Homeland Upgrade

Lin Yan already had a plan for upgrading and renovating the Canyon Home. The biggest reliance for this was the Primal Chaos Plate, a magical treasure he had recently acquired.

Over several hundred years, the Primal Chaos Plate had absorbed a large amount of essence from malevolent energy and the origins of fierce beasts. Not only had the Primal Chaos Seed within the Primal Chaos Plate grown stronger, but the Clear Spirit Space in the Upper Four Layers had also accumulated a vast amount of transformed and purified Innate Spiritual Qi. This Innate Spiritual Qi was what Lin Yan would use to improve and renovate the environment of the Canyon Home.

Lin Yan arrived at the center of the canyon, the Array Eye. The Kun Yuan Thick Earth Art within his body slowly circulated, connecting with the Nine Palaces Earth Vein Great Array beneath his feet. The Earth Vein Power of the entire canyon was quietly mobilized, and deep underground, rumbling, muffled sounds continuously echoed.

"Little guy, it's your turn. Transform, release!"

The Primal Chaos Plate, suspended in the air, sensed Lin Yan's intention. The disc body emitted a brilliant light, and in an instant, a massive amount of extremely pure, dense, and almost tangible Innate Spiritual Qi surged out like a breaching river flood. After spreading into the air, it condensed into a faint Spiritual Mist, rapidly permeating and enveloping the entire canyon.

All living beings within the canyon, whether the Earth Dragon subordinates, the newly arrived Spirit Beasts and Spiritual Roots, or the creatures that originally inhabited the area like the Emerald Sound Birds and Brocade Scale Fish, stopped their actions. They greedily breathed in this sudden, overwhelmingly dense Spiritual Qi.

But this was not the end.

Lin Yan's hand seals changed again. The purest liquid spiritual energy within the Primal Chaos Plate, under his guidance, was continuously injected into various Earth Veins along the nodes of the Earth Vein network. The Earth Veins that were replenished with spiritual liquid felt like parched land receiving sweet rain, emitting joyful roars. Soon after, the Earth Veins throughout the entire canyon began to expand and strengthen slowly but steadily under the nourishment of this vast and pure spiritual energy.

There was also some spiritual energy within the Primal Chaos Plate that had already condensed into solid spiritual crystals. Each crystal contained spiritual energy comparable to a small Spirit Vein; it was the essence of spiritual energy compressed and purified to the extreme.

Lin Yan flicked his finger, and dozens of spiritual crystals flew towards various locations in the canyon—the nine Array Bases, the springs of the spiritual springs, the depths of the cave dwellings where several Earth Dragon subordinates usually cultivated, and the roots of the highest-grade Spiritual Roots and Seeds.

The rumbling beneath the nine Array Bases intensified. The water gushing from the spiritual springs began to emit wisps of Spiritual Mist. The spiritual roots also started to grow wildly, emitting brilliant light. Within their branches and leaves, subtle profound Dao rhymes circulated. In the cave dwellings of the Earth Dragon subordinates, the spiritual energy was so dense it could almost drip.

In other parts of the canyon, spiritual energy descended like sweet rain, integrating into the soil, seeping into the water veins, and nourishing every blade of grass, every tree, and every living creature. The concentration of spiritual energy within the canyon was increasing at a visible rate. Many plants began to grow, bloom, and bear fruit at astonishing speeds.

The process of the Primal Chaos Plate releasing spiritual energy lasted for a full three years before slowly stopping. Only after the Primal Chaos Plate ceased releasing spiritual energy did Lin Yan recall it back into his body.

Sensing the aggrieved emotions emanating from the Primal Chaos Plate's Spiritual Sense, Lin Yan couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. The Primal Chaos Plate was such a miser, acting like a Pixiu, wanting only to receive and never to give. The spiritual energy it released was actually only a small portion of what was inside it.

"Little guy, don't be so stingy. How about I take you outside again after some time so you can absorb to your heart's content?" Lin Yan quickly comforted it.

Upon hearing Lin Yan's words, the Primal Chaos Plate immediately cast aside its previous grievances and happily circled around Lin Yan.

After appeasing the Primal Chaos Plate, Lin Yan began to wander around the valley, checking on the well-being of the creatures within.

The newly arrived Jade Spirit Deer herd had already settled down. They had chosen a lush river bend downstream from the spiritual spring as their territory. Currently, the Deer King was leisurely grazing on spiritual grass by the bank with over a dozen spiritual deer from its herd. A faint white light emanated from their jade-like antlers. The spiritual grass patches they had nibbled were soon covered by the white light, and new spiritual grass quickly grew back.

After they had eaten their fill, the Jade Spirit Deer herd joyfully ran and leaped in their new home. The ethereal white light from their antlers intermingled with the water vapor from the spiritual spring, adding a touch of celestial aura to the river bend.

