When Li Ye saw the seed, his heart stirred slightly, but he maintained a calm expression as he said,
"So you claim this is a seed from the ancient tree, possessing the potential of a Heaven and Earth spiritual root… But how can I be sure it's genuine? What if you're just spinning tales to fool me?"
Hearing this, Tang Qingquan wasn't angered. Instead, he chuckled and said,
"Fellow Daoist's concern is quite understandable and something our store anticipated. Since you're also interested in purchasing a method for identifying spiritual plants, we happen to have a secret technique that can discern the properties of unknown flora. Whether this is truly a Heaven and Earth spiritual root or not, you'll know once you try it yourself."
As he spoke, he quoted a price for the identification technique.
"Hmph, you've certainly thought this through..." Li Ye muttered in feigned displeasure. "Fine then. I'll learn this technique and test it myself before we continue."
"Hahaha! Truly generous of you, Fellow Daoist!"
Tang Qingquan laughed and immediately took a solemn vow, then handed over a jade slip.
Li Ye held it to his forehead and swept his divine sense over it, quickly absorbing the contents. He couldn't help but be inwardly impressed.
The technique looked simple on the surface, and easy to learn, but every word was precise and layered with subtle complexity. Its origins were extraordinary.
He sat in thought for a moment, then opened his eyes. Forming a hand seal, he sent a beam of spiritual light into the seed.
The white glow immediately turned a vibrant green, branching into patterns that faintly formed the shape of a tree perfectly matching one of the Heaven and Earth spiritual root signs described in the technique.
"It's real…" Li Ye spoke with rising excitement. "Very well! Name your price!"
"Since you've made up your mind, I'll tally up the total along with the other items…"
Tang Qingquan gave the quote.
Li Ye's expression instantly darkened. "Such an outrageous price! Are you trying to rob me?!"
"That is a Heaven and Earth spiritual root seed, exceedingly rare and valuable. It naturally won't come cheap..." Tang Qingquan replied with a helpless look.
But Li Ye shook his head repeatedly. "Shopkeeper Tang, don't go overboard. After all, now that this seed is out of the secret realm, there's no guarantee it can even survive in the outside world. How can you charge a price as if it were a genuine article?"
Hearing that, Tang Qingquan's cheerful smile faltered for a brief moment but he quickly waved his hand and said,
"Our Treasures Pavilion always deals honestly and fairly. We never raise prices without reason. But since you insist, I'll make some concessions..."
After a round of haggling, the two finally settled on a more reasonable price.
Li Ye took out a pouch of mid-grade spirit stones. After counting and finding them insufficient, he hesitated briefly before adding in some low-grade pills, talismans, and spiritual herbs to make up the difference.
He played the part of a desperate buyer scraping together every bit of his savings perfectly.
"Safe travels, Fellow Daoist Ye. We look forward to your next visit..."
Tang Qingquan cheerfully saw Li Ye off. Once the door closed behind him, his grin widened.
"Another one fooled..."
He leisurely made his way back upstairs, a smug expression on his face.
"This guy even realized the seed might not survive outside the secret realm, but still couldn't resist gambling on the chance. I thought this deal was going to fall through…"
"Pity that was the last one. If only I had a few more customers like him, I'd have passed this year's performance review in no time!"
In truth, their clan had long tested these seeds. After months of effort and countless methods, none had been successfully cultivated.
They ultimately concluded that the seeds likely didn't belong to this world at all unable to survive outside the secret realm, making them nothing but ornamental curios.
Aside from one still planted for ongoing experiments and another kept for the family archives, the rest were promptly distributed to branch stores across the nation to be sold off to unsuspecting suckers.
...
"Even a seed of a Heaven and Earth spiritual root like this is being put up for sale… There must be some hidden issue I don't yet know about..."
Back in his inn room, after fully activating the temporary restrictions he had set up, Li Ye took out the newly purchased ancient tree seed and placed it beside the original one. Frowning, he began to ponder.
He had already used the secret technique to verify both seeds, and the phenomena shown were identical nothing seemed amiss.
"Could it be… this thing is just incredibly difficult to grow?"
A possibility dawned on him.
After all, with the nature of those Foundation Establishment clans, there was no way they'd let such a treasure go easily if it were truly viable!
"No matter… I've got two seeds now, and I know exactly where they came from. I'll just run some experiments myself!"
He stored away one of the seeds carefully, then cast several spell techniques in succession onto the other.
Once the effects were absorbed into the seed, he took out the Blackwood Sword, infused it with spiritual power, and made a cut on his right arm. Without hesitation, he embedded the treated seed directly into the wound.
Smack!
He slapped on a high-grade Healing Talisman and channeled his energy to close the skin and muscles over it. Moments later, the wound was fully healed leaving only a slight bulge.
This was the Plant-Body Fusion Technique!
Previously, after collecting various spiritual plant seeds, Li Ye had chosen to use this secret method on a mushroom called Faint Sporeshroom, inspired by the potent effect of Zimo Powder he had seen used during a past battle. He implanted its spores beneath his skin, fully assimilating it and keeping it alive in a dormant state.
That's right in the world of cultivation, mushrooms and fungi were classified as spiritual plants too!
Originally, Li Ye simply wanted to take advantage of the mushroom's natural traits to silently spread the Zimo Powder poison through its spores.
But surprisingly, once the spores had successfully taken root, a notification from the system popped up:
[You have successfully cultivated a Tier-1 spiritual plant "Faint Sporeshroom" using an advanced method, activating its vitality. Due to its dormant state, no feedback can currently be received…]
The minor experience gained didn't matter much.
The key was that the attempt had succeeded proving that plants grown using the Plant-Body Fusion Technique could trigger system enhancements!
This opened the door for Li Ye to eventually customize a variety of spiritual plants tailored to his body, placing them in different areas to grant various supportive effects.
And now, with his own body as the testing ground, he could directly see whether this ancient tree seed was capable of surviving!
He could already feel the seed drawing from his life force under the influence of the preset spells, and a smile began to spread across his face.
"If this works… considering how that ancient tree was able to suppress a realm-crossing portal, this might just bring me an incredible surprise!"
No one knew how long it would take for such a Heaven and Earth spiritual root seed to accumulate enough vitality. After finishing all the preparations, Li Ye stopped monitoring it and instead pulled out a jade slip.
"Bone-Shifting and Flesh-Morphing Technique... Once mastered, it allows one to alter their skeletal and muscular structure so convincingly that even a Foundation Establishment cultivator's divine sense can't tell the difference. Let's see if it lives up to the hype!"
He murmured to himself and began carefully studying the technique.
As time passed, Li Ye suddenly set down the jade slip.
With his blood and energy flowing, his body began contorting into all sorts of strange poses, accompanied by crackling and popping sounds. His bones gradually shifted, his frame alternately contracting and expanding an eerie sight.
But after a while of continuous attempts, his new form finally stabilized.
Standing before a mirror, he stared at his reflection… and with subtle adjustments to his skin and facial structure, even his features began to change.
Soon after
A man appeared in the room: slightly shorter, slimmer in build, with a hooked nose and a cold, sinister aura about him.
He looked nothing like the Li Ye from before.
Li Ye gently touched this unfamiliar face and, gazing at the shadowy figure in the mirror chuckled.
"With my high body cultivation, learning this technique was far easier than expected..."
"Hahaha! From now on, this identity shall be known as… the Blackwood Daoist!"
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