Finally getting to the main point.
Xiao Ying spoke slowly, “For now, I’ll remain here, following the rules of this world. You don’t need to worry—I’m not that useless pervert who was your mother, and I won’t do anything to you.”
“In front of others, I’ll still act as your mother, but at home, we can be more casual. You can think of me as your mother or simply as a stranger.”
“Since I’m using your mother’s body, I’ll also fulfill the responsibilities a mother should.”
At this point, she looked at the two of them and showed a faint smile.
“These are my conditions and promises. You can also state yours.”
The siblings exchanged glances—this outcome was far better than they had imagined.
Although this current mother seemed somewhat cold, she felt like a decent person. At the very least, she hadn’t taken the opportunity to sell her/their sister today.
“I just hope you won’t harm me and my younger siblings anymore.”
Beyond that, Chen Xinghai had no other requests.
Chen Xingyun nodded in agreement. She had hands and feet and could take care of herself and her older brother. In the future, if they earned money, they might even be able to buy back their younger siblings.
Xiao Ying replied, “Agreed.”
The two immediately breathed a sigh of relief, their eyes sparkling with joy.
“Then…”
Xiao Ying glanced at the dilapidated, low thatched hut—it was truly bare, with four empty walls.
“Let’s make dinner first. I’m hungry.”
The sky was already growing dark, and her stomach was growling with hunger. It had been over a hundred years since she last experienced this feeling.
However, Chen Xinghai and his sister looked troubled. Their family had always eaten only two meals a day, and even those weren’t enough to fill their stomachs. The house had long run out of grain, leaving only wild vegetables to stave off hunger.
“Can I make you a bowl of wild vegetable soup?” Chen Xingyun asked softly.
“Hmm…” Xiao Ying hesitated for a moment before suddenly turning and heading into the room. “Wait here for a bit.”
After closing the door, she focused her thoughts and instantly vanished, entering the Immortal Abode Space.
She retrieved a dagger and a vegetable basin from the wooden cabin and quickly cut a large bundle of rice ears, weighing about six or seven jin, before emerging satisfied.
Handing the basin to the siblings, she said expressionlessly, “Cook this.”
The siblings were stunned—it was actually rice? Where had she gotten it from?
It seemed this mother had many secrets.
But for now, the two had no time to ponder further. Their minds and eyes were completely captivated by the rice before them.
After hulling, rice became grain, which cost over a dozen wen per jin. They couldn’t remember the last time they had eaten rice.
Just thinking about the aroma of cooked rice made their mouths water.
“Alright, Mother, I—I’ll go pound the rice right away!”
Chen Xinghai was overjoyed, stammering with excitement as he took the basin and hurried out.
“Mother, I’ll start the fire now. It’ll only take half a shichen—no, the time it takes for one incense stick to burn—and I’ll have the rice ready.”
Chen Xingyun was also ecstatic. Even if their mother only let them have some rice porridge later, she would be content.
“Cook more. We’ll all eat together,” Xiao Ying instructed with satisfaction.
“Thank you, Mother.” The siblings were even happier. This mother was truly kind.
Watching the siblings enthusiastically set to work, Xiao Ying sighed softly and returned to her room, entering the space once again.
She needed to seize the time to improve her strength. Only then could she better ensure her safety and live a better life.
Entering the second wooden hut, she grabbed the meditation cushion, shook off the dust, and sat cross-legged on it.
Determining whether one possessed a Spirit Root was straightforward. The first method involved testing with a Spirit Measuring Stone, which was clearly unavailable here.
The second method was to confirm by circulating the Seven-Element Cultivation Method.
The so-called Spirit Root was essentially an energy conduit.
The human body contained seven energy conduits, also known as Chakras.
The seven major Chakras, from bottom to top, were: the Root Chakra, Sacral Chakra, Solar Plexus Chakra, Heart Chakra, Throat Chakra, Third Eye Chakra, and Crown Chakra.
Their corresponding Spirit Roots were earth, water, fire, wind, wood, metal, and thunder, respectively.
Whether a person had a Spirit Root depended on whether these energy conduits were unobstructed.
