243: The walking little green bottle

The night was as dark as ink, and the campfire crackled in the temporary campsite established at the foot of Old Crow Ridge. The threat of the Ancient Wood Deep Forest had temporarily receded, but Qin Feng did not dare to relax his vigilance in the slightest. As soon as the zi hour passed, he immersed his mind into the System light screen within his consciousness.

Three new pieces of intelligence refreshed as scheduled, the faint light reflecting his face as his expression gradually became quite animated.

[Green Intelligence]: The Yin Demon Sect's reaction is extremely fast! In just one day, a large number of scouts have been sent to all towns, villages, and intersections with the name "White" or related to "White." In White River Village alone, two new Martial Master-level hidden sentries have been added, disguised as peddlers and woodcutters, secretly monitoring all suspicious passersby. Once they discover anyone matching your characteristics (a four-person team plus potential followers) or any abnormalities, they will report immediately through special means.

Qin Feng's eyes turned cold. As expected! The other party had not given up but had instead expanded their search network, focusing their surveillance on "White" character areas. Fortunately, they had made the decisive choice to take a detour through the Ancient Wood Deep Forest; otherwise, if they had blundered into White River Town, they would likely have fallen into a dragnet. This green intelligence verified his previous decision was correct and also reminded them that even after leaving the forest, they still needed to be extremely careful when approaching human towns, especially places with "White" in their names.

[Yellow Intelligence]: The core reason the Ancient Wood Deep Forest has been able to maintain peace for a thousand years without a terrifying beast tide sweeping through the peripheral human towns is the absolute suppression by the Wood Spirit race and their guardians. The guardian attendant "Rock Armor" seen today is not actually at the Martial Emperor level as it appears on the surface, but is at the Half-Saint Level (a transitional Realm before the threshold of Martial Saint). Most of its power is usually used to maintain the stability of the forest's core area and suppress certain ancient existences deep within the earth veins; therefore, its aura is somewhat restrained when manifesting externally. Stepping the Mountain-Moving Violent Bear to death today was merely a small test of its skills.

"Half-Saint Level?!" Qin Feng gasped inwardly, a chill running down his spine for no apparent reason. He had guessed Rock Armor was strong, but he hadn't expected it to be this strong! Half-Saint! That was a terrifying existence that had truly touched the Saint-Grade Domain, a giant even on the scale of the entire continent! Medicine King Valley's Black Tortoise Saint Venerable was Saint-Grade, but that was already a legend, whereas a Half-Saint was a living being capable of trampling a Martial Emperor to death! He had actually been weighing whether to accept the deal earlier... Fortunately, the Wood Spirit had a peaceful attitude, and Rock Armor was reasonable. This intelligence gave him a brand new and shocking understanding of the Ancient Wood Deep Forest's foundation, and he secretly rejoiced that he hadn't made an enemy of them.

When he saw the third piece of red intelligence, Qin Feng's breathing suddenly stopped, his pupils constricted violently, and then, an uncontrollable wild joy surged from the bottom of his heart like a volcanic eruption, instantly sweeping away his previous coldness and lingering fear!

[Red Intelligence]: Su Yuchun (Xiao Chun)'s Myriad Medicine Body is still in its larval stage and is highly plastic. The "heart of the wood spirit essence" obtained today is not a one-time consumable; because its essence is pure and contains the blessing of the ancient forest, it can produce a deep resonance and slow Fusion with the larval Myriad Medicine Body! The Fusion process is gentle and gradual, taking months or even years. Once the Fusion is successful, the effects are Heaven-Defying:

1. Long-term or even permanent concealment of the Myriad Medicine Body's Origin aura, appearing at most as a top-tier Wood Spirit Physique to the outside world (extraordinary affinity for wood-attribute Spiritual Qi and the ability to communicate with plants, which is already shocking enough, but several levels lower in allure than the Myriad Medicine Body).

2. Obtains a faint but continuous "catalytic" ability, allowing the consumption of one's own True Yuan and Mental Energy to significantly accelerate the growth cycle of Spirit Medicines and spiritual plants, even having miraculous effects on certain ancient seeds in deep dormancy (the effect increases with the improvement of cultivation and the depth of Fusion).

"This... this, this, this!!!"

Even with Qin Feng's steadfast mind, he almost jumped straight off the ground at this moment! His face flushed red, the hand holding the water skin trembled slightly, and a terrifying light burst from his eyes. He muttered unconsciously, his mind filled with a single thought roaring frantically:

Hiding the Physique! Catalyzing Spirit Medicines! What kind of heart of the wood spirit is this? This is clearly a "youthful Fusion version" of the legendary "Heaven-Palming Bottle" or "Small Green Bottle"! Old Devil Han relied on a bottle to grow medicine and achieve the Dao; after Xiao Chun fuses with this, won't she be a walking human-shaped medicinal field accelerator?! And the kind that can perfectly hide her own Heaven-Defying medicinal Physique!

