When they first entered the passage, it was so narrow one could barely squeeze through.
After about a hundred steps, the way ahead suddenly opened up; the space expanded dramatically.
The flames on the fire fish blazed hotter under the urging of spirit power, driving back the darkness and illuminating the entire area.
It was a natural underground cavern, wondrous in shape, its grotesque stalactites leaving Yu Yan and Xiao Wu wide-eyed with amazement.
"It's so beautiful here!"
Recovering her senses, Xiao Wu hurried to a stalactite, reached out, and ran her fingers over it twice.
While Xiao Wu examined the formation, Yu Yan searched the cavern for the origin of the Human-Faced Cicada.
Finding nothing, he closed his eyes and used the Meditation Technique to sense the spirit power around him.
In that Cultivate state, the distribution of spirit power throughout the cavern became perfectly clear.
The cavern's spirit power was noticeably denser than outside—presumably the prerequisite for the Human-Faced Cicada's birth.
Where there is no spirit power, no Spirit Beast can ever arise.
He sent his mental force farther out and detected a strong spirit power fluctuation near a hanging stalactite.
"Found it—right there."
"Xiao Wu, stop looking; come with me."
Yu Yan opened his eyes and gazed toward the depths of the cave.
He pulled the still-studying Xiao Wu along and headed for the spot pulsing with dense spirit power.
They advanced until, at the spot, Yu Yan saw a jade-white stalactite giving off a soft moon-like glow.
"Is this Stone-Jade Milk?"
Just as he was wondering what treasure it was, Xiao Wu, eyeing the jade-white formation, tentatively supplied the name.
"Xiao Wu, you know this thing?"
Hearing her say it, Yu Yan turned and waited for her answer.
"Mm. I read about it in that travelogue you got me. When that Senior traveled the continent, he saw this naturally nurtured spirit item in a small Sect inside the Star Luo Empire. Because it was so beautiful, he even drew a picture of it."
"It's called Stone-Jade Milk. It looks like jade and glows, hanging in oddly shaped caves. The liquid it drips can cleanse marrow and cut bone."
As she spoke, Xiao Wu explained how she knew of it and recited its effects.
Ashamedly, Yu Yan had never finished the travelogue he'd recommended; after deciding a third of the way through that it wasn't useful, he'd switched to books on Spirit Beasts.
Time had been limited; he had to spend it on what mattered most.
Luckily Xiao Wu had read it through, or the treasure would have remained a mystery.
"Stone-Jade Milk that cleanses marrow—so that strange cicada evolved because it drank the drips?"
Yu Yan saw no liquid beneath the formation; given the cicada's dying effort to return here, the drips must already have been consumed.
Not a drop left—the Human-Faced Cicada had truly wasted a heaven-sent treasure!
"Yu Yan, don't mourn yet; the real value of Stone-Jade Milk isn't the drips but the formation itself."
Seeing him crouching gloomily beneath it, Xiao Wu grinned and said something that snapped his attention back.
"The real value lies in the formation itself—what do you mean?"
Having not finished the travelogue, Yu Yan looked to her for an explanation.
Xiao Wu cleared her throat, stepped up to the stalactite, and pointed four finger-widths up from its tip.
"Break off this section, grind it to powder, mix it with water, drink it, then refine it with spirit power. It still cleanses marrow and cuts bone, even better than the drips."
"The travelogue says it can raise Innate spirit power by half a level."
"That amazing!" Delighted, Yu Yan gave her a big thumbs-up. "I really owe you this time, Xiao Wu."
With Innate spirit power at seven and a half, another half-level would bring him to eight—truly entering Genius rank.
A random good deed on an unwanted Guild mission had reaped a priceless reward; good deeds truly are rewarded.
Xiao Wu already had Innate Full Spirit Power, so the Stone-Jade Milk was useless to her; his heartfelt praise made her happier than any treasure.
Helping Yu Yan felt wonderful.
Following her instructions, he gently broke off the four-finger section.
"Once it leaves the main column you must use it quickly or its power fades. This spot's hidden—let's take it here?"
After he removed the piece, Xiao Wu suggested they consume it on the spot.
Agreeing, Yu Yan used the Ice Fish's frost to condense a block of ice, then the fire fish's flame to melt it into drinkable water.
He ground the Stone-Jade Milk into powder, stirred it into the water, and eagerly drank before sitting cross-legged.
Not long after he drank, Xiao Wu also sipped her share.
Though it couldn't raise spirit power, the marrow-cleansing effect still helped her.
Entering Cultivate, Yu Yan inwardly saw a gentle, peculiar energy spread through his body, following the Meditation Technique and bringing change.
While digesting it he clearly felt what Xiao Wu meant by "cleansing marrow and cutting bone."
The process was wondrous, beyond words.
When he opened his eyes he caught a faint stench; black liquid oozed from his pores—Impurities forced out of his body.
Xiao Wu, awake earlier, asked, "How do you feel? Any gains?"
"Definitely. I feel clear and refreshed, reborn. My spirit power Cultivate speed is already a bit faster," he said honestly.
"Great." She started toward him, then stopped. "You reek—go wash up."
"Mm… step aside; I'll bathe with the Ice and Fire Twin Fish."
After she left, he summoned them: Ice Fish formed a block of ice, fire fish released flame, and he stood beneath the melting ice for a thoroughly Xuanhuan bath.