Chapter 62

Chapter 62

"Lan Ying, come check this out. Is this planting method okay?" Ying Yuanxing called out.

Lan Ying composed himself, controlling the water flow to carry himself into the sea, carefully observing the small piece of seaweed Ying Yuanxing had just planted.

Though it was just a tiny fragment separated from the original seaweed, once planted, it established roots firmly in the farmland. Even as the water current swayed the leaves back and forth, the roots remained unmoved.

"How about it? Will this work?" Ying Yuanxing looked at Lan Ying.

"...I'm not sure if it will," Lan Ying replied hesitantly. He had never done this before, so he couldn’t judge whether Ying Yuanxing’s method would succeed.

Ying Yuanxing frowned. Lan Ying was so familiar with seaweed—how could he not even determine the feasibility of the first step in planting?

"I... I’ve heard that seaweed requires the flesh and blood of a cultivator to grow. There’s no such thing as planting it in the sea for cultivation," Lan Ying explained uncertainly.

"Cultivation through flesh and blood?" Ying Yuanxing glanced at the seaweed in his hand and inhaled sharply. Was this why seaweed was so rare? Wait, no—flesh and blood in the supernatural realm weren’t valuable.

"Are there very few supernatural beings capable of cultivating seaweed?" Ying Yuanxing asked, piecing things together.

Lan Ying fell silent for a moment before nodding.

Ying Yuanxing had guessed as much. If any ordinary supernatural creature’s flesh and blood could cultivate seaweed, it wouldn’t be so rare.

As for which supernatural being cultivated the seaweed, Ying Yuanxing glanced at Lan Ying—the answer was practically staring him in the face.

Now Ying Yuanxing finally understood why Lan Ying had reacted so strongly when he first asked the question.

But Ying Yuanxing still had one more doubt.

"Is there wild seaweed in the sea?" he asked seriously.

Lan Ying froze, instinctively wanting to shake his head but then hesitating. He had always been confined to a small corner of the sea and had never ventured out, so he couldn’t say for sure whether wild seaweed existed.

"There... should be," Lan Ying said uncertainly.

Ying Yuanxing breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Though he couldn’t be certain, he believed the seaweed he had caught must have been wild—otherwise, it would mean he had practically eaten Lan Ying’s flesh and blood.

At this thought, Ying Yuanxing recalled that Lan Ying had also eaten seaweed. His reaction at the time had seemed like it was his first time trying it.

For instance, he hadn’t anticipated how painful it would be, and only realized he needed to expel impurities before heading to the fish pond, rather than going there beforehand.

Ying Yuanxing knew all too well how much impurities affected supernatural beings. Even he couldn’t resist eating seaweed once he learned it could expel impurities.

If Lan Ying cultivated seaweed, how could he not want to eat it? Yet this was his first time doing so.

This situation reminded Ying Yuanxing of a line from a poem: *"Those dressed in fine silks are not the ones who raise silkworms."* It was practically Lan Ying’s reality.

...

Ying Yuanxing quickly prepared more plots of land in the sea and planted the seaweed one by one. The sparse planting made him sigh, wondering how he could speed up their growth.

If they could grow as quickly as other crops—reach maturity in days—he wouldn’t be so worried. But he feared they might not grow at all.

If they were like the strawberries he had grown from seeds, it would be troublesome.

The strawberries he had planted from seeds were doing well, but they had only just begun to flower. Though their growth rate was much faster than normal plants, it still wasn’t fast enough to satisfy Ying Yuanxing.

Strawberries could be cultivated slowly, but seaweed—Ying Yuanxing felt that Earth urgently needed it now. If it grew too slowly, it would definitely cause delays.

The more he worried, the more his fears came true.

Two days later, Ying Yuanxing stared at the seaweed in the underwater fields and let out a long sigh.

Just as he had guessed, the seaweed *was* growing—but at an excruciatingly slow pace.

If he had ample time, he could cultivate more seaweed. But right now, time was against him.

Just as Ying Yuanxing was at his wit's end, Lan Ying suddenly appeared beside him.

"Try using flesh and blood," Lan Ying said, seeing how troubled Ying Yuanxing was about the seaweed. He wanted to help.

