Chapter 532 - 501: The Resurgent Willow Tree Demon

Chapter 532: Chapter 501: The Resurgent Willow Tree Demon

In fact, the moment Liu Yuanqing learned that these seeds were the very Divine Court Wood Chen Che had been painstakingly searching for, he had sealed off his family’s rear courtyard and dispatched the clan’s most valiant cultivators to stand guard.

He didn’t know the true value of the Divine Court Wood, but any Spiritual Object coveted by a Golden Core expert for so long had to be extraordinarily precious.

He dared not lose a single seed.

He even personally stood watch over them every night.

"You have worked hard these past few days, Fellow Liu."

Chen Che nodded slightly, very pleased with Liu Yuanqing’s attitude. After acknowledging his efforts, he asked, "Ding Fei told me that quite a few seeds have sprouted, which is why I came to see for myself."

The batch of seeds discovered during the excavation of the riverbed had been entirely entrusted to Liu Yuanqing for nurturing.

During a meeting, Ding Fei had informed him that many seeds had begun to sprout. However, Chen Che had been at Celestial Ghost Ridge at the time, so the message had not reached him.

And since this matter concerned the cultivation of his Divine Sense, he naturally had to make a trip in person.

"Valley Master, this way, please."

Liu Yuanqing immediately understood Chen Che’s purpose. Without any preamble, he rose to his feet and respectfully led Chen Che into the adjacent courtyard.

The courtyard was wide and empty.

The most striking sight was some forty-odd bronze discs held aloft by wooden frames. The discs were filled with a clear, pure Spirit Liquid, and countless Magic Patterns flowed from them, swirling around each seed and sprouting bud.

The sight was truly wondrous.

Chen Che glanced over.

He was somewhat surprised to see that of the forty-plus seeds in total, over twenty percent had sprouted.

"These Bronze Discs are filled with Spirit Liquid to provide nutrients. The Magic Patterns form a special Spirit Array designed to stimulate germination... The entire courtyard has been sealed off. I’m the only one who can enter." Liu Yuanqing explained, taking a few quick steps forward to brief Chen Che on the courtyard’s setup.

His face lit up with excitement, especially as he pointed to the sprouted seeds.

"These sprouted seeds are ready to be planted at any time."

"What do they require for planting?"

Chen Che casually picked up a sprouted seed to inspect it. Noticing the sprout was slightly yellow, he asked, "What’s happening here?"

"They don’t have any special planting requirements. A place with abundant Spiritual Qi will suffice."

Liu Yuanqing cupped his hands in a fist, glanced at the seed, and said with a helpless sigh, "The Grade of these seeds is quite high. They require a massive amount of Spiritual Qi to sprout and be nourished, but the Spiritual Qi within my clan’s lands isn’t sufficient..."

It was common knowledge that the higher the Grade of a Spirit Plant, the greater its need for Spiritual Qi. Some Spirit Plants could only grow and sprout in specific environments.

For example, the Void Vine could only grow near spatial rifts.

The Netherworld Grass would only sprout in areas rich with Yin Sha Qi.

And the Blood Arrow Grass, which only appeared in abundance on soil irrigated with fresh blood...

That the Divine Court Wood only required Spiritual Qi to grow sounded simple, but for a recently promoted Foundation Establishment Clan, the requirement was far beyond their means.

Each seed required an immense amount of Spiritual Qi.

To get these seeds to sprout, the Liu Family had sold off everything they could from the very beginning, scraping together funds to purchase large quantities of Spirit Liquid. In less than three months, they had completely exhausted the clan’s treasury.

To this end, Liu Yuanqing had even sold several of his Magical Artifacts.

Recently, he had been racking his brain, trying to figure out where to raise more funds to continue stimulating the seeds’ germination.

"That was my oversight. I didn’t take these factors into consideration."

With a wave of his hand, Chen Che tossed out three Bronze Boxes and said slowly, "Each box contains roughly fifty thousand Spirit Stones. Consider it a reward for sprouting the seeds, and to cover your previous expenses. If you run short of Spirit Stones in the future, just go report the situation to the Internal Affairs Hall."

"It’s enough! More than enough!"

Liu Yuanqing’s mouth hung open for a moment before he snapped back to his senses, replying with ecstatic joy.

One hundred and fifty thousand Spirit Stones!

This was more than enough, even if the number of seeds were doubled. The Valley Master had never once let him down.

’Choosing to follow him was the best decision I’ve ever made in my life.’

"With these Spirit Stones, the remaining seeds can be made to sprout within half a month at most."

