Chapter 259
Zheng Fa's spiritual awareness had already reached the limit of the Foundation Establishment stage—able to encompass a radius of a hundred zhang.
Now, with another breakthrough, he was stepping directly into the realm of the Golden Core stage.
From a hundred zhang, it expanded to a radius of ten li.
Then from ten li to a hundred li.
It wasn't until he reached about one hundred and ten li that the growth of his spiritual awareness gradually came to a halt.
Looking inward, he saw that the bud had already taken shape, its five-colored petals gently swaying on the branch.
Thunder Blossom...
This was the third realm of the "Shenxiao Yulei Zhenfa," symbolizing that Zheng Fa had crossed the threshold into the late Foundation Establishment stage. As long as he accumulated enough spiritual energy, once the fruit within the Thunder Blossom—his Golden Core—condensed, he would be able to form the core in one fell swoop.
He calculated that it had only taken him about half a year to progress from Foundation Establishment to late Foundation Establishment—not much slower than the Qi Refinement stage!
Of course, the most crucial factor was the existence of the Tianbei Realm, which provided Zheng Fa with access to spiritual materials that others could hardly dream of...
Just as he was calming the spiritual energy within him, a droplet of water suddenly oozed from the bud.
A droplet of water?
Zheng Fa was taken aback. Gently probing the droplet with his spiritual awareness, he immediately understood its origin—this substance was called Fusang Linglu, a byproduct of the Fusang tree absorbing the essence of heaven and earth, the sun and moon.
This thing wasn't particularly useful to Zheng Fa.
But for fire attribute demon beasts, especially those leaning towards the yang fire attribute, it was extremely beneficial—if those demon beasts consumed this Fusang Linglu, it could purify their bloodlines, and who knows, they might even advance.
This Fusang Linglu wasn't just a single droplet; it would likely condense one droplet every month from now on.
With a thought, Zheng Fa summoned the spiritual dew to his fingertips.
The sunlight streaming through the window illuminated the dew, making it glimmer like gold.
At the same time, a little golden crow flew into Zheng Fa's room, dazzled by the light.
"Give it to me!"
"I want to drink!"
"Just one sip!"
It flapped its wings frantically, stretching its neck towards Zheng Fa's fingertip, its beak elongated in eagerness.
But Zheng Fa mercilessly held it by the neck, making it feel as if it could never reach the droplet.
Zheng Fa scrutinized the little golden crow from head to toe.
This bird... how should he put it? Even though it couldn't transform into human form, its intelligence was no less than that of a person.
When it first came to Zheng Fa's side, it was quite chatty and forthcoming.
It even helped them catch that demon from the demon clan.
But after that, it refused to say a word...
It just pretended to be an ordinary crow, mingling around the market.
Zheng Fa suspected that if it weren't for its craving for his body, this golden crow would have run away long ago—after all, the demon from the Qiongqi bloodline had said that the Qingyun Great Sage was coming.
This little golden crow probably didn't think highly of the Jiushan Sect and had some ulterior motives.
Staying here was just a way to take advantage of him!
Not a good bird at all!
And it still wanted to drink the spiritual dew?
He had plenty of other good birds!
"Yuan Shijie!"
Zheng Fa sent a thought to the good bird playing in Zhang Shijie's courtyard.
...
Yuan Shijie was enjoying some snacks in Zhang Shijie's courtyard.
Zhang Shijie was sitting nearby, reading a few books that Zheng Fa had given her. Sometimes, when she reached a particularly insightful passage, she would pause and ponder deeply.
When Zheng Fa sent his message, both of them thought something had happened, and their spiritual awareness instantly arrived at Zheng Fa's quiet room.
"Zheng Shidi, what's wrong?" Yuan Shijie asked anxiously.
Zheng Fa held the little golden crow at bay, which was flapping around wildly, desperately trying to reach the spiritual dew on his fingertip.
Fortunately, it still knew it was under someone else's roof and didn't use its spiritual power.
However, being at the Foundation Establishment level, the strength within its demon body was considerable.
Zheng Fa found it a bit challenging to protect the spiritual dew.
Seeing Yuan Shijie arrive, Zheng Fa felt a surge of joy and said, "Yuan Shijie, open your mouth!"
"Ah?"
The little golden crow seemed to understand Zheng Fa's intention and struggled even harder, leaving Zheng Fa no time to explain.
"I have something good for you to eat!"
With that, Zheng Fa extended his finger towards Yuan Shijie.
"..." Yuan Shijie glanced back nervously and whispered, "Zheng Shidi, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"
"Huh?"
"Zhang Shijie is still here!"
"..."
...
It was Zhang Shijie, with a stern expression, who flicked her hand, sending out a spiritual talisman that transformed into a net, ensnaring the little golden crow and rendering it immobile.
