EBE Chapter 42 Why are there so many spirits and monsters?
Chapter 42 Why are there so many spirits and monsters?
Seeing no one answer, Lin Yue figured there must be some plant-type spirit nearby. Judging from the marks on the pot rim and the footprints in the mud, it was clearly plant-type. She first used her divine sense to check if the willow tree spirit in the space had woken up. The willow tree spirit was still asleep, continuing its cultivation. Then she asked if the little mouse spirit was there. The little mouse spirit said, "I'm here." Lin Yue said, "Pay attention, there should be another plant-type spirit nearby. Look at these footprints." The little mouse spirit looked and said, "Yes, there's another little plant spirit." Lin Yue then said to the little lotus spirit, "Little lotus spirit, can you help us search?" The little lotus spirit said, "This entire area, this canyon, is my territory. Wait a moment, I'll ask my sons and grandsons to search."
Before long, rows of different kinds of plant spirits appeared in the canyon, standing at the entrance to Lin Yue's campsite. There were mushroom spirits, grape spirits, rose spirits, yam spirits, and many other plant spirits—you name it, and you can't even imagine—came out and stood right in front of Lin Yue's house. Counting them, there were twenty or thirty of them.
The little lotus spirit stood at the entrance and said, "Which of you went into this campsite last night and this morning? You stole so many fruits!" None of the twenty or thirty answered; they all said no one. But the yam spirit's branches twitched, indicating that there was another little plant spirit nearby who hadn't come out. The lotus spirit asked, "Where is it?" They saw one of the yam spirit's vines extend out, and in the corner of the campsite, it had wrapped around a plant with six fruits and a few leaves, pulling it out. A small head emerged. Lin Yue, Gong Yong, Big Baby, Second Baby, and Little Baby looked on with wonder; it was a chubby baby! The lotus spirit said, "Oh, it's a little ginseng spirit! What are you doing here?"
The yam spirit said, "He is my neighbor. He only had 3 fruits and 2 leaves before. Look, he grew 6 fruits and 2 more leaves overnight. He must have stolen something good. He must be the one you are looking for."
The chubby baby said, "How do you know I grew three extra fruits? I went to Changbai Mountain and just got back. These fruits grew naturally over there. What are you thinking?"
The yam spirit said, "Are you kidding me? I knew you'd returned to this area before. I've known about this place for years, from the moment you stepped into it. I have many disciples and followers; they tipped you off long ago. When you came back, there were only 3 fruits and 2 leaves. Last night, when you went down into this valley, there were still only 3 fruits and 2 leaves. This morning, I saw you had 6 fruits and 2 extra leaves. You must have stolen them!"
When Lin Yue's family saw this chubby little creature, they could tell from the fruit on its head and the few leaves that it was probably a ginseng spirit, quite old, but in the form of a baby. It was quite mischievous and glib, a worldly person who must have wandered around everywhere.
Gong Yong said, "Fatty, tell me the truth. If you don't speak properly, I'll give all the plant spirits spiritual fruits and spiritual water later, but you won't get any. Think carefully before you answer."
The chubby baby said shyly, "I smelled so good last night. I stole some rice from your bowls and took a small box with 20 earth-type fruits. They were so delicious, and three more fruits grew. This morning, I drank some chicken soup from the pot and two more leaves grew. I also went for a walk around the campsite, but I didn't find anything good to eat. Don't lie to me, okay? Is there anything else good to eat?"
Lin Yue thought to herself, "So it's a gluttonous ginseng spirit. Maybe I can trick it back? I wonder which spirit the children are compatible with? Now we have animals and plants, but the children haven't shown any interest. Are we going to have to stay here for the night?" Lin Yue wondered.
Lin Yue took out about ten boxes of cherries. Hearing from the little plant spirit that they were earth-elemental, she took out ten boxes and distributed them to all the plant spirits outside. Then she took out a bucket of spiritual water and twenty or thirty small bowls, each containing a cup. Each plant spirit lined up, taking their share one by one, and quickly left, presumably to share with their disciples and grandchildren. Only the little lotus spirit remained, having finished drinking the water and eating the fruit. She clearly noticed that the petals on her head, which had previously only opened two, had suddenly opened eight or nine petals.
