Chapter 82

Chapter 82

When players set their minds on achieving something, nothing can dampen their enthusiasm or halt their progress.

Over the next few days, various alliances organized and systematically coordinated their members, pooling contribution points to exchange for Evergrowing Soil and Spirit-Absorbing Grass seeds, then engaging in large-scale manual cultivation.

Wood Element players became highly sought after, leading to Wood Spiritual Power becoming the most popular attribute in the game for a long time. Many new players chose to awaken their Wood Spiritual Power.

Soon, players discovered that not only did Spirit-Absorbing Grass require cultivation, but Evergrowing Soil also needed a supply of spiritual power to ensure its division. Naturally, it divided quite slowly.

Thus, Earth Element players also found their purpose. While other attributes could also accelerate the division of Evergrowing Soil, practice showed that Earth Element was almost twice as efficient as the others.

Each player had their role, and things quickly got moving. The dungeon changed almost daily, and every time Shen Yi quietly arrived via the teleportation array, he was met with new surprises.

Beside the teleportation array, the Holy Light Mushroom forest that Xi Ye had cultivated had doubled in size in just a few days.

The once pitch-black space was now softly illuminated, faintly revealing the Spirit-Absorbing Grass spreading across the ground laid out by the players.

The criteria for claiming a territory in the expansion event were based solely on spiritual energy and vitality indices. To occupy more land, alliances first focused on spreading soil, planting Spirit-Absorbing Grass, and then adding a few Holy Light Mushrooms.

Since Queen Bee Majesty and the spirits had personally cultivated them, they were undoubtedly valuable—players planted them first and asked questions later.

The fantasy mushrooms, a blend of trees and fungi, emitted a soft glow—beautiful and mysterious. Even better, their stalks contained natural spaces, making them perfect homes, more magical than any fairy-tale mushroom house.

Inheriting some characteristics of mushrooms, they could survive with minimal sunlight, making them ideally suited for the dungeon. How could players not love them?

Many players who had exchanged for home permits planted Holy Light Mushrooms as their homes. Once a player chose a Holy Light Mushroom as their home in the game, they could set activation settings for the mycelium, much like an access card—the mycelium would only activate for those designated by the player.

Holy Light Mushrooms quickly became the most popular homes in the game.

Some players tried to take mushroom spores to plant in the Flowfire Forest but were notified by the system when passing through the teleportation array that the spores could not be taken out of the dungeon.

This was a special setting by Shen Yi. Holy Light Mushrooms were his unique feature for the dungeon—if they were planted everywhere, how could they remain special?

From a distance, vast stretches of snow-white stalks and caps covered with green leaves, their ridges emitting a soft fluorescence, spread across the expansive space in an orderly yet natural arrangement. Players, especially those who had evolved into their second forms, leaped across the vibrant green caps, occasionally being swept into the stalks by emerging mycelium, leaving behind excited cheers.

It was beginning to take shape as an underground city.

Shen Yi was watching with satisfaction when he suddenly heard cheers in the distance—coming from the direction of the Darling Alliance.

SlyFox and her friends had named their alliance the "Darling Alliance." When Shen Yi received the system notification, he chuckled, his fluff trembling—indeed, a group of cute girls with a sweet alliance name.

He noticed that the atmosphere within the Darling Alliance was quite different from others—more passionate and cohesive, with a unique vibe he couldn’t quite describe, which made him pay extra attention to them.

Hearing the cheers, he curiously hid his presence and flew over.

After players had made their exchanges, the contribution shop’s stock was running low, and Xi Ye was busy growing seeds, so he didn’t accompany Shen Yi.

He soon arrived at the center of the Darling Alliance’s territory.

SlyFox and her group treated the dungeon as their alliance territory, developing it with more care than other alliances.

Their Holy Light Mushrooms weren’t just randomly cultivated en masse but were carefully designed between areas. They had moved many moss- and fern-covered rocks from the Flowfire Forest, arranging them into beautiful shapes. The ground was covered with soft green velvet grass, and intentionally left pathways were paved with smooth, rounded stones of varying sizes.

Along the paths stood tall "streetlights" built from stacked stones, reinforced by Earth Element players and adorned with dense moss and glowing pendant plants cultivated by Wood Element players.

