Ah Yin's words left everyone silent.
Chu Xiu did not know what to say.
Qian Renxue had finally confirmed her suspicions. She had long suspected that this place existed independently of the Douluo Continent.
Although Ah Yin had discovered that this was a deserted island,
that did not rule out the possibility that it was a deserted island in the Divine Realm.
Shui Bing'er and Ning Rongrong, meanwhile, were much calmer.
They had already formed maximum-level bonds with Chu Xiu. To them, he was the most important person in their lives, without exception.
Although they missed home, their parents, and their friends,
when weighed against Chu Xiu, their maximum-level bonds naturally mattered more.
"All right, don't worry too much. Although Ah Yin's discovery is discouraging, I've made another discovery that should give you some hope of leaving this place."
The moment Chu Xiu finished speaking, all four women turned to look at him.
"What discovery?"
"Can we really leave this place?"
"Chu Xiu, hurry up and tell us. Stop keeping us in suspense."
Qian Renxue, Shui Bing'er, and Ning Rongrong all asked impatiently. Even Ah Yin grew nervous.
She had already guessed what new discovery Chu Xiu meant, but she did not know how it related to leaving this place.
Could the Blue Silver Emperor's sap have other effects that even she did not know about?
"Ahem, this discovery is still preliminary. Give me a little time. I'll tell you once I've figured it out."
Chu Xiu's discovery was that immortal cultivation was possible here.
He had also already found a source of spiritual energy.
It was the Spirit Rice grains and the Blue Silver Emperor's sap.
But he did not have an immortal cultivation method yet. First, he had to find a way to keep the energy from the Spirit Rice grains and the Blue Silver Emperor's sap inside his body permanently. Only then would he have a chance to slowly cultivate magic power.
As for a way to leave the Deserted Island, that was a lie, of course.
The Deserted Island was his Martial Soul. How could magic power possibly let him leave it?
But he could pretend that he had developed Space Magic and teleport the women out when the time came. Wouldn't that make a perfectly plausible explanation?
"Tch!"
Ning Rongrong gave Chu Xiu the middle finger.
Qian Renxue and Shui Bing'er were also somewhat disappointed by this outcome.
Soon, however, everyone's attention shifted elsewhere. Ah Yin led Shui Bing'er and Qian Renxue over to the Spirit Rice field, each carrying a large bag of Spirit Beast blood.
Two of the bags were poured over the Spirit Rice field.
The remaining bag was poured at the foot of the wild apple tree.
A living Magma Bear's blood carried an immense amount of heat, but some time after death, that heat disappeared, leaving only the Soul Power contained within it.
On the third day after they watered the plants with Spirit Beast blood, changes began to appear.
First, part of the Spirit Rice field mutated.
Then a few of the fruits on the wild apple tree mutated as well.
Half a month later, the Spirit Rice field had fully ripened, and all its ordinary rice had turned into mutated rice.
The wild apple tree had also completely absorbed the Magma Bear's blood, producing a total of seven mutated fruits.
Five were strength fruits, while the remaining two were mental power fruits.
Chu Xiu had already eaten a strength-enhancing wild apple, so eating another had no effect on him. For Qian Renxue and the others, however, the results were obvious: all four women's strength doubled.
"These last two fruits enhance mental power. I'll eat one, and I suggest giving the other to Ah Yin first."
Chu Xiu held a wild apple in each hand.
Ah Yin's ability relied on her mind to sense her surroundings. The better her mental condition, the farther she could sense and the more clearly she could identify dangers.
"I have no objections."
Qian Renxue was the first to voice her agreement.
"Neither do I."
"Then let's give it to Sister Ah Yin first. The fruit tree is still here, so there'll be more sooner or later."
Shui Bing'er and Ning Rongrong both agreed as well.
Chu Xiu handed Ah Yin a mental attribute apple, then devoured the other in large bites.
Once the wild apple reached his stomach, a cool sensation welled up within him.
Chu Xiu discovered that his five senses were sharper than before.
Details I used to overlook are all laid out clearly before my eyes. My hearing can even distinguish the different tones in a mixture of over a dozen sounds.
Is this what an increase in mental power feels like?
Chu Xiu was thrilled.
After his mental power increased, he discovered that he seemed able to control the direction in which the spiritual energy inside him flowed.
He had been cultivating with the Blue Silver Emperor's sap every day lately, but he could only passively absorb a tiny amount. Ninety percent of the energy eventually escaped through his pores.
Today had initially been no different.
After drawing the Blue Silver Emperor's sap from Ah Yin that morning, only a small portion of the energy remained in his dantian, while the other ninety percent slowly dissipated.
But now,
Chu Xiu used his mental power to pull back all the energy that had been about to flow toward his pores, forcibly driving it toward his dantian.
Under the suppression of Chu Xiu's mental power, all the energy that should have escaped finally merged into his dantian.
But a new problem arose.
There was too much energy in his dantian, and some of it actually began leaking out.
No, simply suppressing it is too inefficient. If I stir up a vortex in my dantian, could its suction keep all the energy inside?
Chu Xiu closed his eyes and sat cross-legged on the ground.
Qian Renxue and the others around him had no idea what had happened. Ah Yin had also eaten a mental power wild apple, yet she had shown no strange reaction.
"What's wrong with Chu Xiu?"
"I don't know. Don't disturb him."
The sun set, and the moon rose.
Day gave way to night.
When Chu Xiu opened his eyes again, it was already the dead of night several days later.
A campfire burned beside him, and Ah Yin alone kept watch at his side. Seeing him awaken, she hurried over and asked, "How did it go? Are you all right?"
Somewhat excited, Chu Xiu shook his head and said, "I'm fine."
He stood up, then tried extending his hand.
With his palm facing upward, a flame sprang to life in his hand.
"Ah?!"
Ah Yin cried out in surprise, her eyes filled with shock.
Wasn't it impossible to use Martial Souls and Soul Skills on this deserted island? Where had that flame come from?
"Hahahahaha... I did it!"
Chu Xiu threw back his head and laughed.
Over the past few days, he had finally merged all the energy inside his body into his dantian and formed a vortex.
At that very moment, he had suddenly sensed something.
It was as though a membrane inside his body had broken. The energy that had merged into his dantian instantly became obedient, moving easily at his will.
Chu Xiu called this transformed energy magic power.
The flame just now had been formed by releasing and condensing his magic power.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
"Did Chu Xiu wake up?"
Qian Renxue, Shui Bing'er, and Ning Rongrong, who had already fallen asleep inside the cave, all ran out with anxious faces.
Chu Xiu had meditated for days and nights on end. They did not dare wake him, nor could they stay beside him around the clock, so they had taken turns keeping watch.
Today, he had finally awakened, but his unrestrained laughter left them a little uneasy.
Then they reached Chu Xiu and saw the fist-sized flame in his palm.
Like Ah Yin, all three women were stunned.
"My goodness!"
"Chu Xiu, you can use Soul Power now?"
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