After swinging the Frost-Condensed Gauntlets and killing a wild boar charging head-on, Yu Yan looked at the setting sun in the distance, then turned back to Xiao Wu behind him and asked, "Should we rest here for the night?"
This area was the habitat of wild boars, and other large beasts generally wouldn't dare enter rashly. Among all the beasts, the wild boar's combat strength was quite high.
"Alright."
Xiao Wu had no objection to this. Most of her attention was focused on the small Spirit Cat in her arms that hadn't woken up yet.
The Spirit Cat's fur was soft and smooth, and when close, one could smell a very fresh fragrance. Yu Yan was a boy, and he couldn't describe the scent specifically, but smelling it, he somewhat understood why Spirit Cats were so popular.
Tonight's dinner was skewers, the Materials generously provided by a pure, natural wild boar. Sprinkled with the seasonings they carried, they tasted uniquely delicious.
Perhaps it was time to wake up, or perhaps it was attracted by the aroma of the roasted meat, but the previously unconscious Spirit Cat suddenly opened its eyes. Because it was still young, it showed no fear of the surrounding environment. It stared at the roasted meat in front of it, extended its paw, and let out a meow.
"What is it?"
"You want to eat too?"
Sensing the movement in her arms, Xiao Wu waved the skewer in her hand and offered the half-eaten skewer to the Spirit Cat.
The Spirit Cat, which hadn't eaten all day, couldn't resist the smell. It immediately opened its mouth wide and tried hard to bite the skewer in front of it.
Xiao Wu didn't tease the Spirit Cat. Seeing it eat the skewers, she specifically took out a few more skewers and placed them in front of the little cat so it could eat by itself.
Seeing the Spirit Cat eat roasted pork, Yu Yan once again marveled at the miraculous nature of Spirit Beasts. On Lan Xing, a kitten the size of this Spirit Cat would struggle just to drink milk, yet here on the Douluo Continent, it could eat meat.
"This little fellow isn't shy at all. How can it just sleep soundly in your arms like that?"
Looking at the Spirit Cat, which had eaten its fill and was now sleeping soundly in Xiao Wu's embrace, Yu Yan clicked his tongue in wonder.
"Maybe it's because it was born not long ago?"
Xiao Wu stroked the Spirit Cat's fur with her hand, offering a highly plausible guess.
"It's possible."
Even as a Spirit Beast, the Spirit Cat couldn't be too outlandish. It currently only possessed survival instincts, not intelligence.
A full moon, radiating a soft glow, slowly climbed into the sky as the two chatted.
"Xiao Wu, after I Breakthrough to Rank 13, I will try to directly draw out and release the Moonlight Essence. See if you can attract the scattered Moonlight Essence from me to Cultivate."
Looking up at the full moon in the sky, Yu Yan sat down cross-legged.
"Okay!"
Since this was beneficial to her, Xiao Wu naturally wouldn't refuse.
"Let me warn you first, it might not succeed, so don't hold too much hope."
"Even if it fails, being able to absorb high-quality spirit power next to you all night is already great. There's nothing to be disappointed about."
Yu Yan proposed this suggestion because, while considering Xiao Wu's spirit ring configuration, he inadvertently thought of the Ninth Spirit Ability, Moon of the Nine Heavens, which was not mentioned in the novel but appeared in the animation.
In the animation, it was directly displayed as condensing a pink, moon-shaped energy sphere that descended from the sky, powerfully suppressing and killing the enemy.
The name and form of this move were entirely related to the moon in the sky.
Therefore, Yu Yan deduced that the possibility of Xiao Wu absorbing Moonlight Essence far exceeded the possibility of her absorbing purple qi.
Furthermore, after becoming a Spirit Master, Yu Yan's control over the purple qi and Moonlight Essence absorbed into his body had increased significantly.
Considering all factors, Yu Yan planned to see if, after his Breakthrough tonight, he could absorb an excessive amount of unrefined Moonlight Essence and pass it to Xiao Wu to see if she could absorb it.
After sharing some of his experience absorbing purple qi and Moonlight Essence with Xiao Wu, Yu Yan closed his eyes and entered Cultivation.
During meditation, the soft Moonlight Essence flowed down from the moon. Yu Yan gathered a portion of the Moonlight Essence into his body and began the path of refining and Cultivating.
Ordinarily, drawing in surrounding spirit power was like walking on two legs.
But drawing in purple qi and Moonlight Essence for Cultivation was like using a bicycle as transportation.
Xiao Wu sat cross-legged beside Yu Yan, absorbing the spirit power that was radiating from his body.
The Spirit Cat, placed next to Xiao Wu, comfortably rolled over surrounded by this high-quality spirit power, instinctively inching closer to Yu Yan.
The Moonlight Essence was converted into spirit power and stored in his body. Soon, Yu Yan successfully achieved a Breakthrough to Rank 13.
After stabilizing his Spirit Power Level slightly, Yu Yan drew in a wisp of faint Moonlight Essence. Using the fire fish to neutralize the coldness of the Moonlight Essence, and after summarizing the experience from more than twenty repeated failures, Yu Yan successfully pushed the Moonlight Essence toward Xiao Wu, who was Cultivating.
Having completed all this, Yu Yan opened his eyes, waiting for Xiao Wu's result.
Xiao Wu, who was absorbing the high-quality spirit power radiating from Yu Yan, suddenly saw a wisp of energy, different from spirit power, drifting out of Yu Yan's body and flying toward her.
Is this the Moonlight Essence?
Feeling the gentle, moonlight-like energy emanating from this wisp, Xiao Wu immediately thought of the Moonlight Essence Yu Yan had mentioned.
Since she could sense it, she should be able to absorb it, right?
Thinking this, Xiao Wu followed the experience Yu Yan had given her, using her mental force to touch and draw in the Moonlight Essence.
With the help and experience provided by Yu Yan, Xiao Wu's process of absorbing the Moonlight Essence was very smooth—so smooth that no unexpected situations occurred at all.
While absorbing and refining the Moonlight Essence energy, Xiao Wu clearly felt that she had become somewhat different. This feeling was wonderful, as if certain hidden abilities within her body were slowly being unlocked.
She felt her current state was excellent, better than ever before.
"Yu Yan, I succeeded."
After digesting and absorbing the last bit of Moonlight Essence in her body, Xiao Wu opened her eyes and excitedly shared the news with Yu Yan.
"You succeeded?"
Seeing Xiao Wu nod, Yu Yan was equally happy.
"Do you remember the feeling when you sensed and absorbed the Moonlight Essence just now? Try it now and see if you can sense the Moonlight Essence by yourself."
After the excitement passed, Yu Yan urged Xiao Wu to enter Cultivation state, wanting to see if she could absorb Moonlight Essence independently.
Xiao Wu imitated Yu Yan's method of calming down, took a few deep breaths, closed her eyes, and entered Cultivation state again.
Before long, Xiao Wu opened her eyes and shook her head at Yu Yan.
"It didn't work?"
Yu Yan muttered to himself, then instructed:
"Later, when I absorb Moonlight Essence, I will also pass some excess Moonlight Essence to you. Remember to absorb and Cultivate. I will also try to pass some excess purple qi to you, see if you can absorb that too. The Essence of Sun and Moon is the same principle."
Seeing Xiao Wu nod, Yu Yan once again entered the Cultivation state to absorb Moonlight Essence. Only this time, he would push out a portion of the Moonlight Essence to Xiao Wu every so often.
As the sun rose in the east, the Moonlight Essence stored in his body began to merge with the absorbed purple qi. With the experience gained last time, the amount of Essence of Sun and Moon Yu Yan neutralized this time was double that of the previous attempt.