Chapter 324 - Nature-Born Formation

"Daa hahaha! Thanks to this prince's memory, we're back here. We should've stopped here first last time. What a magical scent. This prince feels like a good person now," Dastan said.

Leyvi chuckled, eyeing him. "So you realized you're a piece of shit?"

"Shut up, Leyvi! Leave this prince alone. This prince is aware of it. But don't worry, this prince realized it's not good for my future to act like a villain, so this prince will pretend to be a good person, become the most likable crown prince, and eventually the king. When everyone likes this prince, most problems disappear too, right? Meaning everyone will want this prince to stay king! Daa hahaha! This prince is a genius!" He laughed, praising himself.

Leyvi smiled, unfazed by Dastan's self-serving motives. Whether the crown prince was pretending to be good for his own gain didn't matter, as long as his actions benefited his people. To Leyvi, this was a vast improvement over the arrogant clown prince he'd first met.

The two entered the bamboo forest, and the mind-calming and rejuvenating effect became even more potent.

Leyvi extended his spiritual sense, sweeping across the forest, his eyes widening in awe. "Amazing, all the animals and demonic beasts here are so peaceful and tame. Is this because of the calming aroma?" he marveled, noting the tranquil scene. Demonic beasts roamed without aggression, grazing or lounging, no hint of a hunt disrupting the harmony.

"Yeah, but they're weak because of that, no competition. Even this prince could beat them all," Dastan noticed.

"Really? How about you try that demonic bat?" Leyvi teased, pointing to a bamboo bat hanging above, its furry form swaying gently, eyes half-closed in the forest's lull.

"Ahem… It's just a weak bamboo bat, but this prince won't do it. Don't want to disturb the peace here. Why do you want to cause chaos everywhere you go, Leyvi?" Dastan said, acting morally superior to dodge the challenge.

"Cheh, just say you're scared," Leyvi mocked, continuing deeper into the forest.

Suddenly, Leyvi heard a commotion from his right, breaking the peace of the bamboo forest. He turned his head and saw a group of seven giant pandas with glossy black-and-white fur rushing toward him, their paws thudding against the ground, bamboo swaying in their wake.

Crown Prince Dastan noticed them too, squinting. "Huh? Just low-level demonic giant pandas, not a threat at all. Leyvi, let this prince take care of these weak demonic beasts that dared to attack us," he declared, cracking his knuckles, ready to charge.

Plop!

Before he could move, Dastan was flattened to the ground, pinned by an invisible force, his face pressed into the moss. "Oi, Leyvi! Why'd you hit this prince with your spiritual pressure? Are you picking a fight?" he sputtered, struggling under the weight.

"They're pandas. You never harm pandas," Leyvi said, dispersing the spiritual pressure.

"Huh?" Crown Prince Dastan was stunned for a moment. "Oh, right. Your wife is a panda, right? Did you really marry a panda, Leyvi?" He stood up again.

The next moment, the seven giant pandas surrounded Leyvi, hugging him and making happy noises.

"Panda God!" "Panda God!" "Panda God!" "Such a divine panda presence!" their voices rang out, translated by Leyvi's Universal Language ability.

Leyvi stood dumbfounded, his arms pinned by furry embraces. Panda God? What the heck? Is this my Panda Affinity benefit at work? he thought, bewildered.

"We greet our god!" "We love our god!" "We serve our god!" the pandas chanted.

"Alright, alright. Stop climbing me already. Line up over there," Leyvi instructed, his tone half-amused, half-exasperated, wriggling free from their grip.

"Obey the Panda God!" "Obey!" "We line up!" the pandas bellowed, scrambling to form a horizontal line, their eyes gleaming with adoration.

Leyvi crossed his arms and observed the pandas, who were still excited and couldn't stay still in their line. Do giant pandas have any useful abilities? he thought.

Meanwhile, Dastan's eyes widened, his jaw dropping. What's going on? Leyvi's speaking to them without a spiritual imprint? Are Cloud Continent's beast tamers this advanced? His thoughts spiraled. These pandas didn't attack—they hugged him like family! Don't… don't tell me… he really married a panda? He said he's a beast tamer, but this kind of taming? My first friend's into bestiality? Oh, Lord! Crown Prince Dastan appeared to be struggling to cope.

He shook his head and made a resolve.

Even if my friend is into beasts, I'll be supportive no matter what! Who cares if he has weird tendencies! Wait a minute, didn't he have a harem? Don't tell me… all of them are… demonic beasts?

