Xi Ying lifted her head slightly, looking at Yuan Ming with confusion.

Yuan Ming took a deep breath, and slowly revealed his plan: "You should have already seen the golden palace within the Stealing Heaven Tripod, right? I have a spiritual treasure that is said to be able to forcibly break through a seven-level magic array. But with my strength alone, it's difficult to unleash its maximum power; I need the assistance of several Dharma manifestation experts."

Upon hearing this, a flash of understanding appeared in Xi Ying's eyes.

She sat upright, sincerely nodding her head, indicating her willingness to assist.

However, relying solely on the power of her and Yuan Ming was still insufficient.

After a slight consideration, Yuan Ming decided to invite Wang Fulong, Zheng Heng, and He Xiuwen to help.

To ensure confidentiality, Yuan Ming first blocked the five senses of the three, then set up an illusion array inside the Stealing Heaven Tripod to obscure the scene within, and only then brought them into the tripod.

Soon, Yuan Ming led everyone to the pre-arranged Melding Spirit Array, each finding a place to sit down.

Yuan Ming gazed at the golden palace from a distance, took another deep breath, then waved a hand, causing the Four Mountains Linked Seal to rise into the air.

Seeing this, Xi Ying and the others immediately circulated their Mana, under the effect of the Melding Spirit Array, directing the vast Mana into Yuan Ming's body.

Simultaneously, with a thought, Yuan Ming summoned a lush World Tree behind everyone, its branches and leaves gently swaying, emitting a faint spirit light, continuously injecting the vast spiritual power into Yuan Ming's body.

Using the experience from last time, Yuan Ming quickly guided the gathered forces before the pain could arise in his meridians, and began to practice the Mysterious Sect's Root Qi Skill.

His thoughts flowed like lightning, and as his Mana circulated, he reached a state of perfect mastery.

The Four Mountains Linked Seal spun rapidly in the air, like a gigantic devouring beast, crazily absorbing the gathered Mana of everyone.

Soon, it emitted a deep, dull roar, and a huge Cross Magic Array suddenly appeared over everyone's heads, shining brilliantly.

The next moment, the Cross Magic Array descended with a roar, striking heavily upon the invisible barrier outside the golden palace.

Unexpectedly, numerous frost-white spirit lights suddenly appeared on the barrier, intertwining into a sheet, actually blocking all the power of the Cross Magic Array, making it unable to advance even a bit.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming frowned slightly.

He tried several more times, each time exerting himself fully, yet still returned fruitless.

The invisible barrier seemed unbreakable; no matter how they attacked, it couldn't be shaken the slightest.

"It seems that by relying only on us, the gathered power is still insufficient. Perhaps with three or four more Dharma Phase cultivators aiding, we might break through this array." Yuan Ming sighed, helplessly leading everyone out of the Stealing Heaven Tripod.

...

Several days later, Xi Ying bid her farewell, embarking on her return to the Sky Eagle Chamber of Commerce.

Before departing, she specially left the Five Elements Child in White Emperor City to assist Yuan Ming with the Medicine Garden, particularly paying attention to the growth condition of the Innate Bitter Bamboo.

Yuan Ming watched Xi Ying's departing silhouette, feeling both reluctant and full of anticipation for the future.

After her figure disappeared into the horizon, he turned to find the Five Elements Child to inquire about the progress of cultivating the Bitter Bamboo.

Just as he returned to the City Lord Mansion, Nan Shangfeng arrived hastily, bluntly saying, "Brother Yuan, I intend to return to the Daluo Sect."

Yuan Ming was slightly taken aback, then remembered that Nan Shangfeng had been worried about his master and sect, taken by the Three Realms Sect, so he nodded and said, "Since you have this intention, you should go back and check soon. Let me know if you need any help."

"Thank you Brother Yuan for your care during this time, but the internal affairs of the Daluo Sect are complicated. I will handle it alone. If the senior brothers see me blindly obedient, it will only raise suspicion and cause trouble." Nan Shangfeng shook his head, politely refusing.

"Then have a safe journey, and if you encounter trouble, feel free to send me a message." Yuan Ming responded, ceased to insist, and simply advised.

Nan Shangfeng gave a bow to Yuan Ming, then turned and left.

Yuan Ming watched him disappear from sight, feeling indescribably sentimental.

Afterwards, he stepped towards the Medicine Garden.

Along the way, the scenery of White Emperor City unfolded before his eyes; the ancient trees towered, flowers scented, presenting a scene of tranquility and peace.

Yet Yuan Ming's heart was preoccupied with the growth condition of the Innate Bitter Bamboo, causing his pace to involuntarily quicken.

Soon, he arrived at the Medicine Garden managed by the Five Elements Child.

The Five Elements Child was busy recording something, holding a Jade Scroll, speaking while inputting information into it.

"Master, you're here." Seeing Yuan Ming, the Five Elements Child quickly came up to greet.

Yuan Ming gestured in acknowledgment and asked, "How is the cultivation of the Innate Bitter Bamboo going?"

Saying this, he stepped towards the area where the Bitter Bamboo was planted.

The Five Elements Child followed right behind, responding as they walked, "The Bitter Bamboo is growing well, but it's extremely difficult to shorten its growth time. I have tried various methods, adjusted the spirit soil ratio, crafted special spiritual liquid, and used many other techniques but can only reduce the original five-year growth period to one year."

