Chapter 62: Chapter 62: Gourds with Turtles, Beavers Moving House
When Li Ye returned home, the residence for Zhao He had already been built by the cultivators of the Steward Hall—an independent small door was opened at the corner of the courtyard, enclosing a piece of land.
This is the benefit of having ample empty space around, allowing for casual reconstruction. After all, those who farm indeed do not mind having more land.
Zhao He somehow found a broom in the courtyard and was diligently sweeping up fallen leaves, arranging them neatly, except the area around the Bitter Spirit Gourd remained unchanged.
This approach was very pleasing to Li Ye.
Don’t foolishly think you’re cleaning up and approach those unknown Spirit Plants.
Approaching those things without any skills could potentially lead to unimaginable consequences.
"Immortal."
Upon seeing Li Ye, Zhao He immediately stood straight and proactively spoke: "The Immortal Yang from the Steward Hall said constructing my residence requires ten Spirit Stones."
"Oh, just give them to him when the time comes." Li Ye was unconcerned; this amount seemed even less than he had thought.
"But where did you get this broom from?"
The broom looked exquisite and was obviously different from the one at home.
"It was gifted to me by Immortal Yang." Zhao He replied: "He also said I could go to the Steward Hall to learn some things to better assist you, Immortal, with handling trivial matters."
"Do you think I should go?"
After all, he still didn’t dare make decisions on his own. Even though this matter was evidently a good thing, he didn’t dare to consent.
"Just go."
"There’s many things in the marketplace, and since you want to be my servant, you should strive to learn more, talking less and learning more."
"Go to your residence for now; I’ll call you if there’s anything."
Li Ye casually said a few words and then stopped talking.
The education in Heavenly River City should be clearer and more understandable than here; he barely understands a bit himself and doesn’t need to interfere with unknown matters.
He has already placed his trust in Zhao He, and now it’s up to Zhao He to decide.
Zhao He respectfully bowed: "Yes."
Then he used the broom to clear away the piled-up fallen leaves on the ground and returned to his residence.
Only then did Li Ye withdraw his gaze, and he headed straight to the Bitter Spirit Gourd, taking out the turtles he had bought to try one by one, finally having a reaction with an ordinary-looking, earth-colored turtle named "Earth Turtle."
[Binding consumes twenty points of Vital Essence.]
Since it could be bound, Li Ye certainly wouldn’t refuse.
Only twenty points—he had accumulated more than fifteen hundred points in this period.
’Bind!’
Accompanied by the dazzling brilliance of the panel.
The earth-colored turtle suddenly showed some response; it moved swiftly with its short legs to the roots of the Bitter Spirit Gourd and began digging directly!
As the name suggests, it is an Earth Turtle.
Turtles that can live on dry land will invariably have some ability to dig soil, but why dig the soil where the roots are?
Aren’t Spirit Plants’ roots all very delicate?
Li Ye frowned as he watched from afar, as the Earth Turtle struggled to dig for a while.
It indeed found the main root of the Bitter Spirit Gourd, which, as if it had spirituality, entwined around the Earth Turtle.
Then... as the Earth Turtle began to slowly move through the soil, it actually started moving the entire Bitter Spirit Gourd along.
Though this creature is only First Tier, it’s a Spirit Beast, at least large enough to easily move some frameworks, not to mention having a certain toughness.
It stubbornly maneuvered its head in the earth, forcefully tugging the framework loose.
A few sounds of "rash-rash-rash" and the frame collapsed, and the densely growing gourd vines were bitten and torn apart by the Earth Turtle one after another.
Eventually, only a vine with gourds attached on it remained.
The gourd stood on the turtle’s back, while other vines and roots encircled the turtle, seemingly transmitting their Spiritual Qi.
Coincidentally, the vines bitten and torn were those without items placed on them, while gourds that had items placed inside them remained safely on the turtle’s back.
Li Ye stood nearby watching, utterly dumbfounded, observing the slow movement of the vines and turtle through the soil, momentarily at a loss for words.
