Grow, grow taller, grow taller still.
Shen Le held his breath, a large bottle of plant nutrient solution in one hand, ready to pour it into the tank at any moment.
His other hand formed a seal aimed at the rotten wood before him, ready to increase the growth spell's output. At the same time, his eyes and spiritual perception stayed fixed on the wood, watching it change little by little.
First, the dull, crumbling surface, which could barely hold its shape, gradually acquired a sheen. The spell had awakened it, bringing it back from death.
Within the cell walls, the contents that had vanished began to reappear, filling the cells once more.
Then the wood began to thicken, expanding outward.
Growth spread from the dense, deeply colored, resin-rich hardwood at its core to the slightly looser, softer, more vital layers surrounding it.
Soon, the expanding wood seemed to breathe again, beginning to pulse with almost imperceptible movements.
It grew outward, ring after ring, passing through years of growth within a few breaths.
Dark rings of grain wrapped around the solid heartwood, swelling outward while also growing forward. On tenterhooks, Shen Le supplied spiritual power and silently prayed, Just grow back into your original shape-that's all. Really, just become what you were when they put you into the earthenware jar, what you were when they made you into a tool-
Please don't turn into a tree. Please don't become a tree. Do you still remember what you looked like as a tool?
He watched the tank nervously, staring at the rotten wood growing inside it.
None of the other plant products he had restored had shown any tendency to become a bamboo stalk or a tree, but he never dared let his guard down.
Who knew?
What if?
A little