Chapter 50 Underwater Blossoms: Fu Ming feeds on essence, sometimes using this...
Perhaps because it wasn't cleaned properly, Fu Ming developed a high fever that night and didn't recover for three days and three nights, thus temporarily escaping the torment of being subjected to all sorts of treatment.
You can escape for a while, but you can't escape forever.
That night, Fu Ming, who had been locked up underground again, suddenly heard a rustling sound not far away. He lazily opened his eyes, stepped barefoot on the carpet, and went closer to investigate.
His wrists and ankles were still bound by the Immortal Binding Rope, and he could only move freely indoors.
The wide hem of the robe, embroidered with golden crane patterns, trailed on the ground, unable to be spread out. This was the highest-ranking robe worn by disciples during the Tianyan Sect's sacrificial rites. He had worn it briefly after achieving the top spot on the Heavenly Ranking, but could never find it again. It turned out that Xiao Huaiyuan had secretly kept it.
Fu Ming's daily attire consisted of various colored undergarments that he would change into in combination with his disciple's robes, which was enough to show how limited Xiao Huaiyuan's aesthetic sense was. However, if Xiao Huaiyuan hadn't argued so strongly and threatened to kill himself, he probably wouldn't even have had these few pieces of cloth to wear.
By the light of candlelight, pulling back the gauze curtains, one could see a steaming hot spring in the area.
Xiao Huaiyuan stood by the hot spring, his sleeves rolled up to reveal his strong forearms, looking as if he had been waiting for him for a long time: "Senior brother, you've arrived."
Fu Ming was furious just looking at that sanctimonious face. Penetrating him inside and out and slapping him was one thing, but what respectable person would display his swollen, oozing vulva in front of a mirror and force him to admit he was a lowly... something?
He raised his hand and slapped him across the face: "Xiao Huaiyuan, you've made enough of a scene, when are you going to let me go?"
"It's understandable that my senior brother resents me. I can give you anything you want, except leaving this place."
Xiao Huaiyuan didn't flinch, taking the slap squarely. He only grabbed Fu Ming's wrist urgently, like a vicious water ghost grabbing someone to take its place, dragging him into the water with him.
Gurgle.
The water, which was above head level, rippled and reflected clear beams of light, with many flower petals and dried grass floating on the surface.
Fu Ming tilted his head back and exhaled strings of pearl-like bubbles—he couldn't actually swim.
He used to be able to swim in the river after jumping in, all thanks to the spiritual energy shield. But now he is just a weak mortal, so he can only cling to Xiao Huaiyuan's shoulder and struggle upwards.
Xiao Huaiyuan seemed unaware of this matter, which made sense, as he always paid attention to maintaining his omnipotent and lofty image in Xiao Huaiyuan's mind, so how could he take the initiative to tell him that he couldn't swim?
Fortunately, Xiao Huaiyuan lowered his head and gave Fu Ming a deep kiss, which at least gave Fu Ming some air. Fu Ming was also infatuated and passionately exchanged kisses with him.
The gentle flow of water washes away all resentment, but also provides an opportunity for external forces to take advantage of the situation.
I curse you, Xiao Huaiyuan!
Fu Ming, trapped in the water, couldn't bring himself to curse.
Xiao Huaiyuan was indeed a self-taught genius, but the books did not teach him to carefully explore before doing anything.
If drilling is not carried out step by step, one can only wait for a trickle to emerge from the bottom of the well. However, this time the rain was quite heavy, making the soil extremely wet and soft.
Perhaps the near-death experience and suffocation amplified his senses, or perhaps the hot spring water provided a buffer, but Fu Ming's retreat was swift this time. Having been attacked at some crucial point, he instantly abandoned his troops and retreated to a defensive line.
Another string of glistening bubbles rose to the surface. Fu Ming had already closed his eyes tightly, his fingertips tracing over his junior brother's taut shoulder muscles.
Their loose black hair tangled in the ripples.
"Huff..." Fu Ming began to breathe heavily as soon as he surfaced.
Xiao Huaiyuan also swallowed a lot of water. His senior brother's encirclement tactics were so powerful that he almost couldn't hold on and was defeated. Fortunately, he had excellent composure and was good at applying knowledge to other situations when he was learning on his own.
