Planting Flowers

The moment the contract was completed, the Bloodthirsty Thorn in Zhou Xuan's hand, which had been struggling frantically just a second ago, suddenly stiffened and went completely still.

All its thorns retracted their sharp edges, and the bud that resembled a man-eating flower closed up obediently, the entire plant drooping limply like a docile green whip.

At the same time, a strange sensation rose in Zhou Xuan's heart.

He could clearly feel that an unbreakable mental link had been established between himself and this Bloodthirsty Thorn.

Through this link, he could sense some extremely simple emotions transmitted from the other side.

Confusion, fear, and then affection and reliance.

It was just like a newborn baby, treating the first person it saw as its parent.

Although the intelligence of this Bloodthirsty Thorn was far too low to engage in any complex communication, or even express a single complete thought.

Yet, Zhou Xuan could clearly feel that it had developed an absolute obedience and closeness toward him from the depths of its soul.

"Finally succeeded..."

Zhou Xuan let out a long, heavy breath, his body swaying so much he nearly collapsed onto the ground.

An unprecedented sense of exhaustion swept through his entire body, and his head was buzzing.

His vision went dark in waves, as if he hadn't slept for three days and three nights; his mental state was exhausted to the extreme.

Beside him, Zhou Ye, who had witnessed everything, was completely stunned.

He had his mouth wide open, his eyes widened like copper bells, staring blankly at Zhou Xuan and then at the green vine in Zhou Xuan's hand that was acting impossibly obedient, as if he had been hit by a freezing spell.

What happened?

What just happened?

He only saw Brother Xuan grab that man-eating monster, then close his eyes, his face turning ghastly pale, and then the monster just stopped moving like a tamed dog?

What kind of god-like method was this?

"Brother Xuan."

Zhou Ye's voice was trembling; the look he gave Zhou Xuan was now tinged with a sense of near-reverence.

"Did you just...?"

He couldn't even find a suitable word to describe the scene he had just witnessed.

"It's nothing."

Zhou Xuan waved his hand, forcing himself to stand steady; he didn't want to show weakness in front of the little brother he had just taken under his wing.

He looked at the Bloodthirsty Thorn in his hand that had completely submitted, and his heart burned with excitement.

Although the process was dangerous and the consumption was massive, everything was worth it!

He scanned the area; the remaining strange-looking mutated plants, while still possessing some vitality.

In terms of both power and potential, they were far inferior to the Bloodthirsty Thorn in his hand.

Zhou Xuan had no interest in them; if he was going to cultivate something, he would cultivate the strongest one.

"From now on, I'll call you Little Flower."

Zhou Xuan weighed the Little Flower in his hand and casually gave it a name.

The Bloodthirsty Thorn known as Little Flower could not understand the meaning of the name, but it could feel the master's will within Zhou Xuan's words.

The bud at the top of the plant swayed gently, transmitting a feeling of joy and excitement.

"Brother Xuan, what about that rice?"

Zhou Ye finally recovered from his shock and pointed at the dozen or so sacks in the deep pit, asking in a low voice.

"That."

Zhou Xuan's eyes lit up instantly, his exhausted spirit suddenly invigorated.

"Of course, we're taking it all!"

He turned his head to look at Zhou Ye and issued an order: "Zhou Ye, this rice is a failed experimental product; ordinary people will explode if they eat it, but it's still useful to me. Remember, you must not eat it by mistake."

"Understood, Brother Xuan!"

Zhou Ye nodded vigorously without hesitation; he was now unconditionally executing every order from Zhou Xuan.

Zhou Xuan nodded with satisfaction, then looked down at the Little Flower in his hand.

He couldn't keep this guy on him at all times; he needed to find a place for it to settle down.

A place that could hide its form, allow it to grow freely, and incidentally help him guard his home.

Zhou Xuan's gaze shifted toward the direction of his dilapidated thatched cottage; a perfect plan had already taken shape in his mind.

Zhou Xuan looked at the patch of strange-looking mutated plants, his eyes devoid of any wariness.

Having subdued the strongest Bloodthirsty Thorn among them, these remaining crooked melons and cracked dates no longer posed any threat in his eyes.

He couldn't even be bothered to test them one by one; with a slight movement of his soul power, his micro-level perception instantly spread out.

The internal structures of these plants and the weak points of their energy flow were clearly presented in his mind.

Bang!

He kicked the base of a strange flower that possessed a mouth, striking the exact node where its energy converged.

Before the strange flower could even let out a shriek, the entire plant withered rapidly as if drained of all moisture, crumbling into a pile of charred residue.

Snap!

He casually snapped off a black plant that resembled a ground spike, striking precisely at its most fragile joint.

The plant, which was as hard as stone, felt as brittle as a dried twig in his hands.

The entire process was fluid and effortless; in just a few dozen breaths, the eerie patch of vegetation that had terrified Zhou Ye out of his wits was thoroughly cleared away by Zhou Xuan.

Only the dozen or so sacks filled with Mutated Spirit Rice remained, lying quietly in the deep pit like a treasure waiting to be unearthed. Zhou Xuan waved his hand and tucked them away.

Zhou Ye stood to the side, dumbfounded throughout the entire ordeal, his Adam's apple bobbing repeatedly.

He couldn't comprehend what had just happened; he only saw those terrifying plants that had been baring their fangs and claws, seemingly capable of devouring a living person just moments ago.

In front of Brother Xuan, they were no different from the most common weeds in a field, easily uprooted and destroyed.

This exceeded his understanding of power; was this truly the strength a Body Tempering Realm cultivator could possess?

Furthermore, the dozen sacks had vanished into thin air—did Brother Xuan have a storage bag? That was a high-level magical artifact that even outer sect disciples rarely possessed.

He recalled Zhou Xuan's previous promise to help him improve his Spirit Root aptitude.

Originally, he had only held onto a faint glimmer of hope, but now, that hope had expanded into a sun within his heart!

Brother Xuan was definitely no ordinary person!

He must have encountered a monumental stroke of fortune!

"Brother Xuan."

Zhou Ye's voice carried a hint of imperceptible trembling and fanaticism.

"This is a Qi Gathering Pill. Take it; you did well today."

Brushing the dust off his hands, he tossed the pill to Zhou Ye with indifference, as if he had merely performed a trivial task.

"Qi Gathering? A Qi Gathering Pill! Thank you, Brother Xuan!!" Zhou Ye puffed out his chest, his eyes shining with excitement.

Zhou Xuan slung the Bloodthirsty Thorn, which he had named Little Flower, over his shoulder and turned to walk toward his dilapidated thatched cottage.

Upon returning to his dwelling, Zhou Xuan did not rush to study Little Flower, nor did he immediately expend his Gold Touch Value to perform the so-called secondary directed mutation.

This thing had only been born a dozen days ago, yet its lifespan was a mere three months.

To use Enlightenment on it now would be too cost-ineffective, not to mention that he didn't have enough Gold Touch Value to spare.

He planned to keep it for now, observe and study it thoroughly, and ideally wait until its lifespan was nearing its limit before giving it a transformative evolution—that would maximize the benefits.

At the entrance of his thatched cottage, he found an inconspicuous corner and dug a pit over half a meter deep with his bare hands.

Then, he carefully placed Little Flower's root system inside and filled it back with soil.

From this day on, this would be Little Flower's home.

It could hide its form to avoid being discovered by outsiders, while simultaneously serving as the most loyal and concealed sentry.

Only after finishing all this did Zhou Xuan let out a sigh of relief. But before he could even rest, a peculiar sensation stemming from a soul connection was transmitted to him.

It was Little Flower.

It was conveying an emotion: hunger!