Chapter 289: Assigning Missions, Beginning Repayment
After focusing on completing the processing and modification of the fourth Eggplant Goblin, Yuan Zhu clapped his hands and turned to look at the three people with varying expressions.
Hmm… First, ignore Nie Yin, whose Affection Level inexplicably shot up. This mental illness’s affection grows fast and falls fast too; no need to pay attention.
Next, he looked at Yuan Tang, whose expression was slightly grave and who still maintained vigilance toward the surrounding environment, and asked, “Little Tang, what do you think of this place?”
Little Girl decisively spoke: “Dangerous, evil, makes one feel uneasy.”
Yuan Zhu combined the data feedback from Anti-Law to roughly judge the current state of the brother and sister.
They were not mortals like Nie Yin with slightly dull reactions; both had cultivated True Qi to the peak of Human Rank or even broken through. Therefore, their Perception of Disease Pollution was sharper, Resistance stronger, and instinctive reactions more intense.
The Disease Plants here posed a threat to the Bug Cultivation System.
In other words, in the Disease Garden, whether plants, air, or water sources, all were inedible, unsuitable for digestion and utilization—deadly poison and harmful substances for Insect Cultivators. Even worse than Miasma Pollution.
Otherwise, with their thrifty style of picking up scrapped chairs and wooden floors from the Haunted House, chewing them thoroughly mixed with saliva before spitting out to cultivate mouth-chewed mushrooms.
Facing such a huge garden where everything was ‘edible,’ wouldn’t they be thrilled to death?
After learning that orthodox Insect System could not effectively refine and utilize Disease System, he felt slightly disappointed. It seemed Holy Light System was truly the best, incinerating and refining Disease Pollution without any side effects, just a tiny bit life-consuming.
At this time, he continued, “So, do you think the environment here is suitable for cultivating and planting Spirit Grass? Or raising Spirit Insects?”
“(ΩДΩ)？！！”
Little Girl stared wide-eyed in shock, unable to understand Big Brother’s idea. How could such a ghostly place be suitable for raising insects or grass? There wasn’t even a speck of filthy Miasma; how could Spirit Grass absorb Polluting Energy to grow? What mouth grain could Spirit Insects eat?
So she shook her head repeatedly: “No! No! The environment here is too bad, too vicious. Not only is there no Spiritual Energy, but the malice (Disease Pollution) here is extremely strong. Even if seeds are successfully sprouted, the Spirit Medicine’s ‘medicinal properties’ would be gradually killed off, completely withering and dying, or turning into the local bizarre plants.”
“Spirit Insects are the same; they need to eat plants nourished by Reverse Life Tree, or fungi and moss nurtured by Immortal World Tree Root Tendrils from the Underground World… Without these Spiritual Energy-rich foods, Spirit Insects would lose their Spiritual Essence and become worthless. Compared to this bizarre Secret Realm, it’s better to try in the ‘Shadow Pit (Haunted House)’ outside.”
“I saw those little dwarves (goblins) curled up in balls; they could barely qualify as ‘meat fields’ for cultivation attempts. However, this Upper Realm has no Spiritual Energy for Spirit Grass and Medicine to breathe, and it’s unknown how much medicinal property the sprouted Spirit Plants could retain.”
For raising Spirit Insects, Yuan Tang had little interest. After all, she already had the Golden Cicada Alchemy Furnace; from now on, she only needed to focus on raising and strengthening it to cultivate her exclusive Alchemy Furnace. This would take her on the extremely unique Alchemist/Dan cultivator path in the Bug Cultivation System, without needing more Spirit Insects.
On the contrary, when it came to Spirit Medicine planting, she became very attentive. After all, without medicinal herbs matching Insect Pills, how could she, an Alchemist, progress? Thus, she also wanted to find a method in the Upper Realm for smooth Corpse Seed that didn’t rely on Miasma/Spiritual Energy.
At this time, Younger Brother also chimed in: “Yeah. Without Spiritual Energy (Miasma), it’s hard to keep Spirit Insects alive. Moreover, catalyzing Spirit Insect transformation requires True Qi assistance.”
