[Your bonded Tier-4 spiritual plant, Jianmu Subspecies – Voidrealm Tree Sapling, has shown signs of growth and deeper comprehension. Spiritual essence solidification +0.1%...]
[Through your blood-refinement care method, the Tier-4 spiritual plant Jianmu Subspecies – Voidrealm Tree Sapling has completed one growth ring. Experience +1000...]
[...]
[The Tier-4 spiritual plant Jianmu Subspecies – Voidrealm Tree Sapling has gained a new growth ring. You've obtained Voidrealm Essence ×2...]
Lying casually beneath the tree, Li Ye's expression momentarily drifted, before settling again.
The surging mana within his body slowly calmed as well.
As he received the feedback from the newly solidified spiritual essence, the Wood God Art stirred with unusual activity, entering a subtly altered state.
Faintly, even the meridian routes through which the technique circulated began to shift, as though optimizing themselves.
However, the process was so brief, and the adjustments so minute, that even Li Ye couldn't pinpoint what exactly had changed in the technique's structure.
"Another year has passed…"
A hint of vague sentiment flickered across Li Ye's face as he glanced instinctively toward the direction of Changcui Mountain.
Time passed, things changed, and people came and went.
Only his cultivation and lifespan had continued their steady rise.
Shaking off stray thoughts, he composed himself and summoned the two Voidrealm Essences.
This time, Li Ye didn't immediately absorb them into his body for refinement. Instead, he let them float before him.
They shimmered in a hue of bluish-purple refined, pure, and radiant. From the moment they appeared, a unique vitality rippled outward, as if a king of ten thousand trees had arrived, drawing in surrounding spiritual energy in waves, the glow growing increasingly brilliant.
The surrounding plants immediately perked up, as if bowing slightly toward the essence.
But the most intense reaction came from the Wood God Art mana within Li Ye's own body.
The moment the Voidrealm Essence appeared, his mana surged violently, as if recognizing some peerless treasure it longed for with great urgency.
Within his dantian, the green-and-white true fire danced wildly. Had it not been for its still-unstable state, it might've leaped out of his body altogether.
"So that's why switching to this new cultivation art went so smoothly even my realm barely dropped. This Voidrealm Essence does have a unique effect on the Wood God Art... I've just been benefitting from a body that already absorbed several of them."
Li Ye's eyes shimmered slightly, though he wasn't particularly surprised.
"Still, this does confirm one thing the Voidrealm Tree is the divine heritage tree of the Wood God Sect!"
Otherwise, there was no explaining why its essence would trigger such an intense reaction from his mana.
Then again, perhaps for the Wood God Art, any essence from a true heaven-and-earth spiritual root might provoke a similarly powerful response.
Li Ye made a mental note of this, intending to test the theory further if he ever had the chance to obtain other spiritual roots in the future.
Despite the Wood God Art's intense reaction, Li Ye didn't rush to absorb the Voidrealm Essence.
Instead, he allowed it to hover before him as he suppressed the surging force within his body, patiently taming it, mastering it bit by bit until calm returned.
Three full days passed.
Even with the Voidrealm Essence right in front of him, the Wood God Art's reaction never once strayed from Li Ye's control. Gradually, he felt his command over his mana become more seamless as if imprinted with a deeper layer of his will.
No matter what technique one cultivates, in the end, it should always be the cultivator mastering the technique not the other way around.
Otherwise, over time, the cultivator's heart and mind would inevitably be shaped by the method, leading them further and further away from their original self.
Or perhaps, when encountering other related objects in the future, his mana would once again surge uncontrollably with desire just like it had moments ago!
No matter what, Li Ye wouldn't allow such a glaring weakness to remain in himself... Naturally, he would take this opportunity to temper it thoroughly!
Only then did he finally absorb the two strands of Voidrealm Essence.
Like a spring breeze brushing past or a return to the warmth of a mother's embrace the Voidrealm Essence, as always, gently merged into his body, transforming into a deep well of vitality.
The energy he had expended suppressing his mana was instantly restored!
But this time, something was different.
The Wood God Art began circulating rapidly, and his entire reservoir of mana was refined under its influence becoming not only purer but seemingly catalyzed. A faint hint of purple-tinged the jade-like color of his energy...
Turning it into a hue much closer to the mysterious tint of the Voidrealm Essence itself.
Meanwhile, the Wood God True Flame, which had not yet been fully formed, eagerly absorbed the essence's aura. The green and white flames danced, with green rapidly overtaking the white.
Soon, the last trace of white disappeared, and the true flame became entirely emerald like a flickering leaf or blade of grass, pulsing with wood-elemental energy.
In just the blink of an eye, something that originally required long-term nurturing and gradual transformation had been effortlessly completed!
At the same time, another change occurred the Verdant Spirit Light that Li Ye had recently cultivated. It still needed considerable time and refinement before it could be used in combat.
Yet now, as it absorbed the gentle breath of the Voidrealm Essence, its glow within his dantian surged dramatically, radiating a dazzling green light as its power leaped forward significantly!
What had just been a beginner-level technique had suddenly evolved into one with real combat strength!
Feeling the changes within himself, Li Ye was astonished.
"This Voidrealm Essence... can it refine Wood God Art mana directly and greatly boost the power of its secret arts?"
What surprised him even more was that all of this did not affect the lifespan-boosting benefit of the Voidrealm Essence.
That subtle, nourishing sensation that extended his life hadn't diminished in the slightest!
Li Ye instinctively raised his hand.
Whoosh
A refined, jade-like radiance flickered into existence in his palm, faint outlines of grass and wood patterns surfacing on its surface.
With a casual wave, the radiant energy vanished in a flash yet a nearby boulder was instantly sliced clean in two, the cut surface smooth as glass.
"With this kind of power... it's already comparable to a high-grade magical artifact!"
Li Ye muttered as he retracted the energy, fusing it back into his protective aura.
Almost instantly, he felt the light around him solidify, and its defensive power strengthened significantly.
Activating a protective formation around his surroundings, Li Ye then triggered a Tier-2 Rain of Fire talisman and directed it at himself.
Swish swish swish
Streams of blazing flame, dense and powerful, engulfed Li Ye but the emerald radiance surrounding him only trembled slightly, remaining steady and unbroken.
Even after the fire dispersed, the protective glow around him had merely dimmed a little it hadn't been breached in the slightest.
"I stood still, took a spell that naturally restrains my element and it only wore down part of the glow? It could probably withstand more!"
"At this rate, with the boost from Verdant Spirit Light, my protective aura can almost rival a spirit weapon's short-term defense!"
A joyful expression appeared on Li Ye's face.
He had only just begun cultivating this Verdant Spirit Light, and after switching cultivation techniques, he hadn't even invested much time or mana into it focusing instead on stabilizing his realm.
He had simply planned to spend a bit of time each day refining it steadily over his long cultivation path.
But unexpectedly, just two strands of Voidrealm Essence had instantly propelled him forward!
While the power of such secret arts was still somewhat constrained by his cultivation level, being at early Foundation Establishment and achieving this level of performance was already remarkable.
At this point, his expression turned a bit strange.
"At this rate... even if I don't put much effort into cultivating Verdant Spirit Light or Wood God True Flame, with just two Voidrealm Essences each year, it might only take a few years to push both of them to an astonishing level!"
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