"This contraption really has it tough. I feel like it dislikes my body and this planet we're on, but it's already bound to me.
So, it can only offer a simulated cultivation plan.
But what does 'simulation' mean?
Is it fictional, or can one truly cultivate? And it's supposed to be immortal cultivation, so why is there a demonic path option?"
Ding Yun grumbled as she clicked on the details to examine the two options.
[Demonic Path Cultivation Mode—Due to the absence of spiritual energy and the host's lack of cultivation aptitude, the simplest cultivation mode is to devour all things in heaven and earth for one's own use, turning all creation into sustenance, destroying the world to become a great demonic immortal.
Recommended cultivation technique: Heaven Devouring Scripture.
In the early stages, focus on consuming various blood foods to nourish the stomach. Once the stomach is nourished, you can consume most edible things in the world to nourish the entire body. Upon minor success in the scripture, you will easily be able to swallow gold and eat iron.
Upon achieving full mastery, due to the world's scarcity of resources, you shall feed on the intelligent beings of this world, on all human races, on mountains and rivers.
Devour everything, consume all.
Finally, consume the entire planet clean, and the demonic path cultivation will be complete, allowing you to undergo tribulation and become a demonic immortal!]
[Righteous Path Cultivation Mode—Due to the absence of spiritual energy and the host's lack of cultivation aptitude, if you do not wish to walk the demonic path, you can only choose to absorb the essence of the Great Sun. However, the Great Sun's essence in this world lacks spiritual energy, making it difficult for living beings to absorb. Only plants can absorb and digest it through special methods.
Therefore, you can only choose the cultivation method of the Plant Elf race.
This will transform the host into a plant-like being.
Thus, you will be able to absorb the Great Sun's essence to cultivate.
Recommended cultivation technique: Myriad Wood Spiritual Transformation Scripture.
In the early stages, focus on consuming various plants, which must be eaten raw. The immortal artifact will assist in extracting the plant's essence and roots, ultimately forming a Myriad Wood Spiritual Seed, residing within the host's dantian, serving as the host's initial cultivation foundation.
Afterward, the host can abstain from grains and absorb solar essence.
Upon minor success in the scripture, the host's entire body will be able to absorb the Great Sun's essence, and the body will transform into a Myriad Wood Spirit Body. Upon full mastery of the scripture, the host can leave the planet to absorb the Great Sun's essence, and the body will gradually transform into the Fusang Divine Tree physique.
Ultimately, you can become a Fusang tree, rooted in the Great Sun.
It will only take a thousand years to steadily ascend to immortality!]
"Uh... both of these cultivation paths seem a bit unreliable. One turns me into a man-eating, world-destroying devil, and the other, while seemingly gentler, ultimately seems to render me not human anymore, doesn't it?"
After reading the details, Ding Yun didn't particularly want to choose either. She believed she could protect her two daughters even without this thing. However, if she didn't use it, she wouldn't be able to write the trial report.
So, she could only choose the lesser of two evils.
She chose the Righteous Path Cultivation Mode.
Then, not much changed, mainly that a scripture called the "Myriad Wood Spiritual Transformation Scripture" appeared in Ding Yun's mind. Besides that, she could now use the immortal artifact's assistance to internally inspect her body.
She could understand her meridians and the changes within her body.
Even the flow of blood was clearly visible.
The most important next step was to find various uncooked plants, preferably those still containing vitality, and consume them. With the help of the immortal cultivation simulator, she would condense the Myriad Wood Spiritual Seed and begin her cultivation journey.
"Eating raw plants will be difficult, I presume.
The medicinal herbs sent by the Imperial Medical Office are all processed, with no vitality left. The ingredients sent by the Imperial Kitchen are mostly delivered ready-to-eat. The few raw ones delivered are often picked long ago, with very little vitality.
Most crucially, if I request these items and then eat them raw, it would be too strange. I'd likely be suspected of being ill before I even ate much.
Or worse, being crazy or foolish."
"No, no, this imperial palace is too restrictive."
"Wait, what about plant seeds? Aren't they also plants?
And the vitality contained in plant seeds should be far better than that in plant fruits. Furthermore, plant seeds are relatively small in size, making them easier to obtain and swallow. At worst, I can treat it like taking medicine, swallowing them whole.
This is much easier than eating raw winter melons or gourds."
Ding Yun's mind was agile, and she quickly came up with a plan that was most suitable for her at the moment. However, it wouldn't be easy to directly ask the Imperial Medical Office or the Imperial Kitchen for seeds. Even if she did, they likely wouldn't have them.
After all, seeds would be useless to them.
They wouldn't be personally planting vegetables or herbs.
So, Ding Yun had to instruct her trusted subordinate to take some gold and commission eunuchs who could leave the palace to buy medicinal herbs and plant seeds from outside, then secretly bring them into the palace to her.
