Chapter 112: Mutation

Chapter 112: Mutation

"I have low-level high-grade talismans here—the Crimson Flame Talisman, the Cloud-riding Talisman, and the Flowing Light Ice Shield Talisman." As Chu Ning spoke, he took out three types of talismans from his storage bag.

The middle-aged man glanced at them and asked, "How much for the Crimson Flame Talismans, Cloud-riding Talismans, and Flowing Light Ice Shield Talismans?"

"Twenty low-grade spirit stones for the first two types and twenty-five for the Ice Shield Talismans. Which ones would you like?" Chu Ning replied, handing over the requested talismans.

With a casual smile, he added, "Friend, you're buying quite a few talismans. Are there any beast disasters approaching?"

The middle-aged man shook his head. "Not exactly a beast disaster, but we've spotted traces of some first-rank advanced demonic beasts in the nearby mountains lately. They might have lingered in the area after the last beast disaster instead of returning to the Qingxia Mountains."

As he spoke, the man placed a pile of spirit stones in front of Chu Ning and picked up the talismans. "These beasts haven't been very active until recently, so we didn't detect them immediately. Now, there have been sightings in the western mountains outside the market town. I plan to go with some companions to try our luck and see if we can hunt any down."

"I see," nodded Chu Ning.

Indeed, after the last beast disaster was dealt with, the number of demonic beasts in the mountains had decreased, resulting in less business for Yanji Market.

However, it seemed like the beast population was increasing again these days, and the western outskirts led to the direction of his spirit field.

"Has there been an influx of people in that area recently?" Chu Ning asked.

"Yes," the middle-aged man replied with a smile, "Many solitary cultivators and members of the major families have been going there frequently these days. Apparently, the Sun family initially wanted to organize a hunt to clear out the mountains, but they found the number of beasts too overwhelming, especially with the presence of multiple first-rank advanced demonic beasts. Their attempts were unsuccessful, and when word spread, others joined in the hunt."

After the middle-aged man left, Chu Ning stroked his chin thoughtfully. He had been planning to lay low and avoid even visiting his spirit field after encountering the Yin Demon Sect's ambush on his way back from Fengxia Market. However, it seemed like the situation wasn't as dangerous as he'd anticipated.

The Yin Demon Sect wouldn't act in places with a high population of cultivators, especially when members of influential cultivator families were around. Moreover, Lin Changqing's presence in the market town provided an additional layer of security.

"It seems I can go ahead and tend to my spirit field now," Chu Ning thought, recalling the Iron Stem Orchid seeds he had purchased in Fengxia Market. His ten acres of spirit field had been neglected for quite some time since the harvest of the Purple Crystal Bamboo.

That day, Chu Ning continued to sell talismans, and through conversations with the cultivators, he confirmed the middle-aged man's information.

After the market closed, Chu Ning went to the backyard to check on the Iron Stem Orchids. All fifty plants had borne fruit, but each one only produced a single flower and fruit.

"With only fifty Iron Orchid Fruits, it won't be enough for future body tempering. I'll need to plant more in the spirit field, even with the aid of my Green Wood Eternal Spring Art and Ling Xiaobai's help in maturing them. It still takes months for the Iron Orchid Fruits to grow, flower, and bear fruit." Chu Ning mused as he examined the fruits.

"I can't delay it too long. Since there doesn't seem to be any danger, I might as well take advantage of Lin Changqing's presence in the area and plant the Iron Stem Orchids now," he decided.

The next day, when Chu Ning saw cultivators heading towards the western mountains, he followed suit, riding the wind in their direction.

Just as the middle-aged man had said, they frequently encountered members of cultivator families along the way, especially near the spirit fields. As Chu Ning's spirit field was located in a valley adjacent to the Sun family's field, he even spotted several members of the Sun family.

Reassured, Chu Ning boldly made his way to his spirit field.

After harvesting all the Golden Origin Fruits, he inspected the trees, which seemed to be in good condition.

Instead of immediately planting the Iron Stem Orchid seeds, Chu Ning first used his Green Wood Eternal Spring Art on the Golden Origin Fruit trees to stimulate them to bear fruit again.

Then, he took out the Iron Stem Orchid seeds from his storage bag and began the process of planting and stimulating their growth.

