Back at the shop, the six half-grown guys, including Dahei, Erhei, Daqing, and Erqing, greeted him warmly, panting and being more enthusiastic and ingratiating than usual. Zhang Guodong knew from this that the six guys were hungry.

Previously, every time they tried to please Zhang Guodong, their large tongues would lick his clothes until they were always wet and dirty. Even Daqing and Erqing started copying them. Were they still wolves? They'd been corrupted by Dahei and Erhei. In a fit of anger, Zhang Guodong decided to stop spoiling them. He would give them treats every time, but only when they were hungry; otherwise, he would ignore them completely. This method was very effective, saving Zhang Guodong from having to change his clothes several times a day.

The six creatures, usually big, black, and blue, all play on the second floor. Being very intelligent, they generally don't come downstairs unless Zhang Guodong takes them out. It saves a lot of trouble!

But Zhang Guodong also felt ashamed about this. Keeping large beasts in the store was not a long-term solution. He worried that over time it would affect the six animals' fierce nature.

After trying to please them, Dahei and the others glared at the two bamboo baskets in Zhang Guodong's hands, their fierce expressions revealed, and they were drooling. As soon as Zhang Guodong entered the shop, they smelled the turtles.

However, Zhang Guodong is currently reluctant to feed these turtles. Wild turtles from deep pools, where the water isn't constantly flowing, tend to live longer. Stream or Yellow River turtles, on the other hand, don't live as long. In general, turtles from different environments have their own unique characteristics and advantages. Zhang Guodong plans to raise these five as breeding stock.

Besides, the five baby turtles only weigh a little over two pounds in total, which is probably not enough for one of them to have a full meal. They can eat four pounds of fresh meat or live fish in one meal! Most people really can't afford to raise them.

"You glutton, wait a minute, it'll be ready soon!" Zhang Guodong said with a laugh, then, after confirming that Li Yun was not there, he carried two bamboo baskets into Peach Blossom Spring.

Taoyuan is quite crowded, feeling packed full, but since the area of ​​Taoyuan began to expand, Zhang Guodong has had hope. But he doesn't know if Taoyuan can expand to a large area.

Endless?

One hundred square kilometers?

Or perhaps ten acres?

Thinking back on the events surrounding Peach Blossom Spring, it seems to have a lot to do with those two green fruit trees, right? They were planted there, and Peach Blossom Spring started to expand right away?

Zhang Guodong put down the bamboo basket, but the five small turtles were not immediately put into the pool.

The blackfish are currently the dominant species in the pool, and Zhang Guodong hasn't yet found a way to balance them out. Although turtles are also carnivores, compared to the blackfish, he's genuinely worried that the turtles will be wiped out by the group.

Fish reproduce extremely quickly, and the Taoyuan Pond is unique in that there are almost no cases of fish dying due to environmental factors. This makes the reproduction of snakehead fish extremely smooth and rapid.

Imagine a small number of soft-shelled turtles facing off against a large number of snakehead fish. What would the result be?

Zhang Guodong ignored the problem for now, deciding to deal with it later. What he was most looking forward to at the moment was whether Peach Blossom Spring had expanded further in the next few hours. So he couldn't wait to cross the distance between the spatial barrier and the boundary, wondering if it was still ten centimeters.

If it's greater than ten centimeters, it means Taoyuan is still expanding. If it hasn't changed, then Zhang Guodong doesn't want to continue, fearing the outcome will disappoint him.

"Huh!" Zhang Guodong stepped across the medicinal herb garden, then suddenly stopped, his gaze fixed on two green fruit trees.

He had just looked at the fruit tree a few hours ago, and there hadn't been any major changes. But now, tiny, dark red buds were sprouting from the branches, densely covering the branches of all sizes.

It's sprouted!

You can't see it at all unless you look closely.

In this way, the entire green fruit tree became vibrant and full of life. The other tree was the same; the whole tree seemed to shimmer with light, and standing in front of it made one feel relaxed and comfortable. This aura was much more pronounced than that of the two ordinary century-old trees next to it.

What caught his attention even more was that Zhang Guodong sensed fluctuations of spiritual energy threads approaching from all directions. Most of these threads were concentrated on the two green fruit trees, flowing into their dark red buds. This was a significant change that had never occurred before!

