Chapter 9: Chapter 9: The Reborn Mother Is Here
"Holy shit? Spirit Roots?"
"We’re really going to start cultivating!"
"I’ve waited for this day for so long! Even if I die, I’m going to die in this game!!"
The players were completely ecstatic.
Cultivation.
The dream buried deep in the heart of every Huaxia person.
To soar through the heavens and plunge into the earth, to gaze upon every mountain and river in the world.
Who wouldn’t want that?
The moment they heard they’d be cultivating, they felt like they could swing the hoes in their hands with even more vigor.
However, the phrase "the stronger the will, the stronger the Spirit Root" gave the players a bad feeling.
’It’s not going to be based on RNG, is it?’
’Shouldn’t we all be starting on the same line?’
This was also Song Jiulai’s question. "Spirit Root talent... is there a difference among the players too?"
The system said, "Of course there is. Why do you think most people in this world are ordinary? Opening Spiritual Roots for the players is already an act that defies the heavens—"
The system didn’t finish, suddenly changing its tone. "It’s predestined. I can’t do anything about it. Some people have high talent, some are fated to have low talent. That’s just how it is."
Song Jiulai stroked her chin. "Then why did you say it wasn’t important that my Spirit Root is white?"
On the Yunzhou Continent, Spirit Roots weren’t divided by the traditional five elements. As long as you embarked on the path of Cultivation, you could practice basically any mental method, provided you had the talent to handle it.
All that mattered was Spirit Root talent, which determined the upper limit of your cultivation speed.
This talent was measured by the ’Spirit Appraisal Stone’.
The Spirit Appraisal Stone had no other function; it only reacted to Spirit Roots. You could find out your talent just by touching it. The Longevity Sect had one.
The lighter the color, the lower the talent.
White represented the most common Cultivators. Blue was average, purple was good—worthy of a Major Sect’s favor—and orange was the level where you could become a Major Sect’s personal disciple.
As for gold...
That was true god-tier talent, the legendary supreme-grade Spirit Root.
Anyone with one would be a favored child of heaven, discovered at birth and secretly nurtured.
They would never be left to wander on their own.
Spirit Roots were something you either had at birth or never had at all.
System: "You’re different. You’re bound to me, and my energy is currently at zero, so naturally, your talent is the worst it can be. I did my best."
Song Jiulai: "..."
She didn’t think it was so bad. "That’s still pretty good."
’I get to start over in another world and even cultivate. What more could I ask for?’
The system said, "Sometimes, your choices are very important. Think about it. If the people you recruit have no talent and love to cause trouble, won’t your life be over?"
"..."
’True.’
After all, you could really die here.
Other than the system, her golden finger, she had no other guarantees.
Laying low in the early stages was the way to go.
Song Jiulai was hoping a few players would pop up with supreme-grade talent and carry her to victory.
Her talent wasn’t affected by the players. As long as she completed the system’s missions, the system would become powerful enough to protect her. Even if, in the Late Stage, the players became strong enough to open a passage between the two worlds and some got funny ideas, she would still have a final trump card.
She was doing all this because the mysterious system required it.
This second life was a bonus to begin with. Song Jiulai treated it as a fantastic adventure.
But being too weak wouldn’t do. As the Sect Master, she had to maintain her standing.
So she had to cultivate, cultivate hard!
Song Jiulai muttered, "I hope their talent is high, but I also hope they don’t get *too* competitive..."
Otherwise, wouldn’t it be terribly awkward if someone reached Foundation Establishment while the Sect Master was still in the Qi Refinement Realm?
System: "Don’t worry, they won’t be able to see your real Level. At the very least, you can always pretend to be a master in front of them."
"..."
Strange cries came from the distance as the players, unable to resist the temptation of Cultivation, returned one after another, carrying haphazardly chopped firewood.
Forget building houses; it looked like they would have to cram into the courtyard for the night.
In truth, they could also choose to log off and rest.
A Wu had also finished teaching the five junior brothers and sisters how to identify several common Spirit Grasses of the Yunzhou Continent.
If they wanted to earn more money, they’d have to go to the Feique Sect tomorrow to buy more Spirit Grass Seedlings to cultivate.