The excuse would be that she was bored in the palace and wanted to cultivate a small plot of land to grow something, to pass the time.
Ding Yun then put aside the matter of cultivation for the time being. Without plant seeds, she couldn't condense the Myriad Wood Spiritual Seed, and without the Myriad Wood Spiritual Seed, she couldn't cultivate. What else could she do but set it aside?
So, from then on, Ding Yun continued to supervise her daughters in eating and taking their medicine, just as she had in the morning. She also told them stories, including fairy tales, myths, and history, with a focus on the valiant past of the Tang Dynasty princesses.
Only when people know more will they think about resisting and changing.
If they knew nothing, and life in the palace wasn't so dire that they would starve, how could they ever develop a desire for resistance or change?
Ding Yun's current approach was to let them witness how carefree and unrestrained the princesses of the past lived. After repeated exposure, they would inevitably think, "We are all princesses, so why can't we do what the Tang Dynasty princesses could?"
Wouldn't that shift their thoughts and mindset?
Five days later.
Yong Qing's illness was completely cured. Shun De, under the constant urging of her governess, had returned to her lessons two days prior, learning about the upcoming grand wedding ceremonies and how to behave towards her future mother-in-law. She was thirteen years old, and according to custom, she would marry before she turned sixteen, so relevant matters naturally had to begin.
Ding Yun couldn't prevent this for the moment.
She could only instruct her daughter not to worry too much, to learn what she had to, but also not to let the content of her studies affect her mood. She should just treat it as a necessary chore.
Meanwhile, on the day Yong Qing recovered, the eunuchs who had received the gold had successfully brought the various seeds Ding Yun requested. That evening, Ding Yun, unable to wait, went back to her sleeping quarters after her daughters had fallen asleep.
She began to swallow the various seeds with water.
They were truly awful.
Those she didn't chew were bearable. But for the few she accidentally chewed, oh, it was a nightmare. It was no different from taking medicine, except she wasn't taking medicine by the handful, by the catties. Ding Yun, wanting to finish this quickly and condense the so-called Myriad Wood Spiritual Seed, was determined to do it all at once, with the thought of never having to eat them again.
She desperately stuffed all sorts of seeds into her mouth.
Several times, she nearly choked to death.
Fortunately, the so-called Realistic Simulation Immortal Cultivation Artifact was quite effective. No matter how many seeds Ding Yun ate, they were all converted into life energy and plant roots by the artifact, converging in Ding Yun's lower dantian, gradually forming a Myriad Wood Spiritual Seed glowing with green light.
Otherwise, with so many seeds consumed,
Ding Yun would likely have been choked to death long ago.
After forcing herself to eat seeds for nearly two hours, Ding Yun finally finished all the seeds the eunuchs had brought into the palace. Oh, no, she didn't finish them all. Ding Yun saved some seeds, planning to cultivate them later.
After all, her excuse for wanting seeds was that she wanted to farm.
If she brought a pile of seeds in and didn't plant them, and then the seeds mysteriously disappeared, it would be hard to explain.
As she stopped swallowing seeds,
The Realistic Simulation Immortal Cultivation Artifact immediately asked if she wanted to condense the Myriad Wood Spiritual Seed based on this.
[Do you wish to immediately condense the Myriad Wood Spiritual Seed?]
[Please note: The more plants consumed in the early stages, the more life energy there will be, and the higher the quality of the Myriad Wood Spiritual Seed condensed, leading to a better foundation.]
Even though the simulated immortal cultivation artifact had given her this reminder, Ding Yun really didn't want to bother with seeds and torture herself further. Moreover, in this mortal world devoid of any cultivators, even a cultivator with a poor foundation would still be a cultivator, a practitioner different from mortals.
Why should she still pursue something better?
So, she directly chose "Yes."
Then, the transformation began. Specifically, the semi-virtual Myriad Wood Spiritual Seed in Ding Yun's lower dantian immediately began to solidify after she chose "Yes." It finally transformed into a crystalline, jade-green seed with a root, and it took root in her dantian.
Immediately after, a sharp pain surged through her.
The roots that grew from the seed gradually spread throughout Ding Yun's body, following her meridians and extending to her entire being. This was the comprehensive transformation mentioned earlier, turning her into a plant-like person.
Here, "plant-like person" did not mean someone bedridden and unable to move, but rather a transformation of her life essence from a flesh-and-blood existence towards a plant-like state, enabling her to absorb sunlight for photosynthesis, accumulate energy, and thus cultivate and undergo further transformation.
As the transformation deepened, Ding Yun's blood cells and other components began to change, shifting from a deep red towards a light green. These changes gradually affected her external appearance. For instance, her entire body began to turn green, and her hair changed from black to a light green, making her look like the Hulk.
It was truly an environmentally friendly, pollution-free green...