"Hmm?"
Seeing this, Fang Mo was a bit surprised.
To be honest, the Arcane Ring was incredibly powerful, essentially a graduation-level artifact from the Equivalent Exchange mod. Yet, it had failed when faced with the Essence Berry Bush.
Under the influence of the Goddess of Nature's Bounty mode, the Arcane Ring could almost be considered the ruler of all nature. If Fang Mo wanted, he could turn an entire barren planet into a lush oasis—never mind techniques like *True Thousand Hands* or *Buddha on Top*. But despite this overwhelming power, he had just encountered an obstacle.
Of course, thinking about it from another perspective, this also indicated that the Essence Berry Bush was quite special. For some reason, it simply did not respond to natural energy.
"Doesn't work, huh?"
Fang Mo frowned, staring at the Essence Berry Bush, deep in thought.
He began to consider why his previous attempt had failed. Could it be that the Essence Berry Bush wasn't technically a plant? While in the game, it might not have been classified as one, in reality, it's a different story. When Fang Mo brings something into reality, its characteristics, name, and function are taken into account to create a reasonable real-world version.
Take the sleeping pill, for example.
Anyone with common sense would know that this item was basically a joke in the mod. It forces players to sleep, but its texture is literally just a brick. If it were a real-world item, it should have turned into a pill or a bottle of liquid after being made real, right?
But what happened?
Fang Mo ended up materializing an actual brick.
And this brick came with a sleep-inducing feature—smack someone with it, and they're knocked out cold. Imagine if this fell into the wrong hands. It could cause chaos within a ten-mile radius.
That being said, this example demonstrates how the process of making something real works.
So, given that the Essence Berry Bush's function and name suggest it should have plant-like qualities, it should, in theory, behave like one.
After all, it's a *berry bush*. A plant that grows berries—logically, it should have some plant traits.
"So, it just doesn't absorb natural energy, huh?"
After pondering for a while, Fang Mo began to understand the reason. It made sense in a way. If the bush could absorb natural energy, then combined with the Arcane Ring, Fang Mo could essentially create a self-sustaining loop. He'd be able to perpetually accelerate the plant's growth.
And then, he could keep harvesting berries.
Even though Essence Berries tasted disgusting, this endless cycle would be way too overpowered.
The last time something was this broken was when Fang Mo used a Tinkers' Construct scythe with *Unbreakable* reinforcement, combined with the Pam's HarvestCraft trading boxes, allowing him to infinitely farm emeralds.
Fang Mo had already achieved that kind of infinite emerald farming in the Minecraft world, but doing that just felt boring… After all, he was the almighty Block God! The Creator of the White Lands! How could he stoop to such low tactics to exploit resources?
Instead, Fang Mo chose to expand his *villager amusement park*.
With sixteen maximum-capacity Tinkers' Construct smelteries running non-stop, powered by Auschwitz-grade fuel, he continually melted and healed villagers to harvest their precious emeralds!
Thus, all his emeralds were earned through hard work—not through exploiting some cheap trick.
"Wait, I'm getting off-topic..."
Realizing he was thinking about those annoying villagers, Fang Mo quickly refocused on the problem of the Essence Berry Bush.
If this thing couldn't absorb natural energy…
Then what could he feed it?
Just as Fang Mo was pondering this, a squishy sound suddenly came from behind him, like something soft and wet was slapping the ground.
"What the hell is that sound?"
The noise interrupted his thoughts, and Fang Mo instinctively turned around.
At that moment, a small pink figure suddenly lunged at him.
"S-s-s!"
"Huh?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Fang Mo instantly recognized it. With a quick motion, he used a gravity field to stop the figure mid-air.
"Why are you here again?"
Looking at the little pink-haired creature baring her fangs and claws, Fang Mo couldn't help but rub his face.
Yes, this little thing was none other than the Devil of Lust, whom Fang Mo had brought back from the *Chainsaw Man* world. Because she had been reborn, she was still small, with pink hair and heart-shaped pupils. If you ignored her devilish powers, she could even be considered quite cute.
"Do you want to have s-s?"
"No."
Fang Mo refused immediately.
"Why not!" The little pink-haired devil pouted, puffing out her cheeks in frustration. "You like smaller ones, don't you? If you keep waiting, I'll grow up!"
"And what does that have to do with me?"
Fang Mo rolled his eyes. He had been too absorbed in his thoughts earlier and didn't even notice where this little creature came from. But, judging by the large slime nearby, she probably rode it over. Seriously, had this little devil maxed out her riding skill? She seemed to form good relationships with any mount she encountered.
"Aren't you a priest?"
The pink-haired devil said confidently, "Once I grow up, you won't be interested in me anymore..."
"You're a devil, and you're making priest jokes?"
Fang Mo waved his hand, throwing her back onto the slime with a soft thud. "I'm busy with something serious here. Don't mess with me."
"But you've done it with others, so why not me?"
Despite Fang Mo's dismissal, the pink-haired devil persisted. She seemed to contemplate something for a moment before, with a quick motion, she suddenly transformed into Xiao Yao's form. She reached out her little white hand and coyly said, "How about… like this, hubby?"
"???"
Fang Mo blinked in confusion, momentarily stunned.
But soon, he shook his head. "No, this isn't right. My wife would only ever call me a pervert and tell me to stay away from her feet. She'd never offer herself willingly. You're trying way too hard. Zero points."
"Eh?"
The pink-haired devil was left dumbfounded.
