Chapter 141: The Hollowed Ice Heart Tree Core
One full cycle would allow them to advance one rank.
In other words, it would take a full sixty thousand years for them to reach the first rank through natural growth.
Without Xiao Shou’s Absolute Fusion ability, it would take three hundred thousand years for a Flower of Eternity to reach Tier 5.
With such an absurdly long growth cycle, there was still a shortcut available.
That shortcut was the Ice Silk Worm droppings.
Ordinary Ice Silk Worm droppings were merely slightly better fertilizer for spiritual plants.
Only the droppings of Ice Silk Worms that had fed on Ice Heart Tree since birth had special effects.
They could greatly shorten the growth cycle of Ice Heart Tree.
As a result, Flower of Eternity that absorbed spatial power from Ice Heart Tree would also receive more time power and grow much faster.
This could reduce the sixty thousand year growth cycle down to ten thousand years.
Because of this unique symbiotic relationship, Flower of Eternity regarded the entire Ice Heart Tree as their food.
To them, everything there was soft and harmless.
Compared to wind and rain that could easily destroy them, Ice Heart Tree was far gentler.
Beyond this inherited knowledge, Yao Heng also transmitted a method to Xiao Shou for using a portion of Flower of Eternity abilities through itself as a medium.
This included converting spiritual energy into time particles and methods for cutting space.
After absorbing all this information, Xiao Shou finally noticed something unusual about himself.
It felt as if something had been added to his bones and flesh, leaving him with an unusually abundant sense of energy.
It was very similar to how Xiao Ran in the original story felt after forming a spirit pet contract and gaining the lifespan of a divine beast.
He also felt a strange appetite-like desire toward Ice Heart Tree.
In addition, the usual perception of water, earth, and wood spiritual particles had gained a new element.
Time.
So this was what it felt like to share a spirit pet’s lifespan and abilities.
While rubbing his head in confusion, Xiao Shou turned to Yao Heng who was now looking at him with a pitiful expression.
"Yaoyao, next time you want to do something, can you discuss it with me first? My head almost exploded just now."
"I’m sorry, Master. It’s my fault. I miscalculated your brain capacity. I didn’t expect your brain to be so small. I won’t do it again."
Yao Heng apologized very sincerely.
But Xiao Shou’s forehead veins nearly popped out.
For some reason, he felt like Yao Heng was insulting him and calling him slow-witted or brainless.
With a forced smile, he said, "My brain capacity is small? Well, I’m really sorry about that."
"It’s okay. No matter what, you are my master. I won’t dislike you. You also shouldn’t dislike how weak I am!"
Yao Heng kissed Xiao Shou’s cheek in a flattering way, then rubbed its stomach.
"So hungry. Master, I’m going to eat now. Do you want to come with me?"
Xiao Shou felt speechless.
He felt both comforted and somehow insulted at the same time.
As a human, how was he supposed to eat a tree?
And not just any tree, but an unimaginably huge ancient one.
Xiao Shou shook his head and refused the invitation.
"No need. You go ahead and eat on your own."
"Then I’ll start eating, Master."
Yao Heng showed a slightly regretful expression as if Xiao Shou would come to regret this.
After saying that, it flapped its small wings and flew off quickly.
In the blink of an eye, it reached the Ice Heart Tree, then instantly passed through the bark and drilled inside.
If Xiao Shou had not received part of the Flower of Eternity inheritance earlier, he would have been shocked by this sight.
Being able to pierce through bark that could shatter top-tier magical artifacts was an unimaginable level of power.
But after receiving the inheritance, he remained calm.
This was simply the manifestation of time power countering spatial power.
Just as he thought this, his eyes suddenly widened.
His expression turned completely unsettled.
On the Ice Heart Tree trunk, which was as thick as an entire sports field and had an unmeasurable height, something began to emerge from the roots.
One after another, crystal-clear, delicate-looking flowers appeared.
They looked extremely fragile, yet they spread upward continuously.
They stopped spreading at about five meters high.
But the flowers kept swaying gently.
Each sway caused a large portion of bark and wood to disappear as if being devoured.
In the blink of an eye, a massive hollow shaft about five meters in diameter had been carved out of the entire trunk.
Then all the crystal flowers suddenly converged together.
They twisted into a single cluster and soon transformed back into Yao Heng’s tiny fairy form the size of a butterfly.
It was holding something over ten times larger than itself, a pale white mass.
It flew unsteadily toward Xiao Shou.
While flying, it said regretfully, "I’m full. The hollow part wasn’t tasty anymore. What a pity. If I leave it, it won’t stay fresh."
"A Millennium Ice Heart Core?!"
Seeing that pale white mass, Xiao Shou no longer cared about Yao Heng’s eating manners.
He forced himself to stay calm as he wiped the corner of his mouth and cleaned away any trace of drool.
"Yaoyao, since it will go bad if left alone, just give it to me. When you get hungry later, you can go find fresh ones again."
"Find fresh ones when hungry? Master, you are being too wasteful."
Yao Heng looked regretful.
"The hollow core is the root of Ice Heart Tree. Once it is eaten, the Ice Heart Tree will die. Food should be eaten slowly. If you finish it all at once, what will you do when there is nothing left and you go hungry?"
"Eh? Then how did you even take out its Ice Heart Tree Core? Wouldn’t that kill it?"
Being lectured by a flower, Xiao Shou pouted.