At this moment, Zheng Fa finally had the chance to explain the origin of the Fusang Linglu.
"You mean this spiritual dew is extremely beneficial for fire attribute demon beasts?"
Zhang Shijie's expression softened slightly as she turned to Yuan Shijie and said, "So you want to give it to her?"
Upon hearing this, the little golden crow protested, "I have a bloodline inheritance in my soul! The Fusang tree and my golden crow clan have always coexisted. If I consume this Fusang Linglu and cultivate the true fire of the golden crow, I can help the Fusang tree grow!"
Zheng Fa was genuinely unaware of this.
However, it was true that the golden crow was somewhat related to the Fusang tree in legend.
This little golden crow probably had concealed quite a bit.
On the other hand, it seemed that the Fusang Linglu was indeed most suitable for the golden crow.
Seeing it say this, Yuan Shijie's expression showed a mix of hesitation and reluctance. She looked at Zheng Fa, then at the little golden crow, and finally said, "Then give it to her..."
Clearly, she understood that, considering the benefits Zheng Fa could gain, the golden crow was likely the most suitable recipient for this spiritual dew.
After saying that, she turned her head, seemingly unwilling to look at the spiritual dew any longer.
"Yuan Shijie."
"Ah?"
Zheng Fa flicked his finger, and the spiritual dew flew into Yuan Shijie's slightly open mouth.
Gulp!
Yuan Shijie instinctively swallowed.
Then she stared blankly at Zheng Fa.
"I... swallowed it?"
Zheng Fa smiled and nodded.
"I..." Yuan Shijie looked down at her stomach with a frown, feeling a bit wronged as she said, "You should have told me!"
"I was afraid you wouldn't want it!"
"I didn't even get to taste it..."
Zhang Shijie shook her head, seemingly unsurprised by his choice.
Meanwhile, the little golden crow was quite indignant: "Caught up in emotions, blinded by desire!"
Zheng Fa shot it a glance and replied, "If Yuan Shijie were only thinking about how to improve her own cultivation and what benefits she could gain, she wouldn't have given me all these spiritual materials."
Yuan Shijie seemed to understand that Zheng Fa was praising her, and she bashfully scratched her head with a silly smile.
"You say you can help the Fusang tree grow, but I only know that my Fusang tree can thrive because of the spiritual materials exchanged by the two Shijies."
"Hehe..."
Yuan Shijie's eyes sparkled as she looked at Zheng Fa, suddenly murmuring, "Zheng Shidi, the more I look at you, the more handsome you seem..."
"..."
"But don't sway, I'm feeling a bit dizzy!"
Zheng Fa and Zhang Shijie turned their heads simultaneously, only to see Yuan Shijie's eyes struggling to stay open.
She seemed to be trying hard to widen her eyes, her face displaying a determined spirit, but her increasingly squinting eyes proved that her efforts were in vain.
In the end, Yuan Shijie's body went limp, and she collapsed to the ground.
Zhang Shijie seemed to understand something, waving her hand to move her to the courtyard.
Sure enough, the next moment, Yuan Shijie revealed her true form—a large Qingluan sprawled on the ground, golden flames seeping from her wings, as if she were roasting herself...
At this point, the little golden crow probably realized it wouldn't be getting the spiritual dew after all, and it stopped making a fuss, merely eyeing the Qingluan with envy, saying, "Bloodline evolution... this mixed-blood Qingluan might be able to advance further."
Zhang Shijie's eyes also held a smile, seemingly happy for Yuan Shijie.
"Yuan Shimei has been stuck in the early Golden Core stage for quite a while; who would have thought that her opportunity would come through you?"
Before Zheng Fa could respond, the golden crow suddenly spat out a golden spiritual light, which landed in front of Zheng Fa.
"What is this?"
"Is it recognizing its master?" Zhang Shijie recognized it first. She looked at the little golden crow, which wore a face full of frustration. "This spiritual dew... is that important to you?"
Zheng Fa understood now; the little golden crow had been holding back before, but now it suddenly wanted to recognize a master—tempted by the spiritual dew.
"What can I do..." the golden crow sighed deeply. "Now that advancing the golden crow bloodline is so difficult, this spiritual dew is the most suitable spiritual item for me."
"Moreover... watching a mixed-blood Qingluan eat the most suitable spiritual medicine and advance so easily—do you know how much that hurts?"
"..."
"That's not like your character..."
Zheng Fa was somewhat skeptical; this golden crow was clearly a cautious type. Would it really recognize a master just for the spiritual dew?
"...What do you think I was doing in the market?"
Unexpectedly, the golden crow rolled its eyes, looking a bit proud of its own cleverness.
"Huh?"
Table of Contents
