My health recovery is incredibly fast.

"So, is the Temple planning to use its clones to search for the thick smoke in the altar plaza?" Shazo asked in a low voice as he walked beside Selena.

“Yes.” Selena nodded. “Didn’t a three-person temple guard team go into the smoke before? They’ve gone missing. Out of caution, the Holy Rune Department plans to try using clones first, and if that doesn’t work, they’ll forcibly disperse the smoke.”

"A Temple team has gone missing?" Xia Zuo was slightly taken aback. "When did this happen?"

“About 20 minutes ago. Didn’t you see it in the image of the Image Orb?” Selena asked, pushing open the door to an alchemy room.

"No." Xia Zuo scratched his head, guessing that this happened during his meeting with the Faceless Man.

"I was probably chatting with Christo and the others at the time, and I didn't pay attention to the image of the Vision Orb."

"I see..." Selena walked into the alchemy room and rearranged the furniture with her silver sand hands. "Let's put aside that temple team for now. Let's get down to business. I've come up with a plan that requires our cooperation to complete. What do you think?"

Selena cleared a large open space in the room, pushed the desk and alchemy table to the center of the room, and then placed two chairs facing each other on either side of the desk.

She took a small golden thorn flower from her alchemy pouch and placed it on the table:

"When we last collaborated, you and this little golden chaste flower shared the vision of the blood element servant, and it saw the movement of life force through the eyes of the blood element servant."

“This time, I want to do the same. You will still connect with the little golden thorn and let it guide your blood element servants to explore the smoke area. The life force light in the smoke will be the best beacon.”

Shazo pondered for a moment and slowly nodded. "Good idea, Selena. Let's give it a try."

He pointed to the doorway. "I need to get some alchemical materials to properly arm my Blood Element servants. It should take about two hours to prepare. Do the Temple Guards have any requirements regarding preparation time?"

"No, just go ahead and do it. I'll wait for you. Feel free to contact me if you need any help." Selena sat down at her desk, took out her secret message ring box, and dealt with her official business to pass the time.

Xia Zuo knew nothing about the alchemical properties of the smoke, what negative effects it would have on spell clones and alchemical clones, or whether blood element servants would be forced to sever their connection with their masters after entering the smoke. He planned to enhance the blood element servants to the highest standards.

This secret room is divided into more than a dozen alchemy rooms. In the center of the secret room is a material area for storing alchemy materials, which contains many precious mutant materials.

Xia Zuo unceremoniously took a large tray of expensive materials and piled it on the alchemy table's built-in shelf, determined to make the Blood Element Servant he was creating the most defensively powerful one to date.

Two hours later, a dark, spherical blood-element servant appeared on the alchemy table.

Xia Zuo picked it up with satisfaction and tossed it a few times in his palm.

Turning to look at Selena by the desk, Xia Zuo was about to tell her he was ready when he was immediately drawn to the little golden chaste tree dancing on the table…

The flower buds of the small golden chaste tree stand upright, circling upwards. Their slender "waist" twists left and right, in sync with the swaying leaves on either side of the flower stem—a dance that is somewhat comical.

"This is the first time I've ever heard of a golden thorn flower dancing..." Xia Zuo walked over and sat down opposite Selena, staring curiously at the little thing inside the glass case.

His sudden appearance seemed to frighten Little Golden Bauhinia, and her comical dance immediately stopped. Little Golden Bauhinia froze in place and stopped moving.

For some reason, Selena looked rather unwell.

She lowered her head, covering her face with her long hair, and touched her forehead a few times. Then she looked up, forced a smile, and asked, "How are the preparations going?"

“I’ve taken care of everything.” Xia Zuo placed the round, blood-red servant on the table. “You seem to be in trouble…”

Is the little golden chaste tree dancing cutely to comfort Selena?

"No, it's nothing, it's alright." Selena shook her head. "Let's hurry up and use the Blood Elemental Minions to search the area with the thick smoke."

She took out a secret message ring and sent a secret message.

Half a minute later, two temple guards entered and took away Xia Zuoxuesu's servants.

