Chapter 13: Chapter 12 – Maybe he should have checked his rewards…

Xinyi looked away. She put down her chopsticks and pushed away her rice bowl. She looked sick to the stomach. “The Spider Valley Cult… they beheaded an entire convoy of refugees and staked their heads on spikes in front of the town. It was a message that they weren't going to pull back any punches.”

Yin Hu stared at her. His mask nearly shattered. What monster would do such… he grit his teeth. “Did Hu Shui see it?” Why was he so angry? He didn’t really know them. Nothing connected them more than a few moments and nothing else, right? Why was he so invested already?

Xinyi looked away, she couldn’t meet his gaze.

He tisked. Feeling a burning hatred grow in his chest. Was that what the guards felt when they saw him? There was no way he could blame them if this was what they had to go through. It was like an irremovable weed that kept expanding.

He could already imagine the heads of little kids, elderly, women, the weak and destitute. It would scar any cold man much less a young girl like Hu Shui. She was supposed to be playing with dolls and brushing hair or something else equally innocent. Not this.

Yin Hu got up. “I'll be outside.” He needed to breathe, the house seemed cramped without enough air. He stepped out past the courtyard and then the gate. He closed it behind him and stood there with his back on the wall watching as people went about their lives. There was a dull thrum of markets and ancient life, but it was muted as if they were afraid of making too much noise.

He looked up into the sky. It was the same blue as the floating island. White puffy clouds leisurely floated away. Yin Hu let his eyes close and reminisced about his blurry time on the island. In the beginning he had been filled with motivation to continue to get these rewards. The joy he had every time one appeared had been like taking drugs.

His dopamine levels rocketed out of the world. But even then, it faded and he eventually crashed. But the happiness was not fake. They were moments he could recall fondly regardless of how scant they were. He could vaguely remember the work he had done and achievements he gained. But it was distant with the passing of so much time.

Yin Hu had to think about what the hell they were meant to do. Should he hide deep in the town? What if the Spider Valley Cult decided it was worth attacking this small town? What was he supposed to do then? He was nowhere strong enough to fight off an empowered fly much less someone with actual skill.

He came to a decision. It would be wise to leave this place and look for an existing city. They would definitely be more prosperous but also more likely to be able to protect them. From what Xinyi had told him, the only reason this place even existed was because the Bandit Lord was sufficiently strong enough to ward off attacks.

But when he fell?

Or the Spider people finally came to a decision to eliminate them… They had no chance to survive.

He had time. Just enough to get things in motion and hopefully power up Hu Xinyi. Either way, he had a timetable now. One he could manage with.

That came to another matter he had to address. Xinyi, while graceful and capable enough to take out low leveled mobs, was not strong enough to fight anyone with even an ounce of real power. What if the Bandit Lord tried to take his spacial bag? He wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.

Yin Hu nodded to himself. The path forward was clear and laid out for them. Once they reached a real city with an actual economy, he would be an ultimate baller. Whether that is to recruit talent or even start a super business.

The mountains worth of gold, silver, and mana stones he carried on him would flood an entire valley. Once established he would finally accomplish his goal! He would find him cute, buxom wives and they would pamper him!

He searched into his rice bag, going through it in his mind. That was the most magical thing he could accomplish. For the first time he went through the manuscripts and cultivation techniques. It had been painful to even remember them before, but now they were worth it!

As soon as he prodded one with his senses, a vision appeared in his mind. It was vivid and concise. A perfect course that made it impossible to mess up unless you were a true dunce. He could speed and slow down the replaying vision to make sure each part was correct.

Do you wish to assimilate ‘Fire Snake Cultivation’?

Yes -

No -

Yin Hu chuckled. Of course the system he had no access to would offer such a convenient option. He pressed ‘Yes’ mentally. He felt a slight headache that disappeared after a brief second. Yin Hu laughed. Adding on to what could have been the most overpowered cheat possible, he now understood the ‘Fire Snake Cultivation’ in a much deeper sense.

By all means, he would be a master if he could only practice it. But, he knew that the system made it impossible for him to cultivate by his lonesome. He had tried to circulate the Qi in the air–which he actually felt during his endless practice– but it would never move. Even after more time, then he could imagine passed, it never changed.

He wasn’t sure why, but if he had to guess the system had something to do with it.