Without Spiritual Energy, not only could they not raise insects or plant grass; their True Qi couldn’t be replenished either. Whether using Qi Threads to catalyze Spirit Insects or control the Alchemy Furnace, it became a big problem.
Yuan Zhu thought for a moment and said, “Insect raising plan is temporarily shelved. I have a batch of Reverse Growth Mulberry Seedlings and Pollution Root Nodules on hand. In a few days, I’ll select a pure land (Cold Pond Deep Valley) to plant them, trying to create a Spiritual Energy environment for raising insects.”
Hearing this, the brother and sister both showed longing and desirous expressions. Yuan Tang even boldly asked, “Big Brother, are you talking about the real Upper Realm? One with blue skies and white clouds, no pollution, no apocalypse, no destruction, vast clean plants, and the wonderful world of legendary animals?”
They also knew that the Haunted House they temporarily resided in was merely a hidden and safe foothold in the Upper Realm.
The clean air Yuan Zhu once described that could be breathed freely, clean water sources that could be drunk in gulps, even pure soil that could be eaten… that was the real Upper Realm.Du Ling Star.
Because their bodies’ pollution was too heavy, plus water and soil incompatibility, rejection by heaven and earth, Pale Great Law search and screening, smuggling black household status… and other reasons, they temporarily couldn’t freely enter and exit the Haunted House to appreciate the Upper Realm’s wonders.
Therefore, Yuan Tang only hoped that the ‘new home’ Big Brother found wouldn’t be dug in some sunless pit again. Drilling mud and holes in the lower realm was fine, but ascending to the Upper Realm just to drill mud—wouldn’t that be a waste?
Yuan Zhu vowed confidently: “Rest assured! It’s absolutely a beautiful paradise beyond your wildest dreams. With mountains, water, waterfalls, forests, and Misty Mountains. Fresh air, pure natural oxygen bar, free breathing, no need to worry about the body being polluted and eroded. Better than your hometown’s environment by ten thousand times!”
On this point, he wasn’t boasting. Compared to the resource-poor, harsh environment of Eclosion World, the unprecedentedly rich flora and fauna resources of Misty Mountains absolutely qualified as paradise.
At least, they could crazily devour various weeds, leaves, berries, crawlers, frogs, mice without worry… Compared to the Underground World’s awful Dung Beetle, Fluorescent Moss, Highly Toxic Mushroom, everything in Misty Mountains was top-grade green food.
The bit of mortal-world Pollution was negligible compared to the Underground World.
The two siblings, receiving the affirmative reply, suddenly felt life full of hope. Meanwhile, Nie Yin, who had been listening, couldn’t imagine how bad their ‘native world’ before smuggling was. The employer just promised to send them to the deep mountains, and they were this happy?
Yuan Zhu looked at Yuan Tang again: “Spirit Insects are temporarily abandoned, but Spirit Medicine planting can’t stop. Starting tomorrow, while following Nie Yin to learn ‘basic experimental operation knowledge,’ use the Eggplant Goblins in the villa to attempt Corpse Seed. No need to sprout all ‘seeds’; just select the types you’re most skilled with for the first batch of ‘no Spiritual Energy environment’ attempts. Um, the Eggplant Goblins allocated to you can’t exceed 10, and don’t waste them.”
Yuan Tang nodded seriously: “I understand; I’ll cherish these Eggplant Goblin little dwarves well. As for the planting varieties, I plan to abandon Spirit Grass and Medicine and start with Fungi. Though I have mastered the beginner Corpse Seed technique, I lack experience. Instead, in the past years, I’ve always been raising mushrooms at home.”
Yuan Zhu thought of the brother and sister laboriously gnawing on ‘chair legs and wooden floors’ for an afternoon. She was thrifty to the bone, reluctant to waste those mouth-chewed wood chips.
So he asked: “Among the Spirit Medicine planted in Cicada City, are there Fungi? Since you plan to start with raising mushrooms, why not up the difficulty from the beginning.”
“Yes! Of course! Big Brother, among the ‘seeds’ you brought back, there are over 20 kinds of different Spirit Mushroom spores, all meeting Corpse Seed standards. Additionally, our Animal Husbandry Village traded multiple Cordyceps Fungus and Zombie Fungus from a Nomadic Family via the Technician Alliance two months ago; all very suitable for Magic Worm.Corpse Seed.”
