Chapter 57: Communication

Based on her observations, the bows and arrows Mutong taught everyone to make operated on the exact same principles as those used in the military camp. Aside from the raw materials used, their power was virtually identical.

She simply could not fathom how Mutong’s mind could hold so many things. Even the food she had just prepared was something she had never seen before. Could the woman in front of her truly be some kind of divine emissary?

Baima was truly unwilling to accept that Mutong was a divine emissary. Yet, if she wasn't, the clothing she wore—both the fabric and the style—was something Baima had never seen nor heard of before.

Naturally, Baima resented being robbed of A-Yu so effortlessly by this sudden arrival from the skies, let alone having her own spotlight in the tribe stolen away. Ever since this divine emissary had arrived, she felt the men of the tribe no longer looked at her with the same level of interest as before.

While Baima was lost in her turbulent thoughts, the dumplings and wontons finished boiling.

Mutong ladled the dumplings and wontons into two large stone basins prepped with seasonings, placing them on the stone table in the courtyard. A-Yu brought out bowls and chopsticks, telling everyone to help themselves from the basins. There were too many people, and the tableware wasn't enough, so those living nearby quickly ran back to their homes to fetch their own bowls and chopsticks.

The delicious taste of the dumplings and wontons had everyone praising them endlessly. Mutong herself tried one of each; the natural leaf wrappers indeed imparted a distinct, natural plant fragrance when boiled, and they were delightfully chewy.

As Baima chewed on a savory wonton, she shed two silent lines of tears in her heart: Just how long had it been since she had tasted food this delicious? Back in the military camp in her past life, she had never lacked for food or clothing. As the camp's foremost beauty, she had received numerous rewards and had never deprived herself when it came to meals.

After coming to the tribe, although she still lacked nothing for food and clothing, the living standards were worlds apart; there was simply no comparison. Being able to eat her fill and stay warm was already considered good.

Stealing another furtive glance at Mutong, Baima lowered her head. *Whether you are truly a divine emissary or not, and whether you can improve the tribe's life, it doesn't matter. Either way, you snatched the man I had my eyes on, and I will find a way to drive you out of this tribe...*

Disregarding Baima's dark intentions, the crowd finished their delicious dumplings and wontons, inquired about the recipes for the other fillings from Mutong, and took their leave one after another. The wizard and the chieftain also departed in satisfaction. Before leaving, Baima cast a resentful glance at A-Yu, her eyes seeming to ask: Why are you treating me this way?

That heavy resentment made Mutong shudder. *This woman is way too dramatic!*

A-Yu didn't even spare Baima a proper look. He merely saw the chieftain and wizard off respectfully, bid a friendly farewell to the tribespeople, and then turned to close the door and step back inside.

Baima stamped her foot fiercely and unwillingly trudged back home.

Deep in the quiet of the night, Mutong sat cross-legged in the living room, trying hard to sense spiritual energy. The air was clearly rich with dense spiritual energy, yet Mutong could not utilize a single shred of it. When she tried to guide it with her past cultivation techniques, the energy refused to enter her body, let alone circulate within it.

After a long while, Mutong stopped her practice in dejection. *Yang Yuanyuan, oh Yang Yuanyuan! Why on earth did you have to seal my dantian?*

Mutong felt utterly forlorn. It wasn’t that she wasn’t trying; she had attempted to cultivate whenever she had free time these past few days, yet it yielded zero results. The heaven and earth of Huixiong Continent contained vastly more spiritual energy than Earth. It was such a waste not to be able to cultivate in such a wonderful environment—even the slightest loosening of the seal would have been nice.

"What's wrong?" Awakening to find nobody beside him, Shen Kai stepped out of the bedroom and immediately caught sight of Mutong's deeply frustrated expression.

"It's nothing."

"Still unable to cultivate?" Shen Kai could easily guess just by looking at her dejected demeanor.

"Yeah."

Shen Kai walked over, wrapped his arms around Mutong, and guided her toward the bedroom. "It's late, let's sleep."

In Shen Kai's heart, regardless of whether Mutong could cultivate or not, she was his wife. To be completely honest with himself, he didn't want Mutong to cultivate again. If she regained her cultivation, he feared whether she would eventually leave him behind.

Lying in bed, how could Mutong possibly sleep? Her mind was in turmoil, her thoughts racing. Though her cultivation was currently sealed, her realm of understanding, divine sense, and a lifespan of over eight hundred years remained intact. Her desire to break the seal and resume cultivation was not just for herself, but for Shen Kai as well.

Mutong knew very well that with her five-element spiritual roots, advancing her cultivation further would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens. She and Shen Kai were now officially husband and wife, and even if she recovered her cultivation, she would no longer shy away from her feelings for Shen Kai as she once did.

If her cultivation were restored, at the very least, she could refine medicinal pills for Shen Kai to narrow the gap between their lifespans. For instance, the Youth-Preserving Pill, which kept one eternally youthful. She had taken one herself at the age of twenty, and even when she reached over eight hundred years old, she would maintain this youthful appearance. If Shen Kai also took a Youth-Preserving Pill, he wouldn't have to feel sad watching her youthfulness while he aged.

Another example would be pills that could enhance physical strength and internal energy. Although Shen Kai lacked spiritual roots and couldn't cultivate, Mutong had no way of knowing whether the body he currently inhabited possessed spiritual roots. The Spirit-Testing Stone was stored within her sealed spatial ring, which was currently inaccessible.

However, even without knowing whether A-Yu's body possessed spiritual roots, she could still use a universal cultivation technique from the cultivation world to let him test whether he could draw spiritual energy into his body.

If he truly lacked spiritual roots, he could still strengthen his physique through martial arts. Reaching a high level of martial arts could also prolong one's life.

With this thought, Mutong could no longer sleep. She flipped over, sat up, pulled Shen Kai—who was also awake—up with her, and shared her thoughts with him.

Shen Kai was deeply moved. So his little Tong had been losing sleep because of him, not because of what he had imagined...

Readily agreeing to Mutong's request, Shen Kai began trying to draw spiritual energy into his body under her guidance.

Drawing spiritual energy into the body was something even those with the poorest aptitude, such as Mutong's five-element spiritual roots, could accomplish within half a year. Those with better aptitude might succeed in just a few days. Mutong was not in a rush; if Shen Kai still failed to absorb spiritual energy after half a year, it would mean he lacked spiritual roots entirely.

Therefore, Mutong planned to have Shen Kai practice drawing spiritual energy every night, while during the daytime, she would have A-Yu learn some suitable martial arts.

She was not short of martial arts manuals. The bracelet she had prepared for Zuoxiaojun contained numerous martial arts manuals. Because she didn't know which technique suited whom best, she had prepared multiple types for each person. For Zuoxiaojun, she had prepared over twenty kinds, encompassing soft and gentle styles, balanced hard-and-soft styles, and purely yang-vigorous styles.

The yang-vigorous martial arts were meant to be saved by Zuoxiaojun for Mutongshenghan in the future.

Later, when she left Earth and entered Hidden Immortal Town, she had selected a few more sets of techniques and placed them into Mutongshenghan's bracelet.

Now, the martial arts manuals inside Zuoxiaojun's bracelet would benefit the two A-Yu brothers instead. Mutong decided that starting tomorrow, she would select a set of cultivation techniques for each of the two brothers to practice.