What About the Promised Slumber?

Old Man Yu was originally worrying about how to get more Spirit Stones for his little tree, or something to replace them, when he suddenly felt a tickle in his hand. He looked down and saw that the fine roots, which had been absorbing Spirit Stones, were actually coiling around his hand.

He was startled and instinctively recoiled.

But soon, he realized something was wrong. These roots didn't seem to want to 'eat' him; they were eyeing the other Spirit Stone he was holding.

This time, he had brought two Spirit Stones, thinking he would see how things went after the little tree absorbed one.

To his surprise, the little tree hadn't even finished absorbing one before it set its sights on the other one in his hand.

Could it be not enough?

With that thought, Old Man Yu stopped wasting words and immediately crushed the Spirit Stone he was holding, scattering it over the roots in front of him.

Instantly, most of the roots that had been reaching for him lunged towards the crushed Spirit Stones, but a few still stubbornly stretched towards him.

"You greedy little thing, what? Not enough to eat?"

Old Man Yu chuckled, scolding it.

He was no longer as afraid of these roots becoming so agile.

After all, it was a Rare Species; wasn't it normal for it to have some special traits?

Besides, what Rare Species didn't have some extraordinary characteristics?

In this world, there were even quite a few plants that actively attacked humans.

So, Old Man Yu couldn't help but reach out his hand, feeling the fine roots twitching in his palm, but then they seemed to withdraw as if disgusted.

"I know you need Spirit Stones, but the wind disaster season is coming. If you eat them all now, what will you do later?"

Old Man Yu vaguely guessed the meaning behind the roots' actions – that it needed Spirit Stones – and he sighed.

Of course, he didn't expect the roots to understand him.

But then, he noticed the speed at which the roots absorbed the Spirit Stones suddenly increase, and the surrounding tree roots seemed to tremble, giving him the feeling they were about to press down on him.

"Wait, is Little Tree also going into hibernation?"

Old Man Yu suddenly remembered seeing the trees outside rapidly shedding their leaves, clearly preparing to enter hibernation. But at the time, he saw that his own little tree's leaves were still lush and green, and since he didn't understand Rare Species, he thought his little tree was different and might not hibernate.

But now, the abnormality of the surrounding roots finally made him understand that his own little tree was also going into hibernation.

This was the nature of plants.

And to enter hibernation, it would require absorbing more vitality. Thus, these two Spirit Stones were clearly not enough.

With that realization, Old Man Yu immediately went back into the cellar and took out ten Spirit Stones. He quickly crushed them and scattered them around.

With these Spirit Stones, the surrounding roots stopped their unrest, which made Old Man Yu breathe a sigh of relief.

It seemed his guess was correct.

However, as long as Little Tree entered hibernation, it likely wouldn't need Spirit Stones for the wind disaster season, which was a relief to him.

Otherwise, if he had to keep feeding it until the end of the wind disaster season, he truly feared he wouldn't be able to sustain it.

Although his initial plan was to wait three years until his eldest son reached Perfection of Fetal Movement, and then use Little Tree to exchange for an Immortal Destiny so his eldest son could attempt to reach the Qi Refining Realm.

But during this time of care, he had grown quite fond of the little tree in front of him, treating it like family. After all, he had even given it a name – Little Tree Yu.

With such heartfelt investment, how could he not have developed some feelings?

If only he could obtain an Immortal Destiny without having to give up Little Tree, how wonderful that would be!

Thinking this, Old Man Yu gave a self-deprecating smile.

Without Little Tree, how would he have dared to even consider an Immortal Destiny?

"Eat, this is also something my family owes you. Until then, I will protect you even if it costs me my life."

Old Man Yu said softly.

Although Yu An heard his words, he paid no attention, as his entire focus was on absorbing the Spirit Stones, converting the absorbed spiritual energy into vitality, and then channeling it into the seeds at the tips of his roots.

This was the method he had devised.

Hibernation required sufficient vitality, didn't it?

Then he would fulfill that need.

Normal trees could only enter hibernation by 'devouring' the vitality within their own trunks. After all, they had no Spirit Stones to absorb, nor could they actively control this process like Yu An, with his powerful soul.

Essentially, Yu An's ability to do this was due to his own special nature, which was paramount.

And during the process of absorption and conversion, he would try to retain as much of the tree's vitality as possible. As long as the tree body maintained sufficient vitality, his soul would have a place to reside and remain conscious.

The seed condensed during hibernation could be considered a clone.

Then, he would use the current tree body to endure the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster.

If he truly encountered an insurmountable crisis, he would then sink his soul and consciousness into the seed, entering a true slumber.

This was his last resort.

But before that, he had to maintain absolute clarity.

Regarding this, he had already attempted it. With his full effort, he could control the state of hibernation and even feed back into himself.

After all, whether it was the tree body or the Return and Hide seed, they were all one and subject to his control.

The benefits of his powerful soul were fully revealed at this moment.

At this time, he was even somewhat fortunate that his constant attempts to practice Flying Flower Plucking Leaf had never stopped his perception of the rhythm of the world.

Without the previous effort, he would not have been able to achieve this now.

Soon, he completely devoured the twelve Spirit Stones that Old Man Yu had provided in two separate instances, converting them into vitality and pouring them all into the Return and Hide seed.

The Return and Hide seed, originally only the size of an egg, had now grown to the size of a fist.

This vitality was almost as much as all the vitality condensed within Yu An's tree body.

However, in Yu An's opinion, it was still not enough.

So, he once again extended his evil... hand towards Old Man Yu.

Seeing that the little tree had not absorbed enough, Old Man Yu had to make another trip, bringing ten more Spirit Stones to feed the little tree.

Although it pained him, it had come to this point, and he couldn't afford to give up halfway.

Because he was unsure if not letting the little tree absorb enough Spirit Stones would have any impact on it, he could only try his best to satisfy it.

But after consuming these ten Spirit Stones, he really didn't have many left.

According to the plan discussed with Yu Ershan, a total of fifty Spirit Stones were to be used for the little tree. Before this, six had already been absorbed, and seven were fed at once on the night of the storm.

Two were absorbed last night.

Adding the twenty-two Spirit Stones from the three instances now, a total of thirty-seven had been consumed, leaving only thirteen.

If it was still not enough...

While Old Man Yu was worried, Yu An also finished absorbing these ten Spirit Stones, finally allowing the Return and Hide seed to grow to its limit. He could feel that if he absorbed any more, it would become uncontrollable.

Even in this process, he himself gained considerable benefits.

This could be seen from the tree roots that formed the small canteen becoming thicker and tougher.

Even the toughness of the tree body had improved significantly.

It could be said that Yu An had gained a huge harvest this time.

Seeing that the tree roots around him did not continue to riot after this absorption and had completely subsided, Old Man Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's good that you're full, now go to sleep obediently, and you'll be fine when you wake up next year."

Old Man Yu muttered to himself, then crawled out of the cellar and onto the wall.

Since the little tree had entered Return and Hide, there was no need to leave the opening above. He might as well cover it with wooden boards and then press down stones to completely enclose the little tree.

However, when Old Man Yu saw the little tree in the small room, which was still lush and even more vigorous than before, he felt completely unwell.

Wasn't it supposed to enter Return and Hide?

Wasn't it supposed to fall asleep?

What was going on?