Supreme Devil Lord: I Can Refine All Energy-Chapter 45: Spirit Stone Powder
The reason his system deemed the dual cultivation path most appropriate for him was the lack of spirit and other forms of energy in the region he was living in.
Of course, if he had been rich and had access to some other source of the energy, he knew the system would have chosen some other path for him. But since he had neither, the system chose the path that could help him.
Even though the system hadn’t explicitly told him, he had realized this fact a while ago. After all, from the system name, it was clear it could refine any and all energy.
When Hannah told him about the white powder he was to use to activate the bathtub’s heating formation, he became surprised and excited because he knew what this white powder was.
When Spirit Stones were mined from the mines, they had different sizes; some were as small as a marble, while some were as large as a several-meter-large rock. Therefore, before being circulated in the market, they were cut into a standard size. One of the waste materials produced when they were cut and shaped was the white powder, along with shards of Spirit Stones.
Since even a low-grade spirit stone was too expensive for most of the population to afford, they bought these waste products for their needs since they also had a decent amount of spirit energy.
Normally, you could buy a shard of spirit stone for less than one-tenth the price of a spirit stone. Therefore, normally, most novice warriors cultivated using these spirit stone shards.
As for the white powder, it was even cheaper, and the low-income population used this white powder for their needs.
In Kroft City market in the middle city, one could buy a handful of the white powder for 100 credits. Though it wasn’t too expensive for the people living in the middle city, they still used it sparingly. As for people of the slums, it was still quite expensive, and since they didn’t have things they could use it on either, they almost never bought it. Only people like Liam’s father, who had become a grade one warrior through a stroke of luck, bought this sometimes to cultivate since they couldn’t afford spirit stone shards, the cheapest of which cost more than one thousand credits.
When he saw the white powder and used it to heat up the water, he felt it was a waste. He had the urge to use it to cultivate but held back the urge because it didn’t belong to him.
Now, however, he no longer cared about it since Paul had expressed his intentions clearly.
Picking up the small container that was half full, he told the system, ’System, refine this.’
Immediately, the system screen flickered and changed.
[Since the spirit energy is in a solid state and not inside the host’s body, the refinement will cost some energy. Does the host want to proceed? (Yes/No.)]
Eric furrowed his brows before asking, ’How much will it cost?’
[Half a unit.]
Eric looked at his reserve of refined energy and frowned, ’The {inspect} used two units to scan Paul?’
[Refined Energy: 6—>4]
He remembered the system only deducted one unit for using it on Rosalie. ’Maybe it’s because she is a normal person and Paul a cultivator?’
[That’s correct, host.] The system confirmed his guess.
After thinking for a moment, Eric asked, ’How many units of refined energy will I get from this white powder?’
[3 units, host.]
Eric’s eyes shone, ’It’s equal to what I got after having sex with Rosalie before leaving.’
’Do it. Refine it.’ He agreed without hesitation.
[Place your hand on the spirit stone powder, host.]
Eric did as instructed and then watched as a white halo extended from his palm and covered the powder. Then, in the next moment, the powder became gray, a sign that it no longer had any spirit energy. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶
[It’s done, host.]
[Refined Energy: 6.5]
’Maybe I should find a way to earn credits and buy more of it. Getting refined energy from it is way faster and easier compared to getting it from having sex.’ He thought before sighing, ’But how will I earn so many credits?’
The container had more than a handful of white powder, and it only gave him 2.5 units of refined energy. He needed at least 23.5 units more if he wanted to become a grade two novice cultivator without first trying to strengthen his physique.
This meant he needed around 800-1000 credits to buy enough white powder, but after paying the entry fee, he had less than 10 credits left. Elena might have over a hundred, but they needed them to pay to extend their stay in the middle city by a day.
Sigh!
He let out a heavy sigh, ’And I need to become a grade three novice cultivator at least to face Paul. To go from grade two to grade three, the requirement of refined energy will only increase, which means I will need a lot more credits. What should I do?’
He fell into deep thought.
...
After a while, he left his room.
Noticing no one was in the dining or living room, he walked toward the rooms at the back of the house.
Arriving in front of one, he knocked on the door.
Knock! Knock!
A few moments later, the door opened.
"Big brother?" Riya looked at him in confusion.
Eric glanced behind her and saw Hannah sleeping on the bed, hugging her pillow. They were sharing the room. It was understandable because even though the house was quite big, it only had six rooms, one of which was probably a storeroom. Two were guest rooms that Eric and Elena had taken, while the fourth and fifth belonged to Hannah and Frankie. As for the last one, it was Paul and Vivian’s room.
"I need the white powder that’s in the bathroom." He said in a low voice before entering the room.
"You are going to use it to cultivate?" Riya asked, her eyes shining.
"Yes." Eric patted her head and went into the bathroom. When he saw the container, he sighed. Maybe because Hannah regularly used the white powder to heat the water, there was just a little left. He didn’t take it since they would need it when they took a bath tomorrow.
’Maybe I should just go talk to Vivian.’ He thought as he walked out of the bathroom.
Riya noticed his expression and asked, "What happened? It wasn’t enough?"
"Don’t worry about it and sleep." He smiled and left the room, leaving a frowning Riya behind, who then went into the bathroom and noticed that he hadn’t taken any.
’I hope he will find more in Mom’s room.’ She thought, knowing he would go check other rooms. She was a little worried because it wasn’t theirs, but she wouldn’t say anything if her big brother wanted it.
...
Eric didn’t know which room Vivian was in, so he knocked on the first room he came across. Even if Elena opened the door, it was fine, as he could just take the white powder, which he was sure her room would have as much as his had since hers was also a guest room, and if Vivian opened... It was even better.
When the door opened a few seconds later, it was Vivian standing in front of him. She was still in the same loose white robe, but because she must have been lying in the bed, her hair was a little messy and her eyes were red, telling him she had have been crying.
Seeing him, she raised her brows and asked, "Eric? You need something?"
Eric looked at her with a serious look on his face and nodded, "I need to talk to you about something important, Aunt Vivian. Can I come in?"
Vivian frowned before she gently suggested, "Why don’t we talk in the living room?"
’Hm?’ Eric was a little surprised before he nodded, "Sure."
A short while later, they were sitting in the chairs, facing each other.
"So, what do you want to talk about?" Vivian asked in a curious tone.
Eric looked her in the eyes and said, "Paul doesn’t treat you, Hannah, and maybe your son Frankie too, well, right?"
Vivian was caught off guard by the question before her expression fell. For a moment, it seemed she was going to get angry as she had narrowed her eyes at him, but then she let out a sigh, her shoulders slumped, and tears appeared in her eyes. "You have noticed it already, huh? Yes. He doesn’t treat us well. Especially me."
A moment later, she took a deep breath, wiped her tears, and asked, "But why did you ask?"
Eric felt a little more confident seeing he was right about his guess that Vivian wasn’t happy with him and said, "I’m not sure if you will like what I’m about to say..."
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