...
...
Under the flickering firelight, the natural seed, glowing emerald green, drifted toward the small Stone Dragon.
The small Stone Dragon flapped its wings, circling the natural seed and examining it closely.
"Hurry up, maintaining it consumes my energy."
Lawrence urged, "If you donât want it, Iâll take it back. Donât waste my time."
As he spoke, the natural seed floated back toward Lawrence.
"I want it, I want it!"
The small Stone Dragon shouted, "Of course I want it!"
Lawrence glanced at the small Stone Dragon and urged the natural seed closer to it,
"Accept it, donât resist, otherwise I donât have a second one for you."
"Okay! I understand!"
The small Stone Dragon came forward to meet the natural seed, and at the instant they touched, the natural seedâs glow disappeared into the small Stone Dragonâs body.
The small Stone Dragonâs body trembled slightly, but it quickly returned to normal.
"Feels... strange..."
The small Stone Dragonâs voice was somewhat confused,
"Itâs nurturing me, making me feel at ease, but itâs also absorbing my energy..."
"Hm?"
Lawrence was also a bit puzzled.
Because at this moment, Lawrence clearly felt a trace of strange energy flowing into his body, stimulating his spirit.
It was like the feeling during meditation.
"This feeling is normal,"
Lawrence looked at the small Stone Dragon, "But it becomes more apparent during cultivation like you mentioned."
"Cultivation?"
The small Stone Dragonâs tone rose, "We Giant Dragons donât need cultivation; sleeping is our greatest form of cultivation!"
Lawrence was suddenly enlightened.
The strength of a true Giant Dragon increases naturally with age.
They donât need to do anything; just by living long enough, a dragon hatchling can grow from fourth rank to eighth, ninth rank, or even legendary status.
Legendary Giant Dragons of the Ancient Era are worlds apart from todayâs Legendary Knights.
The latter can be considered generals capable of taking the enemyâs head from thousands of troops, but the former can destroy thousands with a single breath.
The small Stone Dragon is now a "bound earth dragon," but its core is a deeply rooted dragon soul, which is why Lawrence felt its distinct spiritual wave.
"Then you should rest well here, sleep as much as possible, store up energy."
Lawrence said to the small Stone Dragon, "Once Iâm back, Iâll look for other ways to help you."
"Lord Rod, you are truly a kind human!"
The small Stone Dragon loudly praised Lawrence, "You are the best human Iâve encountered, besides my old companion."
"Thank you for your praise."
Lawrence waved his hand casually; the praise from a forgetful dragon soul didnât bring much sense of achievement.
Lawrence did not linger, leaving the cave with his team.
...
...
The next morning, the sun was just right.
Lawrence led the team back to Frost Leaf Town.
Considering the dwelling place for the earth dragon, Lawrence temporarily let it stay outside the town for a few days.
Just after returning to the Lord Manor, Lawrence came up to inquire about the celebration feast.
The ingredients had been prepared and couldnât be stored for long, so Lawrence decided to hold it that evening.
After arranging Lawrenceâs tasks, he headed straight to the manor hall.
"Darling, you came back just in time!"
Lawrence walked into the center of the courtyard as Avril hurriedly ran over, lifting her skirt,
"I have something to show you."
Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she took Lawrence by the hand and rushed to her workshop.
"What has got you so excited?"
Lawrence was somewhat curious.
"Youâll see soon enough!"
Avril led Lawrence inside, casually shutting the door.
Unlike Lawrenceâs workshop, Avrilâs room emitted a gentle fragrance of flowers and herbs.
The wooden table was neatly arranged with various ancient books, and the quill still had ink on it.
Evidently, Avril had just been researching something.
"Look at this."
Avril pointed to a wooden box beside the table.
The box was large, about half a manâs height, filled with various clutter.
Animal skins, bone ornaments, oddly shaped stones.
"Isnât this the stuff I gathered from the Great Shaman?"
Lawrence curiously stepped forward to examine them closely.
Since Lawrence didnât recognize the items inside, he entrusted Avril to handle them all.
Lawrence embraced Avrilâs slender waist,
"What did you discover, enlighten me?"
Avril crouched down, picked up an irregular polyhedron carved out of bone from the surface of the box.
The polyhedron was about the size of a peach, old and worn, with several strange symbols carved on it and some cracks.
"Guess what this is?"
"How would I guess? I donât recognize a single symbol on it."
Lawrence gently pinched Avrilâs waist, gazing into her bright eyes, and suddenly understood,
"Wait, youâre letting me guess, surely itâs what Iâve been searching for rather than making wild guesses..."
Lawrence squinted, the corners of his mouth curled up,
"Is it the Ancestor Spirit Box of the Lynx People?"
"Youâre so clever, darling!"
Avril raised the polyhedron in her hand, "Thatâs right!"
"You asked me to organize these items, and the first thing I took out was it."
"I spent half a day figuring out the meaning of the symbols from the arrayâs tomes."
She pointed to the twisted lines carved on the box surface,
"This is the rune for preserving souls."
Lawrence nodded slightly, taking the polyhedron, "If it werenât for you discovering the rune, who would know this is the Ancestor Spirit Box?"
"Plus, this isnât even a box; it canât hold anything."
Lawrence couldnât help but quip.
Lawrence, Kael, and Vika had all rummaged through these items, yet none realized this item was the so-called Ancestor Spirit Box.
Everyone thought at least it was a box.
Unexpectedly, it was just a piece of bone.
"How is it used?"