Chapter 1019: An Encounter That Smelled
Dong Qitian was once impressed by the fact that the Residence of Nine Supremes' disciples kept the right mindset and did not go into Qi deviation despite their vigorous chase after advancement. It was unbelievable, nearly illogical.
He was amazed, wondering how they did it.
Yun Yang thought without saying anything. "With the Qi of Dao, the Qi of vitality and the occasional drop of Primordial Qi of Amethyst that Emmie shares, it invisibly enhances the disciples' competence by reinforcing their foundation to a highly secure state. Before they go into the level of Saint, any Qi deviation or stray of mind is impossible!"
What surprised Yun Yang was Kong Luoyue's top disciple, Bai Yexing. He had gone through two rank changes during this duration.
The first time was victorious, Bai Yexing rose from the tenth spot to the ninth but he was swiped down from it ten days later. Twenty days later, he returned stronger and slotted himself back into the top ten rankings, climbing straight to the eighth rank.
He cinched the spot securely after that, unmovable by anyone.
Yun Yang's leading disciple, Yun Xiuxin, maintained being the top in Earth Mystic twice before hauling herself up directly to being the fifth in Heaven Mystic after the third match. She had even pushed right to Heaven Mystic's top two in the last contest, shocking everyone with her progress.
Lin Xiaorou caught up to the fourth rank among Heaven Mystics while the one cutting Lin Xiaorou's chase to Yun Xiuxin short was Hu Xiaofan who was ranked third. Hu Xiaofan was a sore thumb and a troublemaker, but his progress was rather fast. Even with Yun Xiuxin's shocking advancement, she did not throw him off too far behind.
In fact, Hu Xiaofan's speedy improvement surprised even Yun Yang.
The boy was not the most talented among his disciples; his diligence was on par with everyone else as well. At best, his disposition was relatively above average. Yun Yang's judgment of him was that he should be far behind Cheng Jiajia. Why was his improvement progressing so fast that he was now far ahead of Cheng Jiajia and nearly keeping up with Yun Xiuxin?
It must be noted that Cheng Jiajia was only ranked seventh among Heaven Mystics. There must be a reason behind Hu Xiaofan's surprising headway!
Yun Yang had specifically summoned the child in order to probe further into the matter.
"Encounter? I was pooping in a forest when I set out the second time with Senior Uncle Guo and found a green shrub near my feet that bore fruit. It was fragrant and since I was pooping, I plucked it and ate it... Then I passed out..."
"Cough, I washed my clothes in the end too... A lot of people didn't want to talk to me after that, they kept saying that I smelled bad. I washed myself every day though... They didn't like me, as if I like them! I improve my skills, I'm improving much faster than them anyway. This disciple doesn't know if it's a providence..."
Despite the mental capacity of Yun Yang as 'Supreme Wisdom', he thought that Hu Xiaofan's breakthrough process rather smelled...
'How lazy and how carefree you must be!'
'It's too f*cking dirty!'
'It's fine if you pluck the fruit as you notice a shrub while pooping but to pluck and eat it as well... I honestly can't think of another person who would do that.'
'I'm afraid there's only one person out of a million who could meet such a special encounter?!'
'But what did he ear?'
Yun Yang realized that he was still stunned with no impression after asking Hu Xiaofan to describe the fruit's appearance in detail, thus going to Dong Qitian for assistance.
Dong Qitian was knowledgeable indeed, swiftly providing Yun Yang with an answer.
"Could it be the Spiritual Root Marrow-Promoting Fruit!"
Dong Qitian was astonished as well. "He found it while he was pooping? And he plucked it and ate it too?"
"He really ate the fruit while he was pooping?" Dong Qitian questioned.
When he received Yun Yang's confirmation, Dong Qitian looked speechless and suddenly dry-heaved.
"Your disciples... is a talent huh... Killing two birds with one stone?"
Dong Qitian was completely flabbergasted by the outcome.
"The kid's luck is insane..." Dong Qitian shook his head in mock anger. "What kind of good luck is this... Squatting down beside the Spiritual Root Marrow-Promoting Fruit as he popped... Let him ascend right into heaven with his good luck..."
"What actually is it?" Yun Yang was blank.
"The Spiritual Root Marrow-Promoting Fruit is a mystical species in the Bound of Universe. It can only breed underground and takes at least a thousand years to breed before germinating just that one time. The germination is completely underground as well and is invisible to. When it becomes a shrub three thousand years later, it greets the world like any other grass. And there's no difference from them. It wilts and thrives following the weather. No spiritual herb master, no matter how skilled, can distinguish it."
"After a thousand times of wilting and growing, the spiritual plant will bloom once. The period is a short two hours and the flower withers immediately. This will be the only distinction of this fruit from other ordinary shrubs since its sprouting from five thousand years ago. After another thousand years would it bear fruit. The entire process from fruit-bearing to maturity lasts only a quarter of an hour. Once it matures, it will fall instantly. The shrub will wither too and await the next cycle."
Dong Qitian retched through his speechlessness.
"This fruit has only one use actually. The marrow of the one consuming it will all be turned into the Innate Spiritual Marrow..."
"We cultivators use our physical selves as the mystical energy's medium but our physical bodies are constantly battered by time and the world. Any cultivation method or spiritual herb will not remove impurities from our bodies to this world or from this world to our bodies eternally, so the physical body's marrow is a human's best bet."
"We always mention going through a bone change or rinsing of the meridians like a reincarnation. It means to strengthen our physical bodies and nourish our spiritual marrow but how many people could actually go through the actual process of a change of bones and rinsing of meridians? Even a rare opportunity is a providence that could hardly come by again."
"By consuming the Spiritual Root Marrow-Producing Fruit, Hu Xiaofan's entire physique will constantly be enriched by the spiritual marrow all his life. There would be no impurities within him all the time. It would be astounding if his improvement wasn't going fast... Why do you think everyone complains about him being smelly? It's the spiritual marrow eliminating impurities from his body all the time - it'll be a mistake if he smells good!"
"Oh my god, what kind of fate is this..."
Dong Qitian was extremely lost for words. "This fruit has honestly only appeared in novels since the start of time. No one has heard of anybody eating it. Who knows that your disciple... Heck! Squatting beside it just when he was pooping. What astral providence..."
"I really want to kill him!"