Knowing that Elara Stonefield's foot was injured and her movement restricted, Tyg personally brought a simple dinner to her small wooden hut, intending to eat with her so she wouldn't be too lonely.
Elara watched as Tyg, somewhat clumsily in her small and simple room, first busied himself moving the creaking old chair, then struggled with the already unsteady little table. After a good while of fumbling, he finally managed to arrange everything tolerably, so they could sit down and eat comfortably. Seeing his comical appearance, Elara couldn't help but find it a little amusing, but more than that, she felt an indescribable, warm sense of gratitude.
After they sat down opposite each other at the table, they began to casually chat about trivial gossip and interesting tidbits from within the Outpost while stuffing their mouths with the simple yet reasonably palatable food. Furthermore, they would occasionally exchange some rudimentary insights and experiences regarding the perplexities and realizations they encountered in their respective cultivations.
Whenever the topic turned to the "Might of the Stonehide" he was cultivating, Tyg would immediately roll his eyes in frustration, as if he had an endless stream of grievances to pour out.
Tyg now spoke of the "Might of the Stonehide" technique with a hint of dread, fearing it like a venomous snake. Although he was currently only cultivating the first layer of this technique, he had already been tormented by Physician Morus with various bizarre methods to the point of crying out in misery, suffering unspeakably. Not only did he need to regularly soak in specially prepared medicinal liquids that had an extremely unpleasant and pungent smell and a very strange color, but he also had to frequently endure Physician Morus ruthlessly beating his bones and muscles all over his body with a specially made hard wooden club. The physician euphemistically called this "tempering his physique and stimulating his potential."
All these brutal cultivation methods, which sounded chilling just to hear about, had caused him to be unable to sleep soundly at night for a considerably long period due to the intense pain all over his body. Because his body, beaten black and blue, would immediately cause him to wince and break out in a cold sweat with just the slightest touch against the hard, cold wooden bed.
For him, those days were truly a lingering nightmare.
As for the nameless incantation Elara was cultivating, which sounded so easy and pleasant, Tyg felt great envy and longing from the bottom of his heart. He felt that Elara's daily cultivation was like that of those legendary reclusive ascetics who had no worldly concerns; she only needed to sit quietly cross-legged and silently recite some profound mantras and incantations, unlike himself who suffered so much. These far-fetched words of envy, when Elara heard them, could only make her unsure whether to laugh or cry, leaving her speechless, not knowing how to explain to him the unknown hardships and confusions in her own cultivation process.
However, Elara could, to a certain extent, understand Tyg's deep fear and anxiety stemming from the terrifying difficulty of cultivating the higher layers of the "Might of the Stonehide." After all, anyone who clearly knew that they still had to experience cruel torment several times more severe than the pain they had previously endured on their future cultivation path would probably become restless and unable to eat or sleep soundly because of it.
The fact that Tyg had been able to grit his teeth and persevere until now, without giving up midway due to the unbearable inhuman pain, was already enough to make Elara greatly admire and respect him.
If it were her, Elara thought to herself secretly, she would never cultivate such an almost self-torturous, cruel technique that sacrificed physical comfort. Even if this technique could truly allow her to be reborn overnight and become a renowned first-rate expert, she would probably still hold the same opinion and be unwilling to try it lightly.
As the two chatted about these idle matters while eating, the simple dinner on the table was unknowingly almost finished by them. After hastily clearing away the crude bowls and chopsticks, Tyg got up and bade Elara farewell. Before leaving, he specially reminded Elara to rest early tonight, to properly recuperate her injured foot, and definitely not to walk around casually anymore.
Elara stood at the doorway, watching Tyg's slightly weary figure disappear into the night, then hurriedly turned back into her little hut. She first carefully closed the simple wooden door and windows, leaving only the small skylight on the roof, used for ventilation, not completely shut. After doing all this, she then took out the mysterious little green phial from the small leather pouch she kept close to her body. By the faint moonlight filtering in through the skylight, she began to examine it carefully again, turning it over and over.
Elara was, after all, still just a child of about ten, her disposition not yet settled. She held the little phial in her hand, fiddling and pondering over it for a good while, but still couldn't make out any clues or discern anything, and gradually began to feel somewhat bored and weary of it. Coupled with the fact that her foot injury had not yet healed, walking and standing for long periods made her feel somewhat strained, and her spirit was also somewhat exhausted as a result. Thus, unknowingly, still tightly gripping the mysterious little phial in her hand, she leaned against the cold bedside and drowsily fell asleep.
It was unknown how much time had passed when Elara, who was sleeping soundly and deeply in a daze, suddenly felt a bone-chilling coldness, as if immersed in an ice cellar, continuously transmitting from the palm of her hand that was tightly gripping the little phial.
Elara shivered violently, the hairs on her body feeling as if they were about to stand on end. She struggled to barely open her heavy eyelids, which had become as heavy as lead due to drowsiness, and looked, dazed and still half-asleep, towards her disobedient hand from which the strange sensation was constantly emanating.
But the moment her gaze touched her hand, she shot up from the bedside as if struck by a thunderbolt! Her mouth gaped wide in extreme shock, almost able to fit an egg. She didn't even notice some clear saliva drooling uncontrollably from the corner of her mouth. At this moment, all her previous drowsiness and fatigue had long since been driven away without a trace by the immense shock. She was completely and utterly stunned and awestruck by the incredible sight unfolding before her eyes!