He asked, "Is this the place?"
"What do you mean 'here' and 'there'? What nonsense are you talking about?" Fu Ming was still not recovered, his whole body was covered in sweat, showing the exhaustion of falling from the peak.
Knowing is not as good as doing. To verify this conjecture, Xiao Huaiyuan experimented many times and finally proved that this trick worked every time.
The hot spring was filled with waves, and fine sprays kept crashing against the bricks and stones on the edge of the pool. The clear, warm water turned murky in the turbulence, eventually washing away the petals on it.
Everything in the world should be done in moderation; if you stretch a bow too far, the bowstring will break easily, and if you climb too high too often, you will fall heavily.
Fu Ming, who also lacked common sense, was terrified that he could not make a comeback, so he swung his palm forward again.
"Get out of here!"
Unexpectedly, the culprit grabbed his fingers and intertwined them: "I'm so happy, it turns out that even my senior brother has a weakness."
Then he clenched the petals until they dried out.
After an unknown amount of time, Fu Ming dreamt that he could no longer be human... and then woke up in the pool.
The water in the pool had been changed, and now it only reached his chest and abdomen, clear to the bottom. Although some areas still ached slightly, at least there was no bleeding like in the previous days.
Fu Ming got up and stepped out of the water, reflexively recalling the gorgeous clothes that had been thrown aside. Unexpectedly, the clothes obediently returned to his palm.
His spiritual power has been restored.
Although it is only at the foundation-building stage level.
Fu Ming couldn't figure out whether Xiao Huaiyuan wanted to let him go or not.
As for what to do with his junior brother later, he didn't want to think about it.
That's the downside of the ancients; long hair was such a hassle to manage. Fu Ming wrung out his long hair as he walked, leaving a trail of wet footprints on the bricks.
The footprints stopped, and Fu Ming suddenly remembered that the pool in the hot spring was a spirit-awakening liquid. In the past, Xiao Huaiyuan's cultivation started slower than that of ordinary people, so in order to help him break through to the Foundation Establishment stage before the assessment, he prepared several vats of spirit liquid for Xiao Huaiyuan according to the book.
The Calabash Taoist picked up the child but didn't care about him. Handing him over to Fu Ming was just forcing him into it. At that time, the other elders in the Tianyan Sect were powerful, and no one paid attention to them.
"This kid has such a good memory..." Fu Ming muttered.
Just then, a deep male voice rang out from above: "Sect Leader, several affiliated minor sects have sent a secret message saying that many mortals have suddenly died in the Central Plains. It is unknown whether it is a plague or some other evil spirit."
Xiao Huaiyuan said, "I remember I already sent disciples to investigate."
"Ten Golden Core stage disciples went there half a month ago, and they haven't returned or sent any letters yet. Elder Gu went there a few days ago, and we've also lost contact with him."
Xiao Huaiyuan: "I understand. I'll go there myself."
The soundproofing here isn't very good, and you can always hear conversations upstairs, so it can't be considered that Fu Ming was eavesdropping.
Is Xiao Huaiyuan leaving?
Fu Ming breathed a sigh of relief for some parts of his body.
But as it turned out, he was too optimistic.
The location of the missing elders and disciples still needed to be determined by a specialist, which took some time. In the two days leading up to their departure, Xiao Huaiyuan made the most of every moment to feed Fu Ming until he was extremely well-fed.
Immortals often categorize magical artifacts and elixirs into three classes: Heaven, Earth, and Human. Fu Ming is now considered a mortal, and should theoretically eat grains and cereals. However, his body cannot withstand impurities, nor can he absorb the essence of Heaven and Earth. Therefore, he can only consume inferior essences, sometimes using one mouth and sometimes another.
Fu Ming was quite anorexic, but Xiao Huaiyuan pressed his ribs against him and fed him meal after meal until his belly was swollen.
"Cough cough." Unable to finish his meal, Fu Ming vomited all his food onto Xiao Huaiyuan's shoes, the soup forming a thin stream, his peach-blossom face glistening with tears.
"Senior brother, how much do you love me?" Xiao Huaiyuan, who held a high position, had a gloomy face at this moment.