While waiting for the temple guards to bring the Blood Elemental servants to the altar plaza, Selena asked:

"Xia Zuo, what do you think the [Land of Eternal Rest] is? How much do you know about it?"

Xia Zuo thought for a moment, then responded after searching through his [knowledge reserves]:

"I know very little about it, very little."

“I remember Christo telling me when she sealed my spirit and totem knowledge that the ‘Land of the Long Sleep’ is the resting place of the soul. After we humans die, our souls go there to sleep. When a new human is born in nature, the sleeping soul will return to nature and be incorporated into the newborn’s body, thus beginning a new life.”

This method of reincarnation is much simpler than the Eastern and Western legends that Xia Zuo heard in his previous life.

There is no hell, no heaven, no underworld, no celestial court, no abyss, no purgatory, no eighteen levels of hell, no animal realm, no asura realm, no six realms of reincarnation... The entire process of reincarnation in the current world is completed in this sub-plane of the [Land of Eternal Rest], it couldn't be simpler.

“You’re referring to a widely circulated belief within the temple,” Selena asked. “Have you considered that this belief might be wrong?”

"Wrong?" Xia Zuo was taken aback. "I...I'm not sure, I haven't researched it."

“Look, Xia Zuo.”

Selena used illusion magic to conjure several orbs of light emitting different glows on the table.

These clusters of light gradually became clearer, eventually revealing images of several sub-dimensions.

"To date, the Temple has discovered four sub-dimensions connected to the natural world."

"The Witcher's base, Grayhorn; the Thunder Sea Plane, filled with wind and water energy; the Dark Chamber, now under the control of the Church of the Otherworld; and the Mystic Woods, the base of the Temple Army."

“These sub-dimensions have one thing in common: to enter them, one only needs to start from nature, and we can reach these sub-dimensions with our physical bodies.”

Selena shrugged. "But look, the [Land of Rest] only allows spirits to enter. Our physical bodies have to be in a meditative state to find it. Isn't that strange?"

"Isn't this determined by the characteristics of the [Land of Eternal Rest]?" Xia Zuo scratched his head. "That place is where souls rest, so it's normal that only souls can enter... Oh, no, no. The [Dark Chamber] is the territory of shadow energy, and the [Thunder Sea Plane] is the domain of wind and water energy. Logically speaking, only energy bodies can enter these sub-planes, but we humans can still enter them with our physical bodies..."

"Yes, Xia Zuo, you've got the point."

Selena clapped her hands:

"Among the scholars of the Tower, not everyone supports exploring the [Land of the Long Sleep]. A considerable number of them—including myself—oppose exploring this sub-plane that does not allow physical entry and has extremely stringent entry conditions."

"It's like exploring an underground cave. We should choose cave entrances that are large enough for a human to enter and exit, and stay away from caves with narrow entrances and dark, cramped passages."

"Hmm...you make a good point." Xia Zuo nodded.

The golden chaste tree on the table started dancing again. This time, its dance was no longer comical, but rather a little hysterical and frenzied. From the buds to the stems, from the stems to the leaves, everything that could move was twisting violently!

“It…” Xia Zuo stared dumbfounded at the little golden vitex, looking as if he had gone mad.

Selena reached out and pressed her hand against the glass dome, forcibly freezing Golden Bauhinia's dance pose.

She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, saying:

"Xia Zuo... I can't go on this mission with you."

"What?" Xia Zuo was a little confused for a moment. How could the other person's thought process jump so fast, suddenly switching from one topic to another? Also, what exactly does the little golden thorn flower dancing mean?

Selena gazed at Xia Zuo, "This mission is now entrusted to you and Golden Thorn Flower."

"Okay...okay." Xia Zuo could see the seriousness in her eyes.

"Knock, knock, knock." There was a knock on the door, and the voice of the temple guard came from outside, "Lady Seresporina, someone is looking for you outside the secret room."

"I'm coming right now."

Selena said something towards the door, then turned around, picked up the little golden thorn flower, and stuffed it and an alchemy pouch into Shazo's hands:

"It's a little timid, but if you give it some patience, I think you'll become good friends soon. If I don't come back after the mission, please take good care of it for me."

