Rainbow Lotus

The Ebony Turtle was naturally a tyrant of the water, not to mention that this turtle had trained itself for 6200 years in the depths of the lake and had long ago awakened to a higher intelligence. It was only because a Saint realm expert like Qu Chu had descended upon this place that it was subdued. Perhaps the turtle had really bad luck, because if not for the excess amount of heat energy in Tang Xiao Xi evaporating half of the lake, Qu Chu probably would not have found the Ebony Turtle.

……

Barely touching the turtle’s cold yet soft beast spirit, the Green Gourd had immediately begun to frantically suck up the spirit energy as if it had finally found rain after a heavy drought. Lin Mu Yu sat with closed eyes, but his body was trembling. Although his eyes were shut, bursts of air waves rose out of his heart. He was even able to look at his energy center, only to notice that it had dried up due to the Fire Jiao’s heat and the green vines from the gourd had been burnt black. As the gourd frantically absorbed the Ebony Turtle’s spirit energy, the black patches of burnt vines gradually returned to their original shades of green. It looked like the refinement process was also rapidly healing his body.

Lin Mu Yu clicked his tongue in wonder. To be able to see the green gourd even with his eyes closed, it was truly mystifying.

After about 20 minutes, the burns on the green gourd had basically healed while its leaves grew more lush and flourished. Lin Mu Yu felt as if the injuries to his meridians and muscles had completely healed. A formless energy rumbled within the Green Gourd, as if it was about to burst out.

Lin Mu Yu secretly rejoiced, then called out in his head, “Lulu, are you still here?”

“Big bro, I’m here!”

In the sea of his mind, the system fairy appeared before him. Her transparent wings fluttering behind her as she smilingly inquired, “Big bro, are you refining this gourd?”

“Yeah. Can you help me find out what kinds of materials will be needed for the next level?”

Lulu opened her mouth in surprise as she looked at the giant turtle outside, “Wow, this is a thousands years old Ebony Turtle. Big bro, this is an alchemy material of the highest quality! There is a piece of scarlet red sh.e.l.l in the middle of the turtle’s back. That is the “Fire Scale”, the most precious piece of material on this turtle’s body. Although that scale isn’t very big, it still contains the power that this Ebony Turtle condensed over thousands of years. If you remove that scale and smelt it inside the alchemy cauldron, there is a good chance that you will be able to completely refine the scale!”

“Alright!”

Lin Mu Yu slowly opened his eyes and asked the nearby Tang Xiao Xi, “Princess Xi, Would you help me with a favor?”

Tang Xiao Xi was a little ill at ease. She was afraid to look him in the eye and turned her back to him. Perhaps she found it a little difficult to face him after the whole fiasco with Lin Mu Yu having seen her naked body. Quietly, she mumbled, “Okay. What is it?”

“In the middle of the Ebony Turtle’s sh.e.l.l is a scarlet red scale. Can you use a knife to cut it out for me?”

“Oh, okay!” Although Tang Xiao Xi did not know what Lin Mu Yu wanted to do, but since he had saved her life not too long ago, she had to help with this favor no matter the reason.

Qu Chu nodded his head secretly. The Fire Scale was the most precious part of the Ebony Turtle. The turtle was of the water element and was naturally cold, but the worldly energy that it absorbed would contain both fire and water. That is why the Ebony Turtle would condense all of its fire energy into the sh.e.l.l, forming the fire scale. This was the reason why the Fire Scale was extremely precious, as its spiritual nature was far greater than the rest of the sh.e.l.l. Originally, Qu Chu had planned to remove it himself to later refine, but he didn’t think this kid would have such a good eye for these things. He did not bother with it any further since he had already stepped into Saint realm, so he shouldn’t fight with youngsters for these things.

A few minutes later, Tang Xiao Xi held onto the meter wide scale plate and leapt off the Ebony Turtle’s back. Dripping with fragrant sweat, she handed the scale over to Lin Mu Yu and asked, “Mu Mu, what are you using this for?”

