Chapter 503 - 485: Friends of Nature

He was stunned for a moment, then his face flooded with elation.

"You truly are God Gu! You saw right through me in an instant!"

"To be honest, I’ve been stuck at this bottleneck for quite some time. Do you have any advice?"

"As for the `Cyan Pine`, I’m already cultivating it, but I’m currently only at the Master Level. I haven’t been able to reach the Great Success Realm, so I can’t use it to break through this barrier."

"’Advice’ is too strong a word. Let’s just call it a discussion," Gu Ming said with a wave of his hand.

He then began to explain the key points for cultivating the `Cyan Pine` to the Great Success Realm, breaking down the complex concepts into simple terms.

Thanks to the profound understanding he’d gained by pushing this technique to Daoist Skill Perfection in his dreams, every word he spoke struck at the very heart of the matter.

Visualization, fluctuation, Arrays, and using a trace of the Cyan Pine’s Divine Charm to nourish the Divine Soul.

For Ruan Taibai, stuck at his bottleneck, these points were like a fog suddenly lifting.

Ruan Taibai listened, utterly captivated, his face repeatedly lighting up with sudden understanding.

He was so excited he felt the urge to shut down the shop and immediately enter secluded Cultivation to process it all.

But he forced the impulse down and first attended to his shop duties with brisk efficiency.

He sent out his two Pet Beasts.

One was a Three-star Snow Cloud Fox with fluffy, snow-white fur and lively eyes.

It elegantly swished its long tail, casting miniature Cleaning Techniques to tidy up the shop.

The other was a Sword Pill, hovering and spinning in mid-air, emitting a sharp, metallic aura.

It darted between the shelves with great Spiritual awareness, precisely feeding the young Pet Beasts the appropriate food for their respective Attributes.

Meanwhile, Ruan Taibai himself moved among the customers, his words precise and his guidance on point.

If a customer was hesitant, he would ask them to first watch the Pet Beast combat videos and detailed behavioral profiles he had meticulously compiled.

He suggested they clarify their needs before making a final decision.

This highly efficient yet sincere approach earned him the customers’ trust.

They all looked as if they had learned a great deal. After thanking him, they left, satisfied, with the materials he provided.

The shop finally quieted down.

Ruan Taibai eagerly invited, "God Gu, there’s a small Cultivation Dao Field in the shop. If you don’t mind, would you like to join me?"

"It would be a perfect opportunity for me to properly comprehend the guidance you just gave me."

Gu Ming readily agreed. "You’re too kind, Manager Ruan. I used to cultivate here often last year. It brings back fond memories, so how could I possibly mind?"

He followed Ruan Taibai into the familiar Dao Field.

The sandy ground, the abundant Spiritual Qi, the lamps simulating sunlight... everything was the same.

The two of them sat down cross-legged.

Gu Ming held nothing back and began to circulate the `Cyan Pine`.

He deliberately slowed the Circulation of the Celestial Cycle, clearly displaying the myriad wonders of the Daoist Skill Perfection Realm within Ruan Taibai’s Perception.

For example, the sense of endless, flawless perfection in his Spiritual Power’s circulation.

And the subtle Spiritual Fluctuation produced when the "Ultimate Thought" resonated briefly with the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

Ruan Taibai was highly focused, using all of his Divine Sense to observe and imitate the near-perfect trajectory of the energy flow.

Nearby, Gu Ming’s three Pet Beasts also began their own cultivation.

Ruan Taibai’s nimble Snow Cloud Fox and sharp Sword Pill, however, wandered past outside the Dao Field without entering.

After seeing that their master was fine, they returned to the shop to watch over it.

The Dao Field was soon suffused with Spiritual Qi, thick with the ripple-like Spiritual Fluctuations of cultivation.

As a Fish Pet with the Fear Attribute, Ah Kun could feel its master’s Spiritual Fluctuation ripples practically carrying the other man’s along with them, raising the crests of Ruan Taibai’s spiritual waves to heights he could never reach on his own.

