Chapter 779: The Emotions of Plants, the Affinity of Heart Sense Boundaries
After becoming nominal friends with this pure Wood Elemental Sprite in this way, we also chatted about some other topics.
For example, we exchanged names, including mine and Sister Bai’s, and surprisingly, this Wood Elemental Sprite had its own name!
According to Sister Bai and the records within the Great Knowledge Tree, Wood Elemental Sprites that haven’t formed large communities generally do not possess language or writing.
After some inquiry, I learned that they had lived in this “world” for quite some time and had also been oppressed and enslaved for a long while. As for language and writing… it didn’t form a system; it was quite fragmented, and even daily communication was somewhat difficult.
However, the desire to express their needs and intentions was still very clear.
I was told that this language had some relationships with the original Wood Elemental Sprites. Based on my speculation, those first Wood Elemental Sprites captured by Wizards might have been part of a large community and had their own language and writing, but upon arriving in this world fragment, it didn’t get passed down completely and became partially lost.
This Wood Elemental Sprite was named Ling Yi; in this world, the naming convention for Wood Elemental Sprites was “Ling××”.
It could be said that it resembled the naming pattern of Fool Dream.
Perhaps this is the naming convention favored by the little ones in small communities.
Then, Sister Bai and I set up a simple temporary tent on this Lake Island. For the next few days, I planned to cast aside my worries from the outside world and live comfortably with Sister Bai in this place where only the two of us were present.
After setting up the tent, I went to a small mound where the Wanlian Main Network Tree was planted.
At this moment, the Wanlian Main Network Tree, nourished by the energy environment released by the Extraordinary Crystal, was growing rapidly.
After a simple inducement from me, it lost many of the abilities originally granted to it, or rather… its constraints.
It didn’t need to be a Wanlian Main Network Tree; even the name was a shackle bestowed by that world. Now, it was merely a tree.
It would no longer actively spread its root network, nor would it actively attach to the earth vein and become a parasite above it; it would just be a large tree with relatively developed roots.
I granted a tree temporary freedom to grow.
But I also had expectations of it.
I really was curious… are plants also considered… life recognized by the Void?
Yes, they are.
There are numerous transformation spells and summoning spells based on special extraordinary plants; thus… plants also meet the criteria for life acknowledged by the Void.
Including naturally born Wood Elemental Sprites, they are also recognized as lives by the Void.
“Ling Yi, may I ask you a question? Can you understand the language of plants? Or do you perceive the emotions of plants?” I asked curiously.
The research field of botany is quite vast, just like zoology, and there is also the fascinating concept of animal affinity.
Wood Elemental Sprites are the absolute “native experts” in the field of plants; even Forest Elves cannot compare to Wood Elemental Sprites in the realm of “nativism.”
“The language of plants… do plants have a language? But I can feel the emotions of plants, that’s true. It’s just like this budding tree; I can feel its joy! But I can also sense its confusion… and a bit of loneliness. Once it grows up and I settle down with it, it won’t feel so lonely anymore!”
“Is that so?” After receiving an affirmative reply, I understood… plants indeed had their own emotions.
Then… since there are emotions, my perception should be able to detect them!
However, my sixth sense, Heart Sense, couldn’t perceive these emotions at all… Could it be that I didn’t yet understand how plants convey emotions, hence I couldn’t sense them?
Thinking about such matters seemed meaningless.
It was akin to the unseen earth vein creatures ignoring regionality and manipulating earth vein energy; Wood Elemental Sprites could perceive plant emotions in ways that ordinary pathways cannot understand.
Even the emotions perceived by Wood Elemental Sprites might not fall within the definition of emotions as we understand it.
However… I still felt a bit reluctant; as a sensory Body Cultivator, I had been outdone in the perception channel by a cute Wood Elemental Sprite.
So I aimed to put in some effort.
The sensory channel for emotional perception should belong to Heart Sense, and the Five Senses could also observe to a certain extent.
“Ling Yi, can you teach me how to perceive the emotions of plants?”
“Eh? Me? Teach you?”
“Yes! Is that okay?” I said while taking out a small fruit.
