Wei Yun pondered for a moment before grabbing one of the withered green bamboo stalks nearby. With a slight tug, he uprooted it effortlessly, not because of his immense strength, but because the bamboo’s roots had completely dried out, devoid of any moisture.

“As expected, the Nature Sprite embryo is absorbing the plant essence within its surrounding area to sustain itself, turning these bamboo stalks into its nourishment. This explains why all the bamboo around the host stalk has withered. But the situation is dire. Without enough plant essence, this Nature Sprite could very well perish before it’s even born!”

Wei Yun’s expression turned grim at the thought. The conditions for a Nature Sprite’s birth were incredibly stringent. It required an immense amount of plant essence to sustain its development, and if there wasn’t enough, the embryo might miscarry.

Even if it managed to survive the birth, the lack of sufficient nourishment would lead to congenital deficiencies. Its physical attributes and overall growth would be inferior compared to a properly nurtured Nature Sprite.

Wei Yun recalled a book he had once read about sprites, which detailed various methods to rescue a struggling Nature Sprite embryo. The simplest solution was to enrich the surrounding soil with fertilizers to boost its nutrients, things like wood ash, compost, or pond mud could be used.

However, this method was slow. It would take time to improve the soil’s fertility, and it would only delay the problem rather than solve it in the short term.

“If one method isn’t enough, then I’ll try three at once!” Wei Yun muttered, rubbing his chin before quickly coming to a decision.

First, he pulled out a pouch filled with a collection of multicolored spirit cores, all low-tier cores he had saved up over the years.

After sifting through them, he selected five green wood-attribute spirit cores. They weren’t many, and Wei Yun wasn’t particularly wealthy, but it was all he had.

Wood-attribute spirit cores were the energy sources of wood-element spirit beasts, containing a certain amount of plant essence based on their grade.

Without hesitation, Wei Yun pressed all five cores against the roots of the bamboo hosting the Nature Sprite embryo.

The moment the cores made contact, they began to glow faintly with a deep green light, their energy gradually being absorbed by the bamboo. The bamboo, in turn, channeled the essence into the Nature Sprite embryo, nourishing it.

Like rain falling after a long drought, the Nature Sprite eagerly absorbed the energy. The process was so rapid that the spirit cores visibly faded in color, their essence depleting at a rate noticeable to the naked eye.

“At this rate, these cores will only last half a day before they’re completely drained…” Wei Yun frowned, realizing how quickly the energy was being consumed.

“This isn’t enough. Not even close! Low-tier spirit cores just don’t contain enough energy.”

After burying the drained cores in the soil to keep them hidden, Wei Yun swiftly left the bamboo grove with Mira in tow.

Back at the Wei family estate, Wei Yun called for two of the household servants under his command. Although Wei Yun didn’t have a personal maid, he did employ two workers for odd jobs.

Under his orders, the two servants, though puzzled, followed his instructions without question, dropping whatever they were doing to gather various fertilizers.

Compost and wood ash were readily available, while pond mud required a bit more effort, but it wasn’t anything they couldn’t handle.

“Good work. Here’s your reward. And listen carefully, do not, under any circumstances, tell anyone about this. If you do, you’ll have me to answer to. Understood?” Wei Yun warned them sharply, handing over a small bag of coins as compensation while making his stance clear.

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To avoid drawing attention, Wei Yun didn’t let the servants handle the fertilizing themselves. Instead, he had the materials secretly stored in a corner of his courtyard.

That night, under the cover of darkness, Wei Yun disguised himself in servant’s clothing and transported the fertilizer with a small wooden cart to his destination. With Mira’s assistance, he skillfully avoided all prying eyes and slipped back into the bamboo grove undetected.

“Mira, keep watch here. If you hear or sense anything, let me know with a growl,” Wei Yun instructed, leaving Mira near the edge of the grove as a lookout.

Considering the immense value of a Nature Sprite, Wei Yun couldn’t risk anyone discovering it and stealing his opportunity.

Once in the grove, Wei Yun set down the fertilizer but didn’t apply it immediately. First, he worked to uproot all the withered bamboo stalks and replace them with fresh bamboo from nearby.

The task seemed simple, but it was painstakingly tedious. Wei Yun had to move quietly, avoiding making noise that might draw the attention of nearby patrols.

