Chapter 318 - The Ten Thousand Poisons Mother Tree

Green Sea.

After dealing with the black dragon, Lu Ran felt an immense sense of relief. He had thought that the transition from level 2 to level 3 would allow him some time to relax.

Who would have guessed that an unlucky menace like the Black Dragon King would appear? However, this unexpected encounter brought him substantial gains like the Divine Deer’s gift and the rise of the Dark Crow Legion.

“I should finally be able to rest for a couple of days now.”

The sword spirit and the swordgrass were being nurtured by Captain Doofus, so he could let those three practice their sword intent and fusion domain on their own.

As for the sea, he had Dark Crow and Mystic Turtle to manage it. Lu Ran even planned to leave the common crows’ training in Fang Lan’s hands. This was the kind of life befitting the King of Green Sea. If he had to handle everything personally, that would just be exhausting.

However, he knew it was unrealistic to completely distance himself from responsibilities. For instance, the stone tablet he promised Mystic Turtle still needed to be personally forged by him. Additionally, he had to take Captain Doofus, Sudden Death King, and Baby Cloud to the arena for upgrades.

“No wonder so many beastmasters only raise one or two familiars. Any more and it’s truly overwhelming.”

With a stretch, Lu Ran finalized his next course of action. First, he would assist Professor Ye in transplanting the Death Forest. After that, he would nurture a new Undead weapon.

Since he was already forging an Undead-attribute weapon for Mystic Turtle, he might as well make multiple in one go. After all, nurturing one was the same as nurturing two or three. Doing it all at once would save time and prevent frequent trips to the Undead Secret Realm in the future.

After some quick calculations, he decided that he would forge an Undead-attribute shield for Sudden Death King, making it one of its kin. That had been part of his plan all along.

Moreover, he could also forge a sword spirit similar to Corpse Dog for Master Jiang Dou.

That old man is truly a handful.

Lu Ran wished he would just switch personalities with Mystic Turtle and enjoy his retirement in peace. Yet, to his surprise, Master Jiang Dou had recently obtained a black contract card and officially became a beastmaster despite his age.

Honestly, that was pretty impressive. With his formidable combat skills and the Transcendent-rank familiar Lu Ran had gifted him, the old man had managed to pass the Beginner Trial Secret Realm with an SS rating.

For Master Jiang Dou’s safety, as his disciple, Lu Ran had no choice but to prepare something for him. A sword spirit seemed like the perfect fit, preferably one of King Species.

Right now, Fang Lan’s family and Master Jiang Dou were the only remaining family Lu Ran had. He didn’t want to see the old man end up like Condor Hero, falling in an ascension realm.

“Although, it’s honestly hard to imagine him messing up with his strength.” Lu Ran shook his head.

Master Jiang Dou was even stronger than he was back then. The old man had comprehended Rainbow Sword Intent immediately after contracting his familiar. Without relying on any extraordinary skills, he had grasped sword intent purely with his human body.

Perhaps it was the culmination of decades of swordsmanship. After all, Lu Ran himself had only learned sword intent through stacking skills like Super Beast Mimicry and Weapon Control.

Old masters were simply on another level. However, when Master Jiang Dou mentioned this achievement, he didn’t sound the least bit proud or excited. After all, even a dog had comprehended Sword Domain, which was an even more advanced concept.

From Master Jiang Dou’s perspective, learning sword intent as an apprentice beastmaster wasn’t worth mentioning. But from Lu Ran’s standpoint, this was an exceptional feat. After all, Master Jiang Dou was one of the greatest swordmasters in Xia.

If Lu Ran lent him a hand, there was a real chance that Master Jiang Dou could become the next old president—an elderly beastmaster who would leave younger generations in shambles, cutting them down without mercy.

“

Hehe.

” Lu Ran found the idea more and more amusing.

That settles it. I must get a sword spirit for him.

With that thought, Lu Ran called Manager Ying.

“

Meow?

”

“Manager Ying, I plan to visit the Undead Secret Realm in a couple of days. Can you send a clone to be my bodyguard?”

