Hungry Bone Weathering, Soul Essence Ascending

The process of handling the dew cinnabar went smoothly. After Li Ye mixed it evenly, he placed it atop the spirit water layer at the very bottom of the large vat, then gently inserted that peach branch into it.

Finally, he used the Water Control Technique to slowly pour into the vat the spirit water he had purified once with the Spirit Gathering Art. As the water gradually flowed in, the peach blossom branch miraculously grew along with the rising water level.

The Formation Patterns drawn in cinnabar around it flickered with a faint glow.

The peach blossom branch slowly grew, eventually becoming dense boughs enough to cover the entire vat.

Li Ye did not need to put a lid on it or do anything else at all—the vat was sealed directly.

Moreover, its originally elegant fragrance had vanished completely.

It seemed that all its spiritual power had drawn inward into the vat.

"How miraculous!"

"Just from the look of it alone, it's no wonder the Mountain God's Jade Reward made so many people green with envy. Forty-nine days... I'm truly looking forward to it."

After giving the vat covered in peach blossoms one last look, he turned to deal with the fish scales. All they needed was a brief fry in oil before they could be eaten directly.

They did not taste particularly special, but they crunched "crunch, crunch" when chewed, like potato chips.

After finishing them, he licked his lips and felt no obvious changes. There was quite a bit of Spiritual Energy inside, and it was exceptionally pure. As for the other effect...

"Preserving one's looks."

He touched his face, shook his head, and continued with his work.

Time slowly passed as he meditated and cultivated each day, read through ancient texts, and tended to his spirit beasts and spirit plants. It was peaceful and leisurely; watching the sun rise and set each day, watching the beavers work diligently, had its own unique charm.

Half a month later.

While he was asleep, an Observation Mirror hanging nearby suddenly flashed with an irrepressible golden halo.

Li Ye woke with a start and looked up, seeing that something had changed inside the beavers' nest in the Observation Mirror.

The flower blooming atop the Hungry Bone, which had originally been buried beneath a pile of assorted food, began to change from an ominous purplish red. Starting from the edges of its petals, it transformed into gold, and drops of liquid fell onto the ground.

"Aura of Golden Fortune?"

"So much of it!"

Li Ye was dumbfounded, but what came next left him even more stunned.

As the flower turned gold from its edges inward, the ghastly white bones supporting it began to decay at a visible rate, while threads of milky-white radiance slowly emerged.

It was actually the shadow of a person!

Thanks to the remarkably clear image of the Observation Mirror, Li Ye could even see that it was a handsome young man dressed in worn coarse cloth.

He seemed to glance at the Micro-Stream Beaver, still sleeping soundly in the distance with its head down. Then, together with those ghastly white bone fragments, his body shattered and vanished within the cramped burrow.

The golden flower also released its final drop of gold.

After that, all light disappeared.

The beavers' nest was plunged into complete darkness.

Li Ye silently watched the beaver suddenly wake and blink. It looked toward the place where it had piled up its food, let out what should have been a few chirps, and froze completely.

Four Seasons Sect shop.

The Spirit Vine, sleeping while soaked in spirit liquid, woke with a start. It extended a tendril and tapped lightly, whereupon a complex mechanical wall made of jade appeared before it.

On it, a jade plaque named "Li Gou'er" changed from deep black to milky white.

"Huh."

"Wasn't this the task given to that boy Li Ye?"

"He actually completed it already!"

"And he even purified a Soul Essence filled with resentment. How did he manage that? He's only at the Qi Refining stage."

The Spirit Vine could scarcely believe it.

After hesitating for a moment, its agile vine-body pressed a certain mechanism, and a figure slowly appeared before it.

He was a male cultivator in white robes, handsome and refined.

"Little Spirit." The cultivator wore a gentle smile like warm jade. "If it were not something important, you certainly would not wake me in the middle of the night. Has something changed with the Hungry Bone?"

"Yes." The Spirit Vine hurriedly said:

"I gave one of them to a Rogue Cultivator called Li Ye. Yet in barely half a month, that Hungry Bone has already been completely purified—and not by being burned away.

This matter is of great importance. I had no choice but to wake you in the middle of the night."

"Oh?"

"Isn't Li Ye the one who did exceptionally well on the Silver Moon Grass task? He truly had some surprises hidden up his sleeve."

After speaking, the cultivator pondered for a moment. "Li Gou'er, fifteen years old, unfortunately perished under the Hell Realm Hungry Ghost Method of the Demon Sect.

This Hell Realm Hungry Ghost Method is a terrifying divine art enacted through famine blanketing the land, forcing people to exchange their children and eat them. According to the elders of the sect, if one truly wishes to dispel this resentment, it requires someone of pure heart to guide and console him.

In your opinion, does Li Ye count as someone of pure heart?"

Spirit Vine replied, "That boy carries an aura that makes me feel at ease, and he has also earned the Flint Crystal Worm's recognition. But if you ask whether his heart is truly pure, he still falls somewhat short.

The mortal world is filthy and turbid—how many people can truly possess a pure heart?"

"So that's how it is!" The cultivator could not help clapping his hands and laughing. "This is wonderful. Since you say he earned the spirit beast's gratitude, then he must have resolved the matter through a spirit beast and possesses either a beast-taming art or a natural talent for it.

Isn't such an interesting person precisely what our sect needs?

Besides, if a pure-hearted spirit beast is willing to be commanded by him, then his character cannot be too poor."

Spirit Vine chuckled. "Hehe, I've already given him an Autumn Harvest Token! Did I do well?"

"Little Spirit is indeed clever." The cultivator immediately praised it. "Then Li Ye is a disciple already chosen by our sect. Take good care of him in Returning Shore Market, and give him more Hungry Bones while you're at it.

If he can dissolve the resentment within every one of them, then when I have the time, I'll personally go meet him. Your grandmaster is always urging me to take on a disciple.

I recall that little fellow Su Ya is in Returning Shore Market as well, isn't he?

His elder sister is always complaining to me that no Spirit Herbalist is willing to associate with her younger brother. Doesn't this make for a suitable match?

Have Su Ya spend more time with Li Ye and tell him about the affairs of the sect. A senior brother ought to guide a junior brother who has just entered the sect, and it would be good for him too.

Oh, right. Take a look for me and see exactly what kind of spirit beast it is. If that spirit beast possesses Buddha-nature, it may not be impossible to nurture it. Give Li Ye the item I gave you."

"This disciple accepts the order."

As Spirit Vine formed its vines into a fist-and-palm salute, the cultivator's figure had already vanished. The jade tablets around it rapidly shrank as well, turning into a jade disc no larger than a palm that rested quietly upon the table.

It did not go back to sleep. It was already the third watch of the night anyway, so it might as well wait for daylight.

Li Ye would presumably come to find it and turn in his task. It could give him more Hungry Bones then.

Yet what Spirit Vine had not expected was that it waited from night until day, then from one day to the next. Day after day passed, until Li Ye finally came here a full week later!

"..."

When it saw Li Ye's handsome face, clearly much fairer than before, it found itself somewhat at a loss for words.

It even felt a little aggrieved.