Plant VS Cultivation

Chapter 169: Arrival at the Heavenly Origin Realm

Preparing to rest on the spot, Gu Mo took out a lotus seed and tossed it into the sea. In moments, the seed took root and sprouted, and within a few breaths, a massive lotus leaf had emerged on the surface of the water.

Gu Mo leapt onto the leaf and summoned his miniature house-type magical tool. In no time, a temporary floating base had been established. Beneath the lotus, the root system continuously absorbed spiritual energy from the ocean, channeling it up to the lotus leaf to replenish Gu Mo's spiritual energy during his rest.

It's no exaggeration to say that Gu Mo had the confidence to cross the ocean alone thanks not only to his Golden Core cultivation but also to this lotus plant.

The greatest threat in ocean crossings wasn't the danger of monsters or storms, but rather the continuous spiritual energy depletion without anywhere to rest. In such a depleted state, encountering any unexpected danger could prove fatal.

But for Gu Mo, that simply wasn't an issue. With the lotus, he could stop and rest at any time. More than that, he had Little Carp for transportation, which greatly reduced his energy expenditure. With his condition always at its peak, he had the capacity to deal with any potential emergencies.

"Little Carp, let's head out!"

After half a day's rest atop the lotus, Gu Mo called out to the curled-up creature inside his sleeve, ready to resume his journey. He was eager to reach Shennong Valley and start his farming life.

After all, no farming meant no income from Sun Essence.

"Yes, Master!"

Little Carp resumed its boat-sized form and looked up at Gu Mo with eager eyes. Seeing this, Gu Mo tossed out a dose of Sun Essence, which Little Carp happily swallowed, its long ribbon-like tail swaying in delight.

What followed was a dull and uneventful journey. Since they were sticking to a safe route, no significant dangers emerged along the way.

Gu Mo did encounter several merchant fleets, but unfortunately, none of them welcomed him to travel alongside them, afraid that he might be a bandit cultivator.

"Safe route" here referred only to the absence of demon king territories, hostile environments, or forbidden zones. Bandit cultivators were still very much a concern—indeed, they were the greatest threat along such routes.

These merchant ships traveled between major cultivation realms and carried vast quantities of goods. Capturing even a single one could make a person rich overnight.

Of course, the merchants were well aware of the risks. Larger caravans or those transporting particularly valuable cargo would even hire Nascent Soul cultivators as guards.

However, there were also small-time fleets lured by the huge profits of cross-realm trade. These smaller outfits typically had much weaker protection—usually no more than a single Golden Core cultivator overseeing the journey.

These were the prime targets of bandits, and the caravans Gu Mo had run into recently were of this weaker variety. Naturally, they were unwilling to let a stranger—especially one at the Golden Core level—join them.

Gu Mo could only sigh at this and continue traveling alone. At his current pace, it would take at least a year to reach the cultivation realm where Shennong Valley was located.

There was nothing to be done—he had to grit his teeth and keep going.

On this particular day, Gu Mo sat cross-legged on Little Carp's back, quietly contemplating spells and secret arts. Since he had no advanced cultivation method to follow at the moment, he had temporarily put his cultivation on hold to focus entirely on his understanding of magical techniques.

The five core Spirit Farmer techniques had all been cultivated by Gu Mo to the Advanced level, and his mastery of the Miniature Cloud-Rain Technique was just a step away from perfection.

This rapid progress was thanks in large part to Little Carp. By observing its innate abilities, Gu Mo's insights into the Miniature Cloud-Rain Technique improved dramatically.

As for the other four Spirit Farmer techniques, Gu Mo was confident he could master them to perfection before reaching Shennong Valley. With his current Golden Core cultivation level, comprehending Tier-One Spirit Farming techniques from such a height was naturally much faster.

Especially since Gu Mo had already adopted a scientific approach to analyze the principles behind each spell, allowing for even more efficient progress.

In contrast to his swift advancement with farming techniques, progress in his sword techniques was slow. At present, he had only grasped two moves from the sword manual: Heaven-Cleaving and Sword Reversal.

He was now focused on deepening his proficiency with these two moves. As for learning new ones, Gu Mo had decided to hold off.

Better to fully master these before moving forward. These advanced sword techniques were incredibly difficult to grasp alone. If he had a teacher to guide him, it would likely be much easier.

"Hm… what if I created an avatar to study under a sword cultivator?" Gu Mo mused to himself.

