Chapter 34: Young Clan Leader! Do not let down the love of the old man's daughter |
However, this time the ordinary disciples didn't dare to make a move.
Spirit mushrooms were a welfare for ordinary disciples, and core disciples didn't compete much for them. As for the leaves of the Tree of Longevity, the elders and senior brothers didn't care much either. It was considered reasonable to pick up one or two leaves if you were lucky, like finding a loophole.
This had become an unspoken rule over time.
But the bark of the Tree of Longevity, and the fruits of longevity, these were not something ordinary disciples could touch.
"The bark of the Tree of Longevity must not be hoarded privately, it all goes into the public treasury," Brother Yuzhe reacted at this moment and immediately shouted, "Anyone who disobeys will be expelled, have their study points deducted, and be confined."
Hearing this, although the ordinary disciples were envious, they could only obediently retract their gazes and began to collect spirit mushrooms again.
Fortunately, although they didn't get a share of the fruits and bark of the Tree of Longevity, the spirit mushrooms under the tree were thriving due to the spiritual tide, not only abundant in quantity but also larger and of better quality than in previous years.
Soon, the baskets on the backs of the three of them were filled with spirit mushrooms.
While they were picking spirit mushrooms, several figures wearing the robes of core disciples also appeared under the Tree of Longevity, including Brother Jinshan.
However, he was not the oldest one there.
Beside him, there were several core disciples who looked much older than him, conservatively estimated to be in their eighties or nineties, or even over a hundred years old, each with profound energy and unfathomable cultivation.
Changchun Valley had always had no shortage of talents, but most of its disciples preferred to stay indoors, cultivating various plants and researching various plants, and it was common for them not to be seen for ten or eight years.
Now with the spiritual tide erupting and various anomalies appearing on the Tree of Longevity, many deeply hidden core disciples had emerged.
And as these core disciples appeared, five or six middle-aged men dressed in elder robes also flew in from various directions, one after another landing under the Tree of Longevity.
The elders of Changchun Valley were mostly homebodies, usually staying in their own territory and not moving much, but now they were also disturbed by the commotion of the Tree of Longevity and came out one after another.
"What a strong Yimu spiritual tide," the most powerful elder among them couldn't help but stroke his beard and sigh upon seeing the scene before him, "This old man hasn't seen such a scale of spiritual tide for over two hundred years, and moreover, an extra fruit of longevity has actually formed. Truly a rare event~"
His hair and beard were all black, and he wore a dark green jade crown on his head. Although he looked middle-aged, he was actually over three hundred years old, one of the elders with the deepest seniority in Changchun Valley.
"The eruption of the spiritual tide is a good thing~" Another elder with black hair and beard laughed heartily, "With this, the growth rate of the various spiritual plants in our Changchun Valley will be even faster."
The Tree of Longevity was rooted in a top-grade wood spiritual vein, nourished by the spiritual vein, and every few years, it would expel the excess mystical spiritual energy it couldn't digest, forming a "spiritual tide."
Because this mystical spiritual energy had already been transformed by the Tree of Longevity, it could be directly absorbed by plants, so it was greatly beneficial to the growth of spiritual plants.
This "spiritual tide" was also a major feature of Changchun Valley.
And these elders, whose hair and beards were all black and didn't show their age, were another major feature of Changchun Valley.
Because of the characteristics of the "Changchun True Scripture," the elders generally had longer lifespans, with most of the elders in the Tianren Realm living up to four hundred years. If they had the chance to consume a fruit of longevity, it was unknown if they could exceed their lifespan limit.
However, because the fruit of longevity had the effect of increasing lifespan, it was often eyed by various big shots as soon as it appeared, and although the elders of Changchun Valley had the advantage of location, they might not necessarily get a share.
Therefore, the Ancestor of Changchun always had to secretly collect them and then save them up.
While they were talking, these five or six elders had already reached the crowd.
Brother Jinshan quickly led the disciples to greet them, bowing to each one.
"Greetings to the elders."
"Oh, it's Jinshan~" The elder wearing the dark green jade crown stroked his beard and smiled, "I heard from the master that the secular affairs of Changchun Valley are now managed by you?"