The image of Leyvi with a bunch of demonic beasts appeared in his mind. He immediately shook his head aggressively to discard the image.

The crown prince took a deep breath and exhaled. It's fine, it's fine. One or many, it doesn't matter.

The misunderstanding grew deeper.

Leyvi faced the seven giant pandas, their glossy black-and-white fur shimmering in the dappled light, their adoring eyes fixed on him. "You guys want to follow me?" he asked, stunned, scratching his head. Isn't this Panda Affinity a bit much? We just met, and they're already this attached? Don't you have anything else to do? Bamboos are everywhere; go eat them instead.

The pandas nodded eagerly, their big heads bobbing, clearly intent on serving their "Panda God."

Leyvi sighed, resigned. It seemed that with the panda affinity, the pandas wouldn't leave him alone. Well, whatever.

"Can you bring me to the best place to meditate in this place?" Leyvi asked.

"We know, we know!" "A spot with nice feeling." "Come, come. We show Panda God." the pandas chorused.

"A spot with nice feeling?" Leyvi muttered, intrigued. "This bamboo forest already has an amazing atmosphere, but there's a better spot? Good, good. The Panda Affinity's not entirely useless. Hahaha!" He laughed, his voice echoing through the serene forest.

"Dastan, let's follow them," Leyvi said, turning to the crown prince, only to pause. Huh? What's wrong with this clown prince? Why's he looking at me like I'm a freak?

"Ahem… Leyvi, this prince won't judge you, so live however you want. Let's go," Dastan said, clearing his throat, his voice oddly formal as he strode after the pandas.

Leyvi was speechless. What just happened? Can this bamboo forest scent turn a clown prince into a crazy prince? Leyvi shook his head and followed as well.

On the way, the pandas were quite talkative. They excitedly told Leyvi a few things about the bamboo forest. For example, the forest had many delicious bamboo shoots, but occasionally, rare legendary bamboo shoots would appear randomly among them. Consuming these could boost a demonic beast's intelligence, turning them into geniuses, and grant them the ability to perceive distant surroundings without using their eyes.

Unfortunately, the legendary bamboo shoots that were supposed to appear some years ago vanished without a trace the moment they matured and revealed themselves, leaving the bamboo forest's inhabitants disappointed. They thought they could become the next highly intelligent demonic beasts.

Leyvi listened, surprised. Aren't they describing spiritual sense? I didn't know demonic beasts could use it. He paused, then shook his head. No, this shouldn't shock me. If Mr. Bison can gain a Unique Heavenly Body, meant only for humans, then demonic beasts with spiritual sense aren't strange. Anything's possible. People just don't know how yet, he reminded himself.

Soon, they reached an area where the bamboo stalks grew in a peculiar pattern, distinct from the random sprawl elsewhere. Here, the towering, vibrant green stalks gradually formed a unique circular arrangement, their bases inching closer together, creating a natural spiral that tightened inward. At the center lay a ten-meter-wide clearing, free of bamboo, its ground covered by a thick, clear layer of glass-like material, smooth and reflective, catching the dappled sunlight in soft, prismatic glints.

"This prince didn't expect to see a nature-born formation here," Crown Prince Dastan remarked.

Leyvi raised an eyebrow, glancing at him. "Nature-born formation?

"Yes," Dastan nodded. "It's similar to an array formation, but nature-born formations arise from the land itself, not inscription symbols. They draw power from unique geological patterns or the surrounding atmosphere, producing special effects. They don't need external energy—the world sustains them. That's why they're called nature-born formations."

"I see. Can you replicate a place like this?" Leyvi asked.

The crown prince shook his head. "Who wouldn't want a special place sustained by the world itself? We've put a lot of effort into researching this field. But no matter how much we studied and tried to replicate nature-born formations, it's beyond our comprehension. Everything failed."

"You know about spirit stone mines, right?" he asked.

Leyvi nodded.

"Spirit stone mines are the most common nature-born formations, relying on the atmosphere. Mine them dry, the unique atmosphere collapses, and no more spirit stones form," Dastan explained.

"Interesting. I didn't know that," Leyvi said.

"Hmph. You're a country bumpkin. Not surprising you don't know anything," Dastan scoffed, crossing his arms, his royal airs returning.

"Hahaha! It's not that bad. It's more interesting finding out like this than reading it from some books," Leyvi laughed, unbothered.

Crown Prince Dastan rolled his eyes. That's how people die a sudden death, you know, going straight into the unknown.