The Path to Immortality: Starting with the Growth of Bubble Fruits from the Ground

After returning to the Internal Affairs Hall with Steward Liu, Zhou Mu used his remaining points to exchange for several flying talismans.

Afterwards, Zhou Mu went to Old Wang's place again. The four acres of land in the lower-grade area and the half acre in the small courtyard could be harvested in a little over a month.

Zhou Mu gave up 10% of his harvest to ask Lao Wang to help take care of these spirit fields.

The lower-grade area was too far from the medicinal garden, and Zhou Mu didn't want to waste time on the road.

After having another meal at Lao Wang's place, Zhou Mu returned to the medium-sized area with the eight earthworms and settled them in.

After finishing his chores, Zhou Mu went inside to review the rules and benefits of Wanhua Mountain.

"Rankings? I see."

Zhou Mu closed the book and muttered to himself.

The rules at Wanhua Mountain are simple: complete the planting tasks and set the standard.

If you fail to complete the task, you'll be kicked out and punished by the sect.

Planting medicinal herbs is a sect mission. All the harvested spiritual herbs must be handed over to Wanhua Mountain. Zhou Mu and other spiritual plant masters only receive a fixed number of points for completing the mission.

But if that's all there is to it, then most plant cultivators will only complete the task according to the minimum standards.

To this end, Wanhua Mountain has set up a ranking list to rank everyone according to their total annual harvest.

The higher the ranking, the more benefits you will receive.

These benefits are reflected in the redemption privileges and redemption discounts.

Just like Zhou Mu can now enjoy a 10% discount, the higher the level of the herb garden, the higher the discount.

The exchange privileges are even more remarkable, such as special-supply pills, unique spiritual soil and liquid formulas from Wanhua Mountain, cultivation rooms specifically for breaking through barriers, rare cultivation techniques, pill formulas, and even Foundation Establishment Pills, as well as all cultivation knowledge and treasures that are rarely circulated on the market.

These two advantages are not available in other sect missions, which is why so many sect disciples are desperate to enter Wanhua Mountain.

However, Zhou Mu can only enjoy the benefits of Grade D at present. As long as he stays in the top 20 of the rankings for three consecutive years, he can apply for Grade C medicine garden and upgrade his benefit level.

There are also some hidden benefits, such as the rich and gentle spiritual energy, the identity of a spiritual plant master in Wanhua Mountain, and a clear and definite path to advancement.

"We cannot slack off in the herb garden, nor can we slack off in the spirit fields allocated by the sect. We must grasp both and make both strong."

Zhou Mu quickly figured out his plan. The next step was to travel between the two places, but he planned to stay in Wanhua Mountain and only come to the Central District once a week.

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The next day, before dawn, Zhou Mu went out.

He took out a flying talisman from his storage bag. The talisman shattered between his fingers, turning into a ball of blue light that spread along his fingers to his back.

Zhou Mu looked back and saw a pair of wings formed from spiritual energy unfolding at the shoulder blades.

With a wingspan of only about ten feet, its slight flapping of the wings stirred up dust from the ground.

He tried to take a step, and the instant his foot left the ground, he darted forward at high speed, almost crashing headfirst into the courtyard wall.

Zhou Mu hurriedly lowered his upper body, his wings flapped suddenly, and he flew over the wall, his clothes scraping off a piece of broken tile.

When the tile landed, he was already more than ten feet away.

Zhou Mu adjusted his body in mid-air and quickly adapted to flying, and his speed became faster and faster.

"Cool!"

Zhou Mu shouted, but the strong wind blew into his throat, choking him and causing him to cough repeatedly.

Zhou Mu flew forward at treetop level, while the spiritual fields and low hills beneath his feet rushed backward.

Half an hour later, the cloud-shrouded wall of Wanhua Mountain appeared at the edge of the field of vision. Zhou Mu looked back and saw that the spirit fields in the middle section were no longer visible.

He turned around, flapped his wings, and glided towards the wall of clouds.

At the edge of the clouds, the light wings exhausted their last bit of spiritual energy and shattered into specks of starlight.

After landing, Zhou Mu took out his identity token. As he poured his magic power into it, the lotus flower mark on the jade token emitted a blue light.

The clouds and mist surged, and a road appeared.

Zhou Mu walked inside and soon arrived at the pavilion, but it was empty.

Unbeknownst to Zhou Mu, several pairs of eyes were watching him from within the mist, only turning away when he stepped onto the path and entered the herb garden.

As soon as Zhou Mu entered the herb garden, he was immediately drawn to two bright green bubble fruits.

【Iron Vine: 1 vine, 1% maturity】

[Yellow Sprout Grass: Rebirth x1, Maturity 1%]

After understanding the effects of the two fruits, Zhou Mu gasped in astonishment, thinking to himself, "This is possible too..."

Vine Seed: After use, you will obtain a mother seed of Iron Bone Vine.

Breakthrough Rebirth: After use, it allows a first-tier spiritual plant to break through its own limitations and transform into a completely new spiritual plant.

If this weren't at Wanhua Mountain, Zhou Mu would definitely be jumping for joy, because these two fruits would bring him enormous benefits.

First, there's the vine seed. You see, the vine segments that Zhou Mu planted before were cut from the mother vine, which was a secondary planting. If he wanted to continue planting after this season's maturity, he would have to cut from the mother vine again.

This is also the planting method for most vine-like spiritual plants.

Once cultivated, the vine seed becomes the "Iron Bone Mother Vine," a first-tier spiritual root without distinction between superior and inferior grades. It is fundamentally different from ordinary Iron Bone Vine.

If we were to compare the 'Iron Bone Vine' to a living being, then the Iron Bone Vine would simply be the hair on its body.

Moreover, the Iron Bone Mother Vine can live for a hundred years, during which time it can generate a massive amount of wealth. If you want the Iron Bone Mother Vine to continue to live after a hundred years, it can only be promoted to a second-tier spiritual root.

The other fruit, "Breaking Through the Origin," could potentially advance "Iron Bone Mother Vine" to the second tier, but Zhou Mu would have to intervene and cooperate to use this fruit, otherwise it would most likely fail.

All the large-scale spiritual plants currently cultivated on the market, such as Polygonatum Rice, are the result of countless spiritual plant masters cultivating and updating them countless times.

Zhou Mu had read in ancient books that the yield of Polygonatum rice five hundred years ago was at most half of what it is now.

The purpose of "Breaking Through the Origin and Rebirth" is simply to allow the spiritual plant to evolve into a better next generation, but it must be guided positively, otherwise who knows what it will evolve into.

If you let a spiritual plant evolve by instinct, it won't evolve to make itself more delicious or taste better.

However, the knowledge of cultivating new varieties is a closely guarded secret, and it is the lifeblood of all major powers.

Anyone who wants to obtain the cultivation formula and process of Huangjing rice should be prepared to fight the Wandao Sect to the death.

However, Zhou Mu knew nothing about these secret techniques. His knowledge of spiritual plants could only make him an excellent farmer, not a researcher.

"If I become the mountain lord's disciple, I should be able to learn those secret techniques."

Zhou Mu's mindset is subtly changing.

He never wanted to climb the social ladder or improve his status; he just wanted to quietly farm and cultivate his spiritual practice.

Whether it's visiting Elder Qin or joining Wanhua Mountain, frankly speaking, it's all because they were forced by the family alliance and had no choice but to seek protection.

Now, even without external pressure, he will actively strive to climb the ladder.

No plant cultist doesn't want to cultivate new varieties, nor can they ignore the benefits they bring.