To say fruit, I actually had quite a few here, many of which I had taken from the Aphhemia Forest Elf Academy. Those fruits I previously ate had already lost their enhancement effects on me, so I had been preserving them in my Storage Equipment.
“Here – just give it a try, regardless of success or failure, I’ll give you this fruit as a gift of friendship, how about that?”
“Eh? Friendship… fee? But… I really don’t know how to teach you. That…” Ling Yi looked at the fruit in my hand; though she claimed not to know how, her expression completely betrayed her.
Upon seeing the fruit, she seemed unable to maintain her composure and appeared as if she wanted to take a bite.
“It’s okay; you just need to show me how to perceive plant emotions in front of me, and I’ll give you this fruit!”
I presented the fruit with my fingers, and Ling Yi joyfully grabbed it with her hands.
Then she began to slowly descend to the ground, struggling with the weight.
“Hmm… so heavy… hehe~” Even so, Ling Yi still clung to her fruit, showing a rather smitten expression, but despite that, the Wood Elemental Sprite was undeniably adorable.
“Be careful!” I waved my hand to slightly hold her up with the wind, preventing her from falling too awkwardly.
However, Ling Yi seemed unconcerned, and upon confirming that the fruit was indeed for her, she became invigorated!
“Alright! Since you gave me such a fragrant fruit, I’ll try my best to teach you how to perceive the emotions of plants!”
“Let’s take this tree as an example, shall we?” I pointed to the Wanlian Main Network Tree. Although it no longer quite resembled the Wanlian Main Network Tree, I hadn’t thought of a new name for it yet.
“Uh… okay! Newly born life always has very strong emotional expressions~” Ling Yi floated up to my side; at this moment, this tree had already grown to about half a person’s height after I gently nourished it with basic wood magic.
I squatted down slightly, watching Ling Yi flutter beside this sapling.
“You see, this tree is very content right now. It just received nourishment from wood energy, and it’s very happy!”
“How do you know this? Did you see it, hear it, or did you sense it through the earlier touch?” I posed my question curiously.
“Eh? I… um… I don’t know how to describe it… the branches and leaves are spreading wide… it feels very comfortable to touch… and it… well… it grows very freely…”
Ling Yi communicated some describable language through Mind Communication Magic, as well as much that could not be put into words.
Soon, I realized the flaw in my question.
This question was like asking someone why they feel happy.
If I were to explain, I could only say they were smiling, their eyes were squinting, and their mouths were curling up – emotions cannot be clearly articulated, or rather, simply stating “smile” encompasses all meanings of that complex emotion.
So… I recalled the initial capability of Heart Sense, perceiving heartbeats, establishing a connection and resonance between hearts.
The Five Senses are channels of “perception,” while Heart Sense is the core of “understanding.”
What’s important is the understanding.
I gradually returned to an essence, expanding the Heart Sense field, the range was tiny, only covering my immediate surroundings, encompassing Ling Yi and the sapling of the Wanlian Main Network Tree.
At this moment, within this small area, there were no two Great Spellbooks, no insensitivity, no sense of time – just pure Heart Sense.
The Heart Realm born from Heart Sense emerged; I closed my eyes, sealing other perceptions, leaving only the small range enveloped by the Heart Realm. My world consisted of this little space.
What I was doing was quite simple: I was stripping my abilities down, letting one capability revert to its original form.
The primordial nature of many abilities determines their trajectory because it represents the initial “cognition” I have of them.
Strength cannot escape its definition, just as a fist cannot reshape shattered things with a single blow.
However… Heart Sense is not merely perception; within my Heart Realm, I did not sense the existence of the Wanlian Main Network Tree and Ling Yi. I was simply trying to understand them.
Soon, an oddly shaped branch, deviating from the original tree shape, broke through from the voids I perceived, emerging like a sprout breaking through the soil.
However, in my understanding, those branches are lines – my comprehension of plants was too shallow.
I recalled the definitions and compositions of plants, roots, trunks, bark, leaves… the pathways for transporting nutrients, the structures for storing nourishment, the leaves for energy conversion…
In my perception, this tree began to seem more complex and strange; it could be anything but not necessarily a tree.
