Chapter 153: Vegetative Person

Legend has it that at the dawn of the Great Yu Dynasty, there lived a genius who possessed a natural affinity for spells, capable of mastering any magic in an instant, a talent verging on the immortal.

The growth of this genius surpassed everyone's imagination, traversing at the greatest speed the realms that other cultivators spent their entire lives pursuing, ultimately reaching the Tribulation Transmutation Stage under the Daoist title of the True Lord of Myriad Spaths.

Ancient chronicles recorded that when this Daoist Lord of Myriad Spaths was young, he had studied the Tree-Planting Verse, and in a mere half an hour, he mastered a spell that took others days or even months to learn.

The Daoist Lord of Myriad Spaths planted a willow seed, which took root where it fell, growing into a sturdy tree that blossomed and bore fruit, becoming for a time a beautiful tale praised through the ages; even to this day, this story continues to be passed down.

Tao Yaoye compared the Daoist Lord of Myriad Spaths with Lu Yang and felt that Lu Yang was still a cut above.

Lu Yang comprehended the Dao in half an hour and used the Earth Escape technique to plant a tree, causing the willow to grow rapidly, blossom, and bear two Lu Yangs.

"Senior Brother Lu is still somewhat more formidable."

There were two people on the willow tree: one was Lu Yang, and the other was also Lu Yang.

One Lu Yang was the original body, while the other Lu Yang wore garments woven from willow leaves, the price being that not a single leaf remained on the willow tree, all having been given to Lu Yang's clone to wear as clothes.

"Which step did I practice incorrectly?" Lu Yang searched for the root of the problem with unyielding perseverance.

The result was the same as before; no reason could be found.

"Lu Yang, you've become a vegetative state person!" the Immortal Fairy clamored loudly, taking delight in his misfortune.

"Shut up." Lu Yang's face darkened, "Forget it, let's get down first."

Lu Yang moved his body and found it did not affect anything; he severed the willow branch behind his neck and landed with a heavy thud.

He looked toward his other self and attempted to control the counterpart using his spiritual power; the other party's fingers actually moved slightly.

Under Lu Yang's control, the vegetative person also severed the willow branch behind its neck and successfully landed on the ground.

As the two Lu Yangs detached from the willow tree, the tree rapidly withered, shrinking back into a willow seed, except the seed had now completely lost its vitality and could no longer grow.

Lu Yang controlled the movements of his clone; though clumsy at first, he gradually grew adept, eventually achieving the ability to split his mind, moving his own body while simultaneously controlling the clone.

"Hehe, this is all thanks to me!" the Immortal Fairy claimed credit.

"You can control the other clone because you opened up a spiritual space, making your spiritual power much stronger than that of the Foundation Establishment Stage. Think about it, how did you open your spiritual space back then?"

Lu Yang thought for a moment and said seriously, "It was because you wanted to possess me, Fairy, and forcibly entered my body, which opened up the spiritual space."

The Immortal Fairy's pretty face turned dark as she emphasized, "It was an act, I already told you it was an act!"

Lu Yang felt that given the Immortal Fairy's intellect, it truly must have been an act back then.

Lu Yang continued to explore the clone; it could only move within a twenty-meter radius, and once it exceeded twenty meters, he could no longer sense its existence.

Twenty meters happened to be the exact range of Lu Yang's spiritual power.

Within those twenty meters, precise control was only maintained within ten meters; in the interval between ten and twenty meters, the control would decay as the distance increased.

Moreover, Lu Yang's clone was not sturdy enough, resembling willow wood.

"Is it because the willow wood is of a mundane grade that it isn't sturdy enough?"

Lu Yang wanted to try genuine spiritual plants, but he had not collected tree seeds previously and had no suitable materials on hand.

"Senior Brother Lu, try this peach tree seed, it is not of a mundane grade?" Tao Yaoye saw Lu Yang's difficulty and kindly handed him a seed.

Tao Yaoye observed Lu Yang with great interest; she took immense pleasure in exploring novel things and unsolved mysteries, and the unsolved mystery that attracted her most right now was Lu Yang.

"This wouldn't be right, how many contribution points is it, I'll buy it." Becoming an undercover agent in the demonic sect had granted him many contribution points, which Lu Yang had still not spent entirely even now.

"No need, this is a peach tree seed from the Dustless Peak, it costs no money."

Lu Yang kept this kindness of Tao Yaoye in mind and attempted to plant the peach tree.

The peach tree seed was buried into the soil, and he circulated the Tree-Planting Verse, yet nothing happened.

