When the broth was ready, Yu Su had Yu Meng and the others share the beef soup.
Drinking a warm bowl of beef soup in the cold winter made everyone very satisfied.
"Big brother, it's really delicious." Yu Zhou sat beside Yu Su, holding a soup bowl.
Yu Su smiled, gently ruffling his hair, "If it's good, drink more."
"Okay!" Yu Zhou nodded, holding the bowl with both hands, sipping it slowly.
Jian Yunchuan watched his younger son and reminded him, "Kid, drink slowly."
At this moment, the father and two sons were sitting side by side.
Lu Yan filled a bowl of soup and walked over, sitting beside Yu Su, forming a group of four.
Seeing this, Yu Meng and the others brought their bowls over, sitting on the side.
Other people followed suit, gathering around the fire in a circle.
"Ah, in previous winters, we didn't dare to imagine having such days," an elderly villager sighed. They had lived their whole lives in Yu Village and were experiencing comfortable winter days for the first time.
"That's right, thanks to Lord Yu Su."
"My grandson has opened up his potential, now practicing with Lord Yu Su. He will surely have a bright future."
"You old guy, you've flaunted it to everyone in the neighborhood, and now you've come here to show off again, haven't you?""My grandson is outstanding; why can't I boast a bit? Lord Yunchuan also boasts about Lord Yu Su."
"Can your grandson compare to Lord Yu Su?"
The elderly couple, behaving like children, bantered back and forth, amusing the onlookers.
Yu Su glanced at his father, "Dad, did you hear? Stop boasting everywhere."
"You don't understand. This is a father's joy," Jian Yunchuan chuckled.
"..."
Yu Zhou looked at Yu Su, whispering, "Big brother, I boasted to Yu Ji and Yu Kui too."
"Oh? What did you say?"
"I said my big brother is the best in the whole village."
Yu Su, pleased with his liveliness, said, "You're right."
Yu Zhou grinned, revealing the gap from losing two baby teeth during recent teething, making him look particularly interesting.
Amused, Yu Su couldn't resist ruffling his hair again.
Yu Meng and the others noticed, bursting into laughter, and Yu Meng choked, causing a coughing fit.
Yu Feng slapped his back hard, "Serves you right for making fun of Yu Zhou."
"Cough, cough... you almost killed me!"
Yu Zhou looked puzzled at Yu Meng, not understanding why he was laughing.
Yu Su advised him, "Ignore him, drink your soup."
Seeing Yu Zhou's bowl almost empty, Lu Yan scooped a large spoonful for him, filled with stewed meat and tender snow gourd, overflowing his bowl.
"Thank you, Brother Lu," Yu Zhou exclaimed.
Lu Yan nonchalantly grunted, taking away Yu Su's empty bowl and returning after a while with a large bowl for him.
Yu Su, smiling, took the bowl, noticing it was empty, "Aren't you getting some for yourself?"
Lu Yan replied, "Not much left, let them have it."
Yu Su raised an eyebrow slightly, appreciating Lu Yan's considerate gesture.
If Lu Yan knew his thoughts, he would probably tell him that he treated these people well because they were Yu Su's villagers, and he didn't mind being friendly to them.
---
The Yu family
Hearing the lively atmosphere from the square, the family of three stayed indoors with gloomy expressions.
Today, the village was making beef soup, but no one came to invite them.
They wanted to shamelessly get a taste but were afraid of being driven away before getting a bowl.
"I'm going out!"
Unable to stand the atmosphere, Yu Xiong stood up, slamming the door and stormed out.
Ya Shan Shi hurriedly called after him, "Where are you going? It's so cold outside!"
"Why shout? Let him go wherever he wants."
"He's your son; don't you care?"
"If I didn't care, would our family be like this? I offended Yu Su, all because of him!"
"In the end, you blame your son. Why don't you blame yourself for being useless!"
The couple quarreled, throwing things inside.
Next door, neighbors heard the commotion, sighed, and commented on the ongoing disputes in the Yu family.
---
Yu Su parked the sled at the entrance of the forest. During this time, he had explored most areas around Jade Yu Village, noting the locations of herbs and ingredients on the map drawn by the all-knowing spirit elf.
Today, they planned to search a forest east of the river, near the eastern mountains.
Before entering the forest, the spirit elf mentioned energy fluctuations inside, likely caused by either spirit grass or other treasures. Excited, Yu Su decided to explore.
As the sled was inconvenient in the forest, they left it outside and walked in with Lu Yan.
Inside, the mountain's aura was noticeably richer than outside, suggesting the possibility of something that could gather or emit spiritual energy.
Yu Su immediately thought of the flame bird egg in his hand.
During this time, he had been using the Spirit Gathering Array to hatch the flame bird egg, placing it next to him while meditating. However, the effect wasn't very pronounced, and the egg showed no signs of hatching.
