As numerous cultivators began searching for monster dens, Yang Hong, with a depressed look, was holding up a spiritual energy shield, letting the monsters attack him wantonly.
This matter began two days ago.
Two days prior, Yang Hong had excitedly harvested a Rank 6 mutated Qi Ling Fruit, unaware that he had inadvertently disrupted the plans of a mysterious will, causing all the monsters in the Hong Dong Secret Realm to go berserk.
Even when the demon monkeys attacked him, he had merely assumed they were regrouping to seek revenge. However, a peculiar thing happened: after using his "Clear Wind" sword intent twice, killing over 40,000 Rank 2 demon monkeys, a strong premonition struck him. An ineffable feeling told him that if he continued to kill, something unspeakably dreadful would occur.
The moment this premonition arose, Yang Hong immediately stopped his attack and used his Rank 2 common art, the Minor Cloud-Soaring Technique, to fly into the sky. He was a person with merit, luck, and a system. Such a premonition wouldn't appear without reason; if it did, it must have its purpose.
Yet, Yang Hong was self-taught and had never undergone formal training, nor did he have anyone to guide him in interpreting such omens. After a prolonged, aimless sensing yielded no results, and flying monsters began joining the assault, he couldn't resist drawing his blade again. This time, however, he killed them one by one, daring not to use his sword intent to clear them out en masse.
As expected, after killing just ten Rank 1 Sparrow Demon Beasts, the premonition warned him again. This time, prepared for it, Yang Hong vaguely caught a thread of information: it seemed the more monsters he killed, the more dangerous he became.
This made him certain that the premonition was not a hallucination. He couldn't discern whether it originated from his merit or his system's thousand-fold return. Yang Hong, being pragmatic, decided to err on the side of caution. Since he couldn't kill monsters, he would simply leave.
Yang Hong was not one to dwell on things. Ignoring the attacks from the demon monkeys and bird demons, he used all his containers to scoop up more than half of the spiritual wine lake in the center of the basin. "Alas," he lamented, "it's so troublesome not having specialized water storage equipment. Next time I encounter a cultivator, I must remember this and rob them of some water-storing artifacts."
Looking at the spiritual wine lake, which still contained at least ten thousand cubic meters, Yang Hong felt a pang of heartache. This was Rank 4 spiritual wine, a top-tier spiritual wine worth immeasurable wealth anywhere, and Monkey Wine at that, the most delicious among spiritual wines! With a heart full of pain, Yang Hong only wished to leave Spirit Monkey Mountain quickly and find cultivators to rob.
However, just as he was about to fly out of the small basin, his premonition surged again. This warning was that if he left the basin, a great terror would descend. What kind of terror? It didn't say. Where would it descend? It didn't say.
After cautiously probing the basin's edge for a long time, Yang Hong concluded that something terrifying was about to emerge from beneath the basin, something he could influence, even suppress. He could leave, but doing so would put him in danger. Furthermore, it seemed there was something he still needed to do, and by doing so, he could suppress the great terror.
"This damn, vague premonition! It explains nothing yet makes me so restless." "After I get out, I must learn a divination art. I must!" Despite his frustration, Yang Hong bowed to his instincts once more. Being a system user, he placed even greater faith in these premonitions. Since danger was foretold, especially with repeated warnings, something significant was bound to happen. Judging by his experience reading novels, acting on such premonitions at this juncture would undoubtedly lead to great rewards. Crisis was both danger and opportunity.
However, Yang Hong was not one to wait for doom. Having confirmed he could leave, albeit with some non-fatal dangers, he began exploring the basin. After two days of investigation, he confirmed the basin was indeed problematic, as a steady stream of monsters kept arriving. The most peculiar anomaly in the basin was the Rank 6 mutated Qi Ling Tree. Monsters entering the basin consciously avoided it, carefully refraining from touching it. If it were just one or two, Yang Hong might have assumed they recognized its value. But when all monsters, even mindless Rank 1 Rat Demons, behaved this way, only a fool would doubt the mutated Qi Ling Tree.
What was even more bizarre was that this mutated Qi Ling Tree was not restricted by the usual limit on "灌顶" (guàndǐng - a term often translated as anointing or bestowing power). Yang Hong could anoint it eight times daily! This was the first time in his eight years of transmigrating to this world that he had encountered such a phenomenon. Previously, any plant he cultivated, regardless of type or quality, could only be anointed once per day, without exception. It wasn't until yesterday that Yang Hong accidentally discovered this anomaly through experimentation. Moreover, the eight anointings and the eightfold thousand-times return solidified his belief that the mutated Qi Ling Tree was the crux of the problem.
"Now that I've found the root of the problem, there's a way to solve it. As for the method, I'll leave that to the system." Yang Hong was someone who knew how to leverage his advantages. Although he didn't know if the mutated Qi Ling Tree's existence was good or bad, he believed that by continually anointing it, it would turn for the better. After all, any plant he anointed became his. Spiritual plants possessed sentience, and those that reached a certain stage of growth would develop intelligence, giving rise to flower spirits and tree spirits. Through years of anointing, he had discovered that all plants he blessed became fond of him. With continuous anointing, this mutated Qi Ling Tree would also grow to favor him. At that point, regardless of whether the tree was benevolent or malevolent, it would obey his commands. Goodness or evil would lie within his will.
Yang Hong thought this, and so he acted. Consequently, the monsters' attacks intensified. "Alas," he sighed, "my life is so hard. I can't fight back, and I can't scold these beasts since they can't understand."
Having decided on his course of action, Yang Hong simply suspended himself in mid-air, allowing the monsters to attack. While enduring their assaults, he practiced his defensive spells. Although theoretically, Yang Hong's spells were at the "masterful" level, that was purely theoretical. In actual combat, he found his spells still had various flaws, and their application was riddled with loopholes. Fortunately, with his theoretical mastery, a few more attempts quickly brought his practical skill and spell power up to the masterful level. Each day, he would practice his defensive spells, and when his spiritual energy was depleted, he would descend to anoint the mutated Qi Ling Tree, taking the opportunity to cultivate several techniques and spells he deemed useful.
While Yang Hong quietly practiced his spells, Spirit Monkey Mountain was soon discovered by other cultivators. The news spread like wildfire, and within days, nearly all the cultivators in the secret realm had gathered outside Spirit Monkey Mountain.