Song He had already prepared himself to sit here for a few days, since, as a cultivator, skipping a few meals and staying up all night wasn't much of an issue for him.
But the Wood Gourd was quite impressive.
After just one night, by the time the first rays of the morning sun rose,
a seedling poked its head out from the pile of grey-white Spirit Stones.
It was green like flawless, pure jade, emitting an incredibly pure spirit Qi. Like a proud child lifting its head, it grew swiftly in response to the first light of dawn.
It climbed upwards, following the framework Song He had prepared in advance.
The emerald green vine had faint Heavenly Gifted Spirit Marks that seemed to breathe, gathering the surrounding spirit Qi.
It absorbed not only Wood Spiritual Energy but also spirit Qi of other attributes, even forming a breeze as it grew rapidly with the wind.
The prowess of a Class III Spirit Plant was beginning to show.
It grew taller and taller.
Winding its way around the framework several times, it finally stopped its ascent and slowly formed a small green bud at the center of the vines.
In contrast to the jade-like vines, this bud was much more ordinary.
It was just a common green bud, akin to a wildflower by the roadside.
Without a hint of uniqueness.
It even had a touch of simplicity akin to the great Dao.
"...A thousand Spirit Stones all drained, luckily I added an extra five hundred, or you probably wouldn't have grown so quickly,"
Song He murmured to himself as he watched it, carefully checking its status panel.
[Name]: Wood Gourd (Five Elements Spirit Gourd)
[Class]: Class III high-grade (will upgrade to Class IV low-grade after evolution is complete)
[Status]: Growth period, evolving, requires Wood Spiritual Energy or other types of spirit Qi for irrigation (5%)
...
'Wait a moment, there's an extra entry, or rather, it's changed?'
He suddenly noticed that the entry originally for [Spirit Transformation] had turned into one called [Breed Treasure].
[Breed Treasure (Purple)]: This Spirit Plant will give birth to a magic treasure of the same class, and it will gain special effects depending on the grade of the entry (upgrade requires 30,000 Points).
"Magic treasure? A magic treasure of the same class?"
Song He, who had been excited by its evolution, felt his heart pounding even more fiercely.
According to this entry, a Class IV Spirit Plant would produce a Class IV magic treasure, and it would be a very special one born from a gourd-type Spirit Plant.
Class IV! That's the rank of a magic treasure equivalent to those possessed by Golden Core cultivators.
The difference between a naturally born treasure and a man-made magic treasure is significant.
In most cases, the former is more powerful and mysterious than the latter.
The key lies in the fact that it is a very pure embryonic magic treasure naturally sculpted by the elements, and if further refined by a cultivator...
Its power would undoubtedly rise to another level.
Of course, there are exceptions, and some Artifact Refiners create stronger magic treasures with tremendous effort.
But Song He didn't have access to those.
How could they compare to a gourd that was right before his eyes and so inviting?
Thus, he asked eagerly,
"When can this magic treasure fully mature?"
"Evolve... mature, can,"
replied the gourd with its Spirit Nature, still seeming a bit dim, providing only a consciousness that Song He guessed meant it required completion of its evolution and the ripening of its fruit.
This wasn't too surprising, after all, it was still a gourd.
The gourd matures, and the magic treasure is born.
Understanding this, Song He fixed his gaze on the mention of Five Elements Spirit Gourd in the brackets and pondered deeply, recalling what he knew.
He remembered when he was looking for books on Wood Gourds; he had come across a passage about Five Elements Spirit Gourds, which was the result of the Wood Gourd's evolutionary regression.
[Five Elements Spirit Gourd], as the name implies, naturally doesn't adhere to just one of the five elements but encapsulates all five elements within this gourd spirit plant.
Spirit plants that embody all five elements are naturally of immense value—unnecessary to say. Take for example Song He's two Golden Jade Water Trees, if they could encompass all five elements, their price would at least increase tenfold.
For cultivators, aura of all five elements is more beneficial to the body; lacking any one element would lead to an imbalance in the foundation of their internal spirit Qi.
Especially for cultivators with a single elemental spiritual root, as their cultivation level rises, in order to balance the five Qi within themselves, the demand for Five Elements Spiritual Objects grows higher.
Among these, spirit plants that gather aura of the five elements are the preferred choice for cultivators.
Compared to consuming the fruit of a Golden Jade Water Tree and then the fruit of a Golden Jade Fire Tree, it's certainly better to directly eat the fruit of a Gold Jade Five Elements Tree.
The key lies in the word "balance."
"I've struck it rich, Five Elements Spirit Plant, countless Spirit Stones..."
Amid his excitement, Song He suddenly recalled something.
His complexion immediately soured.
It's a variant, Uncle Jiang won't take it back, will he... If he thinks I'm not capable of growing it and decides to take it back, then I would really suffer a huge loss!
Why, when I finally have a stroke of luck, must I endure this kind of joyous yet painful "torment"?
With mixed feelings, he asked, "The more amazing you are, the more worried I get. Can you hide your miraculous nature from being discovered by outsiders?"
"I, hide... cannot see..."
The gourd's consciousness transmitted a firm response, which relieved Song He.
Though the answers were still intermittent and extremely vague, thanks to the special connection between divine senses, Song He managed to understand.
It could hide itself, preventing outsiders from detecting that it had acquired spiritual nature. However, pretending to be an ordinary Wood Gourd after evolution was impossible.
At least it was not capable now.
While Song He could barely accept this answer, he also knew he needed to accelerate his cultivation pace—he needed to reach the Foundation Establishment stage quickly.
After reaching Foundation Establishment, he could participate in the Inner Sect Disciple's assessment, and upon passing, he would gain access to more resources.
Of course, he would also be able to learn more miraculous and profound cultivation techniques, naturally increasing the chances of successfully growing the gourd.
The evolution and the sprouting of spiritual nature in the Wood Gourd were certainly an enormous opportunity, but they also came with risks. It was up to him to protect it.
In fact, he had thought about leaving this place.
But it would not be easy to find a place outside the sect rich in spirit Qi to grow the gourd. Possessing treasure incurs envy, and in that case, the situation could become even more dangerous.
Better to stay within the seemingly compassionate confines of the sect.
Not to mention... running away with the possession would be like defecting from the sect, and possibly be chased by the executive disciples to the ends of the earth.
All things considered, it was better to stay and make an effort.
"So, I must increase my cultivation level."
Song He clenched his fist, decided to use the Spirit Stones he had earned at the Flower Guessing House to buy some elixirs or something else that could help him advance quickly.
He had to reach Foundation Establishment at least.
"Grow well, and if you need Spirit Stones, just let me know."
Having said that, he was about to walk away.
The gourd seemed to sense his worries and transmitted another thought: "Fruit, help, Foundation Establishment!"
The small green bud on the gourd vine seemed to sway a bit.
Song He was stunned for a moment, then he burst into resigned laughter.
The gourd actually suggested using the essence within its fruit for Foundation Establishment which, in theory, was plausible. But the fruit would need at least a year to mature.
By the time its fruit was ripe, he should have already achieved Foundation Establishment.
Thinking about this, Song He suddenly felt something strange; the spirit plants here seemed to grow rather quickly.
Had they been modified? Or were they always like that?
"Just grow well, no need to worry."
After pondering for a moment, Song He simply soothed it with his divine sense and turned to leave—he first had to buy an Array Plate to enclose the spirit field, then see if he could procure some Spiritual Objects that would accelerate his cultivation speed for Foundation Establishment.
Although the spirit Qi in the Flower Guessing House was abundant, he always felt something odd about it and didn't plan to return there before advancing.