It was full of rustic charm, like a forest town from a fairy tale. Shen Yi quite liked their alliance’s style.

When Shen Yi arrived, a group of fluffy bumblebees and a few evolved Bee Spirits were gathered together, excitedly discussing something.

[Chen Meng]: "Oh my, this grass actually produces spiritual energy! As expected of an orange-grade seed. We’ve hit the jackpot!"

That single line hooked Shen Yi’s curiosity, and he instinctively moved closer.

[Yang Leduo]: "Once we fill the territory with this Spirit-Releasing Grass, combined with the Spirit-Absorbing Grass that gathers spiritual energy, why worry about lacking spiritual energy here?"

[Guoli Chen]: "Don’t celebrate too soon. It only produces spiritual energy when fully mature, and it’s incredibly hard to cultivate. Just now, six of us at full spiritual power only managed to grow it this big."

[SlyFox]: "Could it be because there’s not enough light here? Maybe it’s unsuitable for growth."

…

Spirit-Releasing Grass?

Shen Yi’s eyes lit up as he looked at the small, vibrant green plant they were gathered around.

From a distance, it resembled a fern, with feather-like, slightly curled leaves and slender stems clustered together, standing out prominently against the carpet of green velvet grass.

Shen Yi’s spiritual sense swept over it, and indeed, he detected spiritual energy slowly emanating from the center of the stems. Though the rate was slow, the energy was pure. This was the first time he had so directly observed a spiritual plant capable of releasing energy.

The system had information on this spiritual plant.

"Spirit-Releasing Grass (Extinct)"

"Converts absorbed moonlight and sunlight into pure spiritual energy."

An orange-grade treasure, labeled as extinct.

Shen Yi immediately thought of the story Grandpa Tree had told earlier. He speculated that when the World Consciousness sanctioned the ancient dire beasts and suppressed their evolution and advancement, the simplest method would have been to gather and control spiritual energy.

Without sufficient spiritual energy, no matter how talented the dire beasts were, they couldn’t thrive. If that were the case, spiritual plants like this—capable of absorbing sunlight and moonlight to release spiritual energy—would naturally be the first targets.

This seed had been obtained by [Yang Leduo] from the Darling Alliance today through a blind box draw. Perhaps the World Consciousness had overlooked that a seed had survived in this isolated world.

Then, centuries later, it was discovered by a group of players who had stumbled in.

Or… had all of this been part of Its plan?

Shen Yi’s antennae stiffened momentarily before relaxing. Well, overthinking it wouldn’t help.

Lately, both the Flowfire Forest and the Mystic Mushroom Forest had experienced spiritual energy fluctuations to some extent, indicating that the World Consciousness intended to restore spiritual energy density. Even if he expanded the cultivation of this Spirit-Releasing Grass and promoted it widely, he likely wouldn’t be hindered.

Shen Yi glanced at the 15 points of Lucky Favor on his attribute panel and decided to act.

He withdrew his spiritual concealment and revealed himself.

The discussing players were startled, instinctively stepping back in shock at the sudden appearance.

"Y-Your Majesty?!"

"Hello, everyone."

Shen Yi greeted the nine players present warmly, then darted over to hover above the Spirit-Releasing Grass. He got straight to the point: "I’m very interested in this spiritual plant. May I borrow it for a few days to study?"

SlyFox and the others were still stunned and didn’t respond immediately. Shen Yi blinked and added, "No more than three days. I’ll return the plant intact and compensate you with some extra rewards."

Yang Leduo was the first to react. Blushing, she exclaimed loudly, "Yes, yes, of course!" Though she had obtained the seed, it was the fellow alliance members who had cultivated it together. After her excited outburst, she belatedly glanced at the others, especially the Alliance Leader SlyFox.

To her surprise, their Alliance Leader was even more excited: "Your Majesty, feel free to take anything. You don’t need to return it quickly—even if you want to cook and eat it, that’s fine too."

"Cooking and eating it... that really isn't necessary." Shen Yi was amused by their reaction. After a moment's thought, he released the Queen Bee's psychic power, condensing it into nine golden rings, which he then controlled with his psychic power to fly toward the players present.

"I came here because I sensed a special spiritual energy signature. This spiritual herb might be useful to me. At most, it will take three days, and I will return the herb to you intact. Consider this my compensation to you."

