Innate Wutu Earth-Why Does This Stuff Get Heavier the More I Eat?
A pale golden light slowly rose from the crevices of Xuanhuang Ridge, and the heavy Earth Spirit Qi spread outwards. The nearby clouds and mist, which were originally floating aimlessly, slowly sank down, as if even the air had gained some weight.
Lu Yuan gazed at the mass of Wu Earth Essence Qi before him and first used his Divine Sense to carefully perceive it. He saw that it contained extremely fine Xuanhuang Deposited Sand, each grain gathered together, with ancient earth-yellow patterns flowing on its surface. Its aura was far richer than the ordinary earth energy he had absorbed on the road.
Qi Yan remained standing atop the rock stratum, maintaining the Restraining Patterns. Seeing that Lu Yuan was ready to absorb it, he proactively reminded him, "This batch of essence is still on the outer edge, but the sediment inside is much more condensed than the scattered earth spirit. Fellow Daoist, take a small portion to try first. I can turn off the flow at any time."
"Understood, I'll try it first." Lu Yuan slowly opened his huge mouth, and a very light suction force came from the Sea of Clouds. A thin stream of air was immediately drawn out from the edge of the pale golden light ball and slowly entered his mouth along the air.
As soon as the first wisp of essence entered his abdomen, Lu Yuan felt a peculiar heaviness within his body. The energy flowed slowly along his blood, without the scorching heat of Innate Lihuo or the coolness of Profound Water, and finally converged directly into the depths of his bones.
Soon, a slight vibration came from the massive skeleton, and some of the gray-gold patterns that had been nourished by the Chaotic Essence gradually lit up. Lu Yuan could feel that the bones were becoming thicker and heavier, and even the muscles under the scales were slowly tightening.
"The effect is really obvious." Lu Yuan was delighted and continued to absorb a small amount of essence. As strands of earth spirit were transformed, his huge body, which was originally more than 100,000 miles long, began to grow slightly again. Although it only increased by a few miles in a short time, it was still a real improvement for him.
Qi Yue stood beside him, his Divine Sense constantly monitoring the changes in Lu Yuan's internal Qi and Blood. Seeing that the previously active flesh and blood were gradually stabilizing, a smile finally appeared on his face, "It seems that the Wu Earth of Xuanhuang Ridge is indeed suitable; at least for now, there are no obvious conflicts."
Qi Yan was initially worried that absorbing the Restraining Patterns might damage them, but after hearing Qi Yue's words, he looked up to observe. He quickly discovered that the giant whale was slowly emanating an even thicker aura of flesh and blood.
"It's really starting to grow?" Qi Yan's eyes narrowed, and he even slowed down the hand Method Formula controlling the flow of energy. He had guarded the Earth Spirit Vein for countless years and naturally knew how precious a grain of Xuanhuang Deposited Sand was to an ordinary living being, but now Lu Yuan was able to directly integrate it into his body.
The young Qilins patrolling below also noticed the anomaly. One of the Blue-Horned Qilins stared intently at Lu Yuan's tail, noticing that the position of the dark gold tail fin and the distant clouds was slowly changing, and its eyes gradually widened.
"Elder, why is he still getting bigger?" the Blue-Horned Qilin exclaimed in surprise. "The small amount of Wu Earth Essence Qi he absorbed just now isn't even one-thousandth of the reserves on the outskirts of Xuanhuang Ridge, is it?"
The Red-Maned Qilin beside him was equally shocked. "What do you know? How big is his body? We're already lucky if we refine a little bit of sand each year, and he can eat so much! You'd better shut up and watch."
Lu Yuan ignored the discussions below. He was carefully sensing the changes in the second batch of essence. The originally smooth flow of Qi and Blood gradually became somewhat blocked, especially near the main bones of his back, where a feeling of heaviness began to emerge.
This feeling was peculiar. Although he could still swim freely, he found that he needed to mobilize more Qi and Blood when swinging his giant fins. The hovering posture that he could easily maintain was also beginning to be affected, and his huge body slowly sank dozens of miles.
"Huh?" Lu Yuan adjusted his body slightly to regain his balance. He quickly realized that the speed at which the condensed Wu Earth entered his bones was gradually exceeding the ability of his flesh and blood to transform. If he continued to eat more, his body would probably become heavier and heavier.
