Chapter 515: The Ginseng Fruit Tree's Genetic Encryption

The Yanghuang Sect’s migration began once again. This time, the grumbling was even more severe than the last. It was truly miserable to set out on the road with an empty stomach.

However, Zuo Fan made it clear that the journey would only take ten days. Anyone unwilling to leave could stay behind, but they would have to leave their fate to the heavens.

If they didn’t run into any Seven Kills Disciples and hid themselves well enough, it was still possible to survive.

For this reason, even those who had been wavering could only follow Zuo Fan and migrate, especially since Zuo Fan had promised that life would get better.

Although most people didn’t quite believe Zuo Fan, things had reached a point where they had no other choice. There were Seven Kills Disciples everywhere, even within the Yanghuang Sect itself.

However, compared to those outside, the Seven Kills Disciples who were still alive had all gone into hiding, not daring to reveal their identities.

After all, when life is filled with hardship, resentment is bound to arise.

As for those who were exposed, every single one of them was dead.

Zuo Fan remained extremely vigilant during the migration, but they didn’t run into another ambush from Xu Ziyang and Mu Can.

It seemed his protagonist aura was taking effect, or perhaps the two of them simply hadn’t had time to catch up.

Thus, they arrived at the designated area without a hitch.

They weren’t the first to arrive; in fact, they were the last.

By the time they arrived, the other four major sects had already begun working in full swing, from building defensive fortifications to establishing inspection systems.

Under the leadership and guidance of the four Sect Leaders, everything was already taking shape in less than two days.

After settling in the surviving disciples of the Yanghuang Sect, Zuo Fan once again entered a state of cultivation.

When he found himself making little progress, he grew restless and decided to visit Qi Suian.

“Uncle, you’re the one living the most comfortable life here.” Zuo Fan couldn’t help but tease as he looked at the reopened candy shop.

Those who could live in Celestial Spirit City were basically disciples of the five great sects. Most were Spirit Masters; there were very few ordinary people.

And even those were the friends and family of Spirit Masters.

Take Qi Suian, for instance. For an ‘ordinary person’ to be able to get a shop to sell candy was naturally due to his connection with Zuo Fan.

He was low-key, and not many people knew him, but the four Sect Leaders had investigated him thoroughly and granted Qi Suian all sorts of special treatment.

At a time like this, where would one find so much sugar? Yet Qi Suian had no shortage of supply channels, which was naturally a matter of privilege.

“I have you to thank for this. I actually told them I didn’t have to run a candy shop, but they were so enthusiastic they insisted on it,” Qi Suian said with a grin.

He understood the ins and outs of the situation perfectly. He wasn’t exactly a good person to begin with, so he accepted these privileges as a matter of course.

“It’s what you deserve, Uncle. If it weren’t for you, I’m afraid I would have died long ago.” Zuo Fan knew it was special treatment, but he said nothing about it.

‘If only I’d managed to hold onto the three Spiritual Techniques you gave me back then, and they hadn’t fallen into Xu Ziyang’s hands, there never would have been a Red Dragon Flame Demon.’

‘If I hadn’t given them to him, Xu Ziyang wouldn’t have met his fate, but the Yanghuang Sect would have been doomed regardless.’

‘After all, there was still Mu Can, who cultivated the *Blood Sea Killing Sutra*. His existence had nothing to do with me.’

“I’ve hit a bottleneck with the four Spiritual Techniques again. I can’t seem to make any progress from the Great Accomplishment stage to the Perfection stage,” Zuo Fan said with a sigh.

“Then I can’t help you. You could search the very bottom of my trunk and you still wouldn’t find a fifth Spiritual Technique,” Qi Suian said, indicating he was powerless.

‘Does he really think he can just fleece a Spiritual Technique off me every time he visits? If he wants one, I have to invent it first.’

The visit was so sudden that Qi Suian wasn’t prepared. He had been busy studying the Heavenly Dao Wooden Man, conducting all sorts of experiments on it, wondering if he could cultivate a Ginseng Fruit Tree.

‘But I have no leads yet. The sub-clone probably won’t work. I’ll likely need the main body.’

“Uncle, what kind of person do you take me for? The fact that you could produce four trump-card techniques is already incredible enough. How could there possibly be a fifth?” Zuo Fan was exasperated.

‘Then again,’ he thought, ‘it does seem like I leave with something every time I visit. The valuable stuff is a Spiritual Technique, and if not that, at least a candy figurine.’

“There really isn’t a fifth one. However, since you said you’re stuck between the Great Accomplishment and Perfection stages, I do have a few ideas,” Qi Suian said, looking like a kindly old man. “After all, I have meticulously studied these four ancestral Spiritual Techniques of mine.”

“I once figured out a few clever shortcuts for breaking through, but it’s a pity I can’t use them myself. I don’t know which ones will work and which won’t.”

“Since you’re here asking, I’ll go ahead and pass them on to you.” As Qi Suian spoke, he provided Zuo Fan with several different approaches.

While he spoke, he secretly used the protagonist aura on Zuo Fan as a cover and began to frantically devour the world.

The effect of a complete protagonist aura was far superior to before. The world fragments Qi Suian harvested this time were at least a thousandfold greater than his previous hauls.

However, he stopped when he finished speaking, not devouring without restraint.

The protagonist aura’s cloaking effect could only be triggered when Qi Suian was playing the part of a mentor spirit or a Treasure-Bringing Child.