Speaking of Cordyceps, it was an extremely special category of Spirit Medicine in the Underground World. Innately compatible with Corpse Seed, even rumored to be the origin of Corpse Seed.
Eclosion World’s Cordyceps varieties were diverse, not just the Cordyceps in Yuan Zhu’s memory. On the contrary, this type of mycelium could parasitize various insects, nurturing Cordyceps Fungi of different forms and medicinal properties, like Cockroach Cordyceps, Locust Cordyceps, Beetle Cordyceps.
As for the other Zombie Fungus, it was akin to a close relative of Cordyceps. The difference was that mature Cordyceps Spirit Medicine had their host containers (corpse bodies) fully dead, lying motionless in place, with internal mycelium fusing and combining with nearby Immortal World Tree Root Tendrils in the soil to absorb more energy.
While Zombie Fungus hosts often had their bodies hijacked by mycelium after death, equivalent to Immortal Zombie rising from the dead. The internal Immortal Zombie Tendrils were replaced by Zombie Mycelium; the mindless fungus would hijack and drive the insect corpse body to move aimlessly, seeking nutrients everywhere, even controlling the ‘vehicle (corpse body)’ to eat other mushrooms, plundering nutrients to grow stronger.
Snake Snake: “Got it. One is Tower Defense type, rooting in place to expand nutrient intake range; the other is Vehicle mobile type, limited scale but excels in flexibility and mobility, seeking high-energy food.”
Yuan Zhu: “Can’t allocate Magic Worms to you for parasitic raising yet, but you can use Eggplant Goblins as hosts; half Cordyceps Fungus, half Zombie Fungus. Don’t let me down.”
Yuan Tang immediately said excitedly: “Guaranteed to complete the mission!”
At this time, Younger Brother weakly asked: “Brother Yuan, what about me?”
Yuan Zhu thought for a moment: “For you, don’t stay in the villa. Starting tomorrow, I’ll bring your ‘students’ into this garden; you stay here to teach them basic fighting skills, cultivating their combat experience and awareness. Later, more Goblin Strongmen will join your ‘fighting training class’; work hard.”
Yuan Tiao, who obtained a large amount of high-end secret martial arts from Cicada City, didn’t reject teaching martial arts; instead, he was eager to try.
But the problem was: “Ah?! Teach martial arts? But there’s no Spiritual Energy here; how can they cultivate True Qi?”
Yuan Zhu: “Not Cicada City’s True Qi martial arts, but Du Ling’s local basic martial arts. The Red Port Fist I taught you before.”
“That one? Just teaching such a simple martial skill is enough?”
Yuan Zhu earnestly instructed: “That’s enough. I hope the five trainees under your guidance can fully comprehend it and integrate this martial art into their instincts. Don’t skimp on the teaching; you must ruthlessly take turns beating them hard, turning the moves into ‘conditioned reflexes’ imprinted into their marrow!”
Younger Brother nodded fiercely: “Understood!”
He secretly vowed in his heart to give it his all, train his trainees well, and not disappoint Big Brother.
This poor child had just ascended to the Upper Realm less than a day ago, yet was assigned heavy physical labor. But the other three present didn’t care at all that Yuan Tiao was only just 8 years old, involving serious forced child labor.
Even Yuan Tiao’s biological older sister, Yuan Tang. In her heart, there was only gratitude and relief; Big Brother thought so highly of her and her brother, entrusting them with such important work and high hopes.
What else could the siblings do? Of course, they could only work diligently with full gratitude—thankful! Brother Yuan’s kindness could never be repaid!
After assigning the mission, Yuan Zhu let the three move freely. Pay attention to operating the [Holy Flask] to release Holy Light protection for themselves, and they could also drive the [Uniform] to isolate Disease Pollution.
The three didn’t run far; instead, they stayed nearby, seriously observing the aid in modifying (tormenting) the [Eggplant Goblins] (pending). They continuously fed ‘Eyeball Fruit’ into their mouths to accelerate Disease Erosion; at the same time, they ‘physically sealed (stitched shut)’ the [Holy Flask] in the abdomen to counter the Disease Pollution.
