"It worked!"
Even You You, within the jade slip, sensed the change and exclaimed in delight, "Master! Your aura successfully mimics the thousand-year Ironwood! It might not fool the top-tier beings, but it'll definitely confuse most spirit plants' instincts!"
Xie Zhaolin nodded slightly, though her gaze stayed sharp.
"But this is only a temporary fix," she said calmly. "How long can it last?"
You You's voice dropped, tinged with helplessness. "That... depends. As long as you don't fight or burn through too much spiritual power, it should hold for about ten days, maybe half a month. But once your spiritual energy fluctuates violently, the disguise will start to crack. Besides..."
She paused, her tone turning grave. "This technique only hides and mimics, it doesn't eliminate the problem."
"The essence of the Rebirth Flower is still inside you. It's like a pearl covered in dust—dust can hide its shine for a while, but not its value. To beings with sharp senses or high cultivation, it's still a beacon."
Xie Zhaolin stayed silent for a moment.
She'd already expected this result.
"Is there a way to remove it completely, or refine it into my own essence?" she asked directly.
You You sighed, a bitter smile forming on her tiny face. "Hard! Incredibly hard!"
"The Rebirth Flower's origin power is on a completely different level. Refining or absorbing it fully isn't something you can do easily."
She continued, "Normally, to fuse it completely and make it part of your own essence without leaks, you'd need at least a Nascent Soul cultivation. And even then, it'd take decades—maybe centuries—of slow, careful refinement.
There's another way, but it's even harder," You You said, her voice carrying a touch of awe.
"When breaking through to the Nascent Soul, you could use the baptism of the heavenly thunder during the Thunder Tribulation to transform your life force completely, locking the Rebirth Flower's power into your Yuányīng and merging it perfectly!
If that worked, not only would the danger vanish, but you'd gain immense benefits."
She glanced at Xie Zhaolin, her expression full of reluctant admiration... and doubt.
"It's just..." her voice dropped to a murmur, "breaking through to Nascent Soul is easier said than done. For most cultivators, even a hundred years might not be enough. By the time you reach that level, the Rebirth Flower's power might've already refined itself naturally."
The meaning was clear: she'd need Nascent Soul strength to solve it completely, but by then, the problem might no longer exist.
So for now, using the Breath Concealing Wood Transformation Art to stay hidden was the more practical choice.
But the moment Xie Zhaolin heard "thunder tribulation" and "breakthrough," her eyes flashed with sharp determination.
She wasn't thinking about the distant Nascent Soul. She was thinking about the much nearer Golden Core.
"What about the Golden Core tribulation?" she suddenly asked, cutting off You You mid-sentence. "When breaking through to the Golden Core, thunder will also descend. It's not as powerful as the Nascent Soul's, but it still tempers the body, condenses the Primordial Soul, and purifies spiritual power.
If I use that thunder's power along with the right techniques, could I suppress or even partially seal the Rebirth Flower's aura?"
You You froze, clearly not expecting that line of thought.
The thunder of a Golden Core tribulation was far weaker than the Nascent Soul's, so no one would usually consider it a solution to such a problem. But thinking it through... maybe it wasn't impossible.
"This..." she hesitated, then quickly searched through her inherited memories.
After a few breaths, her eyes lit up.
"Master, your idea... might actually work!" she said, her voice rising in excitement. "The Golden Core tribulation might not be as fierce, but it's still a test of the heavens. Its thunder can purify and suppress foreign auras!
If you operate a sealing or suppressing art during that time, it might really use the thunder's cleansing power to press down the Rebirth Flower's aura!
It won't erase it completely like the Nascent Soul breakthrough could, but it'll weaken the leak a lot, making you much safer.
And once you form your Golden Core," she added confidently, "your spiritual power, divine sense, and control over your body will all improve greatly. The Breath Concealing Wood Transformation Art will work far better, last longer, and make you much harder to detect."
Xie Zhaolin listened in silence, a decisive light growing in her eyes.
"Good," she said in a low, firm voice. "Then our next step is clear—we find a way to break through to the Golden Core."
With the Breath Concealing Wood Transformation Art hiding her for now and a clear goal ahead, her plan finally came together.
But reality hit fast: where could she find the right opportunity to break through?
Staying here, in this quiet but spiritually thin outer zone, wasn't going to work.
Too slow.
She could feel that she was already at the edge of breakthrough. What she needed wasn't more slow cultivation—it was a spark, a moment that shattered the barrier between realms. Such a moment could come from life-and-death battle, a revelation about the world, or pressure from an extreme environment. And those things didn't exist out here.
Her gaze shifted, falling on the deeper part of the Endless Beast Plains. That place was far more dangerous. Stronger beasts roamed there, strange spirit plants thrived, and opportunities—along with death—were everywhere.
Going deeper would massively increase her risk of exposure.
The Breath Concealing Wood Transformation Art wasn't foolproof. Against stronger beings, it could fail at any moment.
But high risk always came with high reward.
After a brief moment of weighing her options, Xie Zhaolin made her decision.
"You You," she said through divine sense, "we're going deeper."
"Ah? Master!" You You yelped in alarm. "That's too dangerous! The beasts there are much stronger, and the environment's unpredictable! If your concealment breaks—"
"I know the risks," Xie Zhaolin interrupted, her tone calm yet unshakably firm. "But sitting here won't bring any chances."
You You sensed her resolve and knew she couldn't be dissuaded. With a sigh, she said, "Then please be careful, Master! I'll keep watching for any signs of danger."
"Alright." Xie Zhaolin nodded.
Without another word, she maintained the Breath Concealing Wood Transformation Art, her figure blurring into a faint shadow as she darted toward the depths of the Endless Beast Plains.