txolops Chapter 28 Brothers Reunited
Chapter 28 Brothers Reunited
Han Xiaoliu went to each shop in turn and activated the basic goods provided by the Dream World.
The pharmacy sells wound medicine and other elixirs, which Han Xiaoliu needs to restock himself.
Equipment Shop: Various weapon-type magical artifacts and armor-type magical artifacts, which Han Xiaoliu also needs to craft himself.
Hotel: Provides accommodation and catering services, and also sells Red Luo Soup and Green Lu Soup to aid in cultivation.
Warehouse: Stores items. Initially, there is one storage box, and the number of storage boxes can be expanded using Yin Virtue.
Having done all this, Han Xiaoliu had a thought and opened his warehouse storage box. Inside, a dozen or so storage bags lay quietly, like soldiers awaiting inspection.
He checked everything one by one and found that besides cultivation manuals, magical tools, there were only the pills he had refined and hundreds of herbs left. Most of these herbs were spiritual plants that Bubble had planted in the Chaotic Star Sea before he "died" last time.
However, when he finished taking inventory, a surge of anger suddenly welled up inside him.
The materials for the teleportation array and the more than one million low-grade spirit stones have vanished without a trace!
He whirled around, angrily demanding of the Dream Elf, "Where are my spirit stones? Where are my teleportation array materials? That's all the wealth I painstakingly accumulated!"
The elf seemed to have anticipated Han Xiaoliu's question, and calmly waved his hand. A huge, dreamlike map of the Lesser Three Realms unfolded before Han Xiaoliu.
The elf pointed to six glowing locations on the map and said, "The materials have been used to add teleportation points for Fangcun Mountain, the Underworld, Huaguo Mountain, Demon King's Stronghold, and Huasheng Temple. The materials have been converted into Yin Virtue and delivered to the Realm Lord."
Han Xiaoliu's anger subsided slightly. After all, teleportation array materials were consumables, and exchanging them for convenient teleportation points wasn't a bad deal. But spirit stones... those were hard currency!
The elf seemed to read his mind, then pointed to the faint halo above the map and continued, "The spirit stones have been used to enhance the world's spiritual energy. The current level is 32, an increase of 11 levels compared to when the first world lord died."
"We've taken another step closer to the world's growth. Please continue your efforts, World Lord."
Han Xiaoliu was stunned.
Looking at the level 32 spiritual energy marker on the map, his anger was instantly extinguished, replaced by an indescribable shock and... a slight pang of heartache.
More than a million low-grade spirit stones, just like that, gone?
But then I thought, what does it mean that the world's spiritual energy has increased by 11 levels? It means that all living beings are cultivating faster, that the foundation of the entire world is becoming stronger, and that his "cake" as the world lord is getting bigger.
This isn't consumption, it's clearly an investment! And a strategic investment with an extremely high rate of return!
"Okay...okay..." Han Xiaoliu murmured to himself, his expression shifting from anger to complexity, finally settling on a meaningful smile.
"Are there any more missions?"
"Finally finished! I'm done, let's go, bye!"
The Dream Elf, abandoning its previous rigid and mechanical tone, spoke with a sense of liberation and ease. It spun around in the air and vanished in a flash.
Ripples spread through the air around Han Xiaoliu, as if his body had passed through a layer of water and entered another world.
Han Xiaoliu then realized that he had been tricked. This dream sprite was not some silly system at all, but a living, breathing "human genius".
Just as he was about to unleash a torrent of abuse, a card whizzed through the air and landed in Han Xiaoliu's palm. Then, the voice of a dreamlike elf floated through the air again:
"I still need to train those summoned spirits, you go have fun on your own! This is my friend card, nothing important, don't bother me!"
……
"Sixth grade."
Han Xiaoliu felt a lightness in his body as he was instantly pulled into a firm and warm embrace.
The embrace carried a familiar spiritual pressure, along with a slight, almost imperceptible tremor.
In his ear was Han Li's deep and suppressed voice. More than six years had passed since they last met. His voice was still steady, but it carried an indescribable excitement.
It turned out that the moment Han Xiaoliu exited the guiding space, Han Li noticed the anomaly in the space.
The moment Han Xiaoliu appeared, Han Li recognized his younger brother at a glance.
That familiar aura, that charm in his eyes—even though his appearance had changed slightly, it couldn't escape his notice.
Six years.
Han Li was filled with complex emotions.
The younger brother who needed his protection back then has now embarked on this thorny path of cultivation once again.
He didn't know what Han Xiaoliu had gone through in the past six years, but he could sense the faint but unwavering resilience in the other person.
