29: Chapter 29 The Strange Changes in the Herb Field, the Mystery of the Spiritual Plants

The wind swept ashes from the direction of the Medicinal Field, carrying a faint, sweet, fishy scent.

Chen Wuwang's fingers were still resting on the stone table, his fingertips stained with undried Spiritual energy residue.

He did not move, but his gaze had already crossed over Elder Lin's hunched shoulders, landing on the distant plot of glowing Spiritual Plants.

As twilight gathered, the outline of the Medicinal Field became blurred, yet three Spiritual Plants had leaves whose edges faintly revealed golden, thread-like veins, as if someone had traced them with a pen.

"Family Head." Elder Lin's voice was pressed extremely low, his bamboo cane trembling slightly as it tapped the ground. "This isn't normal growth... it's spontaneously absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, it's like—like it's come alive!"

As his words fell, a soft "click" came from Chen Wuwang's left eye; his mechanical prosthetic eye popped open, and a deep blue beam swept toward the Medicinal Field like a searchlight.

Data streams scrolled rapidly across his field of vision: Spiritual Qi absorption rate exceeded normal values by three hundred times, root pulsation frequency highly matched the resonance waveform of the Spiritual Vein, leaf transpiration coefficient was abnormally high, suspected of initiating self-catalysis mode.

His brow twitched.

Just a moment ago, he had thought that string of fluctuation patterns in the Jade Slip was interference from post-war aftershocks, but looking at it now—it wasn't a malfunction at all, it was evolution.

Deep within his Sea of Consciousness, the System interface appeared silently, and three lines of text slowly lit up:

[High-order life resonance waveform detected]

[Determined to be a mutated Spiritual Plant, possesses autonomous Spiritual Qi gathering ability]

[Warning: Risk of Spiritual Qi runaway exists, immediate isolation recommended]

Chen Wuwang curled his lips, a cold laugh rolling from his throat: "Runaway? That just means the energy density is high enough."

His right hand subconsciously reached for the dagger at his waist, his fingertips rubbing the rune grooves as he muttered to himself: "Perfect... I'll test the 'Spiritual Energy Control System' I just finished coding."

Elder Lin heard him, his body stiffening abruptly: "Family Head, what did you say? Control? This thing is absorbing Spiritual Qi with its roots and leaves, what are you going to use to control it?"

"With technology." Chen Wuwang withdrew his gaze, his mechanical prosthetic eye closing, the three Zerg claw marks on his right cheek flickering in and out of sight in the twilight. "If it wants to absorb, I won't stop it. But how much it absorbs, where it channels it, and when it stops—that's for me to decide."

Elder Lin opened his mouth, wanting to advise against it but not daring to. He knew that when this Family Head first arrived three years ago, he was still a scholar who couldn't lift a hand, yet now he could smile and stuff a shell into an Egg Core while the Zerg tide pressed in. Was he crazy? Yes. But every time he was crazy, he dragged the Chen family back from the brink of death.

"But... what if the System can't hold it?" His voice was tight. "Once the Spiritual Qi explodes, the entire Medicinal Field will turn into a Spiritual blast crater, and the Artifact Refining Workshop and mecha depot will all be buried along with it."

"Then let it explode." Chen Wuwang's tone was calm. "Only by exploding once will we know where the critical point lies. Data is more important than safety."

Elder Lin felt a chill in his heart.

This didn't sound like a person speaking; it sounded like a machine calculating the optimal solution. But he knew that the Family Head was never a cold-blooded person—three years ago, when he was poisoned and dying, it was Chen Wuwang who watched over him for three days and nights, forcing nano-robots drop by drop into his veins; the night Xiao Dao lost his arm, it was he who stood by the operating table until dawn, personally connecting the prosthetic limb to his Meridians. He couldn't bring himself to be cruel to his clan members, but regarding rules, regarding the unknown, regarding everything that blocked his path—

He truly dared to flip the table.

"How do you intend to test it?" Elder Lin finally asked, his voice hoarse.

Chen Wuwang didn't answer; instead, he turned and walked toward the Medicinal Field. His pace was unhurried, yet every step landed on the beat of a heartbeat. Elder Lin gritted his teeth and followed, the sound of his bamboo cane tapping the ground intermittent, like an old clock skipping a beat.

