Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Scattering Beans into Soldiers, Red Bean and Cyan Bird
The red light stacked around Li Ye, and amidst the glowing haze, it seemed many blurred shadows could be seen standing on either side of a black and white river, gazing longingly.
Among those shadows were men and women, old and young, and quite a few like dogs, cats, cows... there were even blooming flowers, plants, and insects.
The scene was immensely spectacular.
Li Ye felt his breath being oppressed and uneven.
This Love Life and Death Bean, although it didn’t explicitly show signs of aversion or aggressive intent towards him, just its mere presence made it difficult for Li Ye to endure.
The female cultivator slowly spoke:
"Many people say longing exists only between men and women."
"But longing is a form of emotion, not just love, family, friendship... nearly all emotions result in longing when there is a separation in silence."
"This Love Life and Death Bean was born as a Demon Plant after the Demon Sect used the Hell Path method to sacrifice an entire city, bringing forth countless longing from the separated beings beyond life and death."
"I’ve placed a forbidden technique on it. Only when your cultivation and Divine Sense reach a certain level can you unseal the subsequent seals; otherwise, you can’t handle its complete form."
Her voice was like golden characters, leaving seal after seal on the Love Life and Death Bean in Li Ye’s hand.
Ensuring the scariest power within wouldn’t leak out, allowing Li Ye to hold it.
"Come with me."
Following the female cultivator, Li Ye felt the scenery around him change quickly with the wind, soon arriving at a... it should be a kitchen.
It was fully equipped with pots, pans, cauldrons, and various kitchen utensils.
The female cultivator casually tossed a handful of yellow beans, and as the beans hit the ground, they transformed into tiny yellow bean men through the rising smoke.
They began jumping around, picking up various ingredients and utensils, proficiently making food, whether it was kneading dough, juicing, or stuffing and shaping.
The female cultivator sat casually on a chair beside, pointing at the yellow bean men, "Scattering Beans into Soldiers, the key is in the beans and in your own spirit and mind."
"I treat these beans like family and friends; within this personal Grotto Heaven, I even asked the Divinity Transformation Ancestor inside the sect to establish some special forbidden techniques; it’s actually not me maintaining the Grotto Heaven now."
"Instead, it’s these adored Bean Soldiers who are using their own lives to maintain the bond with me—that’s the reward I receive."
"Your Love Life and Death Bean should be a bit easier. As long as it’s willing to accept you, it will stay by your side for life and death, without requiring much effort."
She pointed a finger at Li Ye.
A rather ingenious piece of magic directly flooded into the latter’s Divine Sense.
Like a gentle breeze brushing over the lake of Divine Sense, scattering countless characters, yet with the sharpness of a great bell vibrating straight into one’s heart.
Li Ye instantly memorized this magic firmly.
It’s called Scattering Beans into Soldiers, but the effect is not merely tossing the beans to become helpful "Bean Soldiers." More importantly, it’s about cultivating the ability to contract with the beans.
In simple terms, the basic Scattering Beans into Soldiers treats the beans as a disposable item; they can just be thrown away without worry.
However, this Divine Technique nurtures the Bean Soul, allowing the spiritual essence of the tossed beans to return to the cultivated bean seedlings after the spiritual energy dissipates.
The stronger the bean seedling, the more abundant the spirituality, and the stronger and wiser the Bean Soldiers.
What Li Ye needed to do was embed a "Talisman Seal" of his own Divine Sense within the core of this Love Life and Death Bean, forming a special bond through its power with this Spirit Plant.
Only then could he perform the Scattering Beans into Soldiers technique.
He exhaled deeply, sat cross-legged, cradled the Love Life and Death Bean in his hands, his forehead slowly moving as his Divine Sense materialized into sparkling, transparent threads.
This process was both extremely arduous and painful. If it weren’t for the magic not demanding cultivation level, which even suggested that a lower cultivation makes a better imprint with the bean seedling, he probably couldn’t endure it.
More challenging was when he barely managed to guide his Divine Sense into silky threads wrapping around the Love Life and Death Bean, the entire amassed sorrow of life and death, and longing transmitted directly into his heart.
This was indeed the most challenging step.
Other Spirit Beans might just have incompatible attributes, but this Love Life and Death Bean penetrates the Divine Sense and soul, making you experience the longing and sorrow it communicates and accumulates!
Fortunately, Li Ye had a panel. Hence his perception of Spirit Plants and Spirit Beasts was fiercely sharp.
Additionally, he had already gained much favor from little beings, and notably, that Life Breath Spirit Transformation Scroll sycamore stood tall in his Divine Sense.
Thus, the process was relatively smooth.
He quickly contacted the spirituality of the Love Life and Death Bean enshrouded in layers of deep, pitch-black longing, extending a graceful, warm hand.
"Come, then."
"I am willing to share in this pain with you."
The pristine, untainted line of Divine Sense approached the red bean nestled in the corner.
The small red bean’s surface appeared as if eyes were blinking upon it, observing the hand and sensing many auras within.
It seemed as if a colorful beaver smiled, showing its large teeth at it.
That’s when it didn’t resist the touch and caress of the big hand.
The thread entwined around it, forming a flickering, starry bright Talisman Seal.
A phantom of a red bean appeared on Li Ye’s wrist.
—This signified that the Talisman Seal had been successfully imprinted.
The female cultivator sitting afar enjoying a green rice ball squinted her eyes:
"How did this boy garner so much affection from Spirit Plants and Spirit Beasts? There’s actually a distinct aura suppressing his Sea of Consciousness..."
She could easily see this through her immense power, but she loathed the idea of elders or great power cultivators seeing through her, so naturally, she wouldn’t do so.
"Such good talent, no wonder the senior brother noticed him."
The female cultivator sighed deeply, gesturing to a yellow bean man beside her, "Go fetch a potted soil; consider it a gift for this young one."
The yellow bean man blinked its tiny eyes, happily hopping to bring a flowerpot and place it beside her.
At this moment, Li Ye too opened his eyes, lowering his gaze to the Love Life and Death Bean in his hand, his fingers already stained with a hint of deep red light.
He extended a hand, gently plucking a Red Bean, then flicking it before him.
The Red Bean rolled across the ground, before transforming into a Cyan Bird, flapping its wings to perch on Li Ye’s shoulder.
Its feathers were as pure as the vast sky and sea, with edges trailing a hint of golden radiance, yet its eyes bore a stark and distinctive contrast of vivid, luminous feathers and dead-still eyes.
Li Ye was instantly dumbfounded.
Wasn’t Scattering Beans into Soldiers supposed to turn into "soldiers"?
How did it turn into such a Cyan Bird?
He looked at the female cultivator with some confusion, clasping his hands, "Senior, why did the Red Bean transform into such an extraordinary bird?"
The female cultivator wasn’t too bothered, "This Love Life and Death Bean was refined within our sect’s Grotto Heaven by many divine masters, possibly recording some divine essence at that time."
"Besides, Scattering Beans into Soldiers changes based on what you want it to become.
Someone once learned this Divine Technique from me and spent their days at the Joyful Fox Palace, noting the appearances of some beautiful Fox Race cultivators."
"You must remember, henceforth knowing it’s your Bean Soldier, never let appearances deceive you—alright, since you’ve tasted my culinary art earlier, now tell me how splendid it is."
"If you manage to flatter me satisfactorily, I’ll gift you a pot of Golden White Spirit Soil from the sect; if not..."
She smiled with deep meaning.
Li Ye looked at the freshly prepared gourmet feast beside her, beads of sweat unknowingly slipping from his temple.
"I’ll do my utmost, dear junior!"
He offered a salute, unable to suppress a wry smile.