Chapter 32

It was precisely because it sensed this wish that the Shikon Jewel shard had autonomously absorbed the life force of the surrounding flora and fauna to maintain the ancient tree's own life force and help it grow continuously.

Only—

"This thing is of no use to me."

Ye Xuan felt somewhat helpless.

Whether it was a Shikon Jewel shard or a complete Shikon Jewel, it was useless to Ye Xuan. He did not possess a pure soul like Midoriko or Kikyo; using it might briefly amplify his own power, but over time, he would likely be influenced by the desires contained within it.

On this point, he had sufficient self-awareness.

In the power system of the Fox Spirit World, growth in mental strength could be said to be minimal. Need one be reminded that after Wangquan Baye and his companions went beyond the circle, they slaughtered each other due to the Black Fox's illusions, with only two surviving to return?

Although, due to the world's changes, Wangquan Baye's cultivation system had shifted in this world, and with the elevation of his life level, mental strength was also covered within it.

But this did not mean he could now completely ignore the influence of the Shikon Jewel shard.

For a short time, it was fine, but over a long period, it was hard to say.

Moreover, he truly did not feel that a mere Shikon Jewel shard could bring him much of an increase.

One only had to look at the Wang Quanye world to know this; how many truly powerful Great Demon Kings would be interested in the Shikon Jewel?

Let alone just a shard of the Shikon Jewel.

But it was still a treasure from the Myriad Realms of the Cosmos, giving him a sense of it being tasteless to keep but a pity to discard.

Ye Xuan shook his head and reached out to pick up the shard. The moment his fingertips touched it, a strange ripple spread along his arm.

It was an indescribable temptation, as if a voice were whispering in his ear, urging him to absorb and fuse this shard into his own body.

"Come... fuse with it... you will gain unparalleled power..."

The voice was low and filled with seduction, as if striking deep into his soul. Ye Xuan's expression remained unchanged, but his fingers tightened involuntarily. The shard's light seemed to become even more dazzling, as if it had sensed his reaction.

"It is but a mere shard, yet you dare to boast of granting me unparalleled power."

"Even if it were a complete Shikon Jewel, it would not be worthy of saying such things."

Ye Xuan sneered, his tone disdainful, as he loosened and then tightened his grip on the Shikon Jewel shard.

He was merely putting on an act; it actually thought he was tempted.

Although the Wang Quanye world possessed gods and the underworld, to put it bluntly, the power level was just so-so.

His current power might have some gap compared to a true Great Demon King, but for a mere Shikon Jewel shard to dare speak of granting him unparalleled power was simply laughable.

Ye Xuan did indeed yearn for greater power, but that power, let alone a mere shard, could not be bestowed upon him even by a complete Shikon Jewel.

However, from the intensity of the Shikon Jewel shard's temptation, he also confirmed one thing.

His mental strength was indeed not strong, but this lack of strength was relative to his own power, not that everyone's mental strength was superior to his.

The reason the Black Fox could deceive Wangquan Baye and the others with illusions was because it was a Black Fox; if you replaced it with someone with inferior mental strength, they might not necessarily be able to deceive Wangquan Baye and his group.

Within the circle, the major demon and human factions were not without cultivation techniques for illusions.

Wangquan Baye's younger sister was the best example.

But this was only for Ye Xuan; if someone else had discovered the Shikon Jewel shard, they would likely have been influenced by it.

A pure soul was not something just anyone could possess; Ye Xuan even doubted that anyone in this world possessed one at all.

Humans all had their desires; even children were no exception.

To some extent, a child's pure desires could even cause more severe consequences than those of an adult.

Adults would have more or less some concerns, and only when emotions peaked would they disregard the consequences; but for children, these did not exist.

Ye Xuan put away the Shikon Jewel shard. Although it was useless to him, it was not bad for a collection.

Anyone who liked anime, novels, and film works would have more or less some desire to collect, and he was no exception.

In the future, if he encountered someone who was also collecting Shikon Jewel shards and possessed items that interested him, he could use this as a bargaining chip for trade.

Since he had already found what he wanted, Ye Xuan naturally would not continue to linger in the 【Mist-Hidden Mountain Range】, but he did not choose to return by flying on his sword directly; instead, he walked toward the rest area at a leisurely pace.

The process of finding the treasure from the Myriad Realms of the Cosmos had been much smoother than he had imagined, and since it was still early, he could slow his pace and see if he would encounter any other mutated creatures that could pique his interest.

But, perhaps because Ye Xuan was stained with the bloody scent of the mutated wild boars and mutated bird flocks he had killed, those mutated creatures often fled without hesitation upon smelling Ye Xuan's scent, not daring to approach at all.

He did not care about this, nor did he intend to actively hunt those weak mutated creatures.

Now was only the beginning of the spiritual energy recovery, and the vast majority of mutated creatures were very weak; the spiritual energy contained in their flesh and blood was not high. No matter how many he hunted, it would not change this fact.

It would be better to let them continue to grow in the mountain range, become more powerful, and after their flesh and blood contained more spiritual energy, then hunt them.

His view on mutated creatures was the same as that of the Tianshuju Society.

They would be the fierce beasts that would kill many humans in the future, and also one of the most precious resources in the era of spiritual energy recovery.

Flesh and blood containing spiritual energy, bones and fur nourished by spiritual energy, and even every part of their bodies had significant value.

If they killed too many now, their future harvest would be less.

As for these mutated creatures invading cities on a large scale after the spiritual energy tide and harming humans... let them ignore the damage from firearms first.

Rather than worrying about these mutated creatures far from the city, it would be better to worry about whether the pets kept by humans would experience the phenomenon of devouring their masters after mutating.

Not every pet would treat you as its master like a dog; and even for dogs, the possibility of harming their masters was not non-existent.

After returning to the rest area, Lin Miao had already prepared a table of dishes. The rich aroma spread through the air, and even someone with a will as firm as Ye Xuan could not help but feel a bit distracted.

There was no other reason; it was simply that this fragrance was a bit too rich.

It was not that he had never tasted delicacies; one could even say that because of his family environment, he had tasted quite a few, but he had never smelled such an alluring aroma.

The fragrance seemed to have a life of its own, drilling into his nasal cavity and striking his taste buds, making one feel a wave of hunger involuntarily.

(End of chapter)