Black Stone Hides a Mystery, Accidental Enlightenment?

Back in his cave dwelling, Li Wuyang couldn't wait to examine the black stone he had bought for ten low-grade spirit stones. The stone was heavy in his hand, its surface rough. When he probed it with his divine sense, he detected an extremely faint, yet fundamentally high-level energy, tightly wrapped within. The resonance of the Great Dao Imprint originated from this very energy.

"There's definitely something good inside!" Li Wuyang rubbed his hands together. "How do I open it? Chop it with an axe? What if I damage the treasure inside?"

He tried injecting True Qi, but the stone remained unresponsive. He tried burning it (having Little Fire spray a little flame), but the stone didn't budge. He even tried biting it... which only made his teeth ache.

"Hey! I've got a temper!" Li Wuyang got fired up and decided to use his "ultimate weapon"—the magnificent Primordial Great Dao Imprint in his sea of consciousness!

He concentrated his mind, carefully guiding out a barely perceptible wisp of Primordial Purple Qi to cover the stone's surface.

A miracle happened!

The seemingly indestructible black stone, the moment it came into contact with the Primordial Purple Qi, became soft like spring snow meeting the scorching sun. Then... it began to peel off layer by layer!

It wasn't shattering, but rather like peeling an onion, shedding layer after layer of black stone skin!

As the stone skin fell away, the light within grew stronger and stronger! An extremely pure energy, carrying the weight of the earth and an aura of boundless vitality, radiated outwards!

When the last piece of stone skin peeled off, what appeared in Li Wuyang's palm wasn't the magic treasure or pill he had expected, but a fist-sized clump of... dirt? It looked like liquid amber, emitting a soft yellow glow...

This dirt looked unremarkable, but the vitality and spiritual essence it contained made the spiritual energy in the entire cave dwelling become active! A potted plant nearby, which was on the verge of withering, sprouted branches and leaves at a visible rate, becoming lush and green again!

"This... this is..." Li Wuyang's eyes widened. A legendary name popped into his mind, "Breathing Soil?! No, is it a replica or a fragment of Breathing Soil? The one Empress Nuwa used to create humans?!"

His hands trembled with excitement! Although this was merely a condensed essence of true Breathing Soil, far inferior to the original, it was still an incredible earth-element treasure! It contained the vitality of creation, could nourish all things, promote the growth of spiritual roots, and even... enlighten living beings?

He was happily contemplating how to use this treasure, perhaps to grow some immortal herbs, when suddenly, the clump of "Breathing Soil" seemed to come alive. It slipped from his palm and fell to the ground.

Then, under Li Wuyang's dumbfounded gaze, this clump of dirt... began to move on its own!

It wriggled, it rolled, absorbing the surrounding soil, rocks, and faint spiritual energy. Its volume gradually increased, and its shape began to change... Finally, it transformed into a foot-tall, chubby, round little... earth doll? It had arms and legs, and a tuft of grass on its head for hair.

The little earth doll blinked its eyes, made of two small pebbles, looked around curiously, then fixed its gaze on Li Wuyang and emitted a simple, earthy voice:

"Dad... Daddy?"

Li Wuyang: "???????????"

What the hell! What's going on?! I just spent ten low-grade spirit stones, bought a rock, peeled it open, and now I'm... a dad?! To a lump of mud?!

Little Fire, Yingying, and Jinbao also gathered around, curiously observing their new "little brother."

The little earth doll seemed a bit shy, shrinking towards Li Wuyang's feet. It then timidly called out again, "Daddy... hungry..."

Li Wuyang almost spat out a mouthful of blood. Looking at this little earth doll, transformed from a (fake) Breathing Soil and calling him "Dad," he was completely flustered.

"Hold on, hold on! Who's your dad! I just... I just helped you peel off a shell!" Li Wuyang tried to reason with it.

The little earth doll tilted its head, its pebble eyes blinking as if trying hard to understand. Then, it said firmly, "You... gave birth... to me... Daddy!"

Well, it seemed that wisp of Primordial Purple Qi had enlightened this essence of Breathing Soil, making it regard him as its creator.

Li Wuyang put his hand to his forehead and sighed, "Primordial Father! It's one thing that you're unreliable as a father, but now you're making me experience it too? This is messing up the generations!"

Xuan, who had finished meditating at some point, stood nearby, watching the comical scene. The corners of her mouth turned up slightly, and she spoke for the first time in a while, "Congratulations. You've gained a precious... earth."

Li Wuyang: "...Xuan! You're making fun of me too!"

The little earth doll seemed to like the aura emanating from Xuan. It wobbled over, hugged Xuan's leg, and looked up, shouting, "Mom... Mommy?"

Xuan's expression instantly froze. The hint of a smile vanished, replaced by a layer of frost. She looked down at the "hanger" on her leg with icy eyes.

The little earth doll shivered in fear, quickly let go, and hid behind Li Wuyang, muttering softly, "Mean... Mommy..."

Li Wuyang almost burst out laughing at Xuan's exasperated expression, quickly covering his mouth. To be able to make Xuan show such an expression, this little earth doll was truly a genius!

Well, this was just great. His seclusion didn't yield any results, but he inexplicably gained a "son," and a mud one at that. Life in the Spiritual Stream Realm was becoming increasingly bizarre.

He looked at the little earth doll hiding behind him, tugging at his clothes, and looking up at him pitifully with its pebble eyes. He sighed helplessly, "Fine, fine. From now on, your name will be... Earth Doll! Stick with me, and you'll always have enough to eat... uh, enough dirt to eat!"

Earth Doll seemed to understand. It happily hopped twice, the little grass on its head trembling.

Li Wuyang looked up at the sky and sighed, "The composition of my team is getting more and more complicated... Humans, beasts, elves, mice, and now even mud! Will a sentient stone be next?"

(Chapter Forty-Five Complete)