nycdaug Chapter 99, Part 3: The Soul of the Mulberry Tree
Chapter 99, Part 3: The Soul of the Mulberry Tree
【Kuiwei Mountain Moon, your close friend!】
Ning Xiaoxi stared speechlessly at the familiar words. Had their friendship level been upgraded? "Whatever!"
Kuiwei Shanyue smiled happily.
Neither of them spoke again. After eating and drinking, Ning Xiaoxi lay down on the white, fluffy animal skin that Kuiwei Shanyue had prepared for her, feeling warm and cozy.
Exhausted from the day, Ning Xiaoxi quickly fell asleep.
In a daze, Ning Xiaoxi felt as if she had stepped into a misty place, the surroundings eerily quiet. Suddenly, a dazzling golden light appeared ahead, and instinct drove her to run towards it. The golden light was brilliant but not blinding, and carried a faint fragrance.
As the mist gradually dissipated, a colossal tree that reached the heavens and the earth stood before her. The tree looked somewhat familiar; wasn't it the Three Mulberry Tree beside her?
This mulberry tree was not covered by snow. Its trunk was straight, requiring several people to encircle it, and its bark shimmered with ancient and mysterious patterns, seemingly telling tales of the vicissitudes of time. Its branches crisscrossed, yet strangely, not a single green leaf was visible. Each branch seemed to contain boundless power, trembling gently in the dim light. Contrary to what Kuiwei Mountain Moon had described, it was not a tree with only a trunk and no branches, but rather one with branches but no leaves.
Three enormous golden orbs adorned the branches, their light dazzling, surrounded by swirling mists, creating a dreamlike scene. Were these the fruits of the Three Mulberry Tree? She had drunk the tree sap with Kuiwei Shanyue; it was sweet and delicious. Would these fruits be even more delicious? The fragrant aroma emanated from these three golden orbs, growing stronger the closer she got, almost making Ning Xiaoxi's mouth water.
Ling Jingxin followed Ning Xiaoxi, slowly and clumsily dragging her heart closer to the three golden spheres.
Ning Xiaoxi watched Ling Jingxin's actions and suddenly realized she was a little confused. Was this guy trying to benefit herself and her heart? She hadn't even eaten yet!
【Dumpling?】
No response.
【Dumpling?】
There was still no response.
Ning Xiaoxi narrowed her eyes. She didn't follow her in?
Without hesitation, he reached out and picked up the heart cradled by the Spirit Crystal Heart, placing it on the left golden sphere. The small heart beat powerfully once before instantly merging into the golden sphere. He then placed the Spirit Crystal Heart on the right golden sphere. The purplish-red droplet of blood at the center of the Spirit Crystal Heart emitted a rich crimson light, enveloping the entire golden sphere as if it were being devoured.
Ning Xiaoxi watched the two hearts interact with different actions, her eyes fixed on the golden sphere in the middle. Should she eat it? Merge with it? Or what should she do?
Seemingly startled by Ning Xiaoxi's gaze, the golden ball bounced a few times before exploding, its golden light illuminating the entire space.
Ning Xiaoxi's eyes widened in shock. At that moment, a vast yet gentle power surged forth from where the golden sphere had exploded, slowly enveloping her. The power seemed to guide her, yet also urge her on. Involuntarily, she sat down on the ground, closed her eyes, concentrated, and began to circulate her spiritual energy.
The spiritual energy that had been swirling around the spiritual vein instantly surged, transforming into streams, then converging into a great river. After its turbulent flow, it gradually condensed into crystals, which then softened. The spiritual vein then expanded again, extending to a width of about one finger. The cycle of mist, streams, river, condensation, and softening continued. Gradually, the distinction between the spiritual vein and the body became blurred; it seemed as if the body was the spiritual vein and the spiritual vein was the body, with no further differentiation.
After an unknown amount of time, Ning Xiaoxi felt a sudden boom within her body, as if chaos had just begun to open. An unprecedentedly powerful aura emanated from her, and she broke through her shackles in one fell swoop, successfully advancing to a higher level!
