Chapter 217 - 213: Mutation Around the Land God Temple

Chapter 217: Chapter 213: Mutation Around the Land God Temple

Outside the Land God Temple, several Daoist priests looked at the verdant green plants and the flowers that had been specially transplanted there.

One of the Daoists said, "It seems our guess was right. Changes we don’t understand have indeed occurred in the area."

It had just snowed, and at this temperature, only a few specific plants should be able to grow.

Yet regardless of whether it was the flowers they had transplanted or the weeds that were already there, everything was growing with vigorous life.

At a time when the snow had just melted, this situation looked highly abnormal, even for a special place like Lin Xian Village.

"Has Boss Lin arrived? Maybe he can explain what’s going on."

Feng Ziling brought Lin Feng over to the Land God Temple. He was dressed in Daoist robes with a sword on his back, looking much like he did when he first came to Lin Xian Village.

The guy was now one of the key members of the online "Lin Xian Village Cultivation Seminar," constantly trying to find a method for Cultivation in the village.

After resigning from the Medicine House, he had returned to his old, familiar field and was beginning to shine.

The only problem was that his particular field of expertise ran the risk of being condemned as feudal superstition.

At this moment, outside the Daoist Temple, some tourists who had finished paying their respects hadn’t left. Instead, they were curiously looking at the plants outside.

"If I hadn’t seen the videos other people posted online, who would believe these were chrysanthemums from three days ago?"

"What’s so strange about it? The Earth God is miraculous to begin with. Chrysanthemums growing in winter doesn’t seem like a big deal, right?"

"True, there are plenty of strange things in Lin Xian Village. What’s so shocking about plants growing in winter?"

"Then why are you all still standing around watching?"

"It’s not strange for it to happen in Lin Xian Village, but people from the outside would definitely find it strange. We’re taking some videos to show others."

When Lin Feng arrived, Professor Jin and Professor Zhou were already there with their students, studying the flowers and plants.

Looking at the situation outside the Land God Temple, he was also puzzled at first as to why such a thing was happening.

But after a moment of thought, he understood. It seemed the Sacrificial Artifact, which had shown no reaction last time, possessed a very powerful, special effect.

It had clearly manifested the Land God Temple’s ability to bless the growth of flora and fauna.

"Boss Lin is here! Everyone, make way! Let Boss Lin through."

The tourists cleared a path, and Lin Feng walked in to watch them work.

He glanced at the large, incense burner-like cauldron inside but couldn’t see anything miraculous about the Sacrificial Artifact.

’This is the only downside,’ he thought. ’A lot of things clearly have special effects, but my data panel doesn’t display them.’

Daoist Qi came over and said, "Lin Xiaoyou, not only are these plants growing in winter, but their growth rate is also abnormal."

"Look at those few potted plants. After we noticed things were amiss, we placed them here specifically for an experiment."

"Their growth rate is more than twice as fast as potted plants outside."

Lin Feng glanced at the potted plants he mentioned. They had been tiny seedlings just a few centimeters tall before, but now they were almost as high as his calf.

’That growth rate is much faster than my Farmland,’ he mused. ’It seems the Land God Temple’s ability to promote plant growth is even more incredible than I imagined.’

He still had one "Land Blessing" he hadn’t used. Combined with the festival on the second day of the second lunar month, he worried people might start treating it as a divine miracle.

"Daoist Qi, you can plant some more things around here."

Lin Feng thought about transplanting the Peach Tree intended to be the Marriage Tree over here as well. He had originally planned to wait until that task was complete before moving it.

Now that the area around the Land God Temple could accelerate plant growth, he no longer had to worry about the transplanted Peach Tree dying.

Seeing Professor Zhou and Professor Jin pause, Lin Feng walked over and asked, "Professors, have you figured out the reason for the growth?"

Zhou Yongqiang shook his head. "Figured it out? We can’t find any reason at all. The plants growing here are completely abnormal."

Jin Xiangjin also said, "It’s highly unusual. When plants grow so rapidly in a short period, they should absorb a massive amount of nutrients."

