The Hall of Great Derivation. Mu Xueyi lay still upon the bed, eyes closed, her expression serene, not at all like someone unconscious, but rather deep in slumber. Beside the bed, Mu Qingyi stood motionless, gazing at Mu Xueyi's face, an exact mirror of her own, a sorrow that refused to dissipate clouding her brow.

"Mother."

A soft call broke the silence, coming from Mu Qingying, who had entered unnoticed and was now tugging gently at Mu Qingyi's sleeve.

After learning that Mu Qingyi had been possessed by the spiritual thought from the Abyss of Depravity, Mu Qingying had been deeply confused for a time. However, seeing the look in Mu Xueyi's eyes when she awoke, Mu Qingying knew that the woman who had raised her was the true Mu Qingyi, not the mere spiritual thought.

The reality was indeed so: although Mu Qingyi was controlled by that spiritual thought, the lingering consciousness did not exert its influence constantly. When her existence was not directly threatened, Mu Qingyi retained a degree of autonomy, enough to have adopted Mu Qingying as a daughter. If her spirit had been completely eroded by the spiritual thought, such an act would have been entirely impossible.

Of course, the moment Mu Qingyi attempted any action detrimental to that spiritual thought, her small measure of autonomy would be instantly stripped away. For these twenty years, that sliver of the "Great Derivation Spirit Venerable's" spiritual thought and Mu Qingyi had coexisted in this strange manner.

Glancing back at her daughter, Mu Qingying smiled faintly, about to speak, when a deafening roar suddenly exploded, shaking even the Hall of Great Derivation.

"Mother, that came from the Wood Spirit Hall," Mu Qingying said urgently, steadying her delicate frame.

"Indeed."

Mu Qingyi nodded, and seeing her daughter’s anxious expression, she could not help but chuckle. "Child, do not worry. The three City Lords are already watching over that place. City Lords Yijun and Yaotong must be rushing there now, too. No matter what great upheaval occurs over there, five City Lords are more than enough to keep the little one safe and sound."

"I... I wasn't worried about him," Mu Qingying murmured, her cheeks flushing slightly as she huffed, though her eyes inevitably drifted towards the direction of the Wood Spirit Hall.

"He is your man; who else would you worry about if not him? Surely you are not worried about that decayed Wood Spirit Hall?" Mu Qingyi laughed softly.

"I..."

Mu Qingying started to speak, but upon seeing Mu Xueyi lying peacefully on the bed, she pouted and fell silent.

The situation had become clear now; Mu Qingying understood that Mu Kong’s participation in the Heart Rite Ceremony was not for her sake, but an opportunity to approach her mother. Hearing he was Xue Yi’s son, and how terribly her mother had treated Xue Yi, and that his older brother was dead—even though her mother had been controlled by that spiritual thought at the time—those acts were accomplished through her mother. It seemed hopeless for anything to blossom between her and him.

The thought left a hollow ache in Mu Qingying's heart.

"Qingying, do not be sad. Mother will help you get what you wish for," Mu Qingyi knew what her daughter was worrying about, gently stroking her soft, long hair as she smiled tenderly.

"Mother, I’m not sad."

Mu Qingying's eyes reddened, her voice suddenly catching with a tremor...

Outside the Wood Spirit Hall.

The coiled "Thousand Thorn Ink Dragon Whip" continuously expanded and contracted, with rumbling explosions sounding one after another. The faces of Mu Tianfei, Mu Yulin, Mu Yijun, and Mu Yaotong grew increasingly grim as they noticed Mu Lengxing’s Heart Manifestation beginning to tremble slightly.

"Hoo."

A flash appeared between Mu Yaotong’s brows, and a massive, ethereal azure phantom shot into the sky. Petals unfurled, casting blue radiance like a rain of blossoms across the sky, showering down onto Mu Lengxing’s "Thousand Thorn Ink Dragon Whip." In an instant, the scattered specks of faint light vanished entirely into the whip.

Immediately, Mu Lengxing seemed spiritually invigorated; the trembling "Thousand Thorn Ink Dragon Whip" returned to its original state.

But the booming sound began anew, the scattered, explosive power raging wildly in all directions, as if the surrounding rings of the "Thousand Thorn Ink Dragon Whip" might shatter at any moment. Unlike the chaos outside, Nie Kong, situated at the very center of the storm of power, remained utterly untouched.

"Boom!"

After countless impacts, the invisible barrier finally burst apart with a loud crack.

At that moment, Nie Kong, whose cultivation had just reached the Third Stage of Spirit Transformation, broke through again to the Fourth Stage of Spirit Transformation. Abundant ink-green spiritual power flooded into his meridians, and an endless sense of strength surged forth from his limbs and bones.

He ceased circulating his spiritual power; the Yin-Yang diagram within his acupoints gradually stilled, then dissolved into spiritual energy, flowing within the cavities.

"Hoo."

Nie Kong let out a long breath. Just as he was about to open his eyes, he suddenly noticed a sliver of green creeping in quietly from the bottom of the Yaochi Acupoint. It scooped up a small mass of ink-green spiritual energy before swiftly darting back out. Nie Kong was quite surprised; the green wisp was the innate medicinal power extended by the little fellow from the Yaochi Acupoint.

After the little fellow absorbed that clump of spiritual energy, another green wisp extended into the acupoint, beckoning the spiritual power to retract. This happened several times in succession; the little fellow was diligently busy, his movements extremely slight, as if afraid Nie Kong might notice—like a tiny mouse sneaking food in the kitchen.

