A Bad Omen (3)

Yanglin immediately collapsed on his bed the moment he got into his house. He couldn't even manage to restraint himself for another second before he fell to his exhaustion from working without rest.

His soul traveled between the physical and Realm Vessel for quite a while before it was forcefully pulled into the independent realm. If not because Yanglin had the Reliance System, he would be in a temporary comatose state from going overboard.

This is precisely why the village chief tells Yanglin to practice self-control and disciple.

Unlike Xia Xuan-Xuan, Liu Shuixian, and Tong Xun, he had no adult monitoring him during practice and meditation. This made the chances of getting into a Qi Deviation much easier than the others.

He is fortunate that the Qi Deviation did not happen due to exhaustion, but he won't always be as lucky as this time. And all it needed was a single Qi Deviation to ruin his cultivation.

If it was a mild case, he might get off with a few damaged meridians and foundation. But if it was serious... The chances of losing all the foundation of his cultivation were likely possible.

<<I've never seen someone as stupid as you... How can you collapse from refining some Foundation Fruits? It was a mere ten-years fruit on top of that...>>

<<You're lucky that I am your spiritual soul, not the others. If I don't help you, you'll be a goner and quickly pull your soul into this independent realm.>>

His recklessness made the Spiritual Soul infant get so angry. And from the second he entered this realm, the Reliance System kept throwing the Blood Foundation Pills on his head to teach him a lesson.

"One second! I have something to show you!" Yanglin looked like he wanted to return to his physical body to reach for something he had on him.

<<Save your effort. This is the damn thing you're looking for, correct?>>

The Reliance System was holding on to a fruit about the size of a loquat, and it was a size larger than the usual Foundation Fruit. A hint of brightness and crimson is noticeable on the fruit's surface, going from the stem until the bottom of the fruit.

"Yes, that's it. How did you manage to..." Yanglin was going to ask but stopped before he finished the whole sentence.

<<As long it's something that capable of nourishing the Spiritual Qi, it can be brought inside your independent Realm Vessel to be grown. This is the uniqueness of the Reliance System you're blessed with.>>

The word from Reliance System made Yanglin noticed that what he had wasn't just a regular system that powered him up when needed. He was given a program that would grow alongside him and keep bringing him surprises each time.

"Does that means... If I could learn alchemy... I'll be swimming in riches?" Yanglin asked. His dream was simple.

To make sure that he could live however he wanted in this world, money was necessary. The best example he could see was how Tong Xun lived compared to him or Xia Xuan-Xuan.

<<Riches? It's too early to dream now. You might fare a little better than the others, but you're doomed to be poor for life, my host.>>

The system's ruthless reply came like a bucket of cold water over his head. But there's a hint of commonsense behind the answer.

While the system was a blessing to him, it was a curse as well. All cheat comes with a fraud they had to bear, and for Yanglin's Reliance System, it was the expenses. Previously, the Spiritual Infant mentioned that to advance into the Early-Layer of Spirit Foundation, Yanglin would need no less than 5,000 Foundation Pills to reach that threshold.

Even right now, he barely made it halfway if one were to only count the number of pills he used on himself. Luckily, the effort he's been putting into cultivation is counted as a part of it.

If nothing goes wrong, he's expected to advance in the next few days or so.

<<Also... I hate to shatter that tiny bit of hope you have there... But this two-colored Foundation Fruit barely reaches the requirement we needed. You can still plant it, but it would be just a little better than the average Foundation Fruit.>>

Said the Reliance System.

It was like the second bucket of cold water poured on him. Yanglin almost collapsed mentally after knowing that his thorough effort was not enough to produce a qualified Foundation Fruit.

<<Well... Able to grow something like this even before reaching the Early-Layer of Spirit Foundation is good enough. This would be a good lesson for you to not recklessly chew more than what you can bite.>>

<<In the path of cultivation, there's no shortcut. Not even the demonic path or life-exchanging path could change anything. Just make sure you follow the path your conscience brings you and keep yourself away from things with short-term benefits.>>

<<Eat the fruit and plant the seed into the soil. The Foundation Pills inside this Realm Vessel will nourish it on your behalf until a new fruit is matured.>>

After it finished with what it was going to say, the Reliance System vanished and returned to the core of the mountain, leaving only Yanglin by the side of this little greeny peak.

And without further question, Yanglin ate the fruit right away.

The fruit was sweet like persimmon, with a tinge of citrus aftertaste. The seed was about the size of an olive. Yangling then used his bare finger to dig a hole to plant the seed.

He continues to cultivate for a while before his soul eventually returns to his physical body. By the time he opened his eyes, it was already quite late in the morning.

Not a single visitor came to his house today. Even Xia Xuan-Xuan, who frequented his place recently, didn't came this morning as she left for the Xuan-Paper making factory.

"I'll just go to the village chief to exchange some Foundation Pills today," Yanglin said and made his way towards the chief's office after washing his face. He also made some effort to tidy his hair before leaving his house.