Until… I gradually loosened my perception of the Five Senses, starting with hearing. I felt the wind blowing, the sapling swaying, and soon, in my understanding, the tree also began to move wildly, appearing exceptionally bizarre.
Then came taste and smell… the unique fragrance of plants filled my nostrils, and I lightly stuck out my tongue, using my fingers to sense the taste of the leaves.
As my hand touched the foliage, my sense of touch received brand-new information.
The tree in my understanding gradually took on a tree-like essence.
At least, when “it” swayed, it could produce a crisp rustling sound from the leaves and also had the fragrance belonging to plants.
Finally, I opened my eyes, and the tree, constructed in my perception, continued to shrink within my final visual, confirming itself as a tree.
Because a tree grows into this form.
“Hey… are you okay?” Ling Yi buzzed around me, asking with some concern.
“I’m fine… really!” After calming Ling Yi, I began to understand the concept of tree-ness in a more abstract manner within my Heart Sense.
I instinctively perceived that my current thoughts were somewhat deranged, as I was resonating my Heart Sense with one tree while considering myself another.
But I was conscious that I was expanding the boundaries of the “Heart Sense” definition.
What heart could a tree have?
What Heart Sense is there,
What emotions are there?
But what if someone believes they do…
In exploring the unknown boundaries, any existing understanding becomes merely an obstacle on the path forward; only by sensibly perceiving the unknown concepts can one step into new fields, just like how I am willing to believe that plants have their own emotions.
Therefore… I honed in on another concept: “Affinity.”
Unfortunately, the affinity I initially measured was attribute-less, but… I had another spell.
The Blessing of Elemental Sprites.
I hadn’t used this spell in a while.
It is a transformational spell that consumes a considerable amount of energy, reaching three digits, and after magical modifications, it can now be designated for elemental protection.
And through the routine derivation from the Great Knowledge Tree, I also mastered other derivative effects of this spellbook, though it does not derive as readily as basic spells, so my proficiency in using it is still quite rusty.
However… with the aid of natural sprites, I can temporarily enhance my natural affinity.
“Hmm… what! What is this!” Ling Yi was startled by the sudden surge of powerful energy around me and hurriedly stepped back in fear.
Though I had intentionally restrained the power of the blessing’s surge, it still caused quite an impact.
“Wow! This… this! This is the blessing of Mother Nature! You’re actually chosen by nature?!” Ling Yi sensed the fluctuations of the elemental sprite’s blessing and lost her fear.
Looking at the pure Ling Yi, I sighed inwardly; power… does not represent good or evil.
After reassuring Ling Yi, I dove back into the realm of affinity perception.
Empowered by the natural affinity, I seemed to gain a deeper understanding of what “affinity” actually meant.
Affinity is a talent, an innate gift, just like everyone possesses the talent of the Five Senses; affinity represents a new channel for perceptive constructs, and without any affinity, I cannot experience this feeling.
Suddenly, I felt a bit envious of those who have some form of affinity. In the past, I thought it didn’t matter, but now, upon realizing its value, I admit I am envious.
But… only to a point.
What difference does it make if it comes naturally? If you cannot utilize it, it’s still a waste; it’s precisely because I have never had it that I cherish it even more.
Just like those extraordinary witches born with the ability to generate self-magic, they wouldn’t care much about it.
Not just indifferent, but even if they did care, they have no way to understand it.
And now, I utilize “Heart Sense” to comprehend “affinity.” It’s precisely because I have experienced it from nothingness to existence that I can more clearly build the boundary of Heart Sense field expansion.
Heart Sense… I can now say, Heart Sense is a way to perceive life and understand life, whether plant life or animal life…
Upon realizing the characteristics of affinity, my perception and understanding of life have reached a level where there is only not understanding, with no inability.
“Thank you, Ling Yi! You truly are a wonderful teacher; you’ve now taught me how to perceive the emotions of plants!”
“Eh? Really… really? Then I’m really amazing!”
