Art of Creation [Eco-Cultivation Prototype]

The Enlightenment Realm filled Devor with excitement, but he knew he had to be patient.

Rushing forward without a solid foundation would be reckless.

For now, his focus remained on absorbing as much knowledge as possible—preparing himself for the moment when he would truly be ready to enter that mysterious domain.

Yet…

A persistent curiosity gnawed at him.

"Could I use the Enlightenment Realm multiple times? And if so, would the cost remain stable?"

If the price stayed consistent, he could achieve unimaginable growth, harvesting vast amounts of Enlightenment Realm Points over time.

But if the cost increased…

His ability to continue evolving through the Enlightenment Realm would diminish.

"Would I eventually reach a point where I could no longer afford its insights?" The thought made him uneasy, but uncertainty was part of cultivation.

For now, he pushed aside his curiosity and refocused on what truly mattered—

The Abyssal Bloodbane Lotus's recovery.

During this time, Devor also continued teaching the Venom Spiritual Tree about Spiritual Plants, deepening its understanding of gardening and cultivation techniques.

Venom had long been a passive force, a guardian of poison-element flora—but Devor wanted it to become something greater.

If Venom could learn to tend a garden on its own, it would no longer be just a vessel for power—it would be a true cultivator of life.

To facilitate this, Devor planned to create a dedicated garden for Venom—an environment where it could experiment and learn through experience.

With such a garden, Devor wouldn't have to worry about failed harvests.

However, in the Four Elements Garden, even a single failed experiment could disrupt the delicate harmony of energies he had carefully cultivated.

"For now, I'll focus on stabilizing Venom's first independent garden…" Once that was perfected, he could take his experiments even further.

On the tenth day, Devor confirmed his suspicions—

The Abyssal Bloodbane Lotus had fully restored the foundations of its body.

But now, it needed external assistance to complete its recovery.

This couldn't be just any assistance.

The best possible nourishment was something Devor alone could provide—

His own Spiritual Essence.

The Five-Dragon Cultivation Technique produced an exceptionally pure form of Spiritual Essence, far superior to ordinary spiritual energy.

This made it ideal for nurturing Spiritual Plants.

Using it as a supplemental support was, without question, the best approach.

Devor sat cross-legged beside the Abyssal Bloodbane Lotus, steadying his breath.

Closing his eyes, he reached inward, summoning the golden radiance of his Spiritual Essence.

Slowly, the energy pulsed outward, flowing from within his body like a gentle river of light.

With careful control, he enveloped the lotus, allowing the pure energy to seep into its structure—tending to it with extreme care.

And then—

He felt something.

A presence.

A whisper of emotion that wasn't his own.

At first, it was faint. A mere echo within his consciousness.

But as he deepened his connection, it grew stronger.

It was coming from the Abyssal Bloodbane Lotus itself.

For the first time, Devor could truly sense its emotions.

It was like a young, inexperienced teenager, thrown into a cruel and unforgiving world.

It had been forced to endure hardships beyond its years.

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To survive, it had to adapt.

To evolve, it had to become something greater.

And beneath it all—

There was pain.

Not the pain of a mortal wound, but the pain of struggling against the world itself.

A tingling sensation spread through Devor's mind.

The connection felt natural… yet deeply unsettling.

Was this what it meant to truly communicate with plants?

For the first time in years, an unfamiliar feeling crept into Devor's heart.

Guilt.

"If every plant is a living being… then I am cruel to them." Even as he continued channeling his Spiritual Essence into the lotus, his thoughts churned.

He had always felt deeply connected to nature—so much so that the Venom Spiritual Tree viewed him as a prophet of the natural elements.

Yet, to reach this point, he had sacrificed countless plants.

Was he truly nature's ally?

Or was he its greatest tormentor?

Others might trample over plants carelessly, granting them a swift death.

But Devor?

He subjected them to suffering.

He forced them through trials.

He used them to pave the way for his own ambitions.

For the first time, he wondered—

"Am I worthy of their trust?" His grip on the flow of Spiritual Essence faltered.

The Abyssal Bloodbane Lotus shuddered slightly, as if sensing his wavering emotions.

Devor's breath steadied, and his golden energy stabilized once more.

A new thought burned within him. "If this continues, I won't be able to conduct my experiments as freely as before."

There would always be a part of him that hesitated.

That doubted.

Unless—

A new conviction took root in his heart.

"I am neither their saint… nor their enemy."

This was his truth.

His role was not to protect them from hardship.

Nor was it to destroy them for personal gain.

It was to shape them.

To refine them.

To elevate them beyond what they were meant to be.

His Spiritual Essence was running low, and the connection with the plant began to fade.

But his thoughts had never been clearer.

