653: Chapter 653 Is it worth it for humans to have such short lifespans?

He did not use any Spiritual Qi to suppress it, because he knew very well that during the process of Bloodline Awakening, any foreign, alien Spiritual Qi could cause the young beast to explode and die.

Su Ming slowly reached out and placed his palm over Ying's trembling back feathers.

The moment his fingertips touched it.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

An extremely intense, warm, and wild pulsation traveled through Su Ming's fingertips and spread throughout his entire body.

The feeling was as if something within this tiny vessel was struggling and Awakening frantically amidst a state of Chaos and deathly silence!

The violent Power of Stars rampaged within Ying's body, and the golden fluorescence grew brighter and brighter, even illuminating the dark corner as if it were broad daylight.

"Chirp!!!"

Ying let out a shrill, miserable cry.

"Master! It can't withstand this level of Bloodline impact!" Sweat instantly appeared on Su Ming's forehead. He pressed his hand firmly against Ying's back, yet he felt as if he were pressing down on an active volcano about to erupt.

"This little fellow's Bloodline is too pure; it's like pulling on a seedling to help it grow!" Lin Yu paced anxiously in mid-air.

"Hoo..."

Ying collapsed weakly onto the ground, its previously bristled feathers smoothing back down against its body. It was exhausted to the extreme, eyes closed, with only its chest rising and falling faintly.

But Su Ming clearly felt that within this tiny body, a heart-palpitating, terrifying power was lying dormant.

"This little thing has turned a misfortune into a blessing." Lin Yu floated down and carefully examined the sleeping Mystic Shadow Crow, clicking his tongue in wonder. "That moment just now, although it almost cost it its little life, it forcibly widened its Bloodline channels. It even..."

"It can even grow rapidly." Su Ming wiped the sweat from his forehead, carefully lifted Ying, and placed it on the soft stone couch.

As the two were speaking,

"Knock, knock, knock."

Outside the tree hole, a light, rhythmic knocking sound came.

"Su Ming, are you there?" Ye Qing's crisp voice rang out from outside the door.

Su Ming quickly straightened his slightly disheveled robes, and after confirming that no unusual aura remained inside the tree hole, he walked to the door and pulled it open.

Outside the door, the afterglow of the setting sun spilled through the gaps in the Light Banyan's massive branches and leaves, dyeing the entire Qingmu Court in a soft, orange-red hue.

Ye Qing stood at the doorway, carrying an exquisite little basket woven from emerald green vines. Inside the basket was a basketful of Origin Spirit Fruits.

"Just picked from the Spirit Garden." Ye Qing grinned and handed the basket over, stepping over the threshold without ceremony and hopping onto the windowsill with practiced ease.

"Many thanks, Brother Ye." Su Ming took the basket and casually took out an Origin Spirit Fruit.

He didn't use any tools; he just lightly swiped with his fingertip, peeling away the skin that was as thin as a cicada's wing. He put the snow-white flesh into his mouth and chewed gently.

The sweet, clear juice exploded in his mouth instantly. That gentle and pure essence of vitality flowed down his throat, and guided by the Ruoshui Art, it slowly circulated through his Meridians, silently repairing the trace of fatigue caused by saving Ying just moments ago.

Sitting on the windowsill, Ye Qing watched Su Ming eat the fruit, resting his chin on his hands, his clear eyes filled with a longing and curiosity for the unknown.

"Su Ming, tell me about it." The soft antennae on Ye Qing's head swayed gently. "What kind of place is the Human Realm, really? I read in the ancient texts in the Court that it's full of foul air everywhere, and people fight until their heads are broken and blood flows just to snatch a tiny bit of resources."

Su Ming's chewing motion paused slightly.

He looked at the peaceful and serene Qingmu Court outside the window, which seemed to be free from worldly disputes, but images he had long buried deep in his heart involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

He thought for a moment and didn't directly refute the words in the ancient texts.

"In my hometown, there is a place called Qingshi Town. There isn't such dense Spiritual Qi there, nor are there glowing trees. To survive, the people there build things called paper mills. Before dawn, those Mortals without cultivation would reach their hands into bone-chilling icy water in the depths of winter to scoop paper. They toil their whole lives just to trade for a few mouthfuls of coarse grain to fill their stomachs, and so that their descendants can read a few books."

"In the more prosperous capital, there is a ten-mile-long bluestone street. At night, red lanterns hang on both sides, the voices are boisterous, and the traffic is heavy. There are powerful officials who stop at nothing for power, and there are upright scholars who would shatter their bones for loyalty. Everyone struggles in that huge dye vat, scheming against others and being schemed against by others."

"And in the distant Northern Territory," Su Ming's tone carried a hint of imperceptible killing intent, "there is the Iron Wall Pass. The sky there is grey all year round. To resist the invasion of the Yao Beasts, Cultivators use their own flesh and blood and Formations to build a line of defense. Beacons of war light up the sky, and the battlefield is a meat grinder. The comrade who was drinking with you yesterday might become a mangled corpse today."

Su Ming looked at Ye Qing's widening eyes and made his final summary.

"The Human Realm has the scent of fireworks, the flavor of the Mortal World, and endless slaughter and greed. It is not beautiful; in fact, many times, it is suffocatingly cruel."

"You of the Human Race are truly strange," Ye Qing sighed softly. "Your lifespans are so short, not even enough time for us to take a nap. Yet, you want to grasp everything—power, wealth, immortality... For these things, you are even willing to throw away your lives. Is it worth it?"

Su Ming stood quietly in place, still holding half an Origin Spirit Fruit in his hand. He chewed the sweet flesh without refuting. Because what Ye Qing said was the truth.

The Human Race's lifespan is short, like summer insects that cannot speak of ice. But precisely because it is short, that desire to survive, that obsession with changing one's fate, grows wildly like weeds, erupting with a terrifying power that these long-lived races can never understand.

"You are not a fish, so how can you know the joy of a fish? You are not a mayfly, so how can you know the ambition of a mayfly?" Su Ming silently recited this in his heart.

But on his face, he only smiled slightly and stuffed the remaining half of the fruit into his mouth: "Perhaps. But if one does not reach out to grasp, then that short span of time is truly nothing but waiting for death."

Ye Qing nodded as if he understood, hopped off the windowsill, and patted his backside: "Alright, it's getting dark, and I should head back too. You get some rest. Tomorrow morning, I'll take you to the Library Tree Hole to show you the way!"