Spirit Fruit Descends from the Heavens

"Ah!"

Su Miao felt her foot catch, and her tiny body pitched forward out of control.

Frightened, she squeezed her eyes shut and instinctively flailed her little hands, certain she was about to land hard on her bottom—perhaps even end up with a mouthful of dirt.

Yet the pain she had expected never came.

Instead, she felt as though she had crashed into an extraordinarily soft "cushion" carrying a Faint Fragrance.

The "cushion" had a peculiar feel to it, like the finest Cloud Brocade yet imbued with the supple resilience of a plant, gently dispelling every bit of force from her fall.

She opened her eyes in confusion and found herself sprawled atop a lush patch of immortal grass, its leaves broad and thick, radiating a soft green glow and a tranquil aura.

[Thick Earth Lingzhi Grass: leaves like cushions, soft to the touch; capable of deflecting the force of ten thousand jun. It can also calm the mind and soothe the spirit.]

It was this patch of immortal grass that had caught her.

Su Miao blinked. Before she could recover from that "soft landing," the enticing fruity fragrance above her suddenly intensified enormously!

Then—

"Smack!"

A soft sound rang out.

A round, plump fruit, warm goose-yellow all over and naturally patterned with cloudlike streaks, fell squarely onto the smooth, full forehead she had just lifted.

The impact was gentle, as though she had merely been lightly tapped.

The fruit bounced away the instant it touched her forehead and rolled into her instinctively outstretched hands.

Su Miao: "???"

Holding this fragrant fruit that had suddenly fallen from the sky, she sat atop the Thick Earth Lingzhi Grass, her little head somewhat dazed.

Looking up, she saw a small tree beside her, only about as tall as a person. Its branches twisted like dragons, while its sparse leaves resembled crimson flames. A mere handful of the same goose-yellow fruits hung from it.

The one that had just struck her was one of them.

This fruit... fell down by itself?

And it just happened to hit me?

Tilting her little head, Su Miao wondered if the fruits in the Primordial World were all this smart.

If you were hungry, they delivered themselves right to your door—with precise navigation, too?

Hidden in the shadows, the Heavenly Dao Will quietly concealed its achievements and fame.

Naturally, it had been the one secretly loosening the fruit stem a little and using a wisp of breeze to guide it precisely.

Seeing that the Little Ancestor had successfully caught the fruit, its invisible gaze seemed to soften by a fraction.

But Su Miao gave it no such thought.

Holding the Dragon Blood Flame Heart Fruit, she could feel its aroma relentlessly burrowing into her nose, making her mouth water.

This fruit looks delicious!

No longer hesitating, she opened her little mouth and took a huge bite.

The flesh melted the instant it entered her mouth. It was not like the crisp, sweet, juicy flesh of an ordinary fruit; instead, it transformed into a warm, scorching current that instantly flowed down her throat and spread through her limbs and bones!

That warm current seemed to contain countless tiny, vigorous sparks of life energy, gentle yet steadfast as they washed through her meridians and nourished her tendons, bones, flesh, and blood.

"Mmm~"

Su Miao narrowed her big eyes in bliss, an intoxicated expression appearing on her little face.

This felt even better than soaking in a hot spring in winter while eating ice cream!

In no time at all, she devoured the entire fruit, not even sparing the pit. Once it entered her mouth, the pit too transformed into a small mass of pure energy and merged into her body.

After finishing it, she felt warm all over and brimming with strength. Her little belly was full, while an unusual sweet fragrance lingered in her mouth, leaving an endless aftertaste.

"So yummy!"

She smacked her lips and looked longingly at the Dragon Blood Flame Heart Fruit Tree, where several fruits still remained.

But after patting her round, bulging belly and feeling that she truly could not eat another bite, she gave up on picking one more.

After filling her stomach, she began to feel thirsty again.

The Dragon Blood Flame Fruit contained immense energy. Though most of it was gentle, it did indeed leave one parched after eating it.

Su Miao climbed down from the Thick Earth Lingzhi Grass and looked around for water.

Just as her gaze swept over a Jade Wall nearby, covered in moss and wreathed in misty vapor, a miracle happened again.

Several threads of spirit liquid that had originally been slowly seeping from the Jade Wall and gathering into dew suddenly sped up, swiftly converging into a tiny stream of crystal-clear spring water that emitted a faint chill. It dripped neatly into a naturally formed Stone Mortar below, shaped like a little bowl.

The Stone Mortar was neither too large nor too small—just the right size for her to hold with both hands.

