Chapter 82: Harvesting The Garden, Gods And Demons Transaction!
“You, go eat grass. You, go eat dirt! You, go drink the puddles on the ground. And you, catch the blood water drifting down from the sky with your mouth. The last one, don’t just stand there dumbfounded, quickly go gnaw on tree bark.”
“Eggplant eggplant eggplant!”, “Buddha buddha buddha!”……
The five Eggplant Head Ghosts all received the orders excitedly and pounced on the long-starved mutated flowers, plants, and vegetation, rampaging wildly in the Disease Garden.
Although Eggplant Head Ghost Companions are shadow lifeforms, strictly speaking, they also have half plant bloodline (Mad Tomato), which pairs quite well with this flesh Disease Garden.
Eggplant Head No. 1 curiously plucked an Eyeball Flower, tossed it into its mouth. After just a few chews, the pitch-black Tomato head showed a pained expression, with all the eyes on its face trembling violently and rolling back their whites.
It pounded its chest and clawed at its throat, then collapsed to the ground struggling and convulsing, coughing desperately and spewing out mouthfuls of black blood mist. In no time, it trembled and crawled back up.
It spat repeatedly while charging into the bushes vengefully, yanking up strange flowers and plants, and continued chewing and swallowing them viciously. Then it coughed and bled in agony again, looking like a fool who never learns from mistakes.
“Snake Snake, what’s up with this guy? Did it go mad from the poison of the mutated flowers and plants?”
Little Spicy Stick reported: “After eating the ‘Eyeball Flower’, it was eroded and twisted by external Disease Pollution, damaging its Origin. But the invading Disease Pollution was also worn down and digested by the denser Shadow Pollution. In the end, with one loss and one gain, it received slight Reinforcement and a minor Improvement in Resistance to ‘Disease Pollution’. That’s why it’s foolishly coughing blood and eating chaotically. Overall, it’s adapting and slowly getting stronger. But its internal Pollution attributes are also shifting toward ‘Disease’. It needs to digest and consolidate, thoroughly Shadowifying the absorbed ‘Disease Pollution’ before starting the next round of feeding.”
According to Little Spicy Stick’s data analysis, the Eggplant Head Ghost Companion began adapting to ‘Disease Pollution’ bit by bit starting from sharing the Polluted brain of the ‘Wooden Doll’.
Shadow Ghost Companions and Disease Plants are not in opposition; they are two unrelated Polluting Energies, each with their own Evil and Filth.
When the Shadow System forcibly contacts and devours the other side, the two Pollutions erupt in Conflict, causing damage, while also creating intersection, grinding and probing each other until successfully absorbing the other.
This situation is embodied in the ‘Eggplant Head Ghost Companion’. The Universe Within The Belly slowly digested and absorbed the ‘Mad Tomato’, refining out Ghost Companions inheriting Mad Tomato characteristics. Now, they are beginning to devour small amounts of ‘Disease’, bit by bit refined and incorporated by Shadow.
Looking back at the Holy Seal, it’s different: first burn it to Ash with Holy Light, then absorb and cast the seal bit by bit. Let the Holy Seal gestate entirely new Holy Light Skills carrying ‘Disease Pollution’ characteristics.
And his Holy Light and even Sanctuary will henceforth have stronger Targeted nature, Resistance, and Imprisonment Effect against Disease System Pollution.
On Du Ling Star, it’s hard for one person to span and compatibilize multiple Pollution Systems. But after mastering one System, other ‘Pollutions’ can be diluted and weakened, refined and digested as Nutrients, making one’s own ‘Pollution’ grow stronger.
While he was lost in thought, one Eggplant Head Ghost was too greedy and didn’t gnaw on the tree bark while clinging to the trunk; instead, it climbed up and plucked a blackened ‘Heart Fruit’ from the branches of a flesh monster tree, swallowing it into its belly.
“Eggplant eggplant eggplant—!”
Soon, it fell painfully to the ground, coughing madly and violently, unable to withstand the Outbreak of Disease Pollution. It coughed harder and harder, coughing out its Internal Organs without stopping, and the black Tomato head rapidly shriveled, coughing out large amounts of blood mist.