Slowly opening his eyes, Devor murmured under his breath—

"I will not be their saint… but their creator."

His voice was quiet, but it carried a weight of finality.

A statement not just of belief, but of purpose.

A breeze rippled through the garden, and the Venom Spiritual Tree shuddered slightly.

Something had shifted.

Devor had unknowingly set the foundation for his Dao.

And the path forward…

Would be unlike any other.

❄️❄️❄️

In the days that followed, Devor devoted himself to cultivation with unwavering focus.

It wasn't just about increasing his cultivation level.

It was about replenishing his Spiritual Essence, ensuring that he could continue nurturing the Abyssal Bloodbane Lotus until it reached true completion.

This was the greatest advantage of a cultivation technique attuned to nature.

Its energy was vastly superior for tending plants compared to elixirs, spirit stones, or raw spiritual energy.

While it wasn't the most lethal in battle, when it came to gardening and plant evolution, Devor's technique was unmatched.

Every day, three times without fail, Devor channeled his golden-hued Spiritual Essence into the Abyssal Bloodbane Lotus.

With each infusion, the plant's condition steadily improved.

A new black stalk had begun to sprout from its center, slowly stretching toward the sky, becoming an integral part of the lotus's structure.

Nearby, the Venom Spiritual Tree observed silently.

For the first time in a long while, it felt something odd—

A strange, unfamiliar sensation that it could only describe as… jealousy.

It had always been the center of Devor's research, the plant that had received the most attention and care.

But now—

Devor's undivided focus was on something else.

Every time he infused the Abyssal Bloodbane Lotus with his Spiritual Essence, the lotus radiated with newfound vitality, as if it had just received the most soothing, rejuvenating massage.

With Devor's Spiritual Essence, recovery was effortless.

It was only a matter of time.

And Venom…

Couldn't help but wonder—

If it were weaker, if it were struggling—would he look at it the same way?

The thought unsettled it.

But it remained silent.

Watching.

Waiting.

By the second week, the Abyssal Bloodbane Lotus was nearly fully restored.

Today, as Devor activated his Spiritual Analyzer, a wave of satisfaction filled him.

[ Plant Name: Abyssal Bloodbane Lotus ]

[ Quality: Sky Grade-A ]

[ Status: Good ]

[ Essence: 98/100 ]

His eyes gleamed. "It reached Grade-A!"

After countless failures, adjustments, and setbacks—

He had succeeded.

Devor took a deep breath, steadying himself.

"Alright, this will be the final treatment," he murmured, settling into a cross-legged position beside the Abyssal Bloodbane Lotus.

The healthier the plant, the faster the recovery process.

Closing his eyes, he guided his Spiritual Essence outward, enveloping the lotus in a final wave of nourishing energy.

Healing a plant with Spiritual Essence wasn't difficult—

It didn't require complex alchemical calculations or precise elemental balances.

All he needed to do was identify the damaged areas and let his energy mend them naturally.

"This is the true strength of the Five-Dragon Cultivation Technique when it comes to gardening."

For ten full minutes, he continued the treatment.

Until—

His Spiritual Essence depleted completely.

As the session ended, he slowly opened his eyes.

And the moment he did—

Something unexpected happened.

The air shuddered.

The garden's energy surged and trembled, as if reaching a long-awaited threshold.

Devor's breath caught.

He recognized this phenomenon.

He had seen it before—

Back in the competition, when he had completed his first garden formation.

A dark purple mist gathered above the plants, swirling like an ethereal tide.

Then—

The mist began to rise, condensing into a thin veil five meters above the ground.

"The golden veil should appear soon."

But then—

Something different happened.

Something wrong.

Instead of gold, the veil that formed was gray—so faint, it was almost nonexistent.

Devor's heart pounded as he examined it more closely.

The gray veil was incomplete, its surface speckled with patches of deep black, like fractures in a fragile shell.

His mind raced.

"Not a golden veil… but a black one?" He frowned. "Why? What changed?"

In the competition, his veil had manifested through the power of his Dao.

But here?

His Dao's full strength was still incomplete—it had not yet fully manifested in this world.

That meant the energy forming the veil had come solely from what had been cultivated within this very garden.

And since this garden was dominated by poison-element plants—

It had produced a veil that matched them best.

Devor exhaled, his shoulders relaxing slightly.

Even though this was unexpected, it was still—

"A success." A faint smile played on his lips. "I did it. Again."

He had once again manifested an energy veil within his garden.

But this time—

It was different.

This was not the golden veil of natural balance and harmony.

It was something new.

Something darker.

Something that had never been recorded in the annals of Spiritual Farming.

And deep within his mind, a single thought echoed—

"What happens… if I keep going down this path?"