Old Man Yu had been fretting over how to get more Spirit Stones—or something to replace them—for his Little Tree when he suddenly felt a tickling sensation on his hand. He looked down and saw that the tiny roots absorbing the Spirit Stones had wound themselves around his hand.
Old Man Yu jumped in fright, instinctively backing away.
But he soon realized something was off. The roots didn't seem to be trying to "eat" him. They were eyeing the other Spirit Stone clutched in his hand.
This time, he'd brought two Spirit Stones. He'd planned to wait until the little tree finished absorbing one before deciding what to do next.
He hadn't expected the little tree to set its sights on the other one before it had even finished with the first.
Could it still not be enough?
Without another thought, Old Man Yu crushed the Spirit Stone in his hand and scattered the fragments over the roots in front of him.
Most of the roots reaching toward him immediately lunged for the crushed Spirit Stone, though a few stubborn ones still stretched toward him.
"You greedy little thing. What, still not enough?"
Old Man Yu chided it with a laugh.
He wasn't all that afraid of the roots' newfound mobility.
After all, it was a Rare Species. Wasn't it normal for it to be a little unusual?
Besides, which Rare Species didn't have some extraordinary quality?
There were even plenty of plants in this world that attacked humans outright.
So Old Man Yu held out his hand, feeling the tiny roots twitch against his palm. But a moment later, they seemed to find him unappetizing and pulled away.
"I know you need Spirit Stones, but the disaster season is long. What'll you do if you eat them all at once?"
Old Man Yu sighed, having vaguely guessed what the roots were trying to say: they needed Spirit Stones.
Of course, he didn't expect them to understand him.
But then he noticed the roots absorbing the Spirit Stones at a much faster pace. The tree roots around them also seemed to tremble, as if they were about to press in on him.
"Wait. Is the little tree going into Return and Hide too?"
The thought suddenly struck Old Man Yu. Earlier, he'd seen the trees outside dropping their leaves at a rapid pace, clearly entering Return and Hide. But his own little tree's leaves had still been lush and green, and he didn't know much about Rare Species, so he'd assumed his tree was different and might not enter Return and Hide.
Now, the strange behavior of the surrounding roots finally made him understand: his little tree would enter Return and Hide too.
It was simply a plant's nature.
And entering Return and Hide required absorbing more life force. Those two Spirit Stones clearly wouldn't be enough.
With that in mind, Old Man Yu hurried back into the cellar, grabbed ten Spirit Stones, crushed them, and scattered them around.
With the extra Spirit Stones, the roots stopped surging. Old Man Yu breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed he'd guessed right.
But once the little tree entered Return and Hide, it probably wouldn't need any more Spirit Stones during the disaster season. That eased his mind somewhat.
If he had to keep feeding it until the disaster season ended, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to afford it.
His original plan had been to trade the little tree for an Immortal Destiny in three years, when his eldest son reached Perfection of Fetal Movement, so his son could break through to the Qi Refining Realm.
But after spending all this time caring for the little tree, he'd grown fond of it. He truly thought of it as one of the family. After all, he'd even given it a name: Little Tree Yu.
After putting so much of himself into it, how could he not grow attached?
If only there were a way to obtain an Immortal Destiny without giving up the little tree.
At the thought, Old Man Yu gave a self-mocking chuckle.
Without the little tree, how could he ever have dared to dream of an Immortal Destiny?
"Eat up. This is what my family owes you. Until then, even if it costs me my life, I'll protect you."
Old Man Yu spoke softly.
Yu An heard him, but paid no attention. At that moment, all his focus was on absorbing the Spirit Stones, converting the spiritual energy into life force, and channeling it into the seed at the tip of his roots.
This was the solution he'd come up with.
Didn't Return and Hide require enough life force?
Then he'd provide it.
Ordinary trees could only enter Return and Hide by "devouring" the life force in their trunks. After all, they had no Spirit Stones to absorb, and certainly couldn't control the process like Yu An could, with his powerful soul.
The most important factor was Yu An's unique nature; that was what made this possible.
As he absorbed and converted the energy, he also tried to retain as much life force in the trunk as he could. As long as the trunk held enough life force, his soul would have somewhere to reside, allowing him to remain conscious.
The seed formed through Return and Hide could be considered a clone.
Then he could use his current tree body to endure the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster.
If he encountered a crisis he couldn't withstand, he could sink his soul and consciousness into the seed and truly fall asleep.
That was his last resort.
But before then, he had to stay fully conscious.
He'd just tested this. By exerting himself to the utmost, he could control the Return and Hide state and even nourish his own body with it.
After all, both the tree body and the Return and Hide seed were part of him, and both were under his control.
The advantage of his powerful soul was fully apparent at that moment.
He was even somewhat glad that, in his earlier attempts to master Flying Flower Plucking Leaf, he'd kept sensing that faint rhythm of heaven and earth without ever stopping.
Without all that effort, he wouldn't have been able to do this now.
Before long, he'd devoured all twelve Spirit Stones Old Man Yu had brought over in two trips, converting them into life force and pouring every bit into the Return and Hide seed.
The seed, originally no bigger than an egg, had now grown to the size of a fist.
The life force it contained was nearly equal to all the life force Yu An had gathered in his tree body.
But in Yu An's view, it still wasn't enough.
So he once again reached out toward Old Man Yu with his wicked... hand.
Seeing that the little tree still hadn't had enough, Old Man Yu had no choice but to make another trip. He brought back ten more Spirit Stones and fed them all to the tree.
It hurt to part with them, but he'd come this far and couldn't stop halfway.
He didn't know whether failing to give the little tree enough Spirit Stones would harm it, so he could only do his best to satisfy it.
But after using up those ten Spirit Stones, he truly didn't have many left.
As he'd discussed with Yu Ershan, they'd set aside fifty Spirit Stones for the little tree. Before this, it had already absorbed six in total, then seven in a single feeding on the night of the storm.
Two more the previous night.
And now, over three feedings, another twenty-two Spirit Stones. That brought the total spent to thirty-seven, leaving only thirteen.
If that still wasn't enough...
As Old Man Yu worried, Yu An finished absorbing the ten Spirit Stones. At last, the Return and Hide seed had grown to its limit. He could feel that absorbing any more would make him lose control.
He'd also gained a great deal himself in the process.
All it took was a glance at the roots forming the little dining room, now thicker and tougher than before, to see that.
Even the strength of his trunk had improved considerably.
It was fair to say Yu An had gained enormously this time.
When Old Man Yu saw that the roots hadn't surged again after the latest feeding, but had instead fallen completely still, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Good, you're full. Now be a good little tree and go to sleep. You'll be fine when you wake up next year."
After muttering to himself, Old Man Yu climbed out of the cellar and up onto the wall.
Since the little tree had entered Return and Hide, there was no need to leave the opening above it uncovered. He might as well lay boards over it, weigh them down with stones, and seal the little tree in completely.
But when Old Man Yu saw the little tree in the small room, still lush and green—looking even more vigorous than before—he felt as if the world had turned upside down.
Hadn't it entered Return and Hide?
Wasn't it supposed to fall asleep?
What was going on?
Before you continue