The Colorful Cloud Sparrow flock had set their sights on a forest of ancient trees on the eastern side of the canyon. These ancient trees had been growing there even before Lin Yan transformed. Now, their trunks were gnarled, and their canopies were like umbrellas. The Colorful Cloud Sparrow Queen led its subjects, carrying twigs to build nests among the branches. Their colorful feathers flashed through the forest, and their crisp chirps rose and fell, bringing vitality to the silent woods.

The Hundred Flower Bee Queen led its swarm to settle on a sunny slope on the western side of the canyon, covered in wildflowers. Large expanses of "Starpoint Chrysanthemums" and "Moonlight Orchids" grew there originally. After being nourished by spiritual energy, the flowers bloomed like a sea, exuding a rich fragrance. The Bee Queen was very satisfied with the location and was directing newly hatched worker bees to carve out beehives in the gaps of the rock walls.

The other Spirit Beasts had also found their preferred spots and were busy creating nests that suited their living habits.

The few transplanted Spiritual Roots were also growing exceptionally well.

The Jadeite Bamboo King was planted near the source of the spiritual spring, where the soil was fertile, the water vapor was abundant, and the spiritual energy was also very dense. In just a few years, the height of these emerald bamboos had increased by another three feet. The newly grown bamboo leaves were a vibrant green, with a subtle jade-like luster. The fresh Wood Spirit Qi emanating from the bamboo stalks made the surrounding air exceptionally refreshing.

The seedling of the highest-grade Pure World White Lotus was carefully transplanted by Lin Yan to the center of a small pond formed by the convergence of the spiritual spring. The bottom of the pond was covered with "Warm Jade Sand" that he had specifically refined, and the corpses of some fierce beasts were buried beneath the pond.

The tender roots of the White Lotus seedling burrowed deep into the bottom of the pool, continuously absorbing the malevolent energy emanating from the corpses of Fierce Beasts below. The three tender leaves atop the White Lotus unfurled, revealing a golden light at their center that grew increasingly brilliant, constantly spewing out pure spiritual energy.

Lin Yan took a stroll through the Canyon Home and found that both the newly arrived Spirit Beasts and the original residents were living comfortably. With them around, the canyon also gained a lot more Life Force.

However, the three unknown Spirit Seeds that Lin Yan anticipated the most still hadn't sprouted. Yet, on one of them, the hard shell had cracked open, forming a fissure as fine as a thread. An extremely faint, yet incomparably pure and vibrant golden light was seeping out from the Crack.

"Huh? It's actually a fruit from the Vajra Bodhi Tree?" Mo Xuan, who had appeared at some point, exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the golden light emanating from the seed.

"Xiao Mo, do you know what kind of seed this is?" Lin Yan quickly asked.

"Of course, I do. There's a Vajra Bodhi Tree on Qilin Cliff, and its fruits look just like this. I even climbed it to play when I was little," Mo Xuan said matter-of-factly. "It's said that the branches of Spirit Roots like the Bodhi Tree contain Spatial Power and Karma. The golden light it emits can purify Karma, and its fruits are said to increase Wisdom and improve one's Origin and Cultivation. It's a treasure through and through."

"Huh, how do you know so much? Have you eaten its fruit?" Lin Yan asked.

"My Qilin Clan is naturally gifted with superior Origin and exceptional Wisdom. Why would we need to eat such a fruit to increase our Wisdom?" Mo Xuan said with a hint of disdain.

"However, my Old Ancestor was very fond of that Bodhi Tree's Spirit Root. That Daoist only gave my Old Ancestor a branch from the Bodhi Tree back then, and my Old Ancestor spent immense effort to restore its Life Force. Now, it's planted at the summit of Qilin Cliff and is personally tended to daily. It's said this Spirit Root will benefit future generations. But why would the descendants of my Qilin Clan need a Spirit Root to protect them?"

"Xiao Mo, the Daoist who gave your Old Ancestor the Bodhi Tree branch, did he call himself Zhunti?" Lin Yan suddenly asked.

"Huh? How did you know? He did indeed call himself Daoist Zhunti. Lin Yan, do you know him too?"

"I... don't know him, but your Old Ancestor is right. That Bodhi Tree might indeed protect the descendants of your Qilin Clan in the future."

Ever since hearing Xiao Mo call this seed a fruit of the Bodhi Tree, Lin Yan thought of a famous figure in the Primordial World.

That person was a future Saint, one of the founders of Buddhism, Daoist Zhunti. Legend had it that Daoist Zhunti was the transformed spirit of one of the Ten Innate Great Spirit Roots, the Bodhi Tree.

A seed from one of the Ten Innate Great Spirit Roots was definitely no ordinary item.

And Old Daoist Hongjun seemed to have casually given such a precious seed to himself. Lin Yan couldn't help but wonder: Why?

Who would give such a precious treasure to a stranger they met for the first time, a stranger with no background, not a deep Origin, and not high Cultivation? But if he did it intentionally, what was his motive? Could it be that he genuinely saw Lin Yan's unique potential and casually gifted it out of admiration?