Chapter 186 – Swordheart Bamboo
Gu Mo circulated the Taiyi Evergreen Sutra, and after some time, the killing intent in his eyes gradually faded. Following Xuan Tianhen on a brutal campaign hadn't just forged a potent murderous will in him—laying crucial groundwork for comprehending the Intent of Killing Sword—it had also vastly improved his actual combat experience.
For his reclusive true body, such firsthand battle experience was invaluable.
After all, Gu Mo had been facing ruthless demonic cultivators, seasoned and vicious. Their combat tactics and dirty tricks far exceeded what sect disciples typically encountered. Gu Mo himself had suffered a few losses at the start.
Fortunately, with the Nascent Soul Sword Lord Xuan Tianhen personally overseeing everything, even unexpected developments could be handled. This gave Gu Mo the space he needed to smoothly transition into the brutality of real battle.
Now that their blood-soaked campaign had concluded, Xuan Tianhen returned to the Grand yan Sword Sect with Gu Mo. From here, Gu Mo planned to split his focus: part of his attention would remain with his avatar, who would begin comprehending the Intent of Killing Sword.
As for his true body, he intended to participate in the Spirit Herb Exhibition.
Gu Mo took this exhibition seriously. Not only could he earn sect contribution points from it, but it was also the perfect opportunity to publicly showcase the Sunlit Glazed Flower. Once this spirit plant became widely known, he would no longer have to tiptoe around when using Sun Essence.
Judging the time to be right, Gu Mo, under the pained gaze of Elder Xiaohua, dug up a Sunlit Glazed Flower. He then instructed Xiaohua and Xiaoli to take care of the place before activating his Wood Element escape technique.
In the blink of an eye, Gu Mo appeared atop a platform built into an ancient tree. Numerous display pedestals lined the space, each holding a different spirit plant.
Shennong Valley disciples circled the platforms, animatedly discussing the exhibits. Some platforms were surrounded by crowds, while others were nearly deserted.
Gu Mo glanced around and soon spotted his assigned platform. His grandmaster, Hou Chunyu, had registered him well in advance.
After confirming his spot, Gu Mo produced a jade talisman to lift the formation barrier around the platform—each pedestal had one to prevent sabotage.
Such precautions weren't just for show. Long ago, Shennong Valley's spirit plant exhibits had no protections, allowing viewers to freely observe the plants up close. But some unscrupulous disciples had secretly tampered with their rivals' displays, causing the affected plants to perform poorly and receive low scores. The scandal that followed led to strict reforms.
Since then, every exhibit came equipped with defensive formations. As the saying goes, every sect rule has its story.
Of course, when it came time for sect elders to evaluate the entries, they could lift these barriers to closely examine each spirit plant and provide more accurate scores.
Placing the Sunlit Glazed Flower he'd just dug up onto the pedestal, Gu Mo left behind the plant's identifying information, then eagerly set off to explore the other exhibits.
In a sect like Shennong Valley—renowned for producing elite spirit plant cultivators—this kind of exhibition was absolutely worth attending. Sure enough, Gu Mo soon spotted a particularly familiar spirit plant: Sword Bamboo.
Back in the Qinghe Immortal Realm, Gu Mo had obtained a top-grade Wood Element flying sword, crafted from third-rank Sword Bamboo. At the time, he'd suspected it came from a master spirit planter within Shennong Valley.
Now, it seemed he'd found that very master.
Because the bamboo before him was clearly third-rank Sword Bamboo—no, something was off.
"This isn't ordinary Sword Bamboo..." Gu Mo scrutinized the plant. On closer inspection, he noticed subtle differences from the Sword Bamboo he knew.
"Third-rank Swordheart Bamboo!?"
He looked at the sign next to the plant. Every pedestal had a plaque detailing the plant on display.
To his surprise, the sign didn't say Sword Bamboo, but Swordheart Bamboo.