"Could it be that I must use the Earth Shrinkage spell?" Lu Yang grew suspicious; when planting the willow seed, he had used Earth Shrinkage.

"Earth Shrinkage."

Lu Yang shrank into the earth and circulated the Tree-Planting Verse; it was indeed effective.

A stout peach tree burst forth from the soil before Tao Yaoye's eyes, bearing two Lu Yangs upon its branches—one genuine Lu Yang and one vegetative Lu Yang, whose cheeks were smeared with pink blush.

The corner of Lu Yang's eye twitched repeatedly, "How does this peach tree even come with coloring?"

"Forget it, as long as it succeeds."

Lu Yang controlled his vegetative self to move and felt a surge of joy in his heart; he could clearly perceive that the body strength of the vegetative Lu Yang had changed, possessing roughly seventy to eighty percent of his own strength.

This was already quite extraordinary.

Just imagine, using the Tree-Planting Verse during a battle to manifest another self, with the newly appeared self possessing seventy to eighty percent of one's power and cooperating seamlessly with the original; one's combat strength would instantly soar, catching the enemy completely off guard.

Tao Yaoye also recognized this point and felt deep admiration for Senior Brother Lu.

The Daoist Lord of Myriad Spaths was a genius, surely, but he had merely followed the steps of his predecessors and practiced the Tree-Planting Verse honestly without innovation; look at Senior Brother Lu, who had forcefully cultivated it into an offensive type of spell, and one with extremely formidable attacking power at that!

At this moment, the Sixth Elder in the sky watched Lu Yang silently before turning to leave.

Originally, she had thought that if there was anything Lu Yang did not understand that Tao Yaoye could not answer, she could come down to provide the answers, thereby fulfilling her duty as an elder.

Looking at it now, forget it; it would be better to leave the task of providing answers to Xiao Yun, lest she overstep her bounds.

"Xiao Yun said Lu Yang's talent in Daoist arts is sufficient to found his own sect..."

The Sixth Elder expressed skepticism toward this claim.

It was true that his talent was exceptionally high, but if he were to found a sect, would the disciples even be able to learn it?

Lu Yang was completely absorbed in his cultivation, utilizing the vegetative clone with increasing proficiency, while Tao Yaoye observed from the side, gaining a deeper realization of the Tree-Planting Verse.

Of course, it was a realization regarding the normal Tree-Planting Verse.

As the sky gradually darkened, Lu Yang felt awkward staying at the Dustless Peak, so he bid farewell to Tao Yaoye and headed to the Mission Hall to exchange for some items; he could not keep using Tao Yaoye's seeds forever and needed to buy some spares for himself.

To this, the Immortal Fairy raised both hands in approval, for she could finally go on a massive shopping spree.

After Lu Yang left, Tao Yaoye's expression shifted as she felt an inexplicable pressure, a sense of oppression that made her suffocate.

Danger!

She turned her head helplessly and transmitted her voice to her master, "Master, could you please give warning before you come next time? It is not easy for me to hold my breath every single time."

The Sixth Elder stood behind Tao Yaoye with an innocent expression on her face.

"I forgot that you are not yet at the Golden Core Stage." The Sixth Elder subconsciously assumed that all of her disciples were at the Golden Core Stage.

Tao Yaoye: "..."

Is this retribution?

In the morning she had teased Senior Brother Lu for his low cultivation, and by evening it was her turn.

The Sixth Elder did not forget the purpose of her visit, "Do you have feelings for Lu Yang?"

Tao Yaoye's cheeks flushed rapidly; though she was usually casual and uninhibited, when it came to this question, whether she liked him or not, she was unwilling to discuss it with her master, "Master, what are you talking about? Senior Brother Lu and I have normal interactions."

The Sixth Elder continued her voice transmission, "A few days ago, Hongxia kept asking me what kind of child Lu Yang is. I suspect she heard that Lu Yang is an excellent child and wants to introduce her prized disciple, Lan Ting, to him. If you have feelings for him, you had better be careful."

The Sixth Elder wore an assured look, convinced that her suspicion was absolutely correct.

Luo Hongxia, the Palace Master of the Laurel Immortal Palace.

Tao Yaoye rolled her eyes and said nothing more.

To outsiders, the master and disciple staring at one another in protracted silence presented a deeply peculiar picture.

Of course, viewed from another perspective, it could just as easily be understood as a moment of perfect, unspoken accord between the two, where everything was understood without a single word.

(End of Chapter)