All those born innate, even if they had yet to take form, possessed spirituality. Before his words fell, a rustle suddenly sounded by his ear. Bamboo leaves whirled through the air, branch tips trembled lightly, and the soft susurrus continued without end.
He lifted his eyes and saw the main stalk of the Jade Bamboo tilt slightly, its branches and leaves bobbing up and down as though nodding in agreement.
Su Yang looked up at the sky and laughed loudly, his voice shaking the forest canopy. "What a spiritual bamboo! It seems your intelligence has already awakened; all you lack is an opportunity. Since it is so, I certainly will not take your life. I will only cut a section of your branch to make a flute. I shall also grant you a stroke of fortune and help you attain human form sooner. Are you willing?"
Before the words fell, the bamboo body swayed three times in succession, its leaves surging like waves. A clear and unmistakable sense of delight rushed straight at him.
Su Yang smiled knowingly and flicked his finger. A gleaming silver sword qi shot forth, neatly slicing off a section of bamboo as green as jade.
Then he held out his palm, and a cloud of Mysterious Yellow Qi quietly appeared above it—it was precisely the breath of merit.
With a light wave of his sleeve, he sent that cloud of Mysterious Yellow Qi into the bamboo's core.
In an instant, the Jade Bamboo blazed with light from head to toe. Auspicious aura billowed, while the spiritual energy in the surroundings surged toward it like rivers flowing into the sea, pouring in full force into its body. Its magic power rose steadily, and its aura grew ever thicker and more solid.
Before long, the heavenly vault