"Swordheart Bamboo?" Gu Mo frowned. He had never heard of such a spirit plant. Could it be a newly cultivated variant? Creating an entirely new type of spirit plant was no easy feat.
Even when a spirit planter managed to cultivate something new, most of the time the result was useless. Truly valuable new strains were exceedingly rare.
But this Swordheart Bamboo actually emitted a faint sword aura. Gu Mo possessed a sword cultivator avatar, and with that came full sensory access to sword-related phenomena. There was no way he could mistake this.
A spirit plant born with innate sword aura—this was practically the perfect material for forging flying swords.
Ding Shiyan...
Gu Mo's eyes scanned the plaque again. It listed the spirit planter's name.
So it was a senior female disciple. He wondered where she might be now. Most spirit planters stayed near their booths to personally explain their creations to other disciples.
Then again, some—like Gu Mo himself—simply dropped off their plant and disappeared.
Back at Gu Mo's platform—
A young woman in green robes with a sword on her back was staring at the Sunlit Glazed Flower in a daze.
"Who is this Gu Mo? He actually managed to cultivate a Sunlit Glazed Flower... If I could obtain some of its Sun Essence, would my Swordheart Bamboo reach new heights?"
"Senior Sister Ding, your Swordheart Bamboo is incredible! After this exhibition, the sword cultivators are going to go crazy trying to buy it," said an excited young girl who had just arrived.
Though this spirit herb exhibition was internal to Shennong Valley, the entries were always recorded and compiled afterward, then circulated.
If disciples from other sects found something they liked, they'd visit Shennong Valley to negotiate a purchase. The spirit planter who developed the new plant would then receive generous compensation.
Alchemists profited by selling pills. Artifact refiners earned their keep forging and repairing magic treasures. Spirit planters—equal parts artisan and cultivator—relied on cultivating and selling spirit plants.
Every year, Shennong Valley sold vast quantities of matured herbs to other major sects. The Taiqing Sect, Yin-Yang Sword Sect, and several alchemy-focused sects were among their largest clients.
Just by selling medicinal herbs, Shennong Valley earned a mountain of spirit stones.
Of course, aside from common herbs, rare and specialized spirit plants also had their buyers—just like how special elixirs fetched top prices for alchemists.
Take the Swordheart Bamboo, for instance. Its target audience was clearly sword cultivators.
"It's not perfect yet," the green-robed woman murmured. Her Swordheart Bamboo still had flaws and wasn't ready for market.
But at this very moment, she seemed to have discovered a way to fix those flaws. Her eyes remained fixed on Gu Mo's Sunlit Glazed Flower, unable to look away.
"No wonder they call this a top-tier spirit planter sect. Even an internal exhibition is packed with such fascinating creations."
Gu Mo marveled as he toured more exhibits. Apart from the Swordheart Bamboo, he soon came across an enormous tree—not just any tree, but a War Tree.
War Trees were classic offensive spirit plants and one of Shennong Valley's signature breeds. The sect had long invested effort into cultivating and refining their variants.
If a disciple could develop a new branch of the War Tree, the sect would buy them in bulk—and the cultivator would be rich overnight.
The variant on display was called the Howling War Tree.
Unlike the classic model, which hurled giant rocks, this version unleashed sonic attacks, inflicting wide-area damage.
"Senior Brother Yan, I can't believe your Howling War Tree succeeded. You've basically locked in first place for this exhibition!" A group of disciples surrounded a young man, showering him with praise.
Swordheart Bamboo, Howling War Tree—and Gu Mo had only scratched the surface. As expected from an elite spirit planter sect.
Continuing his tour, Gu Mo encountered many more unusual spirit plants. Some were bizarre to the point of being useless, but even those were eye-opening. The most common exhibit type by far, however, was the limit-breaking spirit plant.
These were originally capped at first rank, but through careful cultivation, spirit planters had managed to push them into the second rank. Such breakthroughs were a testament to a spirit planter's true skill.
