However, whether it was a symbiotic organism or a competing one, either would be extremely valuable to him.

With that thought, Xiao Shou rode his wooden crane toward the Ice Heart Tree.

As he got closer, the surrounding flowers, grass, and rocks gradually disappeared.

Eventually, only a vast layer of partially eaten fallen leaves remained.

And on top of those leaves were countless black, granular objects, each about the size of a football.

What were those?

Stones?

Maybe he could try fusing them.

Perhaps they were Tier 5 materials.

With that in mind, Xiao Shou leaped down from the wooden crane and landed on the thick layer of decayed leaves.

They felt soft under his feet and he could only imagine how many tens of thousands of years those leaves had accumulated.

Pushing that thought aside, he picked out several of the larger black objects.

Just as he was about to begin fusing them, he noticed something among the leaf debris.

It was a dry branch-like object about the length of his arm.

In his original world, he would have called it a tree branch, but considering the scale of the Ice Heart Tree, that clearly was not the right term.

Thinking of those enormous leaves, it was more likely a leaf stem.

Perhaps it had been bitten off and dropped by the Ice Silk Worm.

Even if it was just a remnant, it still came from the Ice Heart Tree.

With a sudden inspiration and a sense of anticipation, Xiao Shou added it together with the black objects and activated his Absolute Fusion ability.

A flash of light passed.

Before he could even check the result, he suddenly felt all of his ability’s energy surge into his sea of consciousness.

Within it, beside the core of his divine sense and the sealed consciousness formed by the Hidden Spirit Returning Soul Art, the energy gathered and condensed.

The massive flow of energy compressed and eventually formed a mysterious yellow energy core.

Together with the core of his divine sense and the sealed consciousness, it formed a three-way balance, floating at the center of his sea of consciousness.

At the same time, Xiao Shou felt that his ability had undergone a qualitative transformation.

However, he could not quite describe the change.

He would have to observe it gradually through future use.

When Xiao Shou opening his eyes, he picked up the small object that had allowed his ability to advance.

...

[ Ice Silk Worm Sand ]

Grade: Tier 5

Description: Originally the excrement of Ice Silk Worms that feed on Ice Heart Tree, it is the most favored nutrient for Ice Heart Tree.

After being refined together with Ice Heart Tree material, it becomes a preferred fertilizer for many spiritual plants.

A single grain buried in the soil can nourish approximately five acres of spiritual farmland.

...

Ice Silk Worm excrement? ice Silk Worm droppings?

Xiao Shou froze in shock.

He immediately threw the Ice Silk Worm Sand away while repeatedly dusting off his hands.

A cleansing spell flashed and he even summoned water to carefully wash them.

Only after feeling that his hands were truly clean did he lift his foot, preparing to fly back onto the wooden crane.

But as he moved, he suddenly thought of the spiritual plants in his cave dwelling.

He hesitated.

A trace of helplessness appeared on his face. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

In the end, he raised his hand and retrieved the Tier 5 Ice Silk Worm Sand.

Then, using his divine sense, he quickly collected all the scattered ice silk worm sand into a spare storage bag.

After his divine sense had advanced to the Foundation Establishment level, his efficiency had increased dramatically.

At the very least, collecting items was now ten times faster.

All the ice silk worm sand within his visible range inside the cocoon was gathered into storage bags.

To his surprise, it completely filled two high-grade storage bags.

This alone showed just how many Ice Silk Worms were outside.

After finishing, Xiao Shou thought that since his ability had reached Tier 5, he should test whether it would now work on the Ice Heart Tree.

He should also collect the spiritual plants growing nearby.

Even if they did not help him advance further, they would likely still be useful later.

After all, anything that could grow beside the Ice Heart Tree was unlikely to be ordinary.

He recalled what he had seen earlier while flying above the area.

Around the roots of the Ice Heart Tree were tiny buds, sparkling faintly like stars.

If not for his awakened special eyes and enhanced vision, he would not have been able to see them at all.

With that in mind, Xiao Shou rode his wooden crane over.

Only when he reached the base of the Ice Heart Tree did he put it away and jump down.

After he stepping onto the ground, which was scattered with thick strands of ice silk worm, he focused and carefully examined the tiny buds.

They had no roots, no vines, no branches, and no leaves.

Each one was only the size of a thumb, a small, translucent bud.

They hovered quietly about a meter above the tree trunk, appearing at intervals of one or two meters around the circumference.

They existed only as buds, never blooming or bearing fruit.

Xiao Shou stared at them for a long time, a slight frown forming between his brows.

He could not recognize them.

If Fu Young were here, he might have been able to identify them.

After all, he came from a long-established family with deep knowledge and inheritance.

But Xiao Shou could not.

No matter how unwilling he was to admit it, whether it was his original body or his current self, he was essentially a novice in the cultivation world.

Aside from common and widely known items, he would not recognize rare species even if they were right in front of him.

Even if he could not recognize it, that did not stop Xiao Shou from knowing it was valuable.