Chapter 29: An Unstoppable Force

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Huang Tao had pulled out a large handful of his own hair, yet he still could not understand why the Soul-Calming Incense refused to bloom. Could it really be a diseased strain?

There was no helping it. He would have to replace it.

He could not allow the entire night to go to waste. The examination lasted only four days and three nights in total!

Supporting himself with one hand, Huang Tao made his difficult way toward the seedling district. Along the road, however, he discovered that his friend Ma Wu was also hurrying in that direction, looking somewhat flustered.

“Brother Ma? What happened?”

“Hmm? Brother Huang?” Ma Wu was the man who had accompanied Huang Tao during the day. Seeing that Huang Tao was not cultivating on his own plot, he looked puzzled as well. “I picked a diseased strain. I worked on it for three or four hours, but it simply refused to bear fruit. What a disaster!”

“What? What a coincidence!” Huang Tao stared at him. “The same thing happened to me!”

At once, Ma Wu felt much better. So I’m not the only unlucky one!

“Brother Huang, let’s choose together. It’s already the middle of the night. If we delay any longer, we won’t have enough time.”

“Let’s go!”

* * *

There were quite a few people arriving to select new seedlings or seeds, but no one thought in any other direction. Such things were not uncommon, after all. Who had never managed to kill a flower or a plant while raising it? Besides, everyone had deliberately chosen plants that were somewhat difficult to cultivate.

Thus, when Zhao Xing activated the first wave of Earth Vein Convergence, most people did not suspect anything.

But was there anyone who could think of it and notice what was happening?

There was.

For instance, Wen Nanxing and Xiao Ze, who were relatively close to Zhao Xing. Both had reached the third tier of Qi Gathering, and because they were nearby, a careful observation and comparison would reveal that the abnormality was caused by human intervention.

Zhao Xing had thought of this as well, which was why he had controlled the absorption rate affecting these two neighbors.

“I can’t let experts discover me too early. I have to control the pace. Still, the places where these two are cultivating are rich in vital energy, and the energy they produce while casting their spells is purer. Even with their absorption rates reduced, they are still contributing more than everyone else.”

Toward the novices, he absorbed with ruthless force, taking eight or nine parts out of every ten.

Toward the experts, he proceeded cautiously, cutting with a dull knife and boiling the frog in warm water.

“Although Earth Vein Convergence is difficult to learn and master, there is always a chance that someone else knows the technique.”

“But I haven’t sensed anyone absorbing my vital energy yet. There probably isn’t another hidden opportunist nearby.”

The amateurs failed to recognize it, and the experts failed to notice it.

Although perplexed voices arose repeatedly throughout the night, everything proceeded exactly as Zhao Xing had anticipated.

* * *

As time passed, the vital energy gradually accumulated. The Vajra Bamboo at the center of the spell finally began to stir.

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At a quarter past the second watch, the tip of the Vajra Bamboo shoot pushed through the surrounding soil, radiating a faint golden light.

Seeing this, Zhao Xing immediately split off a dark cloud and sent rain down upon the Vajra Bamboo, aiding its growth.

At half past the second watch, the Vajra Bamboo continued to grow. The patterns on the outer sheath of its leaves thickened, and it reached half a meter in height.

At three-quarters past the second watch, its height doubled, reaching one meter. Its first bamboo joint appeared, marking its emergence from the seedling stage.

At the end of the second watch, the Vajra Bamboo developed a second joint and officially entered its growth stage.

From that point onward, its growth became unstoppable.

As the saying went, bamboo shoots after the spring rain rose with irresistible force.

Though the Vajra Bamboo was of a high rank, it was still bamboo. Supplied with vast quantities of vital energy by Earth Vein Convergence, abundant nourishment, and ample room to grow, it immediately began to erupt into life.

When the first joint appeared, the stalk was only one meter tall. Yet a quarter of an hour later, the second joint emerged, and its height shot up to four meters!

Afterward, the leafy sheaths wrapped around it began to fall away. Almost every quarter of an hour, two new joints appeared, while the stalk continued to rise at a speed visible to the naked eye.

By the end of the third watch, each of the twenty Vajra Bamboos had grown more than fifty meters tall, with diameters exceeding thirty centimeters!

