Rare Species Transformation

"What? Yangshan Gathering Place didn't come to Area C this year?"

Yu Ershan left home and arrived at the place he lived last year, which was Area C.

After reluctantly parting with one New Moon Coin, he was surprised to learn that Yangshan Gathering Place was not in Area C.

Where did it go?

Although he knew that the locations of gathering places usually followed convention, they weren't always fixed. After all, these gathering places also wanted better spots.

Different areas represented different statuses within the Blessed Land.

Naturally, the further forward, the better.

Yangshan Gathering Place was also a small gathering place, just with a slightly larger population than Ox Ridge Gathering Place, around two thousand people. Among small gathering places, it was considered upper-middle, significantly better than Ox Ridge.

Normally, Yangshan Gathering Place would be assigned to Area C.

He hadn't expected that this year, not only had Ox Ridge Gathering Place moved from here, but Yangshan Gathering Place was also gone.

"Area D? Impossible! Could it be Area B?"

Yu Ershan pondered in his mind.

Setting aside other gathering places, just looking at the rankings of gathering places in Area C from previous years, Yangshan was among the top few, while Ox Ridge was among the bottom few.

The reason it hadn't fallen to Area D before was also due to another factor: Area D had two gathering places with larger populations but some unusual characteristics.

Therefore, small gathering places like Ox Ridge were placed in Area C.

As for the reason this year, it was worth pondering.

But Yangshan Gathering Place was different. Even if it wasn't in Area C, it wouldn't possibly drop to Area D.

Then there was only one place left.

Area B.

Although he didn't know what had happened to Yangshan Gathering Place, being arranged in Area B suggested things were likely good.

This made the worry he had felt before arriving at the Blessed Land slightly ease.

After some more travel, Yu Ershan finally arrived at Area B. He spent another New Moon Coin and finally found the location of Miss Xiaoxiao's family.

After explaining his purpose, the result he received was not beyond his expectations.

Miss Xiaoxiao was not here. She had gone with the family head to the west district, to the small courtyard where the Qi Refining Realm elder of her family resided.

Similar to the Zhou Family head of Ox Ridge, after arriving at the Blessed Land, they had simply gone to where the Qi Refining Realm members of their family lived.

Families with Qi Refining Realm backing in their gathering places generally operated this way.

The family head would bring the favored juniors close to the Qi Refining Realm experts, not only for a better environment but also for guidance.

In fact, Yu Ershan had already considered this possibility when he arrived.

If she wasn't valued, they wouldn't have arranged for him to marry into the family, nor would they have sent him one hundred Spirit Stones. That was a full one hundred Spirit Stones, equivalent to the life-saving money for someone at the Fetal Movement Major Accomplishment stage.

But even so, he had still come. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to rest easy.

Knowing that she was safe and had successfully arrived at the Blessed Land was enough.

After explaining his identity and purpose, asking them to relay the message to Miss Xiaoxiao when she returned, Yu Ershan left Area B.

Next, he had to supervise Yu Dashan's cultivation. If he dared to slack off, he wouldn't be polite as his younger brother.

The firewood he bought could also be put to use.

Meanwhile, at Ox Ridge Gathering Place, Old Man Yu had also gotten up early.

After feeding Spirit Stones to the Rare Species sapling last night, he had come out again and slept in his bed inside the house.

Before the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster fully arrived, he couldn't hide in the cellar.

This way, if there was any movement in the middle of the night, he could detect it in time.

The temperature in the gathering place had dropped significantly, colder than yesterday, and his breath was clearly visible.

Old Man Yu put on thick clothes and went into the yard. He first checked around the base of the wall, confirming that the small traps he had set had not been triggered. He breathed a sigh of relief, then opened the door and went outside.

In just one day, the trees that had been lush and green were now shedding leaves profusely, as if they had changed overnight.

The prosperity after the previous storm seemed like a final burst of energy.

The shedding of leaves also indicated that the trees were entering a dormant state, retracting all their vitality to withstand the impending Black Annihilation Wind Disaster.

Whether they would survive until next year depended on luck.

This was the fate of most plants.

Let alone evolving into heaven and earth spirit roots, even becoming a Rare Species was incredibly difficult.

Even if they survived, they could only repeat this process again and again.

Seeing this, Old Man Yu couldn't help but feel a sense of shared destiny.

Although the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster had not yet arrived, he had no intention of visiting other gathering places. Today, he decided to seal his door with stones, completely cutting off contact with outsiders.

Then, he would guard his Rare Species sapling and wait for the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster to descend.

As for his three sons, he wasn't thinking about them anymore. It wasn't that he didn't care, but he knew very well that no matter how much he worried, it would be useless.

Since they had made this choice, whether it was him or his three sons, they all had to accept it and be prepared to bear the consequences.

Moreover, with his second son accompanying them, given his intelligence and composure, he figured there wouldn't be any problems.

After eating, Old Man Yu began to use the remaining stones to block the doorway. Even though he knew very well that such a defense couldn't withstand the insects' attack, it would at least offer some psychological comfort.

Also, at a critical moment, it would be enough to block off some people.

After finishing these tasks, he climbed onto the wall again and looked at the Rare Species sapling in the small hut. Although some leaves had fallen on the ground, overall, it hadn't started to turn yellow and fall like the trees in the distance.

Does the Rare Species not need to hibernate?

Old Man Yu was a bit puzzled.

His limited knowledge made it impossible for him to discern the Rare Species sapling's condition.

However, he also understood that this type of Rare Species had its own unique way of survival, and he, an outsider, didn't need to offer any advice.

The only thing he could do was to keep feeding it Spirit Stones as long as the sapling could absorb them.

Since it wasn't hibernating, he would crush two more Spirit Stones later.

Having made up his mind, Old Man Yu glanced into the distance before jumping down from the wall.

After he left, Yu An twitched his branches and leaves, and immediately, another leaf fell.

Compared to before, this leaf flew out diagonally for some distance before stopping after hitting the wall.

Flying Flower Plucking Leaf—Beginner.

Yu An muttered to himself in amusement.

There was no mention of proficiency or beginner level on his status panel; it was entirely his own imagination. However, one thing was certain: his control over his tree body and leaves had clearly strengthened significantly.

He believed that where there was a will, there was a way.

If he, a tree, was working this hard, how could he not achieve anything?

Even if he grew to the third stage of the sapling phase and couldn't awaken a Spiritual Power like Flying Flower Plucking Leaf, he could still practice it himself.

It was equivalent to gaining an additional Spiritual Power.

No matter how he thought about it, it was a win.

Afterward, when Old Man Yu came to his 'canteen' formed by his roots to feed him again, Yu An concentrated and began to absorb again.

However, this time, he vaguely sensed some inexplicable changes.