"Group owner! Group owner!"
Ming Lan ran back to camp, then began calling out.
"What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?"
The group owner had just returned from the woods with a bundle of dry wood. Hearing Ming Lan's calls, he couldn't help feeling puzzled.
Then he swept his gaze around and, finding Su Mu nowhere in sight, immediately thought of something bad.
"Shit, did something happen to the newcomer?"
At that thought, he dropped the wood straight onto the ground. He had brought these people here, and he didn't want anything to happen to any of them.
"Nothing happened-no, something did happen. Ah, not that kind of something! Anyway, come with me!"
Seeing his reaction, Ming Lan immediately began explaining, but she couldn't quite get her meaning across.
Worried that the strange phenomenon from earlier would disappear by the time she brought the group owner over, she hurriedly waved for the others to follow her.
The other two looked utterly baffled at this, but they were somewhat worried too, and hurried after Ming Lan toward the boulder.
Soon, they all arrived behind Su Mu. Their worried expressions turned to surprise and irrepressible curiosity.
"Is he... performing a magic trick?"
"Doesn't look like it."
The group owner looked somewhat solemn, yet also excited. He cautiously stepped forward and reached out to pluck away one of the leaves that were still spinning. Finding that he could take it into his hand with ease, with nothing unusual about it, and couldn't even feel the slightest breeze, he was even more taken aback.
Then the group owner casually tossed the leaf away. As though drawn by some attractive force, it drifted back and resumed spinning.
"What... what's going on?"
They looked at Ming Lan, hoping for an explanation.
None of them dared disturb Su Mu now, because he really looked far too much like he was cultivating. If he truly was cultivating, they absolutely had to remember not to disturb him!
Ming Lan was also so nervous that she didn't know what to do with herself. "I don't know either. I just saw him suddenly sit down, and then this happened."
At this point, Ming Lan paused before saying cautiously, "Could he be cultivating? Has someone incredible joined our group?"
Hearing this, they exchanged glances. No one gave a definite answer, because they themselves didn't know whether that was the case.
But the sight before them had undoubtedly given them a shot in the arm.
If he really was cultivating, they would probably have to beg Su Mu to let them cultivate under him!
Su Mu was still cultivating, and the others watched from nearby. As more and more time passed, the leaves around him gradually began falling, and something hazy, like mist, slowly enveloped him.
The sun gradually set, but Su Mu still showed no sign of movement. Once the moon rose and its pure light spilled over the surroundings, the figure that had been enveloped ahead of them finally began to emerge.
Su Mu felt extraordinarily light and nimble, as though his whole body were about to float into the air. In over twenty years, his body had never felt so at ease.
"That feels amazing!"
Su Mu couldn't help shouting. When he turned around and saw the group owner and the others all staring at him with intent, lingering gazes, he jumped in fright.
"W-what's wrong with you all?"
Su Mu still didn't know about the strange phenomenon that had occurred around him while he was cultivating, so he asked.
"Shouldn't we be asking you that?"
"Yeah, were you cultivating just now?"
"What sect are you from? Is your sect still accepting disciples? What do you think of my aptitude?"
Their barrage of questions nearly left Su Mu dumbfounded.
Did they figure out that I was cultivating just now?
Looking at their eager gazes, Su Mu considered for a moment. It seemed he couldn't tell a barefaced lie.
Besides, they had been the ones to bring him here, so he decided to reveal a tiny bit of information to them.
"Shall we head back and talk over something to eat? I'm a little hungry."
Su Mu rubbed his stomach. Cultivation couldn't take the place of food. He didn't yet know whether high-level cultivators needed to eat, but he certainly did.
"Right, right, right. Everyone must be hungry. Let's talk while we eat."
Hearing this, the group owner hurriedly nodded and called for everyone to head back.
They were all clearly somewhat impatient, and their steps were very brisk the whole way back.
Soon, they returned to camp, lit a bonfire outside, and set up a stove to start a fire and boil water.
They all got busy, preparing ingredients, feeding the fire, washing the pot, and so on, bustling away with gusto.
Watching from the side, Su Mu felt as though he alone was lounging around like some grand lord while everyone else waited on him, and he wasn't quite comfortable with it.
"Um, what should I do? How about I go gather some more firewood?"
Feeling somewhat awkward, Su Mu spoke up and was about to rise to gather firewood.
"Hey, hey, no need! Just stay seated! Stay seated!"
"Exactly. You're new here. It's only right for us to look after the newcomer."
Seeing this, they hurriedly waved for Su Mu to sit down and leave these tasks to them.
Seeing how firm they were, Su Mu could only sit back down.
With everyone working together, dinner was soon ready. It wasn't particularly lavish, but the sight of it certainly whetted the appetite.
"Come on, everyone, dig in!"
"It's nothing lavish, so please make do for now!"
The group owner welcomed him warmly, ladling a large bowl of chicken soup for Su Mu.
Who knew where he had managed to get a chicken to make soup out here in the middle of nowhere.
Faced with such enthusiasm from everyone, Su Mu soon found it a little too much to handle. "Um, if there's anything you want to ask, just ask."
At Su Mu's words, everyone immediately fell silent. After gathering his words, the group owner asked, full of hope.
"Were you cultivating just now?"
"Yes."
Su Mu had already known they would want to confirm this, so he gave a clear, direct answer. "When I asked in the group earlier, you should have been cultivating too, right?"
This was what puzzled Su Mu. For them to keep coming here so persistently, he reckoned they ought to have a proper way to cultivate as well.
Hearing this, the others exchanged glances and gave bitter smiles. "We can't compare to you. Although we've figured a little something out through trial and error, that's all it is-something we've stumbled upon. It only gives us hope that we can cultivate. It's nothing like what you do."
"Yeah. Otherwise, we wouldn't be this excited. If you don't mind me asking, what realm are you at now? Foundation Establishment?"
"How could I be? Foundation Establishment isn't that simple."
Hearing their words, Su Mu came to understand somewhat. It seemed they had figured a little something out, but still lacked a systematic cultivation method.
But even so, they were actually very impressive.