I had absorbed it before, but not this much.

At this moment, each tender bud resembles a tiny mouth, absorbing very little spiritual energy, yet it absorbs it every single second. Given enough time, one can imagine the value of this green fruit tree!

It really is a treasure!

Zhang Guodong took two deep, greedy breaths, feeling completely refreshed. Although the two century-old trees beside him also absorbed the spiritual energy of Peach Blossom Spring, their absorption rate was incomparable to that of the Green Fruit Tree! It was like comparing a gentle ripple to a massive ocean wave – worlds apart.

Excited, Zhang Guodong eagerly checked the distance between the spatial barrier and the earth's boundary, only to be immediately disappointed. The distance seemed unchanged.

Still somewhat unwilling to give up, Zhang Guodong measured the distance with his hand, but this time the difference became apparent: the estimated distance differed significantly from the actual distance. This hand measurement confirmed to Zhang Guodong that Taoyuan was still expanding!

The distance between them has increased by more than one centimeter! More than eleven centimeters!

These are the changes that have occurred in just a few hours.

It's a bit small, but Zhang Guodong is satisfied, as long as the expansion of Taoyuan doesn't stop. Perhaps in a few months, Taoyuan's area will have expanded several times over, or even more?

Zhang Guodong's idea was somewhat wishful thinking. Indeed, the expansion of Peach Blossom Spring was related to the Green Fruit Tree, but there were only two of them. Once they began to branch out and bear fruit, the amount of spiritual energy absorbed would stabilize. Furthermore, the larger the area of ​​Peach Blossom Spring, the more spiritual energy it would require, and its expansion couldn't be as rapid as it was now.

It will slow down, even to the point of being imperceptible!

Even if it were just a few months, or even a few years or decades, it would be impossible to expand to the area Zhang Guodong imagined.

The reasons for this will not be discussed here.

But for Zhang Guodong, as long as Peach Blossom Spring continues to expand, he is happy. This way, he can collect more precious tree species or medicinal herbs; in short, he will have enough space to do more things.

After confirming that Peach Blossom Paradise was still expanding, Zhang Guodong felt that his decision not to sell the green fruit trees was very wise. If he sold one tree, he would get twenty or thirty million, but the expansion of Peach Blossom Paradise would be reduced by at least half. If he sold both trees, he might not have realized that Peach Blossom Paradise would continue to expand!

All of this indicates that the two green fruit trees are extremely precious species. Zhang Guodong doesn't know if they are the legendary species, but currently, even on the black market, he hasn't seen such a precious species. Those species that have sold for tens of millions are far inferior to the green fruit trees.

This idea made him eager to collect more 'Green Fruit Tree' level trees, and he wondered if he could also get Li Ningguang's tree. This change of thought brought him closer to Li Ningguang's proposed 'one-year treasure hunt' plan, but also further away.

Zhang Guodong was extremely eager to see what Peach Blossom Spring would look like after its significant expansion. He desperately wanted to know what lay behind that spatial barrier. The spiritual energy within Peach Blossom Spring was inexhaustible, maintaining a stable concentration, but where did this spiritual energy originate? Zhang Guodong currently had no answers to any of these questions.

There are still many similar questions.

But Zhang Guodong could not share this secret with anyone! He was selfish too.

"Phew!" Calming his excited emotions, Zhang Guodong walked to the edge of the pool.

He couldn't stay in Peach Blossom Spring for too long, otherwise Li Yun would discover that he had appeared out of nowhere, and that would be terrible.

"Let's get some food for Dahei and the others first!" Zhang Guodong took a large, handled net from the frame set up over the pond. This net was specifically used to catch fish weighing over a pound, mainly snakehead, grass carp, and common carp.

The three types of fish have large skeletons, making it difficult for the large mesh holes to pass through.

Eels, on the other hand, are long and slender, and they can easily slip out, as can river shrimp. As for crabs, they are clustered in circles around the edge of the pond, and the circles are so densely packed that you have to be careful when walking, or you'll step on one of these eight-legged creatures.

As soon as the large net was lifted, the water in the pool began to splash, but quickly calmed down.

Zhang Guodong cursed, "Damn, it's practically a spirit!"

Of course, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but as soon as Zhang Guodong took out the large, handle-covered net, the fish were scared away. Because he frequently used this net to catch fish, the fish naturally developed a habitual fear of it.

