"This is the Tianhu Ziling Flower, an Immortal Herb born of heaven and earth's spiritual energy. Though it does not rank among Immortal Grade herbs, it suits you perfectly. Its effects on you will surpass those of ordinary Immortal Grade herbs."
"Hurry and take it. I'll stand guard for you. To refine this herb, you only need to consume its petals."
Shang An brought Hu Liena to the rear hall, where the Pope usually rested.
"Thank you, Shang An."
"You're my little fox. Why thank me?"
Under Shang An's protection, Hu Liena sat cross-legged and swallowed the petals.
Hu Liena did not take long to refine the flower. She finished around noon, and there was none of the delightful clothes-bursting scene Shang An had hoped for, leaving him somewhat disappointed.
However, after absorbing the Immortal Herb, Hu Liena's figure became even more balanced, her face even more beautiful. Moreover, he sensed a power similar to Psychic Power, though far weaker.
"Nana, how is it?"
Hu Liena looked deeply into Shang An's eyes, as though she wanted to place his entire being within them.
"Shang An, thank you."
This flower had helped her far too much.
She had initially thought it was merely an ordinary spiritual herb, but this flower was practically an unprecedented divine medicine. It had directly remade her body and raised her potential by an entire tier. How could she ever repay such a favor?
"Do we need to say such things between us?" Shang An stroked Hu Liena's head, and the solemn atmosphere immediately softened into warmth.
Hu Liena greatly enjoyed Shang An's caress. If she could not repay him, then so be it. My entire body belongs to him anyway.
"Release your Martial Soul." Shang An also wanted to see just how much Hu Liena had gained.
Hu Liena obediently released her Martial Soul. A fiery-red phantom of a little fox emerged around her body, making her charm even more astonishing, while that psychic sensation became far clearer.
"My Martial Soul seems to have evolved two ultimate attributes. One is ultimate spiritual power, and the other is ultimate fire. And it seems my Martial Soul can truly control others now."
Control? Was it inferior to his Psychic Power? Perhaps it could be called Emotional Power.
Shang An had not expected Hu Liena's gains to be so great. Previously, her Martial Soul could perhaps barely be called top-tier, but now it absolutely ranked among the foremost super Martial Souls.
Ultimate spiritual power was understandable, since Hu Liena's Martial Soul had always focused on spiritual power. As for this ultimate fire, one could only say that Hu Liena had gotten lucky.
Suddenly, Shang An sensed a wave of Emotional Power wash over him. He chuckled inwardly but gave nothing away, deliberately pretending to have fallen under its influence. Sure enough, seeing Shang An lapse into a dazed state, Hu Liena's face lit up with joy, and she impatiently pinched his cheek.
Looking at Shang An's blank yet stunningly handsome face, Hu Liena's eyes filled with infatuation as her face slowly drew closer.
She touched him, she touched him! Hu Liena grew even more excited. His eyes, nose, mouth—she did not miss a single place.
Seeing that Shang An still did not react, she became bolder. Her hand accidentally slipped into Shang An's clothes. That warm, smooth, taut skin... She tried hard to rein in her lovestruck expression, but her face grew ever redder and more alluring. She was clearly aroused.
Just as Shang An was wondering whether he should suddenly wake up and give her a big surprise, Hu Liena abruptly stopped her wandering hand, yet did not pull it back, leaving it inside Shang An's clothes.
She raised her head to look at Shang An, anticipation in her eyes.
"Shang An, which woman do you love the most?"
"I... love... the... woman... who..." Shang An slowly spoke with a vacant expression, but the last few words simply would not come out.
"Who is it?"
"She... is... from... Spirit... Hall..."
"Ah, you're killing me! Hurry up and say it!"
Hearing Shang An mention Spirit Hall, Hu Liena beamed with joy, but when he refused to say the name for so long, she grew anxious.
"Say my ass!"
Shang An flicked her forehead.
"Ah, that hurts! You weren't under my control?" Hu Liena clutched her forehead.
Shang An looked at her in amusement. He was the ancestor of this sort of thing. At most, Hu Liena's ability counted as spiritual control, yet she had actually tried to control him.
"Care to explain?"
Seeing Shang An's burning gaze, Hu Liena felt a wave of guilt. He had not been controlled, which meant he had seen everything she had just done to him.
Ahhh, this is so embarrassing!
Hu Liena truly wanted to find a crack in the ground and crawl into it, or perhaps have a meteor fall from the sky and split her apart. Then she would not have to wait here for her punishment.
"How about... how about I let you touch me back?"
Smack!
Another forehead flick came at her. Hu Liena was too guilty to dodge and could only take it head-on.
"Forget it. I'll let you off this time." Shang An did not pursue the matter further. This little girl did not actually harbor any ill intentions; she was merely somewhat obsessed with his looks.
"Hehe." Hu Liena gave an awkward laugh, secretly rejoicing that she had escaped disaster, unaware that Shang An had already decided how to "punish" her.
