When Ye Bai returned to the breeding center, he saw that the plaque had been freshly cleaned and hung up—it signified the official opening of the center. This marked a promising beginning.
However, Da Hui didn't seem happy. Pacing with his hands behind his back, his forehead beaded with sweat, he looked extremely anxious.
Something had apparently gone wrong with the sunflowers in the nursery.
They had been fine in the morning, but by afternoon, the leaves started falling off rapidly. The mother sunflower plant, now at its second stage, was experiencing massive wilting. Only a small cluster of tender green leaves remained, and the flower head had begun to droop. Clearly, the plant's condition had deteriorated.
Affected by the mother plant's decline, all first-stage sunflowers also appeared sickly. Given that sunflower nectar was a crucial income source for the nursery, this situation left Da Hui in a panic. Having never encountered such a crisis, he didn't know how to respond.
The moment Ye Bai arrived, Da Hui rushed to him as if clinging to a lifeline, dragging him straight to the mother plant on the second floor. Ye Bai had taken care of this particular sunflower for many years, and at a glance, he realized it was actually in a state of evolution.
He recalled it looking like this during its transition from stage one to stage two.
Still, Ye Bai anxiously took the plant to a veterinary clinic. The doctor confirmed his suspicion—the plant was undergoing autophagy due to an energy deficiency. To complete its advancement, it would need a significant amount of energy, or else it might perish.
With no other choice, Ye Bai poured all the energy potions in the breeding center into the sunflower.
The plant hovered on the edge of life and death for two months before finally advancing. From then on, it could reproduce first-stage sunflowers through lateral buds.
Activating his Insight Eye, Ye Bai saw that the gray mist surrounding the mother plant was growing denser, confirming that his theory was correct: sunflower advancement required massive energy.
"It's lucky I managed to extort a Level-3 Sun Stone from He Guangda last time," he thought. "Without it, I wouldn't be able to help the sunflower evolve."
But a new question arose: Why did the sunflower start evolving in the first place? It had little combat capability and couldn't level up by defeating wild beasts. It usually just absorbed sunlight passively. It must have encountered something to trigger this advancement.
"Da Hui, dig a hole in the flowerpot. I'm going to place the Sun Stone at the roots to help complete its evolution," Ye Bai instructed.
Da Hui poked the pot with a claw, creating a fist-sized hole. Ye Bai then asked him to crush the Sun Stone. Da Hui complied, and the powdered stone was poured into the hole.
Immediately, the withered flower began to stir. The roots squirmed out of the soil like earthworms, greedily absorbing the energy. Golden stripes appeared along its stem, and the sunflower began glowing warmly like a giant bulb. The flowerpot cracked from the expanding root system.
To Ye Bai's shock, the roots had wrapped around a number of skeletons—the bones of Earth-Drilling Rats, small but dangerous earth-type beasts known for burrowing. Their skulls had been cleanly pierced, likely by the sunflower's powerful roots.
It became clear to Ye Bai how the sunflower had evolved: a burrowing Earth-Drilling Rat had stumbled into its root system and was instantly killed. Over time, the sunflower must have accumulated several such kills, absorbing their nutrients to grow stronger.
Eventually, the evolved Sunflower King bloomed magnificently. Its fallen leaves regrew, vibrant and golden. A rich fragrance wafted from its petals.
The Thousand-Change Silkworm was almost brought to tears by the scent—it wanted to eat the nectar desperately. Acting on instinct, it leapt toward the flower, mouth wide open.
But mid-air, it was smacked hard by the sunflower's vine-like whip and sent crashing to the ground.
A red mark burned across the silkworm's face. Undeterred, it activated its hardening skill, its body flashing silver, and launched another assault.
Once again, the Sunflower King's whip beat the silkworm senseless, knocking it unconscious.
> Thousand-Change Silkworm: I think I underestimated my opponent.
Ye Bai and Da Hui exchanged glances, speechless.
The Sunflower King gently unfurled its petals to reveal golden nectar inside. The aroma alone was enough to revive the unconscious silkworm—only for it to faint again from excitement.
Even when Ye Bai forcibly recalled the silkworm to its pet space, it escaped repeatedly to fight the sunflower again. Throughout the night, the sounds of slaps and cries echoed through the center.
By morning, everyone looked exhausted with dark circles under their eyes.
Ye Bai noticed something curious—when the sunflower's whip struck the silkworm, sparks appeared. It now took four or five whip attacks to restrain the silkworm.
Could it be evolving too?
Ye Bai used his Insight Eye on the silkworm:
> Name: Thousand-Change Silkworm
Gender: Male
Skills:
Silk Spinning (Proficient)
Hardening (Mastered)
Impact (Beginner)
Hidden Potential:
Defense continues to increase exponentially
Multiple possible evolutionary paths
Conditions unknown
Then, a specific evolutionary route appeared:
> Evolution Route 2:
Species: Sun God Butterfly
Requirements:
Sun Crystal ×1
Flame Crystal ×1
Insect Crystal ×1
(Grind all crystals into powder and expose to strong sunlight at noon)
Silkworm must reach Level 2 Peak
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