For the next three days, Li Xuan worked like a man possessed, focused entirely on one goal: getting every last seed successfully germinated.
By the afternoon of the third day, he finally placed the last seed into its growth vessel and let out a long breath of relief.
Thanks to his secondary profession skills and the support of the Little Green Bottle, the germination success rate of all the seeds was virtually one hundred percent.
All that was left now was to wait until tomorrow for the final batch to sprout. Once that was done, he could transplant them into flowerpots and officially call this year's planting mission a wrap.
"Now that the seeds are all taken care of, it's time for the real deal." Li Xuan grinned, then turned away from the nursery pots and headed straight back to his humble thatched hut.
At the center of the hut stood a chrysanthemum—a golden one, nearly half a meter tall.
This was the culmination of Li Xuan's hard work over the past three days: the Heartflame Gold Chrysanthemum.
The flower was already in full bloom, its branches and leaves lush and healthy. A fierce golden-red flame, the Heartfire Divine Flame, danced across its surface, burning more intensely than ever.
Li Xuan carefully dripped today's dose of green spiritual fluid onto its leaves.
The fluid was quickly absorbed, and while the plant's appearance didn't change drastically, the blossom looked even more radiant than before. The golden flames had grown redder, their hues richer.
But Li Xuan wasn't interested in its looks.
He was focused on the chrysanthemum's stats.
Plant: Heartflame Gold Chrysanthemum
Grade: Immortal-class
Age: 452 years
Description: One of the top-tier immortal spiritual plants. Possesses innate Burningheart Divine Flame, capable of searing souls and scorching minds. Consuming the flower's core may grant the flame; failure results in being consumed by it.
Reading the updated description, Li Xuan couldn't help the grin spreading across his face.
It was ready.
The Heartflame Gold Chrysanthemum was finally consumable. Sure, the risks were astronomical, but at least it wasn't like before—completely untouchable. Progress was progress.
Its age had reached 452 years, surpassing the so-called "maximum safe age" proposed by a certain "expert"—whose theories, frankly, had never been all that reliable anyway. Li Xuan wasn't losing sleep over it. He had confidence he could absorb it.
"I gave you every last drop of green spiritual fluid these past three days. Please, don't make me regret it. Even without the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, I'm counting on you to generate a spirit ring so I can absorb you successfully," Li Xuan said aloud, chuckling at himself.
He wasn't sure if the plant had any intelligence—but hey, it didn't hurt to talk to it, right?
Taking a deep breath, he sat cross-legged in front of the flower, assuming the classic five-heart-upward meditation pose. Then, he began to slowly circulate his spirit power, adjusting his state to be at its peak.
Roughly ten minutes later, Li Xuan opened his eyes and retrieved a finely polished stone blade from his spatial storage orb.
Heartflame Gold Chrysanthemum was a fire-attribute plant; it couldn't be harvested with metal tools without degrading its quality. Only stone could preserve its potency.
He extended his right hand and slowly channeled his spirit power into his soul mark.
A pale green flame—the natural fire of his Nine-Hearts Nine-Flame Lotus—emerged in his palm, gently encasing his hand in protective flame.
Gazing at the blazing golden chrysanthemum before him, Li Xuan licked his lips and tightened his grip on the stone blade.
It was harvest time.
Carefully, he sliced at the base of the chrysanthemum, the green fire shielding his hand from the intense heat radiating from the Heartfire Divine Flame, which was furiously trying to burn through it.
Even with protection, Li Xuan could feel the scorching heat gnawing at his palm. Without the flame buffer, his hand would've been reduced to bone by now.
Gritting his teeth, he made the final cut.
Crack!
The moment the chrysanthemum was severed, a surge of raging flame exploded outward.
Li Xuan reacted instantly, yanking his hand back and leaping away. Even so, his robes caught fire in several places from the blast's residual heat.
Panting, Li Xuan slumped against the earthen wall behind him, clutching his chest.
"Holy crap! That thing tried to murder me!"
He hadn't expected the plant to launch a final kamikaze attack right before dying. That blast had nearly incinerated him.
Still catching his breath, he eyed the now-severed chrysanthemum in the flowerpot.
Its stem and leaves had ignited in a brilliant blaze, rapidly being consumed by the flames. As the blossom burned, a strange metallic sheen began to emerge from its core—shining and dazzling within the fire.
Li Xuan didn't dare approach just yet. Who knew if the thing had another surprise attack up its sleeve?
Fortunately, it didn't.
The flames finished devouring the rest of the plant, channeling all of their energy into the flower's core.
When the fire finally died down, what remained in the pot was a golden chrysanthemum bloom, still gently smoldering with the Heartfire Divine Flame.
Li Xuan's smile faded.
"No… no spirit ring?" he muttered, brows furrowed.
He'd gambled—thinking that without the support of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, the Heartflame Gold Chrysanthemum might behave like a regular plant-type spirit beast and produce a ring once cultivated to a sufficient age.
Clearly, he'd lost that bet.
The plant was dead, and there was no spirit ring in sight.
"I just burned up an immortal-class spirit plant for nothing…" he muttered, staring at the chrysanthemum with a hint of heartbreak as the last flames flickered out.
After a moment, he cautiously stepped forward and picked up the remaining flower.
It was still slightly warm and felt oddly comforting in his hand.
Despite its metallic gold appearance, the flower was incredibly soft to the touch. If he ever got desperate enough to eat it, at least it wouldn't be tough on the teeth.
After a moment's hesitation, Li Xuan sighed and pulled out a pouch, gently placing the chrysanthemum inside before stashing it back into his spatial orb.
Sure, consuming the flower might grant him the Heartfire Divine Flame, but failure meant instant, agonizing death.
Until he had a surefire way to survive it, he wasn't about to take that kind of risk. After all, life only came once—and he wasn't in the mood for sudden cremation.
"Well, I guess immortal-class spirit plants don't generate spirit rings after all. Still… spirit treasures might be worth experimenting with," he murmured, nodding to himself.
Although the chrysanthemum's failure stung, he wasn't the kind to mope for long. He quickly pulled himself together and got back to work picking a replacement for his first spirit ring.
Thanks to the Little Green Bottle, he could cultivate a new suitable plant-type spirit beast in just three or four days. So, there was no rush.
Li Xuan reached into his spatial orb again and pulled out another pouch—this one filled with seeds of rare fire-attribute plants and various spirit treasures.
After a round of careful selection, he settled on a fire-aligned spirit treasure called Starfire Vine.
Plant: Starfire Vine
Grade: Spirit Treasure
Age: 0 years
Description: A basic fire-elemental spirit treasure with a dry and warm nature. Its vine becomes medicinal after 100 years. After 500 years, it bears fruit that serves as the main ingredient for the Tier-Six alchemical pill, the Starcloud Soulbreaker Elixir.
"You'll do," Li Xuan muttered with a resigned sigh as he planted the seed in a flowerpot.
The Starfire Vine had a dual fire-wood affinity, but its fire attribute wasn't especially strong. It was a decent, if not outstanding, candidate for his first spirit ring.
Still, after what just happened with the chrysanthemum, "decent" felt like a safe bet.