Chapter 171: The Opportunity to Use the Ao Shell

Be good, don't move.

Chen Shicheng took off the Swallow-Sea Gourd and placed it below the wound, patted Tai Sui's head, and at the same time grabbed La Tiao's neck, letting it hang obediently in his hand.

Tired, Tai Sui, weary of this routine and with nothing left to live for, gazed at its owner and deliberately aimed the wound at the gourd to avoid wasting its blood.

Chen Shicheng gave a hehe smile, swinging La Tiao to let the strange fragrance in the air drift toward the Tree Hole.

Lingling still feared the Huoyao Bu; even with an invasion route, they dared not come in large numbers, only occasionally a few would come over.

Yet they had no resistance to spiritual materials and such; even ordinary melons and fruits had to be plucked and nibbled a couple of times to taste, and he still didn't believe that these beasts would remain unmoved by Tai Sui Blood, which could heal a Fusang offshoot.

Now he just needed to wait here; the Lingling that smelled the scent would surely increase their invasion frequency, allowing him to farm experience while sitting.

Thinking of how one could sit at home and have experience drop from the sky, Chen Shicheng still decided to increase his investment, also as a bit of comfort for Tai Sui.

He directly picked up the Swallow-Sea Gourd, switched to the space containing Ao Blood, and carefully dropped a drop onto Tai Sui's head.

Sensing the scent of something good, the Lingling didn't come; instead, the listless Tai Sui immediately perked up, one hand catching the Ao Blood while extending two tentacles, actively squeezing at the wound, fearing the blood wouldn't be enough.

Chen Shicheng hurriedly placed the gourd under the wound, nodding in satisfaction as he watched the blood flow into it.

Now he had the nutrients for cultivating the Fusang tree trunk. Although he wasn't sure how much Tai Sui Blood was needed to fully revive the Fusang tree trunk, such a large offshoot could be cured with just ten catties of blood; Chen Shicheng believed that doing this three to five times would likely get them out of the danger zone.

By then, he could use Universal Rainfall to stimulate growth, saving a considerable amount of Tai Sui Blood, after all, constantly bleeding him made him feel a bit embarrassed.

As the flow of Tai Sui Blood increased, the strange fragrance in the air gradually grew richer.

Moreover, with a vent in the Tree Hole, the scent quickly drifted along the airflow to the outside of the cave on the other side.

Just as Chen Shicheng had expected, soon two Lingling were drawn by the scent; the moment they poked their heads out of the Tree Hole with "oh oh ah ah" cries, they instantly locked onto Tai Sui and teleported to his side without hesitation.

But as soon as they appeared, the Lingling's feet detached from their bodies, and their bodies toppled to one side.

La Tiao moved first, flashing to appear before one Lingling, its tiny claws slashing, and a spray of hot blood burst from the Lingling's neck.

Tai Sui didn't want to be outdone; while straining to keep the wound position steady so blood could flow smoothly into the gourd, the other part of its body suddenly transformed into a huge black maw, swallowing the immobilized Lingling whole.

Digestive fluids stronger than aqua regia were secreted at once; the Lingling merely struggled a few times before losing vitality.

The battle was even simpler than imagined; unfortunately, the Lingling that came were too low-level, so Chen Shicheng had no desire to intervene, but it didn't matter. After signing the pet contract, although he gained no kill experience, the dropped items would still appear in his storage slot. It was just fine, as he currently had little need for experience and only wanted the Compress Earth to an Inch skill! Over the next two days, Chen Shicheng and the two little ones guarded the cave entrance like this, with Hui Siye inside the cave relaying messages; when a Lingling of level 15 or above arrived, he would let Chen Shicheng take action.

If they were below level 15, he would leave it to La Tiao and Tai Sui to handle.

With the allure of Tai Sui Blood, Lingling would come daily unable to resist the temptation from the Tree Hole, though their numbers remained low throughout—just a scattered two or three, or occasional solo stragglers.

Nevertheless, when tallied up, he could still farm dozens a day, letting La Tiao and Tai Sui's combat power skyrocket; the only pity was that the skill Chen Shicheng wanted never dropped.

Of course, during the idle time waiting for the Lingling to walk into the trap, Chen Shicheng wasn't idle either; from time to time he would give Tai Sui a drop of Ao Blood to keep it striving.

At the same time, he was not stingy with the Ao Blood in the gourd; once it accumulated to a certain extent, he would pour it onto the Fusang tree trunk, and as a bonus splash a few Universal Rainfalls, invigorating the Fusang tree trunk.

And his efforts were not in vain; under relentless watering, the Fusang tree trunk had already grown rootlets, its canopy began to fork, and it was clearly visible that ten branches had sprouted from the very top of the trunk.

The temperature inside the Storage Bag also kept rising, the grass on the ground turning somewhat withered and yellow, leaving Chen Shicheng a bit dazed—where would La Tiao and Tai Sui live from now on? He currently didn't have a second Storage Bag capable of holding living things.

Fortunately, Chen Shicheng took advantage of his free time to drop by the Tattoo Old Lady's place for an indirect inquiry, and only then learned that the Fusang tree cannot retain its heat in its sapling stage; only after the ten branches form and it enters the growth phase will the temperature drop.

And only upon reaching maturity would the temperature around the tree trunk return to normal, concentrating at the very center leaves of the ten branches.

In other words, La Tiao and Tai Sui were homeless! La Tiao was fine—its combat power could stand alone, so it could be carried around at any time—but Tai Sui, which cannot see light and loves shade and moisture, could only suffer a bit longer, perhaps steaming in a sauna for a few more days.

However, the Fusang tree trunk brought him not only trouble but also a great surprise that made him grin from ear to ear! You see, ever since he got that huge piece of Ao Shell in hand, he had tried every means to scrape off even a speck of powder from it, to no avail, causing his Yinxiang Incense craft to fail.

But just as he was about to give up on the idea of going to the Capital City to lend support, he suddenly discovered that, under the baking of the Fusang tree trunk, the Ao Shell actually developed some invisible-to-the-naked-eye cracks.

He could swear that he had inspected that piece of Ao Shell hundreds of times, every detail memorized, and before planting the Fusang tree trunk, there had absolutely been no such cracks on it.

He pondered for a long time, and only with Hui Siye's reminder did he suddenly understand.

Since ancient times, there has been the practice of baking turtle shells for divination; although Ao Shell is not a turtle shell, it is similar.

Ordinary flames might not be able to scorch it into cracks, but the fire on the Fusang tree trunk is true solar fire; even if the current temperature isn't enough, its essence is still divine fire, so wanting to burn cracks into the Ao Shell is not wishful thinking.

However, the Fusang tree trunk is not yet mature, its firepower somewhat insufficient, so the few cracks produced cannot let Chen Shicheng easily scrape off powder.

Thus, he turned his gaze to the mature Fusang offshoot atop the Huoyao Bu mountain peak.

It is said that at the central bird's nest position of those ten forked branches, the leaves have been burning with true solar fire year-round. (End of chapter)