Tai Bai Plain Earth Spirit seemed slightly startled, though her tone remained calm. "For cultivators seeking to continue their bloodline, the best partners are cultivators of the opposite sex, middling partners are members of great clans and noble families, and the lowest-tier partners are ordinary mortals... Why seek out us earth spirits?"
"You must understand that although cultivators can unite with earth spirits and produce offspring, those offspring often have extremely short lifespans and die young, before reaching thirty... Hmm?"
Tai Bai Plain Earth Spirit seemed to notice something. "The three immortal masters are actually... Innate Dao Bodies, so uniquely blessed by heaven?"
Ren Chang Sheng shook his head. "It is merely a curse."
Tai Bai Plain Earth Spirit understood. "Indeed. Innate Dao Bodies will eventually face the Dao Integration Tribulation. If they cannot transcend life and death and abandon all emotion before then, they will die without even a burial place... Furthermore, Innate Dao Bodies are envied by heaven and earth. Once one appears, unless they overcome the Dao Integration Tribulation, they can never leave behind descendants..."
"All three immortal masters possess Innate Dao Bodies. That is truly rare. No wonder you wish to spiritually unite with spirits and continue your bloodline. Only spirit incarnations favored by heaven and earth, condensed from spiritual energy, might be able to inherit the bloodline of an Innate Dao Body..."
Ren Chang Sheng asked, "Then would Tai Bai Plain be willing...?"
Tai Bai Plain Earth Spirit said, "It is not impossible, but Innate Dao Bodies are exceedingly powerful. If a spirit's body bears such a bloodline, it will surely only end in destruction. Moreover, this earth spirit's cultivation is weak... Only if you can provide a certain amount of Aura Crystals as a vessel, and this earth spirit spiritually unites with the immortal masters inside that vessel, might it be possible to continue the bloodline of an Innate Dao Body..."
"But even so, this will severely drain this earth spirit's foundation and force this earth spirit into slumber for a hundred years. Unless you can offer enough Aura Crystals as compensation, this earth spirit will not agree."
Ren Wo Xing asked in confusion, "Aura Crystals?"
Tai Bai Plain Earth Spirit said, "Aura Crystals are an important cultivation resource, abbreviated as spirit crystals. They are filled with spiritual energy, born alongside spirit veins, and can appear randomly across the land. However, after demons, monsters, ghosts, or cultivators die, the spiritual energy in their bodies can also gather densely and form spirit crystals."
Ren Chang Sheng's tone suddenly turned cold. "What if I have no spirit crystals, yet still insist on spiritually uniting with you to continue my bloodline?"
Tai Bai Plain Earth Spirit's expression did not change. "The most important thing in spiritual union is wholehearted willingness. We spirit cultivators revere only heaven and earth and never submit to other living beings. I am on Tai Bai Plain nearby. If the immortal masters prepare enough spirit crystals, you may come find me. Also, please remember that a band of Demon Soldier Ghost Generals occupies Tai Bai Plain. If they continue to linger there, Tai Bai Plain will be defiled..."
With that, the girl Tai Bai Plain Earth Spirit left the house. Ren Chang Sheng sighed. "As expected, we can only make deals with spirits... Spirits would rather die than submit. They are Spirit Items born of heaven and earth; coercion is useless."
Ren Wo Xing was somewhat surprised. "Second Brother, you were not this kind of person before."
Ren Chang Sheng said, "To continue the family, someone naturally has to play the villain. As the family head, you must maintain your dignity. Third Brother is still inexperienced, so it can only be me."
After the conversation ended, Ren Suo saw a line of mission information appear in the upper-right corner of the interface:
Exterminate evil forces, obtain spirit crystals, and continue the Ren Family Bloodline. If every member of the Ren Family Bloodline dies, the mission will fail completely.
It seemed the game's clear conditions came in stages. The first mission at present was... having children!
Ren Suo saw that, besides "Cultivate," a new option called "Expedition" had appeared in the lower-left corner of the interface.
After clicking "Expedition," Ren Chang Sheng said, "There is no doubt that if we wish to spiritually unite with spirits and continue our bloodline, we must have spirit crystals. Aside from spirit crystals obtained through lucky encounters, the best method now is to kill demons, monsters, and ghosts."
