Art of Creation [Eco-Cultivation Prototype]

Nearly two months had passed since Devor returned to the Sect. He had spent his days refining his techniques, immersing himself in training, and seeking clarity in his cultivation path.

But today, his routine was disrupted by news he had been eagerly awaiting.

Bare-chested and locked in an intense sparring session with Yulin, his fists struck with controlled force, each blow meeting her defenses with a sharp crack of energy.

His breathing was steady, his focus unwavering—until a ripple in the Qi around them signaled an approaching presence.

Five figures strode into the courtyard, their leader exuding a composed yet commanding aura.

Devor halted mid-motion, his eyes narrowing as he recognized them. His heartbeat quickened.

The team assigned to relocate the Venom Spiritual Tree had returned.

"You actually managed to bring it here?" His voice held a note of disbelief, though his stance remained firm. "How did you do it?"

The woman at the forefront, Siyu, was draped in flowing emerald Taoist robes, her refined yet formidable presence impossible to ignore.

Her gaze was sharp but unreadable, her lips curving into a knowing smile.

"Young Master Devor," she said smoothly, "you must be familiar with the Floating Island. The principle is the same, though sustaining an entity as potent as a Spiritual Tree—especially one with a venomous nature—requires a far more intricate balance of formations and Qi stabilization."

Devor's brows furrowed slightly. His respect for Siyu and her team grew.

As the conversation shifted toward placement, Yulin—silent until now—spoke up.

"Can you relocate the gardens as well?" she asked, her gaze steady. "And the house?"

Siyu arched an elegant brow. "Naturally. But it will cost extra."

Before Devor could interject, Siyu added with a faint smile, "Of course, the Sect will cover it."

Devor shot Yulin a glance, but she remained composed.

Perhaps it was because of their last encounter.

He no longer saw Yulin as just another disciple.

The Cursed Bloodline—what did it truly signify?

And then there was her surname.

Fu.

A name that commanded fear and respect across the continent.

When he had casually inquired about her full name, she had answered without hesitation: Yi Yulin.

Devor had never pressed further. Whether it was an error in the sistem, a deliberate deception, or something else entirely—he knew better than to dig too deep.

Everyone had their secrets. Including him.

Without seeking Devor's input, Yulin had already begun restructuring the terrain.

She placed his residence near the entrance, with the gardens stretching behind it, leaving a vast open space at the center.

The Venom Spiritual Tree would be planted around the gardens, forming the beginning of a grand design. In time, the gardens would stand at the heart, encircled by a growing ring of Spiritual Trees.

Devor's gaze lingered on the arrangement.

Yulin wasn't just relocating the garden. She was preparing for something.

He had shared his thoughts with her before—his theory that multiple Spiritual Trees could exist in harmony, their essences blending to create a superior cultivation environment.

Unlike lesser plants, Spiritual Trees were sentient, capable of adjusting their own energy flow.

What if their harmonization wasn't just possible, but the key to unlocking a higher tier of cultivation?

The thought sent a quiet thrill through him.

If successful, this would reshape the way Spiritual Ecology was understood.

Yulin had accounted for this. She had left space for future trees, ensuring the Qi circulation would not be disrupted when the others arrived.

As Devor examined the arrangements, a realization settled in.

If Spiritual Plants could coexist in delicate balance—nurturing one another through complementary energies—then why not Spiritual Trees?

The fundamental issue with planting multiple Spiritual Trees had always been territorial conflict. Each tree, possessing its own awareness, would instinctively draw in surrounding Qi, disrupting the balance.

But what if they could be synchronized?

Not merely coexisting, but thriving in mutual resonance.

A network of towering sentinels, their roots entwining, their energies merging into a singular, self-sustaining force.

The implications were staggering.

At the heart of this formation, his own cultivation would undergo a transformation unlike anything recorded in the annals of the Sect.

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Devor exhaled slowly.

He was on the verge of something monumental.

The moment everything was in place, Siyu and her team began their work.

The first task—relocating Devor's residence—was relatively simple.

Formation Runes, drawn from a mixture of precious spirit-infused powders and liquids, were meticulously inscribed around the foundation.

Devor observed closely, noting the fluidity of their movements, the precision in each stroke.

Even though cultivators could easily shift structures with raw Qi manipulation, ensuring the integrity of the foundation was an art of its own.

Without proper formation stabilization, the house might degrade over time, its walls absorbing environmental Qi unevenly, leading to unforeseen structural corruption.

For this, Formation Runes were essential.

Siyu's fingers danced through the air, forming intricate hand seals, her movements mirrored by four others in perfect synchronization.

A faint hum resonated as spiritual energy converged into the runes.

A shimmering web of golden symbols ignited, wrapping around the house like a cocoon of light.

Then—

The house moved.

Not a single tile shook, nor did the wooden beams creak.

Instead, it glided effortlessly, as though it were a leaf floating upon a still pond, passing through the ground without disturbing the earth beneath it.

In mere moments, the house stood at the hill's entrance, precisely where Devor had envisioned.

The next task was far more complex—transplanting the garden.

Unlike a structure, a living ecosystem could not simply be lifted and relocated.

Qi veins, soil balance, and even the interwoven roots of spiritual flora had to be preserved.

Normally, the fastest method would be to excavate a two-meter-deep section of the garden and lift it, making it appear like a Floating Island.

However, such an approach would leave the land below scarred and Qi-deprived, disrupting the natural balance.

Instead, Siyu's team employed a gentler approach.

"Ten Core Formation cultivators," Yulin remarked, arms crossed as she watched the process unfold. "That's the minimum required to relocate a garden of this complexity."

