Chapter 596: Rewards

"..."

Hearing her daughter's stubborn words, Tushan Xinhua did not know what else to say.

At the same time, Xiao Mo stood beside Tushan Jingci, his own heart filled with complicated feelings.

He had thought that by using the Great Dream of the Yellow Millet to invert truth and falsehood, and by deliberately leaving behind Xiangniang's soul, he had correctly guessed that Jingci would surely try to gather the Tushan clan's remnant souls, to ask what had truly happened.

And so Xiao Mo had also altered Xiangniang's memory, wanting Xiangniang to confirm that everything had been his own doing.

Afterward, Jingci would simply guide Xiangniang into reincarnation, and that would be the end of it yet he had not expected that, faced with all this evidence and this "true memory," Jingci would still remain so relentlessly determined.

[Book of a Hundred Lives reward calculation complete. Host is about to leave the River of Time. Please prepare yourself...]

[Three...]

The countdown of the Book of a Hundred Lives sounded in Xiao Mo's mind.

At the same time, Tushan Jingci stood at the center of the formation array, closing her eyes, activating it.

The array blazed with blue-green light, ripple after ripple of spiritual energy connecting to the karma of days past, searching for Xiao Mo's soul.

[Two...]

"Ah..." Watching the young woman not far off, Xiao Mo let out a soft sigh. "Jingci, why put yourself through this?"

[One...]

As the Book of a Hundred Lives' countdown reached its end.

Xiao Mo dissolved into a gust of clear wind, drifting slowly away.

Tushan Jingci seemed to hear Xiao Mo's voice, her eyes trembling violently.

She turned to look, but found no one there at all.

Only the peach blossoms upon the mountain, blooming one after another.

After a moment of disorientation, Xiao Mo found himself back within the imperial palace once more.

[Congratulations, host, on completing the Book of a Hundred Lives — Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox.]

[In the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox life, the host cultivated the Great Dream of the Yellow Millet, ultimately achieving Ascension through the accomplishment of the Dao.]

[Mission rewards: 1. Great Dream of the Yellow Millet. 2. Mandarin Duck Union.]

[Great Dream of the Yellow Millet: A technique from the ancient era of the divine spirits. Legend has it that a divine spirit, together with a young man, came to comprehend a portion of the great Dao's laws, and moved by this, with that divine spirit's help, the young man went on to create the Great Dream of the Yellow Millet. This technique is both a technique of man and a technique of the gods.]

[Mandarin Duck Union: Whenever the host engages in dual cultivation, regardless of which dual cultivation method is used, the effectiveness of that dual cultivation is increased by thirty percent.]

[Within the demon race's territory, the conflict between the human race and the demon race grew severe, the demon race increasingly oppressing the human race, sparking a great war. The host joined the human race's side, slaying countless enemies on the battlefield, striking fear into the hearts of the demon race, his reputation spreading throughout the entire demon race's territory. Having risen to become one of the human race's leaders, the host led the human race to victory in several crucial battles, and upon entering the Immortal realm, further galvanized the Human Alliance's morale.]

[Reward: Human race fortune.]

[Human race fortune: The host may possess a total of five shares of human race fortune, which may be granted to any member of the human race. A human who receives this fortune will enjoy a certain degree of Heaven's favor, their success rate in surviving tribulations increased to a certain extent, and their innate constitution and physique further strengthened as well. However, this human race fortune may only be used on cultivators below the Golden Core realm.]

[Within Immortal Fox City, the host was purchased by the Tushan estate, becoming a servant of the Tushan clan, and from this came to meet and know Tushan Jingci, becoming her playmate and book attendant. Tushan Jingci's innate Dao fortune was incomplete, her lifespan limited to a thousand years, but with the host's help, Tushan Jingci successfully broke through into the Ascension realm, breaking free of her original fate.]

[Reward: Moon Spirit Tree sapling.]

