The night quickly passed, giving way to the first glimpse of the sun on the horizon.
Tang Xi opened her eyes from meditation, sensing the light moisture in the air and the tranquil energy permeating the forest. Her body felt invigorated, and her mind, still abs the revetions of the previous night, was curious about the phenomenon she was about to witness.
— "The famous Misty Dawn…" — she murmured, rising from her makeshift futon.
But before heading out, a priority preseself.
— "Nothier than breakfast before a unique experience." — With a fluid motion, she retrieved a few spiritual buns from her ste ring.
The subtle aroma of the buns filled the small cave, and each bite brought a wave of warm, f energy. It was her first solid meal sihe previous m, as she had relied only on a Fasting Pill the night before. The trast between the warmth of the food and the breeze was enough to dispel any lingering drowsiness.
Once finished, she gathered her belongings, activated the cealment ability of the Lunar Umbrel, aed the cave, sealing it with the rock that served as a barrier.
The sky was still shrouded in darkness, but that did not bother her. Just like the previous night, she leaped nimbly to the top of the tree where she had observed the forest. Settling fortably on a sturdy branch, she embraced the dawn breeze while waiting for the sun to rise.
As time passed, Xi felt her body still abs traces of the ambient energy. However, the lunar energy was gradually fading, while the stelr energy had pletely disappeared.
— "The moon is gone… and without it, the lunar energy dissipates as well." — she reflected.
Yet, something intrigued her.
The nature around her seemed to be abs the st remnants of lunar energy. Curious, she decided to test a theory. Based on what I know, lunar energy should be nourishing the forest. But what does this 'nourishment' truly mean?
With this thought in mind, Xi turned her gaze to the Misty Cedar she was sitting on. What if I i with my lunar energy?
Driven by curiosity, she gently pced her hand ohick branch, feeling the rough texture of the bark. With a faint glow in her eyes, she eled a subtle flow of lunar energy into the tree, gradually increasing it.
Immediately, her cealment was celed, and something happened.
A eerged between her and the cedar. It was not a clear voior a scious thought, but rather a vague feeling of gratitude and vitality— as if the tree was silently accepting her gift.
Then, with a slight tremor, the cedar began to ge.
The brander her hand thied subtly, being sturdier. The yellowed leaves fell gently, only to be repced by new ones, more vibrant and green. The transformation tinued for several minutes, each renewed leaf carrying a fresh burst of energy, until, finally, the process stabilized.
Xi observed the tree in fasation. It didn't just grow— its quality evolved.
Its potential seemed to shift from low to medium quality. And from what I know, ging potential is far more difficult than increasing level. Potential, in most cases, determines future growth… — she thought. Just as it influences bat power.
Her body trembled slightly as she felt a pure flow of pnt energy beiuro her. It was as if the tree was her a gift iurn. A , vibrant energy coursed through her meridians, filling her with vitality. Even without meditation, that siera granted her the equivalent of aire week of cultivation.
And then, a faint, subtle message resonated in her mind:
— "Thank you."
It was a weak, almost indistinguishable sound, yet filled with genuine gratitude. Xi smiled softly, sliding her fingers over the cedar's bark.
— "Take care, okay?" — she whispered before being lost in thought again.
The experience had brought more questions than answers.
— "If lunar energy enhaality and even a tree's potential… what if it were bined with stelr wood energy? What would happen?"
But her ption was interrupted by the phenomenon she had been eagerly awaiting.
Slowly, the darkness began to fade.
The first light of dawn emerged on the horizon, and with it, the mist started to spread through the forest like a silent veil. At first, only sparse tendrils of fog slithered betweerees, but within mihe phenomenon intensified.
The mist thied like a ghostly tide, c the vegetation in a dense, silver shroud. The sounds of the forest began to distort, as if filtered through an invisible fabric. The temperature dropped slightly, and the outlines of the world around her became indistinct.
— "Incredible…" — Xi whispered, abs every detail of the ethereal ndscape.
She recalled her father's words.
"The mist restricts the senses and fuses even the most experienced cultivators. Creatures like the White Mist Wolves domihis enviro, beiless predators at dawn."
Her expression grew more serious. As beautiful as the se was, it was also dangerous.
Without rushing, she waited patiently. Moving through the mist would be reckless, especially without a precise sense of dire. Creatures adapted to this enviro could ambush anyone who made that mistake.
An hour passed.
As the sun climbed higher, the first rays pierced through the white veil, gradually dispersing the mist. Like a curtain being lifted, the forest was revealed once more in all its glory.
Xi let out a soft sigh and stood up.
— "Definitely worth the wait."
She adjusted the Lunar Umbrel on her bad prepared to depart.
As she desded the tree and headed for the deeper parts of the forest, new questions filled her mind.
— "I used a lot of lunar energy, and it seems to recover slowly, regardless of meditation or spiritual pills." — she pondered. She hadn't felt any ges in her lunar energy while meditating, nor from the pills she had taken.
This led her to an intriguing possibility.
— "Now I just o test my theory on a spiritual herb once my lunar energy replenishes. What if the herb matured? What if its level increased?"
The thought excited her. A higher-level or better-quality spiritual herb was far more valuable than a lesser one.
— "There's only one way to find out."
And with a gleam of anticipation in her eyes, she decided to test the Resource Dete ability of the Lunar Umbrel.
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