“Look at the tree behind me—it grew so tall and strange just from my blood. Come on, insert your roots into my body, suck my blood, eat my flesh, devour my Myriad Absorption Spiritual Root. That way, you can transform into human form early.”
His wound was so close to the plant, the hideous flesh about to touch its leaves.
The plant leaned back.
For the first time, the Spirit Capturing Grass, which only ever captured spiritual power, released its own spiritual power, plastering it all onto the youth’s leg. The hideous wound healed at a visible speed.
The youth froze.
A moment later, he suddenly laughed, but large teardrops fell onto the plant’s leaves.
The youth’s tears were very clean. The plant didn’t dodge.
.
“My name is Mu Cheng.”
The youth said.
“That person who comes regularly to harvest my Spiritual Root is Mu Kunrong, my former grandfather.”
He said he had once been the young master of the Mu Family, doted on by his grandfather, loved by his parents, innately talented with an excellent Spiritual Root—a true Heaven’s Proud Son.
He said he didn’t know what happened, but one day he woke up with limp limbs and no spiritual power left. His grandfather tied him up and placed him in the ancestral hall, with four corpses laid out before him.
His grandfather said he was the son of an evil servant who had usurped the nest, killed his foster parents to cover the secret, and slain his birth parents, so they extracted his Spiritual Root, crippled his cultivation, shattered his bones, and expelled him from the family.
He said he thought he would die in that deep alley, and everyone thought he would die there.
But he didn’t.
He didn’t die and even miraculously recovered.
So Mu Kunrong picked him up again.
And so he became the “Spiritual Body.”
……
“I should have died in that alley that day.”
The youth murmured.
The plant didn’t know how to comfort him, so it bent over and gently brushed against his leg.
.
“I wanted to help you transform into human form earlier because I wanted you to do something for me.”
“There’s a secret realm in Xiaoze State called the Broken Cliff Secret Realm. Inside the Broken Cliff Secret Realm is a Spiritual Pine. Every needle on the Spiritual Pine turns into a Soul Scattering Needle after being tempered in fire. I want you to fetch the Soul Scattering Needles for me and use them to kill me.”
The youth said.
That sounded so troublesome.
But the plant still gently rubbed against his leg and nodded.
Alright.
I promise you. Once I can transform into human form, I will definitely fetch the Soul Scattering Needles and kill you.
The youth smiled lightly. “You really don’t want my blood?”
The plant shook firmly.
No, it’s too dirty.
The youth laughed again.
It wasn’t clear if he saw the plant’s disgust.
.
The plant accompanied the youth for a very long time.
Day after day, year after year.
It watched the youth gradually become a young man, gradually grow silent, no longer smiling or speaking.
He had said all his words. His life had only been a brief seventeen years. He had told the plant about every secret realm he had seen, every person he had met, every Demon Beast he had killed, every scenic view he had witnessed.
He had nothing left to say.
He was afraid that if he opened his mouth, endless hatred and resentment would pour out.
The plant gently brushed against the young man again.
It suddenly wished it could speak.
That way, it could tell Mu Cheng that yesterday’s wind was a bit cool, today’s wind was a bit hot, the little bug that passed by just now was so ugly, and it looked a bit like the Treasure-Hunting Armored Insect he had once described.
That way, Mu Cheng wouldn’t have to stay silent.
.
Over these many years, the plant had changed a lot too.
It grew taller and greener. With a little effort, its tallest leaf could even touch Mu Cheng’s wrist.
If exposed to people, anyone could see its extraordinary nature.
But it was a clever Spirit Capturing Grass. Every time someone approached the courtyard, it shrank most of its body into the soil, leaving only a small portion exposed amid the weeds, drawing no attention.
When the wind rose, it would wrap its leaves around Mu Cheng’s fingertips—of course, the hand without blood.
It would use the back of Mu Cheng’s hand as a spine and its leaves as Soul Scattering Needles, viciously mimicking a stabbing motion.
To amuse Mu Cheng—
Don’t worry, I will definitely transform into human form, fetch the Soul Scattering Needles, and kill you!
And so it would occasionally see Mu Cheng smile.
A smile that was a little bit good-looking.
.
In the end, the plant failed to fulfill its promise.
That night, Mu Kunrong, who had drunk too much Spiritual Brew at his own Soul Transformation ceremony, stumbled into the courtyard and stood before Mu Cheng.
He vented his rage by slicing open Mu Cheng’s spine to check if the Myriad Absorption Spiritual Root had regrown, cursing loudly.
“Damn it, damn it, damn it! I discovered the Spiritual Body—why should he benefit all of Xiaoze State?! Whether Xiaoze State gets discovered by the outside world or destroyed—what does it matter to me? I’m not even from Xiaoze State!”
Mu Cheng looked at him quietly.
The plant also quietly lifted its head to look.
Mu Kunrong suddenly laughed.
A Soul Transformation Cultivator could summon clouds with a finger. He summoned mist to cushion himself, lounging softly as he continued drinking.
He laughed. “You don’t actually think I’m that stupid, do you? Letting a lowly family slave swap out my own grandson.”
He told a story.
Outside Xiaoze State, the cultivation world was divided into the Lower Immortal Realm, Middle Immortal Realm, and Upper Immortal Realm based on spiritual energy density.
The Lower Immortal Realm allowed cultivation up to Golden Core, the Middle Immortal Realm up to Soul Transformation, and the Upper Immortal Realm up to Ascension.
