Home Upgrade

Lin Yan had long since formulated a plan for upgrading and transforming Canyon Home. His greatest reliance was the Primal Chaos Plate he had recently acquired.

Over the past several hundred years, the Primal Chaos Plate had devoured vast amounts of Malevolent Qi essence and ferocious beast origins. Not only had the Primal Chaos Seed within it grown somewhat, but the Clear Spirit Space in the Upper Four Layers had also gathered a great amount of converted and purified Innate Spiritual Qi. This Innate Spiritual Qi was what Lin Yan intended to use to improve Canyon Home's environment.

Lin Yan arrived at the Array Eye in the center of the canyon. The Kun Yuan Thick Earth Art within him began to circulate slowly, connecting with the Nine Palaces Earth Vein Great Array beneath his feet. The Earth Vein Power throughout the entire canyon was quietly stirred, and deep underground, continuous muffled rumbles echoed forth.

"Little one, it's your turn. Convert and release!"

The Primal Chaos Plate floating in the air sensed Lin Yan's intent. Its disc body shone brilliantly, and in an instant, an enormous amount of extremely pure Innate Spiritual Qi, so dense it was nearly tangible, surged out like floodwaters bursting through a breached dam. After spreading through the air, it condensed into a faint Spiritual Mist that swiftly spread out and enveloped the entire canyon.

Every living being within the canyon, whether the earth dragon subordinates, the newly arrived Spirit Beasts and Spiritual Roots, or the Emerald Sound Birds and Brocade Scale Fish that had lived there from the beginning, stopped what they were doing and greedily breathed in this suddenly appearing Spirit Qi, far richer than anything before.

But this was not the end.

Lin Yan changed his hand seal again. Under his guidance, the purest liquid Spirit Qi inside the Primal Chaos Plate flowed continuously through the nodes of the Earth Vein network and was injected into each Earth Vein. The Earth Veins replenished with spiritual liquid were like parched land receiving sweet rain, emitting joyous rumbles. Before long, every Earth Vein in the canyon began to slowly but steadily expand and strengthen under the nourishment of this vast, pure Spirit Qi.

There were also some Spirit Crystals within the Primal Chaos Plate that had condensed into solid form. The Spirit Qi contained in each one was comparable to a small Spirit Vein; they were the essence left after Spirit Qi had been compressed and purified to the extreme.

With a flick of his finger, Lin Yan sent dozens of Spirit Crystals flying toward different parts of the canyon—the nine Array Bases, the source of the Spirit Spring, the depths of the Cave Dwellings where several earth dragon subordinates cultivated daily, and the roots of several highest-grade Spiritual Roots and Seeds.

The rumbling beneath the nine Array Bases grew louder. Even the spring water gushing from the Spirit Spring began to give off wisps of Spiritual Mist. Several Spiritual Roots started growing madly, their radiance blazing as profound Dao rhythms faintly flowed through their branches and leaves. Within the earth dragon subordinates' Cave Dwellings, the Spirit Qi was so dense it seemed ready to drip like water...

Elsewhere in the canyon, Spirit Qi fell like sweet rain, blending into the soil, seeping into the Water Veins, and nourishing every blade of grass, every tree, and every living being. The concentration of Spirit Qi within the canyon was rising at a visible rate. Many plants began to grow, bloom, and bear fruit at astonishing speed...

The Primal Chaos Plate's release of Spirit Qi continued for a full three years before gradually coming to a stop. Only when it no longer released Spirit Qi did Lin Yan draw it back into his body.

Sensing the aggrieved emotions radiating from the Primal Chaos Plate's Spiritual Sense, Lin Yan could not help secretly laughing. The Primal Chaos Plate was such a miser, like a Pixiu that only wanted to take in and never give out. The Spirit Qi it had released was actually only a tiny portion of what it contained.

"Little one, don't be so stingy. After a while, I'll take you outside again and let you absorb your fill, all right?" Lin Yan hurriedly comforted it.

Hearing Lin Yan say this, the Primal Chaos Plate immediately cast aside its earlier grievance and happily circled around him.

After soothing the Primal Chaos Plate, Lin Yan began strolling through the valley to see how the living beings there had been doing lately.

The newly arrived Jade Spirit Deer herd had long since settled down. They had chosen a river bend downstream from the Spirit Spring, where the water plants grew abundantly, as their home. At that moment, the Deer King was leading more than a dozen Spirit Deer from the herd as they leisurely grazed on Spirit Grass by the shore. Misty white light radiated from their jade-like antlers. Wherever the grazed Spirit Grass was covered by that white light, fresh Spirit Grass quickly grew once more.

After filling their bellies, the Jade Spirit Deer happily ran and leaped through their new home. The lustrous white glow of their antlers reflected the water vapor from the Spirit Spring, lending that river bend an even more immortal air.

