1958 Transitional Period Of The Forest

"Huh?" Lin Mu read the information he had just found several times over, just to make sure it was correct.

'During certain times, the Evergreen Pillar Bamboo will bear fruit. These fruits are very hard to find, but unlike the bamboo themselves, the Wood Elemental Qi within them stays contained. Those who found them are quite lucky, and each fruit is the same as a high grade wood elemental Immortal pill.' Lin Mu found this information in a book of alchemy that he had bought in the Capital City.

On its own, this bit of information wasn't helpful. But when combined with other pieces of intimation, one could make out some facts.

The Natural Befuddling Array isn't something that usually exists in the evergreen Pillars Forest. 

The time that the Evergreen Pillar Bamboos bear fruits is also not set, and happens almost randomly.

Finding the said fruits was also described to be very difficult, with most considering it not worth it for the time needed. One could very easily make a pill of equal quality with much less effort than wandering around looking for the fruits.

To avoid encountering the beasts, and also to travel faster, most people didn't go through the Evergreen Pillars Forest. Instead, they chose to take the official road that went through the open areas surrounding the Evergreen Pillars Forest.

'If I combine all these… It is highly likely that the Natural Befuddling Array only activates when the Evergreen Pillar Bamboos are bearing fruit. And since most people avoid going through the forest, there aren't any proper records about it too.

It is also possible that this Natural Befuddling Array is not constant throughout the forest, and actually localized to specific parts. Otherwise, there should have been someone who noticed this in the past.' Lin Mu analyzed the information.

He was also sure that many people had probably entered the Natural Befuddling Array, but either didn't realize it and it faded away on its own or simply thought they were lost.

'If this Natural Befuddling Array is transitional, it means all we need to do is simply wait and it'll be gone on its own.' Lin Mu reckoned.

With this conjecture in his mind, Lin Mu felt a lot more calm. He could think further and decided that it might just be better to find a suitable place and build a little cultivation pavilion for himself.

'Yeah, that might be for the best. I should utilize as much time as I have to practice the Litany Of the Verdant Forests… there is no telling if I'll need it later.' Lin Mu thought to himself.

He also had the expedition he had promised to go out on with the Crown Prince. The expedition had links with the Demonic Tribes and as such, Lin Mu was sure there could be some mental attacks or formations affecting people there.

To avoid that he knew learning the Litany Of the Verdant Forest was necessary.

In addition to that, there was also the threat of Yao Changying. 

She had, after all, sworn to come after him and there was no telling where she was. The Empire had still been unable to catch her, or even find out where she had gone. Her abilities were uncanny and could affect minds too.

"Now let's see… where should I build one?" Lin Mu wondered. 

His immortal sense was spread around, trying to find a wide enough area.

The average distance between each Evergreen Pillar bamboo was just a meter and as such, it wasn't exactly comfortable. And in some places, it was even closer. Thus, Lin Mu thought that he might just have to cut a few of the bamboo to make space.

~Shing~

Lin Mu withdrew Afternoon Pine and did an assessment of the area around him.

"Ten meters wide should be enough." Lin Mu muttered and swung the sword.

~HONG~

The Sword intent infused slash of Afternoon Pine, smoothly cutting through all the Evergreen Pillar Bamboos within the area.

~THUD~THUD~THUD~

Then a second later, they all started to fall down. Some of them got caught against the other Evergreen Pillar Bamboos next to them, getting them stuck in a slanting position.

"Won't be enough, need to cut smaller. They are too tall." Lin Mu swung Afternoon Pine a few more times, chopping all of the Evergreen Pillar Bamboo into smaller segments.

In just a few seconds, a rain of bamboo started with the leaves showering around Lin Mu. And yet, not a single segment or leaf hit Lin Mu, all of them falling around him evenly.

"There we go, I don't even need much else to build the pavilion now." Lin Mu smiled, seeing that the building material was already there.

He quickly got to building it, while also inscribing some formations on the Evergreen Pillar Bamboo segments. He needed it to be stronger than what it was right now, just to be on the safe side. Not to mention, he also added some isolating formations to it, to prevent others from discovering him.

The Natural Befuddling array of the Evergreen Pillar forest would eventually disappear, and beasts might disturb him. Therefore, the isolating arrays would help in keeping him undisturbed.

The pavilion he made wasn't that elaborate either.

It had a slanting roof with eight sides and eight pillars that supported it. 

It was open on all sides, so as to get a full view of his surroundings. This was one of the requirements for the Litany Of the Verdant Forests too.

One needed to be immersed in the forest to learn it. 

It was also why Lin Mu had chosen to build the pavilion out of the Evergreen Pillar Bamboos. Since they were naturally part of the forest, it would not stand out.

'The Evergreen Pillar Bamboo should also start growing back here soon.' Lin Mu had read about the fast growth speed.

Bamboo shoots would pop up in just a couple of days and repopulate the area. 

When that happened, the newly made pavilion would fully blend in.