357: Chapter 352 This tastes wrong.

The moment the stone statue shattered, the suffocating dead silence in the underground space suddenly eased.

Grayish-white stone fragments rained down, hitting the ground with a soft, crisp sound.

Su Hongling shouldered her sword and grinned triumphantly.

"See that, Old Man? I told you this crappy rock couldn't take one sword strike from me." She patted her shoulder with the back of her sword, looking incredibly smug.

Su Lin, however, didn't rush to praise her. He stared at the pile of shattered stone fragments, feeling that something was off.

A Restriction left behind by an ancient expert to guard the gate was smashed by this girl in a single strike? That was giving her too much Face.

Sure enough.

The stone fragments scattered across the floor didn't stay still. They began to tremble slightly, slowly gathering toward the center of the high platform.

"Huh?" Su Hongling scratched her head. "Does this crappy rock want to piece itself back together?"

"Everyone, back up," Su Lin said in a deep voice.

The stone fragments gathered faster and faster, condensing into a phantom figure in mid-air.

This time, what appeared was no longer the seated elder, but a hunched Grey-Robed Figure.

The figure's Face was indistinct, revealing only a pair of emotionless eyes.

"My Physical Body is destroyed, and my Divine Thought is about to dissipate." The ancient voice sounded again, though it was much calmer than before. "For ten thousand years, you are the first one capable of shattering my stone body with a single strike."

Those eyes fell upon Su Hongling.

Su Hongling shivered under that gaze and instinctively held her sword horizontally in front of her.

"Why are you looking at me, Old Man?" She stiffened her neck. "Speak up if you have something to say, or just get on with it."

Su Lin rubbed his forehead.

This girl, talking to an ancient expert with such an attitude.

If the expert's Divine Thought wasn't on the verge of dissipating, a living one would have probably turned her into stone on the spot.

"Good. A body full of brute strength, a heart of pure sincerity." The Grey-Robed Figure seemed to sigh. "I spent my life collecting all things in heaven and earth, turning them into eternity, turning living things into stone, and sealing them at their most perfect moment. I thought this was the ultimate truth."

"But after guarding them for ten thousand years, I realized that no matter how perfect the collection is, they are, in the end, dead things."

Su Hongling scratched her head while listening.

"Old Man, what are you trying to say? I don't understand all these twists and turns."

Su Lin, listening from the side, managed to grasp the meaning.

This Stone Venerable had truly obsessed over a dead end until the very end.

He treated living things as treasures by turning them into stone, only to end up nearly going crazy after guarding them for ten thousand years.

Simply put, he was just a lonely Old Man who couldn't let go.

"My this Dao of Petrification may seem like a technique for killing, but it actually contains the ultimate truth of freezing space-time and sealing eternity."

The Grey-Robed Figure said slowly, "Ordinary Cultivators who obtain it would only use it to hurt others, but you are different."

"You are a Body Cultivator."

Su Hongling was stunned.

"My power of petrification requires a formidable Physical Body as a vessel to unleash its true might. Your tempered muscles and bones are the perfect container to bear it."

A massive stream of information flooded into her brain. Countless insights regarding the Dao of Petrification, and profound techniques on how to freeze living things and seal space-time, poured in overwhelmingly.

Su Hongling stood there blankly, her eyes widening and then squinting, the expressions on her Face incredibly vivid.

A long while later.

She suddenly opened her eyes and grinned.

"Hahahaha! Old Man, I get it, I get it!" She danced with excitement. "This Old Man's skills are practically tailor-made for me!"

She casually pointed at a fallen stone fragment nearby.

The stone fragment suddenly froze in mid-air, and the small patch of space around it seemed to have been pressed on pause. Time lost its flow there.

"Wow!" Su Hongling's eyes lit up. "Look, look! This thing can freeze stuff!"

She pointed again, excitedly. The frozen space instantly returned to normal.

"In the future, when I fight, I'll freeze people first, then slash them with my sword. Wouldn't that be a guaranteed hit every time?" Su Hongling thought, the more she did, the happier she became. "Let's see how those bugs that can teleport hide from me now!"

Su Lin looked at her silly, happy expression and shook his head helplessly.

That's true.

Leaving this Dao of Petrification to Hong Ling was indeed more suitable than giving it to him.

This girl has brute strength, but her biggest weakness is failing to hit nimble opponents.

Now that she has the ability to freeze space-time, it effectively patches her biggest shortcoming.

In the future, if anyone dares to play tricks in front of her, they'll be frozen first and then take a sword strike. Just imagining that scene is satisfying.

"Revered Master, Second Senior Sister's luck is just too good, isn't it?" Chu Weiwei leaned in, her purple eyes full of envy. "She picked up an ancient expert's Legacy for free."

