Chapter 301 - 263: Tier Six Spiritual Plant: Heart-shaped Fruit Tree

Inside the Big-Mouth Flower’s mouth, it was dark and damp, but not much else. There was even a fresh fragrance, invigorating to the senses.

He had learned from the Mother Tree that there were two passages inside the Big-Mouth Flower’s mouth. One led to its digestive system—basically a dead end—while the other led to an internal space, the nursery.

’Follow the light to reach the nursery...’ Su Ze committed the Mother Tree’s words to memory and pursued a faint glimmer of light in the darkness.

At the same time, he sent out his Perception Tentacles, remaining vigilant for any potential danger.

Following the light, Su Ze and Mr. Ya soon found themselves in a narrow passageway. The surrounding walls had the texture of plant roots and were covered in a damp, sticky mucus.

The path was narrow at first, barely wide enough for one person to pass. But after a few dozen steps, it suddenly opened up. The dim light grew brilliant, revealing a vast, brightly lit space before them!

This was where the ship’s owner cultivated plants, so it naturally needed ample sunlight for photosynthesis.

Su Ze could sense that the sunlight here shared the same source as the light in the "Lighting Room." However, it lacked the powerful effects of the Lighting Room’s super-sunlight; it was more like a toned-down version.

However, the advantage of this light source was its stability. Plants basking in it long-term would surely benefit greatly.

Although the light in the Lighting Room was intense, it was short-lived. Su Ze guessed that prolonged exposure to light of that intensity would burn or even kill the plants.

The nursery’s light source came from a tube-like apparatus on the ceiling.

The nursery was a vast space. The ground beneath Su Ze’s feet was soft earth, and the fresh air carried the clean scent of soil and vegetation.

A single glance revealed the entire nursery was filled with all sorts of plants, arranged in neat rows and columns.

’This isn’t a nursery, it’s a botanical garden...’ The plants here were strange and varied; no two were alike.

Some looked so bizarre that Su Ze wondered if they were even plants. For instance, there was a tree with bark like a turtle’s shell, and a long, slender thing that twisted about like a worm. ’Are we sure that’s not just a giant, rooted earthworm?’

However, a set distance was maintained between each plant, preventing them from touching. Some were even isolated in individual transparent glass enclosures.

Mr. Ya’s eyes widened as he scanned the area. When he saw a tree emanating a seven-colored light, he started to step forward for a closer look, but Su Ze quickly held him back.

Su Ze didn’t dare to make any sudden moves. He had received a warning from the Mother Tree: some of these plants were extremely dangerous and should not be touched under any circumstances.

There were no ordinary plants in this nursery; they were all Spiritual Plants, and Spiritual Plants possessed intelligence.

Since Su Ze and his companion were not the ship’s owner, it was highly likely the Spiritual Plants would attack them.

They could only approach and interact with the Spiritual Plants that were confirmed to be less aggressive or had lower evolutionary levels.

"What do all these Spiritual Plants do?" Su Ze asked the Mother Tree.

There were so many Spiritual Plants, including many High-tier Spiritual Plants. Su Ze had no doubt that the fruits of some of them were potent natural medicines.

Besides, nearly all Spiritual Plants on Blue Star had medicinal properties and could be used in pharmaceuticals, so the ones here should be no different.

The problem was, these were all alien Spiritual Plants. Su Ze didn’t recognize any of them. Even asking Liou Wenxin or other evolutionists for help would be pointless; no one had ever seen these extraterrestrial flora.

He could only ask the Mother Tree, hoping this "unfavored" servant had been taught something by her master.

As expected, the Mother Tree’s answer was a disappointment.

She said, "I’ve told you before, I’m merely a residual consciousness, not as erudite as you imagine. Furthermore, most of the Spiritual Plants here are my master’s experiments. Aside from a few precious specimens he collected, the rest are all variants he cultivated through grafting, hybridization, and mutation. They long ago ceased to be the common Spiritual Plants found throughout the universe.

"Therefore, I cannot determine the effects or medicinal properties of the vast majority of them."

"The vast majority? So that means there’s a small portion you *do* know about?" Su Ze seized on the key phrase and pressed her.

"My memory contains information on some of the unmutated Spiritual Plants. You can walk past them one by one, and I will let you know when I recognize one. But remember, stick to the middle of the path and keep your distance from all of them. Otherwise, you could be attacked at any moment."

"Alright," Su Ze agreed. He told Mr. Ya to stay close and set off from one corner of the nursery, following a systematic path to ensure he didn’t miss a single Spiritual Plant.

Once inside, Su Ze discovered that the spacing between the Spiritual Plants varied.

The ones planted closer together were likely less aggressive, so the ship’s owner hadn’t worried about them "fighting" each other.

Conversely, those planted farther apart were probably more dangerous.

Su Ze saw a particularly beautiful and eye-catching flower. Even he, a person normally indifferent to flowers, couldn’t help but marvel at its beauty. Its fragrance alone was intoxicating. Yet, there wasn’t a single other plant within a ten-meter radius of it.

Other plants were enclosed and isolated by a transparent material of unknown composition, either because they were excessively fragile or exceedingly dangerous.

