The Fussy Details of Watering Flowers and the Shadow Underground

"Water... water the flowers?!"

Su Wanqing's voice changed, becoming sharp enough to pierce her own eardrums due to extreme shock and absurdity. She stared at the small half-basin of golden "essence" left in the Chaos Green Lotus pot in the corner, which exuded supreme Dao charm and a faint scent of feet (a psychological effect?), feeling as if she'd been struck by lightning!

Using this... after-foot-soaking... foot-washing water?! To water that Ancient Orchid, which had just been revived by Chaos Spirit Tea, was immeasurably valuable, and could be considered a living fossil of the plant kingdom?!

This wasn't just a waste of precious resources! It was blasphemy against life! The destruction of beauty! The ultimate challenge to Su Wanqing's aesthetic bottom line!

She could already imagine the holy, pure white Ancient Orchid instantly withering, turning black, and emitting an indescribable stench the moment it came into contact with this "essence"!

"No... absolutely not!" Su Wanqing almost screamed in protest, feeling an unprecedented strong resistance to Ling Ye's command for the first time. "That's the Ancient Orchid! It's a miracle! You can't... you can't water it with this! It'll die!"

Ling Ye, who had just found a comfortable "salty fish" pose on the sofa, turned his head slightly upon hearing her. His calm, unruffled gaze swept over Su Wanqing, whose face was flushed red with excitement, and then casually glanced at the Ancient Orchid shimmering in the sunlight outside the window.

"Die?" Ling Ye repeated the word, his tone conveying a genuine confusion, as if he'd heard an ant worry that an elephant would be killed by a raindrop. "This bit of 'waste material' is just enough for it to... solidify its foundation." He paused, seemingly too lazy to explain further, and casually gestured with his chin towards the pot. "Hurry up. The smell is a bit strong."

The smell... the smell is strong?!

Is it the smell of noodle soup that's strong? Or is it your foot smell that's strong, old man?!

Su Wanqing felt like she was about to have a heart attack! She looked at Ling Ye's impatient expression, as if he were telling her to "hurry up and take out the trash," then at the alluring golden liquid in the pot (if you ignored its purpose), and her heart was plunged into an unprecedented, intense struggle!

On one side, reason, aesthetics, and her love for plants were screaming: Don't water it! This is murder!

On the other side was her reverence for Ling Ye's unfathomable methods, and a faint but stubborn... intuition? Maybe... the big shot is right? Is this "essence" really useful?

In the end, reverence and that strange intuition overpowered reason.

Su Wanqing gritted her teeth, holding a tragic resolve of "I'll just treat it as fertilizer for the Ancient Orchid, even if it's poisonous fertilizer," and tremblingly walked towards the Chaos Green Lotus pot. She held her breath, trying not to think about the liquid's use just minutes ago, and carefully lifted the heavy rim of the pot.

The pot felt cool to the touch, its material neither gold nor jade, with a peculiar texture. The chaotic divine light flowing on its surface seemed to become slightly more active with her touch. The half-basin of golden "essence" inside rippled, starlight flowing, Dao charm abundant. If she didn't have the psychological trauma, this would undoubtedly be the most alluring nectar in the world.

Holding the pot as if it were Pandora's Box, she walked with heavy steps towards the enormous floor-to-ceiling window. Ling Ye didn't even bother to get up; he simply waved his hand casually, and the thick bulletproof glass window slid silently to the side, allowing fresh air filled with the fragrance of soil and plants to pour in.

Su Wanqing walked into the courtyard and approached the Ancient Orchid, which was blooming with pure white flowers and emitting a faint, elegant fragrance. The closer she got, the more she could feel the extraordinary nature of this resurrected Ancient Orchid. Its leaves were verdant and dripping with moisture, its petals crystal clear, and its life force was astonishingly vigorous.

She hesitated again. Was she really going to water it?

"Pour," came Ling Ye's lazy but irrefutable command from the sofa.

Su Wanqing closed her eyes, steeled her resolve, and tilted her wrist--

"Hiss..."

The golden "essence," containing chaotic starlight, the essence of Breathing Soil, and a trace of Chaos Green Lotus Dao charm, poured like a small waterfall precisely onto the soil around the roots of the Ancient Orchid.

The moment the liquid seeped into the soil, the terrifying scene of wilting plants and polluted earth that Su Wanqing had imagined did not occur.

On the contrary!

"Buzz--!"

An extremely faint, yet joyful, life hum emanated from the depths of the Ancient Orchid's roots! All the branches, leaves, and flowers of the Ancient Orchid seemed to be infused with a true soul at this moment, shaking violently! It wasn't a shake caused by the wind, but a tremor of joy and exhilaration originating from the very source of its life!

