He took the Begonia flower and examined it carefully, astonished by its beauty. It was definitely the most beautiful Begonia flower he had ever seen—no, it might be the most beautiful flower he had ever seen in his life. As delicate as a piece of art.
But Shi Yu wasn't in the mood to admire flowers. He placed it into his mouth, chewed it slowly, and swallowed it.
The effect was immediate. The excruciating pain throughout his body eased, and the torn flesh began to itch slightly—a sign of healing. His muscles and skin twitched faintly. His wounds were starting to mend.
Shi Yu felt like a drowning man who had just found a lifeline. There was hope!
Uncertain of what to do, he simply let things take their course, allowing the energy of the Nine-Colored Begonia Flower to circulate freely within his body.
Time flew by. In just one day, all his torn flesh had healed completely—without leaving a single scar. Another day passed, and his internal injuries had nearly fully recovered. The damage he had suffered was almost gone.
Yet the energy of the Nine-Colored Begonia Flower still remained in his body—vast and potent. His body was undergoing some strange transformation.
Shi Yu couldn't tell what kind of change it was exactly, but he was certain it wasn't harmful. This flower had to be some sort of healing treasure. Otherwise, his injuries wouldn't have healed so quickly.
Changes brought on by such natural treasures were usually gradual and beneficial. Still, Shi Yu remained cautious, carefully observing his body's state and never letting his guard down.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. It had now been five days since Shi Yu had swallowed the Nine-Colored Begonia Flower. At last, the transformation seemed to come to a temporary halt.
"What kind of benefits did this bring me...?" Shi Yu began to probe, but he couldn't pinpoint where or how these changes had taken shape.
Outwardly, there was no visible change. Internally? He had no idea.
"Could it be related to healing?" he wondered. The flower's most obvious property was its healing power—so perhaps the transformation was related to that?
The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Looking around, he found a stone nearby.
"I hope I'm right," he muttered, and slammed the rock down onto the back of his left hand.
"Hiss—!" Shi Yu gasped and jumped from the pain.
The skin on the back of his hand cracked from the blow—it wasn't light.
As the pain eased, Shi Yu stared intently at the wound, trying to catch any sign of unusual change.
Several minutes passed. Then, faint light glimmered from the wound—nine shimmering colors, dim but distinct.
"There really is a change…" Shi Yu confirmed to himself.
The moment the light faded, he felt a familiar itch—the unmistakable sign of healing.
Then something that truly stunned him happened. In just one hour, the wound had completely healed, leaving not a single mark behind.
"I seem to have acquired an extraordinary healing speed—dozens, maybe even hundreds of times faster than natural recovery," Shi Yu murmured in awe.
Normally, an injury like this would have taken ten days or more to heal. But now? One hour. Scarless.
"This Nine-Colored Begonia Flower... it's definitely far more complex than I thought," he whispered.
To grant such regenerative power was no simple matter. It reminded him of the rare and powerful herbs Tang San referred to as Immortal Herbs. Could this flower be on that same level?
As for whether it had reached the hundred-thousand-year level... he had no way of knowing. His knowledge of such treasures was limited.
"Nine-Colored Begonia Flower... Nine-Heart Begonia... Could they be connected? Or is this really the legendary Nine-Heart Begonia?" he speculated.
He recalled the unique Nine-Heart Begonia Martial Soul, known for its powerful healing abilities. It was said that as long as one wasn't killed instantly, the Nine-Heart Begonia could save them.
Even if exaggerated, that claim spoke volumes about its potency.
If there was a martial soul called Nine-Heart Begonia, maybe there also existed a flower of the same kind. And this Begonia had 'nine colors'—perhaps it really was that mythical plant.
"I'm unbelievably lucky, it seems. If not for this flower, I would've been dead."
Shi Yu stood and solemnly bowed toward the spot where the flower had once bloomed, offering silent thanks for saving his life.
But the thought of Tang San and Zhao Wuji quickly turned his expression dark.
"I didn't want to be your enemy, but you almost killed me," he growled. "Tang San… Zhao Wuji… just wait."
After cursing them for a while, his gaze fell on the Human-Faced Demon Spider's external soul bone lying on the ground.
If he could absorb it, he would obtain the Eight Spider Lances soul bone—a major boost in power.
Shi Yu sat cross-legged, holding the soul bone, recalling what he knew about how to absorb such things.
His first attempt failed. Soul bone absorption had its own peculiarities.
After several tries, he finally grasped the method and began the real absorption process.
"Hiss—!" Shi Yu gasped again. Pain exploded in his back. It felt like a diamond drill was boring into his spine.
The agony was unbearable.
Gritting his teeth, he endured. There was no turning back now.
Failure to absorb a soul bone could be fatal—especially one as unique as this, linked to the spine. Any mistake might not kill him, but it could leave him paralyzed.
Shi Yu was drenched in sweat. His lips were bleeding from biting down. His vision blurred as consciousness began to fade.
He had no idea how much time had passed before the fusion finally completed.
The Human-Faced Demon Spider's soul bone had completely merged with his back. Purple spider legs erupted from his flesh—each segmented into three parts, the tips razor-sharp like spears, glinting coldly with poisonous energy.
Shi Yu gasped for breath, slowly recovering.
With a thought, the spider legs stretched forward into view. They responded to his will.
He smiled. The pain was worth it.
Reaching out to touch them, he paused—realizing the legs were poisonous. Without a proper understanding of their power or a way to neutralize the venom, even he might not be immune.
If he accidentally poisoned himself, that would be ironic.
After studying them briefly, he retracted the spider legs and lay on the ground to rest.
Before long, he fell asleep. When he awoke, hunger gnawed at him.
"I need to get out of here," he muttered.
His body was weak, but using his space power, he floated up and began ascending the deep chasm.
The crack was deep enough to trap even a Soul Saint. But it couldn't hold him.
Although he couldn't teleport out, he could float upward slowly using his space ability.
He rose higher and higher, cautious with every meter. A fall from this height could be fatal.
After more than half an hour, Shi Yu finally reached the edge of the rift and stepped onto solid ground.
A smile formed on his face.
But before he could enjoy the relief, a wave of dizziness hit him. His body lost control.
"Am I... traveling through time again?" The sensation was all too familiar—just like what he experienced after absorbing a spirit ring.
His body faded, spinning, making him nauseous. His vision blurred.
When the spinning stopped, Shi Yu gasped for breath, chest heaving violently.
The world had returned to normal.
Two teachers looked at him, puzzled.
"What's wrong with you?" one of them asked.
"Huh?" Shi Yu blinked in confusion. But as he looked closely and saw the familiar faces of the teachers, he froze.
"…I'm back?" he murmured to himself in disbelief.