Lin Mu had continued using the spirit Qi and producing Beast Qi for a while. He didn't even realized when he had gotten into a state where he was monotonously doing everything and also comprehending at the same time.
Doing so many tasks at once had given him insights into how the spirit Qi worked and flowed while also allowing him to strengthen his Dao Shell. It was a surprising gain but a welcome one certainly.
Little Shrubby was progressing steadily too, and his Dao Shell had expanded by about 10% too. It was now a over two meters wide, which was an excellent size. Most cultivators would barely even reach this size after centuries of cultivation.
But Little Shrubby had reached it in less than a span of three years.
~HONG~
Lin Mu gazed at the Dao Shell of Little Shrubby as a faint humming sound could be heard coming from it all of a sudden.
His gaze was mild, but soon turned intense as the humming sound increased as well.
"You should stop now." Xukong's voice was heard.
"Oh? Why Senior?" Lin Mu questioned.
"Little Shrubby has reached a peak. Beast Qi will not help him anymore for now and might only distract his body." Xukong said before taking a pause. "Look… he's already in a trance." He added.
Lin Mu observed closely and saw that Little Shrubby's breathing had indeed changed. His eyes were closed, but that was quite normal while cultivating and thus wasn't a good sign of whether one was in a trance or not.
But having one's breathing change was a good sign for most times. While it might not be the most accurate one, it was still better than using eyes.
And since Lin Mu was rather familiar with Little Shrubby, he could tell that he truly was in a trance and one that was different than usual.
Lin Mu thus stopped producing Beast Qi and simply observed Little Shrubby. The beast stayed in the same state for a while, and Lin Mu wondered if nothing was going to happen.
But just as he was about to give up, it happened!
~shua~
A very faint sound was head coming from Little Shrubby. It was almost like a whisper, like an ember had been lit.
But the energy wave that came from it was massive.
"WHAT!" Lin Mu almost felt like he would be knocked away from it.
"There we go… take this chance to observe it as much as you can. Might help you later." Xukong said with a chuckle before retreating into silence.
Lin Mu did just as suggested and saw as the wave of energy coming from Little Shrubby's Dao Shell settled down.
Instead of the wave, there was now a small light hidden within the Dao Shell. It was very small, and almost impossible to see with a naked eye. Just like a spark from a flint, it barely let out any light.
But just like how a spark could turn into a blaze, it erupted!
~WHOOSH~
Another wave of energy spread from Little Shrubby, but this time the aura of the bloodlines rose with it.
~ROAR!!!!~
A strange roar was also heard, which seemed as if thousands of beasts were roaring at the same time. The roar came from within Little Shrubby and only increased with the bloodline aura.
And when the aura reached its peak, the bloodlines themselves materialized.
Seven motes of light shot out of Little Shrubby's body. Red, orange, brown, green, silver, blue, and black were their colors, with each of them exuding a different sensation.
The Red mote was explosively hot like gunpowder while the orange mote was searing hot like a flaming knife. The brown mote exuded a sense of unity. The green mote exuded endless vitality. The silver exuded a sense of reflection and mystery. The blue exuded shock and gave one goosebumps while black exuded a sense of calmness as well as unease.
Lin Mu didn't know what to make of them other than the fact that he could tell what they were.
'The bloodlines are certainly stronger than before.' Lin Mu thought as the motes started to expand.
~Rumble~
The seven motes of light expanded rapidly and turned into seven beasts that composed Little Shrubby's bloodline.
The bloodline figures all seemed imposing and far more 'alive' than before.
"It's almost as if… they are aware?" Lin Mu muttered in wonder.
His wonder was answered by a look from all the seven bloodline figures as they gazed at him.
At first, the look was sharp, but it soon mellowed down.
~growl~
A unified growl came from all of them, as if acknowledging Lin Mu before they gazed at Little Shrubby's Dao Shell.
~Roar~
But from the seven bloodline figures, only two moved. The bloodline representing the Flash Fire Liger and Scorch Claw Tiger approached the Dao Shell and touched it with their heads.
~HONG!!!!~
The Dao shell started to tremble as faint runes stared to form within them.
"Dao script?" Lin Mu recognized.
The runes seemed to be coming from the two bloodline figures' heads and were gathering together. Lin Mu tried to read the runes but found himself to be unable to do it at all.
He could 'read' them but not 'understand' them.
It was a strange sensation, and he was reminded of the first time he had started to learn the Dao script from senior Xukong.
'New runes that stem from the very Dao itself… can't be understood by simply reading and needs comprehending to grasp.' Lin Mu remembered the teachings.
Giving up on reading the runes, he continued to watch as the runes seemingly merged together and formed a red blob. The blob was like water, and ripples formed on it whenever more runes entered it.
Time continued to pass and Lin Mu didn't even realize when it had been an hour.
By this point, the red blob was no longer a blob and had a particular shape instead.
And that shape was none other than that of a hand!
