Behind Fangmu Mountain, there is a Nameless Mountain that also belongs to the territory of the Lin Family of Fangmu Mountain. Compared to the towering Fangmu Mountain,
Nameless Mountain seems quite small and even barren compared to other hills, with sparse trees and mostly wild grasses that grow vigorously every year.
In the grassland, a young man in a green shirt is holding a box, deep in thought.
Beside him, a golden mantis is devouring its food heartily, alternating between bites of monkey meat and sips of Spirit Water. Even some Spiritual Wine is nearby, making the mantis appear somewhat drunk and unsteady, its triangular head swaying.
This is Lin Shiming, who had left the Treasure Pavilion.
Lin Shiming had to test out magic artifacts, and naturally, he couldn't experiment in Fangmu Mountain.
Now assigned to guard Qingtao Mountain, Lin Shiming was also free to leave Fangmu Mountain.
"Infusing it with Spiritual Energy doesn't work either. So where is the problem?" Lin Shiming, holding a black seed in his hand, had been experimenting for a long time without success, yet he didn't believe that the system's prompt could be wrong.
But the truth was, like everyone else from the Lin Family, he was at a loss with the seed.
Neither refining it nor stabbing it with a knife or spear had any effect.
It was completely impenetrable.
"No, this is a Snake Vine Flower seed!" Suddenly, Lin Shiming recalled something. He knew that his Wood Vine Technique was used to catalyze the growth of normal vine seeds.
The Wood Vine Technique itself was a unique kind of spell within the wood-based spells, but the vines produced by the Wood Vine Technique could easily be torn and it was impossible to use them to bind an opponent of the same rank.
However, the marvel of the Wood Vine Technique was its ability to infuse Spirit Plants' seeds with energy and catalyze them, unleashing the seeds' power in an instant!
Once this occurred to him, Lin Shiming couldn't wait to infuse the Snake Vine Flower seed with Spiritual Energy.
But this infusion made Lin Shiming jump in shock, as he saw the Spiritual Power within his body being drawn out almost entirely in the blink of an eye.
"This!" Lin Shiming's face turned pale in an instant.
Such rapid extraction of Spiritual Power, despite Lin Shiming being prepared, still overwhelmed his body momentarily.
However, upon thinking that these seeds were comparable to Supreme Grade magic artifacts,
Lin Shiming was able to understand it. After all, he was only a Qi Cultivation Fifth Level cultivator himself.
Lin Shiming didn't dare to release the catalyzing effect of the Wood Vine Technique right away.
Catalyzing would also consume Spiritual Energy. He took out a Jade Bottle from his Storage Bag and poured a big mouthful of Spiritual Wine into his mouth.
The Spiritual Energy of the wine was instantly absorbed by his body, providing Lin Shiming with a great amount of Spiritual Power and even repairing the hidden injuries Lin Shiming had sustained from previous cultivation mistakes.
Indeed, besides healing injuries, Monkey Wine could also quickly restore Spiritual Power.
This was the second benefit Lin Shiming discovered.
After a few moments, once Lin Shiming felt that much of his body's Spiritual Power had recovered, he then began to release the catalyst of the Wood Vine Technique.
As the catalyst was released, a large portion of his Spiritual Energy was again drawn out, forcing Lin Shiming to take another sip of Spiritual Wine, making his eyes blur slightly with the effect.
The seed in front of him suddenly burst forth with a massive amount of Spiritual Power, followed by numerous black auras surging and transforming into a huge Snake Vine.
In the blink of an eye, it grew to over thirty meters in length.
The Snake Vine was covered in thorns, pitch-black in color, as thick as a large tree, completely surpassing the limits of any ordinary vine.
The Wood Vine swayed in the air with the wind, menacing and terrifying!
At the very tip of the Snake Vine was a huge and enchanting Snake Vine Flower.
The Snake Vine Flower, as big as a human face, opened ferociously and spat out a large amount of venom, corroding away the surrounding vegetation.
The corrosion area directly extended for thirty or forty meters in width, turning everything in its path into wasteland.
The might of the Snake Vine Flower truly exceeded Lin Shiming's imagination, exciting him beyond measure. With the seeds of the Snake Vine Flower in hand, he even dared to confront an average Qi Cultivation late-stage cultivator or Demonic Beast head-on.
