Spirit of Vegetation

What exactly is the mystery behind this Mist Island? Looking down from above, one only sees lush trees, vibrant flowers, and tangled thorns... it seems full of vitality.

Yet, there are no living creatures; not a single bird or beast can be found. The only exceptions are a few types of pollinating insects that have been granted special permission to survive.

Liu Yun stands on the bridge of the warship, watching the "resurrected" Li Yao transmit all the information to Venina, while Ruby and the others hide to the side, observing this eerie scene.

"Venina, it's me!" Li Yao speaks into his communication watch, his voice filled with irrepressible excitement.

"Yao, what happened?" Venina asks from the other end.

"We found it, we found it! The island I am currently on is a mysterious place hiding endless wealth and treasures. Furthermore, I have already discovered over twelve Spirits of Vegetation!" Li Yao's words are brimming with unconcealable excitement and agitation.

These words leave Venina stunned, and she asks out of curiosity.

"What? Doesn't that mean we've struck it rich? What about that Liu Yun? Did you kill him?"

While Venina is happy, she also asks about Liu Yun. Regarding this, Li Yao claims he didn't see Liu Yun, explaining that they encountered a beast horde and were stranded in the Australian hinterland, only to find many Spirits of Vegetation as a blessing in disguise.

Amidst her joy, Venina also feels a faint sense of unease. She has been thinking alone at home for a long time and feels that perhaps she should look toward the future.

"Husband, regarding Wei'er, shouldn't we let it go? If you come back with the Spirits of Vegetation, I can still bear you another child. Why don't we just forget about Liu Yun?"

On the other end, she tries to persuade Li Yao to let go of his hatred, as if that is the only way to soothe the unease in her heart. However, under Liu Yun's control, Li Yao flatly refuses.

"Hmph, I must have Liu Yun dead. That's all, I'm hanging up."

Li Yao immediately hangs up the phone, his expression instantly turning vacant. He looks like a robot, and in reality, he is nothing more than a cyborg with some human tissues—or perhaps, a monster.

Yan Hai and the Mysterious Elder to the side are the same, their expressions vacant and motionless like wooden statues, looking extremely sinister and terrifying.

The bold Yang Xiaolong ignores these puppets, steps forward, and says to Liu Yun.

"You're saying you discovered this spaceship by accident, and that's how you gained your magical power? This... this is simply incredible!"

She has already reached the "truth," and since she is currently inside the very spaceship that serves as that truth, how could she have any doubts? All she feels is shock.

On the other side, Xueni, as a child of a major family and the one who proposed turning Li Yao and the others into puppets, finally speaks up.

"Although I suspect that you, Captain, still have some reservations about me, you did bring us here and let us board the warship. We will continue to follow you in the future."

She expresses her intent to follow Liu Yun, even considering many things on his behalf. By now, she is thinking more deeply than Ruby; Xueni is trying to minimize the impact and has arranged everything. In truth, Liu Yun doesn't really care about the revenge mentioned by the Mysterious Elder.

Although his martial arts realm has yet to catch up to his Planetary Stage cultivation, as long as he relies on his Machine Race Clone, he can contend with opponents two stages higher than him. Why should he fear this or that? It is only Xueni who is timid and overthinks things.

Liu Yun doesn't care about these things at all. He releases Li Yao as if shooing away a pest; Li Yao can only act once he has received Liu Yun's approval.

"Very well! If I can return to Venina's side, at least she won't know the truth and be heartbroken..."

The cyborg "Li Yao" still retains a sliver of his past consciousness, and thinking this, he departs. Liu Yun has modified his critical parts; the current Li Yao is Liu Yun's most pathetic puppet, and Liu Yun will no longer interfere in his life.

As for the Mysterious Elder and Yan Hai, they have no grudge against Liu Yun, only having had their brains modified. They say to Liu Yun:

"Master, we shall return now and mobilize our forces to provide you with a steady stream of supplies. Please rest assured, Master."

Once they return, they will become people working for Liu Yun. Utilizing their influence to provide the supplies needed for the base is the best way to maximize their utility.

"Hmm!"

Liu Yun nods. With the massive amount of supplies secured, Xueni's calculations were indeed precise. When it comes to those who want to harm her, Xueni is truly ruthless.

With everything arranged, Liu Yun states his final goal. Once finished, he can return to Jiangnan Base; he has even bigger things to do later.

Liu Yun waves his hand gently, signaling the high-level intelligent robot beside him to step forward. The robot obeys, its mechanical arm holding an exquisite tray. On the tray sit four crystal-clear, faintly glowing crystal ball pendants, each containing different colors and energy fluctuations, appearing both mysterious and...

