Mu Yudie indeed remained silent.
As she ceased to speak, Diala and Shi Yan grew increasingly awkward, exchanging glances without knowing what to say.
"Dawn is approaching," Shi Yan remarked, glancing at the sky, trying to find something to say. "How's your condition? How much of your essence has recovered?"
"Not only has it fully recovered, but I've also made some progress."
Diala secretly assessed herself, her eyes suddenly brightening. With a blush, she whispered, "Just now... it felt like... like a strange force entered my body. That peculiar energy merged with my essence and altered the area around my chest..."
Frowning, she slowly recalled, vaguely sensing that the strange force had seeped from the essence that Shi Yan had injected into her.
Shi Yan was momentarily stunned and murmured to himself, "So it was true..."
Diala's eyes sparkled with intrigue as she stared at him, "Was it related to you?"
Nodding slightly, Shi Yan smiled and explained, "I consumed many elixirs from an alchemist that I couldn't fully digest. Most of their power still lingers within me. Just now... some of that medicinal power dissolved, and a portion of it was transferred into your body."
Absorbing the essence of the dead was too sinister and bizarre a practice for Shi Yan to reveal, so he used the alchemist, Kalu, as a scapegoat, attributing the strange force to the effects of mysterious elixirs.
"These elixirs must be incredibly valuable," Diala nodded, not doubting him. After all, she had already suspected that Shi Yan had ties to an alchemist due to the poisons he used along the way.
"Yes, they should be quite precious," Shi Yan smiled, not elaborating on his connection with Kalu. After a moment of thought, he frowned and asked curiously, "You mentioned that a force seemed to have altered the muscles and meridians in your chest. Can you try to sense if there's any change?"
Shi Yan suddenly recalled the miraculous awakening of the "Petrification Martial Spirit" within him. That strange force, apart from enhancing his essence, also seemed to awaken martial spirits.
His previously dormant "Petrification Martial Spirit" had been suddenly awakened by this force, and even the emergence of the "Immortal Martial Spirit" might be related to it. Hearing Diala mention changes in her chest, he immediately had a suspicion.
"I'll try," Diala nodded slowly, concentrating on sensing the changes in her chest.
With a thought, strands of essence energy surged into her chest, between her peaks. The essence rotated for a while in the tender flesh between her breasts, undergoing a peculiar transformation, suddenly becoming searing hot.
Diala's face changed, and she hurriedly redirected the essence to her arms, letting it flow down her meridians into her right palm.
"Boom!"
A small fist-sized flame of azure blue erupted from Diala's palm, radiating intense heat. The flame flickered unsteadily in her hand, illuminating the tree hollow like a tumultuous blue sea.
"Ah!"
Diala exclaimed in surprise, her bright eyes sparkling as she leaped to her feet.
So, it was true!
Shi Yan inwardly exclaimed, his eyes narrowing slightly. He finally confirmed that the strange force could indeed awaken martial spirits within warriors!
"Blue Demon Flame!"
Diala cried out in a trembling voice, her excitement palpable, her eyes glowing with an uncontrollable fervor. "This is our family's martial spirit! I know it, it's our family's martial spirit! Since my grandfather's time, no one in our family has inherited the 'Blue Demon Flame' martial spirit. How... how is this possible?"
Mu Yudie, who had woken up earlier, stared at Diala in disbelief. "How could this be? Sister Lan, you're already twenty-seven, how could your martial spirit awaken? What... what is going on? Am I seeing things?" She rubbed her eyes forcefully, still finding it hard to believe.
"Haha!" Diala's body trembled with joy, her heart overflowing with happiness. She stared fixedly at the azure flame in her palm, her eyes gradually welling up with tears.
She wept with joy...
Shi Yan could understand her feelings.
On the Grace Continent, warriors with martial spirits held an overwhelming advantage in battles and had far greater prospects. Martial spirits were more precious to warriors than anything else. Those without martial spirits dreamed of possessing one.
