Carson Flores sat cross-legged on the ground, not even blinking as he stared at the Nine-leaf Ginseng seedling in front of him.
The Nine-leaf Ginseng is considered a Spiritual Medicine, growing by absorbing Spiritual Energy. One leaf would be added every hundred years, and it would fully mature in about nine hundred years, endowing it with astonishing medicinal power.
A Nine-leaf Ginseng with just one leaf holds a certain value, though not very high, categorized as Low-grade Spirit Medicine. Reaching five leaves, or five hundred years, the value becomes quite impressive, qualifying it as Mid-grade Spirit Medicine. But reaching nine leaves, it’s considered Superior Spirit Medicine, a rare treasure hardly to be found.
The Nine-leaf Ginseng that Carson Flores found had a slender first leaf that was only halfway sprouted, appearing to be just a few decades in age.
Carson placed the Life Essence Pearl on the ground, directly against the Nine-leaf Ginseng, and started to frenziedly channel Spiritual Energy into it, which rapidly transformed into vitality that the ginseng absorbed.
The leaves of the Nine-leaf Ginseng gradually stretched out and elongated, with the first leaf fully growing out, followed by the sprouting of the second leaf.
Carson’s heart overflowed with joy because in just six hours, after exhausting all his Spiritual Energy, he had achieved such an effect.
What would the effect be after several more times?
Carson was about to sit down and cultivate to recover his Spiritual Energy when he suddenly remembered something, and a strange expression appeared on his face.
Didn’t he have the Water-Fire Mirror, which stored a large amount of Spiritual Energy?
What if he used the Water-Fire Mirror to inject Spiritual Energy into the Life Essence Pearl?
Carson first cast a simple cloaking Spell around himself, and then took out the Water-Fire Mirror. As soon as the Water Mirror side was exposed, pillars of Spiritual Energy surged out from it like mad.
Carson adjusted the angle of the Water-Fire Mirror so that the Water Mirror side faced the Life Essence Pearl, and instantly, a pillar of Spiritual Energy shot directly onto the pearl. The vast majority of it entered the Life Essence Pearl, while the rest dispersed but didn’t escape due to the Array that Carson had placed.
Carson was thrilled. With this method, he didn’t have to continuously channel Spiritual Energy foolishly. He could simply enjoy the benefits while also cultivating simultaneously, without wasting any of the Spiritual Energy pouring out of the Water-Fire Mirror.
If one were to make a vivid comparison, the Life Essence Pearl was essentially a converter, its greatest function being to transform Spiritual Energy into vitality, acting as a catalyst. Applied to plants, it could spur growth; applied to wounds, it could speed up the healing process.
The Water-Fire Mirror currently served as a source of Spiritual Energy. As long as there was ample energy within it, the Water-Fire Mirror paired with the Life Essence Pearl could continuously catalyze Spiritual Medicine without Carson needing to intervene.
All he had to do was to recharge the Water-Fire Mirror!
After obtaining all of the Water-Fire adept’s legacy, Carson figured out how to operate the Water-Fire Mirror: it absorbs water and fire energy, then releases attacks using these elements. Costs them convertate each other, and the greater the abundance of Spiritual Energy, the more powerful the attacks. Of course, as long as there’s Spiritual Energy inside, it can be used as a source of energy, just as it is being used now.
Carson swallowed a Vermilion Blood Fruit, closed his eyes, and concentrated on cultivating. It took him a whole day to fully digest and absorb the fruit.
Carson clearly felt an increase in his strength. Although not by much, the improvement was tangible.
Carson opened his eyes and glanced at the Nine-leaf Ginseng in front of him, only to discover to his surprise that it now had three leaves!
One day’s time had equated to two hundred years of growth for the Nine-leaf Ginseng—such an exaggeration!
Thinking it over, it seemed somewhat believable. After all, how much Spiritual Energy could the Nine-leaf Ginseng absorb in a day on its own?
It was like the saying goes, "constant dripping wears away the stone." How much water could drop in a hundred years? Now, it was like a torrential river pouring in, so naturally, shouldn’t the time be significantly reduced?
Carson continued to consume Vermilion Blood Fruits, one each day for three consecutive days, after which the Nine-leaf Ginseng finally sprouted all nine leaves, reaching its optimal and most perfect state.
Carson carefully excavated the Nine-leaf Ginseng, preserving it in a medicine box he had prepared in advance, which was sealed with a miniature Array to prevent the loss of its medicinal properties.
With the Life Essence Pearl in hand, Carson began to experiment with ideas he had during the past few days, like whether he could catalyze the Vermilion Blood Fruit he had picked to bloom and bear fruit again.
After some trials, Carson found it didn’t work.
It seemed the Life Essence Pearl wasn’t omnipotent; although it could hasten maturity, it couldn’t defy certain natural laws.
Carson wasn’t disappointed, though. After all, even so, it was still a wondrous artifact!
With it, would he ever lack elixirs?
With elixirs, would his cultivation speed remain slow?
Carson hit the road once again, this time not only searching for mature Spiritual Medicines but also seedlings. Although he couldn’t replicate the seasons or the flowering and withering cycles, he could certainly expedite a season’s growth.
In the blink of an eye, a month passed. Carson spent every day consuming Vermilion Blood Fruit and other Spiritual Medicines for cultivation and awaiting the maturity of the Spiritual Medicines he found. In a month’s time, he had amassed a collection of various Spiritual Medicines of high value.
However, it was at this time that a problem arose—the Water-Fire Mirror was out of Spiritual Energy!
He needed to find a way to recharge the Water-Fire Mirror!
Carson opened the Jade Slip and reviewed the map, eventually setting his sights on a particular location.