Some truths must remain buried forever. Liu Yun cannot make the existence of his Machine Race Clone public; he can only make the lies more realistic.

"These four crystal ball pendants are custom-made based on your individual characteristics and needs. This is what I use to connect to the warship. It can hack into every network on Earth and even provide you with combat guidance. Now, you know all my secrets."

He declares that all secrets have been revealed. The four women are deeply moved, each picking up a crystal ball and feeling the magical computer voice within.

"That's so unfair! Have you been fighting with this kind of thing all along?"

Ruby is very excited at this moment, feeling that Liu Yun has been "cheating" to win all this time. She finally understands the magical power of the crystal balls. They know deeply that this is not just a gift, but a sign of Liu Yun's trust in them.

Liu Yun is too lazy to respond. He directly opens the warship's hatch and jumps out; he still needs to harvest the Spirits of Vegetation.

This is an extremely important treasure; even a Councilor would be shocked to encounter it. Naturally, he intends to take every single one of them.

The women, having received Liu Yun's favor, also jump down. Using the crystal balls on their chests, they connect to the warship's network and see the intelligence of the entire island.

"With the Spirits of Vegetation, we will definitely be able to become War Gods!"

They all scream this out. Currently, their strength is a bit far behind Liu Yun's, and without the Spirits of Vegetation to break through, they wouldn't be much to look at. Of course, Liu Yun's own martial arts realm is also low, so he doesn't mind them.

They walk on Mist Island, their hearts filled with vigilance. Just as Liu Yun prepares to continue exploring deeper—Whoosh!

It is as if some power in the air is instantly activated. The vibrant pink flowers, larger than washbasins and quietly blooming in the forest, suddenly swell as if injected with life, their diameters rapidly expanding to three or four meters. This massive flower, like a cloud swept by a gale or a swift bolt of lightning, suddenly explodes toward Liu Yun with astonishing speed.

It descends from the sky in a near-vertical posture, like a giant cover, directly enveloping Liu Yun beneath it. The edges of the petals flicker with an eerie light, seemingly containing some indescribable power, attempting to swallow Liu Yun whole into this gorgeous yet dangerous sea of flowers.

But Liu Yun is well-prepared. His flying daggers soar into the air. The pink flower, which was just a moment ago delicate and dripping with dew but now a massive threat, is nothing more than a fleeting illusion in Liu Yun's eyes, and it is torn to shreds by three sharp flying daggers.

"Hmph, a mere Man-eating Flower dares to act presumptuously in front of me." Liu Yun snorts coldly, his tone filled with both contempt for the unknown and confidence in his own strength. His gaze is like a torch, scanning the surroundings, alert for any other potential dangers.

The fragments of the flower cut apart by the flying daggers scatter on the ground like tattered cloth, and the severed blood-red root is particularly shocking. The blood continuously gushing out looks exceptionally jarring on the green grass, and the air is filled with an indescribable, fishy, sweet, and eerie scent.

Liu Yun is only doing this to confirm the locations of the Spirits of Vegetation. Every time he reaches the location of a Spirit of Vegetation, he places down a Coordinate Indicator.

Soon, the Excalibur Brave would arrive to seize the land, along with the Spirit of Vegetation; yes, Liu Yun intended to transplant the Spirit of Vegetation and use the warship's technology to utilize these resources sustainably.

The nine willow trees, with their branches flailing like claws, had no power to resist the tractor beam of the warship and were uprooted instantly.

Hmm! I will need these things to refine more powerful Cell Evolution Fluid later. With them, perhaps I can change the entire world!

Liu Yun was thinking about the ecological economy, which was why he had brought the warship. As long as he transplanted these Spirit of Vegetation, with the technology of the Machine Race, he could cultivate new ones indefinitely. Of course, the effects would inevitably diminish due to genetic degradation, but even so, Liu Yun would be able to consume the Spirit of Vegetation like common cabbage.

Once he reached that point, he could sell the formulas for standard Cell Evolution Fluid to the major factions and make a fortune. As long as Liu Yun held the best medicinal formulas, it wasn't as if he couldn't allow other martial artists to benefit as well.

"Sigh, our captain is about to take control of the entire world!"

Xueni whispered. She, too, saw the utility of these Spirit of Vegetation; it seemed the entire world would soon belong to Liu Yun.

But what did that matter? Liu Yun's strength was her strength, and she could even use this to secure benefits for her own family, or perhaps even change the fate of her entire clan.