The last time, he had purchased young Iron Stem Orchid plants from Yunhai Pavilion without attempting to stimulate their growth. Now that he was trying it for the first time, he found the process not overly challenging.

With his instantaneous stimulation technique, he could activate about ten seeds at a time.

"It seems that the real challenge with Iron Stem Orchids lies in flowering and fruiting. The rest isn't too difficult," Chu Ning realized.

Initially, he had expected the process to be time-consuming, but to his surprise, he was able to stimulate all one hundred seeds in a short period.

However, Chu Ning didn't rush to plant them. With ten acres of land, he didn't need to densely pack the Iron Stem Orchids for his Green Wood Eternal Spring Art training.

He decided to space them out a bit more, hoping to increase the chances of flowering and fruiting.

Even with the wider spacing, the hundred seeds weren't enough to fill the entire ten acres, so Chu Ning planted more Golden Origin Fruit trees in the remaining spaces.

He then cast the Sweet Rain Technique to ensure the newly planted seedlings received ample water.

Chu Ning continued to cast the Green Wood Eternal Spring Art, and the Iron Stem Orchids could withstand a significant number of casts. Even with ten acres of land, he had to pause midway to recover his spiritual energy before completing the technique for the entire area.

At that moment, Chu Ning's gaze naturally fell on Ling Xiaobai.

"Meow!"

Sensing Chu Ning's gaze, Ling Xiaobai let out a slightly aggrieved meow.

Over the next few days, aside from selling talismans at the market, Chu Ning spent most of his days in the spirit field.

He continuously cast the Green Wood Eternal Spring Art to help mature the Golden Origin Fruits and Iron Stem Orchids.

During this time, various pieces of news began to spread.

Several solitary cultivators had hunted down a first-rank advanced demonic beast, the Fire Rock Spider, in the mountains.

A cultivator family had encountered a Blood-spotted Unicorn and suffered heavy losses.

...

This news wasn't particularly important to Chu Ning.

However, it did help boost his talisman sales.

Even the previously hard-to-sell low-level high-grade talismans were now selling over ten copies each market day.

What truly concerned Chu Ning were the occasional messages from Lin Changqing and Du Han.

As Lin Changqing had said, the higher-ups of the Green Creek Sect were indeed furious about the previous wave of attacks.

Rumor had it that most of the Foundation Establishment cultivators in the sect had been mobilized.

Moreover, the Enforcement Hall had formed over ten squads to thoroughly purge Yin Demon Sect members within the Green Creek Sect's sphere of influence.

They had also rooted out a batch of Yin Demon Sect disciples who had been hiding within the sect and among influential cultivator families.

In addition to taking action themselves, the Green Creek Sect had also joined forces with the other six sects.

The other sects' actions were largely similar, and even cultivators entering and exiting the markets were subjected to questioning.

Near the Qingxia Mountains, the Yin Demon Sect disciples were now public enemies.

As a result, aside from the initial few days when there were still reports of disciples being attacked, there were no more incidents for the next half month.

Under the joint crackdown by the seven major sects,

Soon, more news emerged. A high-ranking member of the demonic path from the Yin Demon Sect had sent a message to the seven major sects of the Qingxia Mountains.

The Yin Demon Sect disciples would withdraw from the area in a short time, and if the seven major sects chose to take action now,

The Yin Demon Sect would join forces with the other powers in the Biyu Mountains and directly initiate a sect war.

After receiving this message, the major sects discussed the matter and finally decided to temporarily halt their purge.

Subsequently, a large number of Yin Demon Sect disciples left, and on the surface, the Yin Demon Sect seemed to have disappeared from the Qingxia Mountains.

This turn of events occurred a month and a half after Chu Ning had returned from his sect.

From Chu Ning's perspective, if the Yin Demon Sect truly coveted the so-called spirit herb discovered in the Green Creek Sect's forbidden area,

It was highly unlikely that they would give up so easily.

However, the temporary lull in the Yin Demon Sect's activities did bring Chu Ning some peace of mind.

At least for now, he could venture out to his spirit field or occasionally visit the Fengxia Market without worrying about too much danger.

Within the Yanji Market, the tension on the faces of the Green Creek Sect disciples also eased, and everything seemed to return to a state of calm.

