Chapter Seventy-Three: The Life-Bound Spirit Plant

Qin Ming drove the Radiant Spirit Shuttle with all his might, vanishing instantly into the horizon.

Moments after his departure, two figures at the Foundation Establishment stage descended upon the scene of the incident. One of them was Elder Gu of the Spiritfeather Sect, whose normally stern face was now clouded with anger.

He surveyed the surroundings and spoke coolly, “Who could have done this? Was it a Foundation Establishment cultivator from another sect?”

“In my opinion, it doesn’t look like the work of the righteous path,” the elder beside him replied, shaking his head with a frown. “Look at how they died—seems more like they encountered a demonic cultivator.”

“Even demonic cultivators have shown themselves?”

“Then… could our plans have been leaked?”

“Alas! Such is fate. Let’s hope it was merely a coincidence.”

“Let’s gather the corpses and return quickly to discuss our next move.”

With that, the two cleared all traces from the scene and departed in haste.

Meanwhile, Qin Ming sped through the sky at his limit, covertly returning to Qingyang Market.

“I never expected the Spiritfeather Sect’s ambition to be so vast,” he mused.

Now, it was clear: regardless of whether the Spiritfeather Sect’s scheme to deceive all succeeded or not, a bloody storm was inevitable. Many innocents would be caught in the crossfire.

Qin Ming realized how wise it was to make preparations in advance.

Back at his courtyard, he took out the dozen or so blood pearls and tossed them toward the withered Bloodbane Vine in the corner.

Instantly, countless black tendrils writhed like sharks scenting blood, frenziedly absorbing the essence within the pearls. Strange vein-like patterns bulged across their surface, glowing with a bewitching crimson light.

Absorbing so many blood pearls at once, the Bloodbane Vine began mutating anew. First, the black vines thickened and twisted, the fine lines on their surface suddenly opening like hollow eyes, as if ready to devour a soul—a chilling, inexplicable aura emanated from them.

The Bloodbane Vine doubled in size before halting its growth. Scattered along its vines, a dozen or so buds resembling eyeballs began to form.

At the same time, two golden entries appeared in Qin Ming’s vision:

[Name]: Bloodbane Vine [Entry]: Ancient Wood Longevity Technique (Maturity: 1%)
[Name]: Bloodbane Vine [Entry]: Mana Crystals x5 (Maturity: 1%)

[Ancient Wood Longevity Technique]: Refine a life-bound spiritual plant, then cultivate it continuously, drawing upon its essence and the revolving power of ancient wood’s longevity through the seasons, to temper a unique wood-element acquired spiritual body. This method is suited for cultivators of wood-element techniques.

To cultivate an acquired spiritual body, one must use at least a third-rank spiritwood as the life-bound plant for refinement. The higher the grade, the greater the plant’s potential for future growth. If it is a rare heaven-and-earth spiritual root, the resulting spiritual body will be even more powerful.

Qin Ming stared at this entry, breathing rapidly.

“Cultivate a life-bound spiritual plant—refine a spiritual body!”

“A path to immortality lies ahead!”

With his four-false-spirit-root trash aptitude, pairing it with a wood-element spiritual body would make him comparable to those with top-grade roots. He finally saw hope!

It was as if this technique had been tailor-made for him.

“I happen to have a wood-element spiritual root.”

“And the Evergreen Technique I practice is also wood-element.”

Qin Ming had long worried about reaching Foundation Establishment. With his false roots, even with the help of Foundation Establishment pills and treasures, the chance of failure was high.

But if he could refine an acquired wood-element spiritual body, it would change everything, allowing him to continually improve his cultivation aptitude. The further one progresses, the more crucial aptitude becomes for breakthroughs—gaps that pills alone cannot bridge.

Now, with this entry at hand, attaining such a special spiritual body was no longer out of reach.

However, cultivating the Ancient Wood Longevity Technique came with strict requirements. Using a third-rank or higher spiritwood as a life-bound spiritual plant meant he would need at least a third-rank spiritual vein to nurture it. The higher the plant’s grade, the more exacting the environment needed for growth.

He couldn’t very well go and snatch a third-rank spiritual vein from one of the great sects, could he? That was hardly realistic.

Besides, cultivating such a spiritual body required years of accumulation, gathering the power of the ages. The longer the time, the stronger the body, but it could take a century or more to see results.

“Ah! The result is formidable, but it takes so long to bear fruit.”

If he toiled away for a hundred years, he might be in his grave before ever achieving the spiritual body.

Qin Ming’s gaze fell again upon the Bloodbane Vine.

“This black vine is so extraordinary. Could it be a seedling of a heaven-and-earth spiritual root?”

“And it seems, as long as it’s fed enough blood pearls, it doesn’t require a high-grade spiritual vein to grow.”

“It even grows quite quickly.”

Suddenly, Qin Ming understood, his heart surging with excitement.

Though unsure of the vine’s exact grade, all signs suggested its mature form would be remarkable.

With that thought, Qin Ming no longer hesitated.

With a thought, he activated the [Accelerate Growth] entry, using it on the black vine.

Three days passed. The four [Accelerate Growth] entries in his sea of consciousness were used up in succession. He hastened the ripening of the dozen-odd eyeball-like buds at top speed, eventually harvesting a similar number of black fruits, each containing spiritual seeds for casting Bramble Arts.

In addition, a purple [Ancient Wood Longevity Technique] entry and a green [Mana Crystal] x5 entry appeared quietly in his consciousness.

He immediately sat cross-legged, focusing his mind on the [Ancient Wood Longevity Technique] entry.

In that moment, an obscure and profound art of longevity emerged within his mind, its scriptures unfolding vividly before him.

Another day and night passed.

Qin Ming opened his eyes. Forming a complex seal with his hands, a glimmer of emerald light flew from his brow. As his finger pointed at the Bloodbane Vine, that speck of green light slipped into the black vine.

Thump, thump!

The heartbeat he had heard when the black vine was revived echoed again, like a drumbeat.

In a trance, crimson runes flickered across the vine’s surface, weaving together at last.

“My life-bound spiritual plant… it’s done!”

Qin Ming could clearly sense that this black vine was now one with him, threads of wood-essence continuously flowing into his body, linking them with a subtle, mysterious bond.

Suddenly, a flood of insight surged through him. He felt as though he had become an ancient tree, experiencing the turning of seasons, the passage of years, traversing the river of time…

After some hesitation, Qin Ming used up five [Leaf of Time and Space] entries, applying them to the black vine.

To be honest, he had no idea whether accelerating the vine to five hundred years of age would cause it to break free of his control.

The black vine grew madly, as if undergoing countless cycles of the seasons, an unprecedented power of time and space descending upon it.

But to Qin Ming’s astonished eyes, the entire vine seemed to dissolve into a pool of ink, seeping into the earth.