Qianzhang Cliff was covered in rugged, strangely shaped rocks.
Below the cliff was an abyss, forming a natural barrier.
Although the land area on Qianzhang Cliff was vast, there wasn't much land suitable for cultivation into spirit fields.
"These rocks will make it easy for me to build a stone house. There's no way I'm running back every day!"
A Cultivator's time is limited, especially for a Qi Refinement Stage Cultivator, whose Lifespan is only a mere hundred years.
If too much time were wasted on travel, it would not be worth the effort.
Lin Yongmao was a Qi Refinement Stage Cultivator at the fourth level, and with his impressive dual-attribute Spiritual Root of wood and water, his combat power was quite good among those of the same rank.
However, compared to true Heaven's Chosen, there was still a significant gap.
As for "challenging those of higher cultivation levels," he dared not even think about it; he just wanted to find a stable environment to Cultivate properly.
Lin Yongmao relied on his extraordinary physique to move boulders, attempting to build a stone house.
"It's a pity I don't have an earth-attribute Spiritual Root, otherwise building a stone house would be much simpler," Lin Yongmao sighed with emotion.
It took him more than half an hour for a barely habitable stone house to take shape.
"Forget it, forget it, I'll just make do for now."
After he had his own dwelling, Lin Yongmao began to do serious business.
He found an open space not far from the stone house, intending to plant the spirit plant seeds first, especially the World Tree seed he had obtained through daily sign-in.
This open space was about one mu in area; Lin Yongmao had already cleared the scattered rocks, leaving only some sparse soil that wasn't particularly fertile.
Lin Yongmao took out a cloth bag, which contained the low-grade spirit soil he had obtained from signing in today. He evenly sprinkled the low-grade spirit soil onto the land, but it was still only enough to cover about one or two fen of land.
"Although it's only low-grade spirit soil, it's barely enough for spirit plants to grow."
A bluish-green seed also appeared in Lin Yongmao's hand; this was the legendary World Tree seed.
Lin Yongmao then planted the seed in the soil.
The System prompted that he needed to use his own vital blood to make the seed sprout.
A Cultivator's vital blood is not equivalent to their ordinary blood; generally, it takes decades to condense a single drop.
Whether it's forming a contract, raising spirit pets, or nourishing a Lifebound Treasure, vital blood is required.
From the time his Spiritual Root was detected to Cultivating to the fourth level of the Qi Refinement Stage, Lin Yongmao had only managed to condense one drop of vital blood.
He bit his finger, circulated the Qi and blood throughout his body, and a drop of crimson, faintly glowing, perfectly round liquid dripped down.
The vital blood dripped onto the spirit soil, then seeped into the ground, completely absorbed by the seed.
A tender green seedling broke through the soil.
The seedling was only a finger high, with three tender leaves growing on its branches, also bluish-green in color, but each with a distinct shape.
The shapes of the three tender leaves vaguely resembled the nascent forms of a Qilin, an Azure Dragon, and a Vermilion Bird.
"Is this the World Tree? It's truly miraculous!"
Lin Yongmao exclaimed.
"System prompt: The dormant World Tree seed has sprouted. New function 【Attribute Panel】 unlocked. The host can now view his own and spirit plants' attributes."
"The World Tree (seedling stage) has been irrigated by the host's vital blood and has signed a 【Mind Contract】 with the host."
"Mind Contract: The host can establish a mental connection with the World Tree, binding his own Luck with the World Tree, and simultaneously sharing the World Tree's Lifespan with the host."
Currently, the System only has two functions: 【Daily Sign-in】 and 【Attribute Panel】.
Through the System's new 【Attribute Panel】 function, Lin Yongmao viewed his own and the World Tree's attributes.
Host: Lin Yongmao
Cultivation: Qi Refinement Stage, Fourth Level
Sub-profession: None
Age: 16 years old
Spiritual Root: Wood and Water Dual-Attribute Spiritual Root
Cultivation Technique: "Azure Wood Art" (Fourth Level)
Spells: Wood Spike Technique, Water Arrow Technique
Secret Arts: None
...
World Tree (seedling stage):
Rank: Divine Rank
Description: A legendary Divine Rank spirit plant, originally born in the Chaos, forming its own world. The World Tree seed has sprouted; with careful cultivation, it can form a complete plane.
Attribute One:
Space Barrier: The World Tree's root System releases an invisible space barrier, capable of resisting any form of Divine Sense detection, heavenly secrets divination, and cross-realm attacks.
Attribute Two:
Law of Time: The World Tree already possesses rudimentary Law power, capable of accelerating the growth of spirit plants within its range. (Current rate: 1:100)
Attribute Three:
Co-existent with Heaven and Earth: As long as the World Tree does not suffer any attacks, and this dimension remains, the World Tree remains.
...
"Terrifying, indeed!"
Lin Yongmao took a few deep breaths, shocked by the Heaven-Defying attributes of the World Tree.
"That is to say, as long as the World Tree doesn't perish, because of the Mind Contract, my Lifespan is theoretically infinite."
"And as long as the Family exists, the sign-in System can provide me with Cultivation resources every day."
"Then why bother with all the fighting and killing? Hiding safely within the Family is the best!"
Lin Yongmao completely determined his future direction: absolutely no stirring up trouble, and cultivating diligently while hiding within the Family.
Once the World Tree grows, it will possess even more attributes.
The early development, however, was the most challenging; Lin Yongmao currently lacked means to protect himself.
Qianzhang Cliff was not within the Sect's Formation range, so if powerful Yao Beasts or Loose Cultivators invaded, Lin Yongmao would have no way to resist.
Even within the Family, it was not absolutely safe; his legitimate elder brother was still eyeing him covetously, and might very well have thoughts of nipping the problem in the bud.
However, thinking so much now was useless; he could only "meet aggression with resistance and adapt to circumstances."
Lin Yongmao took out another small cloth bag, even more compact, which contained three low-grade spirit plant seeds.
Considering that Lin Yongmao was planting spirit plants for the first time, Han Yuying had chosen spirit plants that were easy to Cultivate.
【Spirit Rice】
【blood-stopping vine】
【spirit gathering grass】
The difficulty of planting these three spirit plants was not great; the only requirement was Spiritual Qi.
If they could be planted in a place with abundant Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, their growth rate and yield would be greatly improved.
Conversely, if Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was sparse, the yield would decrease.
Planted on low-grade spirit soil, Lin Yongmao believed that these three spirit plants would grow smoothly, so he buried the seeds in the soil.
The World Tree had the attribute of the Law of Time, and spirit plants growing near it could achieve a hundredfold growth rate. Even if Lin Yongmao was not yet a Lingzhi Master, he could still successfully Cultivate these spirit plants.
As expected, the seeds of the three spirit plants successfully sprouted not long after being planted.
During this period, Lin Yongmao merely fetched some mountain spring water to irrigate the spirit soil.
"It seems becoming a Lingzhi Master isn't as difficult as I imagined!"
Lin Yongmao was very pleased. With the Spiritual Qi nutrients contained in the low-grade spirit soil, plus the hundredfold growth acceleration provided by the World Tree, the Spirit Rice should be ready for harvest in three or four days.