Bamboo Mound

Chapter 142 Unknown Creatures

"No way? How can someone still be alive?"

Knowing that he was still within the inherited memories of the Azure Bamboo, and since the scene was still there, he figured that the bamboo grove had not disappeared either.

But where the bamboo grove used to grow, beneath the glass, a pile of long, thin foreign objects, covered with various impurities and particles, still stood.

He recognized it at a glance; it was the root system of the Green Spirit Bamboo!

"It's hard to keep up." Ning Chang pursed his lips.

"A few bamboo stalks finally grew, but they were all chopped down."

"But it won't be so difficult to grow it again after that. If it has roots, it will grow directly into a shoot and won't need to grow from a seedling again."

"only..."

He had no idea how the Green Spirit Bamboo would absorb the nutrients it needed to grow. Below him was a thick layer of glass, almost impossible for plants to absorb, and above him was no other substance. Perhaps it was due to his memory, but Ning Chang did not sense any spiritual energy.

But sometimes things just don't follow science. Soon, a sharp bud emerged from the pile of foreign objects, and at the same time, the glass cracked with a "snap"!

The small bamboo shoot seemed to have all its roots dedicated to supporting it, growing exceptionally fast and soon taking shape.

However, after the brown bamboo shoot skin falls off, the bamboo stalk inside, which should have been emerald green, changes color to a light blue, resembling the appearance of the Green Spirit Bamboo.

"So that's how it changes color? It seems a bit hasty. It can change color just from being struck by lightning a few times. The genes are unstable."

Ning Chang then shook his head, "Forget it, there are probably many more careless things to do in the magical world of cultivation. Let's just assume it's because of the tribulation lightning."

Although the original green has turned into cyan, which is too similar to the color of the sky, the current color still makes them stand out and appear unique and mysterious on this monotonous glass pebble beach compared to before.

As the green bamboo regrown, it seemed to realize the limitations of this glassy pebble beach and began to yearn for a wider, more suitable space to survive.

Ning Chang discovered this phenomenon when he jumped and saw that the Qingling bamboo was only rooting and growing in one direction, and a neat row of bamboo had emerged.

Moreover, its monitoring points are also changing along with its growth center.

However, the growth rate of the Green Spirit Bamboo is still within the range of ordinary bamboo, which is really too long. He discovered by chance that as long as he closes his eyes and waits for a while, he can accelerate the loss of memories and skip these tedious waits.

"I wonder how they managed to record such a long history of memories. Could it be that plants don't have that much consciousness? But that doesn't seem likely..."

At this very beginning, the rooting process of the green bamboo is extremely slow.

Its roots struggle to explore beneath the hard, glassy pavement, each step forward accompanied by the sound of breaking glass, requiring immense effort and a long time.

But the Green Bamboo did not give up. It seemed to have endless patience and perseverance, constantly adjusting its growth strategy.

Even so, the speed was still unsatisfactory, and Qinglingzhu seemed to realize that this could not continue.

During the long process of exploration, the Green Spirit Bamboo gradually evolved a unique ability—the one used to deal with Ning Chang—to recycle some of the nutrients in the bamboo and then concentrate them on the growth of other parts.

Initially, this process of nutrient recovery and supply is also very slow, like a trickle, continuous but weak.

Ning Chang didn't notice until the last bamboo stalk showed signs of withering and wrinkling.

However, the speed of traveling is indeed several times faster than simply growing.

Just as the last bamboo stalk was about to wither, the second-to-last bamboo stalk began to be recycled.

"I'm still not very skilled. I won't inhale the rest. I need to practice more."

As time goes by and experience accumulates, the Green Bamboo has become more and more skilled at using this ability, and its efficiency in nutrient recovery and supply has become increasingly higher.

The growth and forward speed of the root system gradually increased, from the initial difficult crawling to later darting through the glassy pebble beach like a nimble snake, until finally reaching an amazing speed—like in reality, it could instantly turn a part of the bamboo into dust to provide sufficient nutrients to support rapid rooting and growth!

The last bamboo pole also met its fate, and was eventually sucked into dust along with the others.

Finally, with its tenacious perseverance and continuous evolutionary ability, Qinglingzhu finally reached the area outside the rocky beach.

However, what awaited them was not a smooth-sailing paradise, but new challenges and crises.

This is a scorched earth, likely also affected by the lightning tribulation. Although it is still an endless flat expanse, low hills can be seen in the distance, and short grass and moss are spreading not far away.

Compared to the original rocky beach, it is indeed a suitable place to live.

What was unexpected was that as the Qingling bamboo continued to advance into the scorched earth, it discovered other bamboo species, each with its own unique color, growing in a dense, intertwined manner.

As if it could also see them in the distance, Qinglingzhu's direction of movement changed from aimless to straight ahead, accelerating towards that bamboo forest.

However, no matter how the Green Spirit Bamboo moved, touched, or shook, there was no response from the bamboo forest. So it had no choice but to stay dozens of meters away from the bamboo forest and take root and grow there.

Speaking of this, Ning Chang also felt it was somewhat absurd. He didn't know if the communication behavior shown by the Green Spirit Bamboo was just his own imagination, mistaking the unconscious swaying in the wind for conversation.

But not long after, when Ning Chang was drawn by the unusual sound and opened his eyes again, he found that a group of strange creatures had appeared in the once peaceful bamboo forest.

They resemble pigs in shape, dogs in arms and legs, ape-like feet and toes, bear-like teeth, short tails that are hidden in their bodies, and emerald green fur.

They eat bamboo, and when they pass by, they break off branches, dig up tender shoots, and pick fine leaves. They don't peel or remove impurities, but put them whole into their mouths, chew them thoroughly, and swallow them.

"What the hell is this thing?"

No one could answer Ning Chang's question.

He couldn't understand how any creature could grow up so disproportionately and still develop a population.

With its emaciated limbs supporting a body and head that appeared severely obese, it could still walk and forage without any hindrance...

He simply did not believe that such a creature could survive on bamboo alone, even with precedents like the panda.

They moved in groups, but aimlessly. It was precisely because of this that they quickly discovered the existence of the Green Spirit Bamboo.

During this period, the ecology of this area has greatly improved, and there are no longer any traces of scorched earth. The green bamboo has also multiplied to a considerable extent, bordering this green bamboo forest without interfering with each other.