Under the three mulberry trees, Ning Xiaoxi opened her eyes. Was this what Tianji meant by her body being filled with spiritual veins? Feeling the interaction between her body and the surrounding spiritual energy, every pore of her body was absorbing spiritual energy. The rich and heavy feeling allowed her to sense the changes in power.
The power of Tiger Roar Fist, Star Shattering Fist, and Heaven Opening Fist surged in her chest, making her unable to resist swinging her fists. The tranquil space became lively because of her movements. A sharp wind blew by, and scattered fragments of stars fell. In the beginning of chaos, heaven and earth were born.
The fist's intent dissipated, but the power in the legs concentrated, unleashing the Swallow Kick, the Mysterious Kick, and the Thunderous Kick. Light as a swallow, it was difficult to distinguish between reality and illusion, and the lightning-wrapped legs possessed the power to tear through space in an instant.
Enveloped in spiritual energy, shimmering and ethereal, he moved with the Dragon Step, the Five Elements Step, and the Universe Shifting Step, each step radiant and lotus-like, transcending the limitations of time and space, as if entering another dimension.
Just as Ning Xiaoxi was feeling the fusion of spiritual energy and physical power in her body, a tiny heart with snow-white wings, pulling a palm-sized, solemn-faced little figure, flew to her front.
Holy crap, has it really become sentient?
Ning Xiaoxi couldn't help but grasp the jade cabbage and quickly rub it.
They just stared at each other like that.
Finally, unable to resist, I reached out and tapped the little heart, but didn't dare touch the serious-looking little figure.
Little Heart skipped a beat, retracted its wings, and transformed back into the Spirit Crystal Heart. Only the drop of purplish-red blood in the center was gone, and the entire Spirit Crystal Heart was purplish-red. Then, it returned to its original color, size, and appearance.
Ning Xiaoxi and the serious-looking little figure watched Xiaoxin's actions together. The serious-looking little figure tilted its head, and then, the beating heart returned to the fountain as if nothing had happened.
The Spirit Crystal Heart flew over quickly and breathed a few breaths of spiritual energy into it. The heart beat happily for a few moments and exhaled a few breaths of cyan gas that surrounded the Spirit Crystal Heart.
Damn it, do you really think I'm stupid?!
Ha ha!
Ning Xiaoxi turned around abruptly, and there was nothing there except for that huge mulberry tree.
But she swears she heard laughter.
Then, by the fountain in her cave, she saw a tree, a withered little tree with only branches and a trunk but no leaves.
Then she opened her eyes.
Drinking the sweet mulberry sap again, Ning Xiaoxi felt a little choked up. "Shanyue, this mulberry tree is quite special!" How come she felt like she had made such a big commotion, but Kuiwei Shanyue didn't react at all!
"Nothing special, just the legendary Sun Tree. It's just like our Kuafu tribe, cultivating the True Fire of the Sun, yet living in an extremely cold place. It's said to be the Sun Tree, but it also grows on a cold ice plain." Kuiwei Shanyue began tidying up the items in the snow house.
"Do you have a spatial bag?" he asked tentatively.
"A spatial talisman given to me by the High Priest; I can only bring it with me when I come out for the trial."
"Shanyue, there's something I still need to tell you." Ning Xiaoxi looked at Kuiwei Shanyue and felt that she should make things clear to this silly child. She shouldn't just follow her like this. From the situation of the Tushan Clan, it can be seen that the relationship between the alien races and the royal family is not stable. She is not qualified to get involved in the struggle between the human race and the alien races.
"what's up?"
Ning Xiaoxi took out the jade token given to her by Tianji and handed it to Kuiwei Shanyue. "I am an official under Tianji. Because my parents and brothers were exiled, I followed them to Youzhou."
"An official under the Heavenly Secrets?" Kuiwei Shanyue's expression changed.