Chapter 0: Mutual Gifts
“Old Pal, you’re not joking?” Qin Gou’s spirits instantly lifted as if doused with cold water.
“Ding. Not this time.”
“But, according to our prior discussion, didn’t you say you’d fully assist me in accelerating my entry into the Realm Lord Realm only after we’ve significantly struck the Demon God’s faith and worship within the Abyss?”
Qin Gou inquired seriously, “Currently, although the statues in Demon Emperor City have been changed, news still takes time to circulate within the Abyss. Even with the families behind the Demon Lords, at most, only about a dozen Abyssal Ancient Races have achieved the goal. While I originally thought it wouldn’t be a matter of a day to truly remove any incense statues of the Demon God from every corner of the Abyss, shouldn’t at least more than half of the seventy-two ancient races have successfully replaced their statues, to truly deliver a heavy blow?”
“Ding. This system’s original plan was also to wait until half of the ancient races had replaced their incense statues. However, the Host’s situation can no longer afford any delay.”
“What do you mean?”
“Even excluding the spiritual power from Shang Yong that this system has temporarily sealed for the Host, the Host’s own cultivation, having twice reached the limit of the Dharma Image realm, has already stepped into an unprecedented domain. Your entire body’s cultivation and spiritual power urgently needs to enter a new realm. You cannot control this yourself, and you will soon naturally begin to break through the final bottleneck. With your profound accumulation, while it’s possible to succeed, it would be meaningless. It would be like trying to force open a door that clearly needs a key, with brute force. The door would open, but the pain would still befall you. And if this attempt fails…”
“I know my cultivation will definitely drop to some extent, and much of my previous efforts will be in vain,” Qin Gou understood tacitly.
“Precisely.”
The system continued to explain, “Considering these factors, this system had hoped to find another way to accelerate your mortal transformation. But, originally, that was also supposed to happen after you fulfilled your promise to me. However, plans cannot keep up with changes. The spiritual power within your Dantian is swelling much faster than this system previously anticipated. To ensure your spiritual power doesn’t run wild while waiting for more Abyssal Ancient Races to comply, this system has decided to change the plan and bring it forward for you.”
“Of course, this system could also suggest that the Host temporarily stop absorbing any Heaven and Earth spiritual energy, and release most of their spiritual power at fixed intervals daily to further delay. But this would be too rigid and would only make both the Host and this system unhappy. Moreover, this ‘alternative mortal transformation’ was a reward for the Host after completing a previous mission. Since this system made a mistake in calculating the time, the Host should not bear the consequences.”
“Alright, Old Pal. As you’ve become more cunning, your methods of teasing me have become increasingly sophisticated. But learning to be adaptable like this now is truly a good thing!” Qin Gou said with a smile.
“Ding! Has the Host decided when to enter mortal transformation?”
“Of course, I hope the sooner, the better.” As he spoke, Qin Gou walked out of the cave dwelling, planning to inform Yan Suoyun, Zhao Xinting, and the others first to prepare together.
“What a coincidence, Fellow Daoist Qin!”
“Xiao Ci?”
Qin Gou looked at Ren Ci, who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere in front of his cave dwelling, with a don’t know whether to laugh or cry expression. It was early in the morning, and right by his cave dwelling… How long had this girl been lurking here to finally manage to say that word, ‘coincidence’?
“Fellow Daoist Qin, are you still going to the Divine Bridge Sanctuary? I happen to be free today too.” Ren Ci was smiling beautifully, her tone seemingly casual. “By the way, this is for you.”
Several snow-white spirit flowers were offered to Old Qin, radiating spiritual energy. Without needing to think, it was obvious they were a precious spirit plant.
“What is this?”
“I heard that exchanging flowers is a custom among humans, and I’ve never given one to Fellow Daoist Qin before,” Ren Ci said shyly, her beautiful eyes showing a hint of bashfulness.
“But today isn’t a major festival or anything, and usually, it’s the male cultivator who gives to the female…” Qin Gou suddenly paused. What was going on? Was this girl Ren Ci really going to go through with switching roles with him to the end?
Early in the morning, before the dew had even dried, a long, solitary wait, replaced by the long-awaited figure. Within her eyes, a mix of trepidation and expectation, she immediately presented the carefully prepared bouquet…
Qin Gou could hardly believe that such a scene, filled with the innocence of a young boy, was happening to him, and strangely, he was the one receiving the gift.
As Qin Gou emotionally reached out and took the spirit flowers, examining them closely, his expression couldn’t help but become increasingly peculiar. For some reason, he felt that the more he looked at these spirit flowers, the more familiar they seemed.
“Xiao Ci, may I ask where you got these fresh spirit flowers from?”
“Fellow Daoist Qin doesn’t like them?” Ren Ci seemed to misunderstand Qin Gou’s meaning, her eyes looking a bit blank.
“Of course not. When have I ever been so petty? I’m just a little curious,” Qin Gou quickly waved his hand.
“I was overthinking it!” Ren Ci’s spirits immediately returned, and she explained, “But I don’t know the details well either. It’s because yesterday, I suddenly thought of this way of interacting that would make Fellow Daoist Qin, as a human race member, feel more connected. Then Xiao Su volunteered, saying she could help. After a while, when I opened my eyes again, these beautiful spirit flowers were already in front of me. I even rewarded that child properly for it.”
“It’s just as I suspected.”
At this moment, Qin Gou chuckled dryly. It was indeed Xiao Su who got them for Ren Ci. The last time Qin Gou saw these spirit flowers, they were blooming on top of Qing Cang Demon Lord Song Qianyi’s head… Although sometimes Qianyi would take them off herself, and doing so wouldn’t harm her, regardless, Old Qin preferred to think these were condensed by Song Qianyi’s spiritual power, which she was indeed capable of doing, rather than plucked from that pitiable girl’s head.
“Don’t worry, Xiao Ci, I will cherish these spirit flowers with all my heart!” Old Qin said sincerely.
“That’s wonderful!” Ren Ci’s eyes lit up.
Watching the exceptionally bright smile in Xiao Ci’s eyes at that moment, Qin Gou couldn’t help but nod and smile. “In that case, I must also give you a return gift, and it’s best if what I give to Xiao Ci matches your gift.”
After speaking, Qin Gou considered for a moment and suddenly took out a vibrant and plump spirit fruit emitting a radiant glow from his Nas, and handed it to Ren Ci.
“What a beautiful spirit fruit, Fellow Daoist Qin, this is?”
After taking the fiery red spirit fruit, Ren Ci’s beautiful eyes were filled with surprise, and she examined it with adoration.
“Cai Xia Fruit, from the Mother Tree of Song Qianyin’s Daoist You Ke Clan. It only appears at the beginning of the Mother Tree’s wither and flourish cycle!” Just as Qingyu said, this item is a rare delicacy in the entire Cultivation World. Once tasted, one will never forget it. However, the Cai Xia Fruit Qin Gou is giving to Ren Ci today did not come from Qingyu. Instead, he found Xiao Su ‘bullying’ Qing Cang, causing him to run around, on his way back to the Abyss. He went over to uphold justice and openly confiscated it.
Compared to the spirit flowers Xiao Ci gave him, Qin Gou wished to call them the ‘Qianyi double set,’ which perfectly complemented each other.
