Reincarnated as a Mosquito, I Sucked the Reborn Empress to Tears

Chapter 171: Chapter 171: Absorbing the Eighth-Grade Spiritual Plant, the Lifebound Space Opens

One second.

Just one second! That’s how close Chu Sheng was to being discovered by Mu Xiong as he entered!

If he had been discovered, given Mu Xiong’s Eighth-Grade Realm Cultivation, Chu Sheng would have faced certain death.

There was no way Chu Sheng could have absorbed the Void Escape Lotus from the Spiritual Spring on the spot. An Eighth-Grade Spiritual Plant like this would probably take him dozens of minutes to drain completely.

That’s why Chu Sheng’s plan was to uproot the entire thing.

The higher the tier of a Spiritual Plant, the more difficult it is to preserve, as its environmental needs are much more demanding. Once picked, without a proper storage method, it would likely wither and lose all its potency.

Third and Fourth-Grade Spiritual Plants, for instance, could be temporarily kept in a Storage Ring without their Spiritual Qi dissipating for a while. But if you put an even higher-tier Spiritual Plant into a place like a Storage Ring without any special preparation, it would probably be ruined completely.

In truth, it’s nearly impossible to store any Spiritual Plant for an extended period after it’s been picked, unless it’s refined into an Elixir or processed into a special medicinal ingredient.

Of course, Chu Sheng didn’t have a Storage Ring on him at the moment. For one, he had always been with Gu Yuexi before, so he just kept his things with her. For another, it wasn’t exactly easy for a mosquito to wear a Storage Ring, unless it was a custom-made, super-mini version.

Besides, his Nether Flame Insect Nest could only hold Insect Race Demon Beasts.

That was why Chu Sheng had wanted to uproot the Void Escape Lotus entirely. With the roots attached, it could be preserved for a little longer.

But in the end, he ran out of time.

The moment he heard the sound of the palm-print verification at the door, he made a split-second decision. He abandoned the idea of uprooting it and simply severed the stem. Then, holding the lotus with his two front limbs, he dove straight to the bottom of the water.

The original hole was too small and too far away to return to, so Chu Sheng ordered his Insect Race minions to start digging at the bottom of the pond, backfilling the tunnel with dirt as they went!

Honestly, if it weren’t for his sixteen thousand insects pulling their weight today, Chu Sheng really might have met his end right there!

When Mu Xiong entered, there were still faint ripples on the pond’s surface, but they were concealed by the Spiritual Mist. Even better, Mu Linyuan, who had just woken up, helped draw Mu Xiong’s attention.

By the time Mu Xiong started barking orders, Chu Sheng had already dug over a thousand meters deep and was well on his way to making a clean getaway underground!

Of course, Chu Sheng wasn’t just blindly fleeing. He was meticulous enough to leave a portion of his Insect Beasts behind to fill in all the previous tunnels, continuing to backfill as they retreated to rendezvous with him.

The Mu Manor raised a huge commotion trying to catch the thief, but for the time being, no one noticed the few minuscule wormholes in the ground. And after ten minutes, those wormholes had vanished completely.

’Perfect!’

Only after putting several thousand meters between himself and the manor, burrowing deep underground, did Chu Sheng finally breathe a small sigh of relief.

’Today’s heist wasn’t completely flawless,’ he thought, ’but no matter how the Mu Clan investigates, there’s no way they’ll trace it back to me.’

In the damp, dark earth, Chu Sheng held the faintly glowing Void Escape Lotus and considered his next move.

First things first, the lotus had been severed from its roots, so its Spiritual Qi would soon dissipate. He had to absorb it, and fast!

Chu Sheng had only learned the name “Void Escape Lotus” when he faintly heard Mu Xiong’s roar while he was still underground.

’The name sounds pretty badass,’ he mused. ’But what does it actually do?’

More than the Life Energy it contained, Chu Sheng was interested in what kind of Realm Power it held. The chances of an Eighth-Grade Spiritual Plant containing Realm Power should be extremely high!

