48: Sage Mode

Clearly, this seed was no ordinary thing.

Then, Jun Yan sensed with his spiritual power that the seed was breathing.

But unlike a plant's photosynthesis, which absorbed carbon dioxide and released oxygen, this seed absorbed Natural Energy and released vitality.

Natural Energy was the energy born collectively from all things in heaven, earth, and nature. It was a new form of energy, entirely different from Soul Power, spiritual power, and vitality. It existed on a higher plane.

Of course, Jun Yan was no stranger to this kind of energy.

Perhaps I can use this breathing method to develop a Sage Mode of my own, Jun Yan thought.

He looked at the seed in his palm again. "But for now, I need to plant this seed."

Though he did not know where the seed came from, Jun Yan understood that it had a consciousness of its own, albeit a very weak one.

Jun Yan dug a small hole on the shore where the hot and cold springs of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well met. He placed the seed inside and covered it with soil.

If he were planting a flower, he would still need to water it after burying it.

But Jun Yan looked at the two springs beside him and did not know whether he should water the seed, because the spring water was highly poisonous.

Although the seed possessed immense vitality, whether it could withstand the poisons of extreme heat and extreme cold remained unknown.

"Forget it. I'll see this through and help the seed to the end."

Jun Yan bit the middle finger of his right hand and let a drop of blood fall onto the soil.

Jun Yan already possessed abundant vitality, and he had completely fused the two great Immortal Herbs, the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Infernal Delicate Apricot, within his body.

Thus, Jun Yan's blood could truly be considered the finest fertilizer for nourishing plants.

Sure enough, after the blood fell and seeped underground, a burst of green light shone through the soil from the seed.

Jun Yan pressed his finger, letting more blood drip down. Then the ground began to tremble slowly.

A small mound rose where Jun Yan's blood had seeped into the ground. A crack suddenly opened in the mound, and a tiny sprout covered in fine hairs poked out.

As the blood continued to drip, the sprout immediately gave off a layer of green radiance and began to grow rapidly.

A few breaths later, the sprout had grown into a tiny sapling.

Suddenly, the sapling grew a leaf that was large compared to its body. The leaf curled upward and wrapped around Jun Yan's bleeding finger.

Green light flickered, and the wound on Jun Yan's finger instantly healed. Only then did the leaf release his finger.

Gentleness!

Jun Yan sensed that emotion in the sapling's actions just now, so he withdrew his finger.

After healing Jun Yan's finger, the sapling did not stop growing.

But its growth was not above ground; it was underground.

The ground continued to tremble slightly. Suddenly, a soft plop came from the spring water beside him.

Jun Yan immediately turned to look and saw a small pebble slowly dissolving in the spring water.

Looking at the shore again, he saw that a thin root had grown out and extended into the spring water. It swayed twice in the water.

Jun Yan had chosen a spot for the seed right at the boundary between the two springs, so as the root swayed, it dipped into each of the two springs in turn.

Whether because of Jun Yan's blood or because the little tree had never feared the two springs to begin with, the root was not harmed by their waters.

The root plunged straight into the scorching Yang Spring. Then another soft sound rang out, and another root grew out and plunged into the Extreme Cold Yin Spring.

Jun Yan reached out and tapped the sapling's leaf. "You really are extraordinary, little tree. You can actually absorb both ice and fire energy at the same time. I have to give you a name."

"Since you came out of the Jade of Life, I'll call you the Tree of Life!"

Perhaps it understood Jun Yan's words, for the little tree's large leaf wrapped around his finger again, and a feeling of joy came through to him.

Jun Yan sat down cross-legged and entered a meditative state.

Sage Mode was a special mode in Hokage.

By absorbing a certain amount of Natural Energy and combining it with one's own energy, one could form a special Senjutsu energy. Then one could use Natural Energy to enhance attack and defense, as well as increase the range of Taijutsu attacks and perception.

Sage Mode could be called a powerful enhancement skill. The only difficulty was that Natural Energy was violent and uncontrollable.

If one could not use Natural Energy properly after absorbing it, one would eventually be assimilated by it, turning to stone or wood and so on. In short, the consequences were unthinkable.

Therefore, if Jun Yan wanted to try it, he had to be extremely careful.

Jun Yan observed the Tree of Life's breathing pattern with his spiritual power, sensing the endless stream of Natural Energy flowing into it.

This was also the first step in Jun Yan's development of Sage Mode: absorbing Natural Energy into his body.

That was easy enough, because a great deal of Natural Energy surrounded the Tree of Life, and Jun Yan could try absorbing it directly.

Jun Yan reached out and drew it in, and the Natural Energy rushed into his body like swifts returning to their nests.

Is my affinity really this strong? Jun Yan marveled inwardly.

Being able to absorb Natural Energy quickly was naturally a good thing. It meant Sage Mode could be activated quickly and maintained for longer.

However,

"Isn't this a bit too much?!"

A vast amount of Natural Energy poured into his body, and Jun Yan felt so bloated that he could not even spare the attention to combine his own energy with it.

Fortunately, although the Natural Energy remained trapped in Jun Yan's body, his body was not assimilated by it.

So Jun Yan needed to drive the excess Natural Energy out of his body. The Tree of Life beside him seemed to notice his predicament and stretched out its leaf, laying it on his leg.

The life energy in Jun Yan's body immediately flowed from his leg into the Tree of Life. When it came to affinity for Natural Energy, the Tree of Life was far stronger than Jun Yan.

As the Natural Energy in Jun Yan's body decreased to a certain amount, he began to control his Soul Power and fuse it with the Natural Energy.

The process was easy, just like drawing the energy into his body earlier.

A touch of black eye shadow began to appear on Jun Yan's face, and a powerful presence instantly erupted from him.

A verdant light suddenly bloomed from the Tree of Life, containing Jun Yan's pressure in front of him and sparing the surrounding plants an undeserved calamity.

"Sage Mode, what a powerful feeling!"

Jun Yan's presence slowly stabilized. Entering Sage Mode for the first time, he felt stronger than ever before.

He turned to look at his reflection in the spring water. Around his eyes was the eye shadow that signified Sage Mode, and between his brows was a hollow circle with a black dot at its center.