Cultivation begins with harvest.

After a short while, Chen Guang forcefully withdrew the power of the Returning Spring Essence that covered his entire body with black silk algae and concentrated it into a single point. With each portion he withdrew, the corresponding black silk algae withered and shriveled instantly, turning into ash with each breath Chen Guang took.

However, gradually, when the black silk algae had dwindled to only one-tenth of its original volume, it could no longer sustain itself. A strong feeling of rebounding acted on his meridians and body along the half-broken blue silk threads, causing Chen Guang to gasp in pain.

"How...how could this happen?"

Chen Guang broke out in a cold sweat, suddenly realizing that it couldn't be that he had made a mistake in his steps. If he had, he would have already stopped casting the spell. Now, he had progressed to this point, yet he couldn't advance any further—

The spirit of the ruins, planted in green seal script, disperses!

Chen Guang was multitasking, his right palm pressed against the back of his left hand. At the same time, the slightly glowing green seal was dissolving on its own, releasing wisps of plant essence that were captured by his left hand and then quickly applied to the black silk algae.

An unbelievable scene unfolded.

The half-broken blue silk thread suddenly transformed from cotton thread into something like a silver needle. The sudden surge in power caused the black silk algae to rapidly curl up and dissipate. While Chen Guangdu was still somewhat stunned, relying on instinct to continue the power of returning to spring, only a section of black silk algae leaf remained, brimming with abundant spiritual energy.

Success! Chen Guang couldn't help but blow a breath, blowing away all the remaining dust from the black algae, leaving only this small residue.

The process of returning to spring requires the participation of the essence of plants. Without it, it's like a boatman pulling a boat; how can one perform delicate operations with such brute force?

With the participation of the essence of plants, it becomes nothing more than needlework.

"This is incredibly irresponsible!"

Chen Guang roared inwardly. The reward orb had given him an introduction to the ability of Returning to Spring, its operation method, and the opening of the corresponding minimum special micro meridians. However, it only provided the minimum, and it did not explain the crucial point of needing the essence of plants.

The entire process of acquiring the skill of Returning to Spring makes no mention of the essence of plants, nor does it introduce the methods of absorbing, storing, and utilizing the essence of plants. If Chen Guang had not received the Nine Husbands' inheritance and had not filled in this part of the foundation, even if he had understood this point, it would not have made up for it.

Previously, Chen Guang boasted that his master had only led him to the door, and that the rest of the cultivation depended on the individual. But now he realized that the master had only led him to the door, and that it might have been a disaster.

This is like knowing the four arithmetic operations individually, but not knowing the order of operations when they are combined. The reward of returning to spring is somewhat incomplete. Chen Guang was secretly glad that he hadn't just been waiting for the reward orb and had been subjectively seeking progress. Otherwise, if he had just been lying around relying on the reward orb, he might have become a useless piece of mud when he couldn't keep up with his abilities.

A good wind is a powerful force, but if you don't exert your own strength, you'll just become a pig on the wind's edge, and how high you can go depends entirely on how big the wind and waves are.

Chen Guang's near-failure at Fanmu Chunhua's attempt, ironically, boosted his confidence.

Because it was ultimately successful.

Chen Guang picked up the cuttings of black silk algae and examined them carefully.

Special Plant: Black Silk Algae (Cuttings)

Grade: Tier 1 Common

Attribute: Water/Algae

Description: Cuttings condensed by the skills of a spiritual plant master have the ability to ignore the effects of seasonality, limited growth cycle, and environmental requirements, and can change the effect of the same skill to prolong this characteristic.

The cutting slowly loses its fixed and concentrated life essence within six days.

Related description (Black Silk Algae): It can grow in water and can slightly enhance the physical body of cold-attribute spirit beasts and demon beasts. It also provides a variety of nutrients and spiritual energy needed by beasts of this attribute. The saline-alkali environment can promote the reproduction and growth rate of Black Silk Algae, giving it the special ability to reproduce rapidly.

This time, the main focus is no longer on the black silk algae as a spiritual plant, but rather on its status as a cutting.

Chen Guang glanced at the bright moonlight, cleaned up the scene, and decided to go to the spirit field to settle the cuttings as soon as possible.

But he was thinking about other things.

Now that he possesses the skills of three spirit plant masters, Chen Guang has also discovered some commonalities among them. That is, as spirit plant master skills, they all need a medium or carrier to perform them, or perhaps to enhance their effects. This makes these skills different from each other. Apart from the essence of plants, they are currently not interconnected.

The Azure Seal script of the Void Spirit Seed is a form of expression and carrier. It uses this character form to condense the essence of plants and trees and store it in a unique way, which can be used to process the primordial energy in the spirit seed.

The formation of Returning to Spring is a kind of reinforcement and medium.

Earth-Wood Communion uses the power of the soul as a medium. The more one understands and is familiar with Earth-Wood Communion, the more specific the perception becomes. A stronger soul is necessary for frequent use and exploration of wider areas.