The pure white flowers shone brilliantly, like little moons! On the emerald green leaves, more complex and profound natural patterns appeared at a speed visible to the naked eye, like inscriptions of the Great Dao! The life force of the entire Ancient Orchid was no longer just vigorous; it became... incredibly profound, incredibly condensed, as if it had taken root in the endless earth, establishing a deeper connection with the planet beneath its feet! A clearer, more distant fragrance, carrying stabilizing and nourishing power, slowly emanated!

It hadn't been "poisoned to death"; instead, it was like it had received a potent tonic, completing some kind of fundamental sublimation! Its foundation had been thoroughly solidified, and its life form seemed to have been elevated by a notch!

Su Wanqing's eyes snapped open. Looking at the even more mystical and extraordinary Ancient Orchid before her, she was completely stunned! This... this foot-washing water... was actually so nourishing?! It had miraculous effects on watering flowers?!

Her worldview had once again been reset to a new low.

And at the exact moment the golden "essence" seeped into the soil and the Ancient Orchid underwent its transformation--

"Buzz... rumble..."

A deeper, more hidden vibration than before, as if originating from the deepest part of the Earth's core, transmitted upwards extremely faintly. The ground beneath the load-bearing pillar on the east side of the villa's living room seemed to... fluctuate very slightly? As if something underground had been stimulated again by this "essence" containing the aura of Chaos Green Lotus and Breathing Soil, letting out a silent roar!

Ling Ye, leaning on the sofa, slightly opened one of his closed eyes, glanced at the pillar, and the corner of his mouth seemed to curve into an almost imperceptible arc. He then closed his eyes again, as if nothing had happened.

Su Wanqing hadn't noticed the subtle change underground; she was still immersed in the shock of the Ancient Orchid's transformation. She looked at the empty Chaos Green Lotus pot in her hands, then at the vibrant Ancient Orchid, her emotions incredibly complex.

Holding the pot, she walked back to the living room as if in a dream and gently placed it back in the corner. A few drops of golden liquid remained on the pot's wall, emitting an alluring Dao charm.

Ling Ye was still lounging on the sofa, seemingly indifferent to everything happening outside the window. He yawned slightly, his gaze idly scanning the living room, finally... landing on the "Fragment of Buzhou Mountain" rolling pin that he had casually leaned against the island counter.

That short, pitch-black, incredibly heavy rod rested there quietly, like an ordinary, forgotten kitchen utensil.

Ling Ye looked at it, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly, as if he found its placement somewhat... unsightly? Or perhaps... it didn't fit his leisurely, "salty fish" aesthetic?

He extended two fingers towards the short rod and, with extreme casualness... flicked it through the air.

No contact.

No energy fluctuation.

But the "Fragment of Buzhou Mountain," so heavy it could make the island counter slightly sag, like a pencil nudged by an invisible finger, slid extremely smoothly and silently... from a standing position to... lying flat in the corner of the island counter? It even rolled inward a bit, completely disappearing into the shadows, no longer so conspicuous.

"Hmm," Ling Ye nodded with satisfaction. "Much better to look at."

Su Wanqing: "..." She was numb. Flicking a mountain... just to make it look better?!

However, the moment the "Fragment of Buzhou Mountain" was flicked through the air and its position changed--

Three kilometers away on Yunqi Mountain, inside the command vehicle, the curves representing the villa's internal gravity field and spatial stability coefficient on the monitoring screen suddenly underwent an extremely brief but exceptionally violent distortion and jump! It was as if an invisible black hole had briefly tumbled in place!

The technician looked at the bizarre data that had instantly spiked and then returned to normal on the screen, opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing, merely archiving the anomaly. He had given up trying to understand.

And deeper, in the darker layers underground.

The pair of massive eyes, formed from pure shadow, suddenly contracted! The reflection of the villa distorted violently!

The moment that "short stick" was nudged just now, it clearly felt that the spatial structure of the area above, and even the distribution of Earth Vein gravity, had produced an extremely subtle yet terrifying ripple! It was as if the entire space had been warped and defined by the weight of that "stick"!

What in the world was that thing?! How could it disturb the laws of space so easily?!

Deep within the shadowy eyes, greed and terror intertwined madly. It "stared" intently upwards, its desire almost becoming tangible.

Must have it!

Must have that basin! And that stick!

As long as I get them... as long as...

The massive shadow writhed and condensed silently in the darkness. An even colder, more sinister power began to cautiously, like the most cunning viper, follow the intricate cracks in the Earth Veins, towards the foundation of the villa above, extremely slowly... infiltrating.

Its movements were as gentle as possible, as if afraid of disturbing something. The target... was directly beneath the load-bearing pillar, stimulated by the "Fragment of Buzhou Mountain" and the aura of the Chaos Green Lotus basin, currently in a strangely active state... the Primordial Anchor Fragment!

It wants... to get that first! As a key!