New concept of the mysterious way to ascend to immortality

Chapter 340 [Spiritual Energy Greenhouse], Ordering a Maiden Priest?

They walked around the illegally constructed skeletal structure, resembling a doghouse, built by the white deer. Yuan Zhu, acting as their guide, stood at the very peak of Xianzhi Mountain, leading the way to admire the beautiful scenery of Hantan Valley below.

Because of the high mountains, deep waters, and swirling clouds and mist, the scenery of the cold pool and mountain stream resembles a traditional Chinese ink painting. In addition, there are no animals or insects, only vegetation and the sound of flowing water, which gives off a unique and tranquil atmosphere, and it does have a touch of ethereal beauty.

Behind him stood a newly transplanted 'reverse-growing mulberry sapling'. The trunk was about the thickness of a hemp stalk, 3 meters tall, and the three branches at the top looked bare, with only two purplish-black mulberry leaves hanging precariously.

Its fragile appearance makes one worry whether it can survive.

However, 3 meters directly below this mulberry seedling lies a [Insect Pillar Suppressing Stone], forming the core node of the '108 Heavenly Generals and Earthly Fiends Formation' on this mountain.

At this moment, the roots of the mulberry seedling that have penetrated the ground have connected with the stone blood vessels extending from the [Suppressing Stone], continuously injecting shadow power (nutrients) into it, stimulating its vigorous growth.

Upon closer inspection, the mulberry seedlings are gradually regaining their vitality, nurturing new buds. The two remaining purplish-black leaves, like air purifiers, are slowly releasing a faint [alien (shadow) celestial aura].

The white deer chose to build its 'doghouse' here because it instinctively sensed the extraordinary nature of the 'Reverse-Growing Mulberry Tree.' It has the potential to evolve the mountaintop into the 'spiritual spring' of [Xianzhi Mountain].

So they quickly claimed land, built open-air shelters, and tried to absorb as much spiritual energy as possible.

With the [Anti-Law] by your side, this shadowy spiritual energy brings only benefits and is free from pollution and erosion.

Even if it lacks the 'spiritual root aptitude' and cannot cultivate, the subtle process of breathing in and exhaling spiritual energy can still strengthen its body and purify the 'shadow power' within it.

...

Yuan Zhu first raised his hand and pointed to the highest peak next door (Yinshan): "That is Yinshan, the absolute core of this 'Dharma Domain,' the Daoist temple of Lord Yinshan. The mountain we are standing on is Xianzhi Mountain. This white deer is the 'Master of Xianzhi Mountain' that I have chosen. In the future, if you are going out to work and are not in the 'Dharma Domain,' it will patrol the mountain and guard the gate to protect the property."

The auspicious white deer proudly raised its neck, its little tail swirling and flying, and barked "Yo-yo!" at the three cadres with an air of pride.

"On the other side of Yinshan Mountain, separated from the waterfall, lies a strange peak called Hanchan Peak. I plan to entrust it to Xiaotang and his sister to manage together. The core area of ​​the Mountain Lord's Domain is formed by 108 Zhen Stones arranged in an array. It covers the entire Yinshan Mountain, 2/3 of Hanchan Peak, 1/3 of Xianzhi Mountain, and nearly 1/5 of the Cold Pool."

Yuan Zhu then turned to Nie Yin, whose eyes were full of curiosity, and introduced: "Currently, I have transplanted 108 of these Reverse-Growth Mulberry Trees at 108 energy nodes in the [Law Domain]. Its specific effects are similar to those of the acquired spiritual plants in the [Kunlun Path]. It can absorb polluted energy and transform it into heterogeneous shadow spiritual energy, continuously improving the ecological environment of the [Law Domain]."

Nie Yin couldn't help but ask, "Are you planning to switch to the path of immortality? Or is our powerful backer, the Demon Lord of Anti-Law, actually a great figure in the Kunlun Immortal Path?"

Yuan Zhu shook his head: "None of that. These mulberry trees originated from the Bubble World, but after a long period of distortion and mutation, they have long since deviated from the Kunlun Path. I planted these 'Shadow Spirit Plants' to improve and create a special spiritual field environment for growing spiritual herbs and raising spiritual insects. This work is handled by the siblings. If you are interested, you can participate."

