"In other words, you've been starving for over three thousand years since you were picked up."
Ryan didn't actually feel hungry. He ate and drank as usual.
It was just that those foods, and even the elixirs fed to him by the immortals, couldn't satisfy his growth needs; they were merely life-sustaining meals.
And just like impoverished human children are often thinner and smaller than their peers, Ryan was the same.
"No wonder I was so excited. The rumors in Liyue Harbor and Osial's wrath…"
"Oh… I knew my appetite had been huge lately! So it had nothing to do with Ganyu Senior Sister's child. Now that I think about it, it must be because the Rite of Descension is approaching, and Liyue Harbor is too lively!"
After hearing Morax's explanation, Ryan subconsciously clutched his stomach, while his mind considered another possibility.
Liyue Harbor, with the Rite of Descension approaching, was incredibly lively, and various emotions were naturally abundant.
It was perfectly reasonable for his body's growth to increase his appetite.
"Ganyu's… child?"
Morax's expression was a little strange. He had been in Liyue Harbor all this time and hadn't heard that the Secretary of the Liyue Qixing was in a relationship… "Oh, that's my second question for you, Lord. Look at my tail."
Hearing Morax's voice, Ryan immediately explained, then extended his tail, now adorned with much blue fur, in front of him.
Although Ryan was a white fox, the blue fur on his tail was very beautiful, and it blended seamlessly with the white fur.
Therefore, unlike Cloud Retainer, who couldn't accept her feathers turning colorful, Ryan thought his tail looked quite good after changing color.
"This is… the Qilin bloodline?"
Golden light flickered in Morax's eyes, somewhat similar to Ryan's golden eyes, and he instantly saw the difference in Ryan's tail.
After all, the Qilin were immortal beasts, and he knew them quite well.
"Yes, that's right. A few days ago, I asked Ganyu Senior Sister for a drop of Qilin blood to refine into a pill. The result was a pill shaped like a small Qilin."
"I originally thought it was just an odd shape, but when I swallowed it, I found it moved in my mouth. But before I could spit it out, it melted on its own and burrowed into my body, finally attaching itself to my tail."
Ryan nodded and carefully explained the situation with his tail at the time.
A biological pill refined from Ganyu's blood, with an appearance similar to Ganyu in her youth, it wasn't wrong to say it flowed with Ganyu's bloodline. So Ryan considered it Ganyu's child.
Though Ganyu herself didn't know… "A creature formed by alchemy, that's truly unheard of…"
Although Morax was the ancestor of all immortals, Ryan's alchemy system was fundamentally different from what he had taught, so he was also baffled by it.
However, even if he couldn't understand the pill Ryan refined, the peculiarity of this tail could be confirmed.
Thinking of this, Morax slightly raised one hand, his palm emitting a soft glow.
"This is a technique immortals use to detect whether a living being has awakened its sentience, and it can also sense a living being's consciousness to distinguish between life and death."
Morax explained, then placed his hand above Ryan's tail.
Soon, Ryan felt his tail uncontrollably retract behind him.
"Hmm… as you suspected, it has indeed developed its own consciousness, but it's very weak and has not yet awakened its sentience."
"As for your increased appetite, it is indeed related to it. It is instinctively absorbing the nutrients provided by your body to nurture itself."
"If you're not in a hurry to eliminate it, you can temporarily keep it as a pet."
Having confirmed the tail's condition, Morax explained to Ryan.
And since this was Ryan's body, not a tail he picked up, he also offered the option of eliminating it.
"No need for that. It's actually quite fun."
"Once it grows up, then…"
Ryan shook his head, abandoning the idea of nipping it in the bud.
A tail with its own consciousness might also be a very rare alchemy ingredient.
"Hmm, then let's return to our previous topic."
"If you wish to continue absorbing emotions, you will inevitably travel with humans."
Morax then steered the conversation back to Ryan's racial Talents, and advised him thus.
An ally once told him that the tiny humans were as small and fragile as specks of dust. Because of their insignificance, they never knew when they might perish in natural disasters or man-made calamities, so they were always afraid.
Because they were afraid, they always strived to become smarter and stronger.
Compared to the Gods who overlooked all beings, ordinary humans were more prone to expressing emotions. Coupled with their sheer numbers, they could constantly emanate enough emotions for Ryan to absorb, so he wouldn't have to go hungry and then full again.
After all, Ryan couldn't absorb emotions buried deep in the heart; he could only wait for them to be expressed, like Osial's wrath that had been sealed for a thousand years.
As for the emotions on the Exuvia, Morax had actually left them there specifically for Ryan.
It was precisely the emotions on the Exuvia that made Morax fully confirm Ryan's racial Talents.
'Is that so? But then I can't focus on alchemy…'
Hearing this, Ryan scratched his head, feeling a little troubled.
He already had quite a few materials on hand and had planned to deal with Paimon and then return directly to Jueyun Karst to refine a few batches of pills to satisfy his craving.
"Furthermore, you feed on emotions, but negative emotions are often more easily forcibly manufactured than positive ones. You must always remember Cloud Retainer's teachings and never stray onto the wrong path."
Finally, Morax cautioned Ryan once more.
"I will respectfully obey your teachings, Lord, and engrave them in my heart."
Ryan could only push his troubles to the back of his mind for now and promised Morax.
Thus, the few questions in Ryan's mind were finally answered.
However, before descending the mountain, he thought of something else.
"Oh, by the way, Lord, could you grant me a little more of your divine power like last time? The pill I'm refining for the Vanquisher of Evil is still missing a portion of divine power…"
Ryan requested of Morax.
"The Vanquisher of Evil, you say…"
Morax nodded knowingly, then raised his hand and produced an orange-yellow ore.
In his view, Ryan treated those whose emotions he had absorbed as a kind of wet nurse, and thus felt very close to them; Xiao was one such person.
"This is the divine power I condensed before handing over my Gnosis, identical to the one I gave you before."
Morax handed the ore to Ryan and explained.
Although losing the Gnosis wouldn't cause him to lose his God's power, he did lose the divine power provided by the Gnosis.
"Alright, thank you, Lord ~"
Ryan immediately happily accepted the ore.
"Once we're down the mountain, remember to call me Morax."
"Okay, Morax Lord."
"…"
Morax shook his head gently, a little helpless, then descended Mt. Tianheng with Ryan.
Arriving before the lotus pond below Yujing Terrace, Ryan finally bid farewell to Morax.
"With this divine power, the Vanquisher of Evil's Longevity Pill is secured. He shouldn't be so downcast all the time now, right…"
Ryan put away the divine power ore, muttering to himself as he ascended Yujing Terrace.
He still had something he needed Granny Ping's help with.
However, Ryan, upon reaching Yujing Terrace, didn't see Granny Ping at her usual flower-viewing spot. Instead, he saw a petite figure leaning against the railing.
"Oh, it's Yaoyao…"
Ryan recognized the cute little girl at a glance and immediately crept closer.
As soon as he got close, Ryan heard Yaoyao wondering to herself.
"It's so strange, why do people always want to seek out immortals and ask about the Dao? Aren't immortals everywhere?"
"…"
Hearing Yaoyao's words, Ryan paused, then walked up and leaned against the railing next to Yaoyao.
"Yeah, it's so strange. Why do people always want to go up the mountains to gather herbs? Aren't herbs everywhere?"
Ryan leaned against the railing, looking at the bustling crowd on Feiyun Slope below as he spoke…