Lin Mu Yu smiled mysteriously and said, “Refinement! I will be troubling you and Elder Qu to guard me for a short while.”

“Okay.”

……

Qu Chu and Tang Xiao Xi could not see the alchemy cauldron. What they saw was a patch of energy glowing with dim light as Lin Mu Yu threw the Fire Scale inside of it. Immediately, that pool of energy began to fluctuate. He had started the smelting process. This time, he did not need to gather any other materials because the power of the Fire Scale alone should be able to allow the Green Gourd to advance.

The Fire Scale gradually decreased in size inside the alchemy cauldron and turned into slivers of delicate flame energy. These tiny streams of energy slowly seeped into the Green Gourd over the next 30 minutes.

When Lin Mu Yu finally stood up, it was as if the air about him had experienced a drastic change. Even Tang Xiao Xi couldn’t help but exclaim in awe, “You… You seem quite different…”

Qu Chu could naturally tell the difference. Faintly smiling, he explained, “He has broken through the second stage of Human realm and has stepped into the third stage. Right now, his strength should be around level 27, so naturally he would be different.”

“What! That fast?” Tang Xiao Xi was shocked, “This… When I’m barely…”

Qu Chu comforted, “Princess, because you absorbed too much spirit energy from the Fire Jiao, you were able to profit from a disaster. Your strength has reached the tier of a War Elder of the 36th level, so congratulations. To reach the first stage of Earth realm before twenty years of age is a rare feat in the whole Empire.”

Tang Xiao Xi secretly rejoiced.

Lin Mu Yu then asked, “Elder Qu, I was able to see the Green Gourd with my eyes closed a moment ago. How did that happen?”

Qu Chu couldn’t help but laugh, “That is because you have broken into the third stage of Human realm. The most notable aspect of a pract.i.tioner of that level is the ability to use inner sight. How could you not know such a simple fact? Oh, that’s right. Princess Xi, when you were absorbing the Fire Jiao’s spirit energy, did you learn any of the dragon’s abilities?”

“No…” Tang Xiao Xi shook her head with a slight disappointment.

“And you?” Qu Chu asked.

“Seems like it.” Lin Mu Yu humbly smiled.

“Huh?” Qu Chu and Tang Xiao Xi were both astonished, “Quickly show us what it is.”

“Okay.”

Lin Mu Yu felt as if his whole body was overflowing with a vigorous power that was ready to burst out. The Green Gourd materialized out of his body while he looked to the front and opened his palm. Instantaneously, a gigantic gourd ladle appeared before him in a curved defensive formation. Activating the skill, a wave of scorching flames spurted out and formed into a piece of flame red turtle scale in front of the gourd.

“Ebony Scale…”

Qu Chu was secretly apprehensive as he commented, “Your Green Gourd is but a rank 10 martial spirit, but was able to learn two skills from two advancements… This is certainly a rare sight! Xiao Xi, use your Firefox to see how strong Lin Mu Yu’s Ebony Scale is.”

“Is that ok, Mu Mu?” Tang Xiao Xi cautiously asked, for she was already at the first stage of Earth realm. Not only was she one tier higher, but her Firefox was also a 2nd rank martial spirit. With such a great difference in strength, it would not be good if she accidentally hurt Lin Mu Yu.

However, Lin Mu Yu was excited to try out the Ebony Scale’s defensive power and gladly nodded, “Let’s do it, Princess!”

Tang Xiao Xi was a little excited as well. She clenched her fist, then a ball of fire quickly wrapped around it. Her Firefox materialized from her body and charged towards Lin Mu Yu’s scale bulwark.

“Boom!”

Sparks flew as the two spirits made contact. The Firefox was a fire element spirit, but the Ebony Scale was also made of the element of fire. After the single strike, Lin Mu Yu had to quickly take several steps back as the blood in his chest boiled. Nice attack… Although Tang Xiao Xi looked like a fragile beauty, she was actually quite strong. That strike had left Lin Mu Yu’s arms numb and powerless. Furthermore, it looked like she did not even use her full power, or else he definitely would be in more pain.

