chapter" has led to a decrease in the efficiency of the "Long Breath Technique," and there is an urgent need to solve the problem of spiritual power cultivation.

A bell tolled outside the window.

It's noon.

Chen Yuan stood up and opened the window. Under the light shield of Medicine Valley, disciples walked one after another towards the dining hall. In the distance, on plot number seventy-three, Zhou Ming was still cautiously watching the Yin Soul Flower.

Everything seemed calm.

Chen Yuan looked down at his right hand.

The tree-shaped mark on his palm was almost invisible in the sunlight. Only he knew that it connected to the tree of light in his sea of ​​consciousness, to the five stars, and to a path that he himself had not fully understood.

He clenched his fist and walked out of the room.

It's time to go eat.

Then, we need to figure out how to get the Ghost Flower to bear fruit within two months.

And how to continue moving forward when spiritual cultivation is hindered.