That stream of deep blue spiritual energy flowed through his parched and cracked meridians, like a rain-starved rice field welcoming its first spring shower.

The tiny wounds torn open by his forced cultivation dissipation were gently enveloped, nourished, and smoothed over the instant the water-like energy washed over them.

The pain receded like a tide, replaced by an unprecedented feeling of comfort and clarity.

“This…”

Su Ming was inwardly astonished.

If cultivating before was like pushing a wheelbarrow on a rugged mountain path, stumbling with every step.

Then now, he felt like a fish that had returned to the ocean.

The spiritual energy didn’t need him to deliberately guide it at all. With just a thought, it would eagerly surge into his Dantian, automatically beginning the Grand Circulation cycle along the pathways of the Like Water Art.

Qi Refining First Layer…

Qi Refining First Layer Mid-stage…

Qi Refining First Layer Peak!

In the short time it takes an incense stick to burn, Su Ming’s internal spiritual energy had refilled. Although the total amount was only half of what it was before, this deep blue water spiritual energy was pure without a single trace of impurity, and its condensation level was several times higher than the previous mixed wood spiritual energy!

“It’s actually… this fast?” Su Ming opened his eyes, looking at the flickering strand of deep blue water light on his fingertip, his eyes filled with disbelief.

“Nonsense, you think Old Man Ma’s eyes are just for show?” Lin Yu’s voice came from the ring, his tone smug as he crossed his legs (figuratively, of course), “Superior Water Spiritual Root, plus you already had a foundation, this is called ‘bringing capital into the group,’ how could leveling up not be fast?”

Suddenly, Lin Yu’s voice paused, as if he had discovered something new, his tone turning peculiar.

“Huh? Interesting… Disciple, look inward, deep into your Dantian.”

Su Ming complied and looked inward.

He saw that deep within that ocean-like expanse of blue spiritual sea, the wood-attributed spiritual root seedling that had nearly withered due to his cultivation dissipation was not submerged by the water spiritual energy at all.

On the contrary, as the pure water spiritual energy flowed past it, not only was there no rejection, it was greedily sucked up by the seedling like the sweetest milk.

The originally yellowed leaves, nourished by the water spiritual energy, actually regained a hint of tender green, even appearing more vibrant than before!

Water Nourishes Wood!

“I knew it!” Lin Yu slapped his thigh (though he didn’t have one), “The Five Elements’ mutual generation! This Like Water Art not only matches your attribute perfectly, it can actually nourish that bit of hidden wood spiritual root of yours! This isn’t a single system, this is clearly dual-core drive!”

“Disciple, you’ve hit the jackpot this time! The water element focuses on defense, endurance, and concealment; the wood element focuses on healing, vitality, and entanglement. As long as you can survive, this will be a ‘perpetual motion machine’ combo in the future!”

Although Su Ming didn’t quite understand terms like “dual-core drive,” he could clearly feel the changes in his body.

This feeling… was very stable.

When cultivating the Greenwood Longevity Art before, he always felt like there was a ball of fire inside him, restless and uneasy. Now, he felt like he had become a deep, bottomless lake.

Quiet, profound, yet containing a certain kind of unending power.

Su Ming raised his hand, and with a thought, he performed the most basic “Spirit Gathering” technique.

Unlike before, it didn’t cause violent fluctuations in the surrounding air currents. Instead, the moisture in the air slightly condensed, and a palm-sized transparent water vortex silently formed in his palm.

Although the suction wasn’t strong, the vortex’s rotation frequency was terrifyingly stable, as if it could spin like this until the end of time.

“Gentle, tolerant, enduring…” Su Ming murmured to himself, “This is the path that suits me.”

He withdrew the technique, feeling the warm current slowly flowing through his meridians.

The hidden injuries left from his life-and-death struggle with Zhao Qianshan, and even the thin, weak meridians caused by long-term malnutrition, were all being slowly repaired under the nourishment of this water spiritual energy.

This was truly nourishing things silently.

“Alright, enough basking in the feeling.” Lin Yu yawned, though he couldn’t hide the fatigue in his voice, “Since your system upgrade was successful, isn’t it time to install that ‘antivirus software’ for me?”

Su Ming was startled, then realized his master was talking about the Spirit Nourishing True Explanation.

He quickly straightened his posture, his expression solemn, “Master, your disciple will transmit the method now.”

This time, it was no longer a one-way taking.

A faint light glowed at Su Ming’s brow. He carefully, bit by bit, transmitted the golden scripture of the Spirit Nourishing True Explanation from the depths of his memory, sending it into the Xuantian ring through his divine sense.

Lin Yu didn’t speak. The entire ring fell into a deathly silence.

Su Ming could feel that the usually cold and ancient ring was now slightly warm to the touch.

An almost imperceptible, gentle white light slowly seeped out from inside the ring.

The light wasn’t dazzling, but carried a warmth that soothed the mind, like a soft silkworm cocoon, wrapping Lin Yu’s illusory Soul Body layer by layer.

“Good stuff… truly good stuff…”

After a long while, Lin Yu’s voice, carrying a slight tremor of admiration, finally drifted out.

“This isn’t just a cultivation method, this is practically ‘miracle water’ for a Soul Body! I feel like those soul fragments of mine that were about to crack apart are being glued back together, bit by bit…”

Su Ming keenly noticed that as Lin Yu cultivated, the nearly invisible fine cracks on the inner wall of the Xuantian ring were also, under the nourishment of the white light, healing at an extremely slow pace.

Although this repair process consumed a tremendous amount of soul power—Lin Yu’s aura was even weaker than before—the connection between him and the ring had become unprecedentedly close.

If Lin Yu was just a tenant living in the ring before, now he was gradually becoming the ring’s true “vessel spirit.”

“Master, how do you feel?” Su Ming asked with concern.

“Feel?” Lin Yu chuckled, his voice weak but carrying an unprecedented sense of ease, “It feels like I’ve finally been transferred from the ICU to a regular ward. I still need an IV drip, but at least I don’t have to worry about being dragged away by the Black and White Impermanence at any moment. Although the specific effects of this method aren’t fully clear yet, it’s more than sufficient for now.”

“Disciple, this gift, your master accepts it.”

The rare serious tone made Su Ming’s eyes feel slightly warm.

He lowered his head, hiding the emotion in his eyes, and said softly, “Master, you speak too gravely. Without you, Su Ming would have long been a pile of bones at the river bottom.”

“Alright, alright, enough of this sentimental stuff, I’m getting goosebumps.” Lin Yu immediately reverted to his usual irreverent tone, “We’re a community of shared interests. Me staying alive means I can protect you; you getting stronger means you can support me in my old age. This is called… what was it… a win-win!”

“Now that both our ‘software’ has been upgraded, next, we should research the development of the ‘application layer.'”

Lin Yu shifted the topic, steering it toward the field that also stirred Su Ming’s heart—formations.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep