Chapter 30: Cutting the Green Spirit Bamboo

In the dense, green-yellow bamboo forest, Lin Tianming looked around carefully. Large swathes of Green Spirit Bamboo grew in the crevices of the hard rocks, varying in height and thickness.

Some of the bamboo were several meters tall, as thick as a bowl, with green-yellow stems and few leaves, indicating their maturity of several hundred years. These were suitable for crafting.

The shorter ones were less than half a meter tall, a greener shade with more leaves, indicating they were around a hundred years old.

The growth cycle of Green Spirit Bamboo is relatively long, starting as thin, white jade-colored shoots, gradually turning green over a hundred years, and finally becoming green-yellow when fully matured.

Lin Tianming quickly traversed the bamboo sea, meticulously searching for second-tier Green Spirit Bamboo.

After half an hour, Lin Tianming's face turned livid. Despite searching through thousands of Green Spirit Bamboo, he hadn't found a single second-tier bamboo. The sheer size of the bamboo forest made it difficult, as distinguishing the second-tier bamboo from the five-hundred-year-old bamboo was challenging. Both were the thickness of a bowl, with few leaves. The only difference was that the second-tier bamboo was golden yellow, while the regular ones were green-yellow, a paler color.

With the bamboo forest covering tens of miles and containing hundreds of thousands of bamboo, finding the few hundred second-tier ones was indeed difficult.

After resting for a quarter of an hour, Lin Tianming resumed his search.

Time passed quickly, and after another half-hour, he finally spotted a golden yellow bamboo standing tall among a cluster of five-hundred-year-old Green Spirit Bamboo.

Overjoyed, Lin Tianming rushed to the second-tier bamboo. This bamboo was several meters tall, as thick as a bowl, and golden yellow, unmistakably a second-tier Green Spirit Bamboo.

Carefully examining its growth environment, Lin Tianming hoped to deduce the conditions favoring second-tier bamboo to make the search for the remaining nineteen easier.

This bamboo grew in a rock crevice, surrounded by mature five-hundred-year-old bamboo. The higher altitude and rockier terrain seemed to favor the growth of second-tier bamboo.

Lin Tianming concluded that searching higher up, in areas where the bamboo were taller and sparser, would likely yield more second-tier bamboo. With this plan, he set to work cutting the bamboo.

It took three swings of his Qingfeng Sword to make a thumb-sized cut in the bamboo, a testament to its toughness. Surprised, Lin Tianming, despite his significant strength from practicing the Tiangang Overlord Body Art, realized it would take considerable effort to cut it down.

Channeling his power, Lin Tianming repeatedly struck the same spot. After fifty more strikes, the bamboo finally fell with a loud crash, creating a deep groove in the ground.

Lifting the bamboo proved challenging; only after channeling his spiritual energy and using all his strength did he manage to store it in his bag.

Satisfied, Lin Tianming rested briefly before continuing his search.

Following his newfound strategy, he flew over the bamboo sea, identifying likely clusters of second-tier bamboo by their height and sparse leaves.

"Ah, there's another one!" Lin Tianming found another second-tier bamboo and quickly cut it down, confident that his method was working.

Two days passed swiftly.

In the bamboo sea, Lin Tianming expertly felled a second-tier Green Spirit Bamboo, quickly storing the several-thousand-pound bamboo in his bag.

"Finally, twenty second-tier Green Spirit Bamboo. After two days of continuous effort, my arms are sore," Lin Tianming thought. Without his body cultivation and decent cultivation level, cutting down three a day would have been challenging.

Satisfied with his haul, Lin Tianming eagerly anticipated having Fifteenth Uncle craft spiritual swords from the bamboo. His current weapons were a significant weakness, and a full set of high-grade spiritual swords would drastically enhance his combat ability.

Exiting the bamboo forest, Lin Tianming used the token to open the barrier and stepped out.

Summoning a Qingfeng Sword, he flew back to the family's Merit Hall.

Half an hour later, Lin Tianming found Lin Shixin.

"Tenth Granduncle, I've cut the twenty second-tier Green Spirit Bamboo. Here's the token," Lin Tianming said, handing over the token.

Lin Shixin took it, nodding approvingly. Lin Tianming then made his way to the family's alchemy hall.

Upon arriving, he found his grandfather Lin Shigong resting.

"Greetings, Grandfather," Lin Tianming said, bowing.

"Sit," Lin Shigong replied.

Lin Tianming sat on the cushion, explaining his request.

"Grandfather, I spent 3,000 merit points at the Merit Hall to exchange for twenty second-tier Green Spirit Bamboo. I want to ask Fifteenth Granduncle to help me craft a set of spiritual swords, but I don't have his contact information. Could you help me reach out to him?"

Hearing his grandson's request, Lin Shigong was taken aback. "This little rascal, spending 3,000 merit points like it's nothing. His Fire Origin Art doesn't require that many swords, does it?"

Curious and somewhat skeptical, Lin Shigong inquired why Lin Tianming needed so many swords.

After some hesitation, Lin Tianming revealed that his technique involved a sword array, but he kept the specific details and the fact it was a heavenly-grade technique secret, emphasizing the need for discretion to avoid bringing trouble to the family.

Seeing his grandson's seriousness, Lin Shigong refrained from probing further. Everyone had their secrets, and Lin Tianming had always been wise and prudent. If he wasn't revealing something, there was likely a good reason.

"Since this is important, don't reveal it lightly. The cultivation world is rife with treasure-hunting and murder. Trust no one easily," Lin Shigong advised.

Lin Tianming nodded, promising to be cautious.

Understanding his grandson's intention, Lin Shigong used a communication talisman to contact Lin Shilu, asking if he could help with the crafting.

After a while, a spiritual bird message arrived, and Lin Shigong read it.

"Your Fifteenth Granduncle agrees. Head to the peak of Qingzhu Mountain; he and your Third Granduncle are cultivating there."

Thrilled, Lin Tianming prepared to leave, but Lin Shigong handed him 800 lower-grade spirit stones and a bottle of second-tier Spirit Origin Pills, as payment for the crafting.

Grateful, Lin Tianming accepted the stones and pills, then left for the mountain peak.