Yu Su picked a lotus seed and tasted it, discovering a sweet flavor that he couldn't help but indulge in.
After consuming four or five seeds, he felt a warm sensation spreading through his body. Spiritual energy surged through his meridians, cleansing and purging impurities.
After a while, he noticed a layer of black mud covering his body.
"Does this lotus seed also have the effect of cleansing the meridians?" Yu Su exclaimed in surprise.
The all-encompassing spirit was also somewhat surprised: [It should have taken many years for it to develop this effect.]
Yu Su tried another seed, but this time the effect wasn't as good as before. Only a small amount of black mud was expelled, indicating diminished effectiveness.
[It seems more effective for those who haven't undergone meridian cleansing.] The all-encompassing spirit remarked.
The first time Yu Su ate it, he hadn't undergone meridian cleansing, hence the significant effect. The second time, after undergoing the process, the effect wasn't as pronounced.
Yu Su counted the remaining lotus seeds; there were still over ten.
He plucked all the lotus seeds.
By the time Lu Yan absorbed the spiritual energy from the fire spirit stone in his hands, it was already evening.
Yu Su lit a bonfire on the side, the warm firelight reflecting on his face. With long eyelashes gently covering his eyes, his fair face was as captivating as new snow under the moonlight.
After staring blankly for a while, Lu Yan bent forward, using both hands and feet to approach Yu Su, getting close to him. With a puzzled expression, he stared at Yu Su's face.
After a moment, he reached out and gently tapped Yu Su's face.
Yu Su, who was meditating, had to open his eyes after being tapped. "What are you doing?"
Lu Yan: "You look better."
Yu Su touched his face, smooth and elastic—clearly the result of meridian cleansing.
"What do you mean 'look better'? Wasn't I good-looking before?"
"Good-looking, now even better."
"..."
Lu Yan's gaze was too sincere, making Yu Su feel awkward.
"Alright, don't get too close. How's the absorption of your fire spiritual power?"
"Completed."
Lu Yan showed Yu Su the now ash-gray fire spirit stone and demonstrated the flame in his palm, which had grown larger.
"Not bad."
Yu Su took out a lotus seed. "Try this and see if it has an effect."
Lu Yan took it without hesitation and swallowed it.
Yu Su chuckled. "Aren't you afraid it's poison? Didn't even ask."
"No poison."
Yu Su raised an eyebrow. Did this guy trust him so much?
The lotus seed had an effect on Lu Yan as well, but subsequent consumption didn't yield significant results. Yu Su speculated it was related to Lu Yan's inherent attributes.
Lu Yan didn't mind the efficacy of the lotus seed; even if it was useless, it wouldn't hinder his cultivation.
"You're quite carefree." Yu Su said, adding more wood to the bonfire.
After taking the spirit stones and fire spirit stones from the bottom of the water pool, the temperature here gradually dropped. They had to rely on the bonfire for warmth. Fortunately, their thick clothes and cultivation made spending a night here feasible.
He took out the phoenix egg, placing the golden egg alongside the fire spirit stone on his lap.
The egg, with its golden body and flame-like patterns, instinctively absorbed the spiritual energy from the fire spirit stone.
It also gently rolled on Yu Su's lap and found a comfortable position to lie down.
Yu Su: "???"
Could this egg move on its own?
He asked the all-encompassing spirit, "What's going on? Is this egg spiritualized?"
All-encompassing spirit: [It may have its own intelligence.]
Intelligent?
Yu Su held the egg and stared at it, unable to discern anything from the shell.
Just as he doubted whether the previous roll was his imagination, it gently rotated in his palm.
Yu Su: "!!"
This time he was sure he hadn't been mistaken; the egg had indeed spiritualized.
"You little thing, clearly possessing intelligence, yet you pretended to be dead before."
Golden egg: "..."
Of course, it couldn't answer, not having hatched yet.
"Hmph, if you don't hatch soon, I'll think you're a bad egg and throw you away. Do you understand?"
The golden egg immediately moved again, as if begging not to be thrown away.
"Then you're not allowed to pretend to be dead in the future."
The golden egg moved again, seemingly agreeing.
Yu Su then placed it back in the warmth of the fox fur blanket, and the joyous golden egg rolled around again, happily absorbing the spiritual energy from the fire spirit stone.
Seeing its rapid absorption, Yu Su couldn't help but smirk. "Raising you is really wasting spiritual energy."
He hadn't even enjoyed the spiritual energy from the spirit stone himself, yet this little thing was enjoying it first.
The round golden egg gently rubbed against Yu Su's abdomen, as if acting coquettish.
Yu Su lightly tapped its shell. "When you hatch, you must behave, understand?"
The golden egg moved slightly, considered an answer.
Considering its good behavior, Yu Su didn't compete with it for the spiritual energy in the jade. Instead, he continued to breathe in the spiritual energy of the forest. After meridian cleansing, his meridians were much clearer, and he absorbed spiritual energy faster.
He also gained some insights into the Wood Spirit chapter of the "Five Spiritual Arts." After activating the technique, his lower abdomen began to warm up. Wood spiritual power circulated rapidly, flowing through his limbs, cleansing his meridians.
...
"Bind!"
The next day, Yu Su tried using the Wood Spiritual Power and found it much smoother than before. Even the summoned vines increased in number.
He could now proficiently use the elementary wood techniques.
Paired with the Wood Spirit chapter, the external martial art technique was a control technique. When mastered, it could control all plants in the world—a formidable ability.
Of course, for now, he could only control vines.
But vines were not bad; they were flexible and practical. Even things like wooden thorns were useful. When his spiritual power became stronger, he could summon a rain of wooden thorns, similar to the Rain of Fire Technique, with considerable power.
...
Yu Su and Lu Yan returned to the village.
They hadn't returned one night, causing many to worry. Seeing them return safely relieved everyone.
"It snowed last night. Why did you spend the night outside?" Jian Yunchuan scolded.
Yu Su explained the reason for spending the night outside, assuring that they didn't catch a cold. Jian Yunchuan then stopped scowling.
"So, is that lotus seed really that useful?"
"I found it quite effective, but it didn't work much for Lu Yan. You can try it when
all your meridians are open. It's a waste to eat it now." Mainly because Jian Yunchuan hadn't opened a single meridian, and Yu Zhou was even less qualified. Eating the lotus seed wouldn't have much effect for them.
Jian Yunchuan nodded. "I don't understand these things, just follow your advice."
Yu Zhou was the same; whatever his brother said was what mattered, with no objections.
...
The weather became even colder, with snow and wind roaring.
Apart from occasional patrols by Yu Su and the others, most activities in the village came to a halt.
After a while, even Yu Su's group stopped patrolling outside, and everyone huddled in their houses.
After evening meditation, Yu Su would dive into his quilt, warm and comfortable, not wanting to wake up in the morning.
Since Xin Dong and the others cleaned the snow in front of the house, he could just sleep in.
Yu Su put the golden egg into the warm fox fur blanket, and the jade was placed together. The egg was incubated in the quilt.
The golden egg seemed to enjoy this warm environment. When inside the blanket, it was noticeably more active.
"Indeed, it's worthy of being a phoenix egg. It doesn't like cold weather." Yu Su commented.After he finished speaking, the golden egg moved slightly, whether in agreement with Yu Su or for another reason was unclear.
Seeing its lively behavior, Yu Su playfully pushed it. The egg rolled a couple of times in the blanket, not getting angry. It rolled back on its own and nudged Yu Su, indicating it wanted to be pushed again.
"You're getting addicted to playing." Yu Su teased, but his hand honestly pushed it again.
The golden egg happily rolled out and then rolled back repeatedly, never tiring of the game.
During this period, it became even more attached to Yu Su. When staying in the spatial realm, it would still come out and only settle down when it saw Yu Su.
Yu Su decided not to put it back in the spatial realm and kept it by his side. The eggshell was extremely tough, enduring bumps and knocks without any issues.
"Brother, why is it moving?" Yu Zhou also crawled into the blanket to hatch the egg together with Yu Su.
"It has gained intelligence; it's not an ordinary egg." Yu Su explained the difference between a spiritual egg and an ordinary one.
Yu Zhou nodded and curiously reached out to touch it. Perhaps sensing that Yu Zhou was Yu Su's brother, the golden egg didn't refuse his touch. When Yu Zhou played with it, the egg cooperated by rolling around.
Yu Zhou chuckled.
With only two baby teeth grown, his laughter was particularly amusing.
Every time Yu Su saw it, he couldn't help but want to laugh. He reached out and pinched Yu Zhou's cheek.
Yu Zhou looked at Yu Su in confusion. "??"
Yu Su withdrew his hand. "Are your teeth about to come out?"
Yu Zhou nodded, tilting his head to show Yu Su his baby teeth, which had already erupted.
He lifted the fox fur blanket, and Lu Yan happened to enter. Seeing the scene, he took off his snow-covered coat, stood by the fire for a while, and then walked over.
"Have you finished patrolling?" Yu Su asked.
Today, Lu Yan took Yu Meng and the others for patrol, and Yu Su didn't join them.
Lu Yan nodded, adjusted the fox fur blanket to prevent the cold from entering, and saw Yu Su's somewhat puzzled expression. However, since Lu Yan only treated him this way, Yu Su felt somewhat pleased.
"You should come up too; your body is warm, and the golden egg likes to play with you." Yu Su suggested.
Lu Yan nodded, took off his animal-skin shoes, wiped his feet clean, and climbed onto the kang.
Yu Su was particular about cleanliness, and Lu Yan always remembered not to dirty things to avoid displeasing Yu Su.