Cultivation at the Lake of Life

Di Lingxi was already squatting by the lake, dipping her hand into the water and stirring it a couple of times.

"Sister Bi Ji, are there any fish in the lake? I saw a really big one last time!"

"Yes, but you can't eat those fish."

"Why?"

"Because they have all cultivated for tens of thousands of years."

Di Lingxi reluctantly withdrew her hand.

Dai Huabin found a clean rock to sit on and took out the ingredients from his soul guide storage bag.

Since I promised Di Lingxi I'd make barbecue, I'll get on with that first.

He still had a considerable stock of spices and cured meat that he had purchased from the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, which came in handy.

Zhu Lu readily stepped forward to help. She used a dagger to whittle a few sticks to use as skewers, and then found some stones to build a makeshift stove.

Ice Empress sat on a tree root not far away, swinging her legs slightly, looking rather bored. Snow Empress sat quietly beside her, her long white dress spread out on the moss.

Before long, the aroma of meat filled the air.

Di Lingxi was the first to come over, squatting by the fire and staring at the meat skewers turning over, her mouth practically watering.

"Are you done yet? Are you done yet?"

"What's the rush? It's not ready yet." Dai Huabin sprinkled some salt and spice powder onto the meat skewers.

Bi Ji stood ten steps away, watching Dai Huabin skillfully flip the meat skewers, then looked at the girls surrounding him. Zhu Lu quietly helped cut the ingredients, Di Lingxi squatted impatiently beside her, Ice Empress pretended not to care but kept glancing this way, Snow Empress, though expressionless, never left.

Bi Ji herself couldn't explain how she felt.

What is it about this human boy that makes all these beings with such different personalities gather around him?

"Sister Bi Ji, would you like one too?"

Dai Huabin handed over a skewer of grilled meat.

Bi Ji snapped out of her daze and accepted it with a smile.

She took a small bite, and a rich burst of meat juice and spices melted in her mouth, unexpectedly delicious.

"It's delicious."

Di Lingxi snatched her own skewer, took a big bite, and mumbled something indistinctly.

"Sister Bi Ji, I always said Huabin's cooking skills are the best in the world!"

Ice Empress finally couldn't resist any longer. He walked over, took a skewer for himself, took a bite, hummed with satisfaction, and then sat back down without saying a word to continue eating.

Snow Empress got up and took a string of them as well.

Dai Huabin looked at the group of people, shook his head, and continued grilling.

Zhu Lu leaned closer and whispered something.

"With your skills, you'll eventually win over all the Soul Beast in the entire Star Dou Great Forest."

"Isn't that great? From now on, if anyone dares to hunt Soul Beast in the Star Dou Great Forest, we'll mobilize the entire force."

Zhu Lu was amused by him.

This barbecue took almost an hour to eat.

Di Lingxi devoured twelve skewers by herself, Ice Empress ate three but refused to admit they were delicious, Snow Empress ate two without changing her expression, but her plate was completely empty.

Bi Ji was quite reserved, only eating one skewer before stopping, but later "casually" took a second one.

After the meal, Di Lingxi was bursting with energy and dragged Bi Ji to the other side of the lake to see the old ginkgo tree where she used to live as a child. Bi Ji couldn't refuse her, so she had to go with her.

Dai Huabin lay on the moss, his hands behind his head, looking at the dappled sunlight filtering through the dense canopy of trees overhead.

Zhu Lu heard soft footsteps beside her and sat down next to him.

Are you tired?

"It's alright," Dai Huabin replied with his eyes closed. "Cultivating here with the higher concentration of spiritual energy is much more efficient."

"Shall we begin meditating by the Lake of Life tomorrow?"

"Hmm. Let's take advantage of these few days to improve ourselves."

Zhu Lu didn't speak again, quietly leaning against him, listening to the sound of water from the lake and the faint laughter of Di Lingxi in the distance.

These were rare moments of peace.

Dai Huabin's mind relaxed, and he gradually felt sleepy.

