Chapter 778: Plant Emotions, Affinity at the Boundaries of Heart Sense
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 778: Plant Emotions, Affinity at the Boundaries of Heart Sense
After becoming nominal friends with this simple Plant Spirit through such a method, we chatted about a few other topics.
For instance, we exchanged names—including mine and Sister Bai’s. To my surprise, this Plant Spirit actually had a name of her own!
According to Sister Bai and the records within the Tree of Great Knowledge, Plant Spirits that haven't formed large communities generally do not possess their own language or writing systems.
After some questioning, I learned that they had lived in this "world" for a long time and had been exploited and enslaved for just as long. As for their language and script... they weren't systematic, just fragmented bits and pieces. Even daily communication was a bit of a struggle for them.
However, their inner desire to express their needs and meanings remained very clear.
I heard that these fragments of language still had some connection to the original Plant Spirits. My guess was that the original Plant Spirits captured by the wizards might have been members of a large community with their own language and script. But after being brought to this world fragment, the knowledge wasn't fully passed down, becoming half-lost over time within this isolated space.
This Plant Spirit’s name was Ling Yi. The naming convention for the Plant Spirits living in this world followed the pattern of "Ling" followed by two characters.
It’s fair to say it completely clashed with the naming style of the Fool's Dream.
Perhaps this is just the kind of naming style that little ones in small communities prefer.
Afterward, Sister Bai and I set up a simple temporary tent on this island in the middle of the lake. For the next few days, I planned to cast aside all the troubles of the outside world and live a peaceful life with Sister Bai in this place where it was just the two of us.
Once the tent was up, I went over to the small mound of soil where the Omni-Link Main Network Tree was planted.
At this moment, nourished by the energy environment created by the dissipating Transcendent Origin Crystal from earlier, the Omni-Link Main Network Tree was growing at a rapid pace.
After some simple induction on my part, it had lost many of the abilities—or rather, the shackles—it had originally been endowed with.
It didn't need to be an Omni-Link Main Network Tree; even that name was a yoke placed upon it by that other world. Now, it was simply a tree.
It would no longer actively spread its root network, nor would it instinctively attach itself to ley lines to become a parasite upon them. It would simply become a large tree with a relatively well-developed root system.
I had granted a tree temporary freedom of growth.
But I also had expectations for it.
I was truly curious... are plants also considered "life" recognized by the Void?
Yes, they are.
Among spells, there are numerous transformation and summoning arts modeled after special transcendent plants. Therefore... plants also qualify as life recognized by the Void.
This includes naturally born Plant Spirits; they too are life forms recognized by the Void.
"Ling Yi~ let me ask you a question. Can you understand the language of plants? Or rather, can you perceive their emotions?" I asked curiously.
The field of botanical research is vast, much like zoology, and it also features the "mystical" concept of animal affinity.
Plant Spirits are the absolute "natural experts" in the botanical domain. Even Forest Elves cannot compare to Plant Spirits when it comes to "innate" talent in this area.
"The language of plants... Do plants... do they have a language? I can definitely feel their emotions, though. Like this sprouting tree—I can feel its joy! But I can also feel her confusion... and a little bit of loneliness. When she grows up and I make my home on her, she won't feel lonely anymore!"
"So that's how it is?" Having received a definitive answer, I understood... plants truly do have their own emotions.
In that case... since they exist, my perception should be able to sense them!
Yet, my sixth sense, Heart Sense, couldn't feel those emotions at all... Was it because I didn't yet understand the way plants transmit emotion, and thus couldn't perceive it?
Pondering such things seemed almost meaningless.
It was like how those never-before-seen Ley Line Realm Lords could ignore regional boundaries to manipulate ley line energy; Plant Spirits could perceive plant emotions that were incomprehensible through ordinary means.
It was even possible that the "emotions" perceived by Plant Spirits didn't even fall under the definition of emotions as we understood them.
Still... I was a bit unwilling to give up. As a perception-based Body Cultivation practitioner, I had actually lost to a dazed, cute Plant Spirit in a channel of perception.
So, I wanted to make an effort.
Perception channels within the realm of emotion should belong to Heart Sense, though the five senses can also observe them to a certain extent.
"Ling Yi~ could you please teach me how to perceive the emotions of plants?"