At this time, Tao Yuanyi stood up and said to Cold Peach Blossom, "Peach Blossom, the water skin is empty. There seems to be the sound of a stream nearby. I'll go get some water; come with me, and we'll also check the activity at the foot of the ridge." As experienced escorts, even if it was temporarily safe, routine patrols and resource replenishment could not be neglected.

Cold Peach Blossom nodded silently. The two of them gave a slight gesture to Qin Feng and the others before vanishing into the night outside the camp like two wisps of light smoke, their auras quickly receding.

After confirming that the two had left some distance and only the core four-person group of Qin Feng, Xiao Chun, Xia Ya, and Ji Ruxue remained in the camp, Qin Feng's tightly wound nerves finally relaxed slightly. The long-suppressed excitement and shock could no longer be contained. He took a deep breath, his face shifting under the firelight.

"Qin Feng, what's wrong? You've been acting strange since just now. Is that 'premonition' coming again?" Xia Ya, being blunt, approached while carrying her giant shield and looked at him suspiciously.

Ji Ruxue also cast a cold and inquisitive gaze.

Qin Feng suddenly snapped back to his senses, realizing he had lost his composure. He took several deep breaths, forcibly suppressing the excitement that was almost bursting from his chest, but the light of excitement in his eyes remained frighteningly bright. He grabbed Xiao Chun's wrist, his voice trembling slightly with excitement and lowered so only the few of them could hear:

"It's nothing! It's a huge piece of good news! Xiao Chun, carefully sense that wisp of heart of the wood spirit essence in your chest. Don't resist it; try to use the Mind-Cultivation Technique of your Returning Origin Guiding Heart Art to slowly guide it. Don't use it to cast spells, but try to make it 'cling' closer to your heart vessels, as if it's going to 'grow' together... Yes, don't be afraid, take it slow..."

He spoke rapidly with an unquestionable urgency. Although Xiao Chun didn't understand why, she had 100% trust in Qin Feng and immediately closed her eyes to sense it as instructed. At her chest, that wisp of emerald-like cool energy flowed quietly. She carefully operated her Mind-Cultivation Technique, no longer viewing it simply as an external energy to be guided, but trying to gently wrap and soak it with her own Origin life force, sending out a gentle intent of "acceptance" and "symbiosis."

Initially, the heart of the wood spirit essence trembled slightly, appearing somewhat hesitant. But as the pure, inclusive, and creation-filled life force of Xiao Chun's Myriad Medicine Body slowly wrapped around it, the Wood Spirit essence seemed to find the most comfortable home. It gradually became docile, and the emerald glow it emitted began to intertwine and penetrate more minutely with Xiao Chun's own life radiance. Although slow, there was a trend of blending together like water and milk.

Qin Feng nervously observed Xiao Chun's state. Although he couldn't see the specific degree of Fusion, he could feel that Xiao Chun's aura was becoming increasingly gentle and restrained, and that layer of natural camouflage seemed more stable and agile. What made his heart race the most was that a very faint but real and strange field seemed to begin lingering around Xiao Chun, causing the surrounding grass to straighten slightly and a few nocturnal wild flowers by the campfire to quietly accelerate their cycle of blooming and withering!

"It's working! It's really working!" Qin Feng roared in his heart.

"Brother Feng, it seems... it's more obedient now, and I feel like the little grass nearby... is very happy?" Xiao Chun opened her eyes and said somewhat uncertainly. She also felt the subtly deepened connection between herself and the surrounding plants, as well as an indescribable spark of enlightenment related to growth within her body.

"Great!" Qin Feng lowered his voice, but his excitement was palpable. He looked intently at the bundle Xiao Chun was carrying. "Xiao Chun, quick, take out that box of 'Green Wood Ghost Cry Vine' seeds you got from the treasury!"

Xiao Chun hurriedly took out that unremarkable grayish-brown Soul-Nurturing Wood box. Qin Feng took it and carefully opened it, revealing three dark green seeds inside, covered in spiral patterns and appearing like dead objects.

"Let's try it with this!" Qin Feng gently placed a seed in Xiao Chun's palm. "Don't use brute force. Just like how you sensed the heart of the wood spirit just now, try to concentrate your current state—that feeling that makes the plants 'happy'—onto this seed. Imagine giving it 'life force' and 'awakening' it, but don't use your core Origin; just use the power from this current state of Fusion."