He immediately stopped inhaling, refraining from taking in a third batch of essence. He then carefully circulated his internal Qi and Blood, allowing the earth spirits that had already entered his body to slowly disperse to his limbs, spine, and tailbone.
Qi Yan noticed the anomaly almost simultaneously and quickly closed the channel. "How are you feeling, fellow Daoist? If the sand is too heavy, let your Qi and Blood adapt for a while. The essence of Xuanhuang Ridge is always there; there's no need to consume it all at once."
"It is a bit filling, but still within my tolerance," Lu Yuan replied slowly. "This stuff gets heavier the more I eat. I need to separate the power inside first, and then we can talk about it after my bones have fully absorbed it."
Qi Yue nodded upon hearing this, his face showing more appreciation. He knew that some creatures were easily agitated when they encountered high-quality resources, and Lu Yuan's ability to stop in time showed that he was not blinded by the benefits before him.
Lu Yuan began to focus on digesting the energy. The Wu Earth Essence Qi that had gathered near his spine gradually spread throughout his body. Each of his massive bones absorbed the gentle Earth Spirit Origin, and a subtle tingling sensation came from the inside of his scales. His overall structure was gradually becoming more compact.
He could even clearly distinguish the absorption speed of different bones. The spine bore the most force, followed by the tail. However, the skeleton of the two giant fins needed a longer time to completely separate the thick source of energy in the sediment. This forced Lu Yuan to temporarily slow down his naturally circulating Qi and Blood.
"No wonder the Qilin Clan refines this stuff slowly. Directly pouring it into the body is like swallowing a small mountain." Lu Yuan muttered to himself, then couldn't help but think of his current size of over 100,000 li. The Xuanhuang Deposited Sand had just swallowed was actually only a very small part of his overall body.
The process was not easy. Some of his bones had not yet fully adapted to the weight, and Lu Yuan's tail fin began to stagnate slightly. He had to reduce his range of motion and try to stay suspended to allow his Qi and Blood to continue to circulate smoothly.
Seeing that Lu Yuan had stopped moving, a young Qilin below thought something was wrong and immediately became anxious, "Elder, why did Senior stop? Won't those sands crush his bones?"
Qi Yan shook his head and explained that the Innate Wu Earth is known for its heaviness, so it is normal to feel a temporary heaviness when absorbing it. The real key is whether the power can be dispersed deep into the bones. He had already seen that Lu Yuan's Qi and Blood were adjusting themselves and that he was not seriously injured for the time being.
"That level of control is truly frightening." Qi Yue gazed at the slowly glowing scales and couldn't help but sigh. "Such a massive body, every bone has to readjust. For an ordinary cultivator, just controlling their Qi and Blood would be troublesome enough."
Lu Yuan heard it clearly and felt that there was some truth to it. He used to think that he was big and strong, but now that he had truly absorbed the Xuanhuang Deposited Sand, he realized that the larger the body, the more patience he needed to use every bit of high-quality energy in the right place.
After some time, the intense heaviness that had been building up finally began to subside. His flesh and blood gradually accepted the newly integrated earth spirit, and his tail fins regained their ease when he swung them. Lu Yuan tried to slowly adjust his position in the Sea of Clouds and found that his body was now able to move normally.
"That feels much better." Lu Yuan let out a long breath, pushing aside large swaths of mist with his breath. He then looked down at Qi Yan. "Your Xuanhuang Deposited Sand is indeed quite good, but we can't consume too much at once. Let's save the rest for later."
Qi Yan finally smiled. After re-examining the Restraining Patterns, he found that the outer Spirit Veins were still stable, and he felt more at ease. He was originally most worried that Lu Yuan would not be able to control the devouring, but now it seemed that the other party had made a very accurate judgment on his own endurance.
He casually guided the sand that was still suspended in the air back into the rock crevice, deliberately leaving a small amount of gentle essence to maintain the normal operation of the outer branches. When the young Qilin saw that the earth veins were not damaged throughout the process, their original worries that the giant beast would devour the mountain finally dissipated.
Just as the two Qilin elders were about to discuss how much essence to extract next, Lu Yuan suddenly sensed a subtle change coming from his back. The heavy power that had been integrated into his bones was slowly spreading outward along his scales, gradually touching the rocks and soil that had accumulated on his back over the years.
With a thought, he quickly scanned his back with his Divine Sense and discovered that several very fine, yellowish-brown light patterns had appeared on what was originally a loose hillside.