Spirit Grass Cultivation consumed Spiritual Energy. Before, A Wu was too busy to handle more than two plots of land on his own. But now that he had help, why not plant dozens!
Dinner was in A Wu’s courtyard. The kitchen was right next to his private room. Song Jiulai had bought steamed buns and left them there to keep warm.
The steamed buns here were large and plump. The grain seeds nourished by the Spiritual Energy-rich soil yielded harvests that were even more bountiful than those in modern Huaxia.
Everyone was given two large steamed buns, each one as big as their face.
A Wu and Song Jiulai ate meat buns by themselves. She was the Sect Master; she had the right to special treatment!
The players crowded next to A Wu’s wooden hut, squatting on the ground and gnawing on their steamed buns as they chatted.
"Fuck, this game... even the sense of taste is so awesome. These buns smell amazing."
"They’re a little dry, though—not proofed properly."
"Dipping them in some condensed milk would be absolutely divine."
"Condensed milk? Buns should be eaten with soybean paste!"
"What are you talking about? They’d be even better with chocolate sauce."
"Heretics, get out of the Yunzhou Continent!"
Even the few lone-wolf players were approached by the more enthusiastic ones and soon everyone knew their names.
Zhou Xiao craned his neck. "When do we get to meet our mom?"
Han Tian: "We’ll go right after we finish our buns."
They had already run some experiments. Aside from some unfamiliar plants and the exceptionally fertile soil, the physical reactions of materials were identical to reality.
In other words, they could use modern techniques to build things.
Like building houses and clearing farmland.
First Brother A Wu, despite being a Cultivator, also needed to eat, and he had a huge appetite. He had polished off three meat buns bigger than his face in one go and still didn’t look full.
Then he made himself a bowl of noodles.
’At the very least, we can’t be short on food in the early stages. There are only fifty of us now, but what if they open up more slots in the future?’
Han Tian guessed that a sect as poor as the Longevity Sect definitely couldn’t support them for long.
In a way, he was spot on.
Han Tian had no idea what kind of heaven-defying technology and massive server capacity were needed to support a game like this. He only knew that this game was bound to cause a sensation nationally, and even globally, and he had to seize the first-mover advantage.
"After our Spiritual Roots are opened, they should let us choose quests. We’ve got the Feique Sect above us, which A Wu said is an Artifact Refining sect. There’s a high chance an Alchemy Sect also exists, which proves there are many types of sects on the Yunzhou Continent. We don’t specialize in any category, so we’re probably a generalist sect that can dabble in a bit of everything."
"The main questline will definitely have a development path, and that should be an individual choice. Right now, the Sect has only one goal: earn money first to develop the Sect and cover our daily expenses so it can operate normally. First Brother said there’s a mortal town at the foot of the mountain. I want to ask him to take me down there tomorrow to check it out in person."
Han Tian laid out his analysis while gnawing on his bun, leaving Zhou Xiao and Wu Dahu stunned.
Zhou Xiao immediately raised his hand. "Count me in."
After all, A Wu was a local NPC. Since he said there was a mortal town below, it was sure to be safe.
Wu Dahu mindlessly followed suit. "Count me in."
Suddenly, another voice came from the side. "Count me in, too."
The three of them looked over and saw one of the lone-wolf players.
Han Tian had an impression of him. Since the start of the game, he hadn’t been excitedly looking all over the place like the others. Although he was shocked, he had calmed down very quickly.
While they were chopping trees just now, he had gone off somewhere else by himself for a long time.
His game ID was Jiang Ya.
Han Tian nodded. "Okay."
He also voiced his speculation: "If the mortal town at the foot of the mountain is also a fully rendered model, then this game... is going to drive the world crazy."
Wu Dahu roared with laughter. "Those bastards in the group chat looked down on this game and didn’t even fill out the info, saying they’d wait for our feedback. They must be kicking themselves so hard right now—"
Just then, another system notification arrived.
[Please gather at the spawn point, players. The Sect Master is already waiting for you.]
As the notification faded, a jolt of excitement ran through the players.
Their reborn mom was about to make her appearance!
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