Mira, hidden at the grove’s edge, remained on high alert. Her ears twitched as she listened intently for any unusual sounds, ready to warn Wei Yun at a moment’s notice.

Time passed slowly, the moon sank, and the sun rose. After an exhausting night of labor, Wei Yun had replanted the area with fresh bamboo and spread the fertilizer across the soil, creating a renewed source of nourishment for the Nature Sprite.

Phew…

Slumping to the ground, Wei Yun let out a long sigh of relief. His hands were scratched, his clothes were filthy, and every muscle in his body ached. Working in near-total darkness had been grueling.

But the results were worth it. Under his care, the host bamboo nurturing the Nature Sprite had recovered significantly. Its previously yellowing stalk now gleamed with vibrant green vitality, radiating life.

After catching his breath, Wei Yun extended his spiritual sense to check on the Nature Sprite’s condition.

SPIRIT BEAST INFORMATION:

· Name: Nature Sprite (In Incubation)

· Realm: None

· Species: Low-Class Commander

· Quality: Unknown (The more plant essence absorbed, the higher the potential quality.)

· Bloodline: Elemental (Unknown)

· Attribute: Wood

· Status: Healthy

· Weakness: Fire

Compared to the previous day, the Nature Sprite’s status had drastically improved. Its condition had gone from malnourished to healthy. If this pace continued, the embryo would develop into a fully-formed, healthy Nature Sprite.

After withdrawing his spiritual sense, Wei Yun examined the soil around the bamboo’s base and uncovered the buried spirit cores. The once-vivid green cores were now almost completely white, drained of nearly all their energy.

“That was fast!” Wei Yun muttered. From their appearance, it was clear the cores would soon be entirely depleted.

“The more plant essence it absorbs, the higher the chance of improving its quality…”

Recalling this crucial detail, Wei Yun hesitated. If this were just an ordinary Nature Sprite, he wouldn’t have considered going further. But if he wanted to raise a high-quality Nature Sprite, he would need a significant number of wood-attribute spirit cores.

He didn’t want to give up, but the Nature Sprite’s value was immense, and buying or trading for a large quantity of wood-attribute cores would inevitably attract attention.

Moreover, Wei Yun’s finances were limited. Even if he spent everything he had, it might not be enough to secure the resources needed to elevate the sprite’s quality.

There was, however, another option: borrowing.

The problem was that Wei Yun had few connections, no collateral, and no one he could trust to lend him what he needed… except for his second uncle.

Although his second uncle, Wei Jianfeng, was notoriously lazy and rarely involved himself in family affairs, he was immensely powerful, on par with the family elders and likely had considerable wealth.

Having made up his mind, Wei Yun returned to the family estate and sought out Wei Jianfeng.

By the pond in Wei Jianfeng’s courtyard, the man sat on a low stool, reclining lazily against a willow tree. His eyes were closed, his expression serene as if he were napping.

Approaching cautiously, Wei Yun called out softly, “Second Uncle?”

Without opening his eyes, Wei Jianfeng muttered grumpily, “I don’t care who it is, if you wake me up, I won’t forgive you!”

Before Wei Yun could react, Wei Jianfeng swung a fist toward him, straight for his face.

“Not the face!” Wei Yun shouted, already prepared. He crouched and covered his head with his arms, bracing himself for the inevitable beating.

After a while, Wei Jianfeng finally stopped. He rubbed his eyes, looking at Wei Yun with a confused expression before realization dawned.

“Oh, it’s you, Yun!”

“That hurt! I knew this would happen. Second Uncle, I’m beginning to think you’re jealous of my good looks! You want to ruin my face to bring me down to your level and then beat me in the game of charm!” Wei Yun groaned, standing up and glaring at his uncle.

“Nonsense! I’d never do such a thing. Anyway, judging by the way you look, I’m guessing you came here for something. Wait, don’t tell me! Let me guess…” Wei Jianfeng waved dismissively, clearly trying to change the subject as quickly as possible.

“Second Uncle, don’t dodge the issue!” Wei Yun protested, glaring at him.

Ignoring Wei Yun’s complaints, Wei Jianfeng smirked and said jokingly, “I’ll bet you’ve found an incubating Nature Sprite and need resources to boost its quality, right?”