Chapter 327 – Earth Affinity
Oh, right. Leyvi suddenly rembered sothing. He had sothing the demonic beasts would like—essence paste! A paste made from unused demonic beast carcasses, used as nutrient-rich food for demonic beasts. Layla had learned the thod from the Treasure Pavilion and taught it to the Leyan Family.
Later, Tasya improved the thod, making the essence paste irresistibly delicious to all demonic beasts. It beca a staple power-up food for Stripey, Mr. Bison, Scarlet, and other spirit beasts in the family.
Since they weren't with him now, he'd use the abundant essence paste stock in his internal storage room to trade for more ti in the nature-born formation. Problem solved.
"Ahem… everyone, listen to . I have a request," Leyvi said, raising his voice to cut through the cacophony.
The demonic beasts turned, their eyes fixed on him, their grumbles quieting as they listened.
"I won't be staying in this bamboo forest for long, but I really need this place for now," Leyvi continued, gesturing to the glass beneath him.
"No way! This place is ours! Leave now!" The demonic gorilla rejected, thumping its chest.
"Right! No way! Leave!" the other demonic beasts echoed, their hisses, chirps, and snarls forming a chorus of defiance.
"How about I compensate you guys with sothing good?" Leyvi offered, a confident smile spreading.
"Sothing good? Hmph, what could be better than our sacred spot?" the gorilla scoffed, crossing its massive arms, its skepticism mirrored by the restless crowd.
Leyvi stepped out of the center of the formation and walked toward the demonic beasts. They quickly grew scared, recalling the outsider's terrifying power. So even fled the area.
Leyvi was amused. The demonic beasts in the bamboo forest behaved differently from usual. Typically territorial and hunting other species to grow stronger and evolve, their personalities were clearly softened by the forest's relaxing, magical aroma.
The next mont, with a wave of his hand, Leyvi summoned a massive amount of essence paste from his internal storage room onto the ground. A mound, twice his height, appeared before him—a year's worth of essence paste his spirit beasts hadn't used.
"Alright, everyone. This is the compensation. Feel free to eat it. Also, let
use the sacred spot just a while longer, okay? About a month," Leyvi said, his voice clear and confident, gesturing to the towering pile.
"Hmph, do you really think this is better than relaxing in our sacred area? You must be dreaming," the gorilla scoffed.
But as the essence paste's aroma reached their senses, the beasts' bodies twitched, their eyes glazing with instinctual hunger. Guided by instinct, they were drawn to the paste, drooling. They all sensed that eating it would make them stronger.
Leyvi smiled at their reactions. The essence paste contained high-level demonic beast essence, a potent tonic for the mostly low-level, peaceful demonic beasts of the bamboo forest.
"Out-outsider! What is this?" the gorilla asked. As one of the few interdiate-level demonic beasts in the forest, it had been acting as the leader from the start.
"Hahaha! This is great food for you guys. Not only is it delicious, it'll make you stronger," Leyvi replied.
The gorilla approached and scooped up a handful of essence paste. "Everyone… let
test this first to confirm if he's telling the truth."
Leyvi rolled his eyes. This gorilla clearly knew the essence paste was great. What a pretender. Look at that massive scoop. If you really wanted to test, you'd take just a sliver.
The gorilla shoved the paste into its maw, swallowing it in one gulp. Its eyes widened instantly, a shudder running through its body. The paste's essence surged within, strengthening its body and core, but it was the flavor—rich, savory, unlike anything in the forest—that stunned it. Regret flashed across its face; it should've savored the taste slowly, not gulped it like a brute. The crowd of beasts watched, their anticipation palpable, drool pooling beneath so.
"How is it? Can I use the sacred spot a bit longer? Like a month," Leyvi asked.
The gorilla locked eyes with him, its reluctance clear but wavering. We can use the sacred spot anyti after he leaves, but this food… we might never taste it again, it reasoned. With a grudging nod, it rumbled, "Fine. One month."
"Hahaha! Good! Then I'll head back to the glass. You guys divide the food among yourselves." Leyvi turned around.
He sat back on the glass, ready to resu his objective.
