Chapter 219 – The Effect of Sun Essence on the Dao Seed
The Sun-Glazed Glass Flower Field.
Gu Mo and Qi Chunde's figures appeared within. After proposing the idea of using Sun-Glazed Glass Flowers to enhance the growth of his Gold Core Dao Seed, Gu Mo had brought Qi Chunde directly to his own flower field.
Truth be told, ever since he had left this Sun-Glazed Glass Flower Field in Xiaohua's care, Gu Mo hadn't paid much attention to it.
Now, returning after some time, he discovered that the flowers were thriving, their growth lush and vigorous—clear proof that Xiaohua had truly devoted herself to tending them.
After all, the Sun-Glazed Glass Flowers collected the power of the sun, which she could then trade with Gu Mo for delicious treats. Naturally, Xiaohua was highly motivated.
"Master!"
A golden koi darted swiftly toward him upon seeing Gu Mo's arrival. On its back lay a palm-sized little figure fast asleep—none other than Elder Xiaohua herself.
"Xiao Mo!"
Awakened by the koi's call, Xiaohua rubbed her eyes, then lit up with joy the moment she saw Gu Mo. "Xiao Mo, look at this flower field! How's my management?"
"Excellent."
Gu Mo nodded approvingly. As a Fourth-Rank spirit plant sprite, Xiaohua was inherently equivalent to a Fourth-Rank Spirit Planter. Managing a field of Third-Rank Sun-Glazed Glass Flowers was no challenge at all.
"Hm? Little Qi, did you come to play with Senior Sister too?" Xiaohua finally noticed Qi Chunde and greeted him happily.
"Mm."
Qi Chunde gave a vague reply, his mind completely overtaken by the sight before him.
These Sun-Glazed Glass Flowers—long thought to have gone extinct—were actually blooming here in an endless stretch.
"Xiaohua, go and fetch some Solar Energy," Gu Mo instructed.
Watching how naturally Gu Mo ordered her around, Qi Chunde finally understood why there were rumors that Gu Mo could even command sect elders.
"On it!"
Xiaohua happily darted into the flower field. In no time at all, she floated back with a small bottle in her hands, proudly showing off the fruits of her labor.
"Master, try this. See if this Solar Energy can help nourish your Gold Core Dao Seed." Gu Mo handed the bottle to Qi Chunde.
"Very well!"
Since it concerned his Dao Seed, Qi Chunde quickly focused, accepted the bottle, and absorbed the sunlight-like essence within.
"It works—remarkably well!"
Moments later, Qi Chunde's eyes shot open, glowing with hope. With this Solar Energy aiding him, the growth of his Gold Core Dao Seed was several times faster than before.
And that was only from a small bottle. With more of this Solar Energy, his progress could accelerate even further.
With such assistance, Qi Chunde felt confident that within ten years his Dao Seed would sprout, allowing him to step into the Nascent Soul stage.
From a future that had once seemed utterly out of reach, to only ten years away—that was an earth-shattering leap.
"Master, then try this as well. This is Sun Essence, refined from Solar Energy." Seeing the effectiveness, Gu Mo immediately took out a portion of Third-Rank Sun Essence and offered it to him.
"You brat… how extravagant."
Qi Chunde couldn't help but mutter. Refining Sun Essence from Solar Energy consumed an enormous amount of the precious energy.
Yet as he gazed at the Sun Essence, his Dao Seed stirred restlessly within him, yearning for it. A Dao Seed was no dead object, but a seed brimming with life.
Suppressing the surge of desire, Qi Chunde accepted the Sun Essence—he would not lose composure in front of his disciple. Then he refined and absorbed it.
His expression instantly slipped out of control.
The Sun Essence's effect on his Dao Seed was vastly greater—ten times more potent than the Solar Energy.
This meant that if he consumed one portion of Sun Essence every day, in less than a year his Dao Seed would sprout.
And beyond sheer speed, the Sun Essence even improved the Dao Seed's latent potential.
And this was not even the limit. All his current projections were made without factoring in the fusion of the Sun-Glazed Glass Flower's primal force—the "genes" Gu Mo had mentioned. If he were to merge with that primal power as well, the Dao Seed's growth would only become faster.
After witnessing Qi Chunde's firsthand results, a smile tugged at Gu Mo's lips. To him, Third-Rank Sun Essence was no longer scarce.
He could casually produce hundreds of portions at a time—and not as a total stock, but hundreds of fresh portions every single day.
