Divine Ability: Bonding

Last night.

After being relieved by his eldest and second sons, he couldn't sleep. He came out into the courtyard to catch his breath and then saw the small tree bathed in moonlight.

At that moment, the entire tree seemed to be glowing. In the hazy light, he felt as if he saw the tree breathing, practicing cultivation just like a human.

In that instant, he was so excited he could barely contain himself.

He never expected that the unrealistic fantasy his youngest son had mentioned a few days ago would actually turn out to be true.

It took a great deal of effort for him to barely calm himself down.

Then, he began to ponder how to handle this Rare Species.

Given his family's current situation, this Rare Species was undoubtedly a windfall from the heavens.

But the problem was, could his family hold onto this windfall?

Recently, because the price of Blessed Land quotas had risen, some people had begun to take desperate risks. The entire Settlement was filled with anxiety, with everyone red-eyed, guarding their own Spirit Fields.

Under these circumstances, if news leaked that his family possessed a Rare Species, the envious gazes alone would be enough to doom his entire family to a death without a burial site.

Trying to sell it quietly was even more difficult.

The main issue was that time was too tight, and there wasn't much room for his family to maneuver. There were only two or three factions in the Settlement capable of buying it.

And among those families, not a single one was benevolent. It would be an act of mercy if they didn't resort to trickery or force; how could they possibly keep a secret for his family?

Once the formal excavation began, it would be impossible to hide it.

At that time, relying solely on two family members at Fetal Movement Major Accomplishment, one sickly one at Fetal Movement Minor Accomplishment, and one half-grown boy who hadn't even reached Fetal Movement, could they protect those Spirit Stones?

Even the Cultivators stationed in the Settlement to maintain order could turn into rogue cultivators the moment night fell—it was merely a matter of a single thought.

Entrusting his family's lives to the mercy of others was undoubtedly the height of stupidity.

Don't be fooled by the many stories circulating about people accidentally discovering a Rare Species and making a fortune; there were far more cases of murder and robbery.

In the eyes of a Cultivator in the Qi Refining Realm, someone like him at Fetal Movement Major Accomplishment was no different from an ant. Crushing him, or even his entire family, wouldn't require any effort at all.

It was precisely because of this that even though Old Man Yu knew that selling this Rare Species would allow his whole family to enter the Blessed Land and never have to worry about Spirit Stones again, he dared not gamble recklessly.

But that wasn't even the most important thing.

The most important thing was that a single Rare Species could be directly exchanged for a strand of Immortal Destiny.

Yes, a strand of Immortal Destiny.

Selling the Rare Species for Spirit Stones was undoubtedly a foolish act.

Theoretically, Spirit Stones = Rare Species = Immortal Destiny.

As long as one has enough Spirit Stones, one can certainly buy Rare Species, and one can also buy Immortal Destiny.

But how much is this "enough"?

In the hands of different people, the value of these three things varies.

For example, Old Man Yu could sell this Rare Species for ten thousand Spirit Stones, but could he use those ten thousand Spirit Stones to buy an Immortal Destiny?

The answer is clearly no.

However, he could directly trade the Rare Species for an Immortal Destiny.

Clearly, in the eyes of some, the value of a Rare Species is undoubtedly greater than that of an Immortal Destiny.

But in the eyes of Old Man Yu, Immortal Destiny is what matters most.

Thinking of this, his aging heart skipped a beat involuntarily.

Yu An watched Old Man Yu's face shift between uncertainty, ecstasy, and worry, but he didn't react.

Last night, by a stroke of luck, he finally achieved Fetal Movement, beginning his cultivation as a tree.

At the time, his entire focus was immersed in the process, and he neglected to observe the outside world.

By the time he finally managed to control the changes in his body, it was already too late.

He saw Old Man Yu standing right in front of him.

The expression on the man's face then was even more unsightly than it was now.

Yu An didn't have any thoughts of killing him to keep the secret; the key was that he "couldn't" do it anyway.

For Yu An, being able to cultivate gave him the capital to survive in this world, and he was no longer as panicked as he had been before.

More importantly, not only did he experience his first Fetal Movement last night, but his interface had also changed, and he had even gained a Divine Ability!

