The Plant Master Becomes A Mute Sub-Beast: Farming And Laying Eggs

Chapter 168: Chapter 168: High-Tier Cultivation Method

As night gradually fell, those assigned to guard duty remained sitting by the fire, while the others returned to the communal tent to rest.

Ryder clung to Kaelen, speaking affectionately, "Papa, let me plant the chili peppers, I can do it~"

He had already been conquered by the enticing spicy and numbing flavor of the chili. Kaelen, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, rubbed Ryder’s head. "The seeds aren’t dry yet, touching them will burn your skin."

Ryder asked doubtfully, "But I use my mental body to plant them, right? Can a mental body get burned too?"

Kaelen blanked out for a moment, slapping his own forehead. "Oh my, look at me, how could I forget about that?!" He smiled helplessly, taking out the bag of chili seeds and handing it to Ryder. "Just plant them in your space, there’s no need to rush the harvest. Fresh chili is hard to preserve, and drying it takes a bit of time. The dried chili and chili oil I have are still enough for about half a month."

"Yes~" Ryder joyfully accepted the bag of chili seeds, tossed it into his space, and then climbed into his bamboo nest, preparing to sleep.

Finnick and Oliver looked at each other, discussing who would enter the space with Ryder today. In the end, Oliver won.

Inside the space, Ryder and Oliver had finished planting three rows of chili peppers, yet there was still no sign of Edward. Normally, he should have arrived by now, shouldn’t he?

The two children continued planting while looking up, eagerly waiting for their brother.

It wasn’t until midnight, when all the chili seeds had been sown and the young pepper plants had started to bloom, that Edward finally strolled over, holding something in his mouth. He slithered forward as fast as if a dog were chasing him, stopping in front of his two younger brothers, and set the object down.

Almost instantly, the object began to dissolve, then floated into the air, arranging itself into rows of golden text. Edward urged, "Oliver, interpret it quickly!"

At this moment, Oliver snapped back to reality, his hands forming seals as he tried to memorize those characters. The letters kept spinning around, and all he could do was use his brain to take a snapshot of each word. Before the text faded away, he had finished memorizing it, but he was also completely exhausted.

Edward supported Oliver’s swaying body, which was about to fall, and asked worriedly, "Are you alright?"

Oliver’s mental body had faded slightly, but it was merely due to extreme fatigue. He said to Edward, "I’m fine, just soak me in the spiritual spring water, and I’ll be okay in a moment."

Edward hurriedly wrapped his tail around Oliver, placing the boy into the spiritual spring that had just appeared in the space yesterday. Ryder and Edward sat together by the bank of the spring, carefully observing Oliver’s condition.

Streams of majestic spiritual energy from the spring water drew towards Oliver, touching his mental body before weaving into every nook and cranny. The initial bright white color of the spiritual energy gradually took on a purple hue.

About half an hour later, Oliver’s mental body gradually grew brighter. Although it hadn’t returned to its original state, it no longer looked like it was about to extinguish.

Only then did Oliver have the time to heave a sigh of relief. He turned to ask Edward, "The cultivation technique you just brought in is truly formidable. If I didn’t have my inheritance to support me, I probably would have been swallowed by the consciousness within it. Where did you get it?"

Edward tapped his tail against the ground, speaking with a bit of hesitation, "Well... from that level 9 Beastman..."

The two younger brothers stared blankly for a moment, followed by the sound of splashing water and terrified squeaks. "Are you crazy?! That’s a level 9 beastman!!! Aren’t you afraid of being exposed and getting your skin peeled off?!"

Edward sheepishly flicked out his forked tongue. "I just wanted to help our two fathers become stronger..."

Ryder puffed out his cheeks. "I’m going to tell Papa! Brother Edward is a stinky snake!"

"No, no, please. Papa will hang me up and spank me!" Edward hurriedly grabbed Ryder, plucking a strand of his own mental energy and stuffing it into Ryder’s hand. Ryder threw it back, turning his back to Edward, and said aggrievedly, "Who wants your mental energy!"

Edward looked at Ryder in a panic, then at Oliver. Oliver let out a cold snort and dived into the spring with a swoosh, not giving his brother a chance to utter any coaxing words.

Edward curled up into a ball in misery. It seemed that a beating upon reuniting with his two fathers was inevitable. He hung his head dejectedly. A stream of water shot up from the spring with a splash, drenching Edward completely.

Oliver crossed his arms over his chest, raised his chin high, and said coldly, "Confess the entire process of your crime, and I will choose my words carefully when telling our fathers. As for whether you get beaten a little or a lot, that depends on your level of sincerity."

Edward embarrassedly rubbed his nose with the tip of his tail, slowly recounting the process of how he stole the cultivation technique.

Initially, he had planned to steal from the level six flying types, but unfortunately, that group always kept their cultivation techniques securely on their persons, leaving him no opportunity to strike. While he was at a loss for what to do, he accidentally entered the room of the level 9 Black Wolf warrior.

Edward knew this person was incredibly sharp, so he hastily looked for a place to hide. There was a mouse hole in the corner of the stone wall, and Edward crawled into it without hesitation. Although the family of mice inside the hole couldn’t see him, the dangerous aura of a natural predator caused them to feel terrified.

The family of five mice immediately scurried through various diverging tunnels to escape.

While Edward was pondering whether he should choose a diverging tunnel to exit, the sound of conversation outside caught his attention.

"Arthur, I can’t wait any longer. Sanji has been missing for sixteen days; I’m sure something has happened to him."

Another person replied, "Issac, calm down. The more anxious you are right now, the higher the chance you will be selected. Temporarily halt your cultivation for now; do not let yourself reach level eight. That way, you’ll at least be safe until next spring. By then, our plan can also be put into motion."