In a daze, Fu Ming mistook Xiao Huaiyuan's expression for one of dizziness and impending tears, and patted him on the head as he had when they were children: "How could I not love you? It's just that my love for you is that of a brother. You don't need to worry so much about me."
Fu Ming really knows how to make him angry. Xiao Huaiyuan whispered in his ear, "Would a brother do this to you, senior brother?"
Another round of turbulent wind and rain blew, causing the peach blossoms to wither and fall.
The sect leader's peak fell silent.
Fu Ming was sitting on a futon, cultivating peacefully. He was truly a genius at cultivating immortality. He thought to himself, since he had already eaten, he might as well make use of what he had.
However, his clone was severely injured, making it difficult to circulate his Qi. He could only use it as needed and could not form a virtuous cycle.
Two cultivation techniques flashed into his mind. One was the fox clan's dual cultivation secret method, a rather scandalous technique with a more subtle name: the "Romantic Technique." The other was the self-created technique of the furnace-cauldron master, called the "Furnace Heart Method." The former could convert... that essence, while the latter could repair deficiencies in the meridians, which indeed suited his needs.
Fu Ming focused his energy and meditated, gaining new insights. He still couldn't fully comprehend the last two sentences of the True Immortal's Notes: "Observe all things and pursue your own path."
The phrase "understanding all things" is easy to say, but over the years he has been a celestial cultivator and a demonic cultivator, a high and mighty demon lord and a cripple who has fallen into the mud. He has no close friends, but he is entangled with one person, so his experience is naturally quite extensive.
But how can one find a way to pursue one's own path? He inexplicably thought of Xiao Huaiyuan again. The Xiao family has always passed down the Heart Sutra of Ruthlessness, and his junior brother has been practicing it diligently for over a hundred years. How did he suddenly go astray?
Fu Ming couldn't quite figure it out. Could it be that Xiao Huaiyuan's cultivation had gone wrong, leading to the change in his temperament?
If that's the case, he still needs to be properly treated. Fu Ming began to recall the section in the "Wind and Moon Technique" used for healing the soul.
Seven days passed peacefully like this.
A ripple spread through the protective barrier, and a new guest finally arrived at the Sect Leader Peak.
Because Xiao Huaiyuan was too far away, the Binding Immortal Rope lost its effect of locking him in the room, and Fu Ming was able to stroll among the bamboo and peach groves.
He covered his face with a veil, waiting for someone to help him break through the protective barrier of the sect leader's peak and escape.
Amidst the swaying branches and leaves, he saw a figure in white walking towards him. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was someone he knew.
It was Lin Han, an elite disciple of the Censorate.
That's easy. Lin Han is easily swayed; she should agree to take him down the mountain. Fu Ming cast a confusion spell, preparing to disguise himself as a mischievous disciple who had mistakenly wandered into the sect leader's peak.
He followed behind, stepped forward, and patted Lin Han on the shoulder: "Senior Sister Lin, I've come to the wrong place, could you please..."
"OK."
The composed and reliable Lin Han readily agreed, then slowly turned around, her figure rapidly slimming down until she became…
Xiao Huaiyuan's appearance.
Fu Ming's hands were twisted behind his back with tremendous force, and the lush vegetation scraped against his unprotected skin, leaving red marks. His knees were forced into the mud, exposing his smooth and slender waistline.
Unlike a few days ago, Xiao Huaiyuan's actions were extremely brutal, practically splitting his body in two, severely injuring a part of him that had just begun to recover.
He strained to look back, meeting Xiao Huaiyuan's cold and ruthless gaze, as sharp as a giant python. Those deep black eyes were somewhat unfocused, and upon closer inspection, he noticed three small, dark holes branded on the side of Xiao Huaiyuan's neck.
Bitten by a poisonous snake? No, how could a Nascent Soul cultivator be easily bitten by a snake? He had seen an introduction to this creature in the True Immortal Cave.
Fu Ming's pupils constricted, and ignoring the discomfort he felt behind him, he shouted sharply, "Xiao Huaiyuan, wake up! You've been poisoned!"
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Author's Note: Waaah, I've been working on this until morning, time to be quiet.
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