Nie Yin nodded thoughtfully: "I've heard that a 'spiritual energy environment' is very suitable for raising frogs, and can subtly endow them with 'immortal shrimp' characteristics, and extract a body-tempering fluid with [immortal path] characteristics. It's worth a try."

The next step for experimental frogs is to place them in different polluted environments to induce specific mutations. The "fairy shrimp" is one such example.

Suddenly, Yuan Zhu snapped his fingers and shouted into the air, "Come out!"

"仏仏, 我仏!"

Upon hearing the mountain lord's call, Eggplant Demon No. 2 suddenly emerged from the roots beneath the mulberry tree and bowed deeply before the candle.

Yuan Zhu pointed to number 2 and said, "You all know this one. He's the house manager I used to foster in the [Haunted House], number 2, the Eggplant Head Ghost. Now, I'm bringing numbers 1-3 back to the [Law Domain], and assigning one to each mountain. You can think of them as 'Land God, Spirit Field Manager, Technical Maintenance, and Foreman'."

"Each [Eggplant Demon] possesses the talent to raise and control 'Shadow Eggplant Vines'. Under their command, they control a varying number of 'Eggplant Spirits'. From now on, you can use your [Anti-Law] to summon and command the 'Eggplant Demons' within the law domain, and assign them tasks. Through the [Eggplant Demons], you can urge, exploit, and enslave more 'Eggplant Spirits' to complete tasks such as planting, raising, harvesting, and stone carving."

"In addition to the basic functions mentioned above, this [Eggplant Demon] also has the ability to construct a 'plant barrier' and create a spiritual field. I will now show you the correct way to use it."

Without needing to communicate verbally, Yuan Zhu made a few gestures towards 'Agent Land God No. 2', and then pointed to the mulberry tree on the mountaintop. The latter immediately understood and nodded repeatedly.

The "Eggplant Ghost" waved his arms back and forth, dancing and gesturing wildly, and began to perform a ritual around the reversible mulberry tree, just like an old shaman.

Soon, as it continued to sway, a rustling sound came from the crevices of the mountain wall. Then, one after another, mature vines of the shadow mulberry tree, like snakes, slithered along the ground and surrounded the mulberry tree, or more precisely, the [Insect Pillar Suppressing Stone] beneath the mulberry tree.

Under the command of No. 2, these 'Shadow Eggplant Vines' quickly intertwined and coiled around the 'Reverse Mulberry Tree' as the core, creating a simple, spacious, and enormous square enclosed array on the ground, much like electrical wiring.

Ultimately, the shadow vines, mulberry tree roots, and the stone blood vessels of the [Suppressing Stone] interconnected, activating a rectangular [Plant Barrier] that formed a closed, transparent cube that enveloped the mulberry tree.

...

Having lived in the haunted house for a while, Yuan Tang keenly sensed the uniqueness of the 'plant barrier'. She touched the distinct edge of the 'barrier' and said, "Being enveloped by this thing feels very similar to being in the haunted house?"

Yuan Zhu nodded: "That's right, this is a replica of the [Haunted House Barrier]."

This 'barrier craft' was something the eggplant ghosts passively learned by constantly growing shadow eggplant vines to reinforce and strengthen the villa itself after a long period of symbiosis with the haunted house. They gradually imprinted the data information of the 'barrier' into their own bloodline.

If you ask the Eggplant Head Ghosts to draw a 'barrier array diagram' with paper and pen, they will be completely baffled and have no idea what an array diagram is. If you ask them about their knowledge of 'haunted house barriers', how to set them up, and how to adjust the parameters, they will also be completely clueless.

However, if you provide them with a few shadow vines and let them instinctively replicate a "haunted house barrier" without thinking, they will succeed.

These 'eggplant ghosts' can close their eyes, abandon thought, and instinctively create a cubic 'plant barrier' without any brainpower. Judging from the shape, it's clearly a room in a haunted house.

By continuously adding 'Shadow Vine' materials, this room (barrier) can continue to be enlarged proportionally.

Nie Yin asked curiously, "What is the purpose of this 'barrier'?"

Yuan Zhu explained, "Using the [Suppressing Stone] as the spiritual hub and the Reverse-Growth Mulberry Tree as the converter, a 'plant barrier' can be transformed into a [Spiritual Energy Greenhouse]! By trapping all the exotic spiritual energy within the 'barrier,' the concentration of spiritual energy can be continuously increased, improving soil fertility. This is the most primitive combination of [Spirit Gathering Array] + [Spiritual Field] + [Animal Farm]!" Yuan Tang blurted out, "Reverse-Growth Garden!"