Unfortunately, what he truly needed was Fourth-Rank Sun Essence, and those he could only obtain ten portions of per day. That was already thanks to his cave-heaven's high-level spirit fields; if he had relied solely on Xiaohua's meager three acres of Fourth-Rank farmland, sustaining even ten Fourth-Rank Solar Flowers would have been impossible.
Gu Mo wondered if giving his master Fourth-Rank Sun Essence might directly trigger his Dao Seed's sprouting.
But after a moment's thought, he dismissed the idea. Though he now had a Fourth-Rank Sun-Glazed Glass Flower to explain the source, a single plant could not provide enough material for a meaningful supply in the short term.
Besides, Third-Rank Sun Essence was already more than sufficient for a Gold Core cultivator.
Better to let his master accumulate steadily with Third-Rank Sun Essence, and only if any accident occurred later would Gu Mo use Fourth-Rank Essence as the final push.
As they left the Sun-Glazed Glass Flower Field, Qi Chunde several times opened his mouth but held back.
How shameful it felt—that a master should end up relying on his disciple's aid. From the beginning, Gu Mo had received little guidance from him; all his cultivation had been self-taught. Now, to be supported in return by his disciple left Qi Chunde's heart heavy with guilt.
"Master, you must hurry and grow stronger, so you can become your disciple's backing." Gu Mo, sensing his master's feelings, smiled lightly. "Ever since I started cultivating Sun-Glazed Glass Flowers, the demonic sect has been eager to eliminate me."
"Hahaha! Then watch closely, disciple. Soon, your master will show you the might of the Myriad-Laws Tree." At the mention of the cultivation path he himself had created, Qi Chunde's chest swelled with confidence once again.
As long as his Gold Core Dao Seed sprouted and transformed into the Myriad-Laws Tree, Qi Chunde was confident he could rightfully claim the title of invincible among his peers. Within the Nascent Soul realm, there would be none who could threaten him.
With that, Qi Chunde took the ten-plus portions of Third-Rank Sun Essence Gu Mo had given him and went into seclusion to cultivate. Gu Mo, of course, claimed they were simply stockpiled from earlier.
Were it not for the small scale of the Sun-Glazed Glass Flower Field, making it suspicious to produce too much at once, Gu Mo could have easily provided Qi Chunde with several hundred portions outright, allowing him to complete the nurturing of his Dao Seed in one stroke.
Still, even at the current pace, within a year Qi Chunde's Dao Seed was sure to sprout.
In the following days, Gu Mo instructed Xiaohua to deliver Sun Essence to Qi Chunde every few days, accelerating the Dao Seed's growth.
Meanwhile, Gu Mo continued focusing on his great farming enterprise within his cave-heaven.
Inside the cave-heaven space—
"Phew… finally, it's more or less complete." Gu Mo let out a long breath. Looking at the vast golden fields of Solar Flowers before him, a smile spread across his face.
After relentless effort, Gu Mo had finally managed to plant Solar Flowers across half of his cave-heaven's spirit fields, arranged in a tiered structure by rank.
The largest area was filled with First-Rank Solar Flowers, followed in succession by fields of Second-, Third-, and finally a much smaller patch of Fourth-Rank Solar Flowers.
Though the essence condensed from these low-ranked flowers no longer had much effect on Gu Mo's own cultivation, they still served important purposes—most notably, purchasing new plants.
The vending machine counted all Sun Essence equally by portion, regardless of rank, making First-Rank Essence the most cost-effective for this purpose.
Second-Rank Essence also had its use: expanding the black mist space. Over this period, Gu Mo had widened the cultivation chamber considerably, increasing the number of flowerpots to eight—enough to upgrade eight plants simultaneously.
Third-Rank Essence had a broader range of applications. It could be refined into top-grade Solar Yang Pills, offered to Qi Chunde to aid his Dao Seed's growth, used as payment to direct Xiaohua's work, or even fed to Xiao li as food.
Of course, what Gu Mo valued most was Fourth-Rank Sun Essence. That was the true resource that could rapidly elevate his own strength.
Unfortunately, his supply of Fourth-Rank Solar Flowers was still limited. At present, he had only ten plants. Still, as their numbers grew, his ability to upgrade and cultivate new Fourth-Rank flowers would increase exponentially—until he reached the maximum capacity of the cave-heaven fields.
Naturally, that limit had to be halved. Gu Mo intended to reserve the other half of his fields for battle-type plants.
