Full-Time Magister: I Had No Intention of Reaching the Dimensional Throne

Chapter 102 Species of Mangosteen

"What is this thing?!"

Su Qingqing noticed Bai Mo and the other person's unusual behavior, turned around, saw what they were staring at, and asked.

"I don't know, let's go take a look." Lingling replied softly, and then walked towards the bamboo shoot.

Bai Mo followed, and as they got closer, they could see that the bottom of the bamboo shoot was not completely green, but rather tinged with a rosy hue. Beneath the rosy and green hues, there was a faint silver light flowing like blood vessels.

It's all fancy and flashy; it's obviously not a proper bamboo shoot.

Standing behind the two, Su Qingqing also saw the whole bamboo shoot. Her face was filled with suspicion as she murmured softly.

"This...this doesn't seem to be a plant. I can sense that it doesn't have the scent of a plant."

"Not a plant?!" Bai Mo was stunned. This bamboo shoot had the breath of life, how could it not be a plant? Could it be an animal?

Thinking of this, his expression changed, and he grabbed Lingling and flew backward.

However, the bamboo shoot-like thing remained there, without making any movement or responding to his actions.

However, for some reason, he had a feeling of wanting to eat this thing. Bai Mo thought it might be because he was hungry from climbing the mountain.

Seeing the questioning looks from Su Qingqing and Lingling, he scratched his head awkwardly. He then changed the subject:

"If this isn't a plant, then what is it?"

"We'll see when we look." Lingling said, pulling out something that looked like a detector from somewhere, and went back to the bamboo shoot, scanning it with the instrument.

"How about this? What is it?"

"This appears to be a bamboo shoot being felled; it's absorbing the mountain's energy."

"Cut down mangosteens." Su Qingqing repeated, asking the question that Bai Mo was also wondering about.

"What is this 'felling bamboo'? Is it devouring the energy of this mountain? How could that be?"

Instead of answering the question immediately, he first took out his phone and fiddled with it for a moment before answering their questions in a serious tone.

"The bamboo is a rare plant, also known as hollow bamboo. It has always been a rumor, and I only saw it by chance in one of my grandfather's books."

Lingling glanced at Bai Mo and continued:

"Legend has it that bamboo is a plant that contains powerful spatial energy. If it is planted in the ground, it will continuously absorb the energy of the soil until it grows into a bamboo."

Then that place will be completely transformed into a barren wasteland, a nemesis of all kinds of cultivation holy lands.

Legend has it that it once drained a mountain, hence the name "Shushanzhu" (literally "mountain bamboo").

There used to be sorcerers who went to destroy this plant, but I never expected to see it here now.

It possesses a degree of intelligence; it doesn't absorb surface energy first, thus protecting itself.

Lingling looked at the unusually large bamboo shoot and tapped it.

"When I first saw it here, I couldn't quite believe it, but after using the energy detector, I was able to confirm it."

I observed it when I arrived; this mountain should be entirely composed of Danxia landforms, but there are no Danyan Stone Demons on it.

Su Qingqing's lips trembled slightly, her face pale, as if she were afraid. Perhaps she was afraid that the bamboo shoots would actually grow and destroy Wuyi Mountain.

After all, Wuyishan is not only a good place for cultivation, but also her home.

Lingling turned her gaze to Su Qingqing. "I guess the trouble you mentioned is this. In the past, because of the Danxia rock formations, this mountain was often frequented by Danyan Rock Demons."

Then, under the pretext of eliminating the Dan Yan Rock Demon, someone planted this bamboo here. After that, the place was abandoned; that person didn't want anyone else to set foot here again.

"Although few people know about mangosteen, what if someone is as knowledgeable and has a great memory as I am?"

Bai Mo glanced at Lingling. How did this little girl become so narcissistic? Who did she learn it from? It must be from the kids at school.

Su Qingqing was actually quite surprised after hearing Lingling's words. She had wondered before why the neighboring mountain was Danxia Rock Land, yet no one cared about it, no one had set foot there, and there were no Danyan Rock Demons.

Su Qingqing wasn't entirely unaware of the rumors surrounding that incident from back then. She had inquired about it out of curiosity later on.

Just as Lingling guessed, the mountain was originally planned to be used as a prison guard, but because the entire mountain is composed of Danxia rock formations, many problems arose.

It was her aunt who came up with a way to solve the demonic threat affliction of Danyan Rock here. She didn't know the specifics of the method, but she did know that this place could not be developed within twenty years.

Today, Su Qingqing met Bai Mo and his companion who were going to explore the mountain. She was worried that they might not know anything and could ruin her aunt's plans.

Her aunt had been kind to her, and she didn't want anyone to cause trouble for her aunt, which is why she chose to follow her.

