Chapter 227-3: Virtual Seed, Real Root (3) |
Relying on the efficient movement brought by his vehicle, he quickly reached a region without newbies.
It was lush with greenery. Not far away a winding stream flowed.
Casually finding a patch of grass, he sat cross-legged and tried once more to sense nature.
Using the method he had tried in reality, he searched for the free energy particles in the air.
But as soon as he closed his eyes, he was stunned.
The air was no longer a void of darkness, but filled with countless flickering points of light.
These points were like stars in the night sky, yet more lively than stars.
Some presented a gentle green, the life essence nurtured by plants.
Some emitted a warm yellow, like fragments of sunlight.
Still others burst with waves of heat, light points surging like flames.
These light points were not stationary, but flowed through the air with a wondrous rhythm.
At times they gathered into a band of light, at times they dispersed into a mist of light. Ashen Sigil was utterly stunned by the sight.
Wasn’t this exactly the detailed world under Owl-Headed Fiend perception?
Damn.
According to the explanation in the game, these energy light points were the concretization of natural energy, particles of energy derived from plants, animals, elements, and so on.
So the perception of nature described by the ancestors was precisely the picture seen through the Owl-Headed Fiend’s perception viewpoint.
It could be seen from this that the Lunar Eclipse race had long understood the basic framework of the world’s operation and made it into game content.
This aroused intense curiosity in him for the next tests.
He summoned the Trading House interface and, after some filtering, purchased a Wood-Spirit Flower seed.
After completing the transaction, he took the seed from his personal space satchel and placed it in his palm.
The seed was the size of a little finger, with a faint layer of green light flowing over its surface.
He closed his eyes and tried to establish a spiritual connection with the seed.
At once, the internal structure of the seed appeared in his mind in the form of converging light points.
There was not the slightest obstacle. The smoothness of it even made him feel unreal.
What was unattainable in reality was easily achieved in the game.
This was clearly thanks to the high-energy environment of Monster World, as well as his bodily attributes within Monster World.
His main Inherited soul level was 33.
The strength of his spiritual power might be more than a hundred times that in reality, though he had not made specific calculations.
Adjusting his breathing, he focused all his attention on the seed.
Gradually, Ashen Sigil felt a faint pulse, as if the seed were responding to his call.
Following the method in the materials, he gathered his consciousness into a great net, filtered the life particles in the air to infuse into his body, then converted them into special life energy to inject into the seed.
At once he felt the drain of spiritual power.
The seed in his palm changed accordingly, trembling slightly before splitting open a thin seam.
“Holy crap, it really works?”
The Green Wood race’s natural technology had actually been applied in Monster World.
This proved that Monster World was far from being merely simple virtual reality.
Even the natural laws in the game were not arbitrarily set, but replicated based on the natural laws of the real world.
The laws of plant growth, the manner of energy flow, even the generation mechanism of spiritual energy had all been replicated into the game.
Hence natural arts from reality could be applied in the game.
“The Lunar Eclipse race is so strong.”
Born on Earth, he had known the strength of the Lunar Eclipse race since childhood.
The elder generation always said that every race had only to look up to see an unpassable sky, referring to the Lunar Eclipse race.
In the cognition of the races of the Earth Alliance, including the new generation of the Green Wood race, the Lunar Eclipse race always held the leader’s position and was the source of cutting-edge technology.
The strength of the Lunar Eclipse race was not ostentatious, nor did they need to deliberately display their power, because their influence was everywhere, permeating the lives of every race.
Virtual technology, modern medicine, urban intelligence systems, every part of life bore the traces of the Lunar Eclipse race.
But now, Ashen Sigil’s perception of the Lunar Eclipse race rose higher yet again.
The game created by the Lunar Eclipse race had truly replicated the real world and even upgraded upon it.
The natural technology the Green Wood race could not use in reality could be applied in the virtual world.
It was simply a miracle. This was no mere construction of a physics engine. It had integrated perfect natural laws.
The level of technical content required for such detailed settings was, to Ashen Sigil, almost unbelievable.
Overcome with excitement, Ashen Sigil then began all kinds of tests.
As a player, he had ample reserves of spiritual power to expend, and the Boundless Forest Domain scene had abundant energy to use.
He did not have to worry about running out.