After all, the protagonist aura serves the protagonist, not a supporting character.

Hearing Qi Suian’s instructions, Zuo Fan couldn’t help but mull over the possibilities.

Many of the ideas were quite absurd, but from his perspective as a Spirit Master, there were also some highly feasible suggestions.

They were all breakthrough methods from angles he had never considered.

“This Spiritual Technique… as expected of your family’s ancestral legacy, Uncle. Your research is incredibly meticulous.” Zuo Fan felt he had gained a great deal and was eager to try out the new methods.

If he could achieve a breakthrough with the Undying Fire Element True Technique, it would be a massive win.

“That’s not research, just some idle speculation. Whether or not you succeed is still up to you,” Qi Suian said humbly.

In truth, all the methods he had suggested were real. No matter how absurd they sounded, as long as Zuo Fan dared to try them, he would be able to break through.

It was as if he had handed Zuo Fan a cheat sheet for skipping levels.

After all, these “Spiritual Techniques” weren’t legitimate Spiritual Techniques at all, but a form of biological modification. They merely accelerated a process.

In fact, the current Zuo Fan could no longer be considered human. Once his cultivation reached the Great Accomplishment stage, his species had already transformed into that of a Flame Demon.

However, his Fire Elemental Flame Demon was different from Xu Ziyang’s Red Dragon Flame Demon. He could still maintain a human appearance; only when he unleashed the Flame Demon’s True Body would he revert to his original form. Otherwise, he was just wearing a human skin.

Therefore, the form of the Flame Demon True Body was Zuo Fan’s true form; he simply hadn’t realized it yet.

Why else would the name include the two words “True Body”? Qi Suian had been telling him the truth from the very beginning.

Xu Ziyang, on the other hand, had figured it out. But when he learned the truth, he couldn’t handle it and went mad, which is how he became twisted into the Red Dragon Flame Demon.

After exchanging a few more words with Qi Suian, Zuo Fan hurried away to put the new methods to the test.

‘I just came out to clear my head, I can’t believe I actually found a solution! I have to get back and get stronger as fast as I can.’

Xu Ziyang, Mu Can, and that mysterious wooden man… Zuo Fan’s lack of strength made their existence feel like a fishbone stuck in his throat. He lived in fear that they would come knocking on his door.

Qi Suian, for his part, returned to his underground laboratory to get back to work.

“It seems the method of taking cuttings cannot make me sprout. Moreover, your actions can’t create a new member of my species. At best, you would only be cloning another ‘me,’ which is rather meaningless.”

The Heavenly Dao Wooden Man began its analysis for Qi Suian the moment he entered.

The Heavenly Dao Wooden Man was extremely cooperative during the various experiments, even proactively offering its assistance to Qi Suian.

“It’s probably because you’re just a sub-clone. If I could get my hands on the flower bud from your main body, the probability of success wouldn’t be low.” Qi Suian changed into a white lab coat and began his experiments as he replied.

“Flower buds need to be pollinated. And given my main body’s condition, even if you found a second Ginseng Fruit Tree, we would be reproductively isolated,” the Heavenly Dao Wooden Man said, stretching its wooden head over to look at Qi Suian’s notes.

“Using humans? That won’t work either. My main body possesses the genes of all humanity.”

“It’s completely bound to humanity. When a human is born, another face appears on its trunk. When a human dies, the corresponding face vanishes.”

“Therefore, your idea of creating a new Ginseng Fruit Tree by increasing the proportion of its genes within a human body is unrealistic.”

“Because those genes also originate from my main body,” the Heavenly Dao Wooden Man said.

Qi Suian raised an eyebrow. “I know. You are the sub-clone, and humans are genetic proxies.”

“If even you are unsuitable, they certainly are.”

“However, I have my own plan,” Qi Suian said, pulling out data on the Spiritual Power of human Spirit Masters. “Their bodies contain something your Ginseng Fruit Tree species does not: Spiritual Power.”

“This means the bond between your main body and humanity isn’t absolute. There is still a point of differentiation.”

“Therefore, if I use this point of difference—Spiritual Power—to modulate and alter the Ginseng Fruit Tree genes within humans, it should be enough to mutate another one of you into existence.”

The Heavenly Dao Wooden Man shook its head. “A fine idea, but the genes of the Ginseng Fruit Tree species possess extremely high stability. We have attempted genetic editing ourselves in the past, but all attempts failed.”

“You’re wrong. It’s not stability, it’s the genetic encryption technology left within you. Your civilization isn’t advanced enough to observe the restraints created by this encryption.”

“You are not lifeforms that evolved naturally, but a biological community left behind by a higher existence,” Qi Suian stated bluntly, without a hint of tact.

This stunned the Heavenly Dao Wooden Man for a moment. It then asked, “Is it the Zhen Yuanzi you spoke of? Can you give me the data on this genetic encryption?”

Qi Suian generously shared a portion of his findings with it. The file contained only content related to genetic encryption and nothing else.

Since that was all it asked for, there was no need for Qi Suian to provide anything more.

The wooden man quietly reviewed the data while Qi Suian continued with his own experiments.

He was attempting to use the hybrid genes of Spirit Master humans to crack the genetic encryption. He was certain that the genes of the Ginseng Fruit Tree species held some great secret.

Perhaps an experiment, or perhaps a grand design.