"But we just dug up the soil beneath the plants and found that it has barely changed. I’ve never seen a situation like this."

’If these plants aren’t drawing the substances they need for growth from the soil, where are they getting them from?’ his mind raced with questions.

’Surely the materials they need to grow can’t all be materializing out of thin air.’

Jin Xiangjin felt that after coming to Lin Xian Village, much of his fundamental knowledge of agriculture was being constantly shattered.

This place was somewhat unfriendly to researchers. Some of the phenomena occurring here simply couldn’t be explained by science.

Fortunately, he wasn’t the type to obsess over unsolvable problems. Otherwise, if he kept researching, he might have a mental breakdown.

He heard that the research over at the Arrow Tower had already resulted in several professors with similar issues being sent to see a psychiatrist.

Moreover, the Science Academy had issued an internal statement: any scientist wanting to visit Lin Xian Village must first undergo a psychological evaluation.

Once a scientist’s thinking went awry, treating them was far more difficult than treating an ordinary person.

Of course, Lin Feng knew it wasn’t normal. He understood what was going on with these plants better than anyone.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t reveal the answer, so he could only let these people slowly figure it out for themselves.

"If you two have time, feel free to continue your research."

Lin Feng didn’t linger for long. He left the changes around the Land God Temple for the Daoist priests to handle.

He originally thought it was just a minor issue, but the news still spread across the internet.

It was linked to the previous incident with the healing slots in Lin Xian Village, attracting the attention of netizens.

"Everyone, look! This is Lin Xian Village, a place full of wonders."

"Outside the Land God Temple in the middle of winter, not only are plants growing, but they’re thriving!"

"The healing slots in Lin Xian Village are selected by the Earth God. This place was always miraculous."

"I heard a lot of people who did good deeds went to Lin Xian Village to worship yesterday. Do you think it might be related to their worship?"

"That’s actually possible. I’ve seen a lot of videos posted by tourists online. The plants have been growing fastest these past two days. You could say they look different every single day."

"I wonder if they’re selling those potted plants. I want to buy one."

"I want to buy one too! It’s a plant blessed by the Earth God!"

"..."

The online buzz quickly began to influence the tourists in Lin Xian Village.

Right now, outside the Land God Temple, a crowd of tourists was gathered around the plants, their eyes filled with an indescribable longing.

However, not a single tourist had the itchy fingers to go and pick them.

Even the children were reined in by their parents and not allowed to play in the area.

"Daoist Master, are these plants for sale?"

"Yeah, Daoist Master, can you sell the plants to us?"

The Daoist priest replied helplessly, "They can’t be sold right now. We’re currently conducting a research experiment."

"Huh? The Daoist Masters are doing research now too? Aren’t you going to pursue Cultivation anymore?"

The Daoist priest ignored the tourist’s comment. He knew very well that if he answered, they would definitely start asking about methods for Cultivation again.

Over at the Blacksmith’s Shop, the area had been opened to the public, but since it was only marked with a new signpost and wasn’t promoted, the only tourists who found their way here were the type who enjoyed wandering around, looking to unearth mysteries in Lin Xian Village.

After these tourists entered the Blacksmith’s Shop, they were all captivated by the Forging Technique displayed on the wall.

"Holy shit! There’s actually a Cultivation Technique here!"

"We finally found it! And they said you can’t cultivate here. This Forging Technique is out in the open. It’s obviously a martial Body Refining method."

"Everyone, look! There’s a kid over there, training with this method."

Lin Lei, who was training alone in a corner, was spotted by the tourists. A crowd of them quickly ran over.

A few blacksmiths watched the tourists’ nutty behavior, unsure if they should try to explain the situation.

"Master Liu, you think there’s something wrong with these people’s heads?"

"They can’t actually think that Forging Technique on the wall is some kind of Cultivation Technique, can they?"

"They might have just been suspicious before, but now I’m afraid they truly believe it’s a Cultivation Technique."