Not that he would ever attempt to practice the ‘Fire Snake Cultivation’. It was for, as the title stated, emulating fire snakes. It didn’t surprise him that monsters like that existed. Regardless, he had cultivation techniques that outclassed it in every possible metric. He would only limit himself and his subordinates with it.

Unlike other cultivation techniques, he had noticed, it also ended at its current rank. Not because it wasn’t capable of reaching higher levels if properly advanced, it was just flawed in its essence. He saw cultivation techniques that were lower level versions of sky shattering manuals. It acted like a guide for those too weak to practice something for beings strong enough to destroy mountains.

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Regardless, it made a very clear point. Certain elements existed. Which meant that Xinyi could not use a manual that did not adhere or at the very least be accepted with her element. Would that be considered… He saw a very unique item.

‘Spiritual Root Cleanser’.

He prodded it with his mind, the system was more than happy to give him information. Spiritual roots literally decided your talent in cultivation. Even if you had a world shaking cultivation technique and a mountain worth of pills and medicine, if you didn’t have the talent and potential to reach greater realms, then you couldn’t make it.

Searching his bag, he found more items that would either purify or boost their spiritual roots. Not mentioning boosts to their qi absorption rates, opening meridians, body cleansing, and a tonne of other equally important items. But one in particular stood out.

‘Sage Tears - Spiritual roots ripped out from a true sage by an enemy. In a last bid to prevent catastrophe, the defeated sage sacrificed their soul to forcefully teleport them beyond the void.’

Yin Hu could not help but salivate at such a thing. It would turn the entire world upside down if he ever pulled it out. The thought that he couldn’t even take advantage of something this overpowered churned in his guts. The system was broken, he knew it would assimilate it instantly and in consequence, it would be locked away.

Even then, he would need so much time to prepare it was inconceivable to use it. Without having a body capable of holding such roots, his very soul would be eaten by it instead of accepting it. The system would prevent that, but for anyone else other than him it was suicide.

You needed to at minimum reach The Great Dao realm. And if he understood the connotation behind what the system was trying to imprint into his mind, it was nigh impossible to get there.

He would have to settle for basic spiritual root upgrades and cleansers. There was even a manual on the sequence that was best to get the most out of using items only princelings and kings would get their hands on.

‘The Compendium of Empires Children and Spawn - Volume XXCIV - How the elite use Spiritual Roots’

Yin Hu returned to the house. He found Xinyi cleaning up while Shui was knocked out asleep. He tried to clear his throat, but the little girl was dead to rights. He knew enough that she would not get up without more effort than he cared to put.

“Xinyi.” He called.

She stopped her brooming, having already cleaned the dining table from pots and spoons.

He gestured to her with as much solemn energy he could summon in that moment. “Come here. I have questions.”

Xinyi leaned the reed broom on the wall and sat where she had been during their meal. She saw the energy he carried and looked on anxiously. Yin Hu faked putting his hand into his robe and pulled out a murky orb that fit snugly in his cupped palms together. He placed it on the table and it unnaturally stayed still.

He was sure the ground, hence the table was not perfectly even.

He could see realization dawn on Hu Xinyi’s face. “Go ahead. I need to know what spiritual roots you have.”

She nodded. Took a deep breath and schooled her face with a mask of utter seriousness. She channeled that energy she had cultivated for years to keep creeps and evil people at bay. Then placed a palm on the orb–she wiped it on her ordinary robe seconds prior under the table–and did what Yin Hu expected was what they were taught since childhood.

He knew that in order for the Orb to detect anything, you had to channel even the tiniest bit of qi into it. Whether he could even get a spec of anything moving, well, he would have to test that out later.

The orb started to glow a calm deep green. Symbols appeared on its surface that he could not recognize, but their meaning was as clear as crystal. He made a mental note to check that out, how could something so foreign to him be so deeply intertwined with his understanding?

‘Wood - Immortal Peak Rank Four’

Xinyi let out a haggard breath. Her body shook like she had done the most physically demanding work possible. Now that he looked, he could see the sweat that soaked her body. But it could not hide her pleased smile, as weak as it was.

Yin Hu had no clue what the hell that meant. Immortal Peak sounded impressive, but for all he knew it could be nothing noteworthy. So he decided to keep a neutral outlook on it all and neither compliment nor act like it was tiny.

“Decent.”