Chapter 187 · Volume 1

Fusing Fragments, Secret Treasure Palace

"Accelerated growth, huh? Interesting. Researcher Liu, have you tested the extent of this acceleration? Roughly how much is it?"
"We have tested it. Under the premise of sufficient spirit qi, the bonus varies for plants of different tiers.
For ordinary plants, the growth speed increases by 500%.
For rare-tier plants, the growth speed increases by 400%.
For epic-tier plants, the effect drops sharply, to only 250%.
As for legendary-tier plants and the higher mythic-tier, Daxia has no experimental subjects, so we cannot test them."
As Liu Zhi spoke, he took out photographic data of the experimental process and handed it to Chen Xu.
"So for epic-tier, it drops to only 50%? That doesn't seem very useful."
The Ginseng Fruit Tree seedling was mythic-tier, and it would become eternal-tier once it reached adulthood.
Judging by the rate of decay in effectiveness, the bonus for mythic-tier plants would likely be less than 1%.
But on second thought, given that the growth phase of a Ginseng Fruit Tree could easily span thousands of years, a 1% acceleration would translate to ten years, which was actually quite a lot.
"Mythic Chen, do you have an epic-tier plant you want to cultivate? If you intend to use these Tree-Born Worms, there is something you must be careful of."
Liu Zhi's expression suddenly became grave as he looked at Chen Xu.
"The Wild Beastification of the Tree-Born Worms doesn't start only when the companion plant reaches maturity. It begins gradually during the growth process.
Furthermore, according to our current experiments, plants that undergo Wild Beastification often lose their original functions.
For example, if an apple tree undergoes Wild Beastification, its apples are still edible, but the texture and flavor drop significantly.
Most importantly, plants that have undergone Wild Beastification exhibit extremely high aggression. I heard that a Plant Mage from the Hurricane Warband exchanged for some Tree-Born Worms and built a powerful plant army. He even gave these beastified plants a new name: War Plants."
Liu Zhi paused and took out his smart terminal, pulling up some pictures and videos of War Plants for Chen Xu to see.
"Therefore, if the plant you wish to accelerate is a high-value resource-type plant, I do not recommend using Tree-Born Worms. The Wild Beastification process is unpredictable, and it is highly likely to turn a resource plant into a combat plant."
"Combat plants!"
Looking at the battle-hungry plants on the smart terminal, Chen Xu's interest in the Tree-Born Worms actually grew.
Chen Xu had no use for the Ginseng Fruit, but a Ginseng Fruit Tree that could fight would be incredibly useful to him.
It was already mythic-tier as a seedling. Even if its combat ability was slightly lacking, it was still mythic-tier. With its rank being what it was, it wasn't something other epic-tier entities could even compare to.
Moreover, it would be eternal-tier upon reaching adulthood, equivalent to the combat power of a necrotic archduke. This was far more useful than an original tree that only bore fruit once every nine thousand years.
"Researcher Liu, does one plant only need one of these Tree-Born Worms?"
"Uh, yes."
"Then please, give me one."
"Mythic Chen, you... Alright, I'll go get one right now."
Liu Zhi wanted to offer a few more words of persuasion, but then he remembered that Chen Xu was a mythic-tier existence and the number one person on the Blue Star power rankings. He surely had his own considerations, and it wasn't the place of a researcher like himself to worry.
Thus, Liu Zhi immediately went to retrieve a vibrant Tree-Born Worm for Chen Xu.
Chen Xu reached out and took the small insect. It looked very similar to an ordinary caterpillar, but its skin had no cilia and was very smooth.
"Place the Tree-Born Worm on the plant you wish to accelerate, and it will automatically complete the binding. Once a pattern appears on its skin, the binding is successful. This pattern is not fixed; different plants will generate different patterns."
Chen Xu nodded and threw the Tree-Born Worm into the Necrotic Kingdom, ordering Bone Guard Two to take it and place it on the Ginseng Fruit Tree seedling.
Chen Xu had originally planned to transplant the Ginseng Fruit Tree to Guixu, but he discovered that it had actually taken root near the Yin Stones and was growing quite well.
Therefore, Chen Xu decided to observe it more to see if some kind of chemical reaction was occurring between the two.
