After binding with a genius, I became an immortal by exploiting loopholes.

"What did Elder Zheng say?"

"Elder Zheng has examined it and confirmed that it is a mutation of the spiritual plant itself. He is currently developing a medicinal solution."

Old Sun nodded and didn't ask anything more.

The disciple bowed and withdrew.

The herb garden was quiet again.

Old Sun squatted on the edge of the field, lit a pipe, and slowly smoked it.

Amidst the swirling smoke, a glint of light flashed in those murky eyes.

After an unknown amount of time, Old Sun put away his pipe and walked towards the Spirit Plant Hall.

In the quiet room, Zhou Yuandao was lost in thought, holding a teacup.

Seeing Elder Sun push open the door and enter, he put down his teacup and said calmly, "What brings you here, Senior Brother?"

"I heard that a mutated spirit rice has appeared in Qingmu Village."

Old Master Sun sat down opposite him, took the tea that Zhou Yuandao handed him, took a sip, and said, "It's from your disciple Tian."

Zhou Yuandao smiled and said, "I just found out too. This kid is really good. He actually solved such a big problem for the sect."

Old Master Sun put down his teacup, leaned back in his chair, looked at Zhou Yuan, and a slow smile appeared on his lips: "Junior Brother, the disciple I introduced to you is no ordinary person, is he?"

Zhou Yuandao laughed and said, "Indeed, it's extraordinary. With that kind of luck, no one else can compare."

Old Sun paused for a moment, then smiled.

really.

This junior brother of mine attributed the appearance of the mutated spirit rice entirely to "luck".

He never even considered that this matter might have anything to do with his disciple with mixed spiritual roots.

Also.

Who would have thought of someone with only five spiritual roots and less than a year of experience?

Old Sun picked up his teacup and took another sip, without explaining.

He wanted to see just how interesting Zhou Yuandao's expression would be when he learned the truth.

"What are you laughing at, Senior Brother?" Zhou Yuandao was a little confused by his laughter.

Old Sun put down his teacup, stood up, patted him on the shoulder, and left with only a meaningful remark: "You will know in the future."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Zhou Yuandao sat in the chair, his brows slightly furrowed.

What did Elder Sun mean by that? Did he think that the appearance of that mutated spirit rice was related to that kid Lu Qingchen?

He shook his head and chuckled.

What ability could a mere plant grower possibly have to make plants develop disease resistance?

His senior brother is probably overthinking it.

He stopped thinking about it, picked up the disaster report on the table again, and turned to the next page.

Old Master Sun left the meditation room and walked along the mountain path toward Panlong Peak.

A night breeze blew by, carrying the scent of herbs and plants from the Spirit Plant Palace's herb garden.

He walked slowly, lost in thought.

This was indeed unbelievable to Zhou Yuandao.

After all, who would have thought that a disciple with a mixed spiritual root of low grade of five spiritual roots could make spiritual plants develop disease resistance? No one would believe it if you told them.

But Old Sun is different.

He had personally witnessed Lu Qingchen revive the Seven Star Grass, personally witnessed the two special spiritual plants with purple leaves and golden veins, and personally witnessed the spiritual light intensity on the jade plate during the spiritual body detection, which increased from three inches and two fen to three inches and four fen.

That kid is something else!

He was somewhat looking forward to seeing what kind of surprises that kid would bring to the Spirit Plant Palace in the future.

When he reached the entrance of the medicinal herb garden, Old Sun stopped and stood for a while, gazing at the outline of Panlong Peak in the night.

Then he turned and walked into the herb garden, lit an oil lamp, squatted in front of the two special spiritual plants, and continued his research for the night.

Two potted plants were placed side by side on a stone platform.

The purple leaves of the plant on the left gleamed faintly under the oil lamp, and the golden veins looked as if they were embroidered with gold thread, with a subtle flow of spiritual energy.

The one on the right is completely different—its leaves are dark green with a ring of fine silver-white serrations around the edges, and the surface of the leaves is covered with fine hairs that feel slightly prickly to the touch.

Compared to the magnificent plant on the left, the one on the right appears much more understated, even somewhat inconspicuous.

Old Sun first looked at the plant on the left.

He used a bronze mirror to examine the flow of spiritual energy within the veins of the leaves and made a few notes in his notebook.

The leaf shape, veins, and growth habits of this spiritual plant are seven-tenths similar to a mid-grade first-tier spiritual plant called "Purple Leaf Spirit Sunflower".

Purple-leaf spirit sunflowers are not particularly rare; they are mainly used to extract dyes and make low-grade talisman inks. The Spirit Plant Palace's herb garden has quite a few of them.

However, the spiritual energy content of ordinary purple-leaf spiritual sunflowers is extremely low, and they are basically not suitable for direct cultivation.

The leaves of this plant are a deep purple-black, with pure gold veins, and the whole plant radiates a spiritual light.

He used a bronze mirror to measure the concentration of spiritual energy in the leaf veins, and the value was more than four times that of ordinary purple-leaf spiritual sunflowers.

Four times.

This means that its leaves can be consumed directly to enhance one's cultivation.

He picked a small leaf and tried it. After swallowing it, a warm spiritual energy spread in his dantian. Although the effect was not obvious, it was gentle and had no toxicity, so it could be taken for a long time.

For disciples in the Qi Refining stage, this is already an invaluable aid to cultivation.

A spiritual plant that can directly enhance cultivation is vastly different in value from a spiritual plant that can only be used to extract dye.

Moreover, if we can figure out why it mutated and extend this mutation to the spiritual plants that the sect cultivates in large quantities, even if the concentration of spiritual energy only increases by 10% or 20%, it will be a huge boost to the entire sect.

As for the one on the right—

Old Master Sun put down the jade ruler, his brows furrowing slightly.

He had searched through all the books he had on hand to find a matching spiritual plant, which was dark green with silver edges.

The leaf shape is not similar, the veins are not similar, and the growth habits are not similar.

He checked it with a bronze mirror; the concentration of spiritual energy was only slightly higher than that of ordinary spiritual plants, not particularly outstanding.

When a silver needle is inserted into the leaf, the sap does not react in any special way.

It looks like an ordinary mutated spiritual plant, nothing special except for its strange appearance.

But Old Sun didn't believe it.

The one on the right is probably not an ordinary specimen either.

He'd been farming all his life, so he still had that kind of intuition.

It's just not obvious yet.

Old Sun turned his gaze away from the plant on the right and pondered how the young man had managed to do it.

Lu Qingchen said it was "seeds found on the mountain," but he didn't believe a word of that claim.

However, he did not intend to ask further questions.

Who in the cultivation world doesn't have secrets?

Lu Qingchen's willingness to leave these two spiritual plants for him to study already shows his attitude.

Old Sun stopped thinking and picked up the bronze mirror again.

These two spiritual plants should mature and bear seeds in a while. When they are ready, we will harvest the seeds and plant a batch to see if the offspring can maintain their original appearance.

He opened his notebook and added a few lines at the end of today's entry:

"Purple Leaf Mutant: The veins of the leaves have deepened to a golden color, and the concentration of spiritual energy has increased by about half a percent compared to yesterday. The leaves can be consumed directly to enhance cultivation, and the effect is mild and without any toxicity."

"Unnamed mutant strain: The spiritual energy concentration is average, with no special reactions. Continue to observe."

After finishing writing, he put down his pen and lingered on the dark green plant with silver edges for a while, then reached out and gently touched the silvery-white serrations on the edge of the leaf.

A slight tingling sensation came from my fingertips, just like yesterday, nothing had changed.

He withdrew his hand and muttered, "What exactly are you?"

......