Youyou's body fell to the ground, kicking up a cloud of charcoal ash, and some tiny dust particles drifted away with the breeze, dissipating into the air.
The cylindrical flower stem shattered, revealing a dark, square object inside, which looked like a book.
Ma Xiaotao glanced around; Wang Nan was still in meditation, his body glowing, showing no signs of waking up yet.
The other Spirit Beasts were also quiet at this time; even the several other 100,000-year Spirit Beasts didn't speak.
She took another look at the item that had fallen from Youyou's body, then took two steps forward, bent down, and picked it up.
"Although I think you are good people now, you shouldn't just take other people's things, okay?"
A tender voice sounded, and Ma Xiaotao vaguely felt a hint of threat.
Looking at the source of the sound, beneath the charred area, a sprout was slowly rising from the ashes, surrounded by a faint purple halo.
"You… passed the Heavenly Tribulation?"
Although the voice and aura had changed, there was still a sense of familiarity that Ma Xiaotao recognized; it was undoubtedly Youyou.
"Yes." Youyou sighed, her tone filled with emotion.
"The Spirit Beasts training here, though benefiting from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and growing into plant Spirit Beasts, it is incredibly difficult to resist the Heavenly Tribulation without the baptism of long years."
As Youyou spoke, red and white light flashed on the sprout, and it instantly grew to the height of a person.
Its branches and leaves swayed gently, and a vine softly reached Ma Xiaotao's front. Youyou's voice sounded again, "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to pass my first Heavenly Tribulation."
"Alright, give me back my thing."
"What is this?" Ma Xiaotao placed the dark, square object in her hand onto Youyou's vine.
"This is something that person entrusted to me. That person said that his descendant would come here to retrieve this item after ten thousand years, but no one has ever passed his test."
"A test like taking poison, surely not many people could pass that, right?"
"Actually, no, it's fine to tell you. What I gave you wasn't poison at all. I was just seeing if you would take it as I asked."
Ma Xiaotao was stunned by these words. At this moment, she couldn't agree more with Wang Nan's words. How was this a test of Heart-Nature? Wasn't this just testing whether the person who came to retrieve the item would be obedient?
Only a Spirit Beast like Youyou, who had never interacted with outsiders or been to the outside world, would naively believe this was a test of Heart-Nature.
"So, the descendant of the person you mentioned never came?"
"Yes, actually, with the protection of the external poisonous miasma, very few humans come here. Spirit Masters with your cultivation, I've only met for the first time."
"Huh?" Youyou suddenly paused.
Ma Xiaotao seemed to sense something too and looked back.
It was as if a giant beast was opening its mouth beside Wang Nan, and the surrounding elemental force of the world surged towards him all at once.
The elemental force of the world around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was already very rich, and at this moment, it became substantial, gathering into tiny, visible streams that continuously poured into Wang Nan's body.
"Is this how you humans train? How amazing." Youyou gently swayed her branches and leaves. "After passing the Lightning Tribulation, I am truly a 100,000-year Spirit Beast, but I can't train like him. You humans are truly remarkable."
Ma Xiaotao gently shook her head. The cultivation method Wang Nan initially used should have been the same as hers, developed by the academy's elders, but even that couldn't cause such a stir. His cultivation method was no longer traditional meditation.
In just two "breaths," the elemental force of the world around Wang Nan became much "thinner," but he didn't continue. The glow on his body completely receded, revealing his original skin.
The Evil Breaking Dragon slowly swam, its form shrinking as it burrowed into his glabella. Above the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, the rainbow colors refracted by the sunlight through the mist fell upon him, subtly giving him a sacred feeling.
Merely standing up in the distance, he seemed to merge with heaven and earth; his body was the most "perfect" masterpiece in this world.
Wang Nan felt the flow of spirit power within his body, sensing the gradually approaching limit. After training for several years, he now understood that to advance his spirit power further, he needed to condense a second Spirit Core.
However, this was not the best place to condense a Spirit Core. Looking up and out, he already sensed several powerful auras approaching.
The moment Wang Nan stood up, the plants around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well became active again. Although Spirit Beasts whose cultivation hadn't reached 100,000 years couldn't speak yet, their communication through spirit power and mental force all expressed their joy.
"You're awake."
Youyou, who had just been chatting with Ma Xiaotao, instantly abandoned her and moved towards Wang Nan. Several 10,000-year plant Spirit Beasts communicated in low voices, and the entire Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well truly came alive at this moment.
This was their usual state. The previous silence was merely out of fear of disturbing Wang Nan's cultivation.
The Spirit Beasts here were too simple; for someone who merely spared their lives, they could remember for ten thousand years. For Wang Nan, who helped Youyou pass her Heavenly Tribulation, they had completely accepted him.
Wang Nan had just woken up from meditation due to sensing external auras and was startled by this sudden enthusiasm.
"You are — Youyou?" Looking at the tender sprout before him, Wang Nan quickly recognized her.
"Yes, yes, I am now truly a 100,000-year Spirit Beast."
"Then, congratulations."
"No, no, please accept my gift of thanks."
Before Wang Nan could refuse, red and white light surged into Youyou's body, and the entire Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well vibrated in unison. The sprout before him instantly grew larger and thicker, its flower stem rising high, and its surrounding leaves continuously unfurled. The miracle of life's growth rapidly unfolded before Wang Nan.
A pale purple flower bud appeared, and soon bloomed beside Wang Nan. A purple halo spread outwards, accompanied by a faint fragrance.
On the pistil, a concentrated purple light was continuously gathering.
In the Sunset Forest, Immortal Lin'er, along with Zhang Lexuan and several members of the Body Sect, were approaching the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well when they suddenly caught a whiff of fragrance.
"Be careful!"
Along the way, they had seen many Spirit Beast corpses previously corroded by the poisonous miasma. The moment they noticed the change in the air, they reacted.
However, even a Titled Douluo could not find the aura that had just entered their bodies.
Before the group could think further, an endless expanse of Jade Phosphorous Exotic Flowers appeared before their eyes.