155: Planting sword grass

Every time he catalyzed a mutation in a spirit plant, it deepened his comprehension of the Azure Emperor Longevity Art.

Today, his long accumulation finally bore fruit.

The vitality within Lin Yan's body surged like a river, and a faint cyan-green halo appeared on his skin; every breath seemed synchronized with the respiration of the plants.

Not only was his vitality flourishing, but his affinity for spirit plants had also invisibly increased, granting him the ability to guide spirit plant mutations.

This was a characteristic of the Azure Emperor Longevity Art; it was Heaven-Defying, but unfortunately, it was just too weak.

Because this Cultivation Technique was incomplete, it stopped here.

Of course, being able to Cultivate the Azure Emperor Longevity Art to this Realm was already quite good.

Though it seemed to be only at the Minor Achievement Realm, it actually surpassed most Purple Mansion Realm Cultivators.

After all, this was the Azure Emperor Longevity Art.

From now on, before Lin Yan reached the Golden Core Breakthrough, he would not encounter a Bottleneck due to his Cultivation Technique.

【spirit plant Name: Starlight Alfalfa】

【Growth Progress: 109/1000】

【spirit plant Characteristics: Can promote the evolution of surrounding Alfalfa; has a strong attraction for Spirit Beasts】

【Growth Status: Continuous catalysis, experience +3】

Lin Yan examined the mutated Spiritual Plant before him.

“Starlight Alfalfa, it can promote the evolution of surrounding Alfalfa.”

Its spirit plant characteristics were similar to Purple Stem Alfalfa, essentially an enhanced version. The rabbits should be very happy... The spirit plants in the Small Valley were being cultivated in an orderly fashion, showing a scene of prosperity.

Lin Yan took some time to plant a new crop of Spirit Potatoes in the spiritual field.

Although his Earth Spiritual Root had reached the top grade, one can never have too many earth treasures; they were just too time-consuming.

After planting the Spirit Potatoes, he wasn't done yet; Lin Yan also had to Cultivate a precious spirit plant, Sword Grass.

Arriving at his one-acre spiritual field, he took out a white jade box from his Storage Pouch, which contained over a hundred Sword Grass seeds.

These were the Sword Grass seeds he had picked up from the Sword Tomb earlier.

These seeds were pitch black all over, but silver patterns faintly flowed on their surface. Holding them in his hand, he could feel a trace of sharp Qi; they were all high-quality living seeds.

He chose a spot in the spiritual field, avoiding the root systems of the Dragon Blood Grass and Fire Crystal Rice.

The first crop of Crimson Flame Rice had already been harvested.

Lin Yan had transplanted the twenty mutated Fire Crystal Rice stalks into his own spiritual field.

Now, these Fire Crystal Rice stalks had tillered again, sprouting new branches.

Once they were all mature, Lin Yan could brew another batch of fire crystal wine to further enhance his Fire Spiritual Root... With a thought, a bit of spiritual power emanated from his fingertips as he carefully planted the seeds one by one into the spiritual field.

He arranged them in neat rows, spaced half a foot apart, and finally covered them with soil.

After planting, he took out the prepared spirit fertilizer.

“Go.” Lin Yan raised his hand and scattered it; the spirit fertilizer covered the seeds evenly like fine rain.

Then he took a deep breath and slowly pressed both palms to the ground, allowing the Wood Spiritual Power of the Azure Emperor Longevity Art to seep into the soil where the seeds were, like threads through his fingers.

As the spiritual power entered the soil, it first formed a circle of light pressure to stabilize the seeds' vitality, then converged into a faint cyan spiritual vortex around the seeds.

Lin Yan closed his eyes and concentrated, synchronizing his mind with the seeds to feel the dormant vitality within them.

It was a subtle state between “dead silence” and “waiting to wake,” like a sword hidden in its scabbard, only waiting for spiritual power as the key to be unsheathed.

He focused his mind, and the cyan Wood Element Spiritual Energy threads slowly moved along the patterns of the seeds, continuously probing deeper.

Wherever the cyan threads passed, the pitch-black outer shells gradually softened, and the internal embryos trembled slightly, like willow buds brushed by a spring breeze.

In just dozens of breaths, the seed shells made a soft “crack” sound, and a fine slit opened.

Lin Yan's spirits lifted as he saw a sprout of tender green emerge from the crack, as thin as a hair but as straight as an awl, with a crystal-like sword-tip-shaped embryo at the top, gleaming like jade in the morning light.

Its posture of breaking through the soil was very methodical; first, it pushed open the soil crust with its tip, then slowly unfurled two curled cotyledons, revealing the rice-grain-sized stem base with silver patterns underneath.

