SFS Chapter 9 The Long-Awaited Return of Kindness
Chapter 9 The Long-Awaited Return of Kindness
The afterglow of the setting sun shone on the surface of the spring, and the silhouette of Teng San Niang appeared and disappeared in the misty air.
Her eyes were closed, her expression peaceful and content, and there was even a slight smile on her lips.
The Iron-Boned King was a little unhappy, but he couldn't quite put his finger on why.
The lady is indeed cultivating seriously, and her cultivation level is indeed improving. It seems that this Taoist Yangquan has no interest in his lady, so he has no reason to stop her.
But seeing his wife make that kind of expression on someone else's turf always makes him feel a tightness in his chest.
He grunted sullenly, jumped off the large rock, and strode toward Lu Changgeng.
The other six spiders in the spring all raised their heads and stared at him warily, and the cloud patterns on the red silk back lit up again.
"Um..." Iron Bone King stopped abruptly, scratched the back of his head, and spoke in a muffled voice, "Fellow Daoist, you just said that my metal and earth energies cannot soak in this spring, but I'm thinking, since this spring water is formed from the true fire of the sun, it's true that metal is overcome by fire, but fire can also generate earth... I also cultivate earth evil, wouldn't earth evil become even stronger when it encounters fire? Were you lying to me just now?"
The water-shaped avatar, who was meditating cross-legged, suddenly froze, almost dissipating into mist on the spot.
Lu Changgeng was somewhat surprised.
This Iron-Bone King looks like a burly, uncouth man, but I didn't expect him to have some brains.
What he said is true; it is true that fire overcomes metal, and it is also true that fire generates earth. Simply using the argument that fire overcomes metal to shut him up is not comprehensive enough.
It seems that the Iron Bone King's ability to reach the advanced stage of the Concentration Realm wasn't solely due to brute force.
But it's impossible to get Lu Changgeng to agree to let the male demon soak in the spring.
He pondered for a moment, the spring water rippling as he spoke calmly: "Fellow Daoist's thoughts are meticulous, I admire them. However, Fellow Daoist Iron Bone cultivates demonic metal and earth energies, not the ordinary five elements. Demonic energy belongs to yin, while the true fire of the sun is pure yang fire. Yin and yang clash, which has nothing to do with whether you cultivate metal or earth energy. If you don't believe me, you might as well try it."
Having said that, he drew a stream of warm spring water from the spring, which transformed into a water ball that floated in front of the Iron Bone King.
Iron Bone King was skeptical, but he stretched out his arm and probed into the water.
Lu Changgeng did nothing wrong.
The true fire of the sun is inherently domineering, and its repulsion of demonic energy is natural; it does not require any additional additives.
Sure enough, as soon as the Iron Bone King's arm entered the water, he felt a burning and stinging pain that went straight from his pores into the bones. The iron-gray hairs on his arm stood up, and wisps of black gas seeped out of the pores.
That was the reaction of the golden-earth demonic energy that had been refined in his body for many years being forced out by the true fire of the sun. Although it was not enough to truly damage his cultivation, the discomfort was indeed real.
Ironbone King grimaced and pulled his arm back, looking down at his slightly reddened hand, then at the six spiders in the spring staring at him with disgust, and said awkwardly, "It really is."
Zi Ying let out a short whimper, which sounded a lot like a "hiss".
The Iron-Bone King glared at it, then sullenly sat back down on the big rock, never mentioning the spring again.
But its pair of yellow eyes remained fixed on the lady in the spring, its face showing impatience, its tail swishing back and forth behind it, whipping the large stone and sending pebbles flying.
Seeing that Tie Gu was no longer bothering him, Lu Changgeng focused all his attention on Teng Sanniang.
Teng San Niang had been in the spring for nearly half an hour, and he was waiting, waiting for that long-lost feeling.
The water from the Cleansing Spring flowed over every inch of Teng San Niang's skin. After another quarter of an hour, that long-lost feeling finally spread from the depths of the spring, like a seed that had been dormant for fifty years suddenly sprouting.