"The world is so big... I want to see it?"
Li Ye followed the Earth Turtle around in the courtyard for a while, discovering that the Spiritual Qi absorbed by the vines was almost entirely transmitted to the Earth Turtle.
Whereas the Earth Turtle stingily released just a little bit of Spiritual Qi for the vines.
It just carried the gourd on its back, surrounded by vines, and dragging roots below.
It leisurely moved through the earth, idling in sunny spots to bask in the sun when appropriate, moving again whenever it felt like it.
It even nibbled on a few gourd leaves when hungry.
Yet both displayed a mood of [joyful contentment].
"This is truly a mutually agreeable arrangement, truly miraculous.
So, is it that the gourd needs to consume excess Spiritual Qi to grow so lush, was it originally just one root?"
"The Earth Turtle has a capability similar to Earth Escape Technique; it can absorb excess Spiritual Qi, releasing very little itself, which perfectly fits the characteristic of the gourd not needing much Spiritual Qi."
He began recording in a booklet in his hand.
This booklet also contained records of Flint Fire Crystal Insect, Silver Moon Grass, Golden Red Dragon Carp, and Weichuan Beaver.
Even though these creatures can only be bound symbiotically under the influence of his Vital Essence, they still provide valuable experience, possibly leading to opportunities for discussions on spiritual matters with others in the future.
After finishing, he stored the booklet securely in his Storage Pouch, murmuring as he stared at the Earth Turtle and gourd:
"And then there’s the issue of the Bitter Spirit Gourd’s lifespan, which is only a month... yet the lifespan of turtles is long, might it be affected?"
This naturally requires him to patiently wait for a month’s time.
Perhaps... there will be some surprises?
He did not ponder further; after all, it’s only a month’s time, a fleeting moment for a cultivator.
Taking one last look, he turned and went to the inner courtyard, planting the Mist-Imbibing Magnolia in the appropriate place.
Subsequently binding them to the Crystal Spirit Bees—the binding was, of course, with the Queen Bee; he specially obtained five Queen Bees accompanied by a sufficient number of hives.
[Binding consumes one hundred points of Vital Essence.]
After utilizing five hundred points of Vital Essence to complete the binding, it seemed there was no noticeable change.
The Crystal Spirit Bees started circling around the Mist-Imbibing Magnolia, appearing to collect nectar.
But upon closer inspection, one could find they weren’t collecting nectar, as Mist-Imbibing Magnolia doesn’t produce nectar; they were collecting "dew" gathered at dawn and dusk.
They collected this dew and brought it back to the hive, though what happened next remained unknown.
"Alas, I really want to see what changes there are."
Li Ye shook his head helplessly, taking out his purchased Inch-Sized Mountains and Rivers Box and headed to the beaver’s dwelling place.
This box is twenty feet long and ten feet wide, internally equipped to accommodate a Spirit Vein and Spiritual Spring mechanism.
Its expensive price is justified by including a small Spiritual Spring within.
Moreover, the array patterns drawn inside the mechanism ensure an almost balanced temperature is maintained within the box, with additional waste-processing functionality.
"You all come move house."
He tapped the Inch-Sized Mountains and Rivers Box he placed on the ground, saying to the beavers: "I’ll bury it directly near the Spiritual Spring; you can move in later."
Earlier, when buying the beavers, they were already living in such a box, so no surprise, only squeaks of delight.
One by one, fat as round dumplings, they rubbed themselves against Li Ye’s trousers while ago, now staying aside.
Watching eagerly as Li Ye used Earth Surge Technique to dig a pit suitable for the Inch-Sized Mountains and Rivers Box.
The box was buried in the ground, snugly fitting in, not directly contacting surrounding soil, resembling an abrupt appearance of scenery.
Then the beavers began their moving process, Li Ye paid little attention, and binding each newly acquired Hungry Bone, he busied himself with searching for ores.