Lu Shui stopped reading. Last night had indeed been exhausting. He'd eaten a lot.
He'd eaten until he couldn't manage another bite.
Not only that, but he now had four attributes of power within him: fire, earth, yin, and yang.
If he didn't digest them himself within four or five days, the Active Method would digest them for him. When that happened, he might advance to Third Tier.
His luck really was pretty good.
Although Zhen Wu and Zhen Ling had lost the color in their eyes, they'd gained quite a lot from it.
But they couldn't eat another bite either.
"Things have settled down. Looks like there's no problem." Lu Shui murmured to himself, then lowered his head and continued reading.
After reading for a while, Lu Shui spoke up:
"Throw the stuff piled over there into the Wind Frost River."
Zhen Wu and Zhen Ling were a little puzzled. Throw it into the river?
Wouldn't that cause pollution?
But accustomed to doing as they were told, they threw last night's leftovers into the Wind Frost River.
Deep below, Old Man Withered Tree's eyelid twitched a few times. If the Third Elder found out that Young Master Lu was throwing trash into the river, he'd be furious.
The clan leader would come in carrying a whip.
In the end, Old Man Withered Tree let out a soft sigh:
"I'll turn a blind eye. Fortunately, it's all ordinary bone piles. The Wind Frost River will dissolve them soon enough."
The Wind Frost River's chill was unusual. It could freeze people solid, but it could also dissolve matter.
Old Man Withered Tree began waiting for the right moment. At dusk, he would start sending out treasures.
The first thing he would send was a magical treasure.
It was called the Blazing Sun Bracelet.
This magical treasure had been personally crafted by the Third Elder, using the bones of the Yang Yan Fire Fish—an exceptionally rare find in the Wind Frost River, seen only once every several thousand years.
It was said that the Yang Yan Fire Fish had reached the end of its lifespan and willingly died on the Fishing Platform. That was how the Third Elder had the good fortune to obtain it.
Unfortunately, it had been a solitary fish. Otherwise... otherwise, it wouldn't have gone to the Fishing Platform to wait for death.
"How precious the bones of this Yang Yan Fire Fish are. As long as young master gets the bracelet, he should be fine for the next few days.
"Besides, this bracelet is a magical treasure that can unleash a unique attack. Someone at Second Tier Peak can release the Supreme Yang Immortal Fire within it. Young master, being in the Wind Frost River, will surely be eager to have it."
Old Man Withered Tree was brimming with confidence. But for young master to understand what the treasure could do, he needed to leave behind a mark to serve as an instruction manual.
Lu Shui kept reading.
Zhen Wu and Zhen Ling, meanwhile, kept a constant eye on the Wind Frost River, afraid something else might appear.
By the afternoon, nothing else had shown up, which eased Zhen Wu and Zhen Ling's minds considerably.
At dusk, Lu Shui closed the Heaven and Earth Array Patterns. After reading all day, he needed to rest his eyes.
After all, he didn't plan to sleep here tonight. The riverbank already counted as an Extreme Cold Land, and they were enduring its bitter chill. They couldn't afford to sleep.
Falling asleep was dangerous.
That was why, in his previous life, the moment he passed out, he'd been carried straight out. He might really have died if he'd stayed inside.
Just then, something suddenly floated over by the riverbank.
Lu Shui looked over and saw that it was a bracelet.
Zhen Wu and Zhen Ling saw it too.
"Is this a magical treasure? A treasure that can drift along the Wind Frost River can't be ordinary," Zhen Wu said.
Zhen Ling nodded as well:
"There's a faint flicker of firelight from the bracelet. It should be a treasure that can ward off the cold."
After speaking, the two of them looked at Lu Shui, waiting to see what their young master thought.
But Lu Shui didn't say a word, leaving them a little confused.
Finally, Zhen Wu asked:
"Young master, don't you want it?"
As long as Lu Shui said the word, they could fish it out.
Lu Shui looked at the magical treasure in front of the Fishing Platform, then shook his head.
