A Means of Self-Defense

"Sure enough, only adversity can bring out a person's potential to the fullest. And some people are simply waiting for the right opportunity."

As a bystander, Yu An had witnessed the Yu Family's transformation from beginning to end.

Although Yu Ershan was in poor health, he was meticulous and cautious, serving as the brains of the Yu Family.

Yu Dashan, on the other hand, seemed a little slow, but the fact that he had tried to sneak into the Insect Hunter Team showed how deeply he cared about his family. Later, even after being beaten and scolded by his younger brother, he had not complained or shown the slightest resentment.

If anything, all of it had only stirred up his desire to improve.

In Yu An's view, a character as simple and honest as his could actually make cultivation go more smoothly.

All he lacked was sufficient resources.

As long as he had enough resources, he had a very good chance of breaking through to the Qi Refining Realm.

Then there was Old Man Yu. Without him leading by example, he could never have raised the two brothers this way.

Even Yu Xiaoshan, the youngest, showed a spark of intelligence.

The Yu Family might be a small household, but they already had the makings of success.

It was no exaggeration to say that their future looked bright.

Of course, Yu An didn't think his improved opinion of the Yu Family had anything to do with the Spirit Stones and Spirit Field soil they were about to provide.

He hadn't even paid much attention when they'd discussed how to sell him off.

As a tree, the first thing he'd learned was to "take things in stride."

That night, after Yu Xiaoshan had fallen asleep, Old Man Yu and the two brothers, who had returned from the Spirit Field in shifts, all witnessed the extraordinary nature of their Rare Species.

In the cool moonlight, its steady rhythm, like breathing, its leaves that seemed to hold a glimmer of light, and the peaceful aura it gave off all bore out what Old Man Yu had said.

This was a Rare Species!

Yu Ershan even felt that their Rare Species was clearly no ordinary one.

Heaven truly favored the Yu Family.

Afterward, Yu Ershan crushed a Spirit Stone and dug a small hole beneath the tree. Once he exposed a few roots, he scattered the fragments evenly over them. Countless tiny rootlets immediately poked out, and the Spirit Stone fragments, which had been giving off a faint glow, visibly dimmed.

In less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the Spirit Stone fragments had been reduced to useless dregs.

"It really works."

Old Man Yu and Yu Ershan stared excitedly at the little tree. They had only been testing it before; they hadn't been entirely certain that a Rare Species could directly absorb the spiritual energy contained in Spirit Stones.

After all, only cultivators who had entered the Qi Refining Realm could use Spirit Stones directly for cultivation.

Ordinary people could only use them as currency.

After it had absorbed an entire Spirit Stone, Old Man Yu and Yu Ershan could both clearly see the little tree's changes.

Its trunk had grown noticeably thicker, its bark had developed more markings and darkened, and even its branches and leaves had grown considerably.

At that very moment, Yu An was immersed in the changes brought about by absorbing the Spirit Stone.

He hadn't expected a single Spirit Stone to have such a powerful effect.

Or rather, the soil he had been rooted in before was so barren that it had long held back his growth.

Part of it was the instinctive hunger of a tree that had gone without for so long, and part was the presence of Yu An's soul. Combined, the effect far exceeded that of an ordinary Rare Species.

Though he had tried his best to direct the Spirit Stone's spiritual energy toward growing his roots, a tree was one whole. Its roots grew to better nourish its trunk and branches, allowing them to flourish.

So no matter how hard Yu An tried to control it, he couldn't stop his trunk from growing.

Based on his experience with fetal-movement cultivation over the past few days, he could roughly tell that the spiritual energy from one Spirit Stone had the same effect on him as a month of cultivation.

If he got all fifty Spirit Stones, wouldn't that be equivalent to four years of cultivation?

At that moment, Yu An felt as if he had discovered a shortcut. He was so excited he could barely contain himself.

He also felt much more confident about surviving the upcoming Black Annihilation Wind Disaster.

"Spirit Stones! I want Spirit Stones!"

Yu An shouted in his heart.

With enough Spirit Stones, he could grow quickly and reach the next stage sooner.

If Juvenile Stage Two was equivalent to the fetal-movement stage in human cultivation, then his next stage might be Juvenile Stage Three, equivalent to the Qi Refining Realm.

The strongest cultivator in the entire Ox Ridge Settlement was currently only in the Qi Refining Realm—and still in its early stages.

Wouldn't he be able to throw his weight around then?

Unfortunately, as a tree, his cries went unheard by the Yu Family father and sons. All they saw was the little tree trembling gently after absorbing the Spirit Stone, its leaves rustling.

It seemed to be expressing its gratitude to them.

"Should we give it another one?"

Old Man Yu asked.

"No. This Rare Species is still too small. Giving it too many Spirit Stones at once might not be good for it. We should feed it one a day from now on."

Yu Ershan was tempted, too, but reason told him that even a Rare Species had its limits.

It was like watering a plant: give it too much, and it might drown.

Hearing that, Yu An wanted to lash out with a branch and smack him hard.

Did he think Yu An's Rare Species was the same as an ordinary one?

At the same time, Yu An realized that, as a tree, he lacked the means to protect himself.

The Divine Ability of Immortal Destiny was powerful and could grant Immortal Destiny, but it wasn't a defensive ability.

So he needed an everyday method, something he could use at any time.

The problem was, as an elm tree, how could he possibly get such a method?

A Spiritual Sense attack?

Since he had a soul, Yu An felt that he should be able to cultivate a similar technique. Unfortunately, the Yu Family didn't even have a proper cultivation manual, let alone such an advanced method.

Besides, only cultivators above the Qi Refining Realm could probably learn that sort of technique.

What else could he do?

He couldn't seriously wave his branches around and hit people, could he?

With his elm branches and leaves, he couldn't reach anyone even if he wanted to.

After all, he wasn't a weeping willow, naturally equipped with countless whip-like tendrils.

Wait. No, that wasn't right.

Didn't novels say that even flying flowers and plucked leaves could wound people?

If he could control his leaves, could he achieve something similar?

If someone annoyed him or danger came near, he could send a leaf flying with a whoosh and open a little hole in the other person's brow.

He already had at least a thousand leaves. That was more than enough to use against an enemy.

With that thought, Yu An began to experiment.

At last, after quite a while, he felt one of the leaves that held his consciousness move—and then detach from its branch.

"Fly!"

A leaf dropped from the branch, wobbling gently as it fell.

"See? I told you it couldn't absorb too many Spirit Stones at once. Now it's already dropping leaves."

Yu Ershan reached out to catch the falling leaf and said with certainty.