"You—you haven't fallen asleep? You didn't enter Hidden Return, then..."
Old Man Yu's mouth went dry.
What was he supposed to make of the Spirit Stones the little tree had just absorbed?
To him, it was no different from the sky falling.
The key was that although the little tree had absorbed so many Spirit Stones, its height hadn't changed much. Only its dense vitality seemed to surge right at him.
"Little tree, you can't go on like this. Even if you don't enter Hidden Return, you still need to restrain your vitality. Looking at you now, never mind whether you can withstand the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster—even the Insect Race could sense your aura from far away."
Old Man Yu spoke anxiously, not even caring whether it could understand him. Cold sweat broke out across his back.
One wrong move, and the little tree might wither before its time.
If he'd known, he shouldn't have indulged it just now.
It was just like raising a child: once you spoiled them, they could easily go astray.
He'd always prided himself on being good at raising his son, yet here he was, taking a hard tumble at the hands of a little tree.
Truly, spoiling a child was as good as killing him.
What could he do now?
Yu An could naturally see how anxious Old Man Yu was. He felt a little embarrassed about it. Though he'd done his best to keep things under control, there had been so much vitality just now that even a little slipping through his fingers had been enough to nourish his trunk.
Besides, he'd had no choice but to do this.
He couldn't actually enter Hidden Return and fall asleep, soul and consciousness included, could he?
As things stood, this was undoubtedly the best outcome.
Of course, he understood that Old Man Yu had a point. The Insect Race had keen senses, especially when it came to detecting life force, because they needed to devour all vitality.
It was precisely thanks to this ability and their nature that they could condense Essence within their bodies.
This Essence was the gentlest, purest form of life energy. Even damage to one's foundation could be repaired with it.
In other words, someone in Yu Ershan's condition could recover by refining Essence.
Yu An knew this perfectly well himself.
But there was no way his family could get their hands on Essence, so he'd never entertained the idea.
Old Man Yu, on the other hand, had once considered Essence as a way to cure his son. But the stuff was always precious, and not every member of the Insect Race could condense Essence within its body.
They certainly couldn't afford to buy it, and under normal circumstances, no one would sell it.
So the only option was to hunt for it.
But in the Blessed Land, ordinary people weren't allowed outside unless they joined the Insect Hunter Team. How were they supposed to hunt anything?
And even if they joined the Insect Hunter Team, spoils like Essence would never be distributed to ordinary members. At most, they'd receive a few Spirit Stones as compensation.
On top of that, there was one crucial point.
During the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster, even the weakest insects were equivalent to humans at Fetal Movement Minor Accomplishment. Slightly larger ones could match Fetal Movement Major Accomplishment or even Perfection of Fetal Movement.
And those were only the lowest-level Servant Insects of the Insect Race.
The chance of a Servant Insect producing Essence was less than one in ten, and the quality was usually poor.
But to ordinary people, even the worst-quality Essence was still a treasure.
Only insects equivalent to the Qi Refining Realm were guaranteed to have Essence in their bodies. But someone at Perfection of Fetal Movement couldn't possibly kill such a creature.
Only a cultivator at the Qi Refining Realm could do that.
In short, even if Old Man Yu joined the Insect Hunter Team and risked his life killing insects, he still wouldn't get any Essence. He wouldn't get a share; that was simply the unspoken rule of the team.
When the price of a Blessed Land quota had risen this time, Old Man Yu had initially planned to stay. Part of the reason was that he didn't have enough Spirit Stones; the other part was that he wanted to take a gamble.
Perhaps he'd get the chance to obtain a piece or two of Essence.
After all, no one could compete with him if he killed insects in his own home.
Of course, back then he hadn't known that a Rare Species little tree was growing in his courtyard.
Once he learned about it, he had to abandon that dangerous idea.
It wasn't that he feared death. He had a more important task: protecting the Rare Species little tree.
But now, because he'd indulged it, the chance of the little tree withering had increased dramatically.
His own death wouldn't matter.
But this Rare Species little tree would determine whether his eldest son could break through to the Qi Refining Realm in the future. It would also determine whether the Yu Family could rise up and become a true Cultivation Family.
So no matter what, he couldn't let anything happen to the little tree.
With that in mind, Old Man Yu had already decided that when the time came, he'd smear the precious bottle of Corpse Stench Devil Plant sap over the little tree. That would interfere with the insects' senses.
Although he'd be giving up one of his trump cards, he felt it would be worth it.
Yu An didn't know about the intense shift in Old Man Yu's thoughts. But from the way he clenched his fists and the resolute look on his face, Yu An could vaguely guess some of it.
Still, he wasn't nearly as pessimistic as Old Man Yu.
He knew his own situation best.
Though he seemed so full of life that he might overflow at any moment, with the strength of his soul, he could completely absorb all this vitality within a day or two and use it to strengthen his trunk.
And his powerful control would let him restrain the vitality in his trunk to a very low level.
It wouldn't be as good as entering Hidden Return, but it would be enough.
Unfortunately, he couldn't speak, so he couldn't reassure Old Man Yu.
But he believed that once a day or two had passed and Old Man Yu saw the changes in him, he'd understand.
With that thought, Yu An stopped wasting his attention and entered a state of perception, stepping up his cultivation.
Old Man Yu looked up at the sky. There was no sun, only thick, dark clouds steadily growing heavier. The wind blowing across the land was getting colder, too.
This year was different from previous years. Even the experienced elders couldn't tell when the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster would arrive.
It might still be a few days away—or it might come tonight.
In any case, no one would be surprised if the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster descended without warning the very next moment.
His mood, however, was even heavier than the clouds overhead.
"Uncle Yu, why are you standing on the wall?"
Just then, a figure carrying a long spear hurried over. He tilted his head up and asked in confusion.
"Better view."
Old Man Yu gave a casual explanation, then jumped down from the wall and went out into the courtyard to meet Tiezhu, so the other man wouldn't pay too much attention to the wall.
"It's already this late. Why aren't you staying home like you should? What are you running around for?"
"Uncle Yu, I've got good news—really good news."
Li Tiezhu made no effort to hide his delight.
Tiezhu's surname was Li, not Tie. His full name was Li Tiezhu.
It was just that he knew how to forge iron, and his name had the character for "iron" in it. So, over time, people had dropped his surname when calling him and simply called him Tiezhu.
"What good news?" Old Man Yu asked with a furrowed brow.
At a time like this, everyone at the settlement was just waiting to die. What good news could there be?
Everyone managing not to bother or burden one another was already the best anyone could hope for.
Before you continue