He wondered if whatever was in this mountain had any connection to the flame bird egg.
The buzzing sound interrupted their thoughts as a swarm of thumb-sized bees surrounded them.
"Lu Yan, set them on fire," Yu Su said, waving vines to fend off the bees.
After Lu Yan ignited the fire, Yu Su trapped the bee swarm in a ball of vines, quickly burning them to ashes.
Breathing heavily, Yu Su asked, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Lu Yan replied. Their quick reactions prevented the bees from getting close.
"These bees are surprisingly large," Yu Su said with lingering fear.
"Master, these are Blacktail Bees. Their honey is very sweet and has detoxifying properties; you should collect some," the spirit elf advised.
Yu Su and Lu Yan found the beehive nearby, cleared the remaining bees, and collected the honey, temporarily storing it in Yu Su's space since they lacked proper collection tools.
Taking a taste, Yu Su confirmed its sweetness.
Given the absence of tools, they left the remaining hive for now.
Lu Yan had grown accustomed to Yu Su's mysterious abilities, showing no reaction.
"Strange that a bee swarm appears on such a cold day."
"It's warmer here than outside."
As they moved deeper into the mountain, the temperature continued rising. When they reached a stream, the sound of flowing water echoed.
Yu Su suspected that someone unfamiliar with the area might get lost due to these phenomena, similar to the mist on Deer God Mountain.
The presence of such anomalies suggested that treasures were ahead.
Guided by the spirit elf, Yu Su and Lu Yan traversed through the thickening mist, reaching a pond surrounded by flourishing flowers and trees, resembling a vibrant spring.
The water surface was calm, with delicate pink lotuses blooming peacefully. Lotus leaves floated on the water, adorned with glistening dewdrops. The enchanting scene seemed like a blossoming spring.
The most beautiful aspect, however, was the blooming lotus flowers.
Inquiring within, Yu Su asked, "Are these lotuses the treasure?"
"It's the Spirit Jade beneath the pond," the spirit elf excitedly affirmed. "I didn't expect to find Spirit Jade here; our luck is quite good."
"The lotuses, nourished by the Spirit Jade, have acquired spiritual energy. Did you notice that lotus seedhead? Its seeds should supplement some spiritual energy."
Directed by the spirit elf, Yu Su first dug up the Spirit Jade and then proceeded to pluck the lotus seedhead.
Taking off his clothes, Yu Su prepared to enter the water.
Lu Yan, thinking he was going to pick flowers, asked, "Aren't you going to pick flowers?"
"No, there's something good at the bottom." Yu Su explained.
Lu Yan understood and joined him in the water. They swam towards the center of the pond.
As Yu Su dove deeper, the water rolled more intensely around the lotus roots. Lu Yan tapped his arm, indicating he would take over.
Being a fire-attributed cultivator, Lu Yan wasn't afraid of the rolling heat. He swam like a large fish, agilely diving towards the lotus roots. Following Yu Su's instructions, he started digging.
After a while, without finding anything, he surfaced for air, then dove back in. This time, he retrieved a large chunk of warm, white Spirit Jade from the bottom of the pond, bringing it to the shore
.
"It's really Spirit Jade!" Yu Su exclaimed, delighted by the palm-sized piece.
After Lu Yan handed him the Spirit Jade, he turned back into the water.
"Where are you going?"
"There's something else at the bottom."
After diving again, Lu Yan unearthed a fist-sized stone from the pond, glowing with fiery colors. It was scorching to the touch.
He couldn't identify it, but he could sense its attraction to him.
He believed Yu Su would know what it was and returned to the shore, holding the stone.
Seeing Lu Yan emerging from the water with a flame-colored stone in hand, Yu Su looked surprised.
"Hmm? It's the Fire Spirit Stone," the spirit elf unexpectedly commented. "It must have been under the Spirit Jade. I didn't notice it before; that's why the water here is warm."
The Fire Spirit Stone was a relatively rare spirit stone, unlike ordinary ones. It possessed the fire attribute, suitable for absorption by fire-type cultivators, making it more useful than regular spirit stones.
Although only the size of a fist, it would still be beneficial for Lu Yan, currently at the fifth level of Qi Refinement.
Having heard about the purpose of this stone from Yu Su, Lu Yan scrutinized it.
"How do I absorb it?"
"Just hold it in your palm when you meditate. Why not absorb it now?"
Lu Yan nodded, came ashore, and immediately started meditating.
Yu Su, observing Lu Yan sitting nonchalantly without wearing clothes, was momentarily speechless.
This guy needed to learn a bit of modesty!
"Master, the lotus seedhead," the all-knowing spirit elf reminded.
Yu Su remembered there was still a lotus seedhead, swam back to the center of the pond, and plucked it.
There were indeed lotus seeds inside, each plump and satisfying.