This change made the already poised Cloud Peak members halt their actions.
The Lan You was transplanted here from Black Dragon City with soil still attached to its roots, but once removed from the ground, the soil turned to dust.
Fearing that this lifeform might possess other peculiar traits, Ye Zhongming had no intention of planting it directly in Cloud Peak during his experiments.
Truly uncertain whether it would bring fortune or disaster, Ye Zhongming dared not let it take root and sprout recklessly in Cloud Peak.
Yet now, whether he liked it or not, it had already embedded itself in the soil here.
Whether human evolved, the battle beasts, or Ye Zhongming himself, all of them, after the initial shock, began observing and sensing the changes.
Other lifeforms might not have noticed, but Ye Zhongming immediately realized that once the Lan You’s roots entered the ground, the rate at which it drained his life force slowed.
Was it… absorbing energy from the soil instead of him?
Ye Zhongming couldn’t be sure, but this was his only guess.
He knew that if the Lan You could grow by absorbing energy from the soil, it wouldn’t have grown only three centimeters per year in Black Dragon City. This situation was likely only temporary.
It was no wonder he thought this way—the Lan You’s previous performance in Black Dragon City had been unimpressive.
Perhaps because Ye Zhongming’s remaining life force was so scant, Lan You’s drain on him weakened further. At one point, he found he could move again, though his body was still too weak to muster much strength.
But being able to move his hands was enough.
He began releasing Fertile Soil from his storage.
At this point, he wasn’t sure whether the country specialty would have any effect on the Lan You, but out of desperation—and given its absorption of earth energy—he decided to try.
Hoping for the best, Ye Zhongming scattered all the Fertile Soil he had accumulated over time.
The country specialty was highly effective in accelerating plant growth. With so much Fertile Soil applied, the Lan You immediately underwent a visible transformation.
It began growing rapidly, even faster than when it had absorbed Ye Zhongming’s life force. Its trunk thickened, branches sprouted, and lush green leaves unfurled.
Ye Zhongming never loosened his grip, maintaining the activated skill the entire time—after all, the Lan You had already stopped draining his energy.
Now, the Lan You grew explosively, adding half a meter in just over ten seconds. The life energy it radiated intensified, causing many battle beasts to tremble slightly.
Among the outermost ranks of battle beasts were those of lower levels—around three or four stars. These were either species with limited specie potential, kept at Cloud Peak for specific utility, or those with unique abilities but extremely slow evolution rates. Some had only recently arrived and hadn’t yet benefited from the nutrient-rich feed.
Though positioned on the fringes, they still absorbed ample energy. When the Lan You entered its second growth spurt, releasing even denser energy, many of them fell into deep slumber, beginning their evolution.
Their owners or caretakers watched in ecstatic disbelief.
Some belonged to the female guards, support-type battle beasts that struggled to evolve. Their sudden advancement brought rare smiles to the usually stern-faced female warriors.
Liu Zhenghong and her researchers immediately began observing these battle beasts, even cautiously drawing blood from less critical specimens.
Many evolved who witnessed this turned their gazes back to the Lan You, their eyes alight with new understanding.
Energy that could directly trigger evolution in mutated lifeforms? This… was utterly unheard of.
The phenomenon was bizarre, its mechanisms unknown, but it was undeniably a boon for Cloud Peak.
Those rejoicing weren’t just the battle beasts’ owners—Ye Zhongming, the primary victim, also felt relief.
He discovered that some energy was being fed back into him during this phase of Lan You’s explosive growth.
This wasn’t an illusion. Ye Zhongming watched as the skin on his hands grew visibly younger. The Cloud Peak warriors watching him closely nearly wept with joy—their leader, who had aged into his seventies or eighties, now looked decades younger, closer to sixty.
This meant Cloud Peak’s king was regaining his life force.
Feeling the energy flowing back, Ye Zhongming knew he had gambled correctly. The Fertile Soil did affect the Lan You, and its intense catalytic effect caused the plant to release excess life energy back to him.
However, just as he thought this process would continue, after a few more minutes, his appearance restored to that of a man in his forties, the energy feedback slowed. So did the Lan You’s growth.
By now, it stood about five meters tall, its trunk over half a meter thick, with a distinct canopy of emerald-green leaves and branches. It resembled an exquisitely carved sculpture of green jade.
But anyone could see its growth had decelerated.
Ye Zhongming sensed it too—the energy feedback dwindled, nearly stopping altogether.
Panic set in. If this stopped, would the Lan You resume draining his life force?
Yet he had no more Fertile Soil to offer. The Lan You’s appetite seemed bottomless. What could he do? Release the skill and end this? But he was only middle-aged now—much of his life force remained unreturned. Abandoning the process now would be a waste.
Indecision invites calamity. Ye Zhongming knew this well. If the situation were irreversible, he’d have to cut his losses. A middle-aged state was still far better than the elderly one from before.
So he prepared to deactivate the skill.
But beneath the ground—unseen by anyone—something entirely unexpected occurred.