2: Stealing Heaven Vine

The sky quickly darkened, and a chill began to set in.

He slid down to the ground, leaning against the wall, his gaze unconsciously sweeping over the space under the eaves.

There hung a completely dried, grayish-brown old vine, which the original owner had picked up from the mountains when he first arrived. He had intended to weave a basket, but later found it too brittle and useless, so he casually tossed it there.

'Damn heavens, are you toying with me...'

Suddenly, his brow felt a scorching pain without warning, as if something had been forcefully branded into it.

At the same time, the old vine silently turned into ashes, as if it had never existed.

Lin Feng clutched his forehead, his eyes wide with horror.

The world before his eyes seemed somewhat different.

His consciousness sank into his Sea of Consciousness.

Lin Feng saw the heaven-stealing vine.

It was rooted in the chaotic void of his brow, extremely tiny, only about an inch tall, and entirely translucent emerald green.

Its main stem was slender, topped only by two tender, budding small leaves.

What was surprising was that several almost transparent, pale green spiritual tendrils, thinner than hair, extended from the main root. They were now gently swaying, appearing fragile yet full of longing.

'Grafting... feedback...'

It seemed that he could use the spiritual tendrils to contact a target and graft some of the target's characteristics onto himself or a designated target.

Lin Feng withdrew from his Sea of Consciousness, his gaze burning as he looked at his barren field.

'With this... ten Spiritual Plants? More than ten.'

He knew too well the difficulty of cultivating Spiritual Plants. In this barren field filled with Evil Qi, just keeping the Spiritual Plants alive consumed all his energy, let alone growing them into qualified products.

But now, it was different.

The heaven-stealing vine could sense the most minute needs of the Spiritual Plants, convert Evil Qi into nutrients, and even steal the growth secrets of healthy Spiritual Plants from distant fertile fields.

Paying off debts? Accumulating Spirit Stones? Fourth Level of Qi Refining? Outer Sect Disciple?

These once unattainable words now ignited a blazing fire in his heart.

Lin Feng took a deep breath, sat cross-legged by the field, and concentrated his mind to communicate with the heaven-stealing vine in his Sea of Consciousness.

A slight coolness spread from his brow, a faint perception extending to cover his few acres of meager fields.

As the spiritual tendrils extended, he could clearly perceive the painful groans of each Spiritual Plant.

The stinging pain of roots being eroded by Evil Qi, the extreme thirst for Spiritual Qi, the longing for sunlight...

He tried to extend the spiritual tendrils towards the fertile field belonging to Manager Zhang's brother-in-law, located higher up the slope.

'No, it's too far... I need to get closer!'

Lin Feng stood up, pretending to inspect the medicinal field, and slowly walked up the slope.

He didn't dare to get too close, stopping a few zhang away from the edge of that fertile field. He found an inconspicuous corner, squatted down, and pretended to pull weeds.

The coolness at his brow intensified, and those delicate spiritual tendrils seemed to be stretching vigorously in his Sea of Consciousness.

Finally, an extremely faint thought was drawn from a particularly robust Spiritual Plant in the fertile field.

'That's it!'

Lin Feng was overjoyed. He immediately used the heaven-stealing vine to carefully graft this understanding of a healthy state onto the Spiritual Plant in his own field that was in the worst condition.

The process consumed an immense amount of mental energy and spiritual power. Just completing the grafting for this one plant made him feel dizzy, his Qi Refining First Level spiritual power almost depleted, and fine cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

He had to stop and meditate on the spot to recover.

Looking at the grafted Spiritual Plant, although the change was extremely slow, a hint of green indeed appeared on the edges of its previously withered yellow leaves.

'It works! It really works!'

In the following days, Lin Feng was like a man possessed.

During the day, he got as close as possible to the fertile fields on the hillside, grafting one or two healthy Spiritual Plants onto the diseased plants in his own field.

At night, when the Evil Qi was slightly weaker, he tried to communicate with the heaven-stealing vine, sensing and transforming faint wisps of Evil Qi into special fertilizer to nourish the grafted Spiritual Plants.

The effect was astonishing. The dozen or so Spiritual Plants he had focused on recovered their vitality at a visible rate.

Their leaves shed their withered yellow, becoming plump and verdant, and their stems grew strong and upright, emitting a faint but exceptionally pure Spiritual Qi.

In just a few days, their growth had already matched that of ordinary Spiritual Plants in the fertile fields on the hillside.

Ye Yuner came by every day to help with what she could. She quickly noticed the changes in Lin Feng's field.

"Senior Brother Lin..." She squatted beside a clearly revitalized Spiritual Plant, her fingers gently brushing its plump leaves. "This... this plant... why is it growing so well? What method did you use?"

Lin Feng looked at Ye Yuner's haggard yet undeniably delicate face, complex emotions welling up in his heart.

Ye Yuner was not a Dao Companion assigned by the Sect; they were merely neighbors who shared a similar plight.

She was kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see others suffer.

That night, Lin Feng recovered some spiritual power and watched Ye Yuner drag her weary body back to her small hut by the field. The Spiritual Plants in her field were growing far worse than his.

Lin Feng walked to Ye Yuner's field. Ye Yuner was sitting on the doorstep, mending old clothes by moonlight, her face pale.

"Yuner," Lin Feng called her that for the first time, his voice a little dry, "Your field... I'll help you take a look."

Ye Yuner froze, looking up at him. In the moonlight, her eyes appeared exceptionally clear: "Senior Brother Lin? Your injury..."

"I'm fine." Lin Feng waved his hand, squatted down, and placed his hand on the field ridge. The heaven-stealing vine at his brow stirred slightly, and its spiritual tendrils extended.

He immediately sensed the problems with the Spiritual Plants in Ye Yuner's field. He carefully guided a wisp of transformed fertilizer into the roots of the Spiritual Plant closest to him.

That plant visibly perked up a little.

The needle and thread in Ye Yuner's hand dropped to the ground. She covered her mouth, her eyes wide with astonishment: "This... this is..."

"A small trick," Lin Feng stood up, his face even paler from the spiritual power consumption. "When I was unconscious... I seemed to have gained an Opportunity, and I can slightly... improve the soil."

Ye Yuner looked at his pale face, then at the clearly improved Spiritual Plant, and tears instantly welled up in her eyes: "Rea... really? That's great! Senior Brother Lin! That's wonderful!"

She excitedly grabbed Lin Feng's arm, then, as if realizing something, quickly let go, her cheeks slightly flushed.

Lin Feng looked at the shimmering tears in her eyes, and a soft spot in his heart was touched. He reached out and gently wiped away the tear from the corner of her eye.

Ye Yuner's body stiffened, but she didn't dodge. Her cheeks only grew redder, and she lowered her head, nervously twisting the corner of her clothes.

Lin Feng took a deep breath: "Yuner, from now on... you don't have to bear it for me anymore. I can do it. We... will live well together."

"Mhm!" Ye Yuner looked up at Lin Feng's firm yet gentle eyes, nodded vigorously, and tears fell again.

That night, Lin Feng meditated to recover in Ye Yuner's small hut. Ye Yuner had spread out the only relatively clean straw mat for him, while she herself curled up in a corner.

In the dead of night, Lin Feng looked at the slender figure in the corner, and a strong protective urge surged within him. He walked over and gently picked her up.

Ye Yuner woke with a start, her body instantly tensing: "Senior Brother Lin? You... you still need to save your strength for working in the fields tomorrow..."