Wood Grass Art

Chapter 15: Wood Grass Art

Days passed in a fulfilling manner, and Shi Yue thoroughly enjoyed this kind of life.

One day, Shi Yue was casting rain over three mu of Water Moon Flowers when, after the downpour, he was startled to notice that several of the flowers' petals had turned somewhat yellow.

Shi Yue's heart tightened. After circling the three mu of Water Moon Flowers, he discovered that over one mu of them had yellowed, seemingly on the verge of withering. The remaining mu or so were 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 withered.

This discovery sent a cold sweat down Shi Yue's back. When Uncle-Master Zhou left, he had made it clear that if anything happened to the Water Moon Flowers, he would not be lenient.

With so many Water Moon Flowers in trouble, Shi Yue couldn't afford to compensate for them even if he wanted to.

Shi Yue's first reaction was that the Water Moon Flowers had fallen ill. He inspected them carefully several times but found no trace of pests. It seemed the problem lay either with the flowers themselves or with the Spirit Field.

He hurried back to the underground chamber and meticulously flipped through the texts.

Before long, Shi Yue found a passage in a tome on Water Attribute spiritual plants: "Water Moon Flower, a Water Attribute spiritual herb, requires a great deal of water. Note: Do not plant in areas with abundant sunlight, or the petals will turn yellow. If the petals yellow, treat promptly, or the Water Moon Flower will continue to wither. The cure is to use the Wood Grass Art to infuse it with Wood Grass Essence."

Seeing this, Shi Yue recalled that the sun had indeed been quite strong these past few days. He had been busy with other matters and only remembered to water the Water Moon Flowers, neglecting this point.

Regardless, this was a negligence on Shi Yue's part in his work. Since the Wood Grass Art could resolve this ailment, he would simply learn that technique.

Soon, he found the cultivation method for the Wood Grass Art on the jade slip of the Basic Five Elements Technique.

The Wood Grass Art was extremely domineering; its essence lay in plundering the essence of other plants to nourish one's own spiritual herbs.

In other words, to cure the Water Moon Flowers, Shi Yue had to find a patch of vegetation, perform the Wood Grass Art, and absorb their Wood Grass Essence.

There were plenty of trees within the Great Void Sect, but all belonged to someone. If Shi Yue wanted to extract Wood Grass Essence, he would have to find his own way.

After a moment's hesitation, Shi Yue set his sights on the five Blood Qi Fruit trees and five Purple Luo Apricot trees in the Mysterious Space.

The Blood Qi Fruits and Purple Luo Apricots had already ripened. Absorbing some of their Wood Grass Essence shouldn't affect their growth.

With this 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 fruits, emitting a faint fragrance.

Shi Yue took out a pair of scissors, carefully cut down these fruits, and stored them in his Storage Bag.

Then, he sat cross-legged before a Blood Qi Fruit tree, slowly changing the positions of his ten fingers, clearly practicing the still-unfamiliar Wood Grass Art.

Learning a new technique was no easy task. Shi Yue failed time and again, but he never gave up. When he failed, he started over.

Three mu of fifty-year-old Water Moon Flowers—even selling himself wouldn't cover the cost. He had to cure the yellowing petals before Uncle-Master Zhou returned. He couldn't bear the brunt of Uncle-Master Zhou's wrath.

As his practice sessions increased, Shi Yue's movements grew more skilled. His ten fingers swiftly shifted through hand seals, and with each change, ripples of spiritual power radiated outward.

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

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

A Little Less Than Half an Hour later, Shi Yue withdrew his hand seals, and the pale green light gathered between his fingers condensed into an Emerald Green pearl the size of a dragon's eye—the Wood Grass Essence formed from the gathered essence.

Shi Yue stepped forward and inspected the Blood Qi Fruit tree, finding its leaves had dimmed considerably, some even turning yellow.

He let out a soft sigh and withdrew from the Mysterious Space.

Standing before the three mu of Water Moon Flowers, Shi Yue flicked his sleeve, and an Emerald Green pearl shot out, hovering above the flowers.

He flicked his finger, sending a hand seal into the Emerald Green pearl.

A flash of green light, and the Emerald Green pearl shattered. A surge of pure Wood Grass Essence gushed forth, diving into the Water Moon Flowers below.