After obtaining the Tree-Born Worm, Chen Xu had nothing else to do on Blue Star. Since Xuan Chu and the others were still in class, he decided to fuse the Dungeon Space Fragments he had received last time while he had some free time.
Chen Xu returned to his dormitory and took out the two fragments from the ultra-tier dungeon and the five fragments Big Boss had sent during the New Year.
First were the two Dungeon Space Fragments with the Holy Beast and East Sea affixes from the ultra-tier dungeon. Chen Xu skillfully wrapped the fragments with his mental strength.
In an instant, the fragments turned into streams of light and merged into the Necrotic Kingdom.
【Necrotic Kingdom has fused with Dungeon Space Fragments. Space expanded. Obtained new region: Secret Treasure Palace.】
【Necrotic Kingdom has fused with Dungeon Space Fragments. Space expanded. Obtained new region: Soul Beast Leyline.】
【Secret Treasure Palace: The East Sea Dragon Palace contains thousands of treasures, coveted by all worlds. The Secret Treasure Palace uses a supreme secret technique to periodically steal treasures from Dragon Palaces across the myriad worlds, sealing them into Secret Treasure Boxes.
Ten Secret Treasure Boxes are generated each time. You may choose one to open, and the other treasures will be returned to their original locations.】
Good heavens, this was treating the dragon race's Dragon Palaces like a claw machine.
The dragon race had a long history, and their ancestors had been wealthy for many, many years. Most of the things collected in their Dragon Palaces were of high value.
For example, the Ginseng Fruit Tree seedling Chen Xu had opened before, or the mythic-tier advancement items Ye Bufan had opened. Every single one of them was a treasure.
Furthermore, if nothing else, Chen Xu had quite a bit of confidence in his own luck.
Chen Xu immediately returned to the Necrotic Kingdom, but after looking around, he couldn't find where the Secret Treasure Palace was.
"Wooo~~~"
Suddenly, Kunpeng poked its head out from the Inverted Sea and called out to Chen Xu.
"What? You're saying a palace suddenly appeared in the Inverted Sea?"
Hearing this, Chen Xu flew upward and plunged into the Inverted Sea.
Kunpeng led the way, bringing Chen Xu to the front of the Secret Treasure Palace.
To his surprise, this Secret Treasure Palace had actually been generated within the Inverted Sea. Deep within the sea, a majestic and magnificent palace stood tall.
However, it was also somewhat strange. Coiled upon the eaves of the palace were not traditional divine dragons, but two bone dragons, giving off a slight air of a knockoff.
But Chen Xu didn't care about that; he only cared about the prize draw.
Arriving before the Secret Treasure Palace, Chen Xu found ten giant cauldrons placed inside the main hall. An exquisitely crafted small box floated above each cauldron, which were presumably the Secret Treasure Boxes.
Chen Xu walked over, and Kunpeng also shifted its form, shrinking to the size of a palm to follow beside him as they entered together.
Looking at the ten floating Secret Treasure Boxes and the Kunpeng beside him, a thought suddenly occurred to Chen Xu.
He might as well let Kunpeng open one. As the saying goes, dumb luck follows the simpleton. This clumsy oaf Kunpeng really did have good fortune.
"Kunpeng, go pick a box. If you open something good, I'll have Big Boss prepare something delicious for you."
"Wooo! Delicious food!"
Kunpeng wagged its tail frantically.
Then, it turned around and swam around the giant cauldrons, examining them one by one.
But after looking for a long time, it found that every Secret Treasure Box seemed identical, making it impossible to tell them apart. Thus, Kunpeng opened its huge mouth and unleashed its devouring power.
Instantly, the water flowed frantically into Kunpeng's mouth. Under the massive gravitational pull, the Secret Treasure Boxes also began to tremble.
The Secret Treasure Box in the exact north was the first to break free from the giant cauldron's restraint, flying into Kunpeng's mouth.
Once one box was freed, the boxes on the other giant cauldrons vanished.
Kunpeng swam to Chen Xu with the box held in its mouth.
Chen Xu took it and opened it.
Inside was a glittering golden feather. He didn't know what kind of bird it came from, but it was likely extraordinary.
Even though the feather had been separated from its body, it was still full of vitality without any sign of decay. Its aura was surging, no less powerful than the mythic-tier.
"A golden feather? A phoenix? A Vermilion Bird? Or... a roc?"

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