If completely unobstructed, the value was 100; if completely blocked, it was 0.
Only when the value of an energy conduit reached 50 was it considered to possess a Spirit Root, and only values exceeding this threshold allowed for cultivation.
The principle was simple: while the human body absorbed spiritual energy, it also lost it. A value of 50 meant the rates of absorption and loss were equal.
Only when the absorption rate exceeded the loss rate could the energy be converted into one’s own power.
By extension, the higher the value, the faster the cultivation speed.
Xiao Ying had modest expectations for this body—as long as one Spirit Root’s value exceeded 50, she could embark on the path of cultivation once more.
Closing her eyes, she quickly entered a meditative state and began circulating the Small Heavenly Cycle.
The Small Heavenly Cycle was the most fundamental circulation route, encompassing the positions of the seven Spirit Roots, specifically the Ren Meridian and Du Meridian among the Seven Meridians and Eight Extra Meridians.
The Ren Meridian ran along the midline of the front of the body, while the Du Meridian ran along the midline of the back.
One complete circulation constituted a Small Heavenly Cycle.
For the first circulation, Xiao Ying took nearly half an hour, feeling utterly speechless because the meridians in this body were severely blocked.
Fortunately, the outcome was decent—three Spirit Roots could actually absorb spiritual energy: earth, fire, and wood.
However, their absorption speeds were progressively slower, indicating that her Spirit Root values were very low, most likely Pseudo Spirit Roots.
With such Spirit Roots, even in a Xianfu with such abundant spiritual energy, cultivating for two to three hours daily would likely take a month just to reach the Qi Refining Stage.
She frowned. She didn’t have that much time to waste; she needed to enter the Qi Refining Stage as soon as possible to enhance her strength.
As for cultivation methods, she wasn’t concerned.
In her previous life, she had, after all, been a Nascent Soul expert and had founded her own sect, collecting a wide variety of cultivation methods.
For a three-element Pseudo Spirit Root like this, practicing the most basic Seven-Element Mixed Origin Cultivation Method was actually best.
Trying to cultivate each element separately would only be troublesome and wouldn’t yield greater power.
Considering the late hour, she first left the space, planning to study it thoroughly that evening.
As soon as she opened the door, she caught a rich aroma of rice—this was spiritual rice that had matured for who knows how many years, entirely different from ordinary mortal rice.
Just the scent alone was brimming with spiritual energy.
Her heart stirred as she suddenly thought of a way to quickly enhance her strength: spiritual rice was a great ally.
Chen Xingyun had just brought the food to a rickety table on the verge of falling apart, while Chen Xinghai placed the only decent stool in front of her. Both looked at her with anticipation and anxiety.
Xiao Ying was somewhat surprised. Chen Xingyun had said the meal would be ready in the time it takes an incense stick to burn, but she had spent at least half an hour in the space, and the food had only just been served.
Could it be that there was a time difference between inside and outside? If that were truly the case, it would be excellent.
“Sit.” Collecting her thoughts, she waved a hand and took her seat first.
Only when they saw she held no dissatisfaction did the siblings sit down.
The meal on the table was simple: aside from a bowl of white rice for each person, there was only a bowl of wild vegetable soup, with several bowls showing chips and cracks.
The siblings felt somewhat awkward, deeply embarrassed to be serving their mother with such poor utensils.
“Sorry, Mother. This is all we have at home.”
Chen Xingyun’s face flushed red—anything of value had long been sold off by their previous mother.
Xiao Ying nodded slightly, unconcerned.
She noticed her own bowl was filled to the brim with rice, while the other two had only small portions, about the size of an infant’s fist.
She didn’t correct them. These two knew nothing of cultivation; recklessly eating too much Spirit Rice could cause problems.
Taking a bite of the Spirit Rice first, its fragrance and spiritual energy immediately washed over her, making her entire body feel more refreshed.
Then she tried a mouthful of wild vegetables. It took her a long moment to swallow—bitter and astringent, it was practically like poison.
No, she had to find better food as soon as possible, or she’d surely starve to death.