The Colorful Cloud Sparrow flock had taken a liking to a patch of towering ancient trees on the eastern side of the canyon. Those old trees had already been growing there before Lin Yan took human form. Now, each had gnarled branches and crowns that spread like canopies. The Colorful Cloud Sparrow Queen led her people in carrying twigs and building nests among the branches. Multicolored feathers flashed constantly through the woods, and crisp calls rose and fell one after another, bringing vibrant life force to the quiet forest.

The Hundred Flower Bee Queen had settled with her colony on a sunny slope covered in wildflowers on the western side of the canyon. Great swathes of Star-Spotted Chrysanthemums and Moonlight Orchids had already grown there, and after being nourished by Spirit Qi, they bloomed like a sea of flowers, their fragrance intoxicating. The Bee Queen was quite satisfied with the place and was directing the newly born Worker Bees to carve out a hive amid cracks in the cliff face.

The other Spirit Beasts had also each found places to their liking and were all busy building nests suited to their own habits.

The several transplanted Spiritual Roots were also growing extremely well.

The Jadeite Bamboo King had been planted near the source of the Spirit Spring, where the soil was fertile, water vapor abundant, and Spirit Qi rich. In only a few years, the emerald bamboos had grown another three feet taller. Their new leaves were so green they seemed ready to drip, faintly gleaming with a jade-like luster. The fresh Wood Spirit Qi radiating from the bamboo made the surrounding air especially refreshing.

The sapling of the highest-grade Pure World White Lotus had been carefully transplanted by Lin Yan into the center of a small pool formed by the converging Spirit Spring waters. The pool bottom was covered in a layer of Warm Jade Sand he had specially refined, and he had buried several ferocious beast corpses beneath the pool.

The seemingly delicate roots of the white lotus sapling sank deep into the bottom of the pool, constantly drawing in the Malevolent Qi emitted by the ferocious beast corpses below. The three tender leaves atop the white lotus unfolded, revealing an increasingly dazzling point of golden light at their center as they continuously expelled pure Spirit Qi.

After making a round through Canyon Home, Lin Yan found that whether they were the newly arrived Spirit Beasts and Spiritual Roots or the old residents of the valley, everyone was living quite comfortably. With them there, the canyon had also gained much more vitality.

However, the three unknown Spirit Seeds Lin Yan had been most looking forward to still had not sprouted. One of them, though, had developed a hair-thin crack in its hard outer shell. An exceedingly faint yet incomparably pure golden glow, brimming with life force, seeped out from that crack.

"Huh? It's actually a Vajra Bodhi Tree fruit?" Mo Xuan had appeared at some point. Seeing the golden light emerging from the seed, he could not help crying out in surprise.

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

"Of course I know. There's a Vajra Bodhi Tree on Qilin Cliff, and its fruits look just like this. I even climbed up it to play when I was little." Mo Xuan spoke as though it were only natural. "They say that the branches of a Bodhi Tree Spiritual Root contain Spatial Power and the power of Karma. The golden light it gives off can purify Karma, and they say its fruits can also increase wisdom and improve one's cultivation aptitude. Anyway, every part of it is a treasure."

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

"Our Qilin Clan is born with extraordinary aptitude and exceptional wisdom. Why would we need to eat this kind of fruit to increase our wisdom?" Mo Xuan said disdainfully.

"Still, my Old Ancestor was very fond of that Bodhi Tree Spiritual Root. Back then, that Daoist only gave my Old Ancestor a Bodhi Tree branch, and my Old Ancestor exhausted every effort before restoring its life force. It is now planted atop Qilin Cliff, tended by dedicated attendants every day. He said this Spiritual Root could benefit and protect future generations. But why would the descendants of our Qilin Clan need a Spiritual Root to protect them?"

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

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

"I... don't. But your Old Ancestor was right. That Bodhi Tree may truly protect the descendants of your Qilin Clan someday."

Ever since hearing Xiao Mo call the seed a Bodhi Tree fruit, Lin Yan had thought of a famous eccentric from the Primordial World.

That person was Daoist Zhunti, a future Saint and one of Buddhism's founders. Legend had it that Daoist Zhunti had taken form from the Bodhi Tree, one of the Ten Great Innate Spiritual Roots.

A seed borne by one of the Ten Great Innate Spiritual Roots was absolutely no ordinary item.

Yet Old Daoist Hongjun had seemingly handed such a precious seed to him so casually. Lin Yan could not help wanting to ask: why?

Who would give such a precious treasure to a stranger they had met for the first time—a stranger with no background, no profound origins, and such low cultivation? But if Old Daoist Hongjun had done it deliberately, what was he after? Could it really have been a casual act after seeing Lin Yan's exceptional potential and taking a liking to him?