Li Ye immediately reached out and infused a stream of spiritual power and Qi of the Five Elements into the small gourd seed.

Soon the gourd seed took root and sprouted in his palm.

However, what grew out was not a lush vine, but a single pitiful vine, with two gourd leaves clustered around a gourd smaller than a beaver.

Once the gourd matured, it fell straight down.

Then the vine and leaves quickly withered, scattering into countless fragments of spiritual qi, drifting like a fine rain of light around the gourd.

Li Ye brushed through the slightly cool rain of light and picked up the small gourd. He could clearly see that inside the gourd was a little bit of liquid.

When shaken gently, it made the sound of liquid sloshing, amounting to no more than about one tael.

"Could it be..."

He had some guesses in his heart and cautiously opened the mouth of the gourd, revealing a woody scent akin to what wafts through a vast forest.

This fragrance did not gradually dissipate as it spread.

Instead, it adhered to the surrounding air, consistently emitting a pleasant aroma without becoming pungent or fading.

"Hmm."

After examining a bit, he confirmed:

"Oil, gourd oil."

"Moreover, it's gourd oil infused with plentiful Jia wood essence."

"...Why a gourd, never mind."

Li Ye understood that this was surely another miraculous reaction under the influence of spiritual qi.

After all, gourd and turtle were capable of breeding offspring, and the beaver had a storage space...what else could be impossible?

The urgent task now was how to use this peculiar gourd oil—it smelled pleasant, but seemed not very useful.

Could it be used on spirit plants?

With this thought, he immediately found a large tree within his cave mansion and smeared a bit of oil on it.

As a result, the mood panel of the tree immediately displayed [Intoxicated, Joyful], while the status panel showed [Absorbed oil containing Jia wood spiritual qi, accelerating growth.]

"So this gourd oil can indeed accelerate the growth of spirit plants."

Li Ye still felt a bit odd, so he went to find other diverse gourds and planted them all to see—

An array of gourds lined up in front of him.

The Yin and Yang aspects of the five elements were all present.

Then he started experimenting.

Firstly, these gourd oils indeed all had a unique fragrance, and depending on the differences in Yin Yang Five Elements, the aroma varied considerably.

Secondly, their effects:

The Wood series Jia wood and Yi wood could accelerate growth and enhance mood for spirit plants, effective for almost all spirit plants from large trees to vines.

The Metal series Geng metal and Xin metal seemed to provide maintenance for spiritual artifacts; he tried it on his perennial first tier magic sword, and it indeed became sharper.

The Water series Gui water and Ren water could gather spiritual qi from water flows and transformed into transparent, jelly-like spiritual ointment, though additional effects were unclear.

The Fire series C fire and D fire could be used as lamp oil, and the spiritual qi emitted nourished the fire and repelled other spiritual qi attributes.

The Earth series Wu soil and Ji soil could be applied to land, and based on the area's exposure, sunny lands absorbed excess Yang qi into the oil, while shadowy lands absorbed excess Yin qi in the same way.

These Five Elements Gourds, with their distinct Yin and Yang attributes, each had a special function—merely testing their specific effects took Li Ye three days.

Yet, after three sleepless nights, he was still energetic and recorded all his discoveries in his notebook.

Should truly commend this Gourd Spirit Turtle coming from the union of gourd and turtle, fostered through symbiosis, producing these spiritual objects.

The sheer variety of effects was impressive enough, and this was only the output from immature gourds.

If these gourds were to fully mature, what treasures might they yield?

Surely, a gourd baby wouldn't hop out, right?

The thought amused him, seeming quite ridiculous.

But pondering the information recorded on his notebook, he muttered to himself:

"Not right."

"If the effects are truly this miraculous, they undoubtedly require more spiritual qi or some other resource."

"These gourds merely dropped seeds once..."

Li Ye quickly went to the spirit field where the Five Elements Spiritual Spring Jade was placed. As expected, he found the jade, originally brimming with spiritual light, was gradually losing its luster.

Logically, this Golden Core-level treasure should be adequate for planting spirit fields and taking kindling for several decades.

Yet, in merely over a month, it had already depleted.

Which meant, to let these gourds continue growing, a vast amount of Qi of the Five Elements was needed, far beyond what Li Ye could furnish.

"Seek assistance."

Hence, without hesitation, he packaged his findings, gourd seeds, and all produced gourd oil, submitting an application to the sect's Steward Hall via the Four Seasons Jade Pendant.

Then, as he turned to await the results.

Barely two steps away.

The jade pendant emitted two jade scrolls and two chunks of Five Elements Spiritual Spring Jade, glimmering brightly in midair.

"...Huh?"

"They responded so quickly?"

Li Ye had thought—even though Four Seasons Sect was efficient—he'd have to wait two or three days, yet here was an immediate response.

He promptly picked up the first jade scroll and read it, pressing it against his forehead.

The message inside was simple: Continue cultivation, the submitted gourd oil would count towards his contribution and merit.

This uninhibited research with no funding concerns certainly felt satisfying.

"Being under a big tree does offer pleasant shade."

Li Ye sighed and picked up the other jade scroll.

This one instructed him to go to the Steward Hall on the lunar autumn day to oversee lodging repairs for new disciples, fully responsible for planting spirit plants.

It was a task arranged personally by his master.

Momentarily stunned, lunar autumn? Isn't that the day after tomorrow?

Swallowing hard, he hurried to work, ensuring the gourd situation was fully stabilized before the sect tasks commenced.

...

Meanwhile.

Inside the Steward Hall.

The Vice Hall Master who just replied to Li Ye, glancing at a collection of jade bottles and gourd seeds on the table, showing evident delight.

He couldn't suppress his inner joy: "Look at this! Nephew Li's Gourd Spirit Turtle application was submitted so recently, and results are already here!

Compared to the decades or centuries some applications take, this is really reassuring!"

Upon hearing him, the True Men from Array Artifact Refining and Pill-Refining Hall all fell silent—his words indeed made sense, even though the sect was extensive and supportive of their research.

Nevertheless, many research projects were not very fruitful.

If it were someone else, perhaps they'd resent Li Ye, but they knew this conversation would stay in this quiet room.

Unsuccessful outcomes were their own issue, as the sect had provided ample support; harboring resentment toward a promising younger member would be truly hopeless.

Only due to their coincidental presence to discuss matters with the Vice Hall Master were they privy to these remarks.

In the hushed atmosphere, Su Yu spoke first: "Next, the gourd oil will have to be used practically, right?

Since we're here, why not distribute a bit..."

Her breaking the silence prompted the True Men to begin discussing.

Ultimately, they decided to find cultivators for on-site trials to see the efficacy.

After all, Li Ye's tests might not be universally applicable.

Moreover, replacement concerns needed addressing—checking feasibility and scalability...

Every issue needed resolution.

So they decided to handle it right there and then.

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