Shen Yi flicked the rings onto the players, dug up the spiritual herb from the ground, and disappeared before they could even react.

SlyFox watched as His Majesty vanished, smacking her forehead in frustration. "Ah... I didn't even get to ask where the elf is, Your Majesty."

His Majesty, who always had the elf with him wherever he went, seemed to be acting alone a lot lately. It was really worrying—mostly worrying about the state of their romantic relationship status.

"Aaaah!"

"Quick, look at the System description! This is a special contract ring, ahhh!"

SlyFox and the others, still excited about having been so close to His Majesty and even speaking with him, hurriedly checked the golden rings in their hands.

"Special Contract Ring: Can contract with spirit beasts compatible with the player."

Fox Spirit: "What does that mean? Could it be that we can contract with spirit beasts other than Phantom Insects?"

If that were the case, they would truly strike gold.

So far, the only spirit beasts that could be contracted in the game were Phantom Insects. Although some players had already cultivated their Phantom Insects into a second form, the Moon Spirit Butterfly, Phantom Insects were essentially free spirit beasts given to everyone upon entering the game. If everyone had one, it was practically the same as no one having one.

In such a realistic second world, with so many dazzling an array of spirit beasts and plants that were almost too many to take in, players naturally wanted to try contracting other creatures. Unfortunately, the game hadn’t opened that feature.

Now, they had this incredible luck fall into their laps? And it was a reward given by His Majesty himself, personally handed to them!

Yang Leduo clenched his fists, his eyes shining. "Later, I’m going to keep opening blind boxes. Who knows, I might even get something else that interests His Majesty!"

SlyFox: "Count me in!"

Guoli Chen: "Me too!"

...

Shen Yi, holding the spiritual herb with its roots still covered in soil, teleported into the Queen Bee's nest and rushed excitedly toward Xi Ye. Before he even arrived, his voice rang out.

"Xi Ye, Xi Ye, I found something good. Come take a look."

Xi Ye noticed something unusual at a glance and instinctively stopped what he was doing, surprised. "It’s releasing spiritual energy?"

Although most spirit plants have dense spiritual energy within them, that energy is usually condensed from the surrounding environment. Like spirit beasts, spirit plants vary in aptitude depending on their species and individual traits. Those with higher aptitude can absorb and store more spiritual energy within themselves.

There are also those with special talents, such as the Spirit-Absorbing Grass, which can attract and condense spiritual energy around itself to nourish its growth.

But this grass in front of them was actually releasing spiritual energy—not condensing it, but releasing it.

"This is Spirit-Releasing Grass. I got it from the players," Shen Yi said, looking at Xi Ye expectantly. "Can you generate seeds from it? I promised to return it to them within three days."

"The amount of spiritual energy it releases is very small," Xi Ye observed for a moment before glancing at him. "Even if we filled the Queen Bee's nest with it, the amount of spiritual energy released would still be less than what we could directly absorb from the outside world."

Even so, seeing Shen Yi's eager expression, he infused spiritual energy into the Spirit-Releasing Grass. After a brief test, a look of surprise flashed across his face. "This grass really devours a lot of spiritual energy."

Shen Yi showed him the System description and shared his speculation, then said, "The description says it can convert sunlight and moonlight into spiritual energy. The spiritual energy it’s releasing now is probably from the energy the players infused while cultivating it. There’s no sunlight or moonlight in the Queen Bee's nest. Let’s go to Moon Valley and try there."

It was nighttime now, so they could go to Moon Valley to bask in the moonlight.

It was strange, though. The Queen Bee's nest had no nighttime—there was no sun or any visible light source in the sky, yet it was always bright as day. Fortunately, the flower bud space allowed for light adjustment, so his sleep quality was still guaranteed.

"Wait," Xi Ye stopped him, found a hemispherical beetle shell to use as a flowerpot, and planted the SpiritReleasing Grass inside. Shen Yi added a small handful of Evergrowing soil to it. Shen Yi instinctively leaned toward Xi Ye, but Xi Ye pushed his head away, with a look of disgust. "Go get cleaned up."

Shen Yi brushed off the dirt on his clothes and muttered, "Who was it that said they didn’t mind me?"

"Not you," Xi Ye raised an eyebrow, speaking seriously. "It’s the dirt I mind."

"..." Whatever.