“This…” Xia Zuo looked at the glass dome in his hand; the little golden vitex inside was trembling slightly, like a pet abandoned by its owner…

"I'm leaving. We'll meet again, so no matter what happens, don't worry about me."

Selena waved to Xia Zuo, lifted the hem of her mage robe, and strode towards the door.

Yinsha opened the door for her with his palm and closed it after she left.

In this alchemy room, only a bewildered Xia Zuo and a little golden thorn flower huddled together remained.

What, what, what, what happened?

Selena called him to join the mission, and now she's abandoned him and Little Golden Bauhinia on her own...

All signs indicate that Selena knew something bad would happen after she left, which is why she left the little golden thorn flower with Xia Zuo…

Xia Zuo stared blankly at the small golden vitex flower in his hand:

"Little one, what was the meaning behind your dance? Was it some kind of body language?"

The poor little golden chaste tree was probably terrified by its owner's actions. It curled up into a ball, buried its head in the soil, and trembled, completely unresponsive to Xia Zuo's question...

Chapter 20 [Separation of Spirit and Flesh]

The alchemy pouch left by Selena was full of alchemical tools needed to care for the little golden chaste tree. There were several boxes of potions to hydrate and nourish the little golden chaste tree, as well as more than a dozen glass-covered culture jars of the same design.

The only missing item is the cultivation manual for the small golden jujube...

Xia Zuo comforted the little golden thorn for a few minutes, but found that his words had no effect. So he took out a hydration potion from his alchemy pouch and poured the cool liquid onto the glass dome.

A light drizzle fell inside the glass dome. The little golden vitex stopped trembling, but still used its branches and leaves to cover its buds.

Xia Zuo rummaged through his alchemy pouch, took out a glass tube containing liquid fertilizer, and poured the nutrient-rich potion onto the glass dome.

After this rain, the little golden chaste tree's condition has improved significantly.

It slightly lifted its branches and leaves, timidly peeking at Xia Zuo through a small gap. This vivid and lifelike scene made Xia Zuo unable to help but smile.

Can you understand what I'm saying?

After asking that question, Xia Zuo felt a bit stupid... How could a plant without ears hear his voice and understand his meaning? Selena's ability to communicate with the Golden Thorn Flower must be achieved through a linking spell.

To Xia Zuo's surprise, the little golden vitex inside the glass case covered its "head" and nodded.

"Wow, that's amazing! How can you hear sounds? Do you have a brain? Is your thinking like a human's?" Xia Zuo picked up the glass cover and observed the little golden chaste tree from different angles.

He had learned about magic herbs when he took a course on magic herbs at the academy.

Most of the seemingly intelligent magical plants are only "seemingly intelligent." Their reactions to human activities are self-preservation mechanisms that have emerged from natural evolution. They are not actually able to understand human intentions, let alone have a proper conversation with humans.

This golden chaste tree truly lives up to its reputation as the national flower of the Golden Chaste Tree Ideal Kingdom. It is indeed different from ordinary demonic plants and demonized plants, exhibiting unique human characteristics in every aspect.

Perhaps it was Xia Zuo's inquisitive gaze that made Jin Jinghua uneasy, because the little guy covered his "head" even more tightly.

"Ahem..." Xia Zuo coughed a few times, composed himself, and tried to keep his tone calm. "I'm sorry, I got a little too excited. Selena had to leave, and I'll take good care of you until she takes you back. If you feel hungry or thirsty, just tell me."

The little golden chaste tree showed some flower buds and nodded to Xia Zuo.

"Do you have a name?" Xia Zuo asked softly. "What should I call you?"

The little golden chaste tree hesitated noticeably for a moment. It carefully moved the branches and leaves off its head, picked up a leaf, and pressed the leaf onto the glass cover.

As Xia Zuo recalled the spells and actions he used when he first connected with the Golden Thorn Flower, he placed his hand on the glass dome, feeling the delicate touch of the glass.

He recited the incantation in his mind, and the message from the cheat system appeared in his head:

"A host has been detected attempting a deep connection with the Golden Vitex, and the following consequences are predicted:"