Grass and Wood Art

Chapter 15: Grass and Wood Art

Shi Yue's days were full and satisfying, and he thoroughly enjoyed this kind of life.

One day, while watering three mu of Water Moon Flowers, Shi Yue was surprised to discover that several of their petals had turned yellow after being washed by the rain.

His heart gave a jolt. After circling the three mu of Water Moon Flowers, he found that more than one mu of them had yellowed and seemed to be wilting. The other mu or so looked slightly better, but their growth had also been affected.

If this continued, it was only a matter of time before all three mu of Water Moon Flowers wilted.

The discovery made Shi Yue break out in a cold sweat. When Uncle-Master Zhou had left, he had warned Shi Yue that if anything happened to the Water Moon Flowers, he would show him no mercy.

So many Water Moon Flowers had been affected. Even if Shi Yue wanted to pay for the damage, he couldn't afford it.

His first thought was that the flowers had become diseased. He examined them carefully several times but found no trace of pests. It seemed the problem lay either with the Water Moon Flowers themselves or with the Spirit Field.

He hurried back to the basement and began poring over the reference books.

Before long, Shi Yue found a passage in a book about Water Attribute Spirit Plants: "The Water Moon Flower is a Water Attribute Spirit Herb that requires a great deal of water. Note: Do not plant it in a place with abundant sunlight, or its petals will turn yellow. If the petals turn yellow, treat the plant promptly, or the Water Moon Flower will continue to wilt. Treatment: Use the Grass and Wood Art to infuse the plant with the essence of plants and trees."

Reading this, Shi Yue remembered that the sun had indeed been particularly strong these past few days. He had been busy with other things and remembered only to water the Water Moon Flowers, overlooking this detail.

In any case, the oversight was his fault. Since the Grass and Wood Art could solve the problem, he would simply have to learn it.

Soon, he found the cultivation method for the Grass and Wood Art on the Jade Slip of the Basic Five Elements Technique.

The Grass and Wood Art was exceptionally domineering. At its core, it plundered the essence of other plants and trees to nourish one's own Spirit Plants.

In other words, if Shi Yue wanted to cure the Water Moon Flowers, he had to find some plants, use the Grass and Wood Art, and draw out their essence.

There were plenty of trees in Taixu Sect, but they all belonged to someone. If Shi Yue wanted to extract their essence, he would have to find another way.

After a brief hesitation, Shi Yue turned his thoughts to the five Blood Qi Fruit trees and five Purple Luo Apricot trees in the Mysterious Space.

The Blood Qi Fruits and Purple Luo Apricots were already ripe. Extracting some of the trees' essence shouldn't affect their growth.

With that in mind, Shi Yue's expression shifted, and he entered the Mysterious Space.

The five Blood Qi Fruit trees and five Purple Luo Apricot trees were laden with fist-sized fruit, giving off a faint fragrance.

Shi Yue took out a pair of scissors and carefully snipped the fruits from the trees, storing them in his Storage Bag.

Then, he sat cross-legged before a Blood Qi Fruit tree and slowly began changing his hand seals. He was clearly performing the still-unfamiliar Grass and Wood Art.

Learning a new technique wasn't easy. Shi Yue failed again and again, but he never gave up. Whenever he failed, he started over.

He couldn't afford to compensate for three mu of fifty-year-old Water Moon Flowers, even if he sold himself. He had to cure their yellowing petals before Uncle-Master Zhou returned. Shi Yue couldn't bear the consequences of incurring Uncle-Master Zhou's wrath.

As he practiced more, Shi Yue's movements grew more fluent. His fingers flew through one hand seal after another, and each change sent out ripples of spiritual energy.

Before long, a wisp of pale green light flew from the Blood Qi Fruit tree and gathered between Shi Yue's fingers.

As time passed, more and more pale green light collected at his fingertips.

A little over a quarter of an hour later, Shi Yue completed the hand seals. The pale green light gathered between his fingers condensed into an emerald-green bead about the size of a longan. It was made from the essence of plants and trees.

Shi Yue stepped forward and examined the Blood Qi Fruit tree. Its leaves had grown much duller, and some had even turned yellow.

He let out a faint sigh and left the Mysterious Space.

Standing before the three mu of Water Moon Flowers, Shi Yue flicked his sleeve. An emerald-green bead flashed out and floated above the flowers.

He flicked a finger, sending a hand seal into the bead.