It was clear that Shennong Valley had no sword cultivation inheritance. If Gu Mo wanted to advance in this path, he'd need to find a sword master elsewhere.

Since his original self had already become a disciple of Qi Chunde and would be going straight to Shennong Valley, he couldn't very well take another master. But if it were his avatar who did the learning, that would be an entirely different story.

His true self could stay in Shennong Valley to farm and raise his cultivation while his avatar trained in swordsmanship, becoming a powerful fighter. This would balance out the weakness caused by focusing too much on cultivation and not enough on combat. Meanwhile, his farming would generate Sun Essence, which he could use to rapidly improve the avatar's cultivation.

That way, Gu Mo would essentially lead two lives. He could even pull off some clever tricks with his dual identity. The more he thought about it, the more feasible the plan seemed. Of course, he would wait until he reached the major cultivation realm where Shennong Valley was located before putting any of this into action.

For now, Gu Mo's main task was to stay on the move while continuing to comprehend spells and secret arts. Although his sword technique progress had been slow, his understanding of the Wind Escape Technique had improved significantly.

At present, Gu Mo had cultivated it to the Proficient level. Compared to the entry-level version, the main enhancement was a single but decisive one—incredible speed.

Without exaggeration, Gu Mo's current movement speed could be considered top-tier among Golden Core cultivators. But his goal wasn't just Proficient; he aimed to reach Perfection. Once there, he hoped to glimpse the mysteries of the Metal Escape Technique, one of the Five Elemental Escapes.

If he could comprehend even a trace of the Metal Escape Technique, then his sword-cultivator avatar plan would become even more flawless.

Of course, achieving Perfection in a secret art was no simple feat. Fortunately, Gu Mo had no need to cultivate for now and had plenty of time.

"Master, master! There's someone up ahead!"

Just as Gu Mo was immersed in his training, Little Carp's voice rang out. Gu Mo paused and looked toward a group of reefs in the distance.

"Great... someone's got their eye on me again."

Gu Mo sighed. As a lone traveler, he was often mistaken for an easy target by bandit cultivators. He had already dealt with a few waves of them—and naturally, he had eliminated them all.

Although he was currently in travel mode and not in full battle formation, and though his cultivation was only at the early Golden Core stage...

His actual combat strength was equivalent to a fourth-stage Golden Core cultivator. And that was just his base power. When factoring in his top-tier defensive magic tools, the spirit-treasure-grade Golden Jiao Shears, plus his sword techniques and escape arts, he could even contend with a sixth-stage Golden Core cultivator.

To be able to challenge a sixth-stage cultivator while only just stepping into the Golden Core stage—that level of combat power was nothing short of astonishing. And this wasn't even his full potential.

If Gu Mo deployed his Tier-Three Cherry Bomb, he could kill even peak Golden Core cultivators. Given time to set up a battlefield of his plant army, even Nascent Soul cultivators would struggle to harm him.

With that kind of power, Gu Mo wasn't the least bit concerned about the bandit cultivators who dared to target him.

"Ignore them. Keep going," he instructed Little Carp.

Those marauders hadn't come to rob him, and Gu Mo couldn't be bothered to seek them out. But if they were stupid enough to try and rob him, then Gu Mo certainly wouldn't be polite about it.

"Got it!"

Little Carp nodded in response. It could easily deal with those hiding in ambush.

Gu Mo wasn't the only one capable of fighting above his cultivation level—Little Carp, having awakened its True Dragon bloodline, possessed strength far beyond that of ordinary great demons.

Especially in the sea, where its water manipulation abilities gave it an additional boost. Even third-stage Core Formation cultivators posed no real threat.

If it went all out, it could even take on fourth-stage Core Formation cultivators. Its most powerful trump card now was spitting out its Dragon Pearl to attack the enemy—an incredibly devastating move.

Of course, that came with great risk. It could damage the Dragon Pearl. While the pearl appeared sturdy, it was far too valuable to be recklessly thrown at someone's head.

Unfortunately, Little Carp's talent awakened at the third tier wasn't a combat-oriented divine ability. If it had been a killing-type innate skill, it might've been able to wipe out even third-tier great demons with ease.

These kinds of innate divine abilities were known for being powerful enough to enable cross-realm combat. Dominance within one's own realm was practically a given.

—Among the reef clusters—

A few figures lurked in the cracks between the rocks, eyes fixed on a young cultivator riding a koi in the distance. They'd seen people ride cranes, turtles, tigers, leopards, and wolves before—but never a koi.

