64: Chapter 64 The Strongest Parasite
Arriving at the basement, Ling Yichen did not see the old man. Seeing that the door to one of the cultivation rooms was closed, he guessed that the old man was likely inside. He did not disturb him, instead sitting on the sofa and closing his eyes to rest.
Soon, Long Daoyi brought down some medicinal herbs and handed them to Ling Yichen.
"This is a Soul-Calming Flower; it has the effect of slowly restoring Mental Energy."
"This is a Three-Leaf Lotus Heart, which also has the effect of slowly restoring Mental Energy."
"Unfortunately, I only have these low-grade herbs here. Herbs capable of restoring Mental Energy are always in high demand but short supply, and are generally monopolized by large families."
"However, I am attempting to cultivate Five-Leaf Lotuses. Five-Leaf Lotuses are much more advanced than Three-Leaf Lotuses, and their restorative effects are stronger as well."
"Previously, it was just me, so the cultivation speed was relatively slow. But now with Yingying joining, it should be much faster, and it won't take long before there are results."
Ling Yichen said gratefully, "Thank you, Senior Brother."
Ling Yichen took the herbs, stuffed them into his mouth, then sat in meditation to regulate his breath and restore his Mental Energy.
Just as Long Daoyi said, the restoration speed of these herbs was very slow, but it was better than nothing.
He waited for the old man a little longer, but seeing that the old man showed no signs of coming out, Ling Yichen simply stopped waiting and chose a cultivation room to begin cultivating.
...
Eight hours later, Ling Yichen finished his cultivation and walked out of the cultivation room.
At this moment, his mental state was much, much better than it had been in the morning.
Because today he had slowed down the speed of condensing stars and focused more on restoring his Mental Energy.
According to his speed, he could condense 12 stars in 8 hours, but today he only condensed 5 stars. After completing the third Star Source Conduction Formation, he spent the rest of the time absorbing free-floating Mental Energy to replenish the depletion of his spiritual ocean.
Although he still hadn't recovered to his peak, he had recovered more than half, which was considered good.
When he came out of the cultivation room, he happened to run into the old man coming out of a cultivation room.
The two looked at each other, and Ling Yichen immediately saw many bloodshot streaks in the old man's eyes; he seemed to have suffered a great loss of Mental Energy. Not only his Mental Energy, but even his physical vitality seemed severely depleted.
At this moment, he had an elderly, near-death feeling about him.
This shocked Ling Yichen, and he hurriedly rushed over to support him.
"Master, did you have a life-or-death battle with someone? And lose?"
The old man's current state really gave the impression that he had just fought a life-or-death battle and lost.
The old man rolled his eyes at him and said in a hoarse voice, "No, I was just feeding the parasite with my vital blood, so I'm a bit weak now."
After speaking, the old man looked up at Ling Yichen and said, "You don't look much better than me. Did you stay up all night cultivating?"
Ling Yichen smiled without speaking.
However, the old man suddenly pulled an exquisite jade box from his Storage Ring and handed it over.
Ling Yichen took it in confusion and immediately opened it.
Immediately, he smelled a cool, refreshing fragrance. As this scent entered his nose, it instantly made him feel refreshed.
Inside the jade box lay 10 pale golden lotus seeds.
Ling Yichen immediately asked in surprise, "Three-Leaf Lotus Heart? No, Three-Leaf Lotus Heart is green. Could this be Five-Leaf?"
After hearing this, the old man replied calmly, "It's Seven-Leaf."
"Three-Leaf Lotus Heart is green, Five-Leaf is purple, Seven-Leaf is pale golden, Nine-Leaf is crimson-gold, and as for the legendary Twelve-Leaf, it is said to be seven-colored."
"Only after reaching Seven-Leaf can the restorative effect of the lotus heart be considered excellent."
"However, this thing is ridiculously expensive. A box of ten like this costs 2000 points. My monthly allowance is only enough to buy one box."
As the old man said this, he also looked pained.
Ling Yichen was secretly shocked upon hearing this, thinking: "So the old man has Upper C-rank strength."
Because Upper C-rank strength corresponds to 2000 points a month.
"Such a valuable item, you should keep it for yourself. You happen to need it right now," Ling Yichen refused.
The old man immediately pushed it back domineeringly, "Take it if I give it to you. I have another box here!"
As he spoke, he took out another box from his Storage Ring, then took out a pale golden lotus seed from it and stuffed it into his mouth.
Seeing this, Ling Yichen no longer declined. Imitating the old man, he took a lotus seed from the jade box and stuffed it into his mouth.
As the lotus seed entered his mouth, Ling Yichen immediately felt a cool sensation emanating from it. It was as if he hadn't swallowed a lotus seed, but a fountain; endless Mental Energy emanated from the lotus seed, rapidly restoring his depleted Mental Energy.
"Hurry up and cultivate, finish cultivating the Star Source Conduction Formation early to strengthen your spiritual sea of consciousness. When that time comes, I will pass all my Poisonous Insects to you."
The old man earnestly exhorted him.
Upon hearing this, Ling Yichen's eyes flickered.