Yuan Zhu nodded: "That's right, it's the abridged version of the 'Garden of Rebirth,' which I call the [Spiritual Energy Greenhouse]. You can construct 108 independent [Spiritual Energy Greenhouses] within the 'Law Domain' as you please. And you can manually adjust and modify the environmental parameters inside each [Greenhouse (Barrier)] according to your own preferences and needs."

"It doesn't have to be limited to the 'Spiritual Energy Greenhouse.' You can also build 'Disease Greenhouse, Holy Light Greenhouse, Demon-Slaying Greenhouse, Frog-type Greenhouse...' For example, near the [Cold Pool] node, Nie Yin, you can directly build an 'Aquatic Greenhouse' to raise more mutated frogs and extract medicines. Xiao Tang, you can try hatching spirit insects, creating genuine [Corpse Seeds], and even continue practicing Qi Refining Techniques in the 'Spiritual Energy Greenhouse.'"

Yuan Tang's eyes lit up upon hearing this. She had crammed a ton of knowledge on insect breeding, herb cultivation, and alchemy in the Pastoral Village, but after ascending to immortality, she had no opportunity to use her skills. Now, she could finally realize her grand ambitions!

Yuan Zhu flicked the transparent yet reflective [barrier] with his finger and introduced, "On this [Xianzhi Mountain], I plan to cultivate some 'Lingzhi (fungus) medicinal herbs' and open up some medicinal fields for planting spiritual herbs. Xiao Tang, your [Corpse Seed] can be carried out here."

"On another peak, [Cold Cicada Peak], I hope that you siblings can set up six different independent [Insect Breeding Greenhouses] to cultivate the spirit insects that I brought from your hometown separately, according to their categories."

（半翅目.蝉1、毛氏虫2/袁氏虫3、鞘翅目.蜣螂4/萤火虫5、蜚蠊目.蟑螂6）

As he spoke, Yuan Zhu waved his hand to summon the [door], and reached inside to take out stitched-up carcasses of 'wild boar, goat, wolverine...', which he then arranged around the mulberry tree.

These animal carcasses are the 'corpse seed. zombie fungus packs' that Yuan Zhu brought out from the [Greenhouse]. They are being placed in the [Spiritual Energy Greenhouse] to accelerate their incubation.

"From now on, this greenhouse will be used for the cultivation of the Corpse Seed: Immortal Zombie Mushroom!"

Yuan Tang happily stepped forward, squatted down in front of the bizarre mummies, and touched them without any disgust. Then, with a flick of his finger, he infused streams of 'true qi' into the fungal spores inside these corpses. This empowered the spores and mycelia within, awakening their instinct to absorb 'shadow spiritual energy' from the air.

After completing these tasks, the little girl assured her, "Don't worry, leave it to us! With this 'mulberry tree' and 'spiritual energy greenhouse,' I'm confident I can restore the [Corpse Seed] and hatch all the spirit insects!"

After introducing his plans for the [Law Domain] and the correct way to use the [Eggplant Ghost], Yuan Zhu shared control of the 'Eggplant Ghost, Eggplant Spirit' with everyone.

From now on, he only needs to speak, and the cadres will gradually transform the ecological environment of the [Law Domain], build one 'spiritual energy greenhouse' after another, and squeeze the eggplant spirits to death... He can just be a hands-off manager and pick and choose.

...

Yuan Zhu left the white deer on Mount Xianzhi and reopened the door.

The surrounding scenery changed, and the light suddenly dimmed. The group had arrived in the empty [Yinshan Cave].

The 'Mountain Lord's Cave,' originally set up with the 'Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams Formation' and considered the core hub of the 'Dharma Domain,' has collapsed into a 'Cave Heaven Space' and ascended to the 'Shadow Dimension.'

Now, the Mountain Lord's Mansion is just an empty, clean little stone chamber. There isn't even a single light source inside, so Yuan Zhu led the way through the rock corridor, and suddenly the space opened up before them.

The 'Mountain Lord's Palace' was carved halfway up the mountain. The original stone steps and corner platforms have now been further expanded and leveled by the eggplant spirit and the demon insect, forming a viewing platform with its own railing.