A flash of green light, and the bead shattered. A surge of incredibly pure essence of plants and trees poured out and streamed into the Water Moon Flowers below.

The petals of the dozen or so Water Moon Flowers that absorbed the essence turned white again. The petals of the flowers that received none remained yellow.

Each of the ten fruit trees could have its essence extracted only once. If Shi Yue continued extracting it before the trees had recovered, he would damage them at their roots; in serious cases, they would wilt.

There were over a thousand Water Moon Flowers across the three mu. Even if he drained all ten fruit trees of their essence, it wouldn't be enough to cure so many flowers.

"Do I have to extract the essence from the Condensing Smoke Grass and Blazing Sun Grass?" Shi Yue hesitated.

The Condensing Smoke Grass and Blazing Sun Grass were not very large. Extracting their essence might kill them.

After thinking it over carefully, Shi Yue entered the Mysterious Space.

He walked up to a Condensing Smoke Grass plant, carefully scraped away the soil, and dug it up.

Shi Yue went to a spot far from the Spirit Field and set the Condensing Smoke Grass on the ground. His fingers began flying through the hand seals.

Before long, a wisp of pale green light flew from the Condensing Smoke Grass and gathered at Shi Yue's fingertips.

Soon, the Condensing Smoke Grass withered before his eyes, and a tiny emerald-green bead, no bigger than a mung bean, appeared in Shi Yue's hand.

Just as Shi Yue had expected, the Condensing Smoke Grass was small and contained very little essence. This tiny emerald-green bead would probably cure only a few Water Moon Flowers.

If he extracted the essence from the Condensing Smoke Grass and Blazing Sun Grass to cure all three mu of Water Moon Flowers, there would hardly be any Condensing Smoke Grass or Blazing Sun Grass left. Shi Yue didn't want to see that happen.

Next, Shi Yue used the Grass and Wood Art on the Spirit Rice. The essence he extracted from a single stalk was pitifully small.

If he couldn't cure the Water Moon Flowers, Uncle-Master Zhou would surely show him no mercy when he returned.

After much deliberation, Shi Yue decided to leave the sect and find a wooded area outside. He would use the Grass and Wood Art to extract the essence of the plants and trees there. If he worked quickly, he might be able to save all three mu of Water Moon Flowers.

With that in mind, Shi Yue left the Mysterious Space. But as he stepped out of the courtyard, a White Lotus flew over from afar and landed in front of him.

A beautiful young woman with delicate features stood atop the White Lotus. It was Murong Xiaoxiao.

"Disciple pays his respects to Martial Aunt Murong. Are you here to see Uncle-Master Zhou? He hasn't returned yet," Shi Yue said after bowing.

"I'm not here to see Senior Brother Zhou. I came specifically to find you. I need your help with something." Murong Xiaoxiao shook her head.

"Help?" Shi Yue was momentarily stunned. Surely there weren't pests in a Spirit Field again!

"Just come with me. If you do a good job, there'll be something in it for you," Murong Xiaoxiao said enticingly.

"Please wait a moment, Martial Aunt. I'll go back and get something," Shi Yue said, his eyes darting about.

"Then hurry up," Murong Xiaoxiao urged with a nod.

Shi Yue nodded and turned back into the courtyard. He entered the basement, his expression shifting as he went into the Mysterious Space. He put several hundred Spirit Devouring Bees into the Spirit Beast Bag, then left the Mysterious Space and hurried back outside.

He summoned his Leaf Magic Tool and flew toward the horizon with Murong Xiaoxiao.

After a quarter of an hour, Shi Yue and Murong Xiaoxiao landed in a courtyard where weeds had overrun the Spirit Field.

A Yellow-shirt Girl of fifteen or sixteen stood before the Spirit Field, her eyes red-rimmed and tear tracks on her face. Beside her crouched an Azure Ox taller than a person.

The Yellow-shirt Girl had a round face and large, dark eyes. Her cheeks were chubby, giving her a sweet and adorable appearance.

"Sister Murong, you're finally here." Seeing Murong Xiaoxiao, the Yellow-shirt Girl hurried over, wiped her tears, and spoke.

"All right, don't cry, Xing'er. I've found you a Spirit Planter," Murong Xiaoxiao said soothingly, patting the Yellow-shirt Girl on the shoulder.

"A Spirit Planter? This Qi Refinement Level Three junior brother?" The Yellow-shirt Girl's dark eyes shifted as she looked toward Shi Yue, her gaze full of doubt.