"With her brain, she only deserves such simple and crude skills." Luo Ximei waved her folding fan and slowly added insult to injury. "If it were a Legacy that required using one's brain, she'd probably make the Ancestral Master so angry he'd come back to life."

"Who are you calling simple-minded!" Su Hongling immediately bristled.

She raised her finger, intending to freeze Luo Ximei.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't aim at me." Luo Ximei laughed and dodged. "I'm just praising your talent."

Su Hongling huffed and withdrew her finger.

Su Lin couldn't be bothered with their bickering and turned his gaze to the Grey-Robed Figure that hadn't completely dissipated yet.

"Senior, thank you for your Legacy." Su Lin cupped his hands. "I'm just curious, why did you choose her specifically?"

"Because she possesses what I lacked back then." The Grey-Robed Figure's voice grew fainter. "I spent my life seeking eternity and perfection, turning all things into dead objects. But within her brute strength, it is full of living Qi."

"I hope that after receiving my Legacy, she can use this power to freeze eternity to protect living things, and not end up like me, guarding a room full of stones, lonely for ten thousand years."

As the voice faded, the phantom completely turned into specks of gray light and dissipated into the air.

Su Hongling scratched her head, half-understanding.

"This Old Man, quite long-winded before leaving."

"He was speaking with earnest advice." Su Lin glanced at her. "In the future, use this ability more to protect people and less to wreck places, you hear me?"

"Got it, got it." Su Hongling replied dismissively, but her eyes were full of eager anticipation. "When I get back, I'll find something to practice on."

It didn't take much effort to inventory the items in the Immortal Cave.

Behind the high platform was a small stone room, containing several rows of antique jade shelves. On the shelves were Jade Slips recording Stone Venerable's insights on Artifact Refining and Formation, as well as several strangely shaped Magic Treasures.

As soon as Gu Qiuyue saw these, her golden eyes immediately lit up.

"Revered Master, let's take all of these!" She rubbed her hands, her greedy expression emerging again. "An ancient expert's insights are priceless treasures if taken out!"

"Who would you sell them to?" Su Lin asked, annoyed.

Gu Qiuyue was choked up.

"Keep them... keep them for our own use."

Su Lin couldn't be bothered to argue with her and waved his hand for her to collect them.

In the corner, Chu Weiwei discovered a grayish-white fruit sealed in crystal.

"Revered Master, this looks like a good item."

Su Lin walked over, swept his Divine Sense over the fruit, and raised an eyebrow.

"Time-Sealing Fruit. It can briefly seal one's own life flow rate. Simply put, if you eat it when you are dying, you can press pause on your own time to fight for a glimmer of survival."

"A good item for saving one's life." Luo Ximei leaned over to take a look.

"Give it to Second Senior Sister." Chu Weiwei was uncharacteristically generous for once. "Second Senior Sister fights the fiercest and is the most prone to getting hurt. It's perfect for her to keep as a life-saving measure."

Su Hongling was stunned.

"Alright, Third Junior Sister, did you change your nature today?"

"Weiwei is genuinely thinking of Second Senior Sister." Chu Weiwei said with a smile, though her purple eyes glanced quietly at Su Lin. "Besides, if you die, Second Senior Sister, who will spar with Weiwei?"

"..." Su Hongling always felt that this sounded awkward, but she couldn't pinpoint why.

"Take it." Su Lin handed the Time-Sealing Fruit to her. "I'm more at ease giving this to you than anyone else. You, girl, are the least calculating and would definitely be willing to use it at a critical moment."

Su Hongling took the fruit and smiled foolishly.

"Then I won't be polite."

After the inventory was done, the group didn't stay long in the lifeless Immortal Cave.

On the return journey, Su Hongling was constantly pondering her newly acquired ability.

She kept freezing the tables and chairs in the cabin one by one, having a blast.

"Old Man, look, I froze it!"

"Second Senior Sister, can you stop playing?" Chu Weiwei rolled her eyes, annoyed. "If you keep freezing things like this, this crappy ship will be shaken apart by you."

"Jealous, aren't you?" Su Hongling said triumphantly. "Who told you not to have this ability."

Su Lin rubbed his temples, not bothering to manage these two troublemakers.

The Void-Piercing Shuttle soon returned to the sky above the island.

Su Hongling walked down slowly, shouldering her sword, still gesturing at the pebbles by her feet. With a point, a pebble froze in mid-air, only to fall after a while.

"Old Man, tell me, am I getting more proficient with this skill?" She turned back, as if presenting a treasure.

"Proficient, my foot." Su Lin couldn't be bothered to look at her. "You're just freezing pebbles, not living things. When you actually encounter something that can move, let's see if you can still laugh."

Su Hongling pouted and withdrew her hand resentfully.

Yan Rusi came out to greet them from that small hut. Over the past few days, she had managed the island in an orderly fashion, even planting those Fluorescent Grasses in categories by color.