After melting into a puddle of gelatinous medium several times and reforming into a new Ghost Companion, it still couldn’t escape the ‘Disease’ torment, continuing a new round of mad coughing up blood… The internal ‘Shadow Pollution’ was rapidly Suppressed by ‘Disease Pollution’, beginning to alienate and deform.
And Tiger Demon’s control over the Ghost Companion grew weaker and weaker; this stupid thing was gradually reverse-refined by ‘Disease Pollution’. Stranger Pollution kept invading, its proportion increasing. The Eggplant Head Ghost grew large amounts of mutated flesh tissue, showing colors other than black, and even its texture was becoming less like a Ghost Companion.
“Huh? Did it eat too much and get reverse-polluted and refined?”
Tiger Demon slapped the ground, and roots of ‘Nutrient Pipes’ shot out from the shadows, inserting into the backs of the five Ghost Companions to deliver ‘Shadow Pollution’ and bolster their foundations.
The other four were fine, but this overfed Ghost Companion No. 5, not knowing what talent it activated, began drawing massive amounts of Polluted Aura from the air of the Disease Garden, confronting Tiger Demon.
In the end, it simply exceeded its own capacity limit and exploded on the spot, turning into a puddle of constantly coughing black mud. Tiger Demon also severed the connection with the ‘Ghost Companion’, only recovering a small amount of ‘Dataized Soul Pollution fragments’.
“This is?”
Looking at the clump of ‘Active Black Mud’ in its palm, it realized this thing was the Ghost Companion’s extraordinary characteristic + Data Soul fragments, recording a small amount of talent information, which could be used as Evolution Data to give to other Ghost Companions to enhance potential.
The reason No. 5 exploded was insufficient potential; the absorbed Pollution exceeded the Refinement and capacity limit, ultimately bursting it open.
Now, that puddle of still-coughing black sludge retained dense Shadow Pollution, but it no longer absolutely belonged to Tiger Demon.
Tiger Demon had already recovered the core essence of the Ghost Companion. Now this clump of Pollution Source, if it wished, could contend for ownership, achieving secondary Pollution assimilation and claiming it. But it could also ignore it, watching its own ‘Shadow Pollution’ proportion slide bit by bit.
However, Tiger Demon chose to abandon it; the reason was simple—it was too disgusting!
This puddle of coughing black mud, besides Shadow Pollution, had even stronger Disease Pollution attributes and was even starting to breed entirely new ‘Disease Plants’.
While Tiger Demon used Ghost Companions to devour and absorb Disease Plants, this Disease Garden was also devouring its scattered Shadow Pollution, attempting to gestate entirely new ‘Polluted Fruit’.
The nature of this clump of black mud was similar to the Demonic Creatures pre-prepared meal he had abandoned in the Yellow Springs Pond at Vajra Temple. It was just that this pre-prepared meal was too disgusting, full of pathogens; Tiger Demon had no interest in recovering (devouring and refining) it.
Little Spicy Stick jumped out at this moment: “So interesting! Pollution Sources are essentially unrelated, forming their own Systems and operating independently. Yet they can contact and influence each other, assimilating and devouring one another bit by bit, plundering and absorbing the other to grow stronger and optimize themselves.”
Tiger Demon: “Ghost Companions can eat the plants in this Garden, but they can’t overeat and absorb. Otherwise, insufficient foundation leads to indigestion, exploding on the spot, completely losing control, and wasting Ghost Companions for nothing. Holy Light can also purify Pollution and refine Ash, but burning life with life can’t last. Even with my Boss Template for health recovery, the Refinement efficiency is still limited; I can’t burn away such a large Garden.”
However, Tiger Demon could refine more Ghost Companions; more Ghost Companions mean more Power, eating the Garden together. Eat small amounts frequently, digest and absorb bit by bit, thoroughly assimilate and devour with Shadow Pollution, then start the second round of feeding… Cycle repeatedly until the Garden is eaten empty.