The only slight difference from before was that with the number of demonic beasts in the nearby mountains remaining relatively stable, the market saw an increase in the number of cultivators visiting each day compared to when Chu Ning and the others had first arrived.

The market was becoming increasingly bustling, and several influential cultivator families began to expand their businesses within the market.

The entire market seemed to be on the verge of expanding outward.

However, these changes didn't significantly affect Chu Ning.

His daily routine remained the same: cultivation, farming, and crafting talismans.

One day, after the market had closed, Chu Ning went straight to the backyard and approached the Iron Stem Orchids.

At this moment, the Iron Orchid Fruits had fully ripened.

The fruits were brown in color, and unlike many spiritual fruits that exuded a sweet fragrance, the Iron Orchid Fruits emitted a subtle medicinal aroma.

"It wasn't easy, but they finally ripened," Chu Ning said with emotion as he looked at the fifty Iron Orchid Fruits.

Ever since he had bought them from Fengxia Market, he had been casting the Green Wood Eternal Spring Art almost every day to help them mature.

In the meantime, Ling Xiaobai had also hastened the maturation process for each plant.

Even so, it had still taken several months for the fruits to ripen.

Chu Ning took out a jade box that he had prepared earlier and carefully picked each fruit, placing them inside.

"Meow!"

When there was only one fruit left, Ling Xiaobai, who had been watching Chu Ning, finally couldn't resist meowing in anticipation.

Chu Ning plucked the last fruit and tossed it directly into Ling Xiaobai's mouth.

Ling Xiaobai immediately started crunching on it, making a "ka-cha" sound as she ate.

Previously, after obtaining several large spiritual fruits from the forbidden area, Ling Xiaobai had eaten one every five days and quickly finished them all.

However, after that, she hadn't asked Chu Ning for more spiritual fruits and had been content with eating spiritual rice every day.

Chu Ning had promised to give her the Iron Orchid Fruits, and it seemed that this little guy hadn't forgotten.

Leaving Ling Xiaobai in the backyard, Chu Ning returned to his room.

He prepared a small basin of water, intending to use the Iron Orchid Fruits for body tempering.

Unlike the Blood Mist Grass he had used before, as well as the Channel Cleansing Pills and Pure Yang Stone Powder he was currently taking,

The Iron Orchid Fruits couldn't be soaked in large amounts of water.

Instead, they had to be diluted with a small amount of water and then applied to the skin for absorption.

Chu Ning took out an Iron Orchid Fruit from the jade box and squeezed it, but the fruit showed no reaction.

This slightly surprised Chu Ning.

With his current tendon-refining cultivation, even the hardest of stones could be easily crushed.

To be blunt, as long as it wasn't a body cultivator, a cultivator of the same level as Chu Ning would likely have their bones broken with just a squeeze from him.

Yet, he couldn't even pierce the skin of the Iron Orchid Fruit.

"No wonder Little White was crunching so loudly when she ate it. This little guy's teeth are really hard," Chu Ning marveled as he increased his strength and squeezed harder.

"Ka-cha!"

With a cracking sound, the Iron Orchid Fruit was finally crushed by Chu Ning.

A searing sensation, starting from the outside and moving inwards, soon emerged. Chu Ning carefully sensed this feeling before beginning to cultivate the Nine Transformations Body Refining Technique.

As he cultivated, the brown juice began to seep into his body. Gradually, his skin returned to its normal appearance. Chu Ning paused his cultivation and immediately checked his progress.

【Green Wood Eternal Spring Art (Low-grade Yellow Realm), 3rd Layer (263/2100)】

【Nine Derivations Body Refining Technique, Vol. 1, Endless Sinews 133/1500】

【Refine God Technique, 1st Layer 565/1000】

The proficiency of Endless Sinews directly increased by 1 point, matching the effect of the Channel Cleansing and Tempering Pills, although the absorption rate of the latter was faster.

"Something's not right!"

Chu Ning carefully sensed the effects, feeling that the results from this fruit were even better than the Channel Cleansing and Tempering Pills.

With that in mind, he took out another Iron Orchid Fruit, squeezed it to dilute the juice, and applied it to his body once more. He then cultivated the Nine Derivations Body Refining Technique again.

Checking his proficiency again, he found:

【Nine Derivations Body Refining Technique, Vol. 1, Endless Sinews 135/1500】

"Two Iron Orchid Fruits can increase my Endless Sinews proficiency by 3 points."