The little mouse spirit said, "Little lotus spirit, aren't you going to take some of the good food home and share it with your disciples and grandchildren?" The lotus spirit said, "There's no need. This is my territory, the place where my roots are. Wherever I eat and drink here, it all benefits my disciples and grandchildren. Only those plant spirits, who don't grow in this area, must be far away. They need to go back to where their roots are to eat so they can grow better." The little mouse spirit said, "Then why did the ginseng spirit eat right here?" The little lotus spirit said, "The ginseng spirit naturally has the ability to run. Look at a big tree, no matter how fast it runs, it still has a stump, right? Unless it pulls up the stump before running. Yes, the ginseng spirit runs by pulling up all its roots."
Gong Yong and Lin Yue looked at the sky; the sun was already high in the sky, and it was 1 p.m. They needed to quickly prepare lunch. Gong Yong started cooking again, while Lin Yue took a net to the lotus pond and caught a few more fish. They made boiled fish today, cooking a large pot of it. The little lotus spirit looked at the fish, a little sad, and didn't eat. The lotus spirit said, "Once upon a time, there was a carp spirit who failed his tribulation and was struck by lightning and died. Looking at this fish, he couldn't bring himself to eat it." The lotus spirit then sadly returned to his lotus pond.
The family of six enjoyed a delicious lunch. Gong Yong had learned from his mistake and didn't bring out any spirit rice, spirit noodles, spirit flowers, or spirit fruits. Instead, he used ordinary ingredients and some wild vegetables he'd gathered nearby to make a simple meal, which the children ate very happily.
After eating, Lin Yue took her three children on another crab-catching trip. Gong Yong, meanwhile, went to collect more driftwood for heating that evening. He checked the sky; heavy rain was likely, and the river might rise. The large animals nearby hadn't left their campsite. The brown bear was the funniest, running straight to the entrance and squatting down, making its den there. The tiger and two snow wolves each guarded one side of the campsite, one on the east and one on the west, undisturbed by each other. Not far from the entrance was a large tree, and a huge python, weighing a hundred or two hundred pounds, with a large head and its tongue flicking, slithered down from somewhere. Seeing the brown bear at the entrance, it didn't dare come down and remained coiled in the tree. Lin Yue and the children also went outside; there was nothing inside. The python had originally wanted to sneak into the campsite, but seeing the brown bear guarding the entrance, it was stuck, unable to go up or down.
Lin Yue was currently interacting with a group of wild spirit beasts and wild plant spirits from the forest. Meanwhile, the city was bustling with activity. A group of government officials had somehow discovered Old Xiao. They had been following him for a long time without finding anything unusual. When they learned from the old Taoist priest that the spirit rice and spirit flour were being sold through him, everyone was incredulous, thinking that they could find Old Xiao's friends through him and buy some spirit rice and spirit flour.
No matter how they tried to contact Lao Xiao, he insisted that his friend had recently disappeared and they couldn't get in touch with him. At first, they didn't believe him, but then Lao Xiao made several phone calls and sent several text messages in front of them, and when there was no signal, they realized that Lao Xiao wasn't lying to them. This group of people then went to his hot pot restaurant to keep an eye on things.
The hot pot restaurant was doing unprecedentedly well because various powerful figures and patriarchs were once again eyeing this cultivator, knowing he possessed spiritual flowers, fruits, rice, and noodles. Meanwhile, the national park only had spiritual flowers and herbs, and perhaps one or two spiritual fruits, far less powerful than this cultivator. People from all sides were paying attention. But some had sharp eyes and spotted Gong Yong and Lin Yue. They learned from Gong Yong's workplace that he had taken leave, and from Lao Xiao that Lin Yue and her friends had gone out for fun. They traced their route through the license plate, tracking them until they disappeared into Shenlong Valley. Everyone then knew where they had gone.
Since learning that Lin Yue and her family were in Shenlong Valley, several patriarchs had been rushing towards the area. Within this forest, some patriarchs, after entering this region for a short time, discovered that various spirits, animals, and plants were converging in one place. They dared not approach. Therefore, Lin Yue and her family were now surrounded by spirits on the outside, making it inconvenient for the patriarchs to enter; they could only guard from the outside.
After the ancestors used their respective methods to inform their disciples and grand-disciples of this information, everyone speculated whether some kind of rare and precious treasure had been born. So many plants and animals came to guard it, ready to fight for it.