Similarly, although Holy Light Seal Casting is slow and troublesome, as ‘Disease Ash’ increases, its own Resistance and Targeted nature grow stronger, Refinement efficiency also increases accordingly, ultimately evolving Holy Light and Holy Seals that counter Disease Pollution, achieving rapid advancement.
Anyway, the Price paid behind the scenes is transferred and paid by Tiger Demon.
The only flaw of both is: slow!
If it can’t empty this Garden in a short time and gets noticed by the behind-the-scenes owner, there’ll be no more chance to squander this Pollution Resource.
The silver-haired girl (Game Sprite) in his mind suddenly raised one finger: “Hey! I have an idea—can we pick ‘Disease Fruit’ and sell it in the Space of Gods?”
Yuan Zhu was stunned, then praised: “Snake Snake, you’re such a little genius!”
They created a third way to harvest the Garden: sell Resources directly for money. “But if the behind-the-scenes black hand also has an account in the Space of Gods and sees its own crops being sold by outsiders, won’t it send people here to check?”
Game Sprite: “Then how about we stockpile a batch first and hide it? Refine the Garden on one side while transferring Resources on the other. Once exposed, flee at light speed and quickly cash out. If not discovered, occupy the Garden secretly, manage it covertly, and use public resources for private gain.”
Yuan Zhu’s eyes lit up: “Hey! Not sure if that Old Temple Priest in the Rain Courtyard has a strong background? Maybe we can redirect the disaster eastward, sell this Space to them to refine into a Holy Light version ‘Blessed Earth Immortal’. Pit the behind-the-scenes black hand against the Holy Church, and we can make a big profit, watching from afar.”
“Boss is brilliant!”
Yuan Zhu never had the idea of monopolizing the Garden; this Space came with karma, occupying it would turn it into a disaster, a handle for continuous attacks. Instead, if they could sell it off while it’s ownerless and find a buyer tough enough, not only make big money but also offload the karma. Wouldn’t that be perfect?
“Captain is right; connections are important. If I befriend many Bubble World Demon Gods, I could hold a Sacrifice Ritual, inviting Evil Spirits for a ‘Garden Auction’, inviting Evil Gods to bid on this Spirit Layer little Garden, to settle on Du Ling Star and expand Demon God influence.”
At this thought, Yuan Zhu not only felt no fear of the karma behind the Garden but ignited burning Ambition.
Under the temptation of Wealth and Power, his brain was unprecedentedly active, one bold Money-Making Inspiration after another flashing and bursting, only regretting insufficient Strength to quickly cash them in.
This Du Ling Star is truly full of opportunities everywhere. Casually clearing a Haunted House yields such a big business. This deal is worth it!
“Boss, you’re right! If worst comes to worst, sell this Garden to Mao Mao King, let her raise Bugs here! Such a great Garden, brimming with vitality and thriving life. Look at this sky, vibrant red and purple, auspicious and fortunate; look at this ground, fertile land, abundant and rich. A natural Bug nurturing Blessed Land!”
Game Sprite shamelessly praised against her conscience. Her Boss was just so excellent; he turned a major disaster into opportunity, grasping it to create astonishing value—future is promising!
After hearing Little Spicy Stick’s nonsense, Yuan Zhu was equally astonished; you’re too damn good at using idioms.
Looking up at the blood-red tumor clouds and purple-black vein patterns—isn’t that the ‘vibrant red and purple, auspicious and fortunate’ cloud patterns? Then look at the pulsating flesh ground, with rich meat chunks drilling out from the Soil. ‘Gao’ originally means oil seeping from livestock fat, ‘Yu’ means plump meat quality. Isn’t this Garden’s ground ‘fertile land, abundant and rich’? All so fat it’s dripping oil.
Just wonder if the buyer, after seeing the site and comparing this sales pitch, will flip the table?
Mao Mao King: (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻ Big liar!
Yuan Zhu flattered: “Friend Yu Jingzi, your wisdom cuts through mysteries, pointing straight to the true essence of the Dao, profoundly enlightening! I’ve learned from you.”
“No, no. It’s all thanks to Boss’s great leadership.”