This was the first time Lan Ying had voluntarily offered his flesh and blood to cultivate seaweed. He considered it repayment for Ying Yuanxing saving him and allowing him to recuperate on the farm.

Rather than waiting for Ying Yuanxing to ask, he might as well take the initiative.

As he spoke, Lan Ying’s form shimmered, transforming from a little blue fish into a human-sized blue fish.

The vibrant blue scales on his tail gleamed brilliantly under the seawater.

"Taking flesh from the tail is easier, and it grows back quickly," Lan Ying said, from personal experience.

After saying this, he lay down quietly, waiting for Ying Yuanxing to do the cutting.

He was willing to offer his flesh and blood—but he didn’t want to do it himself this time.

"Xuan Ying!" Ying Yuanxing called out. Xuan Ying arrived immediately and saw Lan Ying lying by the shore in his enlarged form.

The vibrant blue scales made his own drab, grayish-black form pale in comparison.

"Tell him to go tend to the watering and stop with these foolish ideas," Ying Yuanxing said irritably.

Following Ying Yuanxing’s order, Xuan Ying contemptuously extended a tentacle, securely binding Lan Ying before attempting to stuff him into the well.

But the well wasn’t large—it could easily accommodate a little blue fish, but squeezing in a fish as tall as a person was a challenge.

No, it wasn’t entirely impossible.

Xuan Ying lifted Lan Ying. If he couldn’t fit horizontally, then he’d just have to go in vertically.

"You don’t want to use my flesh and blood to cultivate seaweed? It’ll grow much faster," Lan Ying called out.

"If a crop can only grow by relying on a specific supernatural being’s flesh and blood, then cultivating it is meaningless," Ying Yuanxing said distractedly, still staring at the seaweed.

"Besides, even if I used your flesh and blood, how much seaweed could you cultivate?" Ying Yuanxing asked.

"At least five to six hundred plants a year," Lan Ying estimated.

"I might need five to six hundred plants *a month*," Ying Yuanxing said. In truth, he wasn’t certain exactly how much seaweed he needed, but he wanted to discourage Lan Ying.

This number silenced Lan Ying. If five to six hundred a year was manageable depletion, then five to six hundred a month would necessitate his death and feeding his body to the seaweed to even come close.

"Not to mention, I’d need to cultivate hundreds of plants every month," Ying Yuanxing continued.

"Alright, return to your smaller form and go water the plants properly," Ying Yuanxing said, looking away.

Lan Ying fell silent. He realized Ying Yuanxing’s goals were too grand—even if he sacrificed every ounce of his flesh and blood, it likely wouldn't have any real impact.

As he prepared to descend into the well, Lan Ying couldn’t resist one last glance back at Ying Yuanxing. His agricultural prowess was undeniable. Even seaweed—something Lan Ying had never imagined could be planted—was not just taking root but making progress under his cultivation.

This alone is a step forward in cultivating the seaweed—way better than his efforts.

But can he really make the seaweed grow faster?

However, since Ying Yuanxing's goal is so grand, Lan Ying couldn't help but feel relieved. After all, even if he gave everything he had, he still wouldn’t be able to fulfill Ying Yuanxing’s task. So, he’s safe, right?

Lan Ying trusts Ying Yuanxing’s character, but he also knows that self-interest can change people. Now, he feels a little more at ease.

The audience had no idea about Lan Ying’s inner thoughts. After watching the conversation between Lan Ying and Ying Yuanxing, they had mixed feelings.

"Turns out, besides Xuan Ying, even a Weird such as Lan Ying can be decent."

"Who knew gratitude existed in the Weird world? Yet the Weirds reaching Blue Star—why can’t we ever meet a good one?"

"Wait, isn’t Lan Ying just Xuan Ying? What are you guys talking about? Did I miss something?"

"Lan Ying isn’t Xuan Ying—he’s an imposter, probably a Weird who escaped from the sea. You can piece this together from the host’s dialogue with Lan Ying. If you want details, check this post:" [Link]

"Honestly, it makes sense. The Weirds that come to Blue Star are all starving—eating is life-or-death. They’re naturally hostile to humans, so emotions are a luxury. When Lan Ying first arrived, he didn’t show any intention of repaying kindness. Now that he’s recovered, his situation isn’t as desperate, so he’s showing some emotion."