Chen Guang also noticed something unusual: the earth and wood were interacting, and what was being absorbed was not just the essence of plants and trees, but seemed to be related to the earth's energy. He had only noticed it so far, but had not yet made any clearer discoveries.

For now, Chen Guang had no choice but to leave it at that. Before receiving a large amount of the Nine Husbands' inheritance, he did not intend to delve into its mysteries.

Given my current level as a spiritual plant practitioner and my understanding of spiritual knowledge, overthinking things could easily lead to the consequence of thinking without learning. It would be better to keep this question in mind and deal with it when I feel I can resolve it.

The icy fog enveloped Chen Guang, giving him the illusion that he had stepped from spring into winter. He entered a pool of cold water containing spiritual liquid and found a suitable spot to plant the black silk algae seedlings. Only then did he feel relieved, though he still shivered several times. He only felt more comfortable after enveloping himself in the Flame Fog spell.

The temperature inside the ice mist array was getting lower and lower. Even after Chen Guang thinned the ice mist further, the temperature remained the same. The white mist duckweed played an indispensable role in this process. Now, the number of mother plants has reached 176. Mother plants need to grow to a foot wide and thick to be considered mature, but the increase in number is also a good thing. That's the good thing about white mist duckweed. When the environment is right, it can grow in peace.

The largest white mist duckweed mother plant is now only two inches wide. It reproduces quickly, but its own growth is somewhat slow. Fortunately, the white mist formed after the quantity increases has consolidated the icy ecosystem within the ice fog array, further reducing the workload of the ice fog array, and the light inside has improved a lot.

There are only 128 ice-tailed shrimp left, which is not a large number for breeding. This number is not enough to contact the kitchens of those inns.

I scooped up some white duckweed and threw it into the pool of two ice-tailed shrimp. Watching the ice-tailed shrimp, with their slightly blue shells but full of vitality, eagerly devour the white duckweed, I showed a look of satisfaction.

The Frostweed has grown to half an inch tall, and its bluish-green leaves, about the width of a little finger, with white veins, are more than two inches long when spread out. The Concentration Flower has almost no leaves; it looks like a long layer of scales clinging to the stem and does not unfold.

Seeing that some leaves had detached from the stem, Chen Guang added a drop or two of Cold Water Spirit Liquid, and then cast an Ice Heart Technique. The Ice Heart Technique can calm a person's mind, and when used on a Concentrating Flower, it can make it more focused on spiritual energy, so that the flowers that bloom will have a more obvious effect on stabilizing the soul and increasing growth.

Without lingering, he chased away the two ice-armored turtles that had just poked their heads out of their nest and were trying to rub against Chen Guang, and quickly left the ice mist array.

"These are just some first-tier spirit plants. Even the Ice Pine and Concentration Flower, which have absorbed a lot of cold air, are still this cold. The Ice Flower Wutong... cultivating them now would be a death sentence."

Recently, Chen Guang had been taking good care of first-tier spiritual plants and had made some progress. Although he didn't say it, he was still a little proud and arrogant. The ice mist array reminded Chen Guang that although this achievement was commendable, it was insignificant compared to second-tier spiritual plants, so that he could maintain a humble attitude.

Even though it was quite late when he returned to the courtyard, Chen Guang insisted on reciting the "Blood Sutra" twice before choosing to rest.

Upon entering the pond, they were affected by the cold water and spiritual liquid, and the cold air entered their bodies.

That kind of coldness cannot be dispelled by warmth alone. Even if the body is warm, the coldness may still be present in the internal organs. If not taken seriously, it will eventually become an illness. If a cultivator suffers from a cold-related illness in the early stages of Qi cultivation, the impact on their cultivation will be enormous.

Fortunately, there was the "Blood Scripture," and as the blood surged, a strange power slowly spread from the blood, affecting the internal organs, limbs, and bones, thus expelling this cold energy.

The next morning, after completing his required cultivation, Chen Guang arrived at the spirit field of the Blazing Heart Grass as usual.

The valuable part of the Heart-Piercing Grass is the four or five withered, yellowed leaves in the center, which stand upright in the field, lacking any of the flexibility a plant should have. From a distance, it looks like someone has mischievously stuck rusted blades into the spiritual field.

As he approached, the sweltering heat hit him, revealing the tangled, downy leaves at the base of the Fiery Heart Grass. The resulting clump of grass was dry and sultry inside, which made Chen Guang understand why the Fiery Heart Grass attracted the Red Locusts.

With his hand touching the earth, his consciousness spread through the interaction between the earth and wood.

In the black earth, fiery red dots representing the Heart-Breaking Grass were brought into perception.

"Wait, what's that?"

A bad premonition arose, and Chen Guang's attention focused on one of the Blazing Heart Grasses. Beside this Blazing Heart Grass, a tender yet chaotic aura enveloped it.

Chen Guang quickly withdrew his hand, made a hand seal, and eight emerald green, thumb-sized magical peaks appeared, quietly resting on Chen Guang's arm, and were carried forward by Chen Guang.

"Could it be... a red locust?"

Chen Guang felt uneasy.