Tang Xiao Xi was surprised as well. She had used at least eight tenths of her power, thinking that the attack would be able to break through the Ebony Scale. She had planned to quickly withdraw her power so as to not hurt Lin Mu Yu, but Tang Xiao Xi could not imagine that after receiving the Roaring Strike from the Firefox, the Ebony Scale was basically undamaged. Although Lin Mu Yu had been forced back, that was just her advantage in fire energy, and did not mean that the Firefox had truly defeated the Green Gourd.

This distressed her a little, for she was born of the famous Tang clan from Seven Sea City. She had awakened her Firefox spirit at a young age while none of her older siblings had awakened the Firefox. It was the reason why her grandfather had adored her so much, because the Firefox was the symbol of the family and also the symbol of power. Yet right now, her 2nd rank martial spirit unexpectedly only evenly matched Lin Mu Yu’s 10th rank martial spirit. This was a huge blow to the headstrong Tang Xiao Xi.

But looking at Lin Mu Yu’s expression as he contemplated, Tang Xiao Xi could not bring out any cruel thoughts. On the contrary, she was worried that she might have accidentally hurt him and began to feel ashamed of herself. Withdrawing the Firefox, she asked, “Mu Mu, are you alright?”

Her question ended up making Lin Mu Yu feel embarra.s.sed. He shook his head and explained, “I’m alright. It was just that the Firefox’s attack was too stunning, so now my arm is slightly numb…”

Tang Xiao Xi happily smiled, “Thank goodness. I was so afraid that I had hurt you!”

Qu Chu noted, “This kid’s strength is no longer like before. Moreover, the Green Gourd obtained the Ebony Scale ability so he has completely moved towards the direction of a defense type martial spirit. Even if you wanted to hurt him, doing so probably won’t be easy.”

Tang Xiao Xi stuck out her tongue in protest, “I didn’t want to hurt him!”

Lin Mu Yu could only snicker at the conversation.

……

It was already late in the evening as Qu Chu looked at the sky and observed, “We probably won’t be able to leave tonight. Since Princess Xi has broken into the first stage of Earth realm, my mission is complete. We will camp out one more night and we will rush back to Silver Fir City tomorrow morning.”

“Okay.”

Lighting up the bonfire, they had originally planned to roast another batch of buns, but Tang Xiao Xi was tired of eating buns for the last few days. Instead, they took out a pan from a bag on the horse and decided to boil some meat soup. Due to the dark of the night, they could not hunt for rabbits so they fetched meat locally. Cutting off a large chunk of meat from the Ebony Turtle and the Fire Jiao, they cooked the two completely incompatible meats together. Furthermore, Qu Chu had often camped out in the wilderness, so he had brought along some salt and spices. After Lin Mu Yu went and gathered some wild herbs, they threw everything into the big pan to stew. Not long after, a savory smell wafted out from the pan.

Ever since entering Seven Star Forest, Tang Xiao Xi had not been able to eat anything good, so she happily feasted on this meal. Lin Mu Yu also ate a lot as he needed to replenish the strength that he spent in absorbing spirit energy.

After nightfall, Tang Xiao Xi once more fell into a slumber. She laid on the ground with her back to Lin Mu Yu. This beautiful princess seemingly could fall asleep better than Lin Mu Yu and Qu Chu. It was no wonder why she was so slender and elegant. If she stayed up all night like Qu Chu, she would probably look just like him with the skin on the face rough and uneven like a piece of tree bark.

……

Lin Mu Yu did not sleep. Yet after practicing Lightning Chop and the throwing knives for a few hours, he went towards the depths of the lake.

“This kid…”

Qu Chu squinted his eyes and spread out his sensory field. Sensing that the surrounding was safe from threats, he followed behind the young boy only to find Lin Mu Yu diving into the deep parts of the lake. After a few minutes, he floated back to the surface, carrying a cl.u.s.ter of fragrant lotus flowers in his arms. Under the moonlight, these lotus flowers were br.i.m.m.i.n.g with an exceptionally enchanting complexion.