Unexpectedly, she saw this bamboo felling. Su Qingqing could never have guessed that her aunt's solution was to destroy the entire Wuyi Mountain!

Her eyes were filled with fear and timidity, and she kept muttering to herself.

"Why? How is this possible? How is this possible?!"

Bai Mo glanced at her, finding her condition somewhat strange. He couldn't quite figure out why she was in this state, but he certainly couldn't let the bamboo continue to grow here.

There are ways to stop the Danxia Rock Flame Stone Demon from jumping out, but they are troublesome.

The method of using the felling of bamboo to seize the essence of mountains and rivers in order to eliminate the Dan Yan Rock Demon is not appropriate.

Countless towns rely on Wuyi Mountain for their livelihood; we cannot allow a group of elemental demons that will never leave Wuyi Mountain to destroy the entire Wuyi Mountain range.

So he looked at Lingling and asked, "If you plant this mangosteen, can you pull it out?"

"I don't know. The book says that it needs to be cleansed using a sacred object that is also of the space element."

"A spatial artifact?! Spatial artifacts are rare enough, but spatial artifacts are even harder to find!"

Su Qingqing had been listening to their conversation, and upon hearing this, she became inexplicably agitated. Her eyes became strangely determined, and she pulled them towards the door.

"These bamboo trees were planted by my aunt. She's so kind; she definitely didn't mean to harm Wuyi Mountain. Don't do anything rash. I'll take you to her. She must have made some arrangements."

Bai Mo pulled his arm back, dragging Lingling a step back to avoid Su Qingqing's pull, and then sternly questioned:

"Su Qingqing, wake up! Since your aunt did this, she definitely knows the purpose of cutting down mangosteens! Since you're in the know, you can report this and be a witness! Or you can pretend you know nothing and ignore everything!"

Stop deceiving yourself. She hasn't bothered with this bamboo harvesting all these years; she's up to no good, trying to destroy Wuyi Mountain with it!

"I……"

Su Qingqing was pale. Her father died early, and her mother would beat and scold her at the drop of a hat. She awakened plant magic in high school, and it was her aunt who rescued her from the fire pit of her family.

Her aunt treated her very well and taught her magic, and she didn't want to believe that her aunt was a bad person.

"I'll go ask my aunt."

"You can't go." Bai Mo used a spatial barrier to block her. "Your aunt is currently a suspect. Whether for your safety or to avoid alerting her, you have to stay with us for the time being."

"I am the judge, you can't do this."

Su Qingqing tried to strike the spatial barrier in front of her with her vines, but found it had no effect. Knowing that she was no match for it, she shouted angrily.

"I know." Bai Mo took out his Judgement Badge and showed it to him.

"I am the judge of the Lingyin Temple Tribunal, not here for tourism. I am here to assist in the investigation of your Wuyishan Tribunal. You are interfering with the investigation, so I am detaining you. This is reasonable and in accordance with the law."

Su Qingqing originally wanted to try casting a mid-level spell, but when she heard Bai Mo's words and saw the badge in his hand, she was stunned and didn't know what to do for a moment.

Seeing that she had stopped struggling, Bai Mo nodded in satisfaction and then reached out his hand.

He had already discovered that it was the silver hairpin spear that was yearning for that bamboo shoot.

A silver light shone in her hand, and a simple silver hairpin appeared. Upon closer inspection, Lingling noticed that the silver hairpin was shaking incessantly, as if it were excited.

The silver hairpin pointed towards the bamboo shoots, and then strands of silver light spread out, forming a cloth of light. The cloth of light floated down lightly and covered the bamboo shoots.

The bamboo shoot seemed to fear the layer of light; the silver veins hidden beneath its emerald exterior flickered slightly, causing the entire bamboo shoot to shimmer as if it would disappear in the next second.

Indeed, Bai Mo could sense the constant fluctuations in space, as if Fa Shanzhu was trying to escape. However, this space was fixed in place by the silver light curtain emitted by the Silver Hairpin Spear.

The light cloth had already enveloped it, and no matter how it flickered, it remained in the same place.

First, a soft, shimmering light shone on the bamboo, and then a cloth entirely woven from silver light softly covered the entire bamboo, outlining a shape not much different from a cone.

Then the cloth slowly disappeared, along with the bamboo that had been there.

"Did the Silver Hairpin Spear eat it?" Lingling naturally knew about Bai Mo's Silver Hairpin Spear, and she confirmed it.

Bai Mo nodded slightly. He felt that his connection with the Silver Hairpin Spear had deepened considerably. He immersed his mind in the internal space of the Silver Hairpin Spear and saw a silver radiance illuminating the originally empty space.