Strands of pure white, peculiar light, clearly visible to the naked eye and emitting a soft halo, were, as if drawn by some mysterious force, descending from the dark night sky like a fine rain through the only open small skylight on her roof. After entering the hut, these strange white lights all converged with pinpoint accuracy onto the mysterious little phial she held tightly in her hand. Around the body of the phial, they condensed into tiny, crystal-clear, pure white specks of light, each the size of a plump grain of rice, causing the entire little phial to be tightly enveloped in the center by a thin layer of pure white light, like a light gauze.
This strange white light exuded a very soft and tranquil aura, not at all dazzling or glaring. And the bone-chilling coldness Elara had previously felt was precisely what was continuously seeping and transmitting out from these seemingly harmless, faint white lights.
Elara subconsciously gulped down a mouthful of saliva that had turned somewhat cold due to nervousness, only then, as if suddenly awakening from a nightmare, did she come to her senses. As if holding a red-hot branding iron, she shrieked and flung the little phial, which was emitting a strange white light, far away. And she herself, using both hands and feet, scrambled and crawled to another corner of the room, far away from that bizarre phial. With lingering fear, she carefully observed it for a good while with eyes full of vigilance and terror. Seeing that the little phial, apart from still emitting white light, didn't seem to undergo any other more dangerous or terrifying changes, she then plucked up her courage and carefully, bit by bit, approached it again.
Bathed in and surrounded by those soft, pure white lights, the little phial, which already appeared quite exquisite, now looked even more exceptionally beautiful and alluring, like the brightest star in the night sky. At the same time, it also gained an even greater, indescribable sense of mystery, making one unable to resist the urge to explore it.
Elara's heart was filled with hesitation and conflict. She extended a finger and tentatively poked the little phial, still enveloped in white light, a few times. Seeing that it produced no other reaction, she then relaxed slightly and, with slightly trembling hands, carefully picked up the cold little phial again. She placed it steadily back on the rough wooden table in the center of the room, while she herself lay prone near the table, her bright eyes filled with excitement and curiosity, intently observing this unprecedented, strange, and magnificent sight before her.
Elara, not even willing to blink, stared intently and motionlessly at the mysterious little phial bathed in white light for more than a quarter of an hour. Finally, her efforts paid off, and she discovered some unusual secrets within this strange phenomenon.
It turned out that this mysterious little phial seemed to be continuously and slowly absorbing those rice-grain-sized, pure white specks of light wandering near its smooth, lustrous surface. No, not entirely absorbing! Elara quickly corrected her judgment. Rather than the phial actively absorbing those light specks, it was more like those tiny white light specks, as if drawn by some irresistible, powerful attractive force, were desperately and frantically squeezing and surging into the little phial. Each one of them appeared exceptionally active and eager, as if possessing its own life and consciousness, a truly amazing sight.
Elara felt somewhat curious. She extended a fingertip and gently touched one of the white light specks nearest to her, which was slowly moving towards the phial.
Cool! Slippery! Apart from this peculiar sensation, there was no other special feeling. These light specks didn't seem to pose any substantial danger.
Elara subconsciously looked up through the small skylight on the roof towards the night sky outside. Strands of pure white light, as fine as spider silk, were still continuously falling from the deep night sky like a sprinkle, as if guided by some force, showing no sign of stopping.
Elara looked down again at the wooden door and windows of her hut, which she had long since closed tightly, and then looked up again at the only open small skylight on the roof.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck her mind, as if she had thought of a good idea. She tiptoed to the door, gently pushed open the simple wooden door a tiny crack, and then peeked out into the courtyard cautiously.
Fortunately, it was already late at night. Apart from the faint, monotonous, and tireless chirping of autumn insects coming from the distant grass, the entire Quietstream Valley was silent; not even a ghost of a shadow could be seen anywhere.
Elara quickly pulled her head back, then turned and grabbed the little phial still emitting a soft white light from the table, carefully placing it back into the small leather pouch she kept close to her body. After doing all this, she darted out of her hut like a civet cat. She ran for a good distance without stopping, all the way to a very secluded and desolate open grassy area deep in the valley, a place she rarely frequented and where no one else would ever come, before finally stopping, panting for breath.
She first scanned her surroundings carefully with vigilant eyes, and only after finally confirming that there was truly no one else nearby did she relax. Then, she carefully took out the mysterious little phial from the leather pouch in her tunic again and gently placed it back on the slightly damp grass before her.
Strangely enough, those rice-grain-sized white light specks that had originally been tightly clustered around the little phial had immediately vanished without a trace after she had placed it in the opaque leather pouch, as if they had never appeared. However, Elara was not worried or anxious about this at all, because she believed they would soon reappear.
Indeed, just as Elara had predicted, after only a short while, strands of pure white light, much denser and thicker than when she was in the hut, seemed to be drawn by some invisible summons, converging from all directions towards the location of the little phial. Immediately after, countless pure white light specks, as dazzling as a multitude of stars, reappeared densely like a tide around this mysterious little phial. They soon formed a huge light cluster, as large as an ordinary person's washbasin, emitting a strong white light, tightly enveloping the entire little phial within it, a truly spectacular sight.