Shen Yi was eager to verify things in the Glowworm Forest and couldn’t wait to take a bath. Instead, he used his spiritual power to sweep over his body, then grabbed Xi Ye and hurried off.

Since Shen Yi had entered from the underground city, he first detoured and used A Fu's Town Portal Scroll to return directly to Moonlight Valley from there.

Shen Yi placed the SpiritReleasing Grass beside Moonlight Pond, where the moonlight was strongest. He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but even before Xi Ye had infused any spiritual energy, the feather-like leaves seemed to stand more upright a little.

A moment later, spirit energy a hundred times denser than before began to emanate from the leaves.

Both Shen Yi and Xi Ye showed surprise.

Xi Ye muttered, "How is this possible...?" If the entire valley were filled with such spiritual grass, wouldn’t the concentration of spiritual energy soon surpass that of the Elf Valley?

"This is a spiritual plant that was once extinct," Shen Yi shared his speculations about the World Consciousness regulating spiritual energy with Xi Ye. "It feels like this world is about to undergo a major transformation. We need to prepare ourselves to ride the wave of this era."

Shen Yi made a fist, pointing at the SpiritReleasing Grass stretching its leaves under the moonlight. "Hurry, try to see if you can force it to generate seeds."

The more advanced the spiritual plant, the harder it usually is to induce seed production. He hoped this grass would be productive—after all, he had to return it to the players within three days at the latest.

Life-rich spiritual power swirled around Xi Ye before enveloping the SpiritReleasing Grass. Under Shen Yi’s expectant gaze, the small feather-like leaves spread out and grew slightly larger. More leaves sprouted from the base, soon filling the entire flowerpot.

The dense leaves crowded into the watermelon-size beetle shell flowerpot, completely obscuring the soil below. As the leaves multiplied, the Spirit-Releasing Grass emitted even more spiritual energy.

However, all these leaves grew from the same plant. After half a day of stimulation, it remained a single plant with no signs of flowering or seeding.

Xi Ye then tried harvesting a leaf to plant separately, but no matter how much he stimulated it, the detached leaf wouldn't develop roots. They had no choice but to give up.

"Could it be that this plant doesn’t produce seeds?" Shen Yi circled the Spirit-Releasing Grass. "But that can’t be right. Earlier, the players mentioned they got a seed from a loot box and then cultivated it."

"Maybe there are other conditions. Let’s try again during the day."

They replaced the flowerpot with a larger one, the size of a tire, which was carved from the remains of a beetle that Number Six had previously used for her home.

The next day, they tried again at dawn and noon, finally making progress when the sunlight was strongest at midday.

Although they still hadn’t managed to produce seeds, two offshoots finally sprouted beside the original plant.

Shen Yi happily planted one of the offshoots back into the original beetle shell flowerpot. After Xi Ye stimulated it to a full-bloom state, Shen Yi returned it to the Darling Alliance, along with some growing instructions: it needed sufficient exposure to moonlight and sunlight before it could produce offshoots.

This caused SlyFox and the others, who had originally cultivated the grass, to exclaim, "It can grow this big!"

Previously, it had taken all six of them to cultivate the grass to maturity, and they had thought that was its limit.

Since the previous day, they had been immersed in the excitement of being able to bond with new spirit pets and had almost forgotten about the troublesome spiritual grass. As unusual as it was, it only released a tiny amount of spiritual energy—how could it compare to the allure of having one of only nine unique spirit pets in the entire game?

Subconsciously, they had already considered the grass a gift to His Majesty. They never expected that, just one day later, not only would His Majesty return the grass, but it would also be several times larger.

The players looked at him with starry eyes. "Your Majesty is amazing."

Without thinking, Shen Yi replied, "It was Xi Ye. Xi Ye cultivated it."

"Xi Ye?" SlyFox wiggled her antennae in confusion, then quickly realized, her antennae shooting upright. "Is he an elf?"

[Guoli Chen]: "What? The Elf is called Xi Ye? Such a badass name!"

The players had never known Xi Ye's name, so they always referred to him as "the Elf."

Shen Yi opened the system interface; in the players' view, the text above Xi Ye's head displayed as "Elf."

Shen Yi vaguely realized that, for so long, Xi Ye had actually been nameless among the players.

He asked the system: "A'Tong, what's going on?"

