Chapter 159: Max Level Mystic Wood Art, Cultivating a Strange Seed
The sensation was ineffable—profound and mysterious—lingering for five full breaths before fading into the recesses of his consciousness.
Simultaneously, the high-ranking defensive spell evolved.
[Mystic Wood Golden Body Art: Second Layer]
Effect 1: Skin hardens to the density of Ironwood.
Effect 2: Ironwood resonance reflects minor damage.
Effect 3: Physical Resistance 20%.
Effect 4: Enhanced bone density and toughness.
Effect 5: Structure can withstand the trampling force of three spirit elephants.
Special Effect 1: Minor abrasions heal within 3 breaths.
Special Effect 2: Bone fractures heal within 1 day.
Jiang Chen had chosen to upgrade it by a single layer first to gauge the cost-to-benefit ratio. Currently, the improvents from the first to the second layer were primarily focused on defense, toughness, regeneration, and impact resistance.
It appeared that the deeper one cultivated this technique, the more terrifying these physical attributes would beco.
[Consu 30 years of Lifespan to raise the Mystic Wood Golden Body Art to the Fifth Layer (Max)?]
Jiang Chen didn't even blink. His remaining lifespan had long since surpassed seven hundred years. A re few decades was a drop in the bucket—a cost he could recoup by harvesting a single acre of his Spirit Farm.
"Upgrade."
Instantly, his consciousness was pulled back into that state of profound enlightennt. It was as if his body had entered a hyper-accelerated simulation, practicing the technique millions of tis in a split second. Insights flooded his mind, and the obscure physiological changes required for the art beca instinctual.
Muscle fibers tightened, skin density altered, and his internal organs reinforced themselves with spiritual patterns.
[Mystic Wood Golden Body Art: Fifth Layer (Max)]
Effect 1: Skin hardens like Ancient Ironwood; reflects damage; Physical Resistance 50%.
Effect 2: Bone toughness maximizes; withstands the force of five spirit elephants; Physical Damage Reduction 40%.
Effect 3: Internal organs generate spirit ridians, forming an internal cuirass; Impact Resistance 30%.
Effect 4: Heart transforms into a [Green Wood Spirit Seed]; recovery speed 20% when in proximity to high-grade Spirit Plants.
Effect 5: Spirit patterns grant Pain Immunity. Upon reaching critical condition, the body undergoes [Arboreal Transformation], granting Damage Resistance 100%.
Special Effect 1: Skin abrasions heal within 3 breaths.
Special Effect 2: Muscle tears and bone fractures heal within 1 day.
Special Effect 3: Internal organ damage heals within 3 days.
Special Effect 4: Fatal wounds trigger [Suspended Animation] state.
"Hiss..." Jiang Chen sucked in a cold breath, his eyes widening as he read the notifications.
He knew high-tier defensive spells from a Great Sect would be powerful, but this? This was absurd. At the maximum level, the combination of raw defense, damage mitigation, and regeneration turned him into a walking fortress.
The Cloud Sea Sect truly lives up to its reputation, he thought. The techniques exchangeable here are flawless and potent. If this were a technique from a Loose Cultivator market or a small clan, it would be fragnted, with half the effects missing and double the side effects.
Eager to test his new durability, Jiang Chen abandoned his patrol of the Spirit Farm. He jogged back to the wooden hut and made a beeline for the kitchen.
Without hesitation, he grabbed the kitchen knife from the cutting board.
This knife had been his companion since his first days in the Spirit Farm's core area. He kept it ticulously honed; it was sharp enough to slice through lons and vegetables as if they were air.
Now, however, he was about to turn it on himself.
"Ti to see if I'm really made of wood."
Gripping the handle in his right hand, Jiang Chen pressed the blade against the back of his left hand and drew it across with deliberate force.
Logically, skin should part. Blood should flow. Pain should register.
Instead, there was a dull friction. No blood. No wound. Just a faint, white scratch mark that looked like chalk on a blackboard.
Jiang Chen grinned, flexing his hand. "Aren't I supposed to be a fragile Wood Cultivator? Why do I feel more tanky than a Body Cultivator?"
Satisfied but not done, he increased the pressure. He sawed at his skin, trying to break the surface.
After several monts of aggressive self-mutilation, the result was nil.
The kitchen knife, while sharp for a mortal tool or a low-grade artifact, simply lacked the quality to breach his defenses. It was limited by its material and forging.
Furthermore, his regeneration was outacing the damage. The faint white scratches would vanish within a second of appearing.
"Alright, that's enough," Jiang Chen muttered, tossing the knife back onto the board. "Standing alone in a dark kitchen trying to stab myself... I'm starting to look like a lunatic."
Mood significantly lifted, he exited the hut and returned to the ridge of the second acre.
Under the influence of the [Green Lotus Domain], the Moonlight Grass was thriving. In just seven days, the seedlings had shot up to three inches. Barring any accidents, they would be ready for harvest in half a month—a rapid cycle that ant rapid profits.
As he admired the silver glow of the grass, a thought struck him. He rembered the peculiar seed he had salvaged from the Earth Dragon's stomach sac at the auction.
With a ntal command to the Jade Green Gourd, the seed materialized in his palm.
It was shaped like a lon seed—tapered at one end, rounded at the other—but sized for a giant, roughly the length of an adult thumb. Its surface was a mottled yellow-brown, scarred and pitted from the corrosive gastric acids of the Earth Dragon. Despite the damage, a faint, stubborn trace of Earth Spirit Qi lingered within it.
Jiang Chen scanned the field, selecting a spot near the irrigation channel where the soil was moistest. He dug a small hole and buried the scarred seed in the rich black earth.
He didn't need to manually infuse it with Qi; the [Green Lotus Domain] was active, saturating the entire area with dense Wood Spirit Qi.
Ti ticked by. The moon began its descent from the zenith toward the western horizon.
Jiang Chen frowned. "Nothing?"
Usually, under the influence of his domain and the rich soil, seeds would show signs of activity almost imdiately. But this one remained dormant, lifeless as a stone.
"Does it have specific environntal requirents?" he mused.
Because of the Earth Spirit Qi, he had assud it was similar to the [Earth Attracting Grass] he had grown before. But clearly, this was sothing more complex, perhaps exceedingly rare.
There was nothing else he could do tonight.
"Fine. Fend for yourself," he muttered to the patch of dirt. "If you don't sprout in three days, I'll dig you up and try sothing else."
With his dantian's Wood Qi finally exhausted from maintaining the domain, Jiang Chen retreated to his hut for the night.
The next morning, Jiang Chen slept in until the Si hour—roughly ten o'clock.
Da Huang and the Pearl Chickens had adapted to their master's relaxed schedule. Instead of waiting by the door with longing eyes, the trio had gone off to forage on their own, hunting insects in the wild grass surrounding the farm.
"Ah, that was a good sleep." Jiang Chen stretched his arms high as he stepped out onto the porch, the morning sun warming his face.
Habitually, he cast a glance toward the second acre of Spirit Farm on his left.
The Moonlight Grass had curled up, resting for the day. Now, it was the Golden Crow Vine's turn to bask in the sunlight.
His gaze swept past the irrigation channel—and froze.
"What the...?"
At the spot where he had planted the strange seed the night before, the texture of the soil had changed completely.
The surrounding black earth was crumbly and moist, typical of fertile farmland. But the soil directly above the seed had turned into a viscous, sticky sludge. It glistened with an unnatural sheen, distinct from the water in the nearby channel.
Jiang Chen’s eyes narrowed. He hurried off the porch, striding toward the anomaly.
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