"Eh? Me? Teach you?"
"Yeah~ is that okay?" As I spoke, I pulled out a small fruit.
Speaking of fruit, I actually had quite a lot. Many were scavenged from Aphra's Forest Elf Academy. Many of the fruits I’d eaten before no longer provided any amplification effects for me, so I had kept them fresh and stored in my storage equipment.
"Here~ how about we just give it a try? Whether it works or not, I'll give this fruit to you~ consider it a friendship fee, okay?"
"Eh? Friendship... fee? Bu... but I really don't know how to teach it, um..." Ling Yi looked at the fruit in my hand. Although she said she didn't know how, her expression completely betrayed her.
The moment she saw the fruit, she could barely stay airborne. Her entire face screamed that she wanted to take a bite.
"It's fine~ you just need to show me how you perceive plant emotions in front of me, and I'll give you this fruit~"
I held the fruit between two fingers and offered it to Ling Yi. She opened her arms and hugged the fruit with joy.
Then, unable to handle the weight, she slowly sank to the ground.
"Ugh... so heavy... ehehe~" Even so, Ling Yi continued to hug her fruit, wearing a look of pure infatuation. But even with such an expression, the Plant Spirit was still incredibly cute.
"Careful now~" I waved my hand, using a bit of wind to support her so she wouldn't fall too awkwardly.
Ling Yi didn't seem to mind at all. Once she confirmed the fruit was truly hers, she was suddenly full of energy!
"Okay! Since you gave me such a fragrant fruit, Xiao Han, I'll do my best to teach you how to perceive plant emotions!"
"Then let's use this tree as an example, shall we?" I pointed to the Omni-Link Main Network Tree. Although it could no longer be called that, I hadn't thought of a new name for it yet.
"Mhm... okay~ new life always has very strong emotional expressions~" Ling Yi flew up to my side. By now, the tree had grown to about half the height of a person after I had nourished it slightly with basic wood-element spells.
I crouched down slightly, watching Ling Yi fly gently around the sapling.
"See, this tree is very comfortable right now. It just received a soak of wood-element energy, so it's very happy!"
"And how do you know that? Do you see it, or hear it? Or... did you feel it just now when you touched it?" I curiously posed my questions.
"Eh? It's... um... I don't know how to describe it... the branches and leaves are spread out wide... it feels very nice to touch... and... it's just... growing so freely..."
Through a consciousness communication spell, Ling Yi transmitted some cognitions that could be described with words, along with many that couldn't.
I quickly realized where the problem with my question lay.
It was like asking a person why they felt someone else was happy.
If I had to explain, I could only say they were smiling, their eyes were squinted, the corners of their mouth were turned up, or their body seemed excited. Emotion cannot be explicitly articulated; a single "smile" already encompasses all the meanings of that complex emotion.
So... I recalled the original ability of Heart Sense: perceiving heartbeats, establishing a connection and resonance between hearts.
The five senses are the channels of "perception," while Heart Sense is the core of "understanding."
The important part was the understanding.
I slowly returned to a state of essence, expanding my Heart Sense domain. The range was very small, only covering the area around me, encompassing Ling Yi and the sapling of the Omni-Link Main Network Tree.
In this moment, within this tiny domain, there were no Great Spellbooks, no five senses, no Time Sense—only pure Heart Sense.
The manifestation of the Heart State Domain born from Heart Sense appeared. I closed my eyes, shutting off all other perceptions, leaving only that small area covered by my mindset. My world consisted only of that tiny space.
What I was doing was actually very simple: I was stripping away my abilities, letting one ability return to its original form.
The origin of many abilities determines their direction because it represents my initial "cognition" of that ability.
Power cannot jump out of its own definition, just as a fist cannot reshape something broken with a single punch.
However... Heart Sense isn't just pure perception. Within my Heart State, I didn't perceive the existence of the Omni-Link Main Network Tree or Ling Yi; I was simply trying to understand them.
Soon, a strange branch that deviated from the original form of a tree broke through the void of my cognition, poking out like a sprout breaking through soil.
But in my understanding, those branches were just lines. My understanding of plants was too shallow.
