Chapter 229: Chapter 227: Stepping Out of This World 1
Translator: 549690339 —
The Sword of Wind and Thunder Pellet in the Dantian was spinning at a high speed, with countless tiny sword lights shooting out from it.
Witnessing the Sword of Wind and Thunder Pellet gradually reducing in size while the green-black vines continued to surge forth in a crazy attack, Lu Xuan activated his spiritual power.
More than twenty trails of Qingmu Origin Energy drilled out of his Dantian, entangling the closest twenty or so Demon Mutant Ghost Vines.
Sharp shrieks echoed. The Strange Ghost Vines controlled by the Qingmu Origin Energy turned against their own and launched a wild attack on their companions.
The pressure on Lu Xuan reduced significantly, and without any care for conserving his Qingmu Origin Energy, he released more than ten faint cyan spiritual energy strands, entangling the Demon Mutant Ghost Vines advancing towards him.
One moment they were fighting side by side, the next they were turning their attacks on each other, leaving the Demon Mutant Ghost Vines with simple spiritual intelligence stunned. Lu Xuan seized this opportunity and eliminated quite a few within a few breaths.
The effects were very apparent. However, the rate at which the Qingmu Origin Energy was being consumed was also extreme, having nearly halved in such a short time.
“Whimper…”
A barely audible whimpering sound, filled with intense pain, suddenly reached LuXuan’sear.
Quickly, all the green-black vines retracted underground as if obeying some command. The Strange Ghost Vines, which were as elusive as mountain demons, regrouped in front of their enormous kin, issuing mournful cries towards Lu Xuan.
Sensing this, Lu Xuan didn’t pursue them. He allowed the black sword lights to slowly rotate around his body; the wind was light and there was no longer the previous brutal intensity.
Within that short space of time, although nearly half of the several hundred Strange Ghost Vines had been killed or wounded, his own consumption was also not light. In his Dantian, both the Sword of Wind and Thunder and the Qingmu Origin Energy had experienced heavy losses.
Remaining still for a while, the enormous Strange Ghost Vine didn’t make any moves. The flower bud at its top end shrunk and swelled even more intensely, as if something was about to come out.
A faint cyan spiritual energy slowly approached the enormous Strange Ghost Vine.
Perhaps it felt that the Qingmu Origin Energy was beneficial and harmless to itself, or maybe it was too weak to react to Lu Xuan’s actions, the faint cyan spiritual energy smoothly drilled into the body of the enormous Strange Ghost Vine.
Concentrating his mind, Lu Xuan had a thought that emerged from his mind, accompanied by fragments of images that flashed past like a strobe light.
[Strange Ghost Vine, a Fourth Grade Demon Mutant Spirit Plant.]
[In a weakened state, it is using its Essence Blood and Spiritual Nature, along with the flesh and blood of numerous demon beasts, as nutrients, in an attempt to nurture a higher grade Demon Mutant Ghost Vine. ]
The image flashed past, and Lu Xuan saw the long history of the Strange Ghost Vine.
Initially, they grew alongside other spirit plants in an ancient cultivator’s medicine garden. Without anyone’s cultivation or care for a long time, some of the Strange Ghost Vines, which were inherently somewhat aggressive, began to mutate to ensure their reproduction. Their spiritual intelligence dramatically increased, and they transformed into demon plants similar to demon beasts, able to actively attack and devour other spirit plants and even demon beasts.
Gradually, the number of mutated Strange Ghost Vines increased, and they slowly consumed all the other spirit plants in the medicine garden, ensuring the continuation of their own species.
But mutated spirit plants can’t reproduce normally. Therefore, under the protection of the mutated plants, the normal Strange Ghost Vines would grow, mature, condense seeds, and repeat the cycle.
As centuries passed, a beautiful balance was created between the two.
Suddenly, a powerful cultivator entered the medicine garden. Encountering the Mutant Ghost Vine, he directly killed it, while the normal Ghost Vines were cut and harvested.