Yuan Ming furrowed his brows slightly as he took the jade scroll handed over by the Five Elements Child and started to read.

He knew that even a year of growth was still too long for him, who was waiting for the Bitter Bamboo to mature.

"By this calculation, the Bitter Bamboo needs more than forty thousand years to reach ten thousand years of age, which is too slow," Yuan Ming sighed.

"Master, I have done my best. The growth rate of the Bitter Bamboo is constrained by the laws of heaven and earth, and even I cannot find other methods to increase its growth speed," the Five Elements Child said, expressing his difficulty.

While they were talking, they had already arrived at the planting site of the Innate Bitter Bamboo. The Five Elements Child had specially built a place here to study and observe the Bitter Bamboo, showing great dedication.

"Fine, you go ahead with your tasks. I'll ponder slowly over the remaining matters to see if I can find another way," Yuan Ming sighed, knowing his demands might be excessive, and said to the Five Elements Child.

The Five Elements Child respectfully nodded, saluted Yuan Ming, then turned and left to continue his patrol work in the Medicine Garden, carefully tending each spiritual material.

Yuan Ming, on the other hand, stared intently at the Innate Bitter Bamboo, observing its growth condition.

A moment later, he entered the simple dwelling constructed by the Five Elements Child.

Inside, various classics were laid out, all collected by the Five Elements Child as insights of Spirit Plant Masters.

Yuan Ming casually took a book and immersed himself in the sea of books, savoring the wisdom of the predecessors.

When the Five Elements Child returned from patrolling the Medicine Garden, Yuan Ming was still lost in the world of the classics, seemingly forgetting the passage of time.

Seeing this, the Five Elements Child dared not disturb him. He quietly organized the classics, putting them back in order for Yuan Ming to access anytime.

After an indeterminate period, Yuan Ming suddenly put down the classical book, pointed to a certain content in the book, and asked the Five Elements Child, "Have you carefully studied this grafting secret technique?"

The Five Elements Child looked in the direction Yuan Ming pointed, thought for a moment, and nodded, "Master, I indeed have read this secret technique. However, the requirements for both parties in the grafting are extremely high, needing a very high degree of compatibility for success. Although I tried to modify it to lower the compatibility requirements, there are still two major drawbacks."

"Oh? I am eager to hear them." Yuan Ming perused the research records of the Five Elements Child, showing great interest.

The Five Elements Child explained, "Firstly, this technique requires the spirit plant to be grafted onto a mother body of higher age to effectively promote growth. Secondly, the damage to the grafted party is severe, and in my many experiments, no spirit plant could last beyond a month before rapidly wilting."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ming nodded slightly and fell into deep thought.

Moments later, a flash of brilliance appeared in his eyes as he proposed a bold idea: "What if we use the World Tree as the grafting mother body? Would it be feasible?"

The World Tree, being the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Trees, naturally exceeds the Innate Bitter Bamboo in age.

Moreover, its life force is so strong that Yuan Ming has never seen anything like it.

Even a master at the Mahayana Realm may not be able to harm it in the slightest.

The Five Elements Child was taken aback by his words, then carefully pondered.

Moments later, he also found Yuan Ming's idea quite reasonable, worth a try.

Thus, Yuan Ming and the Five Elements Child wasted no time and started immediately.

The grafting process was extremely complicated and needed to be carried out cautiously to avoid damaging the spiritual aura of the Innate Bitter Bamboo.

The two of them used a large amount of Spiritual Liquid as an auxiliary, executing each step with the utmost care.

After exhausting a month's time, they finally succeeded in transplanting part of the root of the Innate Bitter Bamboo to the roots of the World Tree through the grafting secret technique.

Fortunately, as Yuan Ming had anticipated earlier, after the grafting, the power of the World Tree was not damaged in the slightest.

What delighted them even more was that the growth rate of the Innate Bitter Bamboo had significantly increased.

Time flew by, more than another month passed.

When Yuan Ming re-entered the Medicine Garden, the scene before him filled him with joy.

Originally, just a solitary root had transformed into a tall green bamboo, though only as long as a forearm and exceedingly slender, yet its spiritual aura was extraordinarily thick, with an ancient atmosphere swirling around it, as if it had endured countless ages.

The Five Elements Child observed closely from the side and stroked his beard with a smile, "Master, the Innate Bitter Bamboo seems to have undergone some mystical transformation after the transplant and grafting. Not only is this transformation not bad, but it is very beneficial. According to my estimates, now each year of growth for this bamboo accumulates spiritual aura equivalent to a hundred years in the past."

"By this account, it only takes a thousand years for the Innate Bitter Bamboo to reach ten thousand years of age." Yuan Ming was overjoyed upon hearing this.

As he contemplated, he circled around the green bamboo several times, his eyes full of anticipation.

Subsequently, he solemnly instructed the Five Elements Child to carefully attend to this Bitter Bamboo and report to him immediately in case of any unusual circumstances.

After making arrangements, Yuan Ming turned and left the Medicine Garden, preparing to continue his secluded cultivation.

However, when he stepped into that tranquil cultivation room, he unexpectedly received good news.

"The Moon God Ring has been refined," the voice of the void echoed in his sea of consciousness, tinged with a faint joy.

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