Outside the formation, the demonic beasts converged on the essence paste mound, their earlier hostility forgotten. To Leyvi's surprise, they divided it with remarkable civility, no beast hoarding or fighting. The gorilla, despite its earlier "test," took only its fair share, and even the seven pandas waddled forward, each receiving an equal portion, their happy grunts mingling with the others' satisfied hums.
Leyvi's gaze lingered on them briefly, a thoughtful expression crossing his face.
If these demonic beasts could grow stronger and evolve faster, Leyvi wouldn't be surprised if a highly functioning civilization of demonic beasts erged here. Unfortunately, demonic beasts thrived in a kill-or-be-killed environnt, accelerating their evolution. In a peaceful place like this bamboo forest, their growth slowed significantly.
It was in the nature of demonic beasts to hunt each other to grow stronger, so the chance of them forming a civilization outside a place like the bamboo forest was extrely low.
Leyvi pushed aside all other thoughts and focused. A glowing mud-brown bead streaked with golden veins, pulsating faintly, appeared between his thumb and index finger. It was the Earth Essence Bead.
In the Cloud Continent, an elental essence bead like this would be incredibly rare, but not here. The Mystic Realm was a treasure trove for such natural resources. If possible, he wanted to find essence beads for all other elents during this expedition. He had found Earth Essence Beads deep underground in a demonic earthworm's lair and Fire Essence Beads in an inferno crater. Though the Mystic Realm was vast, if he was strategic about where to search, he should be able to find them.
Leyvi disabled the Talent Bead's Earth Affinity benefit, ensuring he could feel the true effects of the Earth Essence Bead. He flicked his finger, launching the bead into his mouth as usual.
"Huh? It tastes like peanut butter." He had expected it to taste like dirt, recalling how he'd curiously tasted soil as a kid. He braced for a similar earthy flavor, but was pleasantly surprised.
The bead dissolved, releasing a steady, grounding pulse of earthy Qi that flowed into his ridians like rich, molten soil. His ridians ward with a deep, resonant energy, as if roots were anchoring him to the earth. His body felt heavier, more stable, and he sensed a subtle connection to the ground beneath, as if he could feel its pulse.
The next day, rain poured throughout the bamboo forest. The seven pandas had ntioned the rainy season was approaching, so this must be its start.
As the first raindrops fell, heavy and relentless, Leyvi glanced up, expecting to be drenched. To his surprise, a cylindrical, invisible barrier extended upward, reaching the bamboo canopy, shielding the clearing entirely. Rainwater slid off the unseen do, leaving the glass-like ground dry. He had prepared to face the rain, but this was far better. So, Leyvi continued consuming the Earth Essence Beads.
The rain fell heavily every day, pausing only for a few hours at tis. Nearly two weeks later, Leyvi's body reached its earth affinity limit, so he stopped. He had consud exactly one hundred Earth Essence Beads, matching the number of Fire Essence Beads.
From this, Leyvi concluded he would likely need one hundred essence beads for other elents too. Since he already had Fire and Earth Affinities, Water Essence Beads would be his next priority to perform the Great Eruption Martial Skill without relying on the Talent Bead.
Satisfied, Leyvi stood, the glass pulsing faintly beneath him. He decided to test his enhanced earth affinity with the Clay Golem Army Martial Skill. As usual, he struggled with conjuring complex designs except for himself, so he created a Clay Golem Leyvi. Sure enough, the Clay Golem Leyvi was stronger, faster, and moved more smoothly than before.
"Hahaha! Now, even my clay golem is enough to handle a weak high-level demonic beast like that caracal chasing after Dastan when I first t him. I can show off to Tal later." Leyvi laughed, dispersing the golem with a wave, the clay crumbling harmlessly.
His laughter echoed briefly before he settled back onto the glass, cross-legged, the heavy rain a soothing backdrop. With slightly over two weeks left to use the formation, he decided to study the Spiritual Cultivator cultivation manual, which he hadn't had the chance to explore yet. The mind-soothing atmosphere of the bamboo forest, amplified by the formation, was the perfect environnt for this.
To save ti, Leyvi used the 'Log In' function of his Talent Bead, sending his consciousness into the internal storage room. In there, ti wouldn't pass even a second; only his ntal endurance dictated how long he could stay. He could study the manual and gain full comprehension without worrying about ti.
In the internal storage room, Leyvi's consciousness began his first step to becoming a Spiritual Cultivator.
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