The ship’s owner had also created different growing environments for different plants. The soil they grew in was not uniform, a fact made obvious just by the variations in color.

Some plants didn’t grow in soil at all; they were rooted in stones of indeterminate material or submerged in liquids of various colors.

The light intensity they received also varied. The tube-like light source overhead was somehow able to project beams of different strengths onto different areas.

Su Ze noticed that some plants received no light at all.

Some of the Spiritual Plants had already withered and died, presumably from lack of care.

Su Ze made a full pass, going by three rows of Spiritual Plants—seventy or eighty different types in total—but the Mother Tree remained silent the entire time.

’You don’t recognize a single one out of all these Spiritual Plants?’

’You really weren’t a favorite!’

Of course, Su Ze only dared to say that in his head.

As Su Ze walked past a large water tank, he noticed a plant that looked like a stalk of kelp swaying and dancing in the water.

The Mother Tree, silent until now, finally spoke up. "This aquatic plant is known throughout the universe as the ’Winding Snake.’ It’s a natural medicine that greatly enhances physical flexibility. After consuming it, you can bend your body into any position you can imagine and perform any movement you can conceive of."

’It doesn’t sound incredibly useful, but it’s not bad,’ Su Ze thought. ’And it might come in handy if I get married someday...’

Just as Su Ze was wondering whether he should pick it, the Mother Tree continued, "By your Blue Star standards, it’s a Tier Five Spiritual Plant. It specializes in entangling its enemies and strangling them to death. Against foes that don’t need to breathe, it will simply twist their heads right off."

Su Ze silently took a step back. ’A useless, trash Spiritual Plant. Better to leave it alone.’

Su Ze continued his way through the nursery. As he approached a fruit tree, the Mother Tree spoke again:

"This is a Heart-shaped Fruit Tree. It’s a good-tempered and polite tree. If you give it a bow, it will allow you to pick three to five of its fruits. The fruits are called Heart-shaped Fruits, and they are an excellent medicine for the Assistive Digestion of Evolutionary Materials."

"How do Heart-shaped Fruits compare to the Ten Thousand Miles Ginseng?" Su Ze asked.

The Ten Thousand Miles Ginseng was the most effective digestive aid he had encountered so far.

"A Tier Five Heart-shaped Fruit is more than twice as effective as a Ten Thousand Miles Ginseng."

Su Ze swallowed hard. "So is it three or five? And what happens if I pick more than five Heart-shaped Fruits?"

"Whether you get three or five depends on its mood. Pay close attention to the color of the other fruits on the Heart-shaped Fruit Tree. If they’re red, it’s in a good mood. If they start turning green, its mood is souring. If they become completely green, that’s your cue to run. If you pick more than five, you will experience the wrath of at least a Tier Five Spiritual Plant.

"Also, don’t even think about using a clone to pick the fruit. It will see that as a sign of insincerity."

Su Ze frowned. "What do you mean, ’the wrath of *at least* a Tier Five Spiritual Plant’? What tier is this Heart-shaped Fruit Tree?"

The Mother Tree replied, "Over three hundred years ago, it was on the verge of becoming a Tier Six Spiritual Plant. By now, it most likely is one."

’A Tier Five Heart-shaped Fruit is already more than twice as effective as a Ten Thousand Miles Ginseng... What about a Tier Six one?’

Su Ze sized up this "treasure tree." The Heart-shaped Fruit Tree had no branches or leaves—just a bare trunk. But this trunk was covered in clusters of red, heart-shaped fruits.

’I have to be polite!’

As a polite, well-mannered university student, Su Ze gave the Heart-shaped Fruit Tree a respectful bow. In response, the tree’s straight trunk bent a full ninety degrees, returning the gesture.

’What a polite tree.’

Seeing that the Heart-shaped Fruit Tree was so proper, Su Ze’s apprehension eased considerably. He boldly walked up to the tree, picked out a fruit that looked particularly large, and plucked it.

The Heart-shaped Fruit looked a bit like a large cherry, but in the perfect shape of a heart.

Seeing no reaction from the Heart-shaped Fruit Tree, Su Ze picked two more.

With three Heart-shaped Fruits in hand, Su Ze reached for a fourth. As he did, he noticed the fruits on the tree were beginning to shift from deep red to green.

’Is it getting angry?’

’Stingy tree!’

’There are two or three hundred Heart-shaped Fruits on this tree! What’s the big deal if I pick a few more?’

Su Ze reached out and plucked a Heart-shaped Fruit that was now tinged with green.

At that moment, the fruits continued to change, turning a mix of half-red and half-green all over the tree.

’They’re not completely green yet, so it won’t attack me...’ Gritting his teeth, Su Ze plucked the fifth Heart-shaped Fruit.

He then beat a hasty retreat to a safe distance before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

Looking back at the Heart-shaped Fruit Tree, he saw that all its fruits had now turned almost entirely green.

Su Ze had no doubt that if he had dared to pick a sixth, he would have been attacked by the stingy tree.

"Actually," the Mother Tree suddenly said, "the green Heart-shaped Fruits are more effective than the red ones."