But Fang Mo didn't bother responding. After speaking, he raised his hand toward the sky.
Activating his dimensional authority, his eyes flashed with cold, silvery light. "From this moment on, in my domain, no one is allowed to take her form. Not in pictures, statues, or images."
As soon as he finished speaking, invisible ripples spread across the entire dimension.
This was the power of a dimensional god. As long as they remained within their own dimension, any rule—no matter how absurd—could be enforced.
"Ouch!"
The rule took effect, and the pink-haired devil was instantly reverted to her original form. Something hit her hard, sending her flying, clutching her bottom in pain. "What was that for!?"
Unfortunately for her, she landed right next to the Essence Berry Bush.
Fang Mo pulled her away just in time, but her arm had already brushed against the sharp thorns of the bush, leaving a small cut on her skin.
"Ow!"
She winced again, shrinking back as if in pain.
"Train harder."
Fang Mo grabbed her by the collar and tossed her back onto the slime. Then, he returned his attention to the Essence Berry Bush.
To his surprise, the bush suddenly moved.
"Hmm?"
Fang Mo noticed it right away. The blood that had dripped from the devil's wound onto the bush had disappeared, and the bush had stirred. So, it absorbed blood? But this wasn't part of the game's mechanics, was it?
Thinking quickly, Fang Mo zipped back to the Minecraft world and returned with several buckets of blood.
Yes, despite Minecraft's pixelated nature, blood existed in the game. And as far as Fang Mo knew, there was more than one type of blood.
The first type came from a biome added by *Biomes O' Plenty*, which featured blood lakes in the Nether. You could collect a bucket of it with a simple right-click.
Another type could be obtained by melting rotten flesh in a Tinkers' Construct smeltery, which produced molten blood. This blood could be poured into a bucket or cast into coagulated blood blocks, which could even be dried into edible coagulated blood drops.
With his buckets of blood ready, Fang Mo took one from Steve and poured it onto the Essence Berry Bush.
The pungent smell of blood filled the air as the bush began to writhe, as if it were alive. Soon, small bubbles started forming on its branches.
Fang Mo poured more blood.
The bubbles grew into translucent, yellow-green berries, hanging from the bush and gleaming enticingly.
"Hmm."
The pink-haired devil nearby saw this and instinctively swallowed.
However, unlike her, Fang Mo frowned upon seeing the berries, lowering the flower in his hand.
He didn't need more Essence Berries.
The whole point of bringing the bush into reality was to crossbreed it.
But the Essence Berry Bush was too strange—it produced berries without ever blooming. How was he supposed to crossbreed it?
"Son of a…"
Annoyed, Fang Mo cursed under his breath.
He even kicked the bush a couple of times to vent his frustration.
"Um…"
Suddenly, the pink-haired devil seemed to realize something. She approached Fang Mo and said, "Are you trying to make this flower pollinate the bush?"
She pointed at the flower in Fang Mo's hand.
"Yeah."
Fang Mo nodded irritably. "I'm trying to breed the ultimate World Tree seed, and the last step is to incorporate the Essence Berry Bush's traits as the male gene donor. But this dumb thing refuses to bloom…"
"What about me?"
The pink-haired devil's eyes lit up mischievously. "I don't have any reproductive barriers…"
"Get lost."
Fang Mo almost kicked her. "I'm making a World Tree here, not some weird fantasy tree. If I accidentally create a Tree of Lust, can you even handle the consequences?"
"Fine."
She pouted but, after some thought, spoke again. "I can help, but you have to promise me something."
"You can help?"
Fang Mo looked at her, surprised.
"If I help, you have to kiss me!" She demanded eagerly, "You're an adult, you have to keep your word!"
"I'll kiss you eight hundred times if you want."
Fang Mo responded without thinking.
"Deal." The pink-haired devil wasted no time. She moved toward the Essence Berry Bush, and soon, a dreamy, sweet aura emerged from her small body as her pink heart-shaped eyes began to glow.
"You!"
She pointed at the Essence Berry Bush. "Start blooming!"
A pink chain shot from her fingertip and disappeared into the bush. Almost immediately, the bush began to writhe unnaturally.
"Are you kidding me…?"
Fang Mo was stunned.
"Hurry, more blood!" The pink-haired devil turned to Fang Mo. "Like before!"
"Got it."
Fang Mo snapped out of it and quickly poured more blood.
After several buckets of blood, the bush squirmed like a mass of worms, as if resisting something. But eventually, it succumbed to the devil's power and reluctantly produced a tiny, golden-green flower, barely the size of a grain of rice.
"Now!"
The pink-haired devil shouted.
Fang Mo didn't need any prompting. He immediately brought the flower over and completed the pollination.
At the same time, the pink chain binding the Essence Berry Bush shattered, and the tiny flower withered.
But at that moment, the plant Fang Mo had been working on finally completed its final transformation.
Upon inheriting the bush's traits, the seed in Fang Mo's hand turned into a glowing orb the size of an egg. It didn't even look like a plant anymore. Instead, it resembled a fully-realized Minecraft XP orb, glowing gold and green, as if it were alive.
Without hesitation, Fang Mo tossed the orb onto the ground and activated the Arcane Ring.
The earth trembled.
A colossal tree shot up from the ground, towering into the sky, its canopy reaching the heavens, its roots plunging into the abyss. The infinite sky was completely shrouded by its immense crown.
The World Tree.
Was born.