Chapter 13: Ch 13- Earth Heart Nectar
"Three portions of Intermediate Beast Blood should be enough for me to cultivate for around five days. That should let my strength reach at least 600 jin, maybe even a little more."
Mo Yuan made a rough estimate.
With 600 jin of strength, plus his Speed Talent and Saber Talent, his combat power would easily crush any Origin Seed Realm cultivator. Even against someone who had just stepped into the Origin Vessel Realm, he wouldn’t be much weaker.
"Right."
"I still don’t know what this Jade Liquid actually does."
"I should find out as soon as possible."
Mo Yuan still hoped that the mysterious liquid would greatly increase his cultivation, or perhaps even help him break through to the Origin Vessel Realm ahead of time. Since the apocalypse began, countless strange treasures had appeared throughout the world.
Because of that, many Treasure Compendiums had been compiled so cultivators wouldn’t accidentally ignore valuable treasures while exploring the Wilderness.
A Treasure Compendium wasn’t very expensive. One only cost around one thousand yuan. In the past, Mo Yuan could never have afforded something like that.
But things were different now. Besides the three portions of Intermediate Beast Blood, first place had also rewarded him with one hundred thousand yuan.
Without hesitation, he visited a nearby shop and bought one of the more complete Treasure Compendiums available. After returning home, he flipped through it page by page.
Only after searching through more than half the book did he finally find the information he was looking for.
Earth Heart Nectar: Formed after special stones absorb Heaven and Earth Origin Qi for over a hundred years. It can improve a person’s Cultivation Talent, but it is only effective on those whose talent is below Superior Grade.
The moment he finished reading it, Mo Yuan’s breathing became noticeably heavier.
"Holy shit..."
"It can actually improve Cultivation Talent?"
"If I sold something like this, forget one hundred thousand."
"Millions wouldn’t even be enough."
"It could probably sell for tens of millions."
He stared at the small bottle in disbelief.
Then, almost immediately, he shook his head and threw that idea away.
"Hell nah."
"With my current strength, selling this thing is basically asking to die."
"This thing is a hot potato."
"If anyone finds out I have something that can improve Cultivation Talent..."
"There ain’t no way I’m living to see another sunrise."
He let out a helpless sigh.
"Damn..."
"Knowing you’ve got a treasure that could change your life, but not even daring to sell it."
"That really sucks."
At that moment, he also understood how the Spotted Snake had managed to break through its natural limits and evolve into a true Beast.
It had relied on the Earth Heart Nectar.
"What a shame."
"The Earth Heart Nectar barely helps with cultivation itself."
"And as for improving talent..."
He looked at the bottle with a bitter smile.
"I already have Superior Grade Cultivation Talent."
"It’s completely useless to me."
"I can’t use it."
"I don’t dare sell it."
"So what exactly am I supposed to do with it?"
He scratched his head in frustration.
Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind.
"Wait..."
"Mo Ran."
"If I give this Earth Heart Nectar to her..."
"Could it raise her talent to Standard Grade?"
"Or maybe even Superior Grade?"
The more he thought about it, the more reasonable the idea seemed. Right now, there was no chance he could safely sell the treasure. By the time he reached the Origin Vessel Realm, earning money wouldn’t be nearly as difficult.
The real value of the Earth Heart Nectar wasn’t its price. It was its ability to improve talent. And that was the one thing he simply didn’t need.
Sure, someone might be willing to pay millions for it. Maybe even billions. After all, that’s how supply and demand worked. But if someone could casually spend billions on a treasure like this...
Then they were almost certainly a powerful cultivator. Would someone like that honestly bother making a fair trade?
Hell no.
It would be much easier to kill him and take it for free. Giving it to his sister suddenly seemed like the smartest choice.
Besides...
In this life, Mo Ran was his little sister. No matter what happened, he had to take care of her.
He sighed softly.
"If only I were stronger..."
"I wouldn’t have to worry about stuff like this."
...
It was lunchtime.
Mo Yuan looked at Mo Ran with a smile before placing the small bottle on the table.
"Sister."
"This is good stuff."
"Drink it."
Mo Ran blinked in confusion.
"What is it?"
She looked at the strange liquid with curiosity. She wasn’t worried that her brother would trick her. She was only wondering whether it tasted good or not.
"It’s something really nourishing."
Mo Yuan answered with a perfectly serious expression. He chose not to tell her what the Earth Heart Nectar actually did. After all, she hadn’t officially started cultivating yet.
