"Of course." Linhua smiled. "Everyone is given a chance, even if not exactly equal."
Xuan grumbled. "I see... what a headache."
Linhua hummed at his words and then slowly stood up. She approached the shrine and got down on her knees right in front of it.
He was a bit confused by her actions, but as a sign of respect, he decided to walk over and kneel down beside her.
They kneeled there in silence for a few seconds until eventually Linhua spoke again, her words slightly ominous.
"You should try to get stronger much faster."
"I can't say I'm not trying," Xuan replied with a sigh. "I've been doing nothing but cultivation lately. It's very rare for me to be out."
She completely ignored his words. "Once your world ascends, it will be registered as an officially ascended world. That means extremely powerful cultivators will be aware of your existence. They will send envoys to establish their sect, and they'll try their best to poach the cultivators of this lower world."
"Ah... so you're saying that if the beings are allowed to come here, then there'll be much more trouble. They might even realize I can control Void Qi. Is that right?" Xuan asked.
Linhua shook her head elegantly. "Only those who have seen the Void can feel Void Qi. I can assure you that most of the powerful cultivators that come here will have no clue what Void Qi is. However, those people are also very arrogant. They won't hesitate to step over you... so get strong enough to deal with them."
He felt slight worry in her voice, which seemed odd considering he had never met this woman before. But who wouldn't be moved when such a beauty was worried about them?
"I'll try my best." Xuan chuckled. "Anyways... did you only come here because I found the shrine? Or were you looking for me?"
A faint smile appeared on Linhua's face. "That's a secret. But since you're here, and I have to go, I allow you to absorb all the Time Qi here."
Xuan's eyes widened. "Seriously? I mean... are you sure?"
"My ancestors spread their roots all across the universe. Losing a single shrine doesn't matter to me. Since it will increase your strength greatly, I suggest you do it," Linhua said and stood up, slowly walking toward the pond.
"You've been very helpful, thank you... Will I see you again?" Xuan asked without any shame.
"We will see each other sooner than you might expect," Linhua cut him off, then halted. "I seem to have forgotten... but when you cultivate, focus on the Void Qi swirling inside your Dantian. You will thank me later."
Xuan opened his mouth, and as he was about to say his goodbyes, Linhua vanished from sight. He couldn't track her movement in the slightest.
He was suspicious of her, but also grateful for the information.
She seems reserved, and she called herself a treasure who's not mine... pfft. Xuan smiled. We'll see each other sooner than I expect, huh? Looking forward to it.
Not even a few seconds later, he saw Yuelan crawling from the same hole he came in, then skipping over toward him, an excited look on her face.
"So? Did you find any chests? Maybe kill a boss? Anything?"
"Nope, sit down," Xuan replied with a sigh. "There's a lot I need to tell you."
.
.
.
"Huh..." Yuelan rubbed her temples. "You sure you didn't slip on one of those steps and imagine that whole conversation?"
"I'm sure." Xuan rolled his eyes. "I lost my appetite and this will take a while to absorb, so you can probably go on and eat without me."
"Hmm..." Yuelan tilted her head. "You're leaving your innocent and helpless sister with people who want to kill her~?"
"Yep. Bring me some food if there's any left," Xuan added and sat in a lotus position right in front of the small shrine.
Yuelan turned her head with a pout. "I don't leave leftovers... still, I could try saving the bones for you if you want."
Xuan didn't even grace her with a response as he closed his eyes and activated his Qi gathering technique.
—
<+25 Qi | 342,800,025 / 409,600,000>
<+142 Void Qi | 688,253 / 1,000,000>
<+25 Qi | 342,800,050 / 409,600,000>
<+135 Void Qi | 688,388 / 1,000,000>
—
He stopped paying attention to the pop-ups and instead listened to Linhua's words.
He navigated his senses toward his Dantian, and a moment later spotted the Void Qi.
It seemed like every time regular Qi entered his Dantian, a very tiny amount of Void Qi flowed inward as well. But it was heavily wasted, and he could feel that.
So he tried replicating what he had done earlier with Body Reinforcement.
Xuan paid close attention to how the Seven Petal Bloom Qi Gathering Technique worked.
It was a simple process of directly absorbing the Qi from the surroundings, then sending it down to his Dantian.
With a raised brow, Xuan tried doing the same with his Void Qi, and he immediately felt his chest tighten. It was almost like he was trying something that he wasn't compatible with.
But since he was determined to grow stronger, Xuan pushed through it. All he needed to do was find out how he was absorbing the Time Qi without meaning to.
Several more minutes passed when all of a sudden, a massive burst of Void Qi entered his body.
<+1,235 Void Qi | 706,047 / 1,000,000>
And with that burst of Qi, he felt a soothing sensation spread through his body, almost like all of the impurities were being flushed out.
Yet that wasn't all...
—
—
A victorious smile appeared on Xuan's face, and as expected, his cultivation speed increased drastically.
And like that, Xuan sunk into cultivation, prepared to absorb every last drop this shrine had to offer.
—
<+25 Qi | 342,801,175 / 409,600,000>
<+642 Void Qi | 706,689 / 1,000,000>
<+25 Qi | 342,801,200 / 409,600,000>
<+3,235 Void Qi | 709,924 / 1,000,000>
—