Curiously, Su Miao walked over and reached out with her chubby little hands to lift the Stone Mortar.

It felt icy cold in her hands. The spring water inside was so clear she could see straight to the bottom, giving off an enticingly sweet, fresh scent. Wisps of white Spirit Mist drifted across its surface.

[Ten Thousand Year Cold Jade Marrow Heart Spring: formed from the essence of jade marrow. Its nature is intensely cold, yet it can neutralize scorching heat, purify the mind, and cleanse the meridians.]

She cautiously leaned closer and took a small sip.

"Ah—"

The spring water was clear, sweet, and carried a chill that seeped straight into her heart. In an instant, it swept away every trace of heat left from eating the fruit. It felt as though she had been washed clean inside and out, leaving her refreshed and invigorated!

"So tasty!"

She gulped down every drop of spring water in the Stone Mortar, then sighed in satisfaction.

Full and hydrated, she felt even more energetic.

Su Miao patted her little belly. She felt better than ever, as though she had endless strength coursing through her whole body.

She looked at the towering Jade Wall before her, then at the distant hillsides and thickets she had to crane her neck to see. A thought suddenly sprang into her mind:

It'd be great if I could fly!

The higher you stood, the farther you could see. It would be much easier to find sparkling Treasure and tasty fruit!

Once the thought arose, it grew wildly in her heart like weeds.

Flying!

That was a dream!

She recalled the vague descriptions from her Inherited Memories—"riding clouds and mist," "traveling on the wind"—then lowered her head to look at her chubby little hands and feet.

How was she supposed to fly?

Just as she had when refining the Lotus Petal earlier, she tried to summon the spiritual power within her. Then she imagined herself becoming light as a feather, able to float into the air.

The result—

—"Whoosh!"

A powerful blast of air erupted beneath her feet, flattening a swath of immortal grass and sending dust flying.

As for her, she shot straight upward like a tiny cannonball, rising more than ten feet in a flash!

"Waaahhh!"

The sudden sensation of weightlessness threw her into a panic, and she cried out.

Her spiritual power abruptly cut off. With a thud, she fell back into the patch of Thick Earth Lingzhi Grass and bounced twice more.

Fortunately, there was this natural cushion.

The Heavenly Dao in the shadows: "..."

This child's control over her power was truly wild and uninhibited.

But Su Miao was not discouraged. Instead, she found it incredibly fun!

She had fallen, sure, but she really had flown a little just now!

Though the direction had been a bit off...

She climbed back up again, her little face full of excitement and stubborn determination.

This time, she learned her lesson and no longer recklessly unleashed all her spiritual power at once.

She tried to control that force more precisely, making it lift her more steadily.

Once, twice, three times...

She kept trying, failing, falling into the grass, then climbing back up to continue.

Sometimes the force was too weak, and she merely bounced in place a few times;

Sometimes it was too strong, and she lost control of her direction, crashing into the nearby flowerbeds and getting pollen all over her hair and face;

Sometimes the force went crooked, and she spun in circles on the spot like a top...

Each time she tried to summon her spiritual power, the cracks on the surface of the Chaos Bead hidden in her Sea of Consciousness flickered almost imperceptibly, and a thread of Chaos Dao Resonance quietly flowed through it.

It seemed to be helping her sort through and stabilize that wild, surging power in the tiniest of ways, keeping her from truly hurting herself. And after every failure, her perception and control of spiritual power seemed to improve by the slightest bit.

Finally, after who knew how many attempts—

She successfully, shakily, floated about three feet off the ground!

Though her body was still unsteady, swaying from side to side as if drunk, and one tie of her little bellyband had even come loose, she had truly broken free of the earth's restraints for a brief moment through her own power!

"Hehe! I'm flying!"

Su Miao giggled with delight, her big eyes curving into crescents.

But joy turned to sorrow. So caught up in her excitement, she forgot to maintain her spiritual power output.

The power within her faltered, and she fell from the air again.

This time, there was no Thick Earth Lingzhi Grass beneath her.

She flailed wildly as she dropped, about to hit the ground.

In her panic, the spiritual power inside her reacted instinctively. But instead of lifting her upward, it violently shoved sideways!

"Whoosh—!"

A powerful blast of air surged from her tiny hand and struck the ground, creating a recoil that sent her plummeting body shooting diagonally away—straight toward the Jade Wall with the cold spring flowing down it!

"Waaahhh! I can't stop!"

Su Miao cried out in terror as the hard Jade Wall rapidly filled her vision!