The blacksmiths looked at the tourists surrounding Lin Lei. They were all too familiar with the boy’s personality; he acted as if he were the main character in a fantasy novel.

In his mind, the technique on the wall was a Body Refining Technique straight out of a cultivation web novel.

The blacksmiths, however, knew very well that while the technique could indeed train one’s body, performing the set of movements was no easy task.

As for cultivating it to the point where you could send someone flying with a single punch like in the novels... they could just keep dreaming.

Of course, after experimenting for so long, they had also discovered that practicing this set of movements did, in fact, increase one’s strength.

"Young man, you’re practicing this Forging Technique. What’s your progress like?"

When Lin Lei saw the crowd gathering around him, he thought something had happened and was just about to test out his recent training progress.

But to his disappointment, they were just asking about his training.

A few people noticed the strange look in Lin Lei’s eyes, and seeing the hammer in his hand, they subconsciously took a small step back.

Lin Lei’s eyes darted around before he said in a low voice, "It has no effect."

’I’m not an idiot,’ he thought. ’I can’t tell anyone about a Cultivation Technique like this before I’ve mastered it.’

’What if some martial arts genius comes along and steals my fortuitous encounter? That would be a disaster.’

"Young man, you’re not telling the truth, are you?"

"Look at the muscles on your arm. Based on my years of workout experience, those are clearly well-defined muscles from long-term training."

"Mister, I’m a blacksmith. Why don’t you take a look at the arms on those masters over there?"

"The muscles on their arms look like they could kill you with one punch."

"If you forged iron every day too, you’d get muscles on your arms as well," Lin Lei said cleverly.

He would never admit that the muscles on his arms now were gained from his training over the past few days.

He absolutely loved Lin Xian Village now. There was delicious food every day, and he could even practice a Body Refining Technique.

Of course, he had to keep this a secret. Even if others could see the technique, as long as he didn’t admit it, probably very few people would believe it.

The tourists looked at the blacksmiths nearby, who were wearing thin, short-sleeved shirts. The muscles on their arms and chests looked like they could crush a person to death.

Indeed, it would be strange if a blacksmith *didn’t* have muscles.

But they still didn’t believe that the Forging Technique on the wall had no effect at all.

’There must be a method for Cultivation in Lin Xian Village,’ they thought. ’Boss Lin just isn’t willing to share it.’

Now that they had finally found what might be a Body Refining Technique, they weren’t about to miss out.

’If he won’t admit it, we’ll just test it ourselves. We’ve all recorded it on our phones anyway.’

Some tourists left the Blacksmith’s Shop, secretly found a spot, and, unable to find a hammer on short notice, tied a rock to a tree branch and began to try it out.

After their strange behavior was noticed by other tourists, the news that there was a Cultivation Technique at the Blacksmith’s Shop quickly spread throughout Lin Xian Village and was then posted online.

A large number of tourists started flocking to the Blacksmith’s Shop. When Hu Xia received a call and heard about the situation, he was utterly baffled.

"Lin Feng, what’s this about a Cultivation Technique at the Blacksmith’s Shop?"

Hearing the words "Cultivation Technique," the others all looked over curiously, their expressions seeming to say, ’And you still claim you’re not cultivating.’

"Cultivation Technique? You must mean the Forging Technique in the Blacksmith’s Shop."

"That’s just a method old blacksmiths came up with to exercise. It’s useless for other people."

This was something Lin Feng had only discovered later: that set of Forging Technique was only effective when used by a blacksmith inside a Blacksmith’s Shop. It was useless for anyone else who learned it.

Zhou Jun asked expectantly, "Lin Feng, can we learn that Forging Technique?"

"I already told you, only blacksmiths can use it. It’s useless even if you learn it."

"Besides, that method is incredibly difficult. Even the three martial arts instructors at the Barracks can’t perform all the movements."

Although Lin Feng explained, he realized it was probably useless. These people were clearly very curious about the Forging Technique as well.

’Whatever,’ he thought. He didn’t bother explaining further. ’After they try to learn it, they’ll soon discover they can’t do it at all.’