"What is your Martial Soul called? Is it still the Sky Fox?"
Hu Liena's current Martial Soul should be considered a beneficial mutation. Such a Martial Soul had never appeared in history. A similar negative example was a certain master's Luo Sanpao.
"I don't know. How about you name it for me?" Hu Liena looked at Shang An expectantly.
Shang An considered it carefully. A fox, spiritual power and fire, Emotional Power—it was rather similar to that one.
"Call it the Heart Moon Fox."
"Heart Moon Fox, sure, sure! Hehe, Heart Moon Fox. That name sounds pretty nice."
After observing Hu Liena's Martial Soul a little longer, he finally had her put it away.
"Alright, go call Elder Gui and Elder Ju over for me." Shang An instructed Hu Liena.
Having just committed a grave mistake, the little fox did not dare resist. She was eager to leave as soon as possible, so she readily agreed.
Spirit Hall's Title Douluo all lived in Spirit Hall's inner city, so before long, the Heng and Ha Generals arrived at the Pope Palace. The little fox did not return with them, perhaps still feeling guilty.
"Greetings, His Holiness the Holy Son."
After entering the hall, the two elders dropped to one knee. This was not originally the proper etiquette for greeting the Holy Son, but the Heng and Ha Generals had already become Shang An's steadfast followers.
"Elders, please rise."
Shang An made a lifting gesture with both hands, and the two rose accordingly.
Shang An first asked as usual about the two elders' daily lives and work before saying, "For all these years, you two elders have worked diligently and tirelessly for the development of Spirit Hall. Your contributions are immense!"
The two immediately expressed their loyalty. "For Spirit Hall and for His Holiness the Holy Son, we would not hesitate to die ten thousand times!"
"Good, good, good. I have seen both of your loyalty." Shang An took out two jade boxes. "I have always rewarded merit. You two have been stuck at rank ninety-five for many years, haven't you?"
Ju Gui exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in the other's eyes. Did the Holy Son mean that he intended to help them break through to rank ninety-six?
Could the jade boxes contain Spirit Bones?
It was no wonder they thought so. For a Title Douluo, every rank was a different heaven and earth, and ranks ninety-five and ninety-six were even more worlds apart. To help them break through, only a Spirit Bone over fifty thousand years old would do, and its attributes would also have to match.
As for Immortal Herbs, neither considered the possibility. Immortal Herbs were rarer even than Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. On the Douluo Continent, only a few people had even heard of them. Chrysanthemum Douluo, who came from a family of Immortal Herbs, had spent his entire life searching without ever finding a trace of one.
Shang An handed the jade boxes to them.
"Elders, open them and have a look."
The two did not suspect anything.
"Th-this is the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum!"
At the sight of the chrysanthemum inside, which closely resembled his own Martial Soul, Chrysanthemum Douluo's expression changed drastically. Even the hand holding the jade box trembled. This was the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum his ancestors had sought so desperately, and the object he himself had spent his life searching for.
Ghost Douluo did not know much about flowers and plants. He had no interest in such things and did not recognize the needle-like plant in his own box. However, seeing Chrysanthemum Douluo's reaction, he knew that what His Holiness the Holy Son had given them was likely extraordinarily precious.
"His Holiness the Holy Son, no words can express my gratitude." It took Chrysanthemum Douluo a long while to recover. He knew he had nothing with which to repay Shang An, so he could only repay His Holiness the Holy Son with a lifetime of loyalty.
Ghost Douluo immediately followed suit and once again expressed his loyalty.
Seeing that both their loyalty had reached ninety, Shang An was quite satisfied.
Although the two were already advanced in years, the gains from consuming Immortal Herbs would be far less than for young people. However, Chrysanthemum Douluo's Martial Soul was the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum. Given his compatibility with the Immortal Herb, he might even gain the potential to go further.
The Ghost Needle Pine given to Ghost Douluo was also quite compatible with him, so helping him break through a rank would not be a problem.
"Elders, go absorb the Immortal Herbs quickly. The sooner you break through, the sooner you can contribute to Spirit Hall."
"Yes!"
The two bowed and withdrew.
After bestowing the Immortal Herbs upon Ju Gui, Shang An did not distribute any more. There were only so many Immortal Herbs. He already felt there were too few to take care of his own people, so he had better save the rest for now.
He turned his gaze toward the sleeping quarters. His teacher should be nearly done absorbing it as well.
Boom!
Everyone in Spirit City felt as though heavenly might had descended. The circulation of Soul Power within their bodies briefly stagnated for an instant before quickly returning to normal. Most low- and mid-level Spirit Masters were utterly baffled, but every high-level Spirit Master wore a grave expression.
Within the Worship Hall, Qian Daoliu's face was even more solemn. "She actually reached that realm."
After a long while, he relaxed. "Why should an old man who will die sooner or later care about so much?"
Before you continue