"I used to think online discussions about Weirds having emotions was bullshit. But now, it seems there’s some truth to it."

"Don’t overthink it—the more you dwell, the more hopeless it feels. The conflict between humans and Weirds won’t end easily. Even if you sympathize with Weirds, we're still the ones suffering most. So don’t overthink it—we’re not in a position to pity Weirds."

"The earlier comment was spot-on. Let’s not overthink it."

...

After a full day, Ying Yuanxing still hadn’t figured out how to accelerate the seaweed’s growth. But first, he received some good news.

"You’re saying the seaweed I sent is enough for now?" Ying Yuanxing was surprised.

Though he had sent over a hundred stalks of seaweed, the Weird Domain discharging impurities must have a perimeter far exceeding a hundred meters. Could those few seaweed really contain the spread of impurities?

Was the Dawn Bureau just trying to ease his worries, seeing how stressed he’d been these past few days?

But soon, Ying Yuanxing dismissed this somewhat self-flattering assumption. After all, the spread of impurities was no small matter—the Dawn Bureau wouldn’t lie to him about it.

"The Dawn Bureau said that while the seaweed you sent can’t encircle the entire Weird Domain, they’ve obtained some Weird Artifacts from other contestants. They can use them to section off the domain and place seaweed at the outlets to absorb impurities, reducing the demand for seaweed," 1666 explained.

"Oh, and they also said they’re sending you 10 million Weird Coins as payment for the seaweed. They want you to list a placeholder item so they can transfer the coins to you," 1666 added.

Hearing the first part, Ying Yuanxing sighed in relief. Though he didn’t know how long the Weird Artifacts would last, they clearly bought him crucial time to research seaweed cultivation.

The second part, however, made Ying Yuanxing’s eyes widen—10 million Weird Coins?

Over these past days, he had earned quite a bit—perhaps even this much in total income. But buying seeds and covering his own expenses meant he had to budget carefully.

"The Dawn Bureau insists you don’t refuse. If you don’t take it now, they’ll give it all to you when you return to Blue Star," 1666 added.

Ying Yuanxing checked the progress bar, hesitated for a moment, then decided to accept the money.

Once the progress bar filled and the farm upgraded, who knew how many Weird Coins he’d need? If he had to save up, the wait would be excruciating.

Seeing Ying Yuanxing agree, 1666 sighed in relief. The Dawn Bureau had an entire spiel prepared to convince him, and memorizing it had taken him quite some time.

But as he spoke, he started forgetting parts. If he had kept going, he'd have been left speechless.

After sending 1666 off and listing a placeholder item, Ying Yuanxing soon received the 10 million Weird Coins. Staring at the massive amount, he glanced at the seaweed on the beach and suddenly had an idea.

The reason he hadn’t dared to experiment was twofold: fear of wasting time and the seaweed's scarcity.

In an ordinary tech-based world, there might’ve been no solution. But this was the Weird world—their abilities were wildly diverse. Surely, one of them could help.

After discussing with Xuan Ying, Ying Yuanxing finally found the perfect ability for his research—illusions.

Many Weirds could create hallucinations, and at higher levels, they were virtually real. If there was no difference, could he study seaweed within an illusion?

Most importantly, time could be dilated within an illusion. As long as the person inside could endure, the duration could stretch indefinitely.

And as for the Weird most skilled in illusions...

Upon arriving at the Xue residence, Ying Yuanxing explained his request. Xue Er blinked in disbelief. "You want to enter my mother’s illusion to farm?"

Even they avoided their mother’s illusions—they were too realistic, blurring reality. The longer you stayed, the worse it got.

Ying Yuanxing nodded. "Yes, so I’d like to trouble you to relay this to Madam Xue."

Tempted by Ying Yuanxing’s offered reward, Xue Er deliberated before approaching her mother—and received approval.

If not for Xue Er and Xuan Ying vanishing before his eyes, Ying Yuanxing wouldn’t have believed he’d entered an illusion.