Before nightfall, Di Lingxi and Bi Ji returned.

Di Lingxi had a large golden leaf on her head, which she said was a gift from the ginkgo tree.

After arranging the resting places for everyone, Bi Ji went back first. Before leaving, she reminded them not to go too deep into the Core Circle, since Xiong Jun was not an easy person to talk to.

Dai Huabin nodded in agreement.

As night fell completely, a faint green glow rose from the Lake of Life, the light emitted by the spiritual plants at the bottom of the lake.

Di Lingxi was asleep, her head resting on Dai Huabin's arm, her breathing even.

Zhu Lu leaned against the other side and closed her eyes as well.

Ice Empress and Snow Empress stood guard on the outer perimeter, sitting cross-legged, each circulating their Soul Power.

That night, all was quiet except for the chirping of insects and the sound of water.

For the next few days, Dai Huabin practiced meditation by the Lake of Life without fail.

The life essence contained in the lake water is extremely pure. Combined with the spiritual energy in the Core Circle that is so dense that it is almost condensed liquid, the efficiency of Soul Power circulation is much higher than that at the Shrek Academy, but it is still not as good as the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

Every morning at the crack of dawn, Dai Huabin would sit cross-legged on the blue stone closest to the water's surface by the lake, drawing spiritual energy into his body to repeatedly refine his meridians and Soul Power.

After Ice and Fire Body Tempering, his physical resilience increased significantly, and the upper limit of his Soul Power also rose accordingly.

In addition, since the medicinal power of the Holy Light Ganoderma was still partially unused, he could clearly feel the purity of the light attribute in his White Tiger Martial Soul slowly increasing after each cultivation session.

Zhu Lu sat facing him, their Soul Power resonating through the fusion of their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, creating a faint connection.

Zhu Lu's Ice Shadow Spirit Cat already possesses ice attributes, and under the dual nourishment of the Snow Empress and the Lake of Life, her Soul Power growth rate is also considerable.

Di Lingxi's cultivation method was much simpler and more direct.

She lay down directly on the lakeside, put both hands into the water, closed her eyes, and absorbed the spiritual energy of the lake.

Her long, golden hair was spread out on the moss, making her look like she was taking a nap.

Ice Empress scoffed at this.

"You call this cultivation?"

"That's how Auspicious Beast cultivate; it's none of your business." Di Lingxi didn't even open her eyes.

"I have cultivated for four hundred thousand years, and I have never seen a Soul Beast that cultivates while lying down."

"That's because I'm Auspicious Beast."

Ice Empress was taken aback, gave a cold snort, and ignored her.

Snow Empress sat under an ancient tree a little further away, a few silver leaves falling on her white dress. She didn't brush them off, but simply meditated quietly.

Outside of his cultivation, Dai Huabin spent most of his time with Di Lingxi.

This girl was in her element in the Core Circle, dragging Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu around the forest.

Today we're going to see the waterfall, tomorrow we're going to find the singing spirit tree, and the day after tomorrow we're going to catch a color-changing butterfly in the eastern canyon.

Dai Huabin welcomed all who came and accompanied them throughout the entire process.

Zhu Lu followed along, occasionally helping Di Lingxi catch those fast-running little creatures. Di Lingxi would jump up with joy every time she got her spoils, and then put them back after she had played with them enough.

Ice Empress spent most of the time staying in one place, claiming, "I have no interest in such childish activities."

But every time Dai Huabin brought back barbecue, she was always the first one to come over because of the smell.

"Sister Bing'er, didn't you say you weren't interested?" Zhu Lu finally couldn't help but ask.

Ice Empress held the meat skewers, their expressions unchanged.

"I'm interested in the barbecue, not your activities. They're two different things."

Zhu Lu looked at Dai Huabin.

Dai Huabin shrugged.

Di Lingxi laughed so hard she almost spat out the meat in her mouth.

By the third day, Ice Empress started getting itchy hands.