Devor glanced at her. "You don't seem too concerned about the cost."

Devor couldn't help but feel uneasy about the additional cost of moving his house and garden.

Yulin's lips curved slightly. "The sect is covering it. No reason to hold back."

Siyu, overhearing their exchange, merely chuckled. "We're cultivators, not common laborers. If we are to move something as delicate as a Spiritual Garden, it must be done with precision."

She turned back to the task at hand, her team already marking the garden's perimeter with another set of runes—these ones infused with a faint, emerald glow, a stark contrast to the golden symbols used for the house.

When activated, the runes sank into the soil, weaving themselves into the garden's natural Qi field.

The entire section of land shimmered, as though wrapped in an invisible thread of silk.

Then, like an illusion dissolving into reality, the garden shifted—not with force, but with an ethereal grace, its presence seamlessly transposed without disturbing a single leaf.

The scent of rich earth, medicinal herbs, and blooming spirit flowers lingered in the air, completely untainted.

Devor released a slow breath.

This was beyond mere cultivation skill. This was mastery.

With the house and garden settled, only one task remained—the transplantation of the Venom Spiritual Tree.

One of Siyu's subordinates carefully unsealed a large obsidian chest. Within, nestled inside a reinforced glass sphere, was an impossibly small floating island—no more than the size of a clenched fist.

Despite its miniature state, the energy radiating from it was immense—richer, denser than even the Floating Island Devor had used in the previous competition.

He instinctively activated his spiritual perception, allowing his awareness to touch the energy within.

In an instant, he understood.

This was no ordinary transplant.

Unlike standard Floating Islands, where spiritual energy was merely stored within, this one had a living, breathing ecosystem—a contained domain where the Venom Spiritual Tree had been nurtured without disruption.

Siyu and her team got to work once more, this time etching a formation far more complex than the previous ones.

The patterns stretched across the entire hilltop, forming interlocking sequences that pulsed with an eerie blue-green luminescence.

Unlike the smooth fluidity of previous runes, these formations felt alive—as if they were an extension of the tree itself.

Time passed, the afternoon sun dipping lower.

Finally, Siyu placed the sphere at the formation's core. With a whispered command, she activated the final seal.

The glass sphere dissolved.

A deep tremor rippled through the air.

And then—

The island expanded.

Like a dream slowly unfolding into reality, the once-miniature land grew, stretching outward until it reclaimed its true form.

A towering silhouette emerged.

The Venom Spiritual Tree stood tall and unshaken, its deep purple bark laced with faint, pulsating violet veins, while its leaves shimmered in dark amethyst hues.

Its roots entwined with the very essence of the hill, exuding an aura both mesmerizing and ominous.

As it settled, the tree quivered—its ancient presence shuddering as if awakening from a deep slumber.

Once the work was complete, Siyu and her team made their final checks before preparing to leave.

Before they could step away, Devor called out, "Senior, please wait a moment."

Siyu turned, raising a brow.

"May I have your Communication Token?" Devor asked respectfully. "I would like to stay in contact, if that is acceptable."

A knowing smile flickered across Siyu's lips. Without hesitation, she retrieved a jade token from her sleeve and handed it over.

"If you need anything, don't hesitate," she said. "Our services come at a price, but we guarantee results."

Devor nodded in appreciation.

As Siyu and her team disappeared into the distance, Yulin gave Devor a sidelong glance.

"You took the initiative to ask for her Communication Token," she mused. "Thinking of hiring them again? Their services aren't cheap. In fact, they're ridiculously expensive."

Devor exhaled, weighing his response. "Judging by how they handled everything, it's not an easy craft. But I might need their help again. Who knows? Maybe another senior will decide to gift me another Spiritual Tree."

Yulin's mouth twitched.

She had already heard Devor's full story, but from her perspective, that so-called gift had been anything but generosity.

Rather, it was as if the Venom Spiritual Tree had abandoned its former master to follow Devor—like a loyal beast rejecting its original owner.

Such a thing wasn't unheard of among spirit beasts, but for a Spiritual Tree, it was far more unusual.

And in the world of cultivation, an unshackled treasure was rare—most often, it meant the original owner was either too weak to hold onto it... or dead.

Yulin said nothing, but the thought lingered.

Devor and Yulin approached the Venom Spiritual Tree, its presence deeply intertwined with the energy of the hill.

"This thing can talk, right?" Yulin asked, her arms crossed. "Talking trees aren't exactly common."

Even Spiritual Beasts had to reach a certain level before developing speech. For a Spiritual Tree, the threshold was even higher.

Before Devor could respond, a low, drawn-out voice resonated from the tree itself.

"I... am... evolving..."

Each word came in measured pauses, the weight of them thick in the air.

Devor arched a brow. "Evolving?"

He let out a short chuckle, assuming the tree meant it in a general sense—perhaps its Qi accumulation had reached a new threshold.

"I... absorbed... energy... from... Devor... and... grew... stronger..."

Devor's expression shifted. "You absorbed my energy?"

That shouldn't have been possible.

His bond with the Venom Spiritual Tree was deep, allowing him to transfer energy when necessary—but that process was always under his control.

The tree shouldn't have been able to draw from him freely.

A flicker of unease crawled up his spine.

"The... energy... was... ruthless... dark... it... made... me... grow..."

The air turned deathly still.

Yulin narrowed her eyes, glancing between Devor and the tree.

Devor's fingers curled into a fist. His Qi was not supposed to be ruthless or dark.

And yet—

A chilling realization struck him.

His breath caught.

The curse.

Could it be?

Could the Venom Spiritual Tree have absorbed the residual curse that had once tainted his body!?