"Reporting to the elder," Brother Jinshan replied promptly, bowing his head and answering with a calm demeanor, "I am just handling some trivial matters for the master, and for any major issues, we still rely on the elders to make decisions."
Over the years, he had been working hard to change his sleazy temperament, striving to close the charm gap with Wang Shouzhe, and find a girlfriend sooner. Moreover, after so many years of cultivation and imitation, he believed he had already acquired seventy to eighty percent of Brother Shouzhe's aura.
However, although he appeared calm on the surface, he still couldn't help but grumble in his heart. If it weren't for the elders in the valley being too reclusive and lazy, why would the master throw the secular affairs to him?
"That's very good," the elder with the dark jade crown nodded upon hearing his words, "Since the master is not here, this extra fruit of longevity belongs to me."
However, as soon as he finished speaking, the other elders disagreed.
"How can this be?"
"The ownership of the fruit of longevity is not something you can decide on your own, is it?"
In the blink of an eye, the elders started arguing, each wanting the fruit of longevity.
No wonder, the treasures that could extend life in this world were rare, and the fruit of longevity appeared once every hundred years, with an extra one occasionally during a spiritual tide, making it a relatively stable output.
For the elders in the Tianren Realm who had lived a long time, the sense of crisis regarding their lifespan was already very strong, and who wouldn't want to live another ten or eight years?
Moreover, although the effect of the fruit of longevity on the Tianren Realm was not very strong, it could still enhance the lifespan by ten or eight years, and it was usually difficult for ordinary elders to enjoy it.
Now that the Ancestor of Changchun was not present, how could they not compete for it?
Brother Jinshan watched the elders and core disciples arguing with a speechless expression. These elders were usually nowhere to be seen, holed up in their nests growing old. But now that the fruit of longevity had appeared, each of them wanted it.
"Cough cough~" Brother Jinshan clasped his hands and said, "The fruit of longevity is a sacred medicine, Jinshan thinks it should be collected into the storehouse first, and then decided upon when the master returns."
"That's right," Li Yuzhe also said, "Even if we want to distribute it privately, we should at least give it to us young core disciples, right? The fruit of longevity should be enjoyed by Lingtai Realm cultivators to maximize its effect."
The other core disciples also echoed one after another.
Hearing the core disciples and elders confronting each other, Sister Bailin and the other ordinary disciples all consciously shut their mouths and acted as if they hadn't seen anything.
Although strictly speaking, the fruit of longevity was actually best enjoyed by Qi Cultivation Realm cultivators, with the most significant effects on strengthening the body, cleansing the marrow, and extending life. After consuming the fruit of longevity, Qi Cultivation Realm cultivators could live to over a hundred years old even if they couldn't break through to the Lingtai Realm.
But this was the precious fruit of longevity, and they had no right to compete for it.
Among the "ordinary disciples," only Wang Zong'an watched the scene with great interest.
He had also heard about the fruit of longevity.
It was said that although the Tree of Longevity was the spiritual plant of the Ancestor of Changchun, it had actually been passed down for several generations and was even older than the history of Zifu Academy.
Moreover, Changchun Valley had a strange rule: the successor of each generation was not designated by the master, but chosen by the "Tree of Longevity." Whoever could inherit the "Tree of Longevity" would be the next valley master of Changchun Valley. And this successor, no matter what their original name was, would inherit the title of "Ancestor of Changchun" after taking over.
And the fruit of longevity was one of the few treasures in the world that could extend the life of ordinary people.
It was said that his father had once obtained a fruit of longevity, and after Ancestor Long Yan consumed it, it replenished the lifespan she had lost due to her injuries.
The fruit of longevity could nourish the body from the inside out, which was the fundamental reason it could extend life, but compared to extending life, its effect on replenishing lost lifespan was actually better.
Moreover, the fruit of longevity could also be used in medicine, combined with other treasures that supplement essence, to refine the Pill of Longevity. A skilled alchemist could produce seven to eight Pills of Longevity in one batch.
