Chapter 286: Chapter 278: Growth Visible to the Naked Eye

She couldn’t see the state inside Mouse Treasure’s body, but by sensing the Attribute fluctuations underground, she could tell that Mouse Treasure was using its Dantian as a starting point to circulate Earth Element Spiritual Qi along its meridians, forming a stable energy framework.

Cyan Treasure’s Light Mana fused with it, and the two intertwined within the meridians, flowing like a Yin Yang Fish.

When the curious vibrational ripples reached the ground, they formed a life pulse that stimulated the Black Ghost Wood Grass Seed’s growth. This, in turn, invisibly accelerated the influx of Spiritual Qi, causing it to absorb the nutrient solution Gu Ming had poured on it at an incredible speed.

This should have been a common method for a Grass Element Catalyst Technique, but Jiang Jinling couldn’t sense any trace of Grass Element Spiritual Qi or mana.

There was only the combined effect of the Earth and Light Elements. Jiang Jinling felt like she only partially understood. After watching, her heart was filled with a mix of complex emotions. She wanted to say something, but the words were stuck in her throat.

All she knew was that her time was running out. She had to hurry and perfect her Cultivation Technique, lest he steal her spotlight.

...

Another day passed.

「The sixth day of the exam.」

Gu Ming was as steady as a rock, still optimizing the Cultivation Technique for Mouse Treasure.

In Jiang Jinling’s eyes, Gu Ming’s Cultivation Technique was already complete enough to be written up as a thesis, submitted directly to the Hall of the Great Dao for certification, and was guaranteed to summon a two- or three-colored Holy Light.

But Gu Ming didn’t do so. He was still adjusting the Cultivation Technique for Mouse Treasure.

She couldn’t perceive the minute details, but Lu You, as its master, could feel how Mouse Treasure’s internal circulation changed and grew every one or two hours after it officially began practicing this Cultivation Technique.

For example, during its current Cultivation, Mouse Treasure could feel a gentle Power circulating within its body.

The profound weight of the Earth Element Spiritual Qi blended with the nimble agility of the Light Spiritual Qi that Cyan Treasure had infused into it.

The Sunflower Seed-eating Hamster felt as if it were in a field in spring, experiencing both the solid reliability of the earth and the gentle warmth of the sun.

This sensation gradually spread from its Dantian throughout its entire body, making it feel invigorated and full of vitality.

After completing one Great Cycle, its body underwent noticeable changes.

First, it could clearly perceive that the Spiritual Qi within its body was more abundant, and its meridians had become tougher.

Furthermore, when Mouse Treasure brought its paws close to the mound of earth covering the Black Ghost Wood Seed, a faint wave of light, a mixture of earthy yellow and pale gold, would be released from its palms.

The light contained a stable and gentle Life Energy, which flowed into the Black Ghost Wood Seed.

Nourished by this energy, the seed buried in the earth, its once-shriveled shell began to grow plump. Faint patterns emerged on its surface, as if it were striving to absorb energy in preparation to break through the soil and grow.

Meanwhile, the Hall of the Great Dao would occasionally appear overhead.

Most were Monochromatic Holy Lights. Occasionally, a dual-colored one would appear, but not often—only two or three times a day.

This continued until Gu Ming modified the final section of the Cultivation Technique, steering it closer to a seven-colored technique from his memory until there was nothing left to improve.

Another wave of gasps erupted from the field.

A beam of Tri-Colored Holy Light had unexpectedly descended from the sky, crashing down next to Gu Ming.

This almost made Gu Ming mistakenly believe that the Hall of the Great Dao was so impatient to certify his Cultivation Technique that it was naming it ahead of time.

He turned his head and saw that it was for Jiang Jinling, who had moved to the spot next to him at some point. She had completed the final design of her catalyst technique, drawing the attention of the Hall of the Great Dao.

Having completed her Cultivation Technique, Jiang Jinling stared at him, her gaze burning.

"When are you going to finish your Cultivation Technique?" she asked directly.

Jiang Jinling’s current score was a Tri-Colored plus another Tri-Colored.

Backstage, the judges had already given her an A+ score.

And the new catalyst technique she had just completed had the potential for an S Level rating in the judges’ eyes, as it was quite innovative.

This was why Jiang Jinling had called out to him. Her confidence had returned.