Getting excited, he pulled out [Brain Eggplants] one by one and inserted them into the Eggplant Goblins’ heads. This batch of Brain Eggplants hadn’t loaded [Labor Skill] or [Fighting Skill], but instead loaded the [Holy Knight Breathing Method] adjusted by Miao Miao.
Since they had become [Fallen Seal. Lewd Flask Human Pillar Force], they could fully attempt the ‘Fallen Holy Light Breathing Method’ to regulate and control the [Lewd Flask Dantian] in the abdomen, extracting ‘Holy Cough Particles’ to circulate through the body, reinforcing the body and resisting Disease invasion.
…
Nie Yin saw Yuan Zhu’s research aptitude from these [Eggplant Goblins]; this was a thoughtful Employer, using these pitiful ‘Goblin experimental subjects’ to verify immature hypotheses.
Meanwhile, the two siblings focused on the [Holy Flask] and the Fallen Holy Light Breathing Method that the Eggplant Goblins were passively operating. This [Breathing Method] seemed similar yet different from the [Qi Refining Technique], as if they were variants of the same source, greatly attracting Yuan Tiao’s attention. And faint sparks of inspiration emerged from it, though he couldn’t grasp them.
As for the Eggplant Goblins passively operating the [Knight Breathing Technique], they failed to harness ‘Fallen Seal Holy Light’ to reinforce flesh strength as hoped; instead, the Conflict between ‘Holy Light’ and ‘Disease’ in the lungs intensified further, causing them to start coughing blood and vomiting blood madly.
Yuan Zhu: “This is…”
Snake Snake observed every change in the Eggplant Goblin’s body through the [Artificial Stupidity Program] and said: “We’re too eager for quick success. The [Breathing Method] can be tried with the [Holy Flask], but that’s inside pure ‘blank Goblins’ with only one type of [Holy Light Pollution].”
“This [Eggplant Goblin] is too complex. It has [Shadow. Eggplant Parasite] reinforcement inside; it consumed Disease Fruit, leading to perverse flesh reinforcement; finally, a [Fallen Seal Flask] was sealed in the abdomen releasing Holy Light. Three pollutions of varying strengths stand in a tripod inside the body, conflicting with each other. After [Breathing Method] stimulation and reinforcement, its ‘lungs’ can’t bear it and start spurting blood.”
Yuan Zhu: “It seems the [Pollution Systems] can’t coexist.”
Both labeled by ‘Shadow Pollution,’ theoretically one family. But [Shadow. Eggplant Parasite] seriously Conflicts with [Frog-Type Pollution] and is unilaterally crushed and rejected.
Now, a similar situation. Disease and Holy Light—only one can survive.
As for [Shadow], due to its threat index being too low (weak), it can always coexist well with any [Polluting Energy]. And through [Ghost Companion Supernatural Ability], it labels them, completing the naming. Such as: [Shadow System. Extreme Warrior], [Shadow System. Sword Immortal], [Shadow System. Knight Order]…
Yuan Zhu: “This [Shadow System] is purely giving away for free, naming sponsorship. It doesn’t change the essence of [Extreme Warrior, Sword Immortal, Knight…].”
Snake Snake: “But it allows the [Great Desolation Immortal Scripture] to successfully invade these hosts’ bodies, observing and recording cultivation data from different [Supernatural Systems]! And don’t you think this [Shadow Pollution]’s free ‘naming’ behavior is perfectly suited for the [Anti-Law Great Dao]?”
The unmoving [Shadow. Armor] and [Shadow. Flying Sword] refined by the Tiger Demon essentially still belong to the [Power Path, Sword Immortal System] ‘seeds’ and cannot be integrated into the Tiger Demon’s [Shadow System].
But these ‘supernatural crystallization (seeds)’ labeled with [Shadow] can be lent out through [Anti-Law. Shadow] to users like ‘Extreme Warriors, Sword Cultivators,’ etc. Cultivate and grow them stronger, harvesting high-level clients (thugs).