"The host wanted to hide the Elf, not wanting him exposed to the players' sight. As the host's system, it's only natural to prioritize the host's wishes."

"Where did I ever want to hide Xi Ye..." Shen Yi, his voice faded, then said, "Alright, I admit, I do have a bit of a possessive streak with friends, but that's understandable, right? He's my only friend."

The system's core stuttered, recalibrating its definition of "friend."

Shen Yi continued muttering: "It's just that I know players too well. Any human would be enchanted by an adorable little Elf, wanting to kiss, cuddle, cup him in their hands, and lift him up high. But now that players can transform into little Elves themselves, they probably aren't as fascinated by Elves anymore."

Shen Yi instructed the system to give Xi Ye the cred he deserved—how could my bro not have a name!

A few days later, players who saw the Elf in the underground city noticed that the nickname above the Elf's head had suddenly changed—[Xi Ye], with an additional note: [Queen Bee's Best Friend].

"B-bestie?" The Darling Alliance went wild. "Being officially acknowledged makes it even more shippable, doesn't it?"

Even gameplay-focused technical players were surprised: "Huh? Best friends? I thought they were a couple."

Some straight male players expressed confusion: "Huh? A couple? I thought he was the Queen Bee's spirit pet. Otherwise, why would they always appear together? What else could it be besides a companion pet?"

...

Shen Yi didn't pay attention to the players' reactions; he was busy preparing with Xi Ye to explore the Quicksand Desert.

After learning that the Solar Essence Fragments in the Quicksand Desert were highly useful to them, the two had planned to go. However, the Giant Velvet Sunflower suddenly awakened, triggering a storm and leading to the discovery of the underground city.

After such a long delay, Shen Yi finally put exploring the Quicksand Desert back on his to-do list.

After all, not only did they need Solar Essence Fragments, but the Queen Bee's nest, which had been absorbing Phantom Insect Essence, also needed Solar Essence Fragments to balance the ambient spiritual energy. Moreover, building the underground city required a type of luminescent stone from the Quicksand Desert.

Sunlight Stone, which absorbs solar energy, emits light that can serve as sunlight to provide illumination and heat for plants—something the light from glowing mushrooms and other fluorescent plants couldn't match.

Upon hearing the news, Number Two and the others, who had been running wild in the Gravel Valley and Flowlight Forest, all wanted to come along. Even fairy and Tangyuan joined in the fun.

Before leaving, Shen Yi set up half of a portal in the beginner's village, planning to complete the other half once they found an oasis to guide players there.

They rode on A Fu's back, flying directly toward the area where the Wild Mushroom squad had previously battled the flying serpent.

Since A Fu couldn't teleport directly to places he hadn't been to, Xi Ye had to guide the way while A Fu flew.

It was their first long trip, exploring the outside world, and everyone was excited, peering over A Fu's sides and marveling at everything they saw.

This excitement lasted only half a day. By the time the perimeter around the Flowlight Forest was left far behind, an endless wilderness gradually dominated their view.

Yellow sand covered the land, sparse withered grass tinged with yellow, vast and desolate.

Number Four leaned over A Fu's edge, staring unblinkingly at the rapidly passing ground below, curious: "Can anything actually survive here?"

"Of course," Shen Yi began another happy teachable moment. "Spiders, scorpions, little lizards... many lives thrive stubbornly beneath the sand."

Number Two: "Then what do they eat?"

Shen Yi thought for a moment and summarized: "Big bugs eat little bugs, little bugs gnaw on tree bark."

Number Four: "So pitiful."

Number Six: "If you were born here, you'd starve to death, right?"

Number Four: "As if you wouldn't be the same."

Number Six: "I'm not like you. I can make flowers grow; I’d never starve no matter where I go."

Number Four: "..." Ugh, she got me.

It had taken the Wild Mushroom squad over half a month to explore this area, but Shen Yi and the others arrived in a single day. Unexpectedly, they spotted the Wild Mushroom squad, who should have been in the underground city, under a sand dune.

After establishing their alliance in the underground city and staking their claim, they had actually returned directly to the desert.

Shen Yi quickly stealthed, avoiding appearing before them. After instructing the system to track them, he quietly flew north overhead.

Shen Yi planned to first find a few flying serpents nearby to farm some Solar Essence Fragments.