Atop the ancient tree—
A few idle elders were chatting, their topic naturally drifting to the ongoing exhibition. After all, they would soon be the ones scoring each entry.
"Elder Gu, I heard your disciple created a new War Tree variant. Looks like he has a real shot at taking first place," one elder said with a grin.
"Other disciples are strong too. It won't be easy," Elder Gu replied modestly, though the smile tugging at his lips betrayed his pride.
As a member of the offensive spirit planting branch, the War Tree was their crowning achievement. Their entire lineage had spent years refining it.
The sect placed great importance on this spirit plant. Any successful new variant would earn generous rewards.
"Elder Hou, your grand-disciple's participating too, right?" Elder Gu suddenly turned to Hou Chunyu.
"That's right," Hou Chunyu nodded. The list of participating disciples had been circulated in advance so the elders could evaluate their work fairly.
Upon hearing this, Elder Liu Shulan's eyes lit up. Three years… That little rascal Gu Mo is finally unveiling that Torch Stump Spirit Plant, isn't he?
If so, not even the Howling War Tree would be able to overshadow it.
"Elder Hou, don't tell me your grand-disciple's trying to enter a pill in a spirit plant exhibition?" Elder Gu said jokingly.
The remark earned a few chuckles. Gu Mo's talent in alchemy was well known among the elders. His supreme-grade Vein Expansion Pills were now highly sought after—every branch wanted them, since every sect had its prodigies.
If this were a pill exhibition, no one would question Gu Mo's claim to first place. But this was a spirit plant exhibition.
"Hmph, since Elder Gu doubts me, why don't we make a wager?" Hou Chunyu gave him a cool glance.
"Oh? What's the bet?" Elder Gu asked, secretly pleased. As an old rival, he knew just how protective Hou Chunyu was of his disciples. Just a little provocation, and the man always took the bait.
"Let's wager on whose disciple's exhibit scores the highest," Hou Chunyu said, eyes sharp. "As for the stakes—how about a Wood Marquess?"
"You wish! What're you putting up?" Elder Gu's eyes widened.
"How about a fourth-rank Focus Flower?" Hou Chunyu offered.
If the War Tree was the pride of Elder Gu's line, the Focus Flower was the crown jewel of Hou Chunyu's lineage.
The name might sound unremarkable, but this flower was a core ingredient for breakthrough elixirs used to reach the Nascent Soul stage—enough to prove its worth.
Of course, only fifth-rank Focus Flowers could serve as main ingredients in such pills, but even a fourth-rank specimen was incredibly rare.
"Fine, I'll take a loss this time."
Though the Wood Marquess was still worth more, Elder Gu accepted. With victory within reach, he was willing to take the gamble.
Both men smiled as they finalized the wager. Elder Gu thought he'd tricked Hou Chunyu, but Hou Chunyu knew better—this was his trap from the start.
Once Elder Gu found out what Gu Mo had actually submitted, regret would come too late.
"Junior Sister Liu, something on your mind?" Elder Gu noticed Liu Shulan's strange expression.
"It's nothing. Time's about up—we should head down and start grading," she replied with a long sigh. Elder Gu just walked right into Hou Chunyu's trap...
"Agreed. Let's not keep the youngsters waiting," Elder Gu said, still beaming. With a new War Tree variant in hand, how could he possibly lose?
"That was amazing!"
After visiting every platform, Gu Mo returned to his own display thoroughly satisfied, ready to await the elders' scoring of his Sunlit Glazed Flower.
This exhibition was held once every three years, and already he had gained so much. What kind of spectacle would a grand spirit planting tournament—held once every ten years—be? That event wouldn't just draw from Shennong Valley, but other sects as well.
"Hmm?"
As he approached his pedestal, Gu Mo was stunned to find it surrounded—packed to the brim with curious disciples.
"Is that a Sunlit Glazed Flower?! Damn! Who cultivated this masterpiece!?"
"Is the senior around? I'd like to purchase some Sun Essence!"
"Same here!"
"Count me in!"
…
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