At this moment, Chu Ning finally understood the effects of the Iron Orchid Fruits.

In fact, each tempering session could increase his proficiency by 1.5 points.

"If I calculate the cultivation time for Iron Orchid Fruits, it's actually not that cost-effective.

However, using these fruits does have its advantages."

Chu Ning thought to himself.

Firstly, whether it was the Channel Cleansing and Tempering Pills or the Pure Yang Stone Powder, their effectiveness decreased with repeated use.

This was clearly stated in the product descriptions he had seen before.

Based on Chu Ning's experience over this period, the Channel Cleansing and Tempering Pills' effectiveness diminished after continuous daily use for 30 days, requiring 6 pills to increase his proficiency by 5 points.

Chu Ning hadn't tried the Pure Yang Stone Powder yet, but he assumed it would have a similar effect.

Of course, this was also related to the high frequency of his usage.

After all, a typical body cultivator wouldn't be able to afford to use such high-level spiritual medicines for tempering every day.

According to the information Chu Ning had seen before at Yunhai Pavilion and the additional data provided by Jade Sea Pavilion, there was no mention of the tempering effects diminishing over time.

This implied that either the tempering effects of Iron Orchid Fruits didn't diminish, or the rate of diminution was relatively small.

Moreover, the Iron Orchid Fruits were much faster to apply compared to soaking in the Channel Cleansing and Tempering Pills, making them quite attractive to Chu Ning.

After all, Chu Ning had to balance his body refining with other cultivation techniques.

He decided to first finish the Channel Cleansing Pills and Pure Yang Stone Powder he had purchased from Yunhai Pavilion, and then switch to using Iron Orchid Fruits for tempering.

Initially, he had bought a 45-day supply of each item from Yunhai Pavilion, and he still had enough for another one and a half months.

With the additional forty-plus Iron Orchid Fruits, he would have enough for two more months.

With these three months, the newly planted Iron Stem Orchids would have about five months to grow, which was roughly enough time for them to bear fruit.

Of course, this assumed that Chu Ning and Ling Xiaobai would continuously hasten the maturation process of the Iron Stem Orchids.

In fact, Chu Ning had been doing this for the past one and a half months.

For the Golden Origin Fruits, he would usually cast the Green Wood Eternal Spring Art once a day, but for the Iron Stem Orchids, he would cast it several times a day.

Meanwhile, Ling Xiaobai stayed with him in the spirit field, fertilizing the Iron Stem Orchids daily.

Judging from their growth, Chu Ning estimated that the Iron Stem Orchids would be ready to bloom in less than a month.

Indeed, with his continuous and intense spellcasting to hasten their maturation, the Iron Stem Orchids took only half a month to bloom, much earlier than he had anticipated.

On one side, the Golden Origin Fruits had already bloomed and borne fruit, although their flowers would remain until the spiritual fruits grew larger. On the other side, the Iron Stem Orchids were now in full bloom.

The spirit field was transformed into a sea of flowers, a delightful sight.

What pleased Chu Ning the most was that, just like the one he had planted in the courtyard before, every single one of these Iron Stem Orchids had bloomed.

This meant that they would all bear fruit.

What delighted him even more was that, perhaps due to the sparse planting, each Iron Stem Orchid produced more flowers than the one in his courtyard.

Except for a few that only bore a single flower, the remaining ninety-plus plants bore at least two flowers each.

Several bore three flowers, and remarkably, one plant bore five flowers.

Each flower represented a future fruit, and just a quick count of the flowers filled Chu Ning with joy.

With this batch of Iron Orchid Fruits, he wouldn't have to worry about tempering for an entire year.

Another half a month passed, and the Iron Stem Orchids began to bear fruit as the flowers started to wither.

However, on this day, when Chu Ning arrived at the spirit field, he noticed something strange.

Twenty of the Iron Stem Orchids closest to the Golden Origin Fruits seemed different from the others.

The fruits of these plants, which were supposed to be iron-brown, had a hint of golden yellow on their skins.

Recalling the period when both types of spiritual fruits were in bloom, a thought suddenly occurred to Chu Ning.

"Could it be that the pollen of these two spiritual fruits crossbred and mutated?"

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end