At the very center of the silvery radiance, there was a bamboo shoot the size of a palm hanging there, a change that the Silver Hairpin Spear had never had before.

It is clearly a result of absorbing the changes after the bamboo was felled.

Bai Mo knew that each symbolic vessel of the totem was subject to restrictions.

With each removal of a restriction, the connection between the totem and its owner strengthens, and its power increases.

Inputting magical energy, the silver hairpin in his hand instantly transformed into a long spear. Bai Mo swung it, and a flash of silver light appeared, drawing out a spatial blade.

The spatial blade flew out silently, the silver blade traveling a hundred meters before disappearing into the air outside the mountain peak.

The trees and rocks along the road were all transformed into neatly cut halves, one half standing upright, the other half lying on the ground.

Upon seeing this, Lingling merely blinked slightly, showing little surprise.

On the contrary, Su Qingqing stared wide-eyed, unable to believe the power of the attack.

After assessing his own situation, Bai Mo felt that the upgrade of the Silver Hairpin Spear was just okay.

Bai Mo glanced at the gun in his hand, which was more than three meters long. With his will, the gun gradually shrank to more than one meter long, and then suddenly became more than five meters long.

Great, the length is up to you.

In addition, the attack power is a bit stronger, and the attack methods are more varied, but the mana consumption is also a bit higher.

Putting away the silver hairpin spear, Bai Mo released Su Qingqing from her restraints, glanced at Lingling, and then said, "Let's go, contact Wu Liu and tell him about this."

So the three returned to Horned Monster Mountain, perhaps intimidated by Bai Mo's strength, or perhaps tacitly accepting that her aunt was a person with ill intentions.

Su Qingqing didn't shout or try to run away along the way; she just quietly followed the two of them.

As soon as Bai Mo stepped into the Horned Monster Mountain and headed towards the Trial Chamber on the other side, he keenly sensed that something seemed amiss.

When he and Lingling were wandering around here before, there were some members of the Tribunal patrolling the road, but now they are all gone.

Lingling also noticed the problem. She exchanged a glance with Bai Mo, and the two of them quickly headed towards the gate of the ancient building that housed the court.

As soon as the three arrived in the vicinity, they saw rows of judges standing in the small square paved with bluestone at the gate.

Wu Liu and a stern-looking middle-aged man stood in front of them. The middle-aged man also saw Bai Mo and the other two approaching and immediately spoke.

"Su Qingqing, you've come at the right time. Your aunt, Cheng Ying, is a member of the Black Vatican and has fled to avoid punishment. If you can cooperate with our investigation and find clues to her whereabouts, perhaps you can clear your name!"

Bai Mo looked at Wu Liu, who nodded slightly as a greeting, and then waved to him, signaling him to come over.

Although they were a little puzzled by their posture, it was clear that Wu Liu had already stood with the president of the Wuyishan Trial Association.

There was no need for Bai Mo to hide his identity any longer, so he walked over directly.

"You are Bai Mo?" Judge Zou Ming asked with a smile.

"Hmm, Chairman Zou knows me?"

"Haha, that guy Bai Yuanzhi has bragged to us more than once about how you found a way to deal with the mountain spirits."

Zou Ming chuckled and said, "This time, we have to thank you and Wu Liu for finding the traitor in our Wuyishan Tribunal. Otherwise, who knows what terrible mistakes would have been made later."

Nodding, Bai Mo sensed that Judge Zou Ming had a good relationship with the Bai family head, so he jokingly said in a very familiar manner:

"Uncle Zou, if you really want to thank me, you can give me something practical. I've heard that the Da Hong Pao tea here is quite good."

"You kid! I drink that stuff quite often, even once a year. Young man, don't always think about enjoying yourself." Zou Ming pointed at Bai Mo and pondered for a moment.

"I have a ticket from the National Government; you can have it."

Bai Mo was surprised by the unexpected joy and quickly nodded.

"Thank you, Uncle Zou."

After that, Bai Mo stood next to Lingling and listened quietly to the conversation between Judge Zou Ming and Wu Liu, as well as the instructions given to the judges and finally the questioning of Su Qingqing.

Through their conversation, Bai Mo learned that after Wu Liu infiltrated the trial council, she continued to investigate each person according to their rank.

When investigating Deputy Inspector General Cheng Ying, Wu Liu discovered that Cheng Ying was not present at the trial, and that every inspector in the inspection team, including the inspector general, was suffering from chronic poisoning.

Wu Liu is a rare high-level poison mage, otherwise he might not have been able to discover it!

When he came here yesterday as an ordinary person reporting a crime, he didn't see anyone who had been poisoned.

(End of this chapter)