Just because Gu Ming could write an S Level thesis on Arrays didn’t mean he could also produce an S Level Cultivation Technique.

An S Level rating required, at a minimum, a Tri-Colored certification from the Hall of the Great Dao.

But even with a Tri-Colored light, it wasn’t guaranteed to sway the judges unless the design was exceptionally brilliant.

Compared to Gu Ming, she had completely bypassed the conventional Grass Element Spiritual Qi catalyst approach, also using the power of the earth to catalyze the Black Ghost Wood Grass Seed.

The Black Ghost Wood next to her had already broken through the soil and grown a sturdy trunk.

Its branches had also spread out, sprouting leaves of pure black.

The texture of its wood even had hollow, skull-like patterns that looked vaguely ghostly. Judging by its growth, it was comparable to a three-month-old Black Ghost Wood.

This was the result of just one day of her catalysis, an astonishing achievement.

In contrast, looking at the catalysis results of the other candidates, they had only managed to break through the soil and sprout a new bud within a day; they were nowhere near the stage of a grown tree.

Jiang Jinling looked at the Grass Seed by Mouse Treasure’s feet. The soil had only bulged slightly and loosened, but the tip of the sprout was still buried, not having grown out yet.

’And to think she had been worried sick that Gu Ming’s Black Ghost Wood Grass Seed would grow at lightning speed.’

But after a whole day...

’This was it?’

Jiang Jinling placed her hands on her hips, feeling vindicated and proud. She lifted her chin in his direction and couldn’t help but let out a smug hum.

Lu You patted Mouse Treasure, which in turn looked to its big brother, Cyan Treasure, who was beside it.

Cyan Treasure flicked its tongue. The reason the Grass Seed was slower than the others was actually due to a bottleneck with Mouse Treasure. Lacking a Light Spiritual Root, it was a huge strain for it to execute this Cultivation Technique.

To enable Mouse Treasure to run the Cultivation Technique for five complete Great Cycles, Cyan Treasure had spent the entire day facing the sun, cultivating and absorbing Light Spiritual Qi.

It was time to transfer the Light Energy within its body into Mouse Treasure and let it run the Cultivation Technique at full speed.

Cyan Treasure looked up at its master and saw Gu Ming nod.

It immediately wagged its small snake tail, transferring the cultivated Light Energy from its body into Mouse Treasure.

Mouse Treasure activated its Earth Shifting Technique, its Brain Array multitasking as it operated at full power and maximum speed.

A continuous stream of light flowed from its paws. The interwoven halo of earthy yellow and pale gold formed a fine energy network that completely enveloped the Black Ghost Wood Seed.

The signs of life within the seed were completely activated.

Fine cracks appeared on its hard shell, and a tender green sprout pushed through the clod of soil, proudly poking its head out.

Faint wisps of Spiritual Qi coiled around the sprout’s body. An even more powerful miracle of life erupted from within the seed as it began to breathe on its own, drawing in the dense Spiritual Qi from the air.

One had to remember that this was an Eight-star Dao Field. Every wisp of Spiritual Qi in the air contained a high concentration of Grass Spiritual Qi, in addition to nutrient factors from various medicines.

With every breath it took, it grew, its body constantly changing.

Gu Ming had already asked the Thousand-eyed Wind Bird.

It wasn’t against the rules for the Grass Seed to absorb Grass Spiritual Qi on its own as it grew.

The only rule was that when the Pet Beast was executing the technique, it could not use Grass Spiritual Qi within its body, nor could it use Mana created from the Refinement of Grass Element Spiritual Qi.

Mouse Treasure remained focused, guiding the Black Ghost Wood’s breathing. A spiral vortex gradually appeared around it, and the Spiritual Qi formed a visible, stream-like belt in the blink of an eye.

When the vortex’s rotation reached a specific frequency, the Light Energy inside Mouse Treasure’s body twisted and began to resonate with the Earth Element Spiritual Qi.

This wondrous resonance effect caused the Black Ghost Wood itself to lengthen at a speed visible to the naked eye. Its branches shot up, and a black-gold luster appeared on the edges of its leaves.

"This..." Jiang Jinling, watching from next door, was dumbfounded.

Growing from a sprouting seed into a one-meter-tall sapling... had taken only a few dozen seconds.