A tiny wisp of magical energy slowly flowed into the spring, then returned to the spring's source—very little, pitifully little…
Teng San Niang was not a celestial being after all; she was merely a plant spirit at the initial stage of the Spirit Condensation realm. Her cultivation techniques were incomplete, and the magical power she could generate was extremely limited.
But enough.
This means that Lu Changgeng can make further progress.
He immediately began to secretly circulate the "Celestial Immortal Technique." The bottleneck of fifty years remained as hard as iron, but simply circulating the technique itself caused his emotions to surge.
How long has it been? How long has it been since I felt even the slightest improvement, even just a strand of hair?
It seems that the reward I received today is magical power. I wonder what I will receive tomorrow.
Lu Changgeng pondered how to keep Teng Sanniang in the spring.
An hour later, Teng San Niang slowly opened her eyes from her meditation.
The purity of her magical power had increased by at least 30%. Although she hadn't broken through to a higher realm, the feeling of her entire body's meridians being cleansed by clear water made her almost reluctant to leave the shore.
She stood up from the spring, soaking wet, her dark green dress clinging to her body, outlining her graceful figure, water droplets rolling down her vine-like hair.
As he stepped barefoot onto the rocks on the shore, two maids rushed to greet him.
"No need." Teng San Niang waved her hand gently, and her magical power flowed slightly around her, drying her clothes on its own.
The tiny white flowers at the tips of the vines bloomed and withered in an instant, turning into specks of light like fireflies and scattering in the air.
She turned her head to look at the water-shaped avatar sitting cross-legged not far away, her eyes flickering slightly.
This Taoist priest from Yangquan claimed to be a "free spirit who cultivates by the spring," but his true form never appeared, and he never revealed even a trace of his aura.
Either his true form is not here, or his true form is this spring itself.
If it's the former, then it's fine.
If it's the latter... a spiritual spring that can develop sentience and communicate with people, she had never heard of such a thing in her thousand years of cultivation.
This means that if this spring is not a naturally occurring, exotic species, then it must be some kind of extremely high-level existence.
Regardless of the reason, it means that her greatest gain from this trip was not the refined and purified magic power, but this news.
A spiritual spring that can generate intelligence is of immeasurable value.
The demon realm needs it to dispel evil, and the immortal realm needs it to stabilize the meridians. No matter who it is given to, it is a resource that is enough to transform her.
But she remained calm and composed.
The more precious something is, the less you should rush it.
She needed time to figure out the details of this Taoist priest from Yangquan.
Does he have someone backing him? What other attack methods does he have besides the True Fire Finger? These questions need to be explored gradually.
"Fellow Daoist," she suppressed the surging thoughts in her heart, bowed gracefully to Lu Changgeng's avatar, and said in a gentle tone, "I would like to trouble you for a few more days. Is that alright? I am grateful for your return gift. If there is anything I can do, please do not hesitate to ask."
Lu Changgeng's heart skipped a beat; these were the words he had been waiting for.
It seems that he doesn't need to take the initiative to keep them; in fact, he might even gain a favor from them.
He deliberately remained silent for a moment, making the silence seem like he was weighing his options.
Just as Teng San Niang thought Lu Chang Geng would refuse, the latter spoke up: "Since Madam Teng says so, then this humble Taoist will not stand on ceremony. As you can see, Madam, I have seven junior sisters here, but there are only three Earth Origin Fruits..."
"Don't even think about it!" Before Teng San Niang could speak, Iron Bone King immediately jumped out.
He had been annoyed with Lu Changgeng before, and now that Lu Changgeng seemed to want four more Earthly Element Fruits, he immediately panted and angrily said, "It's just a soak in this bird spring, you're not losing anything, yet you still want four Earthly Element Fruits. Madam, if you like this spring, let's take it. Let's see how he tries to fight us!"