Binding and Harvest

The clamor of the market gradually faded into the distance. Li Ye wrapped his thin outer robe tighter around himself and looked up at the icicles hanging beneath the eaves.

Moonlight spilled across the icicles, giving them a dim blue sheen. He gently breathed out a puff of white mist and pushed open the creaking wooden door.

A wave of warmth poured out from inside, instantly dispelling the chill from his body.

Cultivators were supposed to be impervious to heat and cold, but that only applied to normal cultivators with vigorous qi and blood. Someone like him, with damaged meridians, still found it difficult to withstand the cold of a winter night.

Trying to ward off the cold with righteous qi alone was ultimately a bit of a stretch.

Fortunately, the house had a heated flue system. Who knew what kind of immortal art had been used in it?

He only needed to toss lit charcoal into the fire pit of the combustion chamber. Before long, the whole house became pleasantly warm, and the air was suffused with an elegant fragrance.

After taking a deep breath, Li Ye carried the Flint Crystal Worms over to the Silver Moon Grass in the courtyard.

The spirit insects in the box seemed to sense something and all stopped moving. One of them strained to arch its body, poked out its tiny head, and curiously peered outside.

Bind Flint Crystal Worms and Silver Moon Grass? Binding requires twenty points of Vital Essence.

"..."

Twenty points for a single plant?

Li Ye's eyes widened. After binding them, his Vital Essence would drop straight to zero.

He still did not know how difficult it was to obtain Vital Essence. If it was scarce, then he could only pursue quality; there was no way to have both quality and quantity.

After a brief moment of thought, he made his decision:

'Bind.'

As he made his choice, the misty, multicolored glow on the panel flickered softly—

Binding successful: Flint Crystal Worm · Silver Moon Grass.

After the binding was complete.

A tiny Flint Crystal Worm suddenly sprang out of the box, its entire body plunging into the thick snow.

It wriggled with difficulty, burrowing a little path through the snow as it slowly crawled toward the Silver Moon Grass.

Delighted, it wrapped its body around the Silver Moon Grass, wisps of heat rising from it.

After absorbing that heat, the formerly wilted Silver Moon Grass gradually deepened in color, its leaves becoming noticeably more vibrant.

At the tips of its tender silver shoots, several drops of silver liquid seeped from the moon-like grass seeds. Thick and crystalline, they gave off a cold silver glow in the winter night.

"!!!"

"Are these Moon Nectar Pearls?" Li Ye hurriedly took out a teacup and carefully collected the liquid. It was not sticky, and in the end it gathered into three drops, round as pearls, glimmering faintly in the teacup.

He then looked at the Flint Crystal Worm. It domineeringly coiled around one leaf of the Silver Moon Grass and soon fell into a deep sleep.

The swirling snowflakes were blocked by the Silver Moon Grass's leaves as they drifted softly down, as though covering it with a warm blanket.

A Yin Attribute spirit plant and a Yang Attribute spirit insect—things that should have been as incompatible as fire and water—were now extraordinarily harmonious, as though they had been born to be this way.

A single binding had brought two lives that should have died back to life, filling them with fresh vitality. In the silent snowy night, Li Ye watched them, and an inexplicable feeling stirred in his heart.

He suddenly recalled an article he had once read. It described a bird building its nest amid a spider plant, whose lush branches and leaves sheltered the bird as the little creature darted through them—the harmonious scene had made him feel immensely at ease, even a little envious.

"Ah."

Before he had transmigrated.

Though he had long since prepared himself mentally, the memories still left him somewhat melancholy when they surged to the surface. After a brief sigh, he quickly composed himself and drew his attention back to reality.

He looked at the remaining Flint Crystal Worms and Silver Moon Grass, and a bold idea suddenly surfaced in his mind.

"Should I try it?"

However, when he tried placing a Flint Crystal Worm beside the Silver Moon Grass directly, without binding them, the insect charged about wildly and nearly knocked the grass over.

Seeing this, Li Ye hurriedly moved it away and did not dare try again recklessly.

"Looks like there's only one plant after all."

'But this binding feature doesn't even have a description. Do I have to figure it out myself? This Golden Finger is way too unintelligent.'

He muttered a few complaints, but nothing changed. It really was that unintelligent.

But that was fine too.

In his view, the Golden Finger was merely a tool. He could slowly figure it out in the future.

The binding was complete, while the cold wind outside remained biting. He gave the lively Silver Moon Grass one final look, then carried the teacup back inside.

The few silver pearls in the teacup emitted a strange aura, as though urging him to consume them as soon as possible.

"Moon Nectar Pearls..."

According to the original owner's memories, the juices of these spirit plants were the primary ingredients for refining a certain kind of pill.

They were also the first task of the Four Seasons Sect's entry examination—submit fifty Moon Nectar Pearls before the spring equinox, and the mission would be considered complete.

"By rights, one Silver Moon Grass can only produce one Moon Nectar Pearl at a time... so why did it produce three this time?"

"The Mission Jade Tablet mentioned that Moon Nectar Pearls can be consumed directly."

Li Ye licked his lips. These Moon Nectar Pearls should contain Vital Essence too, right?

He was filled with curiosity about the spiritual plant products of the Cultivation World. Besides, his body was weak at the moment and urgently needed spiritual power replenishment.

Without much hesitation, he carefully picked up a Moon Nectar Pearl.

It felt remarkably like the tapioca pearls in milk tea, yet it melted the instant it entered his mouth. Threads of faintly sweet liquid slipped down his throat and into his stomach.

Then, a cool aura spread through him, as refreshing as swallowing a mouthful of ice water on a summer day.

Immediately afterward, that aura flowed into his meridians on its own, briefly suppressing the pain caused by his damaged channels while also increasing the spiritual power within him.

Just one Moon Nectar Pearl provided as much spiritual power as a month of arduous meditation and cultivation!

Li Ye was a little dazed, but on second thought, it seemed only natural—

After all, this was his Golden Finger. If it could not even resolve the predicament before him, he might as well start considering how to transmigrate back...

Compared to those cheat abilities that let people transmigrate into ancient ancestors, Great Vehicle cultivators, or gain a thousand miles of cultivation in a single day, his Golden Finger seemed somewhat "plain and unremarkable."

However, the most pressing question now was: how long did it take for these Moon Nectar Pearls to produce one?

Would it still produce one every three days after maturing, as before? Would the effects remain this remarkable? And how much had his Vital Essence increased?

At that thought, an idea flashed through his mind: 5.

A number appeared in his mind.

"..."

One Moon Nectar Pearl had only increased his Vital Essence by five points?

If this were a one-time product, with each binding consuming twenty points while one Moon Nectar Pearl could only provide five, that would be a terrible loss. Fortunately, it could continue producing them.

And since eating things could provide it... eating meals should work too, right? At worst, he could use better ingredients.

He glanced at the two remaining silver pearls in the teacup and casually put the lid back on. While it was only natural for him to enjoy the spiritual plants he had grown himself, he still needed to keep some in reserve.

After putting the teacup away properly, he lay back down on the bed and covered himself with the thin yet warm blanket. From somewhere in the distance came the crackling of burning charcoal.

It was genuinely quite reassuring to listen to.

Before falling asleep, he suddenly felt that transmigrating had its advantages too—white noise that had once required his phone to play could now be heard directly.

Perhaps this was what it meant to make peace with wherever one found oneself. He soon fell into a deep sleep, dreamless through the night until dawn.