With John"s tiny core slowly being nourished, he can now send his senses outside his body. He can now view a small area around him. The bush is no longer in an empty world with only himself. He begins to inspect the world around him. The ground looks slightly scorched but as he already knew life had begun to sprout once again. There are even a few small animals that dare to come near and nibble, on the growing plants."Am I on a hill?" John wonders. The ground slightly curves down around him. Expanding his senses out only allows him to understand the direct area around him. It is unlike vision in which one can see a vast distance, as long as there is nothing to block the view. This is why plant cultivators are rare. Usually, a plant that has formed a core would be plucked, before it could truly defend itself.
"What can I do to save myself? There doesn"t seem to be anything around. I"m practically begging to be eaten!" he worries. "Even a pa.s.sing bird can swoop down and gobble me up," he imagines. Usually, plant cultivators come from some horrible place, where people can"t reach managing to cultivate in secret. It is quite conspicuous with him sticking out like a sore thumb, from the plants around him.
John had heard that spiritual plants would inspire growth, in the plants around them. Perhaps he can do something similar? With some work, he begins to transfer energy through his roots to the other plants. Within a week he can sense, a large increase in foliage around him. No longer out in the open, he feels very safe.
That is until all the animals start eating the powered up plants. "I"ve only increased the danger," John laments. His tactic has completely backfired. Fearing for his life, he tries to look as normal as possible by suppressing his energy. This way the animals will ignore him, eating the more nutritious food around him instead.
This plan worked at first, until a large demonic bull arrives. It has been attracted by the commotion. Seeing the premium gra.s.s and weeds around John makes the bull ecstatic. A demonic bull of this level is barely smarter than an average animal. Yet it can still notice the uniqueness of this location.
The demonic bull slams into a nearby demonic deer maiming and killing it violently. The other feasting animals are surprised by the sudden violence. Noticing that the atmosphere has taken a turn for the worst, they begin to scatter. With them gone the demonic bull happily chomps down, on the nearby plants. It is a ravenous beast. It quickly eats every leaf and blade of gra.s.s around John.
Soon the beast is eyeing John carefully, considering whether he should eat this weird plant or not. Sensing the danger, John nearly has a heart attack. He couldn"t even manage to scare off a rabbit let alone this demonic bull! "I"ve doomed my self once again," he cries while sighing in remorse. "I can only stimulate the plants around me. Hopefully, he will eat his fill and move on," John schemes.
So again John sends energy into the ground. It is a huge waste, but he is a captive. Every day he hopes that the Demonic Bull would get bored and leave. However, much to his frustration, the bull has decided to make this area his territory. All the other creatures flee in fear, from this small hill. In the end, John decides to accept his new captor as the lord of the area. As long as he can pay the tribute, he will survive. This was much like his days in the sect, where all his hard work disappeared with not even a thank you.
"I guess I should give this big guy a name. Since we"ll be living together for quite some time it seems," John decides halfheartedly. Thinking for a bit. He settles on a simple name. "From now on you are Joe the Bull! If you"re not happy with it, tough luck," he exclaims. John is happy with his victory that isn"t a victory, he celebrates by gently shaking his branch. Of course, the bull knows nothing of his new name and doesn"t pay the bush any heed.