Chapter 305: Chapter 298 Bodhi Tree_1

Watching this important pet survive the most difficult life-or-death situation, Qin Niu also let out a long sigh of relief.

Ancient Banyan Tree Blood is a good thing, as long as the dosage is sufficient, at the very least it can advance one grade.

Once the Red-eyed Golden Toad advances to Grade Eight, it will become Qin Niu’s strongest pet.

And it can also provide him with valuable experience in cultivating other pets.

After settling the Golden Toad, he did not stay in the backyard to cultivate but took out the thick “The Plant Atlas” and Master Mo Yang’s “Rare Herbs and Plants Atlas” to read.

He hoped to find records about the Ancient Banyan Tree in them.

That thick “The Plant Atlas” contained records of ordinary plants and medicinal herbs.

It was essentially a standard version of a plant encyclopedia.

There were detailed explanations for every plant’s image, characteristics, medicinal effects, toxicity, and information on when they would bloom and bear fruit.

It was quite nice to study it when he had nothing else to do.

Qin Niu flipped through it for a while, then put it aside.

Picking up Master Mo Yang’s “Rare Herbs and Plants Atlas,” he began to turn the pages one by one.

The book recorded various rare and unusual herbs and trees.

Each one could be considered a strange and exotic plant.

It even explained the principles behind plants turning into spirits.

The plants in the world, after many years, accumulate enough essence of the sun and moon within themselves, which helps them complete their evolution and mutation. This allows them to undergo certain changes and acquire advantages not found in their own kind.

Mutation is only the first step.

But this step is also the most difficult.

Out of a million plants, there might only be one or two that have the chance to mutate.

Some might develop more extensive root systems capable of penetrating deeper soil layers to absorb more nutrients. Others might undergo changes in their plant structure, allowing them to absorb more essence of the sun and moon.

There are also special medicinal herbs and trees that can absorb the spiritual qi of heaven and earth.

Mutation is just the first step for a plant to turn into a spirit.

The Dogtail Grass in Qin Niu’s backyard is a typical example. Nourished by the Everlasting Spring Technique, it rapidly underwent evolution and mutation.

The veins in its leaves turned purple.

And the plant itself became much sturdier.

This also proves that the Everlasting Spring Technique is an extremely precious cultivation technique. It has the ability to transform plants and help increase their chances of becoming spirits.

The second step, after the plant mutates, is to continue absorbing the essence of the sun and the moon, and its mutated abilities will continue to evolve.

When the plant evolves to a certain point, it can absorb the spiritual qi between heaven and earth, which is akin to taking half a step into becoming a spirit. As it absorbs more spiritual qi, the plant becomes stronger, not only capable of withstanding the destruction of wind, snow, and rain but also resisting damage from wild animals, insects, and other creatures.

Over the long years, they will gradually awaken their spirit intellect and eventually become true spirits.

Moreover, once the plants become spirits, the land or water body they grow upon will become their ‘home’.

They can use the geographical advantage to defend against enemies.

In their home, their strength also increases exponentially.

Powerful Tree Demons can even control a domain, making an entire mountain serve them.

He couldn’t help thinking about the Ancient Banyan Tree, which clearly had a trace of spirit intellect by now and was very strong, probably on the verge of becoming a spirit.

It had even acquired some of the abilities of a spirit creature.

The third step, after becoming a spirit, the plant will continue to cultivate. But since they lack sophisticated cultivation techniques, they only know superficial cultivation methods, so their progress is very slow.

And their means of attack are also very limited.

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They often only know some inherent attacks.

However, by chance, if some plants comprehend even a sliver of the heavenly Dao and cultivate for thousands, or even tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of years, they can become incredibly powerful. Their strength may even rival that of human Immortal Masters.

Not only that, within their own domain, because they can infinitely borrow the power of heaven and earth to repel enemies, their magic is endless and nearly invincible.

Qin Niu watched with longing in his heart.

If the Ancient Banyan Tree could receive his enlightenment and assistance, there was a complete possibility it could become such a formidable entity.

By then, Qin Niu’s lair would be as secure as a fortified city of metal.

Even if Immortal Masters came, they could be easily kept at bay.

He continued to flip through the Rare Herbs and Plants Atlas, but did not find any illustrations or descriptions of the Ancient Banyan Tree. Instead, he unexpectedly discovered an illustration that was extremely similar to the ‘Thousand Eyes Tree’.

Its trunk also bore many patterns resembling eyes.

This tree was called the Thousand Eyes Bodhi Wood, one of the wonders of the Buddhist Sect. The tallest of such trees could grow over a hundred meters tall, and legend has it that this tree possesses the extraordinary effects of calming the mind, focusing the spirit, helping cultivators refine their spiritual power, and aiding in sudden enlightenment.

Many formidable figures in the Buddhist Sect obtained enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree, even Patriarch Bodhidharma is said to have found the way to Buddhahood beneath it.

The Bodhi Tree has some subspecies, the shortest of which are only three feet tall with slender, frail branches.

According to some lucky cultivators who obtained the Bodhi Tree, even the subspecies of the Bodhi Tree still possess various unbelievable miraculous effects.

Some can enhance spiritual power, while others can give the user some kind of spiritual special ability, such as mental attacks, or even the Buddhist Sect’s Telepathy and other special powers. There are also a few that can enhance the cultivator’s comprehension, making the discovery and understanding of the Dao much more efficient.

Qin Niu had never imagined that the seemingly insignificant ‘Thousand Eyes Tree’ could have such strong effects.

Back when he was fleeing for his life, he had cut down many ‘Thousand Eyes Trees’, and now, thinking back, it was a sheer waste of heavenly treasures.

At that time, he had never thought that these were the extremely rare Bodhi Trees.

In Qin Niu’s mind, the Bodhi Tree was definitely a towering giant tree, not these small trees that are half the height of a person.

So it turns out that the Bodhi Tree has subspecies too.

That makes sense, not just trees, even high-level divine beasts like dragons have subspecies.

Dragons give birth to nine offspring, each one different from the others.

As they continue to procreate, the purity of their bloodlines will decrease, and various subspecies will emerge in succession.

Plainly speaking, these are hybrids.

For instance, if a male dragon falls in love with a female turtle, their offspring would still have dragon blood, but it would be impure—half dragon blood and half turtle blood.

The famous Dragon Turtle is a species from this kind of union.

“So many Bodhi Trees under the Ancient Banyan Tree, and there are even new saplings sprouting; isn’t this a windfall?”

Once Qin Niu knew that the Thousand Eyes Tree was a subspecies of the Bodhi Tree, his heart blossomed with joy.

The Ancient Banyan Tree was indeed a treasure trove.

It not only provided Qin Niu with several cultivation resources by itself but also the Bodhi Trees taking shelter under it turned out to be treasures.

It’s a pity that those Bodhi Trees cannot be moved to the outside world, or else he could consider other uses for them.

He wouldn’t consider selling them, though,

After all, these high-level cultivation resources are naturally safer firmly in his own hands.

So far, it has only been discovered that Termites can be cultivated using Bodhi Tree Blood.

Worker Ants that ingest it evolve into Puppet Ants, possessing Spirit Control abilities.

Soldier Ants that ingest it evolve into Ghost Ants, possessing Mental Attack abilities.

In the future, other pets can be used for further experimentation.

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