[Ding! Detected Second-Grade Spirit Grass: Cyan Spirit Grass. Grade is insufficient. Life Essence quality is too low. Unable to convert to Evolution Points.]
Cyan Spirit Grass. âSo itâs a Second-Grade Spirit Grass. No wonder.â
Only Third-Grade and higher Spiritual Plants had Life Essence that he could absorb.
Chu Sheng looked around. This entire area seemed to be filled with Second-Grade Spirit Grass.
Although parts of the area had been blocked from his Nether Vision earlier, Chu Sheng had still managed to get a clear look at the structure of the entire Spirit Plant Garden.
The entire Muâs Spirit Plant Manor was roughly oval-shaped and divided into sections like concentric circles.
Each section was isolated from the others. The closer a section was to the center, the higher the concentration of Spiritual Qi, and, evidently, the more High-Level the Spirit Grass planted within.
He was currently in the outermost ring, which was planted with the most Low Level herbsâSecond-Grade Spirit Grass.
Second-Grade Spirit Grass was useless to him. Chu Sheng immediately gave up on the area and jumped back into the small hole heâd made.
âTime to dig deeper!â
...
Soon, another small hole appeared on the ground of the second ring of Muâs Spirit Plant Manor.
Chu Sheng crawled out and took a look around.
Just as heâd expected, this ring was filled with Spirit Grass of the Third and Fourth Grades. Red Sun Grass, Glowing Orchids, Three-leaf Spirit Flowers... There were some Chu Sheng didnât even recognize, but the Spiritual Qi they radiated was undoubtedly Third-Grade or higher!
These Spirit Grasses had different effects and functions; some were even poisonous. But in Chu Shengâs eyes, they were all the same: Evolution Points!
âItâs really time to start feasting!â
Chu Sheng eagerly rushed toward a patch of Three-leaf Spirit Flowers.
[Ding! Detected Third-Grade Spirit Grass: Three-leaf Spirit Flower. Absorbing Life Essence...]
[+4 Evolution Points]
âNext!â
[Ding! Detected Third-Grade Spirit Grass: Three-leaf Spirit Flower. Absorbing Life Essence...]
[+3 Evolution Points]
âNext...â
[+4 Evolution Points]
[+3 Evolution Points]
[+3 Evolution Points]
[+4 Evolution Points]
[+5 Evolution Points]
Chu Shengâs Evolution Points shot up. In his wake, large patches of Spirit Grass completely lost their spiritual properties and began to wither.
One might ask, why not just dig deeper and drain the more High-Level Spirit Grass?
This was because... although the Life Essence from the Spirit Grass could be directly converted into Evolution Points without needing to be "digested," the absorption process itself still took time.
While High-Level Spirit Grass contained more Life Essence, it also took longer to absorb.
Right now, it only took Chu Sheng a few seconds to absorb a Third-Grade Spirit Grass. All things considered, the efficiency of absorbing these grasses of the Third and Fourth Grades was no lower than that of absorbing High-Level Spirit Grassâit might even be higher.
Besides...
...Chu Shengâs goal today was total annihilation! In other words, he was going to suck every last one of them dry!
As long as he wasnât discovered, he would drain them for all they were worth. His plan was to start from the outer rings and suck his way toward the center!
If this had been any other familyâs Spirit Plant Garden, he might have exercised some restraint and left a few behind.
But the Mu Family? âHeh!â
[+4 Evolution Points]
[...]
...
While Chu Sheng was frantically draining the Spirit Grass...
...inside a room at the Muâs Spirit Plant Manor, a young man was engrossed in a game on his phone.
As it happened, this person was none other than Mu Linyuan.
Mu Linyuan was an illegitimate son, and after being brought back to the Mu Family, he was treated with even more disdain.
Originally, his status in the clan would have been elevated had he become the Champion Scholar of the Tri-Province Examination. But he failed, and to make matters worse, heâd used up the clanâs Life-Saving Magical Artifact.