[Moon Spirit Tree sapling: The Moon Spirit Tree was once the dwelling place of the ancient divine spirit, the Moon Spirit. For certain reasons, the Moon Spirit bestowed it upon the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox clan. The Moon Spirit Tree possesses remarkable properties, condensing spiritual energy, stabilizing fortune, and reinforcing formation arrays. Though this is merely a sapling, it can grow to maturity, and will possess certain abilities of the Moon Spirit Tree as well. However, once planted, it may be sensed by the Moon Spirit, and will trigger unusual celestial phenomena.]

[Reward distribution complete. The Book of a Hundred Lives' next life is currently being prepared. Compared to previous instances, this will require a longer wait. Please be patient, host.]

As the voice of the Book of a Hundred Lives faded from Xiao Mo's mind.

Every word of the Great Dream of the Yellow Millet appeared within Xiao Mo's spiritual consciousness.

As though this text had been etched directly into Xiao Mo's very soul, becoming a soul-imprint of sorts but if Xiao Mo wished to actually master it, he would still need to start from the very beginning.

After some thought, Xiao Mo felt he could cultivate it gradually, alongside his sword practice, but regardless, he would still focus primarily on the Grass Character Sword Formula, after all, he had already been practicing the Grass Character Sword Formula for so long, with steady progress, and there was no need to switch his primary cultivation method.

And in terms of sheer offensive power alone, the Grass Character Sword Formula still far surpassed the Great Dream of the Yellow Millet.

Right now, Xiao Mo felt that offensive power was precisely what he lacked most.

Beyond this, Xiao Mo sensed that within his own dantian, five clusters of flame now resided.

This was the "human race fortune."

Xiao Mo tried, briefly, to see if he could use it on himself but clearly, he could not.

Each time Xiao Mo tried to absorb one cluster of human race fortune, that cluster would simply seep back out through his own bloodline and spiritual apertures, condensing once more into a cluster of flame.

"I suppose I was being a bit greedy."

Xiao Mo shook his head with a smile, carefully putting this fortune away.

Once he encountered someone absolutely loyal to him, and of no small talent, he would bestow this human race fortune upon them, helping them rise to a higher level.

Finally, with a thought, Xiao Mo brought out the Moon Spirit Tree sapling.

This sapling looked no different at all from an ordinary locust tree sapling yet it was surrounded, from head to root, by a rich resonance of the Dao.

After some consideration, Xiao Mo decided not to plant the Moon Spirit Tree sapling.

Though the Moon Spirit Tree possessed the effect of stabilizing spiritual energy and fortune.

Still, given that the Zhou Kingdom was, at present, such a small nation, planting the Moon Spirit Tree and triggering unusual celestial phenomena might well draw the covetous attention of who knew how many parties.

Not to mention that, within the current court, there was still Yan Shan'ao to contend with, and he himself held very little real power.

Within the harem, there was also Yan Ruxue and Qin Siyao.

Though Xiao Mo had gotten along well with Yan Ruxue and Qin Siyao during this time, and they had both helped him in his cultivation but when it came to a treasure so utterly unique in this world, it was truly hard to say, since he did not yet fully trust them.

"Since the Book of a Hundred Lives still needs considerable time to prepare, I might as well devote myself entirely to cultivation during this period."

Putting away the Moon Spirit Tree sapling, Xiao Mo thought to himself.

He was now merely a single step away from the Cave Mansion realm. Within two months, he could attempt to break through.

Beyond that lay the Dragon Gate realm!

Once he reached the Dragon Gate realm, he could prepare a banquet, and invite Yan Shan'ao to attend.

Xiao Mo rose to his feet, wanting to take a walk outside the palace.

The moment he opened the door.

A biting cold wind slipped into his collar.

What met Xiao Mo's eyes was heavy snow, falling like goose down from the sky, settling upon the blue tiles of the eaves, gradually turning the entire world white.

"Hah."

Xiao Mo exhaled a breath of warm air.

Looking out at this world, growing ever more pristine and white.

Another snowy day, then.