The Pill of Longevity was a fourth-grade medicinal pill, each worth about thirty thousand Top Gold, almost on par with the Heavenly Spirit Pill. However, after being refined into the Pill of Longevity, although the overall value greatly increased, the individual effect would be greatly weakened, only having a significant effect on mortals below the Lingtai Realm.
How to choose would depend on the needs.
The reason Wang Zong'an knew so much was that his father had brought back some "Pills of Longevity" from the academy to the family, helping some of the older elders extend their lives.
After all, those elders had given so much to sustain the family and cultivate the younger generation. Now that the family had grown stronger, it was naturally time to give back to them. The time that had passed could not be reclaimed, but allowing them to enjoy a few more years of peace was also good.
Therefore, Wang Zong'an's interest in the fruit of longevity was naturally greater than that of ordinary disciples.
However, before the elders and core disciples could argue to a conclusion.
Suddenly.
The green fruit on the branch of the Tree of Longevity suddenly shone brightly.
The light was bright but not dazzling, instead, it was exceptionally soft, and it also carried a peculiar rhythm, like breathing, deep and shallow, slow and prolonged.
"Eh?" An eagle-eyed elder noticed the anomaly and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "This fruit of longevity that has formed this time is different from usual, it seems to be a 'spirit seed'!"
"Spirit seed?"
Everyone's attention was drawn over.
The elders who had witnessed the fruit of longevity all showed surprised expressions.
Sure enough, this fruit of longevity was indeed somewhat unusual.
Every species has the need and instinct to reproduce offspring and expand its population. If not, that species would have most likely disappeared in the long river of history.
The Tree of Longevity, as a special spiritual species, naturally also had this need. At such times, the fruit of longevity it produced would be different from usual, with a spirit seed contained within the flesh.
This spirit seed could be nurtured and cultivated into a new sapling of the Tree of Longevity. This sapling would grow over time, and after a certain number of years, it would become a new "Tree of Longevity."
However, it is not easy for the Tree of Longevity, a high-level spiritual species, to breed offspring, requiring a lot of time and cost.
Therefore, it often takes hundreds of years to nurture a "spirit seed," and most of the fruits of longevity it produces only have flesh and no spirit seed core.
Thus, when the "spirit seed" appeared, everyone's eyes lit up with fervor.
If one could obtain a spirit seed of the Tree of Longevity, they could nurture it into a spiritual plant, especially suitable as a "life-bound spiritual plant."
You should know that wherever the Tree of Longevity takes root, it will become a place of spiritual gathering. Even if it takes root in some desert areas, it will gradually gather spirits and improve the soil, eventually evolving into a "life oasis."
In addition, if you have the Tree of Longevity as your life-bound spiritual plant, you can gradually improve your physique to achieve the effect of extending your life.
Among the great powers with Yimu bloodlines in the past, there were not a few who took the Tree of Longevity as their life-bound spiritual plant. Among them, except for a few who accidentally fell in battle, the rest had long lives, often able to outlast their opponents.
Besides, the Tree of Longevity also has a certain combat capability.
Like this old Tree of Longevity, it has already reached the pinnacle of the eighth order, equivalent to the peak cultivation of the Zifu Realm in humans. If it really started fighting, the Ancestor of Changchun, as the owner of the Tree of Longevity, would be pressed to the ground and rubbed by it.
In addition, the Tree of Longevity has another huge advantage.
That is, during group battles, it can act as a mobile spring, providing continuous healing ability within a certain range.
With such various advantages, it was natural for the core disciples of Changchun Valley to be extremely excited.
As for those older elders, while they were envious, they all sighed with regret, lamenting their missed opportunity.
With their age and potential, plus they already had their own life-bound spiritual plants, it was basically impossible for them to obtain the spirit seed of the Tree of Longevity.
Not to mention, at least the old Tree of Longevity would not be willing.
Who would hand over the spirit seed that they had painstakingly nurtured to an old man who was already halfway into the soil?
Previously, Changchun Valley had always kept a spirit seed of the Tree of Longevity until the appearance of Little Sister Luwei, when the Ancestor of Changchun decided to pass the spirit seed to Little Sister Luwei.
But Little Sister Luwei did not refine the Tree of Longevity into her life-bound spiritual plant, but just nurtured it as an ordinary spiritual plant.