"Senior, ladies, you have returned." She bowed respectfully.

"Mm, thank you for your hard work guarding the place." Su Lin nodded.

Chu Weiwei was the last one to come down.

She was holding the pile of Jade Slips she had swiped from Stone Venerable's Immortal Cave, her purple eyes shining, her Face full of unconcealable excitement.

When Su Lin saw this expression, his heart skipped a beat.

Every time this girl had this look, it was never anything good.

"Revered Master, look at what Weiwei found." Chu Weiwei held up a Jade Slip to Su Lin like presenting a treasure. "This is the Artifact Refining insight left by that old Stone Venerable, and it actually contains a few ancient recipes."

"Ancient recipes?" Su Lin raised an eyebrow.

"Mm-hmm, they are ancient recipes for nourishing the Physical Body." Chu Weiwei smiled until her eyes curved. "Using these recipes with the Fluorescent Grass on the island to refine a batch of medicinal cuisine to strengthen your foundation and cultivate your essence, I guarantee you'll feel comfortable all over after drinking it."

Su Lin looked at her suspiciously.

The words 'strengthen foundation and cultivate essence,' coming from this girl's mouth, sounded wrong no matter how he listened.

"Are you sure it's strengthening the foundation and cultivating essence, and not trying to slip me some random stuff again?" Su Lin directly exposed her.

"Revered Master, how can you say that about Weiwei?" Chu Weiwei immediately looked aggrieved, her purple eyes watery. "Weiwei's filial piety has been completely taken for granted by you."

"Your filial piety almost turned me into a sausage-mouthed person last time." Su Lin remembered the time she tried eating the Fluorescent Grass, and he still felt lingering fear.

"That was an accident." Chu Weiwei pouted. "This time, Weiwei is ten percent sure. Just let Weiwei try."

Su Lin was about to refuse.

Luo Ximei leaned over, waving her folding fan, her white-gold heterochromatic eyes full of amusement.

"Revered Master, just let Third Junior Sister try." She said with a smile. "Anyway, we just picked up a big bargain, and we're idle anyway. In case she really refines something good, wouldn't that be your fortune?"

Chu Weiwei immediately found an ally. "Revered Master, please just agree."

Su Lin looked at the expectant Chu Weiwei, then at Luo Ximei, who was stirring up trouble on the side, his temples throbbing.

These two, one wants to cause trouble, the other wants to watch the show.

"Fine." Su Lin sighed. "But you must refine it at the edge of the island, far away from us. In case something goes wrong again, it'll be easier to clean up."

"Thank you, Revered Master!" Chu Weiwei cheered and ran to the other side of the island with the Jade Slips.

That cheerful energy was just like a child who had received a new toy.

Su Lin watched her retreating back, feeling uneasy.

But since he had already said it, taking it back wouldn't look right.

He waved his hand, found a piece of bluestone to sit on, and began to ponder the insights on Formation he had obtained from the Immortal Cave.

Cold Moon and Mu Qingxue began to re-arrange the defensive Formation on the other side of the island, preparing to deal with the Celestial Star Lord's personal guards.

Gu Qiuyue hugged her Golden Abacus and ran back to the small hut to inventory the spoils.

Ye You squatted beside the whale meat, chewing until her mouth was covered in oil.

For a moment, the whole island was rarely peaceful.

On the other side of the island.

Chu Weiwei was ready.

She picked those Fluorescent Grasses one by one and carefully sorted them according to the ancient recipes on the Jade Slips.

"This stalk of Spirit-Condensing Grass needs to have its roots removed." She muttered while processing them nimbly. "This Forget-Me-Flower needs to have its stamen extracted. And this one needs to be slowly squeezed for its juice using the Samadhi True Fire."

When she did these things, her expression was extremely focused, her innocent little Face full of seriousness.

It was a pity, however, that she had miscalculated one thing.

These Fluorescent Grasses on the island were all strange plants bred by the Heaven Beyond Heaven. They grew by absorbing the Immortal Qi in this starry sea, which was so dense it couldn't be dissolved. Their medicinal potency was far beyond any Spiritual Plant in the Lower Realm.

Although Chu Weiwei was a Medicine Immortal, her understanding of these Upper Realm plants was still at a superficial stage.

Those herbs gradually melted under high heat, turning into a pot of bubbling, pale red medicinal liquid.

"Just add one more ingredient and it'll be done." Chu Weiwei happily took out a small bottle of powder from her sleeve; it was an Origin medicinal primer she had concocted herself. "Revered Master will definitely sleep soundly tonight after drinking this."

She poured the powder in.

The next moment, the medicinal liquid in the Medicine Cauldron surged violently.

The originally docile pale red instantly turned into an eerie peach-pink.

An extremely sweet and cloying aroma drifted out from the Medicine Cauldron.

"Huh?" Chu Weiwei was stunned. "This smell isn't right."