Everything felt too real—the soil, the surrounding plants, even the farm’s crops—all hyper-realistic.

Ying Yuanxing examined the crops, tempted to pick one and taste it, when a calm female voice spoke. "The more realistic the illusion, the greater the cost. If you eat that, it’ll consume some of the Weird Power."

Ying Yuanxing quickly withdrew his hand and rushed to the beach, staring at the familiar seaweed field in the water.

Though only a few days had passed, Ying Yuanxing knew these seaweed inside out. He could spot even the slightest growth in some of them.

And the seaweed in the illusion was identical to reality.

Ying Yuanxing plucked a small piece and tasted it—same flavor, even the same energy restoration.

Facing the seaweed field, Ying Yuanxing immediately launched straight into testing. If crops grew poorly without game skills, he’d consider natural growth limitations.

"Madam, can we speed up time for this seaweed field?"

"Madam, can you replicate more seaweed for me?"

"Madam..."

Xue Er watched the unconscious Ying Yuanxing, completely perplexed. Why was he so insistent on entering the illusion? It was no picnic.

And the illusion’s dangers were subtle. If Ying Yuanxing got hurt...

She glanced at Xuan Ying, who was keeping watch over Ying Yuanxing—while several Clones stood guard around them, clearly distrustful.

Xue Er kicked herself for being greedy. The reward was good, but she could’ve earned it through mining. Why gamble like this?

Now, she could only hope Ying Yuanxing stayed safe in the illusion.

She turned to her mother and noticed unusual traces of irritation on her usually serene face—faint but revealing.

What could Ying Yuanxing be doing in there to make her mother impatient?

When Ying Yuanxing finally burst out excitedly, thanking Xue’s mother, he immediately made a beeline for the seaweed field.

"Mother, what was he doing in the illusion?" Xue Er asked curiously.

"...farming." Mrs. Xue was silent for a moment before saying.

Xue Er wanted to ask more, but seeing Mrs. Xue's tired expression, she didn't want to push her further.

Ying Yuanxing emptied the shrimp and crabs from the crab traps, mixed them with tree liquid, and made them into fertilizer. He had made fertilizer before, but using fish, which hadn't worked well.

After finishing, Ying Yuanxing went to find Lan Ying, shoved a piece of seaweed at him before collecting the waste Lan Ying discharged. He then mixed the waste with the fertilizer.

"What is this?" Lan Ying was baffled when Ying Yuanxing collected his discharged waste, and this scene left him completely baffled.

"Come, let me show you..." Ying Yuanxing could hardly contain his excitement, but before he could finish, he turned and called out, "Xuan Ying, come here. You'll be the first to see."

Seeing Ying Yuanxing leave just like that, Lan Ying felt strangely left out. But after glancing at Xuan Ying following him and recalling Ying Yuanxing's words, he stayed behind.

"My new fertilizer," Ying Yuanxing said, smirking proudly. "Let's see how it works."

He scattered the grayish fertilizer over the seaweed field while saying, "Auntie, advance time for this field to 24 hours later."

Then, he waited quietly, expecting to see the seaweed grow before his eyes.

But after two seconds passed with no movement, Ying Yuanxing frowned automatically and said, "Auntie, the spectral energy isn't—"

Wait. He glanced at Xuan Ying beside him and realized he wasn’t in the illusion anymore—he couldn’t just alter time at will.

"Staying in the illusion too long made me a little spacey," Ying Yuanxing muttered, looking embarrassed at Xuan Ying. "We might have to wait a full day to see any changes. We'll have to wait."

As he spoke, he picked up the fertilizer to spread it over the seaweed, but Xuan Ying grabbed it from him and said, "Teach me. I'll do it."

Seeing Xuan Ying so eager, Ying Yuanxing let him handle the task. Watching the gray fertilizer scatter around the seaweed, he blinked—he almost expected instant growth right after, only to remember this wasn’t the illusion.

...

Back at the Dawn Bureau’s research institute, they were also studying seaweed, since it was so crucial. But in just a few days, they’d made no progress.