Chu Sheng couldn’t be bothered to surface. The underground environment was a bit uncomfortable, but it was safe. He had his Insect Race minions hollow out a space of about one cubic meter, then positioned some fluorescent Insect Beasts to serve as a light source. Finally, he had them dig a small ventilation shaft to the surface to prevent oxygen deprivation. Just like that, his own little cultivation chamber, a thousand meters underground, was complete!

No more wasting time. Time to absorb!

[Ding! Detected Eighth-Grade Spiritual Plant “Void Escape Lotus”. Absorbing Life Essence…]

[Ding! Detected “Spatial Realm (Great Perfection Level)”. Now absorbing…]

’Spatial Realm!’ Chu Sheng was ecstatic. ’This stuff sounds powerful! It’s gotta be a high-end type of Realm, and at the Great Perfection Level, no less. I should be able to absorb a ton of Spatial Realm Comprehension from this!’

As expected, the time it took to absorb the Eighth-Grade Spiritual Plant multiplied several times over.

A full half-hour later, Chu Sheng had finally finished absorbing all the Life Energy and Realm Power from the Void Escape Lotus.

[All Life Essence from the “Void Escape Lotus” has been absorbed. +2000 Evolution Points]

[Realm absorption successful! Host has successfully comprehended the Spatial Realm. Spatial Realm Comprehension +2000. Spatial Realm has reached Great Success.]

’Damn, a double two-thousand!’

’2,000 Evolution Points! A single Void Escape Lotus is worth hundreds of Third and Fourth-Grade Spiritual Plants! I even gained a new Realm, the Spatial Realm, and it’s already at Great Success!’

’Calm down! Calm down!’

The series of massive gains had Chu Sheng’s mind racing with excitement, but he forced himself to calm down.

’Time to take stock of my gains!’

He did the math:

In terms of Evolution Points, he had gained 4,100 on the third floor and 2,900 on the fourth. Now, with the additional 2,000 from the lotus, he had a net increase of 9,000!!!

As for Mental Power, he absorbed 630 points.

On top of that, he had comprehended three brand-new Realms: Fire Realm at Great Success, Thunder Realm at Minor Success, and Spatial Realm at Great Success!

“System, open my data panel!”

[Host: Chu Sheng]

[Race: Soul-devouring Nether Mosquito]

[Lifespan: 100 Years]

[Bloodline: High-Level (One Star)]

[Qi Blood: 9950 (Melting Furnace Third Transformation)]

[Spirit: 2910 (Third-Grade Early Stage)]

[Evolution Points: 10,332]

[Spatial Realm: Great Success (2000/5000)]

[Fire Realm: Great Success (2000/5000)]

[Thunder Realm: Minor Success (500/2000)]

[Earth Realm: Initiate (350/500)]

[Water Realm: Initiate (210/500)]

[Note: Realm Comprehension levels are 100 for Initiate, 500 for Minor Success, 2000 for Great Success, 5000 for Perfection, 8000 for Great Perfection, and over 10,000 to touch the Origin.]

…

’My Evolution Points broke ten thousand! I shouldn’t have to worry about them for a while!’

His Spiritual Realm had increased by nearly half a stage.

But his biggest gains were the three Realms. He already knew about the Fire and Thunder Realms, but what about this mysterious Spatial Realm?

Chu Sheng examined it closely:

[Spatial Realm: Great Success (2000/5000). The host has grasped a certain degree of Spatial Power and has successfully opened a Lifebound Space!]

[Lifebound Space: The host possesses a ten-cubic-meter Lifebound Space. Can only store non-living objects.]

[Note: The Lifebound Space has No Level and cannot be upgraded with Evolution Points. Its effects can only be enhanced by increasing your Spatial Realm Comprehension.]

’Holy shit! As expected of a High-Level Realm, it even came with a new Skill.’

’A Lifebound Space… so it’s basically like an extra Storage Pouch? It’s only ten cubic meters for now, but it should grow later. And it says the effects improve with Comprehension… does that mean not only will the size increase, but the “can only store non-living objects” restriction might be lifted too?’

’A Lifebound Space… maybe in the future, it could hold living creatures, humans, or even… become a world of its own?!’