"Hmm…"
Dai Chengfeng stood still, staring at the closed door while savoring the lingering fragrance and softness on his lips, along with Bibi Dong's incredibly captivating demeanor…
After a long moment, he reluctantly walked over to the chair by the table and sat down. His gaze swept over the glass of red wine that had only been sipped once, then turned toward the bright sunlight streaming through the window.
But just at this moment—
"Chengfeng, what were you two doing just now?"
A crisp voice, filled with confusion and unmistakable sleepiness, suddenly rang out in the room.
"Eh?"
The smile and lingering satisfaction on Dai Chengfeng's face instantly froze.
He quickly turned toward the sound and saw a golden, fluffy little head emerging from the pile of thick velvet cushions stacked on the windowsill in the corner of the room.
It was Qiu'er.
She had clearly been sleeping there all along and had been woken up by the commotion earlier. Her large, lively golden eyes were brimming with curiosity and bewilderment, and her small ears twitched slightly as she was still waking up.
Dai Chengfeng immediately felt a wave of awkwardness wash over him.
He and Bibi Dong had been so absorbed in their intimacy that they had completely forgotten about this little one!
He quickly adjusted his expression, cleared his throat, and walked over as naturally as possible. Bending down, he picked up the soft, fluffy Qiu'er from the pile of cushions and placed her on his lap.
Qiu'er's small body was warm and soft, like a bundle of sunlight.
While pretending to casually stroke her silky golden fur with his fingers, Dai Chengfeng carefully chose his words, trying to maintain a composed demeanor as he explained:
"Cough… ahem…"
"It's nothing, Qiu'er. Just now… it was Teacher and I… cultivating."
"Cultivating?"
Qiu'er tilted her little head, her large golden eyes filling with even more confusion. "But… do humans cultivate by nibbling lips?"
"I saw you bite Sister Bibi Dong's lips… and she seemed to be gasping for air…"
"And… does nibbling lips feel good?"
"Otherwise, why did you look so happy after doing it, and why is her face all red and strange?"
This barrage of innocent yet straightforward questions hit Dai Chengfeng like tiny hammers, nearly causing his facade of calm to crumble.
"Uh…"
Even with his thick skin, being confronted by such a pure gaze from a spirit beast about the true nature of their "cultivation" made Dai Chengfeng's ears burn slightly.
He rubbed his temples and then solemnly—almost deceitfully—explained to Qiu'er:
"This… nibbling lips is a special way for adults to… deepen their bond."
"It's something only very close friends would do, symbolizing trust and intimacy."
"Yes, exactly!"
Even Dai Chengfeng himself thought this explanation was a bit far-fetched, but he had no choice but to keep going.
"In short, it's something only adults can do. Children… no, young spirit beasts shouldn't try it."
"And…"
At this point, Dai Chengfeng's expression grew more serious as he looked into Qiu'er's pure, wide eyes and admonished her:
"This is a secret, alright?"
"Whatever you saw today, don't tell anyone!"
"It's a little secret between you, me, and Teacher."
"Oh…" Qiu'er nodded, though her big golden eyes still sparkled with curiosity.
"Deepening bonds… a secret only adults can have…"
She muttered softly under her breath, unconsciously scratching at Dai Chengfeng's chest with her little claws, her mind replaying the scene she had witnessed earlier:
Does nibbling lips really feel that good?
Good enough to make someone blush and pant?
Better than basking in the sun and sleeping? So curious!
Seeing Qiu'er nod, Dai Chengfeng finally felt relieved and let out a soft sigh. Only then did he realize how much energy their earlier "intense cultivation" had consumed.
However, he soon stopped dwelling on these thoughts.
Instead, with a flicker of his thoughts, two items appeared on the table.
In the ancient wooden box, the brownish-yellow "Earth Vein Core" emitted a thick, steady glow, resting quietly on its velvet cushion.
Meanwhile, between his fingertips, he carefully held the shimmering, extraordinary Four Symbols Five Elements Lotus.
The four lotus leaves—icy blue, blazing red, pure gold, and emerald green—each glowed with the brilliance of their respective elemental attributes. However, the area representing the earth attribute remained a hazy white silhouette of an unformed leaf.
"Finally… everything is complete…"
Dai Chengfeng gazed at the two treasures with burning eyes, his heart filled with anticipation.
"I wonder… will the energy within this Earth Vein Core be enough to grow the fifth leaf of the Four Symbols Five Elements Lotus?"
Dai Chengfeng felt a pang of uncertainty.
After all, the growth conditions for the Four Symbols Five Elements Lotus were extremely demanding. Each leaf represented the pinnacle of one of the elements in heaven and earth.
The extreme tempering of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, the long-term nourishment of his own ultimate metallic essence, and the extravagant irrigation of countless divine herb essences—all contributed to the formation of the first four leaves.
Could this single "Earth Vein Core," despite its exceptional quality as a rare substance formed from the essence of the earth over millennia, easily satisfy the final requirement of this peak divine herb?
"Only one way to find out!"
Ultimately, Dai Chengfeng took a deep breath, pushed aside his distracting thoughts, and his eyes became resolute and focused.
Without further hesitation, he carefully manipulated the shimmering Four Symbols Five Elements Lotus in his hand, slowly bringing it closer to the heavy, stable brownish-yellow crystal—the Earth Vein Core—resting in the wooden box.
And in the instant their energies touched, the Four Symbols Five Elements Lotus trembled violently!
Buzz—
The hazy white silhouette representing the earth attribute among the five leaves on the lotus platform suddenly lit up! An invisible, powerful suction force erupted from it, directly targeting the Earth Vein Core.
Sizzle, sizzle…
The surface of the Earth Vein Core instantly radiated a dense earthy-yellow glow, flowing like a living entity.
Streams of pure, immense, and profoundly heavy earth essence were forcibly stripped away, transforming into tangible earth-yellow currents that flowed ceaselessly into the white lotus pedestal silhouette.
The silhouette greedily absorbed the energy, like a parched desert finally receiving rain.
Its color rapidly changed, shifting from pure white to a deep, heavy earthy yellow.
This region symbolizing the power of the earth began to condense and solidify, its edges becoming clearly visible. No longer a vague, chaotic haze, it now took on the rough outline of a leaf.
The entire process wasn't particularly long, but Dai Chengfeng could clearly sense the satisfaction and longing emanating from within the Four Symbols Five Elements Lotus.
That precious "Earth Vein Core," under such rapid consumption, visibly shrank and dimmed at a pace visible to the naked eye.
Its refined energy was perfectly transformed and absorbed without a trace of waste, entirely converted into nutrients for fostering the earth-attribute leaf.
The glow on the lotus platform grew increasingly intense, the earth-yellow region becoming clearer, heavier, and denser, as if a miniature, condensed expanse of infinite earth was forming on the leaf.
Finally—
The buzzing sound gradually subsided.
The process of leaf formation came to a halt.
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