After all, even if his cave-heaven were filled entirely with Solar Flowers, what would happen in an emergency? He couldn't very well defend himself with flowers alone.
This was why, even now, Solar Flowers occupied only half the cave-heaven. The other half was left for combat-oriented plants.
Only when both halves were fully cultivated would his cave-heaven truly be complete—balanced in farming value and combat readiness.
As Gu Mo lived a peaceful life tending fields in Shennong Valley, sudden news swept through the cultivation world.
"A mighty cultivator's cave-dwelling has appeared?"
As one of the greatest sects, Shennong Valley's intelligence network was formidable. Given Gu Mo's status, he naturally received the information at once.
According to reports, at the border between righteous and demonic lands—on the side near the demonic sect—a cave estate left behind by an ancient mighty cultivator had been discovered.
Treasures beyond count were said to lie within. Many cultivators could attest to this much: through the outer restrictions, they had glimpsed spiritual tools and even Condensation Pills [used for advancing to Nascent Soul].
And if such things were visible even from outside, then who knew what greater treasures might lie deeper within?
Unfortunately, though tempting, the cave's restrictions were equally formidable. Still, formation experts had determined that the barrier weakened briefly once each month. During that time, even a Gold Core cultivator could enter.
Afterward, they would only need to endure another month before they could leave with whatever they had secured.
Gu Mo skimmed the intelligence report, then tossed it aside without hesitation. Clearly, he had no interest in the so-called treasures of that cave.
Condensation Pills? He had no need. The moment he obtained his Fourth-Rank Solar Flowers, the bottleneck to advancing into Nascent Soul had ceased to exist.
In fact, he still had a full set of Condensation Pill ingredients on hand. When he found the time to refine his alchemy skills further, he could simply make one himself.
As for spiritual tools, those did pique his curiosity somewhat—but not by much. After all, he already possessed the Golden Flood-Dragon Shears, a spiritual treasure. Even without its spirit, it far outstripped ordinary spiritual tools.
What truly lacked was a strong flying sword for his sword cultivator avatar. Still, his avatar's master, Xuan Tianhen, was already searching for a suitable spiritual flying sword for him.
Normally, for Gold Core cultivators, a top-grade magical treasure was considered peak equipment, while spiritual tools were typically reserved for Nascent Soul True Lords. Yet Gu Mo's sword cultivator avatar already had combat strength on par with a Nascent Soul Sword Lord. If paired with a spiritual tool, his power would rise another tier.
Beyond relying on Xuan Tianhen, Gu Mo had also made his own preparations. Long ago, he had acquired a top-grade ice-element flying sword. After years of tempering in icy flames, it had begun to develop a hint of spirit—already a quasi-spiritual tool.
With proper nurturing by the avatar, it had a strong chance of becoming a true spiritual tool.
In addition, Gu Mo had obtained several stalks of Fourth-Rank Swordheart Bamboo from the cave-heaven ruins, which could be used as material for refining a spiritual flying sword.
He had previously shown them to Ding Shiyan, who confirmed they were indeed Swordheart Bamboo. Her own inspiration for cultivating Swordheart Bamboo had come from an ancient text, proving that the plant had once existed in the distant past before mysteriously vanishing.
The rediscovery of such a long-lost plant left Ding Shiyan elated, as it offered tremendous aid in perfecting her own Swordheart Bamboo techniques.
Because of this, Gu Mo granted her access to the Fourth-Rank spirit field he rented from Xiaohua, so she could closely observe the Swordheart Bamboo at any time.
As the saying goes, each art has its master. Ding Shiyan's expertise in Swordheart Bamboo far surpassed Gu Mo's. With so many other responsibilities demanding his time, he simply couldn't afford to spend energy on studying the plant himself.
Better to invest in her research directly. If she succeeded in restoring the Fourth-Rank Swordheart Bamboo, sword cultivators across the cultivation world would surely go mad with desire.
After all, Fourth-Rank Swordheart Bamboo was an outstanding material for forging spiritual flying swords.
As for the Fourth-Rank Solar Flowers once planted in Xiaohua's spirit field, Gu Mo had already transplanted them into his cave-heaven. He had no fear of exposing his secrets.
And as for the other Fourth-Rank spirit plants brought back from the cave-heaven ruins, Gu Mo's current identity and standing were more than enough to safeguard them. After all, they were officially planted in Elder Xiaohua's field. Who would dare covet a Nascent Soul late-stage cultivator like Hou Chunyu's junior?
With such protection, Gu Mo's secrets were secure.
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