For someone like Diala, whose ancestors once had martial spirits, the lack of inheritance was a mark of shame!
Such a situation could even lead a once-glorious family to decline!
Martial spirits were incredibly important to both a family and an individual.
"What exactly is going on?" Mu Yudie, dumbfounded for a long while, ignored Diala, who was lost in her joy, and turned to Shi Yan.
"Uh..." Shi Yan forced a smile. "It's hard to explain. It seems to be related to the strange medicinal power in my body. I don't even know what kind of elixirs they were. But the power is indeed peculiar, so please don't look at me like that—I really don't know much about it."
"You rascal, thank you! Thank you!" The flame in Diala's hand vanished as she suddenly embraced Shi Yan, as if trying to merge herself with him. Her body trembled with excitement.
Her ample chest pressed against Shi Yan's, distorting under the pressure, making Shi Yan secretly pleased as he began to feel a certain physiological reaction.
Diala immediately noticed and blushingly let go of him, her eyes filled with springtime charm, her lips curling into a smile as she softly scolded, "You scoundrel, you're incorrigible."
"Heh heh," Shi Yan chuckled dryly, saying nothing.
Mu Yudie, pouting in irritation, glared at them and shouted, "I'm still here! Can you two stop putting on such a steamy show?"
"You silly girl, I'm just too happy," Diala laughed and scolded her.
"But what exactly is going on?" Mu Yudie was desperate for answers.
"I don't know either," Diala shook her head, the joy in her eyes undiminished. "It's all because of him."
"You mean... after being with him, the martial spirit that hadn't awakened in your twenty-seven years and might never have awakened suddenly did?" Mu Yudie's pretty face was filled with confusion.
"As unbelievable as it is, that's the truth," Diala admitted, her face flushing.
"Could it be that... that thing of his is infused with the essence of some divine elixir?" Mu Yudie blushed too, shaking her head vigorously. "I don't believe it! It's completely illogical!"
"Ahem..." Shi Yan looked up at the tree hollow and said, "It's dawn, we should get moving."
"Yes, it's time to go," Diala was also unwilling to dwell on the matter, lest Mu Yudie say something else to embarrass her.
With that, Diala quickly climbed to the top of the tree hollow, throwing a rope down to the bottom, urging Mu Yudie to hurry up.
"I'll never believe it!" Mu Yudie was still hung up on the issue, shaking her head in disbelief. After huffing and puffing, she finally reached for the rope.
With Diala's help, Mu Yudie began to slowly ascend, moving towards the hollow's opening.
"Ah, you brute, what are you doing?" Mu Yudie suddenly screamed, her legs flailing wildly as her body swayed in midair.
"Just giving you a hand," Shi Yan said, lifting her by her hips to push her upward. "This way, it's easier for you."
"Stop it! Let go! I don't need your help!" Mu Yudie yelled, struggling so much that she accidentally lost her grip and fell.
"Thud!"
They both crashed down in the hollow.
Shi Yan lay sprawled on the ground, a look of satisfaction on his face, while Mu Yudie ended up sitting right on his waist. Her legs were still kicking, and she kept shouting, "Let go! Let go!"
Mu Yudie's full, firm hips were pressed against a certain part of Shi Yan.
Due to Diala's earlier embrace, Shi Yan was already as hard as iron. As Mu Yudie wriggled on top of him, her hips continuously rubbed against that particular spot, making Shi Yan feel so good he nearly cried out.
"You pervert! You big lecher!"
Mu Yudie quickly realized the situation. She gasped and blushed, hastily standing up while covering her backside, her eyes misting as if she were about to cry. "Sister Lan, he bullied me! This scoundrel bullied me!"
"Shh!" Diala's expression turned serious, and she made a silent gesture from above.
Shi Yan immediately stood up, the sensual scene in the hollow forgotten in an instant. He swiftly climbed up to join Diala, standing beside her and asked calmly, "What's going on?"
"A demonic beast!"
...