He recited silently in his heart, and the interface appeared.

Name: Yu An

Race: Elm Tree (Rare Species)

Age: 1/300

Realm: Juvenile Stage Two (Fetal Movement)

Divine Ability: Town Protection (With an elm at home, there is abundance every year; it can slightly improve the fortune of the homestead and shelter descendants.)

Bonding (Every ten years, or by consuming an equivalent amount of lifespan, produce one Natal Elm Seed to assist the Fetal Movement Realm in stepping into the Qi Refining Realm. This bond is an Immortal Destiny! The Elm Seed is the cause, and the falling of the bond is the result. Any living being that forms a bond will nourish the host upon death, accelerating one's own growth.)

Yu An carefully observed the panel. First, with the breakthrough, his lifespan had increased from 108 years to 300 years, which immediately made him feel much more at ease.

Although a lifespan of three hundred years did not necessarily mean he would definitely live to be three hundred, it was at least a good start.

As long as he practiced diligently and grew up quickly to enter the mature stage, he believed his lifespan would extend significantly.

A thousand years?

Ten thousand years?

The longevity he had been longing for had finally been glimpsed.

Then, regarding the changes in his realm, it was just as he had guessed: he had directly entered Juvenile Stage Two. This realm was already equivalent to the Fetal Movement stage among humans.

This meant he had officially stepped onto the path of cultivation, with a promising future ahead.

There was also his divine ability. Originally, Town Protection only weakly improved the fortune of the residence, but now it had gained an additional effect: Shading Descendants.

However, what surprised Yu An the most was the newly added divine ability.

Previously, Yu An had occasionally heard the Yu family mention Immortal Destiny, always with expressions of longing and desire.

He also knew that only by obtaining an Immortal Destiny could one step into the Qi Refining Realm and become a true Cultivator.

He had not expected that the divine ability added during this breakthrough would actually be able to directly give birth to an Immortal Destiny.

The only drawback was the time required; it took ten years to produce one Natal Elm Seed.

Unless, of course, he was willing to directly consume ten years of his own lifespan.

The final part of the explanation was quite interesting, though. What did it mean to "nourish the host upon death"?

Could it be...

If so, were the Immortal Destinies of this world, especially those man-made ones, really just Immortal Destinies?

Whose Immortal Destiny were they?

Thinking of this, even though he was a tree, Yu An felt a chill run through him.

Without a doubt, the waters of this world were far deeper than he had imagined.

However, it was precisely because he possessed this divine ability that he felt a bit more confident.

He had considered it carefully: even in the worst-case scenario where he was sold by Old Man Yu, the faction that purchased him would not easily harm his main body as long as they did not discover the existence of his soul.

After all, he was a Rare Species. Having spent a large sum of money to buy him, who would be willing to burn him as firewood?

Furthermore, he was now able to cultivate, and with his system panel cheat, he should be better at hiding himself.

But when it came down to it, it all boiled down to the Bonding divine ability.

To put it snobbishly, even a pile of dung is good dung as long as it has utility.

For an ordinary Rare Species, the only thing one could look forward to was the chance of it transforming into a Heaven and Earth Spiritual Root in the future.

But what about him?

Every ten years, he could produce one Natal Elm Seed, which meant producing one strand of Immortal Destiny.

This was Immortal Destiny, after all.

Even those Foundation Establishment Families within the Blessed Lands could not treat Immortal Destiny as something trivial.

Once they knew of his ability, they wouldn't just treat him like an ancestor to be worshipped; they would certainly take great care of him, terrified of harming this cash cow.

Therefore, he basically didn't need to worry about his safety, and his strategic value was even greater.

As long as he was given enough time, he could grow to a higher stage, until the point where no one could ever harm him.

To a certain extent, going to a Blessed Land and demonstrating his value would be more beneficial to his growth.

Of course, fortune and misfortune are interdependent; often, what is good now may not be so in the future.

Especially that Bonding divine ability which fed back into his own body—it made him feel a trace of inexplicable fear toward those Blessed Lands.

Is Immortal Destiny really so easy to obtain?