In that instant, he almost told the old man his true situation.
He hadn't just cultivated one Star Source Conduction Formation; he had cultivated three.
However, he ultimately held back.
He just gave a soft "hmm," then asked: "Senior Brother told me this morning that you were looking for me. Is there something you need me to do?"
Hearing this, the old man's gaze suddenly changed, and his whole demeanor became serious and earnest.
Then, he saw him stand up and walk towards one of the cultivation rooms.
Seeing this, Ling Yichen immediately followed.
As they entered the cultivation room, he saw the old man wave his hand, and the protective formation in the cultivation room immediately activated.
He walked in first, then waved at Ling Yichen, signaling him to come in as well.
Ling Yichen hurriedly slipped into the formation and sat cross-legged in front of the old man.
Only then did the old man pull an extremely exquisite jade box from his Storage Ring.
He looked at the jade box and said: "This thing is the most powerful parasite I have ever seen. I also spent a great deal of effort to refine it to its current form."
"I intend to give it to you to be your life-bound Spirit Worm."
"Of course, the premise is, are you willing to accept it?"
The old man stared at Ling Yichen very seriously, making Ling Yichen feel quite a bit of pressure.
He of course knew that the old man wasn't just asking if he was willing to accept this parasite; he was actually asking if he was willing to accept his legacy and mantle.
Frankly speaking, Ling Yichen did not need other parasites, nor did he need the old man's thousands of Poisonous Insects.
Of course, the old man's Poisonous Insects were indeed powerful, at least for ordinary people, they were extremely terrifying.
But... his situation was special; no parasite could compare to himself.
However, the old man was really good to him, so good that it made him not have as much resentment towards this world.
Now that the old man was asking him so seriously, he certainly couldn't refuse.
So he also answered very seriously and earnestly: "I am willing!"
Upon hearing this, the old man was immediately overjoyed, his aged face full of wrinkles, like old pine bark.
Then he saw him open the exquisite jade box in his hand.
As the jade box opened, the contents were immediately presented before Ling Yichen.
Ling Yichen was instantly stunned, his whole person as if petrified.
"Hehe, very shocking, very spectacular, right?"
The old man smiled proudly, looking at the thing in the box.
Inside the exquisite jade box, a rice-grain-sized white Worm was lying there; it was actually an... Intelligence Worm!
That's right, it was an Intelligence Worm.
That was why Ling Yichen was so shocked when he saw it.
He looked at the old man in astonishment and asked: "This... where did it come from?"
Ling Yichen discovered that his connection with this Intelligence Worm was extremely weak; it was clearly specially refined.
It was precisely because of this that he hadn't sensed its existence.
The old man was very happy to see Ling Yichen's reaction.
He said proudly: "This was intercepted from a boy of the Lin family. They didn't know that I found an extremely special parasitic Worm inside it. Then I refined this Worm and fed it with a large amount of vital blood. But to my surprise, it actually evolved, evolving from a Worm into a more advanced form, becoming a red Worm."
"Then I used a large amount of vital blood to feed it again, and as a result, it evolved again, becoming what it looks like now."
"I suspect that this kind of parasite can keep evolving, and the key to evolution is feeding it vital blood."
"Unfortunately, all the vital blood I could use was poured into it, and I only managed to feed it to this stage."
"But this is also good. If it became too powerful, it wouldn't be able to become your life-bound Spirit Worm."
"This level is just right, neither too strong nor too weak, just right to become your life-bound Spirit Worm."
"With it, your foundation will be very solid. In the future, when you inherit my thousands of Poisonous Insects, you will have a most powerful leader, which will make it very convenient to command them."
Listening to the old man's words, Ling Yichen was shocked again.
So the old man intended to use this Intelligence Worm to become the leader of those Poisonous Insects, letting it take charge of all the Poisonous Insects to make it convenient for him to manage them in the future!
He didn't know whether to laugh or cry!!
At this moment, Ling Yichen really wanted to tell him, "Master, you are thinking of this Intelligence Worm too simply."
However, he couldn't explain anything either.
But he truly admired the old man's wisdom at this moment.
He had only just come into contact with the parasitic Worm for the first time, yet he had already mastered so many of its characteristics and had even cultivated it from a Worm into an Intelligence Worm.
The resource depletion involved must have been astonishing.
At this moment, he finally understood why the old man was so weak.
He must have added his own vital blood to feed it and refined it to have condensed the Intelligence Worm to such a level.
"Thank you!"
A thousand words were ultimately reduced to a single "thank you."
Because Ling Yichen really didn't know what to say.
He reached out to take the exquisite jade box, and looking at the Intelligence Worm inside, his eyes also became fervent.
Undoubtedly, obtaining an Intelligence Worm would also greatly enhance his strength.
So he didn't think too much, directly reaching his hand into the exquisite jade box, letting the Intelligence Worm crawl onto his finger, and then enter his body.
As the Intelligence Worm entered his body, the old man immediately shouted excitedly: "Quick, find its position, drive it into your heart, and confine it inside!"
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My darlings, Happy Mid-Autumn Festival.