At the arena's dawn, turmoil arises; with strength shattering plots, a heroic spirit unfolds.

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Morning light pierced through the thin acid rain clouds, casting mottled halos upon the bluestone tiles. Shen Yi stepped into the Ling Plant Competition venue, carrying a ceramic basin nearly half his height. At that moment, eighteen bronze medicine cauldrons simultaneously emitted blue-green smoke, and the Taotie engravings on their bodies all turned sharply toward the plant cradled in his arms.

“Could this penniless wandering cultivator really have grown a Star-Patterned Orchid?” Leng Xuan crushed the jade cup in his hand, letting the Bi Luo Chun tea drip through his fingers onto the gold-threaded sleeve.

Behind him, five scions of noble families exchanged glances. Suddenly, the youth clad in a dark purple brocade robe flicked out three Spirit-Peeping Talismans.

The talisman papers spiraled around the ceramic basin three times before instantly turning to ashes.

Shen Yi flicked away the ash that had landed on the flower petals. The silver-blue Star-Patterned Orchid suddenly unfurled its leaves, revealing dew droplets within which miniature star charts shimmered.

A clear chime sounded from the judging panel’s jade chime.

The Ling Plant Master’s white beard fluttered as if stirred by a breeze, his hand, speckled with age spots, hovered three inches above the basin: “The roots entwine with the earth vein’s dragon energy, the leaf veins flow with millennia-old ice marrow—young friend, this plant seems to have swallowed the entire spiritual vein of Qingzhou City, doesn’t it?”

“You flatter me, Master.” Shen Yi smiled as he peeled off the sealing clay from the ceramic jar. A rich aroma of wine, laced with starlight, burst forth.

At the bottom of the jar lay three amber-colored seeds, their raised patterns resonating with the suspended “Hundred Herbs Masterpiece” painting behind the judges.

Suddenly, Leng Xuan slammed the table and stood: “There was a sudden tremor in the southern herb fields last night, and this morning, residual demonic energy was detected at the roots of your plant!” He flipped his palm, revealing a Shadow-Recording Jade Disk. The screen displayed writhing mycelium infecting the entire herb field, turning it a deep crimson.

The crowd murmured. The youth in the dark purple brocade robe suddenly clamped his mouth and nose: “No wonder I smelled a sulfurous stench!” His jade pendant shattered on cue, transforming into nine turquoise-eyed toads that lunged toward the ceramic basin.

Shen Yi moved to raise his hand, but the judging panel suddenly lowered a light barrier.

“According to Rule Seven of the competition…” Leng Xuan spoke faster, while a dark golden Gu insect crawled along his sleeve toward the judges. “Anyone who uses forbidden arts to accelerate the growth of spiritual plants…” He deliberately paused, watching as the nine toads collided with the barrier, releasing a cloud of dark green poisonous mist.

Gao Yao clenched the sword tassel at her waist; the flowing cloud pattern on the sheath shimmered faintly.

She clearly saw the blue dragon scales on the back of Shen Yi’s neck fading, while the Star-Patterned Orchid’s petals, tainted by the poisonous mist, eerily began to grow backward.

“Everyone, look!” Leng Xuan’s followers suddenly threw a glazed bottle containing strands of dark red mycelium. “This evidence was collected from Shen Yi’s residence!” The mycelium swelled explosively upon contact with air, transforming into blood-red vines that wrapped the nearest display stand.

Before the judges, the Mirror of Truth suddenly hummed, its surface revealing the scene of Shen Yi burying a jade box late last night.

The Ling Plant Master’s white beard suddenly entwined the gray-robed judge who was about to speak. His cloudy eyes fixed unblinkingly on the ghostly image of ice-soul sable fur entangled with demonic seed fragments within the mirror.

Shen Yi leisurely finished the last bite of osmanthus cake, sugar frosting at the corner of his mouth like a small mole.

Suddenly, he reached into the ceramic basin and, to everyone’s surprise, snapped three roots of the Star-Patterned Orchid.

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From the broken roots erupted silver-blue sap that crystallized upon hitting the ground. In moments, three palm-sized ice sculptures formed—astonishingly depicting the scene of Leng Xuan and two others conspiring last night.

“How dare you use illusion to deceive everyone!” The youth in the dark purple brocade robe unleashed his bound sword, but the sword’s light bent oddly upon touching the ice sculptures, shattering his own dust-proof orb instead.

Amidst the swirling dust, the orchid’s roots suddenly pierced through the bluestone tiles, resonating with the dragon’s roar echoing from beneath the earth.

Gao Yao suddenly pressed her throbbing temples.

Her sword, the Shadow-Reflecting Blade, had silently unsheathed three inches; its blade reflected Shen Yi surrounded by seven concentric rings alternating between reality and illusion—the outermost glowing scarlet with demonic energy, the innermost pure with golden dragon vein light.

“That’s enough!” The Ling Plant Master’s dragon-headed staff slammed heavily, and nine streams of azure energy locked down the restless fungal vines. “The Mirror of Truth confirms that Shen Yi did indeed come into contact with demonic seeds…” Suddenly, he shifted his gaze toward the fading ice sculptures, “but these residual images left by the recorded Gu are far more worthy of scrutiny than some testimonies.”

Amid the growing uproar, Shen Yi untied the wine gourd at his waist and tilted his head back to drink. The amber liquid shimmered with scattered starlight.

As he lowered his eyes, he caught sight of a dark golden Gu crawling out from Leng Xuan’s sleeve. He then gave a sly smile toward the judging panel: “Junior here has something far more interesting…”

The jade slip hidden in his bosom radiated heat through his clothing. It bore engravings of 720 mycelium mutation diagrams, including 36 methods to cause the Spirit-Devouring Gu to turn against its master.