The reason was simple: when Little Sister Luwei was picked up, she was holding a strange green rose spiritual plant. When she advanced to the Tianren Realm, she chose that green rose spiritual plant as her life-bound spiritual plant, so naturally, she could no longer refine the Tree of Longevity into her life-bound spiritual plant.
"Disciples under a hundred years old, the opportunity for our younger generation has arrived," Brother Jinshan said excitedly, "But there is only one spirit seed of longevity, and we all want it. We should come up with a procedure."
"Brother Jinshan, we can't just fight like the other peaks and veins to decide the winner, can we?" Li Yuzhe said, "If we do that, wouldn't we young disciples be directly eliminated?"
"Of course, we can't decide the winner by fighting," Brother Jinshan said, "Having the qualification to nurture the spirit seed of longevity is a great honor, requiring a lifetime of care for the spirit seed. The two most important factors concerning the growth of the spirit seed are first, you need to have money, you need a lot of money to buy resources to cultivate the spirit seed. Second, your nurturing technique must be strong, so that the spirit seed can develop better. In that case, why don't we compare who has the better nurtured spiritual plant?"
Brother Jinshan's words made sense, and most of the core disciples and outstanding disciples nodded in agreement. A few who were not good at nurturing spiritual plants and relied on their martial prowess wanted to object, but they couldn't stand against the majority of disciples.
Soon, everyone's opinions were unified, and they dispersed to fetch their nurtured spiritual plants.
Any core disciple of Changchun Valley in the Lingtai Realm would nurture their own spiritual plant.
If there were no special changes, when they cultivated to the Tianren Realm, these long-nurtured spiritual plants would be refined by them into their life-bound spiritual plants.
After two hours, these core disciples returned one after another with their spiritual plants.
There was no helping it, most spiritual plants were large in size and difficult to move, and their own movement speed was extremely slow. They needed to crawl out of the spiritual soil where they were nurtured and then move over slowly using their root systems.
This was the sadness of not having a space of restful soil; spiritual plants could not be carried with you. This also restricted the combat power of the disciples of Changchun Valley.
After several hours, by noon, people finally gathered again.
They brought back all kinds of strange and curious spiritual plants.
Brother Yuzhe took the lead and jumped out: "Everyone, take a look at my spiritual plant — the Fire Dragon Fruit Tree."
As his words fell, a Fire Dragon Fruit Tree about five or six zhang high moved its huge root system forward several zhang, and then the roots thrashed into the soil.
In just a moment, the Fire Dragon Fruit Tree completed its rooting.
Then it took advantage of the surging spiritual tide around it and began to absorb energy desperately.
It stood tall on the ground, looking majestic, with some green or red fire dragon fruits growing on its branches, with the red ones indicating that they were about to ripen.
Brother Yuzhe looked at the Fire Dragon Fruit Tree with a proud expression, as if he was displaying an excellent work.
"Yuzhe, this kid, has nurtured this Fire Dragon Fruit spiritual plant quite well~"
"Not bad, not bad, it seems that although Yuzhe is young, he has an excellent talent for nurturing spiritual plants."
The elders of Changchun Valley might not be good at other things, but they were quite proficient in plants, and they could tell the quality at a glance. There was no one more suitable than them to be the judges at this moment.
Li Yuzhe's Fire Dragon Fruit Tree received a lot of praise from the elders.
Even Wang Zong'an was watching with great interest.
The Fire Dragon Fruit was quite an interesting combat plant, with its fruits having a decent explosive power when they burst.
It was just a pity that he had not started nurturing his own spiritual plant yet, and he couldn't go up to display and compete, fearing that he would miss out on the spirit seed of the Tree of Longevity.
However, just as he was thinking this.
Suddenly.
An old and profound voice rang in his ear.
"Young man, you're not bad. This old man's precious daughter will be nurtured by you~ Remember to refine her into your life-bound spiritual plant when you reach the Tianren Realm, sharing life and honor, together through thick and thin. Just don't be like that heartless girl Luwei, betraying my young daughter."
What?
Wang Zong'an was stunned.
Is this, is this a hallucination?