Chapter 262
“I clearly taste...”
Ying Bing took another gentle bite of her fruit, her cheeks moving slightly.
“It’s quite sweet.”
“Let me try yours.”
Li Mo leaned in suspiciously and took a bite of the fruit in her hand. His expression twisted as if he had bitten into a black plum.
“Bing Tuozi, you’re hurting yourself while trying to hurt others…”
Li Mo opened his mouth, ready to spit it out.
Slap—
A delicate hand covered his mouth, cool to the touch.
Li Mo’s eyes widened in surprise as he clearly saw the corners of the girl’s mouth lift slightly, revealing a faint dimple.
Bing Tuozi had learned some mischief.
She wasn’t playing fair, and Li Mo didn’t have to be a paragon of virtue either.
“This fruit…”
Ying Bing was about to explain when a wave of warmth surged from her palm, like a subtle current flowing through her body.
She couldn’t help but press her lips together, her swan-like neck gently retracting.
“Hmm…”
Li Mo was feeling quite pleased with himself.
Suddenly, he felt a warmth rising from his dantian, reaching deep into his heart.
What was stirring in his heart, creating ripples in his emotional lake… was it emotion?
He seemed to see a boy and a girl standing beneath the Tree of Fate. He was full of ambition, declaring he would go to Nanguan to achieve great things and return home to make her the general’s wife. But when the girl returned, she was left in plain white, hanging a bamboo plaque on the treetop.
There were also childhood sweethearts, promising a lifetime of companionship beneath the Tree of Fate, only to be torn apart by war, reuniting under the tree in their old age, not recognizing each other.
And there was a little monk who, having skipped morning class to play, encountered the most beautiful dream of his life, the Qingluan bird, beneath the Tree of Fate.
Later, he became the abbot of a temple, spending half his life trying to forget that moment…
These were the flavors he had tasted.
“This fruit contains the power of all living beings, the myriad flavors of life, hence it is called the Baiwei Guo (百味果, literally ‘fruit of a hundred flavors’).”
“It has remarkable effects in strengthening the spirit.”
Along with the girl’s voice came the clear light of the moon and the divine radiance of the jade phoenix.
Thus, Li Mo found himself in an ocean of emotions, his heart no longer wavering.
Maintaining the form of the Ming Jiao (鸣蛟, a mythical creature), and even any transformation of the demon race, had proven to be of little effect during his cultivation of the spirit.
But now, he felt his spirit stirring with eagerness.
And the effects were immediate, surpassing all the heavenly treasures he had consumed before.
The cool little hand was removed.
“Power of all living beings?”
Li Mo could finally speak normally.
“Yeah, by bearing incense and receiving the faith of others, one can accept the power of all living beings.”
Ying Bing’s fingers curled back behind her, as if nothing had happened, and she said casually:
“The method of observing oneself as a deity usually involves devouring the power of all living beings to strengthen the spirit.”
“Like those half-demons?”
Li Mo pondered.
He finally understood what he had seen that day on the Wu Ling (巫灵, ‘witch spirit’), no wonder they had invited Wu Da Meng to perform. Fear, too, could generate the power of all living beings.
When the common people were afraid, they would worship and depend on the so-called Wu Ling even more, providing greater faith.
He had only taken a couple of bites of the Baiwei Guo, and the strengthening of his spirit was already visible to the naked eye.
If he could obtain this power long-term, how fast would his cultivation progress be?
As if sensing his thoughts, Ying Bing said seriously:
“This shortcut has significant drawbacks; otherwise, the Demon Cult wouldn’t be called a cult.”
“Ah? So the fruit we ate…”
“The Baiwei Guo takes thousands of years to blossom and bear fruit, it’s extremely pure. Eating one is fine.”
Li Mo finally felt relieved.
Looking at the fruit in his hand, he knew it was precious; eating it all might just break through his limits.
He steeled himself to eat it but feared he might end up spitting it out.
“Bing Tuozi, help me out.”
“Hmm.” Ying Bing thought he meant for dual cultivation and reached out to hold his hand.
Li Mo shook his head and pointed, “Here.”
Covering it himself probably wouldn’t work.
Ying Bing pressed her lips together, “Just find something to cover it, that’ll do.”
“This fruit is too hard to eat; if it’s not paired with something delicious, I can’t swallow it.”
Li Mo said seriously, recalling the entire process of eating that bite of Baiwei Guo.
“?”
Ying Bing looked at him expressionlessly, wondering why he didn’t just say to shove his foot in his mouth.
But after a moment of thought, she couldn’t resist his earnest expression and decided to just touch his face instead.
“Don’t stick out your tongue…”
“I promise!”
