While Lin Mu didn't know for sure if Little Shrubby had actually awakened a bloodline, he had a hunch that it might be so. The Fume Wood Panther bloodline's strengthening had indeed increased the wood elemental spirit Qi in his body.
Lin Mu could feel it clearly and wondered if it came with an ability, too. Since awakening the Seven beasts Burst innate ability, Little Shrubby hadn't gotten any new ones.
"I have." Little Shrubby spoke.
"You do?" Lin Mu asked, feeling surprised.
"He does?" Jing Luo too picked up on what the two were talking about from Lin Mu's words.
"Yup." Little Shrubby nodded his head.
"What is it?" Lin Mu asked.
In response to this, Little Shrubby moved. Lin Mu watched him curiously as his eyes went wide.
"What in the…" Lin Mu said in surprise.
~shua~
Jing Luo was stunned too, as he saw the large figure of Little Shrubby disappear all of a sudden.
~mew~
Lin Mu looked at the little cat on the ground in front of him and was speechless.
"That… That's you?!" Lin Mu exclaimed.
"Its me, yup!" Little Shrubby replied with a purr.
"How?" Lin Mu was confused.
"Indeed, how?" Jing Luo was disoriented, thinking of it.
"I just can," Little Shrubby spoke.
Lin Mu raised his brows and kneeled down to pick up little Shrubby.
"Huh? He's light? Extremely light!" Lin Mu discovered.
"That cannot be!" Jing Luo said.
He took Little Shrubby from Lin Mu's hand and checked it for himself. But even then the result was the same.
"He… he's the same weight as a normal cat?" Jing Luo muttered.
Lin Mu was still confused and didn't know how this worked.
"Can you turn back to normal?" Lin Mu asked.
"Okay~" Little Shrubby said before his body started to grow rapidly. In less than five seconds, he was back to his normal size of seven meters.
The size difference between the two forms was massive, pretty much being exponential.
But it was now that Lin Mu noticed something.
"Wait, do that again. Shrink back." Lin Mu asked.
"Okay~" Little Shrubby replied and did it again.
Lin Mu observed it closely using his spirit sense and felt the difference.
"It's… it's not just his body… his cultivation base… it reduces too." Lin Mu muttered in realization.
"It does?" Jing Luo checked for himself and realized that Lin Mu was speaking the truth.
The spirit Qi fluctuations and even the aura coming from Little Shrubby were the same as that of a Qi refining realm beast now.
"Vitality Reversal… there's no doubt… its Vitality Reversal." Xukong suddenly spoke up.
"You know what the ability is, senior?" Lin Mu questioned.
"Yes, it is actually a common ability many plants have. You've already seen something similar to it in the Wood Spirit Tulip and the Purple Sickle Amaranth before." Xukong answered.
Lin Mu thought over it and understood what Xukong was talking about.
"The ability to grow their parts spontaneously?" Lin Mu said, recalling the way the Wood Spirit Tulip used its roots to lash out and the Purple Sickle Amaranth its leaves.
Both the spirit herbs could use their body parts and make them grow and contract. Lin Mu had not paid much attention to it and didn't really have much to question it back then, but now hearing it from Xukong gave him some other thoughts.
"Yes, that's one part of it. But what Little Shrubby has is a bit more complex." Xukong replied.
"How so senior?" Lin Mu asked.
"You know how plants can let themselves wither during bad conditions like a harsh winter and they grow back again when the right condition appear? Thats what I'm talking about.
Some plants can go even further and kill their bodies and leave behind some seeds which will then endure the tough conditions before sprouting again.
This is just the ability of the normal plants and trees, for spirit plants this goes beyond it. They can return to their younger forms and turn dormant for long periods of times. This way they can save up on their lifespans and still survive whatever tough condition they are going through.
This very ability is called Vitality Reversal. Despite being very common in plants, it is not something that has been seen much in animals. Or humans for that matter. Even if the said human has assimilated that plant beast's bloodline somehow." Xukong explained.
Hearing this Lin Mu was surprised, he had not expected Little Shrubby to gain something like this.
"This ability certainly came from the Fume Wood Panther didn't it? With its plant like form I guess it has this too." Lin Mu spoke.
"Yes. But for it to awaken in Little Shrubby is astounding. There must be some other changes to it that we don't know yet. I doubt it can be exactly the same." Xukong replied.
"We'll have to learn more about it." Lin Mu said as he took a look at Little Shrubby.
After thinking over for about if be minutes, Lin Mu came up with some possible tests.
"Little Shrubby when you are in that small form, what's the maximum power you can exert?" Lin Mu questioned.
"Umm… ~Poof~" Little Shrubby spat out a fireball as an answer.
Lin Mu looked at the small fireball that was the size of a chicken egg and could feel the power from it.
"So it's really the same as that at the Qi refining realm, huh…" Lin Mu muttered.
"That is understandable, the Vitality Reversal is technically a sealing skill… a Self-sealing skill. It seals your life and cultivation, reverting it to the younger from or even returns to the unborn form.
Little Shrubby's cultivation will be restricted too at the same time if he uses the skill." Xukong explained.
"Hmm… that makes the use rather limited… unless…" Lin Mu said and looked at Little Shrubby.
"Can you control, how much you can shrink?" Lin Mu asked.
"No. I'm either big or I'm small. It's also how I boost my speed sometimes." Little Shrubby said, giving Lin Mu another question.
