For seven days, Lin Yang sat cross-legged beside the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng, eyes slightly closed.
His spiritual power remained constantly focused on the Blood Dragon Ginseng. Even "Tong Tou" carefully monitored its every movement.
Lan Qin stood quietly by his side.
Beneath the soil, her roots had long since woven a dense, impenetrable net.
Just then, the surrounding Heaven and Earth Qi suddenly stagnated and surged toward the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng like a siphon.
Lin Yang's eyes snapped open.
The Blood Dragon Ginseng radiated a dazzling deep-crimson light. Dense life essence, so thick it seemed tangible, erupted in all directions like a blood mist.
Wherever that essence reached — whether sacred products or ordinary medicinal herbs — their vitality surged as if they had taken a powerful tonic.
Some herbs even visibly grew taller.
"Such rich life force… is this the reward?" Lan Qin's voice rang out.
When a Ninth-Grade Ginseng King grasped the essence of heaven and earth and broke through, it released life energy that not only nourished heaven and earth,
but was also an extremely nutritious substance for all living beings — a natural treasure without equal.
The moment this blood mist touched the surrounding medicinal herbs, it was automatically absorbed into their bodies.
Lan Qin was no exception.
However, Lin Yang's heart skipped a beat. Sensing that something was wrong, he immediately used his soul power to separate the life essence.
At the same time, Lin Yang also noticed the "abnormality" of the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng.
Although its "body" was still under the surveillance of his spiritual power, from a clear perspective,
a large amount of deep-crimson energy was erupting from the ground at an extremely rapid speed.
Like a cicada shedding its shell?
Cunning thing.
"Trying to escape?"
Lin Yang shouted and reacted extremely quickly.
He lightly waved his right hand. A giant hand formed of condensed soul power smashed into the ground.
The soil exploded, but only shattered clumps of earth remained.
Lin Yang was surprised. This thing was truly difficult to catch.
He himself did not even understand how it had managed to escape from him at this moment.
When Lan Qin tried to intercept it, she pretended to be drunk. Her vines began dancing wildly and uncontrollably.
Watching the Crystal Blood Dragon escape more than ten feet in the blink of an eye, he thought the years of waiting would go to waste.
Lin Yang showed no urgency at all. Instead, he coldly sneered.
Today he had truly experienced the power of the Ninth-Grade Ginseng King's Earth Escape technique.
However, this little scheme was still insufficient to escape his grasp.
Boom—!
Bone spikes sprouted from the ground one after another, instantly surrounding the entire herb garden like a cage.
Lan Qin was only the first line of defense.
Further away, he had already arranged for his skeleton clones to quietly surround the entire herb garden.
The Earth King's Earth Escape technique had no effect on bones.
Bang!
Several dull thuds came from underground, followed by trembling. A crater explosively opened in the ground, and a red figure was thrown out.
Lan Qin sobered up at once. She immediately manipulated her vines to weave a net, securely binding the figure and suspending it in midair.
Without soil, no matter how clever the scheme, it would not work on a Ninth-Grade Ginseng King.
Lin Yang smiled, stood up, approached the figure, and carefully examined the Ginseng King.
It was a small dragon, as if carved from crystal, its entire body blood-red. Roots resembling limbs were exposed, claws extended, as it glared at Lin Yang.
The Ninth-Grade Ginseng King had already gained intelligence.
It naturally knew what would happen if it fell into human hands.
The small red dragon struggled desperately, slamming its roots against the blue-silver vine net, but all its efforts were in vain.
Lin Yang snorted coldly and immediately used his soul power to seal it, placing it into a jade box for safety.
Feeling the tremendous life energy contained within, a flash of satisfaction appeared in his eyes.
The years of waiting had finally paid off. The Ninth-Grade Ginseng King would be a great boost for both him and Xiao Wu.
At the same time, the "Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng" left on the spot dissolved into a blood mist and sank into the soil.
"Master, I'm sorry!"
Guilt was evident in Lan Qin's voice. Her carelessness had nearly ruined her master's hard work.
"It's fine."
Lin Yang smiled as he touched the blue jasmine leaves.
Even a Ginseng King that had only newly gained consciousness was clearly extremely cunning.
The life essence it released upon breaking through to the ninth grade was not only used to nourish heaven and earth, but also served as a trap for heaven and earth.
Whether human or plant, after touching the life essence, one would feel "dizzy" a few times.
In just a few breaths, the Ginseng King could escape and ascend to the heavens.
If he had not been so vigilant, and if he had not touched that life essence, he would probably have been unable to react in time, just like Lan Qin.
After comforting Lan Qin, Lin Yang placed the jade box into his Ruyi Treasure Bag.
Then Lan Qin suddenly cried out in surprise.
"Master, come quickly and look!"
Hearing this, Lin Yang immediately looked in the direction of the sound.
Lan Qin's vines were wrapped around the glossy Soul-Purifying Flower, as if they had discovered something.
Lin Yang's heart skipped a beat. Had something gone wrong with the Glazed Soul-Purifying Flower?
However, upon closer inspection, signs that the crystal bud at the tip of the Crystal Purifying Flower had already begun to open could be seen.
"This… is it about to mature?"
Lin Yang's face lit up with joy.
He had not expected that the life force of the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng would further accelerate the maturation of the Glazed Soul-Purifying Flower.
Judging from the current situation, it would take at most six months, and at shortest three months, to fully mature.
After confirming that the Crystal Soul-Purifying Flower was still growing vigorously, Lin Yang once again strolled through the herb garden.
He discovered that the medicinal herbs that had absorbed the life essence were of even higher quality, which would greatly aid his future plans.
Afterwards, like a diligent herb farmer, Lin Yang tended the herb garden for two days before returning to the Butterfly House.
After returning to the Butterfly House, Lin Yang met with Dugu Bo and Ye Xuanyin for a short while, then headed to the laboratory.
To maximize the effects of the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng, the preliminary preparations alone were already a major undertaking, not to mention the subsequent use of the Glazed Soul-Purifying Flower.
More than ten days passed, and the preliminary preparations were completed.
Lin Yang was also able to take a few days of rest.
He intended to settle several minor matters over the next few days.
Graduation from Heaven Dou Royal Academy, the medicine deal with Ning Fengzhi, and… the victory celebration banquet hosted by Emperor Xue Ye.
The so-called celebration banquet was, of course, a banquet held to celebrate the Heaven Dou team's championship victory in the Spirit Master Elite Tournament.
A similar proposal had been made in the previous session, but Lin Yang had declined, saying he was "only helping."
This time, however, he had no reason to refuse.
Moreover, since it was an invitation written by Emperor Xue Ye himself, Lin Yang of course could not refuse the emperor's request.
The celebration dinner would be held tomorrow.
After coming out of the laboratory, Lin Yang was forcibly dragged out shopping by Xiao Wu and the other two.
As members of the Heaven Dou team, the three of them would naturally attend, so appropriate formal attire was essential.
However, the three girls occasionally had differing opinions, and that was when Lin Yang's role became clear.
Simply put, it was the method of casually praising the other party without being too obvious, and ensuring that each compliment was unique so as not to stimulate competitive feelings.
This was undoubtedly the most everyday challenge for a master of balancing things.
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