"A band of Demon Soldier Ghost Generals occupies Tai Bai Plain. If they remain there, they may affect Tai Bai Plain Earth Spirit's cultivation—right now, she is the only spirit mother we know of. The higher her cultivation, the better the aptitude of the offspring she bears. Family Head, let us deal with them!"
The screen instantly turned into a brown map resembling parchment. Ren Suo recognized at a glance that it was a map from the late Eastern Han Dynasty, during the Three Kingdoms era. At the center of the map, beside Luoyang, was a green dot labeled: "Ren Family."
Beside the green dot was a black dot, "Tai Bai Plain," marked with the status: "Occupied by demons and monsters."
The Ren Family was actually on a mountain near Luoyang?
Other locations, such as "Luoyang," "Chang'an," and "Ye City," were all grayed out and could not be selected. Ren Suo could only choose "Tai Bai Plain."
Please select expedition members. Ren Wo Xing, 18 years old. Attack 1, Defense 0, Scouting 0, Movement 0, Healing 0, Management 1. Ren Chang Sheng, 16 years old. Attack 1, Defense 0, Scouting 0, Movement 0, Healing 0, Management 1. Ren Fei Fan, 14 years old. Attack 1, Defense 0, Scouting 0, Movement 0, Healing 0, Management 0.
Other than Attack, which they had cultivated, everything else was 0... Where were those promised talents!?
Ren Suo grumbled, but whether they were mules or horses, they had to be put through their paces. He selected all of them for the expedition.
To ensure the safety of the household's belongings, at least one person in charge must remain behind.
Ren Suo kicked out Ren Fei Fan, who looked like the weakest.
The management ability of the person remaining behind must be greater than 0.
Ren Suo nearly coughed up blood. So many damn requirements. He could only kick out Ren Chang Sheng instead.
The household has 41 portions of rations (each portion can meet one person's needs for one day) and 14 portions of gold and silver treasures (each portion can buy one person's rations for one day). How much will you carry?
Was the family really this poor? Ren Suo thought about it and brought only 20 portions, without taking any money.
The interface returned to the house. The "Expedition" option now displayed "1 team dispatched," and Ren Chang Sheng said, "Big Brother left me behind... Then what should I do? I might as well cultivate."
Ren Suo then opened the "Cultivate" interface. Sure enough, there was only 1 action point. After thinking it over, he chose to cultivate "Healing."
Up to this point, Ren Suo had not felt that the game was particularly difficult. Yet this was a family management game.
In a management game, the most important thing was not having any weaknesses. The two who had gone out to fight could very likely be killed or injured, so training someone at home with healing abilities seemed like a good choice.
Once the action point was used up, the screen immediately switched to Ren Wo Xing. He and his Third Brother were walking through the mountain forest.
Ren Wo Xing and Ren Fei Fan advanced toward Tai Bai Plain.
On the screen, Ren Suo saw three paths appear on the forest map. Every path led to the destination, "Tai Bai Plain," but each had four or five question marks along the way.
"Huh?" Ren Suo tugged at the corner of his mouth and casually chose one path.
You encountered a ferocious tiger on the road!
Was it time to fight!? Ren Suo straightened up and stared intently at the screen.
Third Brother Ren Fei Fan fled from battle in terror, leaving only Ren Wo Xing to face the tiger alone!
The screen then changed to an interior jungle scene. A young man holding a wooden sword stood on one side, while a tiger three times the size of the young man stood on the other. They stood far apart, confronting each other...
Available actions: "Attack" "Defense" "Healing" "Movement"
"Isn't this just a turn-based game!?" Ren Suo silently mocked, then checked the tiger's information:
Tiger. Attack 0.8, Defense 0, Scouting 0, Scouting 0, Movement 0, Healing 0.
"...Huh? Even a tiger is this weak?" Ren Suo scratched his head and chose "Attack."
"Though the sword is but common iron, it gains spirit through the hand that wields it!" Ren Wo Xing shouted. The wooden sword instantly transformed into a streak of light and shot toward the tiger!
The tiger's head was pierced through. Yellow and white matter burst out, and it died instantly.
Battle ended. You looted the beast's body and obtained 7 portions of meat.
That easy? Ren Suo stared blankly.
The scene returned to the map. Ren Wo Xing was furious. "Third Brother, why did you run away?"
Ren Fei Fan wore a miserable expression. "I-I was scared..."
Before you continue