Manager Ying scoffed. “Shoo, shoo. You have a ruin space and a crow legion, so what are you afraid of? Who could possibly harm you now? You’re all grown up. You should handle things yourself! I’m busy, so I’m hanging up now.

“Every country wants me to open a branch. This is my moment to cash in on the hype and collect gifts. Anyways, don’t overthink it. I just used up too much energy this time. No clones to spare. Handle it yourself.”

Then, the call disconnected.

“Everyone’s busy. Great! Being busy is great!” Lu Ran gritted his teeth as he put down his phone.

He had originally planned to share information about the Divine Deer’s clone with Manager Ying, but never mind. That cat wasn’t getting this intel for now.

***

Since Manager Ying wasn’t an option, Lu Ran didn’t dwell on it. With proper preparations, he could handle the trip alone.

Soon, Professor Ye and Fang Lan arrived. Both had heard about Lu Ran’s third ascension realm in the Divine Tree Continent, as well as the vast collection of vicious plant resources he had brought back.

Professor Ye adjusted her glasses and was visibly thrilled. She had barely relaxed after the tense black dragon incident, only to receive such incredible news. For a botanist, the Death Forest was practically heaven.

Fang Lan felt the same. It was almost as if her wish had miraculously come true. She had casually asked Lu Ran to find her some vicious plants, and he had actually ended up in the Divine Tree Continent.

“I love you!”

“

Ow, ow, ow!

”

The moment they met, Fang Lan hugged him tightly. At first, Lu Ran thought it was just an excited show of gratitude. Then he realized that this woman’s strength had skyrocketed.

“Let go! What’s going on?”

“It’s an Ascension realm reward. Beastmaster skill, Ten Thousand Poison Body.” Fang Lan grinned, stretching out her arm.

“What’s that?” Lu Ran pried himself free.

Although his main combat strength came from Flame Spirit and sword intent, his physical body was still incredibly strong. Yet, despite not being fused with her familiar, Fang Lan’s strength was enough to make him feel pain.

“The stronger my familiar’s Poison attributes, the stronger my physique and poison resistance.”

“Isn’t that perfect for you? That’s a fantastic skill.” Professor Ye mused.

Fang Lan smiled smugly. “Well, it was an SS-rank reward. Enough about me, though. Lu Ran, where are the plants?”

“Follow me and see for yourselves.”

With that, he took out the Ruin Branch and activated its power. A spatial fluctuation instantly enveloped them.

Inside the ruin space, the three of them gradually materialized. At the moment, Captain Doofus and Sudden Death King were not training here. Instead, they were resting inside Lu Ran’s black card.

No one could predict how the black dragon incident would unfold. If necessary, those two would have needed to join the battle against the sea beasts, so they couldn’t afford to drain their energy excessively. Fortunately, in the end, Dark Crow handled everything alone, making their intervention unnecessary.

“Uh...”

Upon entering the ruin space, both Professor Ye and Fang Lan were visibly stunned. The entire ruin space was filled with uneven craters, as if a meteor shower had left it in ruins. In the distance, a lush green forest stood out like an oasis in a desert, contrasting with the devastated landscape.

This ruin functioned similarly to the training secret realm in Limitless City, possessing a self-repair mechanism. However, given the short timeframe, it hadn’t yet restored the chaotic environment that Sudden Death King and Captain Doofus had left behind.

Lu Ran didn’t bother explaining and simply summoned Captain Doofus, instructing it to lead the way to the Death Forest.

The vicious plants over there had no sentience, so they wouldn’t recognize people. If they walked in unprotected, they’d be attacked immediately. But with Captain Doofus leading the way, there would be no problem. Its Legendary aura was more than enough to intimidate these vicious plants.

“

Woof!

”

As soon as Captain Doofus was summoned, its towering form radiated authority. It glanced at the group indifferently before unleashing a gust of wind, instantly carrying them to the forest’s outskirts.

At the same time, its overwhelming presence suppressed the surrounding vicious plants, subduing their aggressive instincts.

Lu Ran said generously upon arrival, “As promised, take whatever vicious plants you need. I don’t need any of these for myself. Once we transplant them to Green Sea, you can do whatever you want with them.”

Beside him, Professor Ye looked envious. If only she had a competent younger brother like Lu Ran.

