Has the Ice Block Gone Bad

"Is your Hundred-Flavored Fruit sweet?"

"Sweet."

"Turn your face this way."

"Fine, it does taste a bit strange..."

Little Li had just taken a bite of the fruit, and he guessed his handsome face was now twisted into something resembling Zhu Zhu Xia's expression, so he turned his head aside.

Well, how to put it? He tasted a flavor of "vicissitude" in this fruit—was that even a taste fruit should have?

He really shouldn’t have eaten anything brought by that ice block...

But then again.

Such a cold, aloof ice block, holding out her heart to you—what kind of person could resist such a test?

"Mine tastes..."

Ying Bing took another small bite of her fruit, her cheeks moving slightly.

"Quite sweet."

"Then let me try yours."

Li Mo skeptically leaned over and took a bite from the fruit in her hand, only to grimace as if he’d eaten a sour black plum.

"Ice block, you’re hurting yourself just to hurt me..."

Li Mo opened his mouth, ready to spit it out.

Splat—

A delicate, icy hand covered his mouth.

Little Li’s eyes widened as he clearly saw the faint curve of a smile and a shallow dimple on the girl’s lips.

The ice block had learned to be mischievous.

If she wasn’t playing fair, then Little Li didn’t have to be a gentleman either.

"This fruit..."

Ying Bing was about to explain when a wave of warmth spread from her palm, like a faint electric current coursing through her body.

She couldn’t help but press her lips together and slightly retract her swan-like neck.

"Hmph..."

Little Li smirked triumphantly.

Suddenly, a surge of warmth rose from his dantian, reaching straight into his heart.

What flowed into his heart, rippling across the lake of his emotions—was it sentiment?

He saw a young man and woman standing beneath a tree of fate. The young man, full of ambition, vowed to make his mark in the southern frontier and return to make her a general’s wife. But when the girl came again, she wore mourning white, hanging a bamboo token on the tree’s branches.

There were also childhood sweethearts, happy and content, pledging lifelong companionship under the same tree, only to be torn apart by war. When they met again beneath the tree in old age, praying side by side, they no longer recognized each other.

And a little monk, skipping morning lessons to play, encountered the most beautiful and dreamlike azure phoenix he would ever see in his life beneath that tree.

Later, he became the abbot of Xuankong Temple, spending half his life trying to forget that single moment...

These were the flavors he had tasted.

"This fruit contains the power of the masses—the myriad flavors of life. That’s why it’s called the Hundred-Flavored Fruit."

"It has remarkable effects on strengthening the soul."

Accompanying the girl’s voice was the radiant glow of the lunar essence and the divine light of the jade phoenix.

Thus, amidst the ocean of emotions, Li Mo’s resolve remained unshaken.

Maintaining the form of a Mingjiao, or any other demonic transformation, had always yielded minimal results in soul cultivation.

But now, Li Mo felt his soul stirring restlessly.

The effect was immediate, surpassing all the rare treasures he had consumed before.

The icy hand finally withdrew.

"The power of the masses?"

Little Li could finally speak normally again.

"Yes. When one receives offerings and the faith of others, they absorb the power of the masses."

Ying Bing tucked her slightly curled fingers behind her back, feigning nonchalance.

"The method of envisioning oneself as a deity typically involves devouring this power to strengthen the soul."

"Like those half-demons, for instance."

Li Mo pondered thoughtfully.

Now he understood what he had seen that day on the Wuling. No wonder they had asked Wu Dameng to put on a show. By the same logic, fear could also generate the power of the masses.

The more the people feared, the more they would worship and rely on the so-called Wuling, offering even greater devotion.

After just two bites of the Hundred-Flavored Fruit, the strengthening of his soul was visibly apparent.

If he could obtain it regularly, how fast would his cultivation progress?

As if sensing his thoughts, Ying Bing said seriously,

"Such shortcuts come with severe drawbacks. Otherwise, the Demon-Summoning Sect wouldn’t be considered a heretical cult."

"Ah? Then the fruit we just ate..."

"The Hundred-Flavored Fruit takes millennia to bloom and bear fruit. It’s extremely pure—eating one won’t harm you."

Only then did Li Mo relax.

Glancing at the fruit in his hand, he knew it was incredibly precious. Finishing it would likely push him to a breakthrough.

But he hesitated, afraid he might vomit if forced to endure its taste.

"Ice block, help me out."

"Mm." Ying Bing thought he meant dual cultivation and reached out to hold his hand.

Li Mo shook his head and pursed his lips. "Here."

Covering his own mouth probably wouldn’t work.

Ying Bing pressed her jade-like lips together. "Just find something to cover it. Same effect."

"This fruit is too disgusting. I can’t eat it unless it’s paired with something tasty."

Li Mo spoke with utmost seriousness, recalling the entire ordeal of eating the Hundred-Flavored Fruit.

"?"

Ying Bing stared at him expressionlessly. Why not ask me to stuff my foot in your mouth while you’re at it?

But after a moment’s thought, she couldn’t resist his earnest, gentlemanly expression. Fine, she’d treat it as patting his face.

"No sticking out your tongue..."

"I promise!"

Li Mo declared firmly, his gaze unwavering.

Unless he couldn’t help it.

And so.

Little Li and the ice block added another new position to their dual cultivation repertoire.

"Huh? What’s going on here?"

Murong Xiao had been searching for Li Mo for a while. He was about to leave the southern borders with Xuankong Temple and wanted to bid farewell.

Wu Qing and Murong Feng, his parents, had come along. Upon seeing the scene, they immediately halted, even pulling their son back before he could approach.

"They’re cultivating," Murong Feng coughed lightly.

"Eh?"

Murong Xiao stared blankly at his parents. Not only had he never seen such a cultivation pose, he’d never even heard of it.

But his mother nodded in agreement. Since both parents said so, Murong Xiao believed them.

"I was going to ask Brother Li to cook something. His food is amazing."

"And now?"

"Not that hungry anymore."

Murong Xiao watched his affectionate parents and the dual-cultivating couple nearby, rubbing his shiny bald head.

Suddenly.

A faint ripple of energy spread through the air.

"A breakthrough? They really were dual cultivating?"

Murong Feng was stunned.

"Li Mo... this kid reached the fourth aperture of Soul Observation?" Wu Qing’s eyes widened slightly.

Murong Xiao: "?"

So it wasn’t that earlier?

A childhood without being fooled by one’s parents is incomplete. In this moment, Murong Xiao’s childhood grew a little more whole.

A joyous occasion indeed.

The next moment.

The divine light of the jade phoenix blazed brilliantly. Li Mo decided to seize the momentum of his breakthrough to further refine his Seventy-Two Transformations.

Meanwhile, Ying Bing needed to gather the divine intent of a hundred avian spirits to condense her phoenix divinity, absorbing the many true spirits within the jade phoenix’s light.

The radiance intensified, countless true spirits manifesting in a spectacle that illuminated the aquatic realm’s cavern.

"Dad, Mom, you..."

"Son, don’t speak. Observe the divine."

Murong Feng pressed his son down, making him sit cross-legged.

Wu Qing went to notify the rest of the aquatic tribe, urging them to gather nearby and use the divine jade’s true spirits to enhance their bloodline power.