Night 30 — Establishing the Celestial Foundation
On the thirtieth night, Su Xiaobai felt a profound change.
His body had absorbed an immense amount of celestial energy, and he could feel it coursing through his meridians, veins, and muscles.
He had established a solid Celestial Foundation, his body shimmering faintly with the ethereal glow of a newborn star.
His physical strength had increased significantly, and his sensory perception was heightened to an extraordinary degree.
As the dawn broke on the thirty-first day, Su Xiaobai stood up, feeling the immense power coursing through his body.
The trials of the past month had honed his determination and strength.
He had only mastered the first level of the Starslayer Body Refinement Arts, but the journey had strengthened his foundation for future cultivation.
He knew that to advance to the second level, the Starry Veins, he would need to meditate under a 'meteor shower' and bathe in the 'star energy'.
This was crucial to complete the second level of the Starslayer Body Refinement Arts.
"The next stage is crucial," he muttered, his eyes reflecting the morning light. "Once my veins absorb the energy from the meteor shower, I won't have to worry about them puncturing anymore. With celestial energy, they will gain a self-healing ability."
Right now, he was merely conditioning them to the celestial energy.
Exposing them directly to the raw energy of a star without proper preparation could easily burn his veins to ash.
"Conditioning them was necessary," he reminded himself. "The celestial energy is potent, and without proper conditioning, it could destroy me."
Knock! Knock! Knock!
At the same time, there was another knock. "Today should be the last day of my stay here," Su Xiaobai suddenly remembered and went to open the door.
"Mr. Feng! I brought you some warm water to freshen up!" At the door stood a striking beauty, draped in a sleek black dress that clung to her curves, her cleavage provocatively displayed.
She moved with a mesmerizing grace, her waist twisting as she carried a bucket of warm water into the room, her hips swaying with the elegance of a serpent.
Su Xiaobai approached her like a moth drawn to a flame and seized her firm, rounded buttocks. "Xiao Lu, has anyone inquired about me these past few days?" he asked, his gaze fixed on the charming face of the girl who had welcomed him on his first day.
Xiao Lu, her face glowing with a captivating radiance, shook her head. "I have done just as the young master instructed. Everyone believes you left without a refund, and now another man, Mr. Xiao Feng, is staying here." Her forehead shimmered with delicate beads of sweat, enhancing her seductive smile.
Su Xiaobai took her hand, kneading her soft skin with care. "Very good." He produced a pouch filled with spirit stones and dangled it before her. "With this, the remaining payment is completed."
"!"
Xiao Lu was momentarily dazed, the sum presented was enough to her salary for half a year, usually sufficient to render her legs utterly jelly.
Yet now—she unconsciously bit her lips, her gaze fixed intensely on the handsome man before her, as if she were longing to ascend the mythical branches of the Phoenix itself.
"Mr. Feng, Xiao Lu is not a woman swayed by mere coin. It is solely for the honor of Mr. Feng's esteemed presence that Xiao Lu has exerted herself! Please, do not demean her intentions with wealth."
'Tsk, admirable indeed. Where was this magnanimous Xiao Lu a mere month past when she willingly accepted a partial payment?' Su Xiaobai laughed inwardly, feeling as though he were witnessing the fickle nature of humanity firsthand, her guileless smile causing even him to blush with shame.
"Since you decline, let it be so." Without a second thought, Su Xiaobai reclaimed the pouch of spirit stones.
Swoosh!
As it vanished from Xiao Lu's sight, a tiny fracture formed in her heart, her eyes flickering subtly. 'Such heartless man, doesn't understand woman heart at all..' she thought, rendered speechless by his lack of understanding.
Nonetheless, she had resolved within herself that Su Xiaobai was a man of noble stature, and she was determined to cling to his powerful thighs; if she could but secure the position of Concubine, her life would indeed be fulfilled.
"Mr. Feng..." Her eyes shimmered with a hazy allure, a sweet and intoxicating fragrance wafted from her, enveloping the air as she leaned provocatively towards Su Xiaobai's robust form.
With a knowing smile, Su Xiaobai clasped her supple waist and delicate hand, effortlessly sweeping her off her feet and onto the floor.
"Ah~!"
The coquettish cry of Xiao Lu resonated, accompanied by the resounding echo of her delicate form striking the floor.
____
Thump! Thump! Thump!
"Damn it all, here we go again!" a man cursed, his annoyance growing as the thudding from above shook the chandeliers.
In the ground floor eatery, amidst the clinking of cutlery and murmur of conversations, the sudden racket drew irritated glances upwards.
Bam!
One man, in a fit of pique, slammed his hand down too hard, shattering his cup and splashing coffee across the table.
"Son of a bitch! Humping like rabbits at this hour! They think we don't exist or what?" he barked, wiping coffee from his sleeve.
"What's with this bloody dog show they're giving us!"
"Which bloody dragon's got the balls of steels for this sort of stunt?" jeered another, his face twisted with a mix of amusement and contempt.
Another voice chimed in from the back, louder and more coarse. "Every goddamn morning it's the same circus! Can't a man enjoy his meal without this bullshit?"
From another table, a woman rolled her eyes and shouted over the noise, "Shameless! Fucking like dogs in broad daylight! Do they think the rest of us don't deserve a moment's peace?..."
As complaints flew and the diners' appetites waned, the usual morning feast felt more like scraps tossed to hounds, overshadowed by the unwelcome performance thumping through the ceiling.
________
A few hours later, as the evening sky painted the world in hues of amber and violet, Su Xiaobai woke up.
He cleaned himself of the sweat with a bucket of water and put his clothes back on.
He stared in surprise at the creature in front of him.
"What are you...?"
Before him stood a devouring thorny flower, a formidable beast spanning one meter in width.
Its petals, a deep, vibrant green, shimmered with an eerie, otherworldly glow. Sharp thorns, resembling polished jade, adorned its stem, exuding an aura of danger.
The flower's center pulsated with an emerald light, akin to a heart beating with a life of its own, while tendrils extended from its base, coiling and uncoiling like serpents, ready to trap any prey that dared approach.
The air around it was filled with a scent both sweet and intoxicating.
"Even Ning Gufan has never encountered anything quite like this..." Su Xiaobai marveled, his voice tinged with surprise.
The seemingly insignificant object he had pilfered from the Institute of Science on White Cloud Star was filled with an air of profound mystery.
Unbeknownst to him, at that very moment, the Dean of the Institute was unleashing a torrent of curses upon him each night, lamenting the loss of an experiment that had consumed a century of meticulous labor.
"Calling you 'Devouring Thorny Flower' feels oddly peculiar; let's name you Lulu," Su Xiaobai mused aloud, a half-smile playing on his lips.