She didn’t even know what Cultivation Talent was. Telling her now would only create unnecessary problems.
"Brother."
"Aren’t you going to drink it too?"
Mo Ran looked at him with her big round eyes.
Mo Yuan gently rubbed her head.
"I already had my share."
"This one is for you."
"Okay."
"Then I’ll drink it."
Mo Ran obediently picked up the bottle and slowly drank it sip by sip. There wasn’t much inside. Before long, she had finished every last drop.
"How do you feel?"
Mo Yuan immediately asked.
After all, he had never personally used the Earth Heart Nectar. Everything he knew came from the Treasure Compendium. Fortunately, according to the book, the liquid was extremely gentle and completely safe to consume.
Mo Ran carefully felt her body.
"It feels warm."
"Really warm."
"And... really comfortable."
She happily described the feeling.
Mo Yuan nodded before speaking in a much more serious tone.
"Sister."
"This thing is very precious."
"You can’t tell anyone about it."
"Only you and I should know."
He was worried that Mo Ran might accidentally mention it while chatting with her friends. Children often spoke without thinking.
If someone suspicious overheard even a little information, it could bring disaster upon them.
Mo Ran nodded firmly.
"Brother."
"I won’t tell anyone."
"Not a single word."
Only then did Mo Yuan finally relax. The two quietly continued eating lunch together. While eating, Mo Yuan secretly activated his Copy and Paste Talent and continuously checked Mo Ran’s talent information.
About three minutes later...
The panel finally changed.
Human: Mo Ran
Cultivation Talent: Standard Grade
Ice Talent: Standard Grade (Unawakened)
"It actually worked."
Mo Yuan’s eyes lit up.
Roughly an hour after lunch, the talent panel changed once again.
Human: Mo Ran
Cultivation Talent: Superior Grade
Ice Talent: Standard Grade (Unawakened)
Mo Yuan immediately became excited.
The next day, he checked her status several more times. Nothing changed. It was obvious that Superior Grade was the limit.
After all, the Earth Heart Nectar only worked on those below Superior Grade. Once someone reached Superior Grade, its effects completely disappeared.
"Superior Grade Cultivation Talent..."
"And she already has Standard Grade Ice Talent."
"With those two talents together..."
"Becoming one of the strongest Origin Vessel Realm cultivators in Dong Hai Base shouldn’t be difficult at all."
After receiving the prize money, Mo Yuan enrolled his sister in an Academy Class.
She was only thirteen years old. Keeping her locked at home every day wasn’t healthy. At the Academy, she could continue learning while also making friends her own age.
That was the kind of childhood she deserved.
At first, Mo Ran refused. She knew how poor their family had always been. She didn’t want her brother wasting money on her.
But after Mo Yuan casually took out one hundred thousand yuan...
She finally agreed.
As for where the money came from...
Mo Yuan simply told her he had won first place in a martial arts competition held by the academy. The one hundred thousand yuan was the prize money.
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t even a lie. The survival trial could indeed be considered a competition.
With his sister happily attending school, Mo Yuan could finally devote all his attention to cultivation.
...
Time quietly passed.
In the blink of an eye, another month was gone.
By now, every drop of Intermediate Beast Blood had already been completely used.
That month of cultivation had increased Mo Yuan’s strength once again.
His physical strength had now reached eight hundred jin.
Eight hundred jin was already considered the level of a High-grade Origin Seed Realm cultivator.
He wasn’t far from attempting a breakthrough into the Origin Vessel Realm.
As for actual combat power...
With his Speed Talent and Saber Talent, he was already almost equal to an ordinary Origin Vessel Realm cultivator.
Unfortunately...
Without any more Beast Blood, his cultivation speed slowed down dramatically.
His strength still wasn’t enough to safely venture deep into the Wilderness to hunt Beasts by himself. For now, he could only continue cultivating little by little while waiting for another opportunity.
...
Hong Family.
Hong Yuan slowly walked out from his cultivation room. Ever since the trial ended, he had remained in closed-door cultivation.
Today...
He had finally broken through.
Origin Vessel Realm.
The entire Hong Family was celebrating. Servants hurried around preparing a banquet. Many family members wore joyful expressions.
A new Origin Vessel Realm cultivator meant the Hong Family had grown even stronger. While people outside were still talking about Hong Yuan’s breakthrough...
Hong Yuan himself was already discussing another matter with his old servant.
"Well?"
"How’s the investigation going?"
Hong Yuan looked at the old servant with cold eyes as he slowly asked.