"Oh? What is it?"
Bai Mu was intrigued.
Among so many Immortal Herbs, which one had been "fortunate" enough to catch Zygarde's eye?
The next moment, the view shifted. Ignoring the many Immortal Herbs, Zygarde turned toward a corner.
"I have taken a liking to this one!"
Zygarde raised its little claw and pointed at the round melon before it, whose vines resembled dragons and whose entire body was golden.
GOOGLE Search TWKAN
Compared to the many Immortal Herbs, this sweet potato was utterly ordinary aside from its color and shape. Even its aura was unremarkable, and it clearly had yet to reach the level of an Immortal Herb.
But Bai Mu's expression changed slightly.
"Could this be... an Immortal Herb Earth Dragon Golden Melon that hasn't fully matured yet?"
As its name suggested, the Earth Dragon Golden Melon could amplify the power of the earth attribute and improve the consumer's physical quality. Most importantly, it could also purify Dragon Bloodline!
And Zygarde happened to be Dragon- and Ground-type. It was a perfect match!
"You really know how to pick..."
Bai Mu was speechless.
"My judgment cannot be wrong!"
Zygarde declared proudly.
"It's such a tiny melon. Let it grow some more first. It's too small; eating it now would do you no good."
Bai Mu shook his head. "Pick one from among the Immortal Herbs for now."
"..."
Zygarde swept its gaze across the entire Medicinal Garden and soon fixed its eyes on a special plant—
The flower resembled a peony, with no leaves, rooted atop a black stone. Several petals amid its pure white petals were vivid blood-red, an astonishing sight.
"Lovesick Heartbreak Red? You chose that?"
Bai Mu's heart jolted.
"My judgment cannot be wrong!"
Sensing Bai Mu's surprise, Zygarde immediately knew it had picked the most badass one!
"Lovesick Heartbreak Red, the King of Immortal Herbs, an Immortal Grade among Immortal Grades. Legend says it can revive the dead and regrow white bones, but its harvesting requirements are exceptionally harsh. One must hold their beloved in their heart and spit blood to acknowledge it as master. Once it recognizes a master, it can conceal that master's aura."
Recalling the information about this Immortal Herb, Bai Mu could not help feeling doubtful.
"Can you make use of this?"
"Is it that troublesome?"
Zygarde found it strange and simply opened its mouth, swallowing it in one bite.
"Holy shit! This young dog!"
Bai Mu stared blankly even through the "screen."
Without another word, it had swallowed it directly and refined it in an instant?
"Though I cannot make it 'acknowledge a master,' I can directly absorb its origin life energy."
Zygarde gave a simple explanation.
In its eyes, no matter how miraculous an Immortal Herb's effects were, they were ultimately manifestations of energy.
It only needed the Lovesick Heartbreak Red's nutrients and energy. Whether it could revive the dead was none of its concern.
"..."
Bai Mu: Badass!
He felt that he had still underestimated Zygarde.
In the Pokemon World, this was the ruthless existence that could come out and beat the hell out of Yveltal, the God of Death, and Xerneas, the God of Life, whenever they disrupted the ecological balance.
When it came to controlling life energy, even if it was not as strong as those two, it could not possibly be much weaker!
Zygarde: Did you think I maintained balance and order through compassionate kindness? No! Through punishment delivered with thunderous fury!
"What powerful energy!"
Just then, Zygarde successfully felt a pure and immense surge of life energy course through its entire body. A brilliant green light flashed from its body!
As the green radiance grew ever brighter, one Z-Cell after another flew out of its body, greedily absorbing the scattered energy and sunlight.
When the light faded, Zygarde had split off a full ten new Z-Cells in one go!
"That many?!"
Bai Mu was overjoyed. He had expected it to split many cells, but never this many!
"A little stuffed..."
Zygarde sent over a satisfied emotion.
"I feel that once I completely digest this energy, I can split off another ten cells."
One Lovesick Heartbreak Red could actually let Zygarde split twenty additional cells!
Perhaps splitting that number of Z-Cells would not be difficult for the future Z-Snake and Perfect Form giant.
But for Dragon Dog, twenty cells would take Bai Mu over three years of cultivation to condense!
And this had fulfilled it all at once.
Including the ten that had yet to split, the total number of Z-Cells had already reached a full thirty!
"Good!"
Bai Mu was energized. With a wave of his hand, he said,
"Can you swallow more Immortal Herbs to store energy? Swallow them all except the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum!"
He figured that if Zygarde could absorb the energy from every Immortal Herb, it might be able to directly charge toward Perfect Form...
He would be one step closer to the realm of "Not Eating Beef"!
"No!"
Zygarde shook its head. "I have reached my limit. I must completely digest this before I can continue absorbing. Forced devouring would only waste energy and might even damage my foundation."
"What a pity... Leave a Z-Cell in the corner, then bring back the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum."
Bai Mu felt slightly regretful, but he understood.
Zygarde was not truly Zygarde. If it could really swallow everything, it would be far too invincible.
Zygarde acted as instructed. After sending a newly split Z-Cell to crawl onto a rock in the corner and serve as a Stealth Camera, it headed toward an enormous chrysanthemum.
It wrapped the plant in life energy and pulled it out, then used Jungle Healing to promote the growth of grass and leaves to conceal the traces. It decisively turned and silently left the Poison Array.
The entire process of stealing the Immortal Herbs took less than an hour.
"As expected of an Immortal Herb!
Bai Mu accepted the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum. Feeling the vast energy contained within it, his heartbeat quickened once more.
"Use the cells to conceal its aura. Find somewhere safe first!"
However, he did not consume it immediately—Immortal Herbs had to be consumed cautiously, and he needed an absolutely safe environment.
"Woo~"
Zygarde controlled the cells to wrap and "seal" the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, perfectly isolating every trace of aura it emitted.
One person and one dog swiftly moved away from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, racing nearly a hundred kilometers before finding a secluded ledge bathed in sunlight.
"Indestructible Vajra Body..."
Bai Mu looked at the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum in his hand and took a deep breath.
He did not hesitate. Following the method from his memories, he first ate the Sky-Piercing Stamen, then the petals.
"Xiao Ruan, guard me. Use Jungle Healing."
As soon as he spoke, Bai Mu immediately began cultivating on the spot under the sun, allowing his body to fully absorb its medicinal effects.
"Wulu!"
Zygarde stood at the cliff edge, vigilantly watching the surroundings.
At the same time, it used Jungle Healing to release peculiar ripples that helped Bai Mu absorb the medicinal power.
"Ugh—"
Before long, Bai Mu let out a muffled groan.
His skin instantly flushed red, veins bulging as the muscles throughout his body seemed to expand several times over in an instant. His bones crackled as though they were trembling.
The violent medicinal power rampaged through his meridians as if it wanted to burst his body apart!
Pain!
Bone-piercing, heart-wrenching pain!
Every inch of muscle and every bone was repeatedly tempered, torn apart, and reconstructed by the medicinal power.
Sweat soaked through his clothes, only to be evaporated into white mist by the high temperature of his body.
Bai Mu gritted his teeth, circulated his soul power, and activated the Sunlight Meditation Technique to continue cultivating.
With the help of Jungle Healing, the red light on Bai Mu's body gradually faded, and his muscles and skin returned to normal.
Yet subtle changes had taken place in both his body and bearing—
His muscle lines had become smoother and more powerful, his body sturdier and more upright, and each breath carried a metallic, ringing resonance.
Before you continue