Creation!

Since he couldn't use his senses, Yu An's mind could only be immersed in his tree form, causing him to neglect observing his surroundings.

As for the damage the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster inflicted upon him, he had also chosen to ignore it.

However, just as he was continuously converting the vigorous life force within his tree form, a trace of unusual power quietly appeared within him.

The intrusion of this trace of anomalous power immediately reacted violently with the life force in his body, like water dropped into a hot oil pan.

To the point that Yu An felt a burning sensation.

"What's going on?"

Yu An was greatly alarmed.

After all, no one had told him that the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster not only stripped away lifespan but also had this kind of drawback.

It was just that the trace of anomalous power was too weak, so he could easily withstand it. But if this power were ten or a hundred times greater, constantly pouring into his tree form, could he still withstand it?

Therefore, he had to figure out what was happening.

Otherwise, before the insectoids even arrived, he would be the first to die.

When Yu An opened up his mind completely, he quickly found the source of that trace of anomalous power—the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster.

Currently, although he was hidden in the small room built of stones by Old Man Yu, there were gaps between the stones. Wind continuously seeped in and was then absorbed by the unfurled leaves.

This was similar to how the leaves absorbed sunlight in the past. To explain it using biology class from his previous life, it was called photosynthesis.

But what was the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster?

Could it also be absorbed by leaves?

This made Yu An feel quite perplexed. Could it be that those trees and plants entering the Return and Hide state were also to avoid the invasion of this power?

Although Yu An's personality was a bit too cautious, he also understood that not everything could be overcome by "lying low."

He had to clearly understand what was happening and come up with a countermeasure.

So, he calmed himself down, allowing his leaves to continue absorbing the anomalous power from the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster, and then observed the violent reaction between this trace of anomalous power and his life force.

That burning sensation returned, like being burned by fire or pricked by needles.

And under the invasion of the anomalous power, his life force also seemed to disappear out of thin air.

If a comparison were made, it would be ten to one.

For one trace of anomalous power, he needed to consume ten traces of life force to neutralize it, or rather, refine it.

This discovery sent a chill down Yu An's spine.

No matter how much life force he had, he couldn't keep up with this consumption and would eventually be refined into a dead tree.

No wonder after every Black Annihilation Wind Disaster, almost all trees would wither, and only the surviving roots would grow anew.

Because even Return and Hide couldn't completely deplete a tree's life force, but the current anomalous power could.

Therefore, those withered trees were not solely caused by the insectoids' gnawing.

Unfortunately, the Yu family's status was too low; they had no understanding of the truth behind it.

As for Yu An, he couldn't say he regretted it, because this was his own choice. He wanted to experience the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster, and besides, he had left himself a fallback.

It was just that he wouldn't choose to enter the Return and Hide slumber unless absolutely necessary.

So Yu An decided to shed all his leaves and stop absorbing this anomalous power.

Although even without leaves, this anomalous power could still invade his body through his tree form, at least it would be an active versus passive situation, which would reduce the impact significantly.

And just as he was about to act and become bald prematurely, he suddenly made a new discovery.

It turned out that after his life force neutralized the anomalous power, it didn't completely dissipate. Instead, it generated a trace of an almost imperceptible aura, which then flashed and vanished.

"Something's wrong!"

Yu An instinctively sensed that something was amiss.

But no matter how meticulously he scanned his tree form with his mind, he found nothing. That trace of aura seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Out of curiosity, and also out of instinct, Yu An paused his plan to become bald. Instead, he let his leaves continue to absorb the anomalous power, even increasing the absorption rate.

Soon, an amount of anomalous power equivalent to three times the previous amount was absorbed into his body, and it immediately clashed violently with his life force.

This time, Yu An endured the burning sensation and focused all his attention on observing, not missing any slightest change.

Perhaps it was due to the larger amount of anomalous power this time, but he finally clearly perceived that trace of aura.

He used the word "aura" instead of "power" to describe it because this aura had form but no substance, like a reflection in a mirror or the moon in water, or like an illusory existence.

Just like before, as soon as this aura appeared, it vanished into thin air again.

If he hadn't been observing with his entire mind, he would have barely noticed this change.

After the aura disappeared, he vaguely felt that the core of his life seemed to warm up slightly.

This slight warmth was different from the burning sensation.

Previously, because the aura was too weak and he was enduring the burning pain, he had overlooked it.

But this time, he finally clearly grasped the difference.

"Could it be...?"

Feeling the changes within himself, Yu An's heart pounded wildly as a bold idea surfaced.

If this was true, perhaps he had already gained a glimpse into a secret of the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster.

Even this insignificant secret would bring him immense benefits, even fortune!

Summoning his status panel, Yu An examined it carefully.

Although he couldn't find the dissipating aura, he had the panel.

Finally, he discovered something unusual in the Spiritual Power section.

Even though the descriptions of the two Spiritual Powers hadn't changed, he could feel that the aura that had just vanished had been absorbed into them.

Or rather, it had been absorbed into his life essence.

While the age stat indicated how long he could live, Spiritual Power was, strictly speaking, born from life essence and was closely related to it.

Especially the Bonding Spiritual Power, which could produce one innate elm seed every ten years, or by consuming ten years of lifespan.

What was an innate elm seed?

It naturally referred to the power of life essence.

The aura that had just vanished had been absorbed into his life essence, leading to the subtle changes in the Spiritual Power section.

However, adhering to the principle that practice leads to truth, Yu An continued to absorb the anomalous power of the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster with increasing intensity, once, twice, thrice...

With each refinement, he could sense subtle changes in the Spiritual Power section.

At this point, his guess was finally confirmed.

By refining the anomalous power with his vitality, he could obtain an aura that strengthened his life essence.

And this aura could produce Immortal Destiny.

What was Immortal Destiny?

According to the limited information Yu An had, before the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster, before the Great Cataclysm, there was a mysterious aura in the world. After reaching Perfection of Fetal Movement, refining this mysterious aura would lead to the Qi Refining Realm.

However, after the Great Cataclysm, those at Perfection of Fetal Movement could no longer sense this mysterious aura, let alone refine it.

Only cultivators of higher realms could extract this mysterious aura and transform it into Immortal Destiny.

Therefore, Immortal Destiny referred to this mysterious aura.

Currently, the aura Yu An obtained could act upon his life essence, allowing his Spiritual Power to produce Immortal Destiny.

Didn't this mean it was the mysterious aura that countless people had desperately sought but never found?

However, in Yu An's eyes, rather than calling it a mysterious aura, it was more fitting to call it: Qi of Creation.

Qi Refining, Qi Refining, what was being refined was this Qi of Creation.

Only this Qi of Creation could allow ordinary people in the Fetal Movement stage to later achieve the innate state and become cultivators.

No wonder that after every Black Annihilation Wind Disaster, some innate Immortal Destiny would condense in the world.

The truth was so simple, it was within the Black Annihilation Wind Disaster.

After understanding this, Yu An felt like laughing aloud.

Indeed, crisis contained opportunity.