Chapter 17 - Chapter 17: A Dual Breakthrough

Golden Pearl Origin, within the bamboo forest. Lin Jing and the Pine Leaf Mouse rested when tired, meditating to absorb the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, recovering their energy, and once rejuvenated, they returned to harvesting. With the arrival of Senior Brother Shoulin for inspection, Lin Jing felt that time was running short for them. Both sides had a premonition that a major crisis might strike at any moment. Sure enough, they hadn't been working for long when two rainbows streaked across the sky and landed within the bamboo forest, right in front of them. The newcomers... an elder in a blue robe with a stern expression, and another elder in a black robe with a look of surprise. "Elder Yu... and Elder Mo? You're back?" Lin Jing and the Pine Leaf Mouse were surprised to see the visitors. At that moment, Elder Yu, seeing the ground covered in spirit bamboo, had a slight toothache. Were these... harvested by a Qi Cultivation first-layer disciple and a Qi Cultivation third-layer Pine Leaf Mouse? He wasn't really worried about the Spirit Stones; the main issue was... constructing the Mechanical Bamboo Dragon didn't require so many materials! "Did you guys harvest all of this?" Elder Mo looked at the red flying leaf that the Pine Leaf Mouse was holding and let out a surprised "huh," immediately noticing its uniqueness. It's a special Spirit Plant! The species is unknown. Having this for the Pine Leaf Mouse is like a cultivator wielding a magical treasure; it indeed enhances mana. But where did Lin Jing and others get this leaf? Moreover, for a Pine Leaf Mouse with low cultivation to wield such a flying leaf, the consumption must be enormous. Cutting down so much bamboo is too exaggerated; have they been doing it day and night? Such perseverance. Suddenly... Elder Mo thought of something, and his heart raced! "Reporting to the elders... yes." Lin Jing said, "To not delay the Ascending Dragon Festival, the Pine Leaf Mouse and I dared not slack off these days, sleeping only two hours a day." "Hahaha! Well done!" Next, Elder Mo laughed heartily and patted Elder Yu's shoulder, saying, "Old Yu, see how diligent the disciple I brought back is? I reckon there's enough spirit bamboo to make your Mechanical Dragon, so why not let him go back and rest?" "Don't skimp on the mission rewards..." With that, he stepped forward and summoned a cloud to whisk Lin Jing and the Pine Leaf Mouse away, leaving the bewildered Elder Yu. "Damn it! Definitely this old rascal Mo Wuya has given this Longevity Body some extra training! Otherwise, how could a Qi Cultivation third-layer Pine Leaf Mouse accomplish this?" Elder Yu cursed under his breath, "This much spirit bamboo is enough to build a bamboo dragon with Foundation Establishment cultivation." "Nobody will have it easy at this year's Ascending Dragon Festival! I'll crank up the intensity!" ... Outer courtyard. Elder Mo returned with Lin Jing, constantly sizing up Lin Jing and the Pine Leaf Mouse, probing, "Where did this red flying leaf come from?" Lin Jing said, "Elder Mo, this red flying leaf... was created by the Pine Leaf Mouse itself using its divine technique. Shortly after I formed a contract with it, it underwent a racial mutation! Disciple suspects it might have mutated in the direction of a Treasure Beast, as you mentioned!" "Treasure Beast..." Elder Mo's breathing quickened, his face flushed, "So it's true." "Yes." Lin Jing nodded, "We've been waiting for you to return, Elder Mo. Could you tell us if this situation is normal?" Elder Mo tilted his head back and laughed heartily. "Failed six pairs already, but it finally succeeded this time, hahaha..." Damn! Seeing Elder Mo's mad appearance, Lin Jing and the Pine Leaf Mouse both took a step back. Moments later, Elder Mo refocused his attention on Lin Jing and the Pine Leaf Mouse, asking, "What is its innate divine technique?!" Lin Jing said, "Glazed Immortal Pupil, with the ability to alchemize, it can transform a certain amount of low-level resources into another type of high-level resource." "Glazed Immortal Pupil?" Elder Mo said, "This red flying leaf should have been synthesized by the Immortal Pupil, right?" "Yes!" "Can you demonstrate for me?" Elder Mo looked at the Pine Leaf Mouse. At this moment, the Pine Leaf Mouse, hearing this, immediately appeared breathless, its body swaying as if about to collapse, looking at Elder Mo with tired eyes. "Makes sense, cutting spirit bamboo must have exhausted you both greatly." As he spoke, he took out a jade bottle, poured out a white pill, and tossed it to the Pine Leaf Mouse. "This is a 'Spirit Supplement Pill,' consuming it will restore you to your peak state!" "Squeak?!" The Pine Leaf Mouse happily took it, crunching down on the Spirit Supplement Pill, and in the next moment, the power of the pill turned into a stream of spiritual qi, flowing through its body. Unexpectedly, after consuming the pill, not only did the Pine Leaf Mouse's spiritual power recover to its full strength, but its eyes were also surrounded by green light, its aura surged, and it broke through to the Qi Cultivation fourth layer in one go! Moreover, Lin Jing, who had a blood pact with the Pine Leaf Mouse, finally felt what the Beast Taming feedback was like as the Pine Leaf Mouse's breakthrough made his blood boil, spiritual qi surged within, and his cultivation realm also broke through the Qi Cultivation first layer barrier, reaching the Qi Cultivation second layer! A double breakthrough! Elder Mo wasn't too surprised by the Pine Leaf Mouse's breakthrough, given its hard "cultivation" in the bamboo forest, and its innate talent, not to mention the Treasure Beast... He's not surprised no matter what happens with Treasure Beasts! Reaching the Qi Cultivation fourth layer, the Pine Leaf Mouse was once again in high spirits. It intended to synthesize another red flying leaf but suddenly noticed that the spirit beans planted in the courtyard were almost ripe. Seeing this, eager to know the effect of the synthesized spirit beans, the Pine Leaf Mouse quickly harvested, peeled the spirit beans, two, four, six... Soon, more than a hundred spirit beans were gathered on the ground. "Spirit beans, a basic Spirit Plant, have similar effects to spirit rice; consuming them can replenish a small amount of spiritual qi." Seeing this, Elder Mo nodded. And the Pine Leaf Mouse began to use the Glazed Immortal Pupil on the spirit beans! It wasn't certain if it would succeed. However, it was in luck. The Pine Leaf Mouse's Glazed Immortal Pupil shone brightly, and the pile of brown peanut-like spirit beans on the ground was instantly enveloped in emerald light, synthesizing into a fragrant, spiritually rich green spirit bean! "Elder Mo, this is the Glazed Immortal Pupil. But this is the Pine Leaf Mouse's first time synthesizing a spirit bean, and we don't yet know what the effect of this new spirit bean will be." Lin Jing eyed the green spirit bean, feeling... it seemed very fragrant and definitely enhanced. Seeing its vibrant appearance, it might have healing effects, reminding Lin Jing of the "Immortal Bean." "Hmm." Elder Mo waved his sleeve, and a Black Bear appeared drowsily in the courtyard. "Master, what's going on?" The Black Bear Monster said as if it had just been sleeping. "There's something good over there, go try it." Elder Mo pointed to the green spirit bean on the ground. "What? Let me see!" The Black Bear Monster was bewildered, its nose twitching as it immediately picked up the green spirit bean and put it in its mouth. In the next moment. Bang! The spirit bean exploded with formidable power; the mutated spirit bean had the effect of a spiritual qi bomb, making it inedible.