Shen Yi’s finger traced the recessed star patterns on the slip when a roar of the awakening dragon vein echoed from underground.

He shook the wine gourd, then suddenly extended a tender shoot of the Star-Patterned Orchid.

As a verdant vine carried the warm jade slip onto the judges’ table, it imprinted a complete Eight Trigrams Formation on the bluestone surface.

“This is my daily record, the ‘Ling Plant Handbook,’” he said, flicking the jade slip. Hundreds of glowing characters intertwined into a dynamic scroll in midair.

The scene showed each leaf of the Star-Patterned Orchid breathing moonlight at a precise frequency, and fragments of spiritual stones entwined by the roots arranged into a miniature spirit-gathering formation.

Leng Xuan suddenly clutched his restless Gu pouch. He clearly saw a segment in which Shen Yi murmured ancient runes not belonging to any sect into the void, his fingers tracing them in the soil.

“At the third quarter of the Tiger hour, spiritual energy balance is disrupted; recommend adding two qian of Red Flame Sand to adjust Yin and Yang.” The Ling Plant Master’s eyebrows twitched. A transparent Medicine-Seeking Mouse emerged from his sleeve, happily gnawing on a virtual spirit stone within a light fragment. “This improved Five Elements harmonizing method… bears a seven-tenths resemblance to the lost ‘Divine Farmer’s Herbal Classic.’”

The youth in the dark purple brocade robe sneered: “Who knows if it’s just a forgery from last night!” He flung a jade ruler from his sleeve, aiming to shatter the light fragment, but was intercepted midair by the flowing cloud energy triggered from Gao Yao’s sword sheath.

The collision of two spiritual forces caused the nearby pansies to bloom instantly.

“Since Young Master Han doubts it,” Shen Yi suddenly tore open his robe, revealing the blue dragon scales on his chest slowly rotating, “why not use the Heart-Testing Gu to verify the jade slip’s age?” As he spoke, layers of spiritual energy growth rings appeared on the slip, the innermost faintly glowing with energy from three years ago.

Behind the judging panel, the “Hundred Herbs Masterpiece” suddenly radiated golden light, enveloping the jade slip.

The Ling Plant Master’s white beard stiffened like steel needles. His shriveled fingers traced data on mycelium mutations when a transparent spore, unnoticed even among demonic seed fragments, fell from his sleeve.

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“These calculations…” The gray-robed judge suddenly stood. The Mirror of Truth before him displayed Shen Yi’s late-night shadow of calculation and deduction. “They can predict seventy-two mutation possibilities of the Spirit-Devouring Gu!” The mirror image warped abruptly, showing details of Shen Yi wrapping demonic seeds in ice-soul sable fur, only to have the Ling Plant Master shatter the afterimages with his dragon-headed staff.

Leng Xuan’s Gu pouch suddenly burst open, and over a dozen dark golden Gu frenziedly attacked their own master.

In a panic, he crushed his protective jade pendant. At that moment, a segment in Shen Yi’s jade slip about “spiritual energy backlash” played to a critical point—the simulated Gu rampage scene was an exact match to the chaos unfolding.

“This farce must end.” The Ling Plant Master’s dragon-headed staff struck heavily, nine streams of azure energy transforming into chains that bound the rampaging fungal vines. “Upon investigation, while Shen Yi’s cultivation methods are somewhat unorthodox…” He abruptly turned to glare at the gray-robed judge who was about to speak, “they are far cleaner than some so-called noble families secretly raising the Heart-Devouring Gu.”

Shen Yi calmly buttoned his robe and casually plucked a vermilion fruit from the basin, tossing it to the stunned Ya’er.

The little girl’s nose was dappled with juice, causing several female cultivators to chuckle softly.

As the competition token lowered from the judging panel into his palm, it suddenly transformed into a silver-blue snake that slithered into the Star-Patterned Orchid’s flower core.

“Fellow Daoist Shen…” Gao Yao, now standing at the edge of the display stand, let the tassel of her jade hairpin brush gently across Shen Yi’s hand.

Unaware, the hemostatic pill hidden in her sleeve had been crushed into powder. Suddenly, the sword tassel moved as if stirred by a breeze, entwining a double-knot around Shen Yi’s wrist before swiftly loosening.

Shen Yi caught a whiff of the wind—a special scent of snow pine mixed with honey, released only when Gao Yao’s emotions stirred.

Feigning to tidy the spirit stone fragments in the basin, his fingers brushed over a leaf hiding a system light screen. “If the fairy cares for my plant…” he lowered his voice, “tonight at midnight, I’ll take you to see the true sea of Star-Patterned Orchids.”

Suddenly, the jade chime sounded nine clear notes from the judging panel. The previously suspended “Hundred Herbs Masterpiece” unfurled a scroll a hundred meters long.

Shen Yi tilted his head back to finish the last drops of wine in his gourd, his pupils contracting sharply—an eerie dark pattern flashed on a judge’s sleeve, identical to the sword totem of the masked man who had chased Gao Yao that day.

“Now comes the main event.” He stroked the newly sprouted mycelium network edging the basin. These barely visible spiritual plants were transmitting the spiritual fluctuations of everyone present back to the system.

When Ya’er returned, bouncing with a spare spirit stone, Shen Yi had already inscribed the opening moves of the thirty-six-layer protective formation in sugar frosting upon the display stand.

The orchid’s roots hummed joyfully beneath the earth, their entwined dragon vein energy suddenly burping contentedly.

Shen Yi hesitated slightly as he wiped the petals. A vivid red warning flashed on the system light screen before his eyes, perfectly overlapping with the sinister smile of a certain judge caught in his peripheral vision.