“In that case, I won’t hold back! Little Blue, pick something you like.”

Fang Lan’s face flushed with excitement, her eyes gleaming as she summoned her Great Xia Wolf Spider. Her venomous spider had Toxic Plant Control, allowing it to transform plants that have not awakened into poisonous plants and control them as weapons.

Since fusing with this trait, Fang Lan’s team had modified numerous common plants, but the effects were underwhelming. She had even considered purchasing vicious or spirit plants from botanists, but rare top-tier plants were nearly impossible to buy.

Across the entire world, such specimens were exceedingly scarce. And the common vicious spirit plants available for sale offered minimal enhancement for her familiar. However, now, Lu Ran had brought back an entire Death Forest to Fang Lan. This was nothing short of paradise.

As Little Blue detected the aura of many rare plants, it dashed forward with excitement. Lu Ran and Professor Ye exchanged glances before following Fang Lan. They were curious as to what kind of plant the Great Xia Wolf Spider would choose.

Soon, Little Blue reached the core of the Death Forest. It came to a stop before a small sapling waved its limbs excitedly.

“Hm? What’s this?” Fang Lan halted, puzzled.

“What...?” Professor Ye adjusted her glasses, her expression one of shock.

Lu Ran blinked. “You two have impeccable taste.”

Of all the plants in this Death Forest, Little Blue had ignored those that could awaken as King vicious plants, and the Champion ones were completely overlooked. Instead, the venomous spider had headed straight for the most precious gift Lu Ran had received from Qing Lianshan, a Legendary beastmaster.

“Could it be that this... is the Spiritual Energy Mother Tree Sapling?” Professor Ye gasped as she sensed the high-purity spiritual energy radiating from the tiny tree.

“Yes. Once it awakens, it can reach Overlord. It has the highest innate potential among all the plants in this forest,” Lu Ran confirmed.

Nearby, there was also a Low-King plant seed, which had been a reward from the ascension realm. But compared to the Spiritual Energy Mother Tree, that seed wasn’t worth much. Even the Longleaf Swordgrass surpassed it.

Lu Ran planned to assess its abilities later. If it wasn’t impressive, he’d simply give it away.

“Your spider wants this one?” Lu Ran asked.

“Yeah...” Fang Lan nodded. “It seems really interested in it.”

Little Blue excitedly waved its limbs again.

Through telepathy, Lu Ran caught its thoughts.

Lu Ran! Lu Ran! I want this one, please! I can modify its spiritual energy into highly concentrated toxic energy! It’ll be super powerful!

“Huh?”

Lu Ran had initially doubted the spider’s judgment. With so many lethal vicious plants, why pick a support-type spiritual plant? But after hearing Little Blue’s plan, Lu Ran froze.

Holy shit. You’re a genius. Transforming the Spiritual Energy Mother Tree into the Ten Thousand Poisons Mother Tree?

Lu Ran realized that this wasn’t a bad idea at all. For Green Sea City and the ruin space, no matter how dense the common spiritual energy, it was not particularly significant. At most, it would help the common Transcendent creatures of Green Sea level up faster. But a Ten Thousand Poisons Mother Tree would be an entirely different story.

First, Fang Lan would gain an Overlord toxic plant as a combat asset. Second, the toxic spiritual energy wouldn’t just be an offensive weapon, as it could also be used to nurture Poison-attribute familiars. For Lu Ran, who planned to raise a legion of Poison-attribute crows, this was far more useful than common spiritual energy.

“I have no objections,” Lu Ran said, rubbing his chin. “Now that I think about it, this is actually quite cost-effective. But you are only a Champion. Are you sure you can modify an Overlord-rank Spiritual Energy Mother Tree into a poison-controlled plant?”

If it truly succeeded, the implications would be huge. Even though Little Blue was just a Champion, carrying an Overlord toxic plant like this would make it powerful enough to slaughter Kings. Even the Golden Generation elites would have no choice but to flee for their lives.

“

Woof! Woof, woof, woof!

”

Before Lu Ran could finish his thought, Captain Doofus let out a bark.

Taming an Overlord sapling? No problem. I will personally assist.