"Boss, do we go for this one?"

As the rider drew closer, one of them whispered the question.

"No, forget it."

After a brief hesitation, the leader gave up on the idea. Anyone traveling solo across the open sea was unlikely to be an ordinary cultivator—especially someone riding a koi. He hadn't seen this particular person before, but people with unusual behavior and strong power were best left alone.

"Oh? Not going to try?"

As Gu Mo passed the reef cluster and saw no movement from the hiding figures, he seemed a bit disappointed. After so long at sea, he was starting to get bored—he was actually looking forward to dealing with a few marauders as a change of pace.

Too bad the enemy chickened out. So timid—not exactly bandit material. As Gu Mo was thinking this, a black shadow suddenly shot out from the side, lunging straight at him and Little Carp.

"Well, well, well! Now that's the courage of a real beast!" Gu Mo summoned his top-grade ice-element flying sword with great satisfaction as he stared at the incoming shadow.

Who said marauders had to be human? In the sea, sea monsters were the real bandit kings. After all, they had the home-field advantage and could escape quickly if things went south.

"Human, your flesh and blood—I'll be taking them."

As the black shadow closed in, it stirred up a foul wind and a voice filled with arrogance echoed forth.

But before it could do anything else, it suddenly froze. Water-forged chains wrapped tightly around it. The creature's true form now revealed—it was a massive black eel.

The chains binding it were conjured by Little Carp's water-manipulation gift. Against an early third-tier great demon, Little Carp handled it with ease.

Gu Mo wasn't raising his sword to fight—it was for preparing tonight's seafood dinner. He had eel rice in mind.

An ice-element sword was perfect for slicing eel meat, preserving the freshness of the ingredient to the greatest extent.

—From the distant reef island—

The lurking cultivators, watching Gu Mo turn a great demon into a seafood meal, broke out in cold sweat. They had actually considered robbing that kind of monster?

After eating and drinking his way across the sea, Gu Mo finally saw the faint outline of land on the horizon. The sight lifted his spirits. After nearly a year at sea, he was finally close to his destination.

Of course, actually reaching land would still take a few more days. Just as the saying goes, *"Looking at a mountain will run a horse to death"—*in the sea, distances were even more deceiving.

As he neared land, Gu Mo encountered more and more merchant caravans. Since he was so close to his destination, he had no intention of hitching a ride on any of their ships.

The merchants, for their part, were visibly intrigued at the sight of a cultivator riding a koi.

—Several days later—

After drifting on the ocean for a year, Gu Mo finally stepped onto solid ground. That sense of stability and peace was deeply comforting. It also meant that he had arrived in a new cultivation realm.

This realm was known as the Heaven-Origin Realm—far vaster than the Cultivation Realm he had come from. Even the concentration of spiritual energy here was clearly superior.

"First, I'll find an Immortal City and scout things out."

Having arrived in a whole new world, Gu Mo naturally wanted to get the lay of the land before heading to Shennong Valley. The map that Qi Chunde had given him led straight to Shennong Valley, so he wouldn't even need to ask for directions—just follow the map and he'd find it.

But before that, Gu Mo wanted to make arrangements for his avatar. Of course, he hadn't formed one yet—he needed to find a place to settle down first and complete the avatar-forming process.

After that, he planned to have the avatar join a sword cultivation sect in this realm and receive the system's sword cultivation inheritance.

"Found it."

Gu Mo quickly located the nearest Immortal City on Qi Chunde's map. Without delay, he stowed Little Carp in his sleeve and flew toward it on his sword.

Now that he was back on land, Little Carp's speed was no longer an advantage. Swordflight was the most efficient way to travel.

—A few hours later—

Gu Mo stood before a grand and majestic city. This Immortal City was no smaller than the largest ones in the Qinghe Realm.

In fact, this city—named Yunxiu—wasn't even one of the top-tier cities in the Heaven-Origin Realm. Cities of this size were actually quite common here.

Upon entering Yunxiu City, Gu Mo easily rented a third-tier cave-dwelling. When it came to wealth, he outclassed most Core Formation cultivators by far—when you had money, everything went smoothly.

Not only did he rent a third-tier dwelling, he also purchased detailed intelligence on the various sects in the Heaven-Origin Realm. He even paid extra for a VIP version focused specifically on sword cultivation sects.

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