Xiao Chun nodded, holding her breath in concentration. She held the seed in her palm and closed her eyes. The strange power from the initial Fusion of the heart of the wood spirit essence and her own life force was slowly mobilized, turning into a strand of light thinner than a hair but emerald green and full of life. It emerged from the Laogong Point in her palm and gently wound around that Ghost Cry Vine seed.

At first, the seed showed no reaction. But after a few breaths, something extraordinary happened!

The dark green seed, which had been as silent as a stone in deep dormancy, actually had its surface spiral patterns light up extremely slightly! Although it was as faint as a firefly and vanished in a flash, it had indeed come to life! Immediately after, the color of the seed seemed to become half a degree more vivid, and its hard outer shell also seemed to soften slightly.

Qin Feng, Xia Ya, and Ji Ruxue all widened their eyes, staring fixedly at Xiao Chun's palm!

"Continue! Take it slow!" Qin Feng's voice carried a suppressed excitement.

Xiao Chun continued to output that special fused life force. Time passed bit by bit, and after about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, under the disbelieving gazes of everyone, one end of that Ghost Cry Vine seed actually, extremely slowly and with a struggle, poked out a tiny sprout tip, smaller than a grain of rice, pale with a hint of dark green!

It sprouted!

It really sprouted!

The System's previous intelligence only said that the life force of Xiao Chun's Myriad Medicine Body could "activate" this kind of deep-dormancy ancient exotic species, but that was "activation" to restore its vitality so it could be planted. Yet the scene before them was direct "catalysis," making it start growing directly while separated from soil and without any other conditions!

The significance of this was entirely different!

"My goodness..." Xia Ya's mouth hung open wide enough to fit an egg.

Ji Ruxue's cold eyes were also filled with shock.

They glanced at each other, both seeing the stormy waves in the other's eyes. They were both core members of Medicine King Valley and knew all too well what this meant! It meant an overturning of the growth cycles of Spirit Medicines! It meant that certain heavenly treasures that required a thousand years to be used in medicine might only need decades or even just over a dozen years in Xiao Chun's hands! It meant the possibility of infinite Medicinal Pill resources!

Qin Feng looked at that stubborn little sprout, then at Xiao Chun's slightly flushed but excited face from the continuous output. He couldn't help but imagine how the two Valley Masters, Li Changqing and Sikong Ye, would react if they learned of this—

They probably wouldn't just "go crazy for a month."

If they knew that Xiao Chun was not only safe and sound but had also gained the Opportunity to permanently hide her Physique, and even more so, had obtained this "catalytic" ability for spiritual plants that could be called Heaven-Defying... those two old men who loved medicine as much as their lives and viewed the Dao of medicine as their lifelong pursuit would probably be so excited their beards and eyebrows would tremble together. They would want to run naked around the Hundred Herbs Hall for a year, then couldn't wait to treat Xiao Chun like a peerless treasure to be enshrined, daily pondering how to "rationally utilize" this ability to revitalize Medicine King Valley, right?

"Quick, put it away!" Qin Feng forced himself to calm down and urged in a low voice. Xiao Chun also hurriedly and carefully put the sprouted seed back into the wooden box. She herself was flushed and slightly breathless from the consumption and excitement, but her eyes shone with an unprecedented, slightly incredible light of joy.

"This matter is limited to the four of us knowing." Qin Feng's gaze was like a blade as it slowly swept over Xia Ya and Ji Ruxue, his tone resolute. "To Senior Brother Tao and Senior Sister Leng, do not reveal the specific details of the catalytic ability for now. Just say that the heart of the wood spirit helps Xiao Chun hide her special Physique and nourish herself. Understand?"

Xia Ya and Ji Ruxue nodded heavily without hesitation. They knew well the principle that "possessing a jade ring becomes a crime." Such a Heaven-Defying Opportunity, once leaked, would bring not fortune but a calamity sufficient to consume them all.

Just then, the sound of faint wind-breaking came from the distance. Tao Yuanyi and Cold Peach Blossom's figures quietly returned, Carrying a water bag filled with spring water.

"Everything is fine within several miles; the stream water is clear," Tao Yuanyi said warmly. His gaze swept over the camp, and he keenly sensed that the atmosphere seemed somewhat different. Xiao Chun's face was slightly red, excitement lingered in Qin Feng's eyes, and Xia Ya and Ji Ruxue were more silent and focused than usual. But he didn't ask much, simply handing over the water skins.

"Thank you for your trouble, Senior Brother and Senior Sister." Qin Feng took the water skin, his expression having returned to its usual steadiness, but the fire in his heart was burning fiercely, illuminating even more unknown possibilities on the path ahead.