Their entire bodies were golden yellow, including their leaves and branches.

With their luxuriant branches and dense foliage, the twenty Vajra Bamboos had transformed the place into a veritable golden bamboo forest.

When dawn broke, sunlight illuminated the golden bamboo grove, making it blaze with splendor. Everyone noticed the sight.

“Hmm? Those bamboo stalks are enormous!”

“What happened? How did so many bamboo plants appear overnight?”

“They’re so tall. There are only twenty of them, yet they already look like an entire bamboo forest!”

“Golden yellow—how beautiful! What species are they?”

“Entirely golden and more than fifty meters tall. Could they be second-rank superior Vajra Bamboos?”

“What? Second-rank superior? And twenty of them at once?”

“Whose plot is that?”

“They were cultivated by Zhao Xing of Sophora-Willow Court!”

Throughout the examination grounds, all the officials began discussing the matter animatedly.

It was impossible not to notice. At fifty meters high, the bamboo was simply too conspicuous. Every official present could see it, whether they wanted to or not.

“Cultivated to maturity in a single night?” Li Chengfeng, on the western side, frowned as he stared at the figure beneath the golden forest. “Bamboo does have an advantage when it comes to growth, but this is still far too exaggerated.”

Looking at the golden bamboo forest, he felt a vague sense of crisis—as though someone were about to overtake him.

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“How did he manage that?” Zong Shichang stood there dumbfounded. “The Vajra Bamboo is a second-rank superior plant. Forget twenty of them—even one is extraordinarily difficult to mature!”

“I don’t know.” Li Chengfeng shook his head. “Wen Nanxing and Xiao Ze are nearby. They may know something. Brother Zong, why not go and ask them?”

* * *

At that moment, Wen Nanxing and Xiao Ze were equally bewildered.

They did not know much more than anyone else. Zhao Xing’s Cloud-Summoning technique had concealed the commotion caused during the growth stage, and it was not until daytime that the results were revealed to everyone.

It was not only the Vajra Bamboo. Green vines had also spread across the ground.

Judging solely by the cultivation results of these two plants, Zhao Xing had already taken the undisputed lead.

By comparison, the performances of the other two were far less impressive.

Wen Nanxing had cultivated four plants, ranked respectively second-rank superior, middle, and inferior.

His second-rank inferior plant had already entered maturity, but the middle-grade one was progressing slowly and remained in the growth stage.

As for the second-rank superior Seven-Star Flower, it had not even begun to produce buds.

“My second-rank superior plant hasn’t even entered its growth stage, yet he has already cultivated so many mature second-rank superior plants?” A flicker of surprise crossed Wen Nanxing’s eyes.

“There’s something wrong. Something is very wrong!”

Tang Wanchun furrowed his brows and calculated on his fingers. He was working out the effectiveness of his disciple Xiao Ze’s spell and the growth cycle of the plant he was cultivating.

When he finished calculating, he was suddenly startled. He rose to his feet and carefully examined the blue plant growing in the mud.

“Something is not right! By all rights, Xiao Ze’s Frost Lotus should have produced a fourth leaf by now. Why does it have only two?”

Another official beside him also wore a thoughtful expression. He was Wen Nanxing’s teacher, Pang Yuan.

“Wen Nanxing’s spell is also far less effective than it should be.”

“Furthermore, beginning at midnight, people have been repeatedly going to the seedling district and returning to replant. Many of them have killed their own plants.”

Tang Wanchun said, “One or two cases could be dismissed, but how can so many people have encountered the same problem?”

“There is only one possibility. The vital energy of the earth veins has been affected!”

The two men exchanged a glance and blurted out together, “Earth Vein Convergence!”

Hearing this, Chen Shijie smiled faintly. “Why are the two of you so anxious? Could it be that you intend to remind your own disciples?”

Tang Wanchun and Pang Yuan hurriedly cupped their hands.

“We would not dare, Your Excellency. We simply did not expect that someone among the officials would be capable of casting Earth Vein Convergence.”

Chen Shijie waved his hand with a smile.

“Then sit down and quietly observe how matters unfold.”