The closer they got to the Medicinal Field, the heavier the air became. The originally fresh scent of grass and trees was mixed with a metallic, rusty smell—a byproduct of high-concentration Spiritual Qi ionization. The ground trembled slightly, not from an earthquake, but from minor collapses caused by the forced extraction of the underground Spiritual Vein.

The three mutated Spiritual Plants were located in the southeast corner of the Medicinal Field, arranged in a triangle. Their leaves were as broad as palms, golden light flowing through the veins, the soil at their roots cracked, revealing spiderweb-like silver roots that were contracting and expanding, just like breathing.

Chen Wuwang crouched down, removed his gloves, and lightly touched the stem of one of them with his fingertips.

"Hum—"

A strong feedback surged from his fingertips into his brain, as if someone had taken an electric drill and stirred it inside his nerves. His pupils contracted sharply, his mechanical prosthetic eye popped open automatically, and blue light flashed frantically.

[Warning: Biological electric field intensity exceeds limits]

[Consciousness-like fluctuation detected]

[Recommendation: Terminate contact]

He grinned, and instead of pulling his hand back, he pressed his entire palm onto it.

"Interesting." He chuckled softly. "It's not passive mutation... it's active Awakening. It knows it's becoming stronger."

Elder Lin stood two steps away, cold sweat sliding down his temples: "Family Head, stop playing! This thing is evil! I've planted medicinal herbs my whole life, I've never seen one that can snatch Spiritual Qi on its own! What if it becomes a demon?"

"A demon?" Chen Wuwang slowly stood up, shaking his numb hand. "If it really becomes a demon, I'll even appoint it as an Elder."

He took a step forward, his boot sole crushing a withered leaf, emitting a crisp sound.

Just at this moment, the System whispered again:

[Prompt: Mutated Spiritual Plants can be rapidly cultivated]

[But must prevent Spiritual Qi runaway]

Chen Wuwang's footsteps paused, he looked back at Elder Lin, then gazed at the empty plot in the center of the Medicinal Field—that was originally the place prepared to build the automated irrigation array, now it had become the quietest spot.

"Prevent runaway?" He scoffed, his right hand slowly drawing the titanium alloy dagger from his waist, the runes on the blade flashing and vanishing. "I, for one, want it to run wild."

He flipped his wrist, and the tip of the dagger traced an arc in the air, pointing straight at the center of the Medicinal Field.

"I want it to explode just right, not too much, not too little, just enough for me to plug the Control System in."

Elder Lin froze. He suddenly understood. This wasn't responding to a crisis. This was "manufacturing a crisis."

The Family Head wasn't preventing a runaway—he was using this runaway as a key to pry open the next door.

"Are you... really not afraid of something going wrong?" His voice was dry.

"Afraid?" Chen Wuwang sheathed his dagger, his gaze like iron. "When I took over this mess three years ago, the grass on the graves was already waist-high. Now you ask me if I'm afraid?"

He paused, his voice dropping lower, but heavier: "Elder Lin, we have no way out. The Zerg will come again, the Blood Demon Sect won't give up, and those small clans outside bowing their heads is only temporary. To survive, we must be one step faster than them, then another step faster."

He raised his hand, pointing at the three gold-veined Spiritual Plants. "It wants to evolve on its own? Good. It wants to absorb Spiritual Qi? Even better. It wants to run wild? Best of all."

"I will stand right here, waiting for it to explode, waiting for it to go chaotic, waiting for it to lose control—and then, connect its lifeblood to my System."

Elder Lin remained silent for a long time, finally sighing and stepping forward half a step with his cane: "Then... what do you need me to do?"

"You don't need to do anything." Chen Wuwang stepped forward, his figure elongated by the twilight, cast upon the edge of the Medicinal Field. "You only need to remember—after tonight, this plot of land will no longer be a Medicinal Field."

He stopped, standing at the entrance of the Medicinal Field, his right hand once again stroking the dagger. "It is a test ground."

The wind suddenly stopped. The leaves of the three Spiritual Plants trembled simultaneously, the golden veins flared, the roots contracted violently, and the soil cracked even deeper.

Chen Wuwang stood in place, unmoving, as if waiting for the first bolt of lightning to fall. His shadow stretched across the center of the Medicinal Field, like a blade about to be unsheathed.