From that moment on, Ming Long became a part of Wu Yu's life.
It had not sunk in for him yet. It had been just two days since she had appeared, but they could have known each other for a hundred years or more.
At present, the thing he coveted most dearly was a way to save Princess Wu You.
No time to lose.
Wu Yu hurried towards Raw Sun Mountain Range with demented speed.
"You punk. All you have is spiritual power, but not even a single dao technique."
"Can you teach me?"
"Fat hope. A full one yuan has passed. I've lost most of my memories, let alone spiritual arts."
"Then why do you still remember the Great Way of Immortality Art?"
"Of course I do. I've been languishing in this staff day after day, staring at the thing a million times. Could I forget that?"
No wonder.
Besides, they were new to each other, but she had already imparted the Great Way of Immortality Art to him, which was very charitable of her.
Wu Yu believed that everything in this world had a price.
Ming Long had mentioned the God's Way Pill; otherwise, Wu Yu would not have let her help him for free.
As for dao techniques, he would learn them from Feng Xueya after he returned to the Bipo Mountain Range.
After he condensed his qi, he funnelled his spiritual power into his legs, creating a gust of wind that boosted his speed. A combination of physical and spiritual power augmented his speed. The journey which had taken him half a day before now took eight hours.
On the cliff, the Lifegiving Fruit had already been taken away. All that was left was an ink-black root. Upon closer inspection, the root had sharp but fine thorns that glinted in the light.
On the ground lay a few black birds. They must have been attracted by the sweet smell after Jiang Junlin left but had died from the poison of the Lifegiving Fruit's roots.
"This root is a great thing. If you make it into a poison pill, it could kill off three people at the fifth tier of the Qi Condensation Realm, no problem."
Ming Long's remaining memories still had some knowledge of the Lifegiving Fruit's existence.
The Lifegiving Fruit was an immortal root-level treasure. It was worth more than 100 Spirit Concentration Pills. As for the root, it was worth about 30 Spirit Concentration Pills.
"How should I harvest it?" After all, this root was poisonous.
"One God's Way Pill, don't you forget it," Ming Long reminded him again. She did not want to help him for nothing....
"Don't worry, I'll definitely give it to you if I have it."
"Alright. First, dig out the whole root and stem. And remember not to touch it. Otherwise, I can't save you."
"Alright."
Wu Yu used the Demon Subduing Staff to shatter the surrounding rocks. The black root followed the rubble, tumbling out. Although the root was only three feet long, but the stalk was thick and coarse, about 30 feet long. It was also filled with poison.
"And then?"
Wu Yu used the Demon Subduing Staff to lift the entire stem and root body.
"Use fire to burn it. Burn away all the toxin."
"That's it?"
"That is indeed it, but without me, how would you know about the marvellous properties of this thing? Let me tell you, one God's Way Pill's definitely a steal."
"I understand."
Although he did not know if this avaricious thing was over the moon, at least it was of great use to Wu Yu.
The Demon Subduing Staff had a Fire Array, and Wu Yu channelled his spiritual power into the Demon Subduing Staff. As he poured it into the staff, the Demon Subduing Staff burst into flames.
Wu Yu extended the Demon Subduing Staff and began to burn the roots.
Black air began to rise from the burning parts, withering all that it touched. The birds that flew past fell by the flock as well, dead from the poison.
As for Wu Yu, he was a little affected as well just from standing nearby.
Luckily, his Invincible Vajra Body was resilient enough for him to resist it.
"How much longer?"
"Keep burning."
After a couple of hours, Ming Long finally let him stop.
Wu Yu swished the root in the river. After all the burnt waste was flushed away by the water, what lay before him was a pristine, snow-white root and stem.
It was potent with immortal essence, more than Wu Yu had ever seen before!
"It's ready."
Ming Long could not resist a cackle. One God's Way Pill, acquired.
"If this kid knew that a mountain of Lifegiving Fruits still could not buy a single God's Way Pill, would he cry?"
Thinking thus, Ming Long's laughter only grew more hysterical.
"What are you laughing about?" Wu Yu saw that she was laughing strangely.
Ming Long said, "Why am I laughing? Girls that laugh have good luck."
"..."
Wu Yu took the root and stem of the Lifegiving Fruit, packed them with a profusion of spiritual qi, and placed them within the Sumeru Pouch. Without a word, he turned to rush back.
"You can cultivate it here as well."
"I have to be at Capital Wu."
He had to make every second count. Besides, he had to keep an eye on Wu You's situation.
"Don't worry. You've already completed the first tier of Invincible Vajra Body. Your foundations are top-class. This little bit of root is completely manageable for you. The root and stem are even better than the Spirit Concentration Pill. In less than two days, you can definitely open your Heaven's Hall Meridian."
It was something only the Invincible Vajra Body could achieve. Would anyone else be in such a rush to activate their second spiritual source so soon after achieving the first tier of the Qi Condensation Realm? Even if they had many Spirit Concentration Pills?