The process of releasing natural abilities also did not require waiting for the long loading progress bar as in reality.
During this process, Ashen Sigil’s consciousness gradually sank into a wondrous state.
Feeling the free life particles in the air, they flickered like fireflies, and under the pull of his consciousness slowly converged toward him.
His spiritual power was like an invisible great net, capturing and filtering these life particles, which, after entering his body, were converted into special life energy to guide into the seed in his palm.
Suddenly, Ashen Sigil felt a faint pulse, like a heartbeat, or like breathing.
He knew it was the seed’s response.
The shell of the seed began to tremble slightly. The surface patterns gradually lit up, emitting a faint green glow.
Ashen Sigil did not relax. He focused even more on injecting life energy into the seed.
At this moment, the shell of the seed slowly cracked open, and from a thin seam a tender green sprout tip probed out.
The sprout tip was slender and soft, like a newborn infant, carrying a fragile yet tenacious vitality.
It swayed gently, as if testing the surrounding environment.
As Ashen Sigil’s spiritual power was continuously consumed, life energy kept pouring in.
The sprout tip grew rapidly. Its stem gradually thickened, and its leaves unfurled one after another.
Each leaf was crystal clear, with faint silver along the edges.
Next, a small bud bulged at the top of the stem.
At first the bud was only the size of a grain of rice, but under the influence of the special life energy released by Ashen Sigil, it swelled quickly. The bud gradually became transparent, and a flicker of light could be vaguely seen within.
At last, the bud slowly bloomed.
The joy in Ashen Sigil’s heart followed the petals as they opened piece by piece. Each petal seemed carved from the purest jade and emitted a gentle glow.
At the heart of the flower, a golden halo slowly rose.
The Wood-Spirit Flower was in full bloom. Petals layered upon layers and exuded a faint fragrance.
The scent was neither strong nor cloying. The veins on the petals shimmered with a soft light like a flowing galaxy, breathtakingly beautiful.
Ashen Sigil sat quietly there, the newly blossomed Wood-Spirit Flower resting in his palm.
His gaze grew a little dazed. Through the petals it felt as if he pierced the barrier of time and saw the distant ancestors.
It was a picture pieced together from the stories he heard in childhood.
The ancestors of the Green Wood race used the power of nature to revive the earth and converse with forests, rivers, and mountains.
He lowered his head and looked at the flowing gleam on the petals, and an indescribably complex emotion surged in his heart.
After descending to Earth, the ancestors had done what he had just done countless times.
For such an ability already flowed in their bloodline. It was the root of the soul.
Yet every attempt in reality had never truly succeeded. They could only use assistance to barely complete it.
Every attempt ended in failure.
That sense of powerlessness was like a heavy stone pressing on the heart of the Green Wood race.
It made them realize that the former glory had long since gone, and memories of history could not be pursued.
But in this virtual world, he had accomplished a technique that had never been realized.
Feeling the Wood-Spirit Flower blossom in his palm, this subtle yet shocking power made him recall the old saying often on the lips of the elder generation.
“The glory of the Green Wood race is the glory of dancing with nature.”
His eyes grew moist. Ashen Sigil’s fingertips gently stroked the petals, and there was a mixture of sourness and comfort in his heart.
The sourness lay in the decline of the Green Wood race in reality, with only the helplessness of drifting ever farther from nature.
The ancestors could make a barren land brim with life overnight, yet these abilities had long become legend, with only a few words in the mouths of the elder generation and those blurred records in yellowed crystals, ultimately turned into data preserved in the online world.
The thin spiritual energy in the air made their efforts like trying to cup a spring in cracked hands, only to watch it flow away between the fingers.
The comfort lay in that here he had found a way to reconnect with nature and relive the resonance between the ancestors and nature.
“So this is the feeling.”
He murmured softly, his voice almost inaudible.
The glow of the Wood-Spirit Flower shone upon his face as if responding to his words.
The warmth flowing from the plant, that sense of becoming one with nature, made him feel as though he had returned to the golden age of the Green Wood race.
He was a participant in nature, and also a guide.
He closed his eyes and recalled the instant the Wood-Spirit Flower bloomed.
Nature’s whisper was like the call of his ancestors.
That power, that beauty, filled his heart with emotion and awe.
“How beautiful.” Ashen Sigil said softly, his voice tinged with a slight choke.