"Comrade Lu Li, please rest assured!"
Li Yuanchao's voice was sincere.
There was even a trace of respect in it.
Lu Li's trust in the country could be said to be absolute.
Since that was the case, the country had no reason to let him down!
"Elder Wang, take this spirit ore and the cultivation method and begin research immediately."
"Make sure you're quick! The sooner we find a way, the safer Comrade Lu Li will be!"
"Yes!"
"Everyone from the research department, come with me!"
The white-robed academician known as Elder Wang did not pause for a moment.
He gathered the things in his arms and ran toward the laboratory.
A whole crowd of researchers in lab coats rushed away with him.
Every face was alight with intense excitement.
They were about to encounter products from another world, and a world with a supernatural civilization at that.
The excitement in their hearts was easy to imagine.
Meanwhile, Li Yuanchao was still reassuring Lu Li.
To Great Xia, Lu Li's importance was incomparable.
With Lu Li there, they could catch a glimpse of what a supernatural civilization was like.
They could even come into contact with it, and perhaps... imitate and surpass it!
"Comrade Lu Li, are there any supplies you urgently need right now?"
"Or is there anything you need us to do for you, including anything for your family? You can ask us for whatever you need."
Li Yuanchao's question was earnest, but Lu Li suddenly fell silent.
His family, his parents, his younger sister.
He didn't know whether he would ever see his family again in this lifetime.
"Director Li, please don't tell my family yet."
"I'm afraid they'll worry. If possible, could you help look after my parents?"
"Rest assured, we'll take good care of your parents."
"As for your wishes, we'll respect them completely."
Having received an answer, Lu Li felt a little reassured.
Yes, even if he couldn't return, with the country's help,
his family would at least have something to look forward to in this life.
"Mm, Director Li, there's nothing else I want."
"That's roughly the situation I'm in right now."
Seeing that it was about time, Lu Li prepared to end the transmission.
He was a menial worker holding up a jade pendant in the middle of the night. Even if no one was around, it wasn't very safe.
Since there was nothing else, it was better not to linger.
Li Yuanchao had evidently realized what sort of situation Lu Li was in.
His tone grew more solemn and serious than ever before.
"Comrade Lu Li, we'll meet all your conditions."
"But the country and the organization have only one condition for you, and we hope you can fulfill it."
Lu Li was slightly taken aback, unsure what he meant.
"What condition? Tell me, Director Li. As long as I can do it, I won't refuse."
Li Yuanchao didn't answer immediately. Instead, he glanced around.
Countless staff members were recording every word the two had said in detail.
Everyone waited for him to continue.
"Comrade Lu Li, the country has only one condition for you."
"That is, for the country, for the organization, for the people, and for your parents... stay alive!"
"Do everything you can, no matter the cost, to stay alive!"
Li Yuanchao's eyes shone as he spoke, full of resolve and determination.
These were not empty, grand words, but the parting instructions of an elder from a distant homeland.
His voice fell.
Lu Li's breath caught at once.
He had never been so moved before.
Although he knew he was of obvious research value to Great Xia,
and it could even be said that all of Great Xia's research into the immortal cultivation civilization was closely tied to him,
what Li Yuanchao had said truly made Lu Li feel deep concern and care from his motherland.
"I'll stay alive!"
Lu Li's eyes reddened instantly, and a tear slipped from the corner of his eye.
He could always trust that, on that land, no one would be abandoned.
Not even if he had ended up stranded in another world, far from home.
"Good! Comrade Lu Li, you may end this meeting now."
"We currently have no way to contact you, so you can take the initiative to contact us once every seven days."
"Of course, that's on the condition that you've made sure your surroundings are safe."
Li Yuanchao had thought things through, and Lu Li nodded.
He was just about to reply when he felt an emptiness in his Dantian.
The next second, the jade pendant flickered.
Clearly, his Spiritual Power was running low, and the communication was about to be cut off.
The communication had come to a satisfactory end, so Lu Li naturally had no reason to waste another piece of Azure Gold Spirit Ore.
He hurriedly replied.
"Director Li, until we meet again!"
Buzz!
With a soft hum, the jade pendant's light abruptly vanished.
Darkness surrounded Lu Li.
"I wonder if the country can find an efficient way to refine spirit ore..."
"Will there be a pleasant surprise in seven days?"
Lu Li took a deep breath and tucked the jade pendant inside his robes.
He turned and looked around.
The formations in the mine area flickered with specks of light beneath the night sky.
Like an iron cage, they confined the mine area.
The people in the cage were like prisoners, with no room to breathe.
"There will be, there definitely will be!"
"I believe in the country. I will stay alive."
"For Mom and Dad!"
"For... Great Xia!"
Word by word, sentence by sentence.
This was his promise to the country, and also a promise to himself.
Lu Li's figure gradually faded, vanishing into the darkness.
Back at the wooden hut, he calmly sat cross-legged on the shared sleeping platform.
He rubbed his belly, looking as though he had just relieved himself.
"There's still seven days until the next transmission to Great Xia."
"Nothing should happen during those seven days. It's a good chance to cultivate."
Now, every minute and second was extremely important to Lu Li.
He had to treasure every moment.
He sat cross-legged, just like the other menial workers.
Lu Li calmed his mind and focused, circulating the basic cultivation method issued by the Azure Pool Sect.
Although the Five Elements Instruction is the most ordinary, mass-produced cultivation method,
it suits my five spirit roots perfectly.
He felt the thin Spiritual Power in the air flow into his body as he circulated the cultivation method.
The Spiritual Power of five attributes circulated once through his meridians, slowly settling in his Dantian.
Having five spirit roots meant Lu Li had to absorb all five spiritual attributes every time he cultivated.
Thus, his cultivation speed was much slower than that of someone with a four spirit root or a three spirit root.
By the same token, however, a cultivator with five spirit roots would have much deeper reserves of Spiritual Power than other cultivators at the same realm.
The spells and cultivation methods they could learn would also be more varied.
But cultivation with five spirit roots really is too slow.
It's more than five times slower than with a heavenly spirit root. With a limited lifespan, it's hard to accomplish much.
In the immortal cultivation world, where everyone seeks to grow strong quickly... with my aptitude...
Lu Li couldn't help sighing.
Poor aptitude really was a fatal flaw.
But he immediately thought of another question.
I wonder if Spiritual Qi exists in Great Xia?
Could my fellow citizens of Great Xia cultivate immortality on Blue Star?!