Of course, the Snake Vine Flower was not something to be used carelessly. Lin Shiming's current Spiritual Energy at the fifth level of Qi Cultivation wasn't enough to fully activate it even once; he still needed to take a couple of swigs of Spiritual Wine.
In a real fight, the enemy certainly wouldn't wait for Lin Shiming to take a couple of drinks before starting.
However, Lin Shiming thought again that once his cultivation level improved, releasing ten seeds of the Snake Vine Flower, who would then be able to contend with him?
With that thought, Lin Shiming took out his Spiritual Wine and took two big swigs with gusto.
Now his strength had grown far more than before, and if his cultivation were to rise further, his power would increase several fold.
"Chirp chirp chirp!" The Golden Winged Mantis, seemingly upset that Lin Shiming had drunk quite a bit of its rations, started chirping loudly and eventually landed on Lin Shiming's shoulder.
The Golden Winged Mantis had grown in size once again. Landing on Lin Shiming's shoulder, it nearly took up all the space, making his shoulder feel quite heavy.
Lin Shiming reached out to stroke the Golden Winged Mantis's golden triangular head and said with a smile:
"You little bug, competing for food now? Don't worry, I've still got ten catties of Spiritual Wine left, and when we go to Peach Blossom Valley, we can get some more!" Lin Shiming thought of the Monkey Wine from Peach Blossom Valley and felt an itch in his hands.
Sunrise shone high, and having completed his morning cultivation, Lin Shiming put away the Golden Winged Mantis, took out his Green Spirit Sword, and flew back on his sword.
This time, Lin Shiming went to see the Second Elder to inquire if there was any elixir that could accelerate the mantis's growth.
But he learned that the Second Elder had gone straight to the Hall of Transmission, which was responsible for instructing new family disciples with newly tested Spirit Roots.
Lin Shitao and Lin Shizhong were all present.
These were the people Lin Shiming had brought with him, and he instantly felt the desire to see how they were doing.
However, upon arrival, he saw the Second Elder personally taking on the role of instructor, explaining important points about cultivation techniques to them.
The kindly Second Elder, when teaching the techniques, often mentioned some peculiar Spirit Fruits and immortal elixirs from the Cultivation World, inciting immense curiosity in these children who had just been exposed to immortal cultivation for a day. They were eager to turn twenty so they could take up their Spirit Swords and step into the Cultivation World.
Embarking on an epic treasure-seeking adventure.
"Second Grandpa!" Taking advantage of the break, Lin Shiming stepped forward to pay his respects.
He had great respect for this Second Elder!
After all, the Second Elder had once been a talent whom the Lin Family was willing to nurture for Foundation Establishment with all their might. But seeing that the Lin Family lacked a distinguished alchemist and didn't even have an Intermediate Grade Second Rank Alchemist, the Second Elder decisively gave up most of his time for cultivation at thirty years old and turned to practice Alchemy. He visited countless renowned Alchemy masters, attended numerous Alchemist exchanges, and finally stepped into the realm of a Superior Grade Second Rank Alchemist at the age of fifty.
Indeed, if it weren't for lacking the Spiritual Power to establish a Foundation, he'd have a certain grasp on Third Rank elixirs.
Unfortunately, twenty years had slipped by, and his cultivation had fallen greatly behind, barely reaching the Ninth Level of Qi Cultivation at the age of sixty-one, losing the chance for Foundation Establishment.
Today, his philosophy remained unchanged. As the once-Purple Mansion Family and now Foundation Establishment Family, how could they fail to produce even a Superior Grade Second Rank Alchemist?
"Shiming, you came to see them!" Lin Yuqi's smile remained from start to finish.
After a few words of casual conversation with the Second Elder, Lin Shiming greeted Shitao and Shizhong as well.
Lin Shiming also learned from the Second Elder that while the Lingtao wine was useful for ordinary injuries, it was still helpless against the old patriarch.
However, Lin Yuqi suggested that if Intermediate Grade Spiritual Wine was ineffective, perhaps Superior Grade Second Rank Spiritual Wine might work.
Of course, Lin Shiming didn't forget the purpose of his visit but was regretful to learn that such a medicinal pill was only available at the Spirit Beast Sect, which was guarded by Golden Core ancestors.
Meanwhile, the expedition was set to depart on the third day!