Liu Yuanqing added as he followed behind Chen Che, "It’s a pity that many of the seeds were buried for too long and lacked Spiritual Qi, so their chances of sprouting are minimal. Still, I estimate at least thirty-odd seeds will germinate."

"That’s quite a lot."

Chen Che was very satisfied.

He had initially estimated that only seven or eight seeds would sprout.

Thirty-odd seeds would be enough to form a small grove of Divine Court Wood. As for where to plant them, he would choose a spot near the Earth Store Profound Tree. Of course, given the Earth Store Profound Tree’s current rate of Spiritual Qi conversion, even it might not be able to support the growth of the Divine Court Wood.

Of course, there were other methods. Providing the Divine Court Trees with Spirit Stones every day could sustain their growth.

Fortunately, he now had the resources from the Three States. Otherwise, even with Jinyun Valley’s support, Chen Che would never have dared to be so extravagant. It would consume over a hundred Spirit Stones a day, amounting to millions in a year.

Once these seeds grew into trees, resources for his Divine Sense cultivation would no longer be an issue.

’It’s time I found some more Earth Store Profound Trees to plant.’

However, nourishing them with Spirit Stones was not a long-term solution.

Furthermore, once the Divine Court Trees matured, the cultivators of Jinyun Valley could probably forget about their own Cultivation; the Spiritual Qi In the Valley would likely only be enough to sustain this one forest. Thus, Chen Che added another task to his mental to-do list.

However, the Earth Store Profound Tree was even rarer than the Divine Court Tree. Any found in the wild would likely be snapped up by the major powers.

This would be another long and arduous process.

"You will return to the valley with me shortly to plant these sprouted seeds. While you are there, memorize the characteristics of the Earth Store Profound Tree. From now on, the Liu Clan’s task is to find these trees. Jinyun Valley will award one hundred thousand Spirit Stones for every tree you find."

After saying this, Chen Che took a moment to properly look at Liu Yuanqing.

He recalled that the man had reached Foundation Establishment three years ago, but in all that time, his Cultivation hadn’t advanced much. He must have been completely preoccupied with the Spirit Plants, not only neglecting his own Cultivation but also sinking massive amounts of his own resources into the project.

"After this batch of seeds is planted, take this token of mine and go to the Sixth Layer of the Library Pavilion to select a Cultivation Technique," Chen Che said after a moment’s thought.

"The Sixth Layer... a Cultivation Technique?"

Liu Yuanqing’s eyes went wide.

He knew full well that his value to Jinyun Valley lay in his skill with Spirit Plants, so he had long ago given up on advancing his own Cultivation.

He had even chosen two bright young clan members to whom he could pass on his knowledge, ensuring his skills would not be lost to time.

That way, even after he passed on, the Liu Family could rely on this craft to maintain their standing in Jinyun Valley.

But he had never imagined the Valley Master would allow him to choose a Cultivation Technique from the Sixth Layer. The techniques on that floor could all lead one directly to the Foundation Establishment Great Perfection realm, and were many times better than his own clan’s.

This would raise the ceiling for his entire clan!

If he could truly reach Foundation Establishment Great Perfection, it meant he might have a chance to pursue the Golden Core realm within his lifetime.

Even if he failed, this Cultivation Technique would become the Liu Clan’s ultimate Clan Treasure.

"Thank you, Valley Master!"

Realizing the implications, the ecstatic Liu Yuanqing immediately dropped to his knees and prostrated himself.

...

After returning to the valley with Liu Yuanqing, they immediately began planting the saplings on the rear mountain.

Afterward, Chen Che took another stroll around the rear mountain.

Since most of the Golden Core cultivators were in secluded cultivation, the normally bustling rear mountain was now exceptionally quiet.

"Hm?"

As he approached the Willow Tree Demon, just as he always did, he was astonished to discover a tender, vibrant green sprout emerging from its withered trunk.

Observing it intently for a moment, Chen Che found that the Willow Tree Demon’s Life Force was now more vigorous than before.

"Is it coming back to life? And... this sprout..."

Chen Che watched for another moment and noticed faint wisps of lightning arcing across the willow sprout.

"Congratulations, Valley Master! A joyous occasion!"

Liu Yuanqing, who had been summoned over, carefully observed the new sprout before cupping his hands and offering his congratulations.

"If I’m not mistaken, this Willow Tree Demon has come back to life. Moreover, it was a blessing in disguise! It seems to have absorbed a trace of Celestial Thunder Dao Rhyme. From now on, this Willow Tree Demon will possess Thunder Essence, and even its attacks will carry a hint of the Thunder Attribute!"