As a result, he was placed in confinement upon his return home.
His father, however, took pity on him and found him a task so he could atone for his failure. That task was to guard the Muâs Spirit Plant Manor.
The security at the Muâs Spirit Plant Manor was extremely tight, making this an incredibly easy job. All Mu Linyuan had to do was lie low here for a while, and heâd be allowed to return.
Inside the room, Mu Linyuan held his phone, muttering curses.
"Yao, get over here and support me..."
"Fuck, this moron jungler, I canât even... Do you even know how to play?!"
Just then, a middle-aged man approached him.
"Young Master Mu, itâs time for the patrol."
In addition to various surveillance and security measures, a full patrol of the Mu Manor was conducted every two hours.
Since only members of the Mu Family were allowed into the core area, the patrol had to be led by one of them.
But Mu Linyuan had no time for that.
He continued cursing at his game, replying impatiently, "Yeah, yeah, I know. Iâll go in a bit."
"Seriously, this place is so secure not even a mosquito could get in. Is patrolling really necessary?"
With that, he turned his attention back to his phone.
"Yao, wasnât that play awesome? Wanna be my partner?"
"Fuck, lost again! Next game! Iâll definitely carry you to a win next game!"
"Just one win. As soon as I get one win, Iâll go on patrol!"
The middle-aged man watched this, hesitated for a moment, then simply shook his head and left.
...
...
...
Within the Mu Manor.
An hour later, Chu Sheng finally stopped.
Why?
Because he had drained every last mature Spirit Grass in the second ring!
He glanced back. Aside from the immature stalks, eighty percent of the Spirit Grass had lost all their Spiritual Qi and were now withered and decaying.
âDid I absorb... about a thousand of them?â
The systemâs notifications had been ringing nonstop, and Chu Sheng hadnât even bothered to count how many Evolution Points heâd gained in total.
[Statistics compiled for Host. Total Evolution Points gained in the last hour: 4,100.]
[Current Evolution Points: 5,422]
âHoly shit!â
âIâve struck it rich! Iâve really hit the jackpot!â
Chu Sheng stared at the numbers on the status panel, his eyes practically bulging out of his head.
A whopping 4,100 Evolution Points! Heâd never had such a satisfying haul before!
He now had enough Evolution Points for his next full evolution! He could even use the surplus to upgrade his Skills.
âAwesome!â
âIâd just like to say thank you, from the bottom of my heart... to the Mu Clanâs Spirit Plant farm!â
...
ăMeanwhile.ă
At the Thunderfall Sacred Land of the Lei Family, one of the Ten Great Clans of Hong Kong Island.
Gu Yuexi emerged. A sharp glint flashed in her eyes, and a seven-colored, tangible manifestation of Mental Power briefly appeared between her brows before quickly melting back into her body.
Patriarch Lei Wanjun of the Lei Family hurried to greet her. Witnessing this, his eyes flashed with shock.
âSuch condensed Mental Power... Iâve never seen anything like it. She is truly worthy of being the future Empress! It was worth opening the Lei Familyâs sacred land for her Cultivation.â
"Congratulations, Miss Lin, on your Mental Power reaching a new level!"
"To think that in just one day, your Mental Power has already broken through to the Third-Grade... Such talent is truly befitting of a future Empress. No one in all of Hong Kong Island can compare!"
Lei Wanjun said with utmost respect.
Gu Yuexi nodded.
"Thank you for your generous hospitality, Patriarch Lei. I, Lin Zhixia, will surely repay this favor in the future."
Upon hearing this, Lei Wanjun was naturally overjoyed.
Gu Yuexi soon took her leave. She was preparing to head to another clan to continue her Cultivation using their resources.
She had only taken a few steps when she suddenly stopped and frowned.
âWhat is that wretched mosquito up to? Why is it so... happy? I can actually feel its joyful emotions from here!â
âHmph. Go on, enjoy yourself for now. Just you wait. In a few days, youâll be right in the palm of this Empressâs hand!â