In the center of the platform, there is a roughly crafted octagonal table and four stone stools.

Yuan Zhu sat down first and began to introduce the place: "This is the 'Mountain Lord's Mansion' halfway up Yin Mountain. It was carved out by a lich and is currently the only habitable place. I have stored the 'spirit insect eggs' and 'spirit herb seeds' in the cave. You can take them as you see fit. At present, the 'Law Domain' has only been established for a short time and everything needs to be rebuilt. Please bear with us for now and settle down temporarily in this 'cave'."

"I will gradually purchase all kinds of daily necessities, furniture, lighting facilities, kitchen utensils... to continuously improve everyone's living standards. If you don't want to live in the cave, I can also buy emergency tents. As for your new home... I will give each of you 30 'eggplant spirits' to act as servants, maids, and assistants. You can decorate it however you want, how about that?"

Having grown accustomed to hardship, the siblings felt no discomfort living in such a luxurious 'cave' (dwelling). On the contrary, they found it extravagant and were somewhat flattered.

The ventilation here is excellent, there's plenty of natural light, and there's no threat of demonic insects or miasma. Plus, we're living directly on the 'surface and on the mountain' – a life of luxury that even the gentlemen of the lower district of [Cicada City] could only dream of.

If I could plant a 'Reverse-Growth Mulberry Tree' inside this cave, that would be even more carefree!
In contrast, Nie Yin showed a look of disgust: "Goblins are passable as slaves or test subjects. But as servants or assistants? They're disgusting. They're ugly, stupid, and filthy... With such a vast [Divine Realm], and private property amounting to three mountains, and more to come, isn't it beneath you to use 'eggplant spirits' as servants? Can't you be a little more respectable?!"

Yuan Zhu retorted, "What do you mean?"

Nie Yin: "With such a large fortune, can't we order a batch of legitimate intelligent beings as servants to give the [Anti-Law Demon Lord] some face? Anyway, this place is in a remote location, deep in the [Misty Mountains], so even if we secretly keep a batch, it won't be discovered."

Yuan Zhu understood her implication and tentatively asked, "Human trafficking?"

Nie Yin gave him a knowing look: "I've heard many senior students talk about this. There's a professional black market where you can trade rare races. Such as catgirls, foxgirls, half-elves, merfolk... If you have money, you can even get aliens."

Yuan Zhu: "You want it?"

Nie Yin countered, "It's not that I want to, but only high-ranking servants are worthy of the title 'Anti-Law Demon Lord, Land God.' Surely a 'temple' will be built here in the future? And with a temple, there will inevitably be clergy and service personnel. Is it a group of pure, pious, and beautiful young girls, dressed in uniform, offering incense and praying daily, that would be pleasing to the eye; or a group of ugly, lowly goblins, cleaning in a temple dedicated to the gods, that would be unsettling?"

From Yinshan Jun's perspective, it would be much more pleasing to the eye to see a large group of cat-eared girls, fox girls, and elf girls dressed in maid outfits in his temple.

At this moment, Nie Yin continued, "Alright, I admit it, I also have selfish motives. Since you've been so open and honest with me, revealing the secrets of the [Divine Realm], I won't pretend anymore. I envy the lives of those young ladies, and I also want maids and servants to wait on me and take care of me, living a life where I don't have to lift a finger! Since our backer is the [Anti-Law Demon God], why should we live a frugal life? Can't we enjoy ourselves a bit?"

Having become familiar with Yuan Zhu and learned many of his secrets, Nie Yin was now in the same boat. Coupled with the subtle spiritual influence of the [Anti-Law], Nie Yin was less wary and defensive towards Yuan Zhu and began to reveal his true thoughts.

Upon hearing Nie Yin's self-deception, Yuan Tang weakly said, "Brother, I also long for a life of extravagance and debauchery."

When it was the younger brother Yuan Tiao's turn, the latter, with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, looked upright. His face turned red, and he stammered for a long time without uttering a word of denial.

Seeing this, Yuan Zhu was utterly disappointed. At your age and with your current abilities, how can you sleep soundly instead of working hard? And you're already enjoying life? If you don't work hard to earn money for me, how can I live a life of leisure?!
Snake: "Lord, aren't they afraid that your [Anti-Law] has corrupted their fighting spirit?"

(End of this chapter)