Overwhelmed with emotion, he almost instinctively hugged his younger brother tightly, as if trying to pour all the worries and longing of the past six years into that embrace.
"Young Master!" "Young Master!"
Yu Niangzi and Daya also rushed over with delight, their faces full of joy at the reunion, but their eyes held a hint of confusion about the unknown world.
They looked at the two brothers embracing tightly, feeling both happy for their young master's return and curious about the man who had suddenly appeared and could excite their young master so much.
Han Xiaoliu was held in Han Li's arms, the faint medicinal fragrance and spiritual energy emanating from his brother lingering around his nose.
He was equally excited. After six years apart, his elder brother seemed even stronger, and his calm and steady demeanor gave him a sense of peace.
But the next second, his thoughts were occupied by an even more urgent idea!
He abruptly lifted his head from Han Li's embrace, his face devoid of any warmth from the reunion of brothers, instead filled with eagerness and a thirst for the elixir.
He grabbed Han Li's arm, his eyes shining brightly: "You idiot, I've missed you so much! Do you have any Foundation Establishment Pills? Give me a few bottles!"
……
The Hehuan Sect is located in a secluded courtyard.
Dong Xuan'er stared in disbelief at the light emanating from the spirit-testing stone in her daughter Han Baibai's hand.
Gold, brown, red, blue, and green—five colors intertwined, their radiance bright yet chaotic and disordered.
Five colors, five spiritual roots.
A pseudo-spiritual root!
Dong Xuan'er's heart felt as if it had been gripped tightly by an invisible hand, and she instantly sank to the bottom.
She was a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator who had spent many years navigating the world of cultivation and knew all too well what aptitude meant to a cultivator.
In this cruel world, a pseudo-spiritual root means a difficult path of cultivation, that one may never be able to establish a foundation in their lifetime, and that... there is no future at all.
A wave of sadness washed over her, transforming into a single, glistening tear that slowly slid down her beautiful cheek.
She could almost see her daughter's bleak future, and even... that she might die before her.
Han Baibai, who was happily anticipating the test of her spiritual root, saw her mother's sad expression, looked at the undisguised regret on the faces of the maids around her, and looked at the colorful light in her hand. Remembering the knowledge her mother had taught her, she suddenly understood something.
"Wow! I don't want a pseudo-spiritual root, I don't want to be a waste!"
Overwhelmed by the injustice, young Han Baibai threw herself into Dong Xuan'er's arms, her small body trembling as she cried out her inner turmoil.
"Little Bai, don't cry, don't cry." Dong Xuan'er suppressed her own pain, gently patting her daughter's back and softly comforting her, "Practice hard, and in a few years, we can learn the art of manipulating objects. Then we can fly around freely, like birds!"
However, Dong Xuan'er's comforting words had no effect; instead, they seemed to ignite her pent-up emotions.
"I don't want to! I don't want to! Waaaaah..."
Just as Han Baibai burst into tears, a strange wave suddenly spread outwards from her center.
The emotions of everyone in the room seemed to be drawn in and swallowed up by this fluctuation in that instant.
Sadness, regret, self-blame... all negative emotions vanished, replaced by an overwhelming sense of tenderness that arose from the depths of my heart.
She looked pitiful; then she activated her weapon.
Several maids around Dong Xuan'er, and even Dong Xuan'er herself, felt a strong sense of guilt, as if making the child cry was a terrible mistake, and they wished they could do everything in their power to make amends immediately.
Perhaps due to her resolute will, Dong Xuan'er quickly composed herself and waved for everyone to leave.
Once only the mother and daughter remained in the room, Dong Xuan'er gently placed Han Baibai on the soft couch, squatted down, and looked at her daughter with tender yet firm eyes.
"Little Bai, listen to your mother." She wiped away her daughter's tears, her voice gentle yet powerful, "We can't change our birth, we can't change our spiritual roots, but we can decide our own future. If our spiritual roots aren't good, we'll work even harder, spending ten or a hundred times more time than others. Little Bai will definitely become a powerful cultivator in the future."
Han Baibai didn't want to listen. She curled up on the wooden couch like a wounded little animal and buried herself in the brocade quilt beside her.
Sobbing sounds kept coming from under the covers, muffled and heartbreaking to hear.
Dong Xuan'er stopped talking and just stared quietly at the bulging blanket.
This girl has always been like this since she was little. When she feels wronged, she likes to bury her head and cry. Once she's done crying, she'll feel better.
However, Dong Xuan'er knew that this time was different. The path of cultivation for those with pseudo-spiritual roots was far more difficult than she had imagined. She looked at the blanket where her daughter was hiding, a resolute glint in her eyes.
Regardless, as a mother, she had to pave a way for her daughter.