I recalled the definition and composition of a plant: root system, branches, bark, leaves... the lines that transport nutrients, the structures that store nutrition, the leaves that convert energy...
In my cognition, this tree seemed to become more complex and bizarre. It could be anything, but it wasn't necessarily a tree.
Until... I gradually let go of my five senses. First was hearing; I felt the wind blowing, the sapling swaying. Then, the tree in my cognition also began to twist wildly, looking exceptionally strange.
Next were smell and taste... that fragrance unique to plants drifted into my nose. I lightly stuck out my tongue and, with the help of my fingers, tasted the flavor of the leaves and branches.
And when my hand touched the leaves, my sense of touch added entirely new information.
The tree in my cognition began to gradually feel like a tree.
At the very least, when "it" swayed, it could produce the crisp sound of rustling leaves and possessed the fragrance of a plant.
Finally, I opened my eyes. The tree constructed in my cognition continuously contracted within my final visual perception, confirming itself as a tree.
Because a tree is meant to grow into such a form.
"Um... are you okay?" Ling Yi flew back and forth beside me, asking with concern.
"I'm fine... really~" After reassuring Ling Yi, I began to understand the concept of the tree within my Heart Sense in a more abstract way.
I instinctively felt that my current thoughts were a bit obsessive, as I was treating myself as a tree to resonate my Heart Sense with another tree.
But I knew very well that I was expanding the boundaries of the definition of "Heart Sense."
How could a tree have a heart?
How could it have Heart Sense?
How could it have emotions?
But what if someone believes they do...?
When exploring the boundaries of the unknown, any existing cognition is merely an obstacle on the path forward. Only by perceiving unknown concepts in a more "emotional" way is it possible to step into a brand-new field—just as I was willing to believe that plants had their own emotions.
So... I locked onto another concept: "Affinity."
Unfortunately, the affinity I had measured back then was non-attribute. However... I had another spell.
Element Elf's Blessing.
I hadn't used this spell in a long time.
It was a blessing spell with a significant cost, reaching into the triple digits. After being modified, I could designate a specific element for the blessing.
And after the routine derivations from the Tree of Great Knowledge, I also possessed other derivative effects of this spellbook. However, it wasn't as easy to derive as basic spells, so I was still relatively unfamiliar with its use.
But... by relying on the blessing of a nature spirit, I could briefly enhance my own natural affinity.
"Ugh... this! What is this!" Ling Yi was startled by the intense energy that suddenly surged around me, and she hurriedly backed away in fear.
I had deliberately restrained the pressure stirred up by the blessing, but it still caused quite an impact.
"Wow! This is... this! This is the blessing of Mother Nature! You're actually someone chosen by nature?!" Feeling the fluctuations of the nature spirit's blessing, Ling Yi no longer showed any sign of fear.
Looking at the simple-minded Ling Yi, I sighed inwardly. Power... does not represent good or evil.
After calming Ling Yi down, I once again threw myself into the realm of affinity perception.
With the support of natural affinity, I seemed to gain a much deeper cognition of what "affinity" actually meant.
Affinity is a talent—an innate talent, just like how everyone has the talent of the five senses. Affinity is a brand-new sensory architecture channel. Since I had no natural affinity, I had never been able to experience this feeling.
Suddenly, I felt a bit envious of those who possessed a certain affinity. In the past, I didn't think it was much, but now that I recognized its value, I admitted I was envious.
But... it was limited to that.
So what if one is born with it? If you don't know how to use it, it's still a waste. Precisely because I never had it, I would cherish it all the more.
It was just like how those innate Transcendent Witches didn't care about the ability of self-generated mana.
It wasn't just that they didn't care; even if they did, they had no way to perceive it.
And now, I was using "Heart Sense" to perceive "Affinity." Precisely because I was experiencing it from scratch, I could more clearly construct the expanded boundaries of the Heart Sense domain.
Heart Sense... now I could say that Heart Sense is a way to perceive and understand life, whether it be plant life or animal life...
Having recognized the characteristics of affinity, my perception and understanding of life reached a point where there was only what I didn't yet understand, not what I couldn't do.
"Thank you, Ling Yi~ You really are a wonderful teacher. You've already taught me how to perceive the emotions of plants~"
"Eh? Re... really? Then I guess I'm pretty amazing!"