"Just an ordinary magical treasure. If I wanted one, I could grab a whole pile from the storeroom."
Zhen Wu and Zhen Ling were speechless. Their young master made a good point; they couldn't argue with him.
That was the foundation of a young master of the Lu Family.
Old Man Withered Tree: "..."
He'd attached a wisp of consciousness to the magical treasure, so he could hear Lu Shui and the others.
But he'd have been better off not hearing that.
At first, he'd thought the young master couldn't hold on and had no way to fish out the treasure. Turns out he simply didn't think it was worth having.
Still, there was one thing to take comfort in: young master seemed to be in good shape.
In the end, Old Man Withered Tree let the Blazing Sun Bracelet drift away. If young master didn't want it, he'd send something else.
This time, he'd misjudged. After all, Young Master Lu wasn't short on money. He needed something more impressive to tempt him.
Lu Shui didn't care much as he watched the magical treasure disappear.
He wouldn't take anything from the Wind Frost River, whether it had floated up from below or someone had deliberately sent it to him. It made no difference to him.
Fateful encounters were sometimes just that unreasonable.
The Wind Frost River had an exceptionally mysterious nature, making it especially prone to triggering such encounters.
A bracelet that looked ordinary might conceal a Hidden Space within it, and that space could very well be an entire world.
At worst, it might contain an ancient spirit—and such things were easily stirred by objects at the bottom of the Wind Frost River.
In short: don't steal, don't rob, and don't be greedy.
Ignore dead things. If it's alive and edible, eat it.
Zhen Wu and Zhen Ling didn't mind either. After the shock of last night, a single magical treasure was nothing.
Late at night.
Old Man Withered Tree decided it was time to send out a second item. This time, what he sent was undoubtedly a rare treasure.
Even Lu Shui, a young master of the Lu Family, couldn't just pull one of these out whenever he wanted.
"This time, let's see if you can resist."
Old Man Withered Tree was full of confidence, eager to see Lu Shui's astonished expression.
Lu Shui had been reading when he suddenly heard a sound. It came and went, like the cry of a phoenix.
Before long, the sound grew clearer.
Zhen Wu and Zhen Ling noticed it too.
Then they looked upstream. Not long after, they saw it: an egg, pure white and giving off a chill.
"Is that a Phoenix Egg?" Zhen Ling could hardly believe it.
Zhen Wu was surprised too, then nodded:
"It must be. There's a faint Phoenix Shadow on the egg. This should be an Ice Phoenix Egg, on the verge of hatching."
Zhen Wu and Zhen Ling couldn't make sense of what was happening with the Wind Frost River.
Why did things keep appearing?
But soon, their brows furrowed. Wasn't that Phoenix Egg in trouble?
After all, their young master only ate things.
Lu Shui was looking at the Phoenix Egg too, and he was rather surprised.
"A Cold Plain Ice Phoenix? They're pretty rare. Mu Xue used to raise one. It was especially hard to roast through." Lu Shui thought to himself.
He remembered that the Ice Phoenix had come from the Lu Family Spirit Beast Garden. His mother had specially given it to Mu Xue.
Mu Xue had raised the Ice Phoenix well. It was white, plump, and covered in meat.
One day, with nothing better to do, he'd roasted that Ice Phoenix while Mu Xue was in seclusion.
He'd roasted it for over ten days, and it was just about cooked when Mu Xue came out of seclusion.
Then they fought for a long time.
After that, he hardly saw the Ice Phoenix again. He'd heard it was busy losing weight.
Lu Shui felt rather regretful. Such a plump bird, wasted just like that.
Coming back to himself, Lu Shui examined the Bird Egg, then shook his head and decided to ignore it.
Zhen Wu was puzzled:
"Young master, you don't want it?"
It was an Ice Phoenix. Even the Lu Family didn't have one, did they?
Lu Shui shook his head:
"It's already formed. I can't even fry it into an egg. What would I want it for?"
Zhen Wu and Zhen Ling: "..."
Old Man Withered Tree: "..."
Before you continue