In an instant, Ruan Taibai’s face flushed red, as if he were drunk, and he almost cried out.

...

A good part of the day’s cultivation passed in a flash.

Just as Gu Ming and Ruan Taibai were immersed in the profound workings of the tenth Circulation of the `Cyan Pine`...

A subtle ripple, like a pebble dropped into a calm lake, gently stirred Ruan Taibai’s mind.

His brows twitched slightly, and he slowly opened his eyes, waking from a deep state of Meditation.

Gu Ming’s Spiritual Sense was so sharp that in the same instant Ruan Taibai ended his Cultivation, he simultaneously reined in his own Cultivation Technique.

The perfect, harmonious aura circulating around his body gradually subsided.

He looked at Ruan Taibai with a questioning gaze.

At that moment, Ruan Taibai’s Snow Cloud Fox Pet Beast appeared at the entrance to the Dao Field and let out a squeak.

"God Gu, please, you can continue your Cultivation,"

Ruan Taibai explained with an apologetic smile,

"A regular customer has arrived, and I need to go attend to them."

Gu Ming nodded slightly.

In truth, he had sensed the change inside the shop a moment before the outsider’s Cultivation aura had even appeared.

An oppressive aura belonging to a Four-star Beastmaster had quietly descended.

If it were just an ordinary Four-star Beastmaster, Gu Ming wouldn’t have cared.

At the university, upperclassmen at that level were a dime a dozen; he was used to it.

However, the aura permeating the shop at this moment was completely different.

When Gu Ming first perceived it, he only felt a sense of peace and vitality.

It was like a spring breeze sweeping through a young forest, carrying the fresh scent of grass and damp earth.

An ordinary person would likely feel their mind calm, as if they were standing in a lush, healthy forest.

But Cyan Treasure and Ah Kun objected; they both sensed a strange aura.

It was worth noting that Cyan Treasure had a high affinity for both the Grass Element and the Light Element.

Because of this Dual Attribute Affinity, its Perception of the darker side of plant-based Power was particularly sharp.

Then there was Ah Kun’s Fear Attribute, a Spiritual Attribute that could perceive the auras of dark attributes similar to fear itself.

When Gu Ming tapped into Cyan Treasure’s Divine Sense, the ripples he perceived were akin to a towering, majestic tree. It looked vibrant and glorious on the outside, but its core felt empty, as if it had been hollowed out by borers.

And looking at its roots, he found them tangled with a twisted, tenacious, and even blasphemous "growth" Power.

It made Cyan Treasure instinctively uncomfortable.

Ah Kun, for its part, sensed a dark, twisted aura reminiscent of a "fear executioner."

The person had nothing to do with the concept of an "executioner," of course; it was just the inspiration that came to Ah Kun.

"It’s fine. My Cultivation can wait."

Gu Ming suddenly stood up. His tone was placid, but it carried an imperceptible, probing curiosity.

"I’ll go with you. I’m actually curious to see which friend has come to visit."

Seeing this, Ruan Taibai began to lead the way, explaining in a low voice:

"He’s one of the directors of the ’Friends of Nature’ environmental organization."

"They’ve been holding a charity event in our city recently.

"He’s here, I’m told, because they’re short on the Pet Beasts they planned to give away and want to coordinate a bulk purchase from my shop."

Gu Ming nodded and followed him into the shop, his gaze naturally falling on the front of the store.

He saw a tall, straight-backed figure with broad shoulders standing sideways before the Pet Beast enclosures, completely absorbed.

He wasn’t looking around like a normal visitor, but stood with an upright posture and a calm demeanor.

He wore the standard, green-toned uniform of the "Friends of Nature." It was well-tailored, further accentuating his tall and straight posture.

Surprisingly, he made no attempt to conceal his face with a mask or hood. His features were on full display: well-spaced brows, a high-bridged nose, and a strong, clean jawline.

His face gave off an impression of integrity and selflessness. An aura of righteousness radiated from him so naturally that it made Gu Ming wonder if his Pet Beasts had been mistaken.