Divine Tang Era

Chapter 116 Devouring Moonlight

After finishing his meal, Xu Dan didn't continue his cultivation but went out for a stroll.

The path of cultivation requires a balance of relaxation and rest; being too tense is not necessarily a good thing. Besides, he had already cultivated all night and needed a break.

Walking down the street, I noticed that many people were gathered together talking.

I listened closely for a while and learned that many ghosts had entered the town last night, and some people had been harmed in their homes. Today, the county government was distributing exorcising elixir for free. Although the smell was a bit strong, it was effective in driving away ghosts. This was because of the recent ghostly appearances, and the new county magistrate, out of compassion for the people, was distributing it for free; otherwise, they would have charged for it a while ago.

Xu Dan went to the yamen to check and found that the so-called "evil-repelling golden juice" was just a recipe he had sold to the night watchmen.

A huge crowd lined up, not afraid of the smell.

Back at the inn, as soon as we entered, Yunniang ran up excitedly and asked, "Young master, the county government is distributing 'exorcising elixir,' shall we go and get some?"

"Need not."

Xu Dan waved his hand and said, "Our house is protected by the Xuanwu True Lord inside and the door gods outside. The surrounding walls are also covered with runes, so it's practically an impregnable fortress. We're not afraid of any ghosts coming, so there's no need to steal those things. Besides, we have spirit talismans that are much more useful than those things."

Upon hearing his words, Yunniang stopped going and turned back to the kitchen to cook.

The black bear came running over excitedly and nuzzled against me.

Xu Dan rubbed its head. This guy has grown so much; he can even carry the little magpie around now. He wondered if it was because of all the feathers, which were obscuring its eyes, making it look a bit silly and not very bright. He'd thought about feeding it a "wisdom-enhancing fruit" before, but it seemed too small, and he was worried it would affect its development. Now that it's so big, feeding it should be fine.

Xu Dan then took the black bear back to his room and fed it a fruit that could awaken intelligence.

The black bear swallowed it whole, licked its lips, and continued to stare at its owner, wanting more.

Xu Dan was speechless, thinking it looked like Pigsy eating ginseng fruit.

After a while, the black bear didn't change much. Xu Dan rubbed its head, but it was still the same as before, silly and not smart at all. Could it be that the Enlightenment Fruit didn't work? That seemed unlikely. After Yu Longzi Pangpang ate one, he became incredibly smart, and he would quickly slip away as soon as he saw something was wrong.

"Brother, why did you bring the black bear up here?"

When the little magpie came home from school and didn't see it, she came looking for it.

Xu Dan realized it was already noon and went downstairs. The black bear tried to follow, but Xiao Que'er grabbed its tail. The black bear glanced at her, signaling her to let go. Xiao Que'er giggled and wouldn't let go. After playing around for a while, she finally released its grip.

The black bear quickly ran away, but the little magpie swiftly rushed forward, grabbed its fur, climbed onto the back of the knife, and lay there, refusing to come down.

Left with no other choice, the black bear had to carry her downstairs.

Yunniang scolded, "Didn't I tell you not to climb down the stairs on the black bear? Why didn't you listen? What if you fell and got hurt?"

"Mother, I'm so strong, I won't fall down," Little Magpie said proudly.

Yunniang tapped her head. "How amazing was he? You know the uncle who used to live across from us, right? He thought he was so great, but he broke his leg in a horse accident and now he's a cripple!"

"Uncle Huaijun is very kind; he's bought me delicious food before."

"What good is it if you still break your leg? Remember not to climb down from a black bear's back in the future, or you'll break your leg and become a cripple. Walking with a limp is so ugly."

Little Magpie imagined herself limping and said loudly with a serious face, "Mother, I will never climb on the black bear's back again."

"As long as they don't come down from upstairs, it's fine."

"Haqiu"

The black bear sneezed nearby, feeling like it was being disliked.

Because he ate the Enlightenment Fruit, Xu Dan let the black bear sleep in his room at night; otherwise, it would be sleeping in the doghouse he built in the backyard. However, the doghouse isn't called a doghouse; it's called the Mastiff's Abode. There's a couplet on it that reads, "The golden rooster crows at dawn, the black mastiff guards the home," which was Xu Dan's playful creation.

The doghouse was originally Black Bear's own place, but after he wrote it down, the rooster that crowed every day in the house also crawled in.

It's good that the black bear has a good temper; if it were a bear with a bad temper, it would probably end up as a meal.

The Nourishing Spirit Method in the Five Elements Transport Technique can only be practiced after the moon rises at night, mainly to collect moonlight.

At midnight, Xu Dan sat cross-legged on the bed, facing the direction of the bright moon. High in the sky, the bright and clear moon, beautiful and ethereal, was like a ethereal orchid, its pure gold and clear light casting a cool glow upon the heavens and earth.

The time had come. Xu Dan calmed his mind, closed his eyes, clenched his fists, and focused the five-colored light from the moon into his mouth.

The Five Sons Transporting Technique states: "There is a yellow aura in the moonlight, as large as an eye pupil. This is the essence of the Flying Yellow Moon Essence Jade Embryo. If one can cultivate it, Yu Yi will rush to the sun, and Jie Lin will rush to the moon. They will respond to each other with the same voice and seek each other with the same aura."

Following the instructions, Xu Dan visualized the moonlight and swallowed it in large gulps.

Unexpectedly, there really was something there. The moonlight entered my mouth and transformed into a cool sensation, like sweet rain nourishing my internal organs. With the harmony of Yin and Yang, my internal organs became much stronger.

Benefiting from this, Xu Dan swallowed again and again, each sip of moonlight transforming into wisps of coolness flowing through his body, nourishing his internal organs and giving him the refreshing feeling of eating ice cream on a hot day. However, the greatest benefit of moonlight was not nourishing the internal organs, but rather calming the spirit.

He opened his eyes and saw that it was already past midnight. He quickly followed the method of nourishing the spirit and guided the moonlight into his divine court.

The moonlight high in the sky shone on the windowsill and fell on Xu Dan. As if drawn by something, it all entered his brow.

Seeing this strange phenomenon, the black bear lying nearby tiptoed over, stared at its master for a while, and finding nothing amiss, lay down and closed its eyes. It wasn't just its imagination, but it felt much more comfortable around its master than anywhere else.

The moonlight entered the divine court, as if drawn by something, and surged towards the soul.

Suddenly, the golden lotus extended its petals, protecting the divine soul. Moonlight fell upon it, instantly absorbed, refined, and then integrated into the divine soul. The divine soul grew rapidly, from a grain of rice to the size of a mung bean.

Cultivation makes one oblivious to the passage of time.

After an unknown amount of time, the best time for cultivating the spirit-nourishing method passed. Xu Dan opened his eyes, sensed the changes within his body, and was overjoyed.

Clench your fist and punch hard. Although your strength hasn't increased, it feels more resilient and substantial than before. Your body feels the same way, becoming much more flexible.

Such a change in just one night made Xu Dan feel hopeful.

Looking at the sky, it was still early, so he took out the Five Elements Transporting Technique and turned to the Controlling Method at the back. In the past, he had treated the spirit child as if communicating with a friend, which sometimes resulted in a complete misunderstanding. Since there was nothing to do, he was too lazy to care and simply left it in the spirit tablet.

Now that we plan to let it grow vegetables inside the Hidden Mystery Cauldron, we have to add a layer of constraints to prevent it from becoming uncontrollable.