Chapter 2231: White Tea Trees Given Away for Free

"What makes this Enlightenment Tea Tree different from the other spiritual plants in the medicine garden?" Lu Ye asked in his sea of consciousness.

"There's nothing particularly different," Jiuying replied. "It's just that I snatched it. Before I did, it had been with its previous owner for tens of thousands of years. That old fellow valued this Enlightenment Tea Tree highly. I asked for it, but he refused, so I had no choice but to take it by force. Perhaps that's why it developed the foundation for human transformation."

"I don't see anything special about it; it doesn't even bear fruit," Lu Ye said, looking at the Enlightenment Tea Tree before him with confusion.

Unlike those fruits, which Lu Ye could tell at a glance contained abundant Dao power, this Enlightenment Tea Tree had no fruit, only leaves. Indeed, there was nothing unusual about it.

"Kid, you just don't understand..." Since taking oaths with Lu Ye, Jiuying's attitude towards him had become much friendlier, and its speech gradually grew more unrestrained.

"Speak properly!"

"Ahem... The Enlightenment Tea Tree doesn't bear fruit, but its leaves are incredibly precious. Why do you think I specifically snatched this tree? If you hold a leaf under your tongue when you're about to make a breakthrough, it can increase your chances of success. Moreover, if you use Enlightenment Tea to assist your cultivation, the efficiency of your arduous training will significantly increase. In the entire Star Abyss, the Enlightenment Tea Tree is an extremely valuable treasure."

Lu Ye's eyes lit up upon hearing this.

A treasure that could increase breakthrough probability was indeed valuable. From his current understanding, both entering the Dao and merging with the Dao were extremely difficult processes to break through, and external forces rarely had an effect. Yet, the Enlightenment Tea could. As for the leaves greatly improving cultivation efficiency, that wasn't a big deal for Lu Ye, as his current strength rarely came from arduous training.

Perhaps Lu Ye had been standing by the tea tree for too long, as the tea tree, which had shrunk into a ball, actually began to tremble, its leaves rustling.

Lu Ye didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Although he knew she was timid, he hadn't expected her to be this timid. Furthermore, she was far too naive. He wasn't an idiot; how could he not see through the Enlightenment Tea Tree's behavior? Yet, she was still deceiving herself.

This tea tree clearly had no accurate perception of its own strength.

Rolling his eyes, Lu Ye put on a surprised expression and exclaimed, "It's actually an Enlightenment Tea Tree! I've wanted to pick some leaves to make tea for ages. It seems what you seek you find when you least expect it! Hehehehehe!"

Along with his sinister cackle, he reached out his hand to grasp forward. His mind, however, was taut, and his Dao power subtly surged, ready to retreat immediately if anything went wrong. While the maiden had no clear perception of her own strength, Lu Ye certainly did.

Rustle, rustle... The tea tree trembled even more violently, and a dozen leaves fell off.

So easy to trick! Lu Ye felt a little ashamed, thinking he shouldn't be like this; deceiving and intimidating such a simple creature gave him a sense of guilt. Yet, his large hand honestly collected the fallen leaves. Jiuying had hyped up the Enlightenment Tea leaves to the sky; now he wanted to see if they were truly as amazing as claimed.

"Little Tea, little Tea, grow up quickly and sprout more leaves," Lu Ye said, stroking the Enlightenment Tea Tree's canopy before walking away. From beginning to end, the Enlightenment Tea Tree showed no signs of transforming again.

It was a long while before the Enlightenment Tea Tree, which had been huddled in a ball, slowly returned to normal, its branches drooping, looking very sad. She had clearly intended to stop the sudden intruder from indiscriminately eating the fruits, but not only did she fail, she even gave away a dozen of her own leaves for nothing.

After walking around the medicine garden for a while longer, Lu Ye let out a satisfied burp, his mouth filled with the scent of fruit. He had finally eaten all the edible fruits. Not only that, but he also indiscriminately consumed all the exotic flowers and herbs that contained abundant Dao power, turning them into sustenance.

On the Talent Tree, a dazzling golden light shone intensely!

This was definitely the most Dao power he had ever accumulated; he had never felt so rich before. After all, these were cultivation resources Jiuying had prepared for her own recovery, and even if only thirty percent remained, it was still a considerable accumulation for Lu Ye.

He greatly anticipated what kind of power increase he would gain this time.

Amidst the enveloping golden light, a dark mist was also rising. Since Lu Ye and Jiuying had each sworn their oaths, this reaction from the Talent Tree had not ceased. This was clearly the Talent Tree burning away the constraints of the oaths.

Jiuying had assumed that once the oaths were sworn, it could rest easy. However, it could never have imagined that there were anomalies in this world that were not bound by such constraints. At the current rate, it wouldn't be long before those invisible constraints were completely incinerated.

He had now reached the deepest part of the medicine garden, where the sole remaining Star Tree was located.

Lu Ye looked up and saw five Star Fruits on the tree. They had been ripe for countless years and remained hanging there because no one had picked them.

After some thought, he decided not to pick the Star Fruits for now. Instead, he sat cross-legged beneath the Star Tree.

Settling his mind, he willed it, sealing his sea of consciousness.