After the cultivator left, although the Strange Ghost Vine species suffered a significant blow, they managed to survive and thrive in the medicine garden, still hoping to continue their lineage.
But their good days didn’t last long; about ten years later, another powerful cultivator entered the garden. Despite being ambushed by the Mutant Ghost Vine disguised as ordinary ones, he could effortlessly kill them, repeating the previous act of cutting and harvesting.
Like this, the Strange Ghost Vines in the medicine garden, iterating ceaselessly seemed like leek crops renewed one batch after another. Every now and again, a cultivator would enter the medicine garden and harvest the Strange Ghost Vines.
The entire medicine garden seemed to be like their own backyard, taking and giving as they pleased. The Strange Ghost Vines in the medicine garden were akin to pets kept by the cultivators, their life and death hanging on a cultivator’s whim.
Over time, the Demon Mutant Strange Ghost Vines, which had developed a measure of spiritual intelligence, began to entertain fuzzy notions of attaining freedom and constantly attacked the demon beasts that entered the medicine garden. They took the initiative to try and enhance their strength and even found a possibility for their lineage to continue.
They absorbed enough demon beast essence blood as nourishment, used their own essence blood and spiritual nature as a guide, and condensed a new Demon Mutant Strange Ghost Vine seedling.
Just like that, with the consolidated strength of the entire Strange Ghost Vine clan in the depths of the medicine garden, a Strange Ghost Vine was endlessly multiplying and evolving, driven by its strong innate instinct.
Due to its own exceptional ability to deceive, if it did not take the initiative to ambush cultivators who had come in, it would not expose its presence.
Moreover, as the Sky Sword Sect cultivators entering the medicine garden gradually decreased, the moment they arrived at the center, the other Demon Mutant Strange Ghost Vines would promptly relay the information, hiding deep underground.
When Lu Xuan came, the enormous Strange Ghost Vine was just about to enter a critical stage in its evolution.
“So this is its origin.”
Having digested the fragmented images in his mind, Lu Xuan took a deep breath.
Perhaps, the unique breeding method practiced by successive generations of Demon Mutant Strange Ghost Vines, along with the instinct engraved deep in their bloodline, enabled Lu Xuan to not only understand relevant information about them but also trace back to ancient times through the fragmented images.
“In simpler words, the Strange Ghost Vines in the medicine garden, in order to continue their line, strive to eliminate other spirit plants competing for spiritual power.
Later, the area of blessed land was discovered by senior members of the sect. These Demon Mutant Strange Ghost Vines fully turned into leeks, harvested repeatedly. In an attempt to escape this fate, they stealthily multiplied and evolved.”
Lu Xuan sorted out the content in the images.
“If a Fourth Grade Demon Mutant Strange Ghost Vine could really take another step further, there might be a sliver of possibility.”
“Of course, the possibility is minuscule. Even if its rank rises to a fifth-grade demon plant, it would be unable to break free from the constraints of the blessed land. To the Golden Core Real People, who control the blessed land, it might fall short of even an ordinary Grade 5 Demon Beast.”
Lu Xuan murmured to himself.
Despite admiring the actions of these Demon Mutant Strange Ghost Vines, he had no optimistic thoughts about them.
If mere hard work can easily transcend boundaries, what would that class difference amount to?
Hearing Lu Xuan’s words, the giant Strange Ghost Vine’s massive body trembled continuously, like a drowning person who, after struggling for a long time, loses hope of survival and helplessly sank, continuing to fall.
There were faint signs of the flower bud at its top rupturing.
Lu Xuan sighed softly. A faint green spiritual power emerged from his fingertips. The spiritual power teemed with vitality and seemed capable of nurturing all living beings, including hope.
He lightly touched the gigantic vine of the Strange Ghost Vine with his fingertips. A flash of green light and it coursed into the emerald green flower bud at the top, from which came a sound of sheer delight.
“Believe in me, hand over the Strange Ghost Vine seedling that is being nurtured in your flower bud. I will take it out of this piece of land and sky.”
Lu Xuan gently said with the corner of his mouth curling upwards.