Tang Ya: Yu Hao, you smell so good!

On the other side, Huo Yuhao slowly opened his eyes, and a beautiful, delicate face came into view.

"Yuhao is awake! You scared us to death."

Tang Ya helped Huo Yuhao up with a look of pleasant surprise, leaning in slightly.

Her full, lustrous cherry lips parted slightly, and her voice, fragrant as orchids, was filled with lingering fear and concern:

"You finally woke up. Bei Bei and I were worried sick. You little guy, how did you suddenly go quiet like that? You really gave us a fright."

Huo Yuhao quickly steadied himself, scratched the back of his head, and said with some embarrassment:

"Sister Tang Ya, Brother Bei Bei, I'm sorry for making you worry. I'm fine; I was just absorbing a spirit ring."

"Absorbing a spirit ring?"

Hearing this, Bei Bei raised an eyebrow, stepped forward, and looked at him with a hint of surprise.

"Is it the spirit ring from that hundred-year Wind Baboon from before?"

He noticed a dead Wind Baboon beside Huo Yuhao and assumed he had absorbed its ring.

Huo Yuhao nodded quickly. Since it was the only spirit beast nearby, he had no choice but to use it as a cover.

Tang Ya's eyes widened in disbelief, and she said incredulously:

"A Wind Baboon? It shouldn't have any mental attributes. Yuhao, isn't your martial soul a mental-attribute one? How could you absorb a Wind Baboon's spirit ring? This doesn't follow the rules of spirit ring absorption at all!"

Huo Yuhao was stunned by her question. Unable to provide a logical explanation, he could only laugh it off, scratching his head with a dry chuckle:

"I'm not really sure what happened myself. I just sort of muddled through it, and the absorption was successful."

Bei Bei stood to the side, his brows furrowed as he looked Huo Yuhao up and down, his fingers unconsciously rubbing his chin as he said in a deep voice:

"This is too strange. I've never heard of such a successful case. Could it be... that your martial soul has undergone a mutation?"

"A mutation? What kind of mutation?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Ya leaned in close to Huo Yuhao, examining him carefully.

The young boy had just finished absorbing the spirit ring, and the stray hair on his forehead was dampened by sweat, sticking to his smooth, full brow.

Beads of sweat still clung to his clean, delicate face, sliding down his jawline and disappearing into his collar.

And with his breathing, a clear, strange, and faint fragrance began to drift slowly from his body.

It wasn't heavy or pungent, but it kept drifting into one's nose.

Tang Ya subconsciously took a light sniff, and that sweet, clear scent, carrying a sense of vigorous vitality, instantly flooded her nasal cavity.

She recoiled half a step as if burned, her face flushing bright red, even the tips of her ears turning crimson, as she blurted out:

"Yuhao, you smell so good!"

Once those words were out, the air went instantly quiet.

Huo Yuhao froze in place, his eyes wide, looking at her in complete bewilderment.

Bei Bei was equally stunned, his face full of question marks, unable to say a word for a long time.

Tang Ya finally realized what she had just said. She waved her hands in a panic, stumbling over her words to correct herself:

"No, that's not it! I meant... Yuhao, there's a strange fragrance on you! Could it be that the mutation from earlier wasn't good and damaged your foundation? Should I help you check it out?"

As she spoke, she grabbed Huo Yuhao's wrist, while Huo Yuhao closed his eyes, having realized something.

At this moment, Huo Yuhao had already dived into his Sea of Consciousness, hurriedly asking Zhao Ze:

"Master! Why is there a fragrance on me? Sister Tang Ya smelled it—is there some kind of mutation? What is going on?"

In the Sea of Consciousness, Zhao Ze was lounging with his legs crossed, studying Electrolux's gray Divine Sense Bead. Hearing this, he waved his hand and explained casually:

"What are you panicking about? There's no mutation; it's all good news. You were born with a hollow foundation. When I performed the sacrifice earlier, I took the opportunity to channel a portion of pure vitality into you. It was to help mend your deficient constitution and reshape your marrow and bones."

He paused, then continued.

"The vitality I gave you is the origin power I accumulated from devouring tens of thousands of years of Cold Marrow. It is incredibly pure. Forget about a low-level spirit master like you; even a Titled Douluo would turn green with envy if they smelled it. It improves your physique and boosts your cultivation talent—it's a potent tonic with no side effects! This bit of fragrance is just the lingering residue, don't worry."

Huo Yuhao was left completely dumbfounded.

He had not expected his master to have helped him so much without a sound. Feeling both moved and shocked, he bowed deeply to Zhao Ze:

"Thank you, Master!"

"Alright, alright, spare me that. Those two outside are still waiting for your answer. Just tell them you ate some kind of medicinal herb; don't let the secret slip."

Zhao Ze waved his hand with a smile and turned his gaze back to the faintly glowing gray bead.

When Huo Yuhao emerged from his Sea of Consciousness, he opened his eyes to see Tang Ya looking at him with a face full of worry, while Bei Bei also wore a grave expression, clearly both waiting for his explanation.

Huo Yuhao steadied himself, first offering a reassuring smile to the two worried figures, then following the script Zhao Ze had taught him:

"Sister Xiaoya, Brother Beibei, don't worry, it's not a bad mutation.

When I was traveling through the forest earlier, I stumbled upon and ate a strange medicinal herb.

That herb contained an incredibly rich vitality, and just now, while I was absorbing my spirit ring, the medicinal power fully dispersed.

The sweat I shed was simply the residue of that vitality being metabolized by my body, which is why it has this fragrance."

Upon hearing this, Bei Bei was stunned for a moment, then his tightly furrowed brows suddenly relaxed. He nodded in sudden realization, his voice tinged with unconcealable amazement:

"So that's it, that explains it.

To have such overflowing vitality, the grade of that herb must be unimaginably high! Even the residue expelled after absorption and refinement is enough to be called a Life Crystal!

It still contains extremely pure vitality, a treasure that is hard to come by for any spirit master."

Tang Ya's eyes lit up instantly, filled with eagerness:

"Beibei, are these Life Crystals beneficial for a spirit master's cultivation?"

"Of course they are."

Bei Bei said with a firm tone and a deep voice.

"This kind of pure vitality without impurities can not only nourish one's martial soul and improve one's physique.

It can even assist in breaking through cultivation bottlenecks; it is purer than any heaven-sent treasure on the market and has absolutely no side effects."

As soon as these words were spoken, Tang Ya's breathing quickened.

She turned to look at Huo Yuhao and asked coyly:

"Um... Yuhao, could I trade with you for some of these Life Crystals? Don't worry, Sister definitely won't let you suffer a loss!"

Huo Yuhao was completely stunned.

He never imagined that the bodily residue his master dismissed as worthless could actually be used to trade for things.

Just then, Zhao Ze spoke up from within the Sea of Consciousness:

"Trade, of course you can trade.

Since you're penniless right now, using these useless scraps to exchange for some wealth is just enough to support your future cultivation."

With his master's confirmation, Huo Yuhao instantly regained his composure. He snapped back to reality and nodded readily at Tang Ya:

"Sure, Sister Xiaoya, no problem at all."