Although Jiuying likely wouldn't discern anything unusual, it was still better to proceed with caution.

Instead of rushing to refine his Dao bones, Lu Ye took out a small cauldron from his Small Flower Realm! This item was Li Qi's Dao artifact.

Since he was going to refine his Dao bones, he naturally needed to be fully prepared. Lu Ye intended to first refine the Dao power contained within this Dao artifact!

Dao artifacts were not forged; what could be forged were merely their prototypes or embryos. Only through constant expenditure of one's own Dao power for nurturing could they slowly evolve into true Dao artifacts.

Those qualified to nurture Dao artifacts were at least at the Dao Merging stage, and not just ordinary Dao Merging cultivators. In the initial stages of Dao Merging, cultivators generally chose to improve their cultivation base, as this was a more effective way to enhance their strength. Only at a certain point, perhaps Dao Merging Fifth or Sixth Stage, when the benefits from increasing cultivation were less than those from nurturing a Dao artifact, would cultivators shift their focus to their Dao artifacts. When it was appropriate to nurture a Dao artifact varied from person to person.

There was residual Dao power in the Dao artifact. For Li Qi, this was an extremely valuable item, but for Lu Ye, it was merely a Dao bone, albeit one containing abundant Dao power. As for Li Qi's original Dao bone, Lu Ye had already refined it on his way here.

The power of the Talent Tree surged, and invisible roots plunged into the small cauldron. The initially brightly colored cauldron gradually became dim. Until at a certain moment, it completely turned into dust.

Lu Ye slowly opened his eyes, retracted the Talent Tree's power, and took out an Enlightenment Tea Tree leaf. Just as he was about to put it in his mouth, his eyebrows suddenly raised, and he focused intently on examining it.

Only then did he discover that the leaf was covered in intricate, tiny patterns. Even with his eyesight, he couldn't clearly make them out at first. He had to exert his full visual power to scrutinize them.

These were clearly natural Dao patterns, extremely complex. Even if Lu Ye could somehow use them as a template to construct something, it might not have any effect because these patterns were naturally formed on the Enlightenment Tea leaves, and their extraordinary effects only appeared when combined. A standalone Dao pattern would be useless. However, Lu Ye was unwilling to miss the chance to examine a Dao pattern he had never seen before.

The Talent Tree's deduction of spirit patterns and Dao patterns was highly dependent on his own understanding in this field. Perhaps what he saw now could be useful when deducing new Dao patterns someday. For instance, some of the patterns in the "Shared Qi, Linked Branches" Dao pattern he had deduced earlier had some connection to the patterns within the Bifang.

Thinking of this, Lu Ye suddenly realized that if he had time, he could have a good chat with Jiuying. That creature's peak realm was beyond imagination, and its understanding of Dao patterns was something no ordinary person could match.

A moment later, Lu Ye took out another Enlightenment Tea leaf to examine it, surprised to find that the patterns on the two leaves were not entirely identical. They were about eighty to ninety percent similar, but some areas differed.

He spent half a day examining all the dozen or so leaves he had obtained. Only then did Lu Ye pick one up and chew on it.

A slightly bitter taste spread, but along with the bitterness came a strange, warm current. Lu Ye's heart instantly settled, and he felt much clearer and more perceptive. In this state, he felt a significant improvement in his affinity for Dao power. It truly lived up to its reputation as an Enlightenment Tea leaf.

Without delay, Lu Ye immediately began to refine his Dao bones!

This time, the harvest was immense. Coupled with his previous accumulations, the Dao power on the Talent Tree amounted to at least seventy thousand. Based on the consumption rate for refining Dao bones, he expected to gain about twelve or thirteen Dao power increases this time. Such an increase was undoubtedly significant, especially since he now possessed a hundred Dao powers; the further he progressed, the harder it was to improve. And this didn't even account for the Star Fruits!

Time flowed by.

As new Dao bones were successfully refined one by one, Lu Ye distinctly felt his strength slowly increasing.

When Lu Ye opened his eyes again, his power had climbed to one hundred fifteen Dao! He had gained a full fifteen Dao powers!

This was better than expected, undoubtedly thanks to the Enlightenment Tea leaves. Lu Ye could clearly feel that the Dao power consumed during the refinement of his Dao bones was less than before. This further emphasized the preciousness of the Enlightenment Tea to him. Even if other cultivators in the Dao Entry stage had the aid of Enlightenment Tea, the reduction in consumption would not be significant; at most, it would only increase the success rate of refining Dao bones. But for Lu Ye, the saved Dao power was considerable.

The Enlightenment Tea Tree was indeed a wonderful treasure. He had to find a way to keep her by his side. However, given his preconceived notions, Lu Ye felt that reasoning with her would likely be impossible.

A fifteen-Dao power increase was not the limit, as Lu Ye still had some Dao power reserved, and he had five Star Fruits yet to consume. He had also considered leaving the Star Fruits here and returning for them when he was refining his last few Dao bones, as the Dao power required for those would undoubtedly be enormous, allowing him to make better use of the fruits. However, he ultimately decided against it. For him, increasing his strength as quickly as possible was the correct choice. Even if it meant expending more Dao power later, powerful current strength was the capital for self-preservation.