It's said that every time a fish is caught, the other fish in the pond lose weight, apparently from being frightened. It will take several more months for their weight to return to normal.

But this net is a bit big, a meter in diameter!

With each scoop, some unlucky fish would be scooped up and put into the dried-up tank, but the struggles of the blackfish would soak Zhang Guodong's clothes. There were seventeen big fish, all blackfish, each weighing over a pound, enough for one adult and six children for a meal.

"Starting today, we'll use snakehead fish to improve your diet!" To solve the problem of snakehead fish overbreeding, Zhang Guodong made a tough decision. He released the grass carp and common carp, leaving the snakehead fish for Big Black and the others to eat.

The diet of Lao Qing and Da Hei was changed to precious black carp, which relieved the grass carp and other fish. They eat twenty or thirty a day, each weighing over a pound, which is quite a lot. Moreover, a lot of them need to be caught and sold for money. The worst part is that they also have to deal with the black carp eating them.

Big Black and the others are in for a treat!

Finally, Zhang Guodong released the five baby turtles from among the crabs. He was afraid that dumping them directly into the water would kill the snakehead fish, so he decided to leave them on the shore to let them choose—it's survival of the fittest, after all! Animals have a strong sense of danger; only the survivors are truly powerful.

As soon as Zhang Guodong released them, the five turtles were initially confused about what was going on. Once they were free, one of them became active. Seeing water in front of it, it immediately took a step forward and quickly plunged into the pool with a splash.

"Damn it!" Zhang Guodong tried to stop them, but it was too late. He was probably also wondering how Blackfish would deal with the new intruders.

The little turtle was noticeably more agile and faster in the water than on land, gracefully paddling while only its head peeked out, warily watching its surroundings. The fish swam past it.

Suddenly, a larger black fish swiftly approached the turtle. Zhang Guodong thought to himself, "Why is it being treated so differently? Grass carp and common carp seem to be in the pond too, right? The turtle was noticed as soon as it entered; is this some kind of keen sense of danger in animals? Clearly, the turtle is much more dangerous than the grass carp and other fish."

When the blackfish and the turtle met, the water splashed violently, and soon a small red patch appeared in the pool and began to spread, clearly indicating that it was either the turtle or the blackfish that was injured.

Upon seeing the blood, more than a dozen large black fish swarmed towards it. The turtle was clearly outmatched and immediately moved towards the shore.

Fortunately, the distance wasn't far, and the little turtle managed to break through the encirclement and quickly climb ashore. When Zhang Guodong took a look, he was shocked to see that the turtle was covered in wounds, with bloodstains on the ground and wounds on its back and legs.

He's still alive?

That's awesome!

After watching "Anaconda," Zhang Guodong developed a fearful impression of blackfish (piranhas). Imagine a huge swarm of blackfish (piranhas) rushing in, their sharp teeth tearing at the enemy, and in no time, the enemy is wiped out.

But the fight with the turtle at this moment is real.

The little turtle actually had its own tricks: lightning-fast bites, sharp, blade-like claws, and the advantageous distance from the shore, which ultimately allowed it to escape the fight.

After this incident, the other four turtles dared not go into the water for the time being. The blackfish threatening the turtles were all large; the smaller ones were currently no match for them. To feed in the water, they had to avoid attacks from the large blackfish. Zhang Guodong was certain of this and felt relieved.

After leaving Peach Blossom Spring, we brought Lao Qing and the impatient Da Hei in, and they enjoyed a delicious meal there.

It won't work in the room; these guys eat rather roughly and would probably make a bloody mess on the floor.

P.S.: First update, 3500 words. It seems like every update of Heavenly Dao is at least 3500 words, right? Uh, there will be a second update later! Heavenly Dao is calling for recommendation votes, collections, rewards, and rating votes. Sigh, the last one doesn't seem to be happening.

Also, this book will be available for purchase in the next few days. If you like this book, please prepare your VIP accounts as soon as possible and try to subscribe to support it. To be honest, I'm very worried that the subscription rate will plummet. A drop in subscriptions would be a fatal blow to the author, so please subscribe to support it. If you have any monthly tickets, please save them and send them to me after the book is available for purchase. Thank you!