The dozen or so Water Moon Flowers that absorbed the essence had their petals restored to white, while those that didn't remained yellow.

Ten fruit trees—each could only have its essence extracted once. If he continued to draw essence before the trees recovered, it would damage their roots, and in severe cases, cause them to wither.

Three mu of Water Moon Flowers numbered over a thousand. Even draining the essence from all ten fruit trees wouldn't be enough to cure so many flowers.

"Should I extract the essence from the Condensing Smoke Grass and Blazing Sun Grass?" Shi Yue's expression wavered with hesitation.

The Condensing Smoke Grass and Blazing Sun Grass weren't large. If he took their essence, it might kill them.

After careful deliberation, Shi Yue entered the Mysterious Space.

He walked up to a stalk of Condensing Smoke Grass, carefully dug away the soil, and unearthed it.

Moving to a spot far from the Spirit Field, he placed the Condensing Smoke Grass on the ground and rapidly changed his ten fingers.

Soon, a wisp of pale green light flew from the Condensing Smoke Grass, gathering at Shi Yue's fingertips.

In no time, the Condensing Smoke Grass visibly withered, and Shi Yue's hand now held a mung-bean-sized Emerald Green pearl.

Just as Shi Yue had expected, the Condensing Smoke Grass was small, with very little Wood Grass Essence. This mung-bean-sized pearl could probably only cure a few Water Moon Flowers.

If he drained the essence from the Condensing Smoke Grass and Blazing Sun Grass to cure three mu of Water Moon Flowers, little of them would remain—not what Shi Yue wanted to see.

Next, Shi Yue performed the Wood Grass Art on the Spirit Rice, but the essence he drew from a single stalk was pitifully small.

If he couldn't cure the Water Moon Flowers' condition, Uncle-Master Zhou would surely not let him off when he returned.

Shi Yue racked his brains and decided to leave the sect, find a dense forest outside, and use the Wood Grass Art to extract essence. If he moved quickly, he might just save the three mu of Water Moon Flowers.

With this plan in mind, Shi Yue withdrew from the Mysterious Space. But as he stepped out of the courtyard, a white lotus flew over from afar and landed before him.

Standing atop the white lotus was a young woman with delicate features and stunning beauty—none other than Murong Xiaoxiao.

"Disciple greets Martial Aunt Murong. Are you looking for Uncle-Master Zhou? Uncle-Master Zhou hasn't returned yet." Shi Yue bowed and spoke.

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

"Help?" Shi Yue was momentarily stunned. It couldn't be that pests had appeared in the Spirit Fields again, could it!

"Just follow me. If this is handled well, you won't come out empty-handed." Murong Xiaoxiao said in a tempting tone.

"Please wait a moment, Martial Aunt. Disciple will go back and fetch something." Shi Yue's eyes darted around as he said this.

"Then hurry up." Murong Xiaoxiao nodded and urged him.

Shi Yue nodded, turned, and returned to the courtyard. He entered the basement, his expression shifting as he entered the Mysterious Space. He loaded several hundred Spirit Devouring Bees into a Spirit Beast Bag, then exited the Mysterious Space and quickly walked out.

He summoned the Leaf Magic Tool and flew off into the sky with Murong Xiaoxiao.

Half a quarter of an hour later, Shi Yue and Murong Xiaoxiao landed in a courtyard where the Spirit Fields were overgrown with weeds.

A Yellow-shirt Girl of fifteen or sixteen stood before the Spirit Field, her eyes red and her face streaked with tears. Beside her lay an Azure Ox as tall as a person.

The Yellow-shirt Girl had a round face, large dark eyes, and a baby-faced look that made her appear quite charming and cute.

"Sister Murong, you've come." Seeing Murong Xiaoxiao, the Yellow-shirt Girl immediately walked up quickly, wiped her tears, and spoke.

"Alright, stop crying, Xing'er. I've brought you a Spirit Planter." Murong Xiaoxiao patted the Yellow-shirt Girl's shoulder and comforted her.

"A Spirit Planter? You mean this junior brother at the third layer of Qi Refinement?" The Yellow-shirt Girl's dark eyes darted around as she cast a doubtful look at Shi Yue.