The other beastman’s voice carried a hint of a choke. "I’m terrified, Arthur. Every single one of us is gradually disappearing, and I’m afraid that one day it will be our turn. Just hearing the words ’bedchamber service’ makes my skin crawl now."

Hearing this, Edward’s breathing inside the mouse hole became slightly erratic. A cold shout came from outside: "Who is it?!"

Edward hurriedly held his breath, burrowing himself deeper into the mouse hole. Disorganized footsteps echoed outside; it seemed those two beastmen were searching for their stalker. A moment later, the beastman named Issac said:

"I don’t see anyone. Arthur, perhaps you heard wrong?"

Arthur said thoughtfully, "Perhaps so."

The two of them talked for a long time, and then one person left. Edward lay in the hole, holding his breath and waiting. He only noticed that the beastman named Arthur seemed to be muttering something about ’stopping cultivation’, ’demon’,... and so on.

With a *thud*, something was thrown onto the ground, rolling once and coincidentally stopping right in front of the mouse hole’s entrance.

Outside, there was the sound of things being smashed again, which only stopped after a long while. Edward heard heavy panting from the other side of the wall, along with sobbing:

"Ian, where are you? I have searched for you across this entire continent; are you even still alive?"

Edward’s heart skipped a beat. Could this Ian and the Ian his younger brothers often mentioned be the same person?

He thought so, but he didn’t dare to test the waters. If by chance it wasn’t, then only death would await him.

"I waited for that beastman to leave, then planned to go out and scout. I didn’t expect that the thing blocking the mouse hole was exactly this cultivation technique. I didn’t even have time to return to my room; I just fell asleep right on the spot to bring it here."

Oliver and Ryder both gasped. Even though it sounded easy hearing Edward recount it, they both knew the truth was much more perilous. Oliver seriously pondered this issue.

"First of all, just pretend you know nothing, and later find opportunities to observe the beastman named Issac more. As for that beastman Arthur, forget him; he is too strong and too smart, it’s best not to mess with him."

Ryder nodded in agreement, then added, "Then you should go back now. It will be dangerous if someone comes for a surprise inspection and discovers your whereabouts are unknown."

Edward nodded. "Alright, I’ll go back first. When you two talk to our fathers, remember to choose your words carefully. Whatever punishment you can reduce for me is a win. If you two manage it, I’ll find lots of spiritual items for you to eat later."

Oliver pursed his lips. "As if we’re that desperate for them."

However, both Oliver and Ryder knew that their brother was anxious to break out and also wanted to help their fathers deal with the Evil God, which was why he had recklessly stolen the cultivation technique. In their minds, the two had already begun weighing how to speak to Papa and Daddy.

"I’m waking up now, you two stay and have fun~"

After saying that, Edward’s figure gradually blurred and then disappeared. Ryder spoke with a bit of admiration, "I wonder when I’ll be able to wake up whenever I want, just like Brother Edward?"

Oliver let his body drift with the current, saying with amusement, "If so, your mental energy level would have to reach Brother Edward’s level. Do you know what his mental energy level is right now?"

Ryder shook his head blankly, then guessed, "Level five?"

Oliver smiled and shook his head. Ryder guessed again, "Level six or level seven?"

"You’re underestimating our brother too much~"

Ryder scratched his head. "Then exactly how much is it?"

Oliver giggled, leaning close to the little mouse’s ear to whisper. The little mouse’s eyes slowly widened, and his mouth fell open. "Really... really? He... he is actually at that level???"

Oliver nodded firmly. The little mouse felt entirely dazed, feeling as if his feet were no longer touching the ground. He thought about Edward’s level, then calculated his own mental energy level, feeling that even if he lived to the end of his lifespan, he might never achieve the same level as Edward.

Edward, who was currently being envied by his adopted younger brother, now wanted to pretend he was asleep. This was because when he opened his eyes, what greeted his sight was not a dark mouse hole, but a soft animal skin mattress.

That level nine Black Wolf beastman was sitting leisurely in the chair beside Edward, his hand stroking the wooden tag engraved with Edward’s concealment array.

*Hiss!!!*

Edward bolted upright, letting out a terrified hiss. The scales all over his body stood on end, and he curled his tail, ready to flee. The Black Wolf beastman only needed to extend a single finger to crushingly pin Edward flat on the ground.

Edward immediately released his pressure, wanting to use his mental strength to suppress the opponent. The Black Wolf beastman stiffened for a split second, and Edward took this opportunity to dart away.

"Imprison!"

A cage of golden light shot up from the ground, surrounding Edward before slowly tightening.

Edward was tied securely. He stared in horror at the beastman walking closer: "You... you are a Divine Energy warrior?! And it’s a non-elemental Divine Energy?!"

The beastman didn’t answer, merely extending a finger to give a slight beckon. Edward, lying on the ground, automatically floated into the air and landed squarely in the beastman’s outstretched palm. The beastman stared at Edward with a cold gaze, turning Edward’s heart to ash.

This person could break free from the suppression of his Divine Blood in a mere fraction of a second, proving that he had reached the Demigod level. The beastman spoke coldly:

"Did that Evil God send you to spy on me? Just how highly does he value me to have the Grand Holy Son like you personally come to investigate? Your tricks are quite good; if I hadn’t been vigilant enough, I surely would have been fooled by you."

Edward cried out in grievance, "Who would want to work for that demon? I just wanted to find a way to escape."

The beastman let out a cold snort: "Do you take me for a three-year-old? Anyway, I’m tired of living; killing you and then killing him is no big deal."

Edward panicked, his tail thrashing wildly. The threads of light gradually tightened around his body, nearly suffocating him.

Damn it! His Beast Energy was still only at level five, yet this guy’s Divine Energy perfectly countered his Spatial Divine Energy!