Observing for a moment, Nie Kong was secretly delighted. The little fellow could actually absorb this newly generated spiritual power! Wouldn't that make things much easier for him in the future? He wouldn't have to risk his life searching for medicinal herbs to stuff into this bottomless pit, nor would he have to wait for Qing Yue's strength to recover so she could help him separate and cultivate various herbs.

"Xiangxiang," Nie Kong whispered internally.

"Ayayaya!"

The little fellow was startled, hastily dropping the small ball of spiritual energy he was halfway through moving. The green wisp whooshed back into the Yaochi Acupoint.

Then, the little fellow chirped loudly while shaking its stem, leaves, and roots. It even extended a few strands of its innate medicinal power into the pet pack, returning the red liquid bead at the bottom of the "Fire Tree Silver Flower," and before absorbing anything, it lifted the bead with its roots and dangled it near Nie Kong’s Spirit God Acupoint a few times.

Herbs are the main course, and spiritual energy is a snack?

Nie Kong instantly understood the meaning behind the little fellow’s actions, finding it both amusing and frustrating. Was the little thing actually differentiating between main meals and snacks?

"Ayayaya...." The little fellow repeatedly nodded its tiny flower bud, fawningly scratching Nie Kong’s acupoints with its roots.

"Is that truly the case?"

Nie Kong was skeptical; the little fellow’s actions all seemed to betray a guilty conscience. Under suspicion, Nie Kong probed through their mental connection and finally discovered that while the little fellow could indeed sustain itself on spiritual energy normally, when it came to crucial advancement, it still relied on medicinal herbs.

Nie Kong couldn't help but smile. It seemed the little fellow was afraid he would stop preparing herbs for it, so it offered a subtle lie.

"Ayayaya...." The little fellow drooped its leaves in dejection, then curled into a ball, with only a few roots dangling outside, adopting a pose of "I am deeply wounded."

"Heh heh."

Qing Yue’s triumphant laughter echoed in his mind. "Nie Kong, that little thing likes your spiritual energy, and I, your grandmother, like it very much too. To tell you the truth, your spiritual energy is practically prepared especially for me. As long as you can provide me with spiritual energy every day, I don't even care about the little one's fragrance. Hmph, if I had known earlier that you could cultivate spiritual energy like this, I wouldn't need your fragrance as an offering; I'd cling to you anyway."

"Huh?"

Nie Kong was left speechless, realizing that all his desperate cultivation might just end up turning him into a food warehouse for the little fellow and this thousand-year-old herb spirit.

"Little fellow, it seems you haven't grasped the true value of your spiritual energy. Well then, perhaps Grandmother should enlighten you."

Qing Yue spoke with an air of aged authority. "After cultivating for so long, haven't you noticed the difference between the spiritual energy converted from your power and that bit of 'Spirit Treasure Essence Qi' from the Wood Ancestor... Never mind, you’ve already noticed. That’s right, your current spiritual energy is 'Spirit Treasure Essence Qi.' However, your 'Spirit Treasure Essence Qi' differs from the 'Spirit Treasure Essence Qi' the Wood Ancestor extracted from the heart of the tree. Do you want to know how?"

"Of course, I do," Nie Kong quickly replied, annoyed that this little thing was learning to create suspense.

"If you want to know, it's simple. Call me Grandmother first." Qing Yue said playfully.

"Get lost. Say it or don't say it. If you don't, can't I just go ask the Wood Ancestor?" Nie Kong retorted crossly, feeling this little thing was not only building suspense but also showing off.

"Don't... don't..." Qing Yue quickly called out. This was a prime opportunity to display her vast knowledge; missing it would be unbearable! "Your Spirit Treasure Essence Qi has merged vitality and death energy, and more importantly, these two elements have reached a balance within your spiritual power. The Wood Ancestor's Spirit Treasure Essence Qi is overwhelmingly vitality, with only a tiny fraction of death energy, which was tainted by the 'Dark Blood Spirit Worms.'"

"So that's how it is," Nie Kong realized with a sudden enlightenment.

Qing Yue spoke fluently: "This world is composed of life and death. If life and death were unbalanced, this place would have collapsed long ago. Like the Wood Ancestor, with most of his Spirit Treasure Essence Qi being vitality and only a speck of death energy—how could that suffice? Of course, if the vast majority were death energy, that wouldn't work either. You could say the Spirit Treasure Essence Qi you cultivate is closer to the origin of heaven and earth than the Wood Ancestor's."

By the end, Qing Yue was visibly excited: "After hearing Grandmother’s words, aren't you extremely thrilled? You should be; Grandmother is thrilled too. With this kind of Spirit Treasure Essence Qi, not only can my true body be recondensed, but my soul can also recover quickly."

"Thrilled? I don't particularly feel that way," Nie Kong smiled gently. "Qing Yue, how much Spirit Treasure Essence Qi do you need to recondense your body?"

"Not much; reaching the level outside will be about enough," Qing Yue replied happily.

"The level outside?"

Nie Kong opened his eyes and realized he could no longer see the heavens and earth, nor the "Demonic Spirit Black Demon Vine," nor the Wood Spirit Hall shrouded beneath the vines. All around him was nothing but an ocean of ink-green.

What shocked Nie Kong the most was the unbelievably violent power contained within this ink-green ocean. If it surged toward him, let alone someone at the Fourth Stage of Spirit Transformation plus the soul of a medicine spirit, even a cultivator at the Cave Spirit Realm would likely be pulverized into dust by that terrifying force!