"Perhaps they feel it’s a bit of a vicious cycle. It might also be because the Sect has met the foundational requirements and is thinking about establishing a Blessed Land."
"So, the Sect seems to be discussing setting aside a dedicated area within the Cyan Wood Secret Realm specifically to cultivate some Three-Star Spirit Fields."
"With the addition of the Cyan Wood Flower Demon Elves, along with several Peak Masters from our Spirit Nurturing Peak and some Peak Master-level Spirit Farmers from the Miscellaneous Affairs Department, they hope to reduce the Sect’s reliance on Blessed Lands for the materials needed for Three-Star promotions."
"Of course, these things will likely take many years to implement. Even if our Celestial Spirit Sect successfully establishes a Grotto Heaven, I doubt I’ll live to see it."
Zhang Deming nodded in understanding. He had heard whispers of these matters recently; they weren’t exactly a secret.
Ever since acquiring the Cyan Wood Secret Realm, the Sect had been considering this.
But there was still a long road ahead. The path for an Upper Sect to become a Blessed Land Grotto Heaven was incredibly difficult, and the preparations required were immense.
Besides, among the Upper Sects, the Celestial Spirit Sect was only considered mid-tier. The ’hardware’ wasn’t the main issue—the ’software’ was.
The two of them passed through several more manors and arrived at the very heart of the core area. Here, there were dozens of manors that could be considered quite magnificent.
Each manor was managed by at least one or two Duality Spirit Farmers, who were in charge of one or more Three-Star Spirit Fields.
And in the entire Secret Realm, only at its very core was there a small manor by a pond, which contained a Four-Star Spirit Field barely a third of an acre in size.
Glancing over, the Spirit Plants in the field were spaced far apart. The entire field held fewer than twenty plants, so sparsely populated it could hardly be called a crop.
However, each plant was meticulously cared for, surrounded by several Arrays of at least Three-Star rank, which spoke to their rarity.
At the very center of this area, next to the pond, stood a small, verdant bamboo house. In front of it was a large patch of open ground, and in the middle of this clearing grew a single, strange plant.
The plant was withered and yellow, its leaves drooping. It looked to be on its last breath, as if it had been uprooted and left to bake in the sun for days on end.
Yang Guangfu looked at the plant and began to explain. "Ancestor Fanx Yunfei cultivates the Medicinal Dao. But his path isn’t Medicine Refining; it’s the Healing Dao, focused on guarding Spirit Plants."
"You could say it’s only half of the Medicinal Dao, leaning slightly toward the Plant Control Path, a branch of Summoning."
"But he isn’t accompanied by a host of Plant Demons and Flower Demons. Instead, he has a single Nine-Turn Profound Spirit Grass, which he is bound to for life. It’s quite similar to how a Sword Cultivator bonds their life to a single Immortal Sword."
"And as you can see, Martial Uncle, this is that supposedly wondrous Nine-Turn Profound Spirit Grass. In its current state, its Spirituality is almost completely gone. It’s on the verge of death."
"For some unknown reason, Ancestor Fanx Yunfei himself suffered no backlash and seems to be in decent condition. However, it’s impossible for him to advance any further."
"That’s because the next step in Ancestor Fanx’s path is for the Medicine Spirit to gain full consciousness, undergoing Transformation to become his companion."
’This is...’
’A Medicine Lady?’
’Damn. Is he a dirty old man, or just a naive romantic?’
’Probably a dirty old man. Otherwise, if he already had a Medicine Lady in the making, he should have just focused on nurturing her. Why get involved in some love triangle and create all this ridiculous drama? And in the end, it even cost him his own Medicine Lady!’
Zhang Deming paused for a moment. "You seem to know a lot about this Ancestor Yunfei. Does everyone in your Secret Group know this much?"
Yang Guangfu hesitated for a moment before replying, "I’m considered fairly competent within the Secret Group. Because of my particular cultivation path, I tend to know a bit more than most."
"As for the information on Ancestor Yunfei, it was suddenly issued by the higher-ups three months ago. Every disciple of the Secret Group stationed at Flying Spring Waterfall Cliff was required to memorize it."
Zhang Deming was slightly taken aback. "Three months ago?"
Yang Guangfu nodded. "Yes, three months ago. Mmm, it was the same day that all the Ancestors from the various peaks of our Sect suddenly appeared out of thin air."
A strange expression flickered across Zhang Deming’s face. ’So, after Dang Xiangjun and I talked, he immediately started making preparations?’
’A single word from a superior really makes the juniors below work themselves to the bone!’
’All this work... for something that wasn’t even a certainty...’
Zhang Deming glanced at Yang Guangfu but said nothing more.
On their way here, they had undergone numerous inspections before entering the Three-Star Spiritual Field Manor Park. But once they arrived in this core area, there were none at all.
So, Zhang Deming walked up to the small bamboo house, taking a couple of steps closer to get a better look at the half-dead Nine-Turn Profound Spirit Grass.
With an unknown number of Arrays protecting it, Zhang Deming could only get so close to observe it.
But when Zhang Deming looked at it with his Tier Three Spiritual Eye, he froze!
’Wait!!!’
’Didn’t he say it hadn’t actually become a Medicine Lady yet? How can it be half-dead and still possess so much Spirit Wisdom?’
Zhang Deming paused. The Rune Core between his brows faintly manifested as he activated his Tier Four Spirit Nurturing Technique to enhance his Tier Three Spiritual Eye. A strange light began to shine from his eyes.
When he looked again at the half-dead Nine-Turn Profound Spirit Grass, he froze completely.
"HISS..."
After a long moment, Zhang Deming took a sharp, cold breath, stumbling back several steps in fright before he could steady himself.
’What the fuck, that’s not a grass!!!’
’There’s a person planted in the ground!!!’
’A real person!!!’
’Not some Medicine Lady, not some Demon, but a living, breathing person!!!’
Zhang Deming was absolutely certain of this. After all, his Spirit Nurturing Technique had reached Tier Four Mastery; he could already perform Spirit Awakening on any plant.
’The Celestial Spirit Sect is an Upper Sect, one of the Renowned and Righteous Sects! If the Holy Land found out they were using a real person for a summoning ritual—planting a living person in the ground—could they possibly treat it as a small matter?’