One careless step and the spiritual power would implode, reducing them to ash.
Normal constitutions, such as Situ Minglang's, would require a year or more to stabilize.
Wu Yu knew no fatigue. He bounded along the path. In another eight hours, he had returned to Capital Wu, exactly where he had been.
He lifted his head. Luckily, Wu You was still in the same position.
Another day had passed. She had grown even weaker, and fought for each breath.
"Wu You!"
This scene rended his heart. She had never suffered such hardship in her life before, while Jiang Junlin had a standoffish pose on the side. He toyed absently with a fruit in his hands, waiting for Wu Yu to take the bait.
"Jiang Junlin...."
Just at that moment, Wu Yu developed a bloodthirst for Jiang Junlin.
In the past, when the disparity was too great, he had not dared.
"Sister, I won't keep you waiting for too long!"
Wu Yu bit his lip. Although his eyes were on the verge of catching fire, reality made him calm. His best chance was through the root and stem of the Lifegiving Fruit.
In Capital Wu, he ensconced himself in a place that was suitably far off from Jiang Junlin, yet from which he could still monitor Wu You.
"Second spiritual source."
The Heaven's Hall Meridian was at the forehead, where the forehead muscles converged.
A straight line could be drawn between the sternum and forehead.
This second spiritual source needed the Heaven's Hall Meridian to be activated.
Because it was at the head, extra care needed to be taken. If control of the spiritual power slipped, then the entire cranium might explode.
"The Lifegiving Fruit's stem and roots."
Wu Yu looked at the huge immortal essence before him. It was pulsing with white light, and looked a bit like a lotus root.
"I really envy you. You can taste the delicacies of the mortal realm. May God give Ming Long a mouth once more. I'm going crazy with hunger!"
Ming Long was hopping up and down in a frenzy.
"I really hate it when others eat in front of me!" She howled to the skies and beat her little fists.
Wu Yu was unaffected by her, keeping his composure.
"Sister is in danger, but I have only one way to save her, which is to activate the second spiritual source."
Clear on this point, he focused solely on the root and stem.
"Eat them."
This was a natural immortal essence. Normally, it was difficult to process such a caliber of immortal essence, and its effects would not even be that of a Spirit Concentration Pill.
But this one was an exception. Perhaps because of the innate poison, it was very pristine inside, with no impurities.
Its purpose for existence was to nourish the Lifegiving Fruit.
"These roots. If you made pills out of them, you could get at least 60 after adding other ingredients," Ming Long said.
60 pills!
And now it seemed like a waste to activate his second spiritual source with it, but Wu Yu had no choice.
He ate it like sugar cane, absorbing while processing it. Ming Long's mouth began to water. She lost her head at times, and finally disappeared from sight altogether. She must have retreated to the Ruyi Jingu Bang.
"Great Way of Immortality Art!"
Ming Long said that this was the best Qi Condensation Spiritual Art. He had no idea if she was just bragging, but at least Wu Yu held the utmost respect for this spiritual art.
"Heaven's Hall Meridian."
This time around, he had ample dao cultivation resources - the roots and stem of a Lifegiving Fruit.
Its worth was far more than 10 Spirit Concentration Pills.
"It is time to cultivate."
With the style of alternating yin and yang, he forcefully locked the immortal essence's power within his Heaven's Hall Meridian.
Wu Yu tried to activate his spiritual source at this point. He discovered that the Great Way of Immortality Art was indeed much stronger. With its guidance, the immortal essence's energy was not wasted in the slightest. All of it directly entered his Heaven's Hall Meridian.
"Keh..."
The Heaven's Hall Meridian expanded under the stimulation, and the vortex of spiritual power was generated under the force.
An ocean of spiritual power was being activated.
He did not have much time left. He deliberately increased the pace.
"If I succeed, then I will be as strong as Senior Sister Su upon my return to the Bipo Mountain Range. They will definitely be surprised at my improvements!
"Cultivate, cultivate!"
The stem and roots of the Lifegiving Fruit continued to diminish.
The Heaven's Hall Meridian swelled. Because he had activated it too fast, Wu Yu had to withstand tremendous pressure. At present, his mental faculties were taxed to their limits. One misstep and he was dead. Even so, his brain continued to swell, and a splitting pain filled his head.
"Hold on."
A bright path lit up in his heart.
It was Wu You.
He suddenly remembered that Wu You was still tied up on the wall, weathering the rain and sun.
"Consecutively activating two spiritual sources is indeed difficult. But this kid has some grit. Back then, I got such treasures but didn't have the tenacity. I was happy-go-lucky and ended up like this. Sigh...."
Ming Long sighed deeply.
"Luckily, after oe yuan, the Ruyi Jingu Bang chose a new owner. And now I have a chance at reincarnation!
"I was born with such a high status but could not make it to immortalhood. And this brat who emerged from the Dong Sheng Divine Continent - can he do it?"
Time flew.
This day, Princess Wu You was a little disoriented. She felt like her world was about to go black.