It was like a miniature sword embryo that had just been unsheathed, with sharpness and vitality coexisting.

Faint silver line patterns were already budding on the edges of the cotyledons; this was the prototype of the “Sword Patterns” unique to Sword Grass.

【spirit plant Name: Sword Grass】

【Growth Progress: 5/1000】

【spirit plant Characteristics: Refining it can help Sword Cultivators comprehend Sword Intent】

【Growth Status: Continuous catalysis, experience +1】

【Absorbing spirit fertilizer, experience +1】

...Lin Yan's fingertips lightly touched that tender tip, and a weak Sword Qi came from the tip of the grass, resonating faintly with the Sword Bone in his body.

“Not bad, very energetic...” Lin Yan nodded with satisfaction:

“Legend has it that the success rate of cultivating Sword Grass is higher for sword Dao Geniuses or experts; it seems there is indeed some truth to that...”

Putting aside distracting thoughts, he continued to catalyze the other Sword Grass seeds... Time flowed like water, and several months passed in a flash.

During this time, the spirit plant cultivation continued smoothly.

The Sword Grass grew vigorously; some active ones had already reached the maturity of Rank One Sword Grass and continued to maintain a rapid growth trend.

The Dragon Blood Grass also mutated as desired.

Now, there were already four Dragon Marrow Grass plants in the spiritual field.

Every time he catalyzed a Dragon Marrow Grass, Lin Yan would obtain a portion of True Dragon Bloodline.

Although this True Dragon Bloodline could not directly increase his combat power or cultivation, it could nourish his Sword Bone.

Now, nearly one-third of the patterns on the Sword Bone in his chest had been activated, and its power had greatly increased.

In terms of Aptitude alone, Lin Yan had now clearly exceeded the scope of Prodigy Disciples.

But he was still not quite at the level of a Prodigy-level Disciple.

He could be considered at the Great Perfection of the Prodigy Realm, half a step into the Prodigy Realm.

While the spirit plant cultivation was going well, the Dragon Carp, in which Lin Yan had high hopes, showed no signs of breeding a population.

This made him somewhat disappointed.

But he didn't want to give up on these precious Dragon Carp; their prospects were simply too enticing.

Because Dragon Blood Grass was truly limited and could not be bred.

Thus, he planned to find an experienced Cultivator to ask for advice.

Within the Wood Lineage, there was a Spirit Beast Hall; the Cultivators here were skilled at planting Spiritual Plants to raise Spirit Beasts, and among them were those who specialized in farming Spirit Fish.

On this day, Lin Yan arrived at the Spirit Beast Hall by boat.

Walking on the mountain path of the Spirit Beast Hall, the streams by the road gurgled clearly, the water vapor was misty, and the air was filled with the warm scent of plants and Spirit Beasts.

The Mountain Gate of the Spirit Beast Hall was built in a wide valley surrounded by mountains and rivers; the halls with green tiles and white walls were scattered about, surrounded by spacious beast pens and Spiritual Plant gardens. From afar, one could hear low animal cries and the sound of flowing water.

As he stepped onto the square in front of the hall, a young man in white came forward to meet him.

The young man had handsome features and a water-patterned jade pendant hanging from his waist; his movements carried a natural and composed spiritual rhythm.

Lin Yan's gaze narrowed as he recognized the other person.

This person was named Jiang Linzhou, the head Disciple of the Spirit Beast Hall.

The two had met once in the True Dragon Secret Realm and had fought side by side.

After the trip to the True Dragon Secret Realm, Lin Yan had established connections in various lineages and halls of the Sword Pavilion.

“Brother Lin, I hope you have been well.” Jiang Linzhou cupped his hands with a smile, his tone familiar: “Please, come in.”

After a few pleasantries, Jiang Linzhou led him into the hall.

Various Spirit Beast seedlings were displayed in the hall, from fluffy Spirit Rabbits and Spirit Martens to colorful Spirit Birds and Spirit Sparrows, and even a few palm-sized Water Element Spirit Frogs swimming in transparent water tanks.

Jiang Linzhou introduced them as they walked: “These are seedlings suitable for beginners; they are gentle, omnivorous, and easy to care for.”

“For example, the Snow Velvet Rabbit; it can eat ordinary pasture or Alfalfa, and it's cold-resistant and easy to keep alive.”

“The Colorful Feather Sparrow; it likes to eat Spirit Grain and insect pupae, has a pleasant song, and can serve as a warning.”

“The Water Element Spirit Frog; it needs to live near water, eats small fish and insects, can purify water, and its meat is delicious and very popular.”