Destroying the Dao Essence

Stare—

Ling Wanbai stood straight in front of Xun Xue, her arms wrapped around a pile of wet clothes soaked in potion.

Her eyes were waveless, yet they clearly conveyed a silent accusation: The mess your cub made, you are responsible for.

“Ahem, give me the clothes, I’ll send someone to wash them.”

Xun Xue coughed lightly, touched the tip of her nose guiltily, and hurriedly took the pile of clothes.

She deftly took out two sticks of crystal-clear candied haws.

Ling Wanbai remained expressionless, but her hand reached out to take the candied haws without a moment’s hesitation.

Then, Xun Xue turned to Lu Qiancha, a realization rising in her heart. This little guy of mine seems to have become more aggressive after being beaten up and experiencing the sinister nature of the world.

However, on second thought, it wasn’t a bad thing. At least she didn’t have to worry about her being bullied outside.

Just as she was thinking this, Ling Wanbai, who had been quietly gnawing on her candied haws, silently moved to Lu Qiancha’s side and sat down next to her.

“Hmph, ignoring you, bad shrine official.”

Lu Qiancha tossed her little head, and her fluffy, deep blue wolf tail hit Ling Wanbai’s arm with a “thwack.”

“…”

Ling Wanbai was silent for three seconds. Then, very naturally, she held out the candied haws in her hand, which she hadn’t started eating yet, to Lu Qiancha’s little face. Her voice was flat and waveless: “I’ll share a stick with you.”

“Hm?” Lu Qiancha’s little ears instantly pricked up. Her blue eyes darted a quick glance at the candied haws that were close at hand, glistening temptingly.

The next second.

Lu Qiancha’s pink, tender little tongue shot out with a “whoosh” and took a big lick of the largest, roundest hawthorn berry.

The little wolf cub announced righteously: “I’ve already licked it! No take-backs.”

“No take-backs. Take it.”

Ling Wanbai’s voice remained indifferent.

“…Thank you.”

Only then did Lu Qiancha accept it “reluctantly,” her small face slightly red, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz: “I forgive you.”

As she spoke, Lu Qiancha’s little head actively arched toward Ling Wanbai, and the soft tips of her ears rubbed against Ling Wanbai’s slightly cool cheek: “You can pet my ears.”

“Okay.”

Ling Wanbai followed the advice readily, reaching out with the hand not holding the candied haws to gently rub Lu Qiancha’s little head.

“Purr~”

Lu Qiancha immediately narrowed her eyes in comfort, looking very content. In fact, when Ling Wanbai tentatively tried to withdraw her hand, she would subconsciously raise her little head slightly, chasing the warm, cool touch that was about to leave.

Xun Xue leaned back slightly.

It’s good that she’s more aggressive, but how come she also seems easier to coax and easier to trick now…

I feel like she’s even easier to kidnap.

Xun Xue felt she had to start worrying again.

“Ahem,” Xun Xue cleared her throat, forcibly suppressing her surging thoughts, and then ordered the two: “I’m going to send someone to deal with these clothes.”

“You two…”

Her gaze swept over the two little ones nestling together: “If you want any pastries or snacks, go directly to the front courtyard and tell the maids on duty. They will arrange it.”

“Mm-hm.”

Lu Qiancha, with the candied haws in her mouth, nodded obediently, her cheeks bulging.

Ling Wanbai also nodded expressionlessly.

Once Xun Xue’s figure disappeared from the doorway.

Lu Qiancha immediately took out the ice wolf statue and stuffed it into Ling Wanbai’s arms with a ‘clatter,’ saying, “I want to recharge it.”

“Twenty incense.”

Ling Wanbai didn’t even lift her eyelids, her voice flat.

Lu Qiancha’s claw tip swiped in the void, and twenty wisps of incense flowing with purple-gold starlight and containing Taiyin wealth energy instantly merged into an inconspicuous wolf-head jade talisman at Ling Wanbai’s waist.

Ling Wanbai took the statue and produced a palm-sized, ancient, and weathered bronze censer with a wolf head from somewhere. Her expression instantly became incomparably pious and solemn. Closing her eyes in silent prayer, spiritual energy flowed from her fingertips, outlining profound runes above the censer.

