To Rise Again In The Apocalypse

Li Xinwen stared at the fae spirit who had just called him 'master' not too long ago. "Lanyu?" he asked.

"Well, if that is what master wants to call me, then I am Lanyu!" the spirit replied. "I'm the fae spirit of the woods! Lanyu thanks master for helping me gather pieces of myself! Unfortunately, there are still more to be collected but I couldn't sense them at all," at this, Lanyu displayed a dejected expression on his face.

"Don't worry, we'll have more opportunity in the future," Li Xinwen told Lanyu and almost immediately, his face lit up.

"Right, right! Master has just arrived! Come, let me show you around!" Lanyu said as he flew down and grabbed Li Xinwen's finger. He started to pull Li Xinwen away but of course, with his strength and his size, he was doomed to fail.

Li Xinwen chuckled and followed Lanyu, feeling as if he was back in Long Xing. Just as the thought crossed his mind, his eyes suddenly widened. He hadn't realized it earlier, but now that he paid attention, he noticed the spiritual energy inside the dimension was pure. Not only that, it was even purer than the energies in Long Xing. "Lanyu, what is this place?" Li Xinwen couldn't help but ask the spirit.

"This place? It's just a small pocket dimension that mas- I mean, my previous master made. But because the medium is damaged, the space is much smaller at the moment. Luckily! The main area was left untouched!" Lanyu replied happily. "Master is the first guest that Lanyu has received after a long time, so let's stop the questions for now and let me show you around ah! I promise, you will not regret it, master!"

Hearing the excitement from Lanyu, Li Xinwen held off his questions for the moment. 'Oh well, there is always later. I'll just ask him once he's finished showing me around,' Li Xinwen said as he continued to follow Lanyu. Much to his surprise, the first place that Lanyu brought him to was not the cottage, instead, he was led around it. Behind the cottage, Li Xinwen saw a bamboo forest. 'How did I not notice this before?!' he turned to Lanyu and he was just about to open his mouth when Lanyu's small hands smacked Li Xinwen on his lips.

"Master, questions later, okay? Just follow me first!" he grinned and continued to lead Li Xinwen deeper into the bamboo forest. The bamboo forest was not as big as Li Xinwen initially thought and rather than calling it a forest, it would be more appropriate to call it a garden. That was how small it was, as if it was there merely for aesthetic purposes.

When they exited what Li Xinwen referred to as the bamboo garden, Li Xinwen was greeted with a clearing and a lake. Lanyu flew right over the edge of the lake and turned to Li Xinwen. "Master, quick! Come and have a drink! The lake is full of spiritual energy and it will be beneficial for you! The energy from the outside world was not as pure, so whenever I helped you absorb energy from outside, I would always let those energy go through a 'cleansing' process!" Lanyu said proudly. "That's why your cultivation rank quickly accelerated that night!"

Li Xinwen was reminded of the time when he first received Lanyu and cultivated through the night. He went from the early 3rd stage Houtian to the peak of 4th stage Houtian, almost breaking through to Xiantian. In fact, Li Xinwen only needs to push slightly to break through but because it was too fast, Li Xinwen had to stop. After all, if he did not consolidate his spiritual energy before breaking through, it will end up causing a problem in the future. 'So, it wasn't that I absorbed more spiritual energy because of Lanyu but it's because the energy that Lanyu gave me was pure?'

"Master?" Lanyu's voice snapped Li Xinwen out of his thoughts and remembered what Lanyu had told him earlier.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I was lost in my thought. So, you want me to drink from this lake?" Li Xinwen asked as he walked closer to the lake.

"Yes… Oh! but before that, master should form a blood contract with the spirit of the lake! Well, the actual spirit is already gone but he left his consciousness within the lake so master should still be able to form a contract with it!" Lanyu informed Li Xinwen.

Li Xinwen nodded his head and lifted his hand. He bit into his index finger and let it hover above the water. After several drops of blood dissolved into the lake water, Li Xinwen retracted his hand and started to manipulate his spiritual energy to his finger so that it would stop bleeding. He didn't have to wait long before he felt that the contract was completed in his subconscious. He was about to kneel when Lanyu spoke again.

"Master, that... will you also make a contract with me?" he asked. "I mean, we are still not contracted and without a contract, it's going to be really hard for me to communicate with you once you leave the dimension," Lanyu explained.

Thinking of this, Li Xinwen felt that it was better for them to make a contract, so he held out his hand towards Lanyu. His finger still had a bit of blood on it and he simply gestured for Lanyu to lick it. "And make sure you lick it clean while you're at it," Li Xinwen said with a smile and Lanyu suddenly felt that he was being taken advantage of. Regardless, he still did as he was told and licked the finger clean. The contract was formed and Lanyu seemed more excited.

"Hehe! Thank you, master!" he grinned happily. "Now, hurry and drink the water, ah!" Lanyu continued to urge Li Xinwen.

If this was back in Long Xing and some stranger told him to quickly drink something, Li Xinwen would be suspicious but with Lanyu, he was not suspicious at all. He trusted the spirit, especially now that they have a contract between them, and he would be able to read Lanyu's thoughts whenever he wants. He knelt on the ground and scooped lake water onto his hands.

The water was clear, and very clean but that was not all, Li Xinwen could clearly feel the spiritual energy contained within the water. Without any hesitation, he sipped the water and felt himself being rejuvenated. Even the small cut he made on his finger was completely healed. When he saw this, he suddenly panicked and quickly took off his shirt. When he removed his bandage, Li Xinwen had a complicated expression on his face upon seeing that the scars from his accident that were previously there had all disappeared.

"... I cannot let anyone know about this..." Li Xinwen murmured softly.

Lanyu who was nearby, clearly heard what Li Xinwen had said so he asked, "Know about what?" When Li Xinwen explained his current situation, Lanyu suddenly felt guilty. "Well…umm... master, I'm sorry. Lanyu didn't know about master's situation and felt that it would be alright if master drinks from the lake."

"It's alright. At the very least, I just can't take off my clothes randomly. Luckily, there is a private bathroom in the original's room, and I'll just have to make sure that I bring a set of clothes whenever I use any other bathroom," Li Xinwen replied, while gently patting Lanyu's head.

"Oh, wait! I think there's something that can help master! Let's go back into the cottage first!" Lanyu said suddenly. Li Xinwen looked at Lanyu with a questioning look and thought, 'What could he possibly have which could resolve this predicament?'