Chen Xun peered into the dark abyss ahead, deep in thought. “Three-eyed creatures, huh? Well, I’ll be sure to rember you all. With your lives in my hands, maybe your kin owe a little sothing—like a few of these fancy sealing stones!”
“Hm, yeah, that’s fair,” he smirked. “When we reach the Grand World, we’ll investigate their origins. If these folks are too troubleso, well… they can just keep napping here forever.”
He chuckled to himself, taking one last, penetrating look into the depths where thousands of these strange beings lay in slumber. But as he tuned into his senses, he found the sealing stones themselves actually served to obscure his view—it was almost like they were naturally camouflaged.
Only Chen Xun and Old Ox, an odd pair with uncanny insight, could decipher such secrets with such ease.
Before they knew it, they’d been collecting for who-knows-how-long, lost in the rhythm of gathering. If it weren’t for the system notification, Chen Xun might have never realized how much ti had passed.
He added the accumulated longevity points straight into his defenses without hesitation.
Xiao Chi was busy at his side, hauling one Extinguishing Spirit Stone after another onto the ship’s deck. anwhile, Chen Xun settled down to cultivate his divine apertures, letting the Extinguishing Spirit Stones dissolve to ash in his hands. Old Ox, never one to waste ti, was already filling up the storage bags with Extinguishing Spirit Stones—they were, after all, priceless loot for their journey to the Grand World.
Old Ox was genuinely excited about the idea of the Grand World. Unlike Chen Xun, he wasn’t as weighed down by ambition. Over the years, he’d co to realize that Chen Xun was always on the move, always pushing forward—not just for himself but to carve out a path for those younger than him.
“...Moo…” Old Ox murmured, a little heavy-hearted as he padded the deck.
Glancing over at Chen Xun, still in deep ditation, Old Ox found himself wishing for those simpler days when their worries were as light as the morning mist—back when they had no obligations or grand goals.
“Black Ox, daring to pry into my thoughts?”
“Moo?!”
A booming voice snapped him out of his reverie, and he jumped, startled. Since when was Big Brother awake?
“No need to dwell on it,” Chen Xun laughed lightly, eyes still closed. “This world has done us many favors, after all. Once our path opens, the rest will follow. When we reach the Grand World, we’ll live freely for ourselves.”
“Moo!” Old Ox snorted, the thought of “rit” getting him all riled up, eyes shining with excitent.
“Afraid I’m not much good at living freely, Big Brother!” he called out, settling back into his work. anwhile, Xiao Chi, ever the cheerleader, chortled from the other side of the ship.
“That’s right, Big Brother, don’t you worry—we’ll have the best lives ever!”
Xiao Chi had his paws on so hefty Extinguishing Spirit Stones and looked about ready to set up a mining company. “Whatever happens here doesn’t concern us, right? Once we open up the path, I’m sure we’ll hightail it out of here!”
“Haha, Xiao Chi, you cheeky little lion,” Chen Xun and Old Ox laughed at his antics, though neither denied his assessnt.
Without saying much more, they got back to it, letting the sounds of Extinguishing Spirit Stones being gathered and stored fill the air. anwhile, Chen Xun was surrounded by an aura of dim, flickering light as he cultivated, the energy weaving through him as quickly as he gathered it.
Months passed like this until, at last, Chen Xun awoke, his energy pulsing so strongly that even the ominous winds of the chasm seed to shrink away from him, as if encountering a natural predator.
“Moo?!”
“Big Brother!”
Old Ox and Xiao Chi called out to him excitedly, dusted from head to hoof in soot, but with the biggest, purest smiles on their faces.
The Five Elents Spirit Tree joined the celebration, stretching its branches toward Chen Xun and swaying as though applauding. Its leaves rustled with Extinguishing Spirit Stones, completely unfazed by the wind.
“Well done, everyone,” Chen Xun smiled, giving a small nod to the Five Elents Tree, which had apparently evolved so defense against the winds. At the start of their journey, it hadn’t been nearly this alive.
“ Moo!!” Old Ox was practically dancing across the deck in joy.
“Big Brother, there are so many Extinguishing Spirit Stones here—it’s like hitting the motherload!” Xiao Chi’s face practically split from grinning, feeling on top of the world. “These will last us centuries! We’re rich, I tell ya, rich!”
“Alright, team, let’s grab a few more, and then we’re out of here. No point getting greedy; wouldn’t want to lose out on any potential blessings,” Chen Xun advised.
The ntion of “blessings” made Old Ox snap to attention, taking it very seriously. Xiao Chi, while not entirely sure what “losing blessings” ant, took it to heart too and nodded dutifully.
Another half a year whizzed by.
“Let’s grab a few more, team, and then we’re out of here. No greed, just a bit more!”
“Moo~~!”
“Roger that, Big Brother!”
Old Ox was fresh out of his closed-door cultivation, and Xiao Chi was still going strong. By now, even their storage rings were starting to feel a bit cramped.
Chen Xun and Old Ox exchanged a quick glance, then went back to distributing their newly acquired longevity points into their defenses. You couldn’t be too prepared, after all.
The ship continued to drift along, gliding toward another red-hued patch of Spirit Trees, each bearing massive blood-red fruit. The fruits pulsed with energy, the embodint of true vitality. They were exactly what every physical cultivator dread of.
Xiao Chi took a look but kept his curiosity in check. He had long accepted that Big Brother and Old Ox were… let’s say, “unique.” He respected their secrets and focused on his task, hauling Extinguishing Spirit Stones without asking any unnecessary questions.
Back to the grind, they mined stone after stone, with Xiao Chi growing a bit quieter each ti he saw the remains of spirit beasts disintegrating into dust.
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