Back in the cave dwelling, Li Wuyang eagerly began studying the black stone he had bought for ten Low-grade Spirit Stones. It felt heavy in his hand, its surface rough. When he sent his divine sense inside, he found what seemed to be an extremely faint yet exceptionally high-grade energy, wrapped in layer after layer. The resonance of the Great Dao Imprint came from it.
"There's definitely something good inside!" Li Wuyang rubbed his hands together. "But how do I open it? Split it with an axe? What if I ruin the treasure inside?"
He tried injecting true qi into it, but the stone did not react at all. He burned it with fire—having Little Fire give it a small puff—but it remained utterly unmoved. He even tried biting it... and nearly cracked his teeth.
"Hey! Now you've got my temper up!" Li Wuyang was fired up and decided to use his "ultimate weapon"—the lofty Primordial Great Dao Imprint within his sea of consciousness!
He focused and carefully guided out a barely perceptible wisp of Primordial Purple Qi, covering the stone's surface.
Then a miracle happened!
The indestructible black stone, the instant it touched the Primordial Purple Qi, became like spring snow under the blazing sun. Its surface quickly softened, then... began peeling away layer by layer!
It did not shatter. Instead, it shed layer after layer of black stone skin like an onion!
As the stone skin fell away, the light within grew brighter and brighter! A burst of incomparably pure energy spread out, carrying the weight of earth and the aura of boundless vitality!
When the final bit of stone skin came off, what appeared in Li Wuyang's palm was not some anticipated magical treasure or medicinal pill, but a fist-sized clump of soil, like liquid amber, emitting a soft yellow glow... soil?
This soil looked utterly ordinary, yet the vitality and spiritual essence it contained stirred up the spiritual energy throughout the entire cave dwelling! A potted plant nearby that had nearly withered sprouted branches and buds at a visible rate, becoming lush and green once more!
"This... this is..." Li Wuyang's eyes widened as a legendary name sprang into his mind. "Breathing Soil?! No, an imitation or fragment of Breathing Soil? The stuff Empress Nuwa used to create humans?!"
His hands trembled with excitement! Though this was merely something condensed from the faintest trace of the real Breathing Soil's aura, far inferior to the original, it was still an astonishing earth-element treasure! It contained the vitality of creation, could nourish all things, nurture spiritual roots, and perhaps even... bring living beings to life?
He was happily considering how to use this treasure—perhaps to grow some immortal herbs—when the clump of "Breathing Soil" suddenly seemed to come alive. It slipped from his palm and fell to the ground.
Then, under Li Wuyang's dumbfounded gaze, the clump of soil... began moving on its own!
It wriggled and rolled, absorbing the surrounding earth, stones, and faint spiritual energy. Its body slowly grew larger, and its shape began changing... until it turned into a little clay doll about a foot tall, chubby and round, with hands and feet, and a tuft of grass on its head for hair?
The little clay doll blinked its eyes, made from two tiny pebbles, curiously looked around, then fixed its gaze on Li Wuyang and spoke in a simple, earthy voice:
"Da... Daddy?"
Li Wuyang: "??????????"
What the hell?! I spent ten Low-grade Spirit Stones on a rock, peeled it open, and then... suddenly became a dad?! The dad of a lump of mud, no less?!
Little Fire, Yingying, and Treasure-Seeking Mouse Jinbao also gathered around, curiously sizing up this new "little brother."
The little clay doll seemed somewhat shy. It huddled closer to Li Wuyang's feet and timidly called again, "Daddy... hungry..."
Li Wuyang nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. Looking at this little clay doll that had turned from imitation Breathing Soil and was calling him father, his entire mind became a mess.
"Wait, wait! Who's your dad?! I just... I just helped peel off your shell!" Li Wuyang tried to reason with it.
The little clay doll tilted its head and blinked its pebble eyes, as if trying hard to understand. Then it said firmly, "Your... creating... aura... Daddy!"
Well, it seemed that wisp of Primordial Purple Qi had brought this essence of Breathing Soil to life, making it regard him as its creator.
Li Wuyang held his forehead and sighed. "Primordial Father! It's bad enough that you were such an unreliable dad to me, but now you've made me experience this too? The generations are all messed up!"
At some point, Xuan had finished meditating and was standing nearby. Watching this comical scene, the corner of his mouth lifted slightly. Rarely, he offered an assessment: "Congratulations. You have gained a precious... soil."
Li Wuyang: "...Xuan! Even you're making fun of me!"
The little clay doll seemed to like Xuan's aura. It wobbled over, hugged Xuan's calf, looked up, and called, "Mo... Mother?"
Xuan's expression instantly froze. That faint smile vanished without a trace, replaced by a layer of icy frost. He looked down at the "accessory" hanging from his leg, his gaze cold.
The little clay doll shuddered in fright, quickly let go, and hid behind Li Wuyang. In a small voice, it muttered, "Fierce... Mother..."
Seeing Xuan at a loss, Li Wuyang almost burst out laughing and hurriedly covered his mouth. Forcing Xuan to show such an expression made this little clay doll a genius in its own right!
Well, that was that. His secluded cultivation had produced no results, but he had somehow gained a "son"—and one made of mud, at that. Life in the Spiritual Stream Realm was getting more fantastical by the day.
He looked at the little clay doll hiding behind him, tugging at his robe and gazing up at him pitifully with its pebble eyes, then sighed helplessly. "Fine, fine. From now on, you'll be called... Earth Doll! Stick with me, and I'll make sure you're fed... uh, make sure you get enough dirt to eat!"
Earth Doll seemed to understand. It happily bounced twice, the little grass on its head trembling along with it.
Li Wuyang looked up at the sky and sighed. "My group's getting more and more complicated... humans, beasts, spirits, mice, and now even mud! Next time, am I supposed to get a stone that becomes a spirit too?"
(End of Chapter 45)
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