Li Mo said firmly, his gaze resolute.
Unless he couldn’t help it.
And so.
Li Mo and Bing Tuozi’s new dual cultivation position +1.
“Hmm? What’s going on here?”
Murong Xiao had been looking for Li Mo for a while. He was about to leave Nanjing with the Xuankong Temple and wanted to say goodbye to Li.
Wu Qing, Murong Feng, and his parents had come with him. Upon seeing the scene before them, they quickly hit the brakes and pulled back their son, who was about to step forward to inquire.
“This is cultivation.” Murong Feng cleared his throat.
“Hmm?”
Murong Xiao looked at his parents in confusion. He had never seen or even heard of this kind of cultivation posture.
But his mother nodded, and since both parents said so, Murong Xiao believed it.
“I wasn’t full before; I was hoping Li could cook a bit more. His cooking is so good.”
“And now?”
“Seems like I’m not that hungry anymore.”
Murong Xiao looked at his loving parents and the two people cultivating not far away, rubbing his shiny bald head.
Suddenly.
A wave of indistinct energy surged.
“Breakthrough? Are they really cultivating together?”
Murong Feng was taken aback.
“Wu… Li Mo, this little guy, has reached the Four Apertures of Spirit Observation?” Wu Qing’s eyes widened.
Murong Xiao: “?”
So it wasn’t just now?
A childhood without being deceived by parents is incomplete; at this moment, Murong Xiao’s childhood felt much more whole.
How delightful.
In the next moment.
The divine light of the jade phoenix shone brightly as Li Mo decided to seize the moment, riding the momentum of breaking through the Four Apertures of Spirit Observation to continue perfecting the Seventy-Two Transformations.
Meanwhile, Ying Bing aimed to gather the divine intent of all birds and condense the phoenix spirit, also needing to accept the many true spirits within the jade phoenix.
The divine light radiated, many true spirits manifested, creating a myriad of phenomena, illuminating the aquatic realm.
“Father, Mother, you…”
“Son, don’t speak, observe the spirit.”
Murong Feng pressed his son down, urging him to sit cross-legged.
Wu Qing went to notify the other water beings, urging them to gather around and use the divine jade true spirit to enhance their bloodline power.
---
Chapter 283: The Jade Phoenix Form, the Fiery Cold Bing Tuozi
In the aquatic realm of Xuankong Temple.
The water beings, from the small seventh-grade demon vying for the divine jade outside to great demon kings like Wu Qing and Manbo, all gathered in front of a grove, basking in the radiance of the jade phoenix, their faces showing expressions of comfort and enjoyment.
The once serene waters now resembled a sunny beach.
Fortunately, it wasn’t the sun; otherwise, they would all turn into salted fish soon.
The baptism of ancestral true spirits was a slow, subtle change.
Half of Murong Xiao’s face was covered in Ming Jiao scales, his expression dignified. Though he was a half-demon, he was now the purest bloodline of the Ming Jiao clan.
“Why do I feel like there are some barbs growing on my shell?”
“Sigh, that’s not good; it’s too ostentatious.”
A Xuan Ao demon king sighed with a smile, boasting about his progress.
“I’ve only improved a little, but given time, I’ll definitely be no worse than the human race’s Xuan soldiers.”
The swordfish demon proudly pierced a stone with its nose.
Why did their swordfish clan settle in Nanjing?
It was because a certain ancestor, whose body was as formidable as a treasured weapon, had followed a renowned swordsman, earning great fame, leading many swordsmen to seek swordfish as weapons.
“We need to stand tall in front of the bird clan from now on.”
Wu Qing smiled, but suddenly sneezed as if she had caught a cold.
(Achoo) Boom—
In the aquatic realm, moisture condensed, and within the dark clouds, a hint of wind and thunder emerged, and soon it began to pour.
The demons gasped; in such a short time, the enhancement of Wu Qing’s bloodline power was almost visible to the naked eye!
Wu Qing placed her hands on her hips, satisfied with the demons’ reactions.
But before she could speak, she faintly heard the sound of electricity:
“Look~look~at~my~~~”
“Wait, Man, don’t generate electricity here!”
It was pouring rain.
As everyone knew, if it wasn’t pure water, it would conduct electricity, and clearly, the wind and rain summoned by Wu Qing weren’t pure water.
So amidst the heavy rain, the sound of crackling filled the air, and the water demons sparkled in the rain.
Fortunately, Wu Qing now had excellent control over the moisture, and since the rain wasn’t widespread, she managed to stop it in time.
Otherwise, if Li Mo came out, he would probably see a bunch of water creatures floating belly-up.
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