A moment later, the censer flashed with a faint light, and she handed the “refilled” statue back to Lu Qiancha.

Ling Wanbai’s voice remained flat: “The Great Spirit Venerable has a decree. The Dao Seed within this statue has blossomed and borne fruit.”

“Eh?” Lu Qiancha was somewhat surprised. So the slaughter caused in the illusion earlier could also stimulate the growth of the Dao Seed.

Although she already had a Slaughter Dao Resonance, what if swallowing this could strengthen that long spear?

No loss either way, I have to try.

She took the statue, and her spiritual sense carefully probed into it.

Sure enough, at the core of the statue, a Dao Resonance crystal, condensed like dark red crystal and emitting a pure aura of destruction, had been nurtured.

Lu Qiancha manipulated the Trickery Cube, slowly drawing out the Dao Resonance crystal and guiding it toward the cube.

“Om.”

After a hum, the cube twisted and transformed into five cards with a brownish-yellow base.

Lu Qiancha picked one up curiously, took a closer look, and was struck with awe.

In the center of the card was printed a grey-black mushroom with an extremely arrogant and domineering appearance.

The mushroom cap was huge, with a scarlet, blood-like lightning scar running through the center.

It looked like something you shouldn’t mess with.

Below the card was a line of crooked small text that read—

[Doom-shroom]

[Explodes when planted. Sleeps during the day.]

The other four cards were variants of this Doom-shroom. Three of them were [Mini Doom-shroom] with smaller bodies and fainter scars.

And one [Ice Doom-shroom] covered in deep blue ice crystals, emitting a dense chill.

Lu Qiancha: “…”

Lu Qiancha glanced up at Ling Wanbai. So the Great Spirit Venerable gave a Destruction Dao Seed, not a Slaughter Dao Seed.

I misjudged.

She happily put the “Mushroom Family Bucket” cards back into the cube, then stuffed it into her storage pouch. The little wolf cub changed into the disguise of a cool, handsome youth and walked toward the door.

“Where are you going?”

Ling Wanbai reached out and grabbed a corner of Lu Qiancha’s clothes, asking.

“To refine pills.”

Lu Qiancha answered. The ingredients for the Shapeshifting Pill were all ready; delay leads to trouble.

Hearing this, Ling Wanbai immediately let go and sat back in her original spot, expressionlessly gnawing on the stick of candied haws that Lu Qiancha hadn’t finished and had licked.

Lu Qiancha walked like the wind and soon arrived at the royal palace’s exclusive alchemy area. After a simple greeting to the pill boy guarding the door, Lu Qiancha familiarly slipped into a vacant pill room.

“Crash!”

Various prepared spiritual materials were arranged in an orderly manner on the jade table by her. Lu Qiancha recalled the recipe in her memory.

Holding her breath and concentrating, she controlled her spiritual energy like silk threads with her fingertips.

Following the steps she had practiced thousands of times in her mind, she threw the materials one by one into the red copper pill furnace surging with earth fire.

The furnace fire burned steadily, and the medicinal fragrance gradually filled the air.

There were no mix-ups like last time.

A moment later, the furnace fire gradually died down.

Lu Qiancha carefully lifted the scorching lid of the furnace, and a strange, refreshing medicinal fragrance instantly filled the pill room.

Lying quietly at the bottom of the furnace was a round, flawless Shapeshifting Pill, with three clear, profound pill veins flowing across its surface.

“Only one pill from one set of materials?” Lu Qiancha raised an eyebrow. The yield of this pill is a bit touching…

However, Lu Qiancha didn’t mind too much; as long as the goal was achieved. She directly removed her disguise, grabbed the pill that still carried the furnace’s heat, and swallowed it with a “gulp.”

The medicinal power instantly dissolved like a gentle warm current.

She guided most of the medicinal power to gather toward her two paws.

Under the soft white light, the wolf paws covered in fine, soft fur slowly stretched and deformed, finally transforming into a pair of small human hands that looked like carved fine jade.

With a thought, she guided the remaining small stream of medicinal power to her tail, making it a size bigger.

The original tail was still too small; I had to curl up slightly to hug it while sleeping at night.