"Yuhao, why did we come here?"
Surrounded by lush forests, Tang Ya couldn't help but voice her confusion.
She was no stranger to the Sunset Forest, but the three of them had no need to acquire a spirit ring, so what were they doing here?
"I'm going to teach you how to use your devouring ability to cultivate."
Huo Yuhao explained softly. As his voice faded, his pupils glowed a faint golden color, pulling both Tang Ya and Gu Yuena into his spiritual detection sharing.
Hearing his explanation, Tang Ya immediately understood and nodded without further questioning.
Soon, with the help of spiritual detection, Huo Yuhao led them to a clearing. To be precise, it looked like the battlefield of two enormous soul beasts.
Large sections of trees were broken in half, some scarred with deep claw marks, while others bore scorch marks. The scene was nothing short of tragic for the surrounding flora.
Huo Yuhao turned his head to Tang Ya and spoke gently,
"What you need to do now is act as a mediator between them, allowing the flow of life force in the entire system to circulate."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"If the life force is confined to individual plants, the entire environment will become stagnant. Conversely, only when there is a flow, will the water not become foul."
"Qingde doesn't just represent the vitality of wood; it is also the wind that connects all things."
Listening to Huo Yuhao's somewhat cryptic words, Tang Ya scratched her head hesitantly,
"So... you're saying I should extract life force from other plants to revive them?"
"Exactly." Huo Yuhao nodded slightly.
"In the process, you can also take some life force as compensation."
Following Huo Yuhao's instructions, Tang Ya approached a massive tree. She spread her hand, and a dark Blue Silver Grass extended, making contact with the trunk and extracting a portion of its life force.
She then turned to a tree stump that had been broken in half and injected part of the life force she had gathered into it.
In just a moment, a tiny green shoot sprouted from the stump, bringing new life to what was once dead and lifeless.
"I get it now!"
"Let the life flow and form a healthy cycle!"
Tang Ya's eyes brightened as she grasped the concept. Like a worker moving resources, she eagerly extracted life force from the massive trees, keeping a portion for herself and injecting the rest into dying plants.
Simply put, it was like a middleman making a small profit.
Gu Yuena watched silently as this unfolded. Gradually, the forest seemed to revive, the tender new sprouts swaying in the breeze. Tang Ya appeared to be accepted by the plants, seamlessly blending into the environment. With each step she took, countless plants moved in harmony with her.
As time passed, the fallen trees, the upturned grass, and the withered shrubs began to show signs of life. The once devastated landscape, ravaged by soul beasts, was being restored, with life force circulating once more.
Meanwhile, the life force accumulating within Tang Ya was steadily increasing. If she managed to fully heal this area, the amount of life force she would acquire would sustain her for a long time.
Seeing how quickly she had grasped the technique, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but smile. Beside him, Gu Yuena glanced at him, curious.
"Didn't expect you to know about this."
"I just thought I'd give it a try. Judging by the results, the plants don't seem to resist it."
Huo Yuhao explained with a soft laugh.
Leaving aside whether plants had the same values as humans, today Tang Ya had saved other plants. Next time, she might save herself. Being unable to resist, the plants wouldn't reject such an opportunity.
On a small scale, it might seem like the strong grow stronger and the weak grow weaker. But when viewed from a larger perspective, balance is nature's true law.
Just as Huo Yuhao finished speaking, he suddenly felt a breeze behind him. In the next second, a pair of arms wrapped around his neck.
"Yuhao—"
Tang Ya excitedly spread her hands, revealing a Blue Silver Grass radiating with life force. The life force she had been accumulating had all gathered here.
"I'm giving this to you."
"Huh?"
Before Huo Yuhao could react, Tang Ya turned her head and quickly kissed him on the cheek, her tone sincere.
"You're the one who taught me all this, so the first person I want to give back to is you."
"Th-thank you."
Huo Yuhao was stunned for a moment before he accepted the beautiful Blue Silver Grass. Although its effects weren't as potent as the Life Gold, carrying it long-term would still bring great benefits to his body.
"I'll make another one for Auntie."
Tang Ya mischievously kissed him again before returning to her task with renewed enthusiasm. Watching her bustling around, Huo Yuhao touched his cheek, where the kiss lingered, and smiled slightly.
Meanwhile, Gu Yuena silently watched the scene, her eyes flickering. Noticing her gaze, Huo Yuhao turned to her,
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
Gu Yuena shook her head. Then, as if sensing something, she looked deep into the forest.
"There's something there."
"Hmm?"
Huo Yuhao followed her gaze and quickly understood what she was referring to.
"Are you talking about the Icefire Yin Yang Well?"
Though puzzled as to how Gu Yuena could detect it without investigating, he didn't dwell on it and slowly explained what he knew.
Having been there several times in his past life, he had some thoughts about the place. But due to his current weak strength, he hadn't dared to make any moves yet.
Not to mention the ice attribute of his martial soul might not even be able to withstand the toxic barrier around the area. Even if he managed to get in, his current strength wouldn't be enough to convince the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass to become his spirit soul.
And that spring… well, it's basically 'drink it if you dare to die.'
The only truly useful thing would be the "Autumn Water Dew." But awakening his innate martial soul again at his current strength would be too much of a burden, so it wasn't worth it.
"It's not the spring."
After hearing Huo Yuhao's introduction, Gu Yuena gently shook her head, her voice uncharacteristically complicated.
"It's the remains of a Dragon King. The spring you mentioned is merely formed from the residual power leaking from its corpse."
"Dragon King?" Huo Yuhao instinctively looked at her. "Like you?"
"Kind of. But I'm different from them."
Gu Yuena's tone was calm, "Although they were stronger than me, if they were still alive, they would kneel before me."
"."
(End of Chapter)