As a result, they guarded the perimeter for a week but did not discover any strange celestial phenomena, nor did they see any various spiritual creatures or herbs arguing or fighting, nor did they see any so-called great treasures appear. In short, it was just a group of plants and animals protecting the family of five.
The family of five was very generous, using the abundant spiritual rice and flour in their space. They cooked over ten large iron pots of rice, rotating the number of spirit beasts who came in to eat each day. They also steamed thousands of buns in a spirit flour steamer, rotating the number of beasts as well. As for spiritual fruits, Lin Yue simply laid them out, displaying over ten boxes of each variety. The spirit flowers and herbs would find the fruits that suited them and eat them themselves, without any fighting or scrambling. Everyone would take a few and leave. As for spiritual water, they simply drew ten buckets from the well and placed them there. Anyone who wanted some could walk over, take a bowl, and scoop some out, just like we use a noodle bowl. After finishing, they would put the bowl back, and everyone lined up without any fighting. This miraculous phenomenon left the cultivators outside in disbelief.
Gong Yong and Lin Yue stayed here for three days and three nights. That night, it rained heavily, and many animals didn't leave, but instead circled around Lin Yue's campsite, lying down nearby. Lin Yue couldn't bear to see it any longer, so she opened the campsite door and then installed three awnings around it, covering the entire area with rain shelter. No matter what kind of animal it is, there's always somewhere to shelter from the rain.
After the animals came in, all the plants ran around Lin Yue's campsite, planted their roots in the soil, and looked very happy, as if they were all protecting this family. The joyful days always pass quickly.
The three children met many little spirits inside. The spirits all wanted the three children to choose them as their spirit pets, but the three children didn't seem interested, preferring to chat and laugh with each one. In the end, the youngest child hugged the chubby baby, who always told him little stories to cheer him up. The eldest child took a liking to the two wolves, while the second child, after much deliberation, chose a very large falcon to become their respective spirit pets.
Gong Yong and Lin Yue didn't choose the spirits, feeling that this was the best place for them. If they went back to the big city, the two wolves would have to be shrunk down to the size of small wolfhounds, and the large eagle would also need to be shrunk down to live there.
After discussing it, Gong Yong and Lin Yue realized they might need to move to a new place to live. Otherwise, with the two wolves, the falcon, and the chubby ginseng baby, they risked being discovered and exposed at any moment.
It was another bright and sunny morning, and all things were absorbing the first rays of purple energy. The family of five had just finished their meditation and opened their eyes. Lin Yue and Gong Yong began to use their spatial storage to pack up all their camping equipment, and then continued to walk out of the valley towards another place.
Several ancestral figures on the outskirts had been guarding the area for days without making a move or showing themselves. A tiger led the way, followed by two wolves. Gong Yong walked in front, the three children in the middle, and a falcon circled overhead, gathering intelligence. A little mouse spirit carried the rear on Lin Yue's shoulder. Former animal spirits, like the large python spirit, also wanted to follow Lin Yue and become her pet, so they fawned over her. This large snake even stole a wild ox to please Lin Yue. You can imagine how big this snake was. Lin Yue accepted the wild ox without hesitation. She then took out a spirit pig—a pig raised in her spatial dimension—and gave it to the snake, who was delighted. Lin Yue then took out a large basin and poured some spiritual water for the snake. The large python followed closely behind, guarding their rear.
During her exploration of the mountains and forests, Lin Yue discovered a wheat spirit. Lin Yue's spatial dimension contained spirit masks and spirit wheat, but no wheat spirits. This wheat spirit was very curious when it saw Lin Yue. When Lin Yue gave it a first-tier wheat seed from her spatial dimension, the wheat spirit was overjoyed. It said, "Thank you, Lord of the Forest." Lin Yue was quite surprised, "How did I become the Lord of the Forest?" The wheat spirit said, "I thank you here for giving us this sacred seed. This seed contains sacred power; it will become my existence in the next generation, protecting the people of this land so they can eat wheat and that the weather will be favorable." Lin Yue also felt very curious, "Does this wheat seed have such great power?" She had only randomly taken one from her spatial dimension to give it to it. The wheat spirit said, "You may not know, but such a wheat seed has not appeared in this world for thousands of years, even though it is only first-tier."