Compared to Ying Yuanxing, their research was much harder. At least Ying Yuanxing could gather seaweed every day and had successfully planted it, whereas they couldn’t even get the planting right.

Placing the seaweed in lake water wasn't proper cultivation but rather like burying it in soil, relying entirely on the seaweed’s own vitality to survive while absorbing impurities.

And because the seaweed was so precious, they hesitated to conduct experiments, fearing they might kill it. With such limited test materials, they were hard to replace.

When they saw Ying Yuanxing enter an illusion to research seaweed cultivation, the researchers’ eyes lit up instantly. Unable to resist, they turned to Zhao Zhangyan, who was watching the livestream with them.

"Director, can we—"

"No, too dangerous," Zhao Zhangyan cut them off. "Besides, we don’t have a suitable supernatural entity to create such an illusion."

For proper research, the illusion had to be incredibly realistic. None of the supernatural entities they had captured possessed that capability, and even if one did, the Dawn Bureau would never risk it.

After all, their researchers were priceless. If the supernatural entity had any ill intent, the loss to Xia State would be catastrophic.

The researchers sighed but understood. Then, seeing Ying Yuanxing wake up with excitement, one couldn’t help but mutter, "Looks like he succeeded."

But whether it truly worked still depended on the results.

When Ying Yuanxing casually mentioned the idea of time acceleration, some researchers couldn’t conceal their envy and turned to Zhao Zhangyan again with a suggestion: "Director, maybe we could try this in the future. If it works, imagine how much time we’d save."

Zhao Zhangyan had to admit he was tempted. Research was time-consuming, and humanity was running out of time. If they could conduct studies in illusions like Ying Yuanxing, it would be a huge time-saver.

But supernatural entities capable of controlling illusions were too dangerous. Zhao Zhangyan remembered encountering one before—if it hadn’t been inexperienced with illusion manipulation, all three rescue teams would have been wiped out.

Even so, casualties had been severe.

Capturing a supernatural entity and making it serve them was an almost impossible task.

"Mr. Zhou, what’s wrong?" Zhao Zhangyan snapped out of his thoughts and noticed Mr. Zhou’s unusual expression—unlike the other researchers’ excitement, he looked troubled.

"Take a closer look at Ying Yuanxing. Don’t you see the problem?" Mr. Zhou said gravely.

Zhao Zhangyan froze, then scrutinized Ying Yuanxing. He noticed him biting his lower lip, brows furrowing intermittently, restless and unsettled.

Yet the audience hadn’t picked up on it, too absorbed in the news Ying Yuanxing had shared. Even if they didn’t know about the water pollution, they understood the seaweed’s importance.

Previously, slow growth had been the bottleneck. Now that there was a way to accelerate it, how could they not be thrilled?

"What’s happening to him...?" Zhao Zhangyan frowned.

"In illusions, you can manipulate time and control everything. Given how naturally Ying Yuanxing spoke just now, he must’ve stayed in that illusion for a long time—so long that even after returning to reality, he instinctively tried to command it," Mr. Zhou said grimly.

"Ying Yuanxing stayed on that farm for too long. Even though he’s out now, his brain is struggling to separate illusion from reality. Right now, he’s relying purely on willpower to tell them apart."

"What consequences could that have?" Zhao Zhangyan asked worriedly.

"I’m not sure. But if this state continues, problems are inevitable." Mr. Zhou shook his head. He’d studied cases of people addicted to virtual networks, but someone confusing illusions with reality? Ying Yuanxing was the first.

Yet his instincts told him Ying Yuanxing’s situation was precarious.

Watching Xuan Ying finish spreading fertilizer across the seaweed field, Ying Yuanxing stood up and turned toward the farm. Though many figures bustled about, in a blink, he saw the empty farm again—as if one step would teleport him to the cabin.

His mind drifted momentarily before he suddenly felt weightless, floating mid-air.

Snapped out of his thoughts, Ying Yuanxing looked at the tentacles wrapped around him and asked, "Xuan Ying, what's this about?"

"You’re tired. Let’s go soak in the hot springs first." Xuan Ying’s voice was gruff. Without waiting for a reply, he whisked Ying Yuanxing off to the back mountain.