Pink light enveloped the trembling Tulip. The bruises and lacerations on her body healed up quickly. Xasha was by her side, hugging her tightly, not saying a word, and refusing to let go. Tulip was his like family. She was his daughter, as far as he was concerned. Anyone who did this to her will die a death that made them wish they had never been born.
He slowly fed her moon potion, several healing potions, and several mana recovery potions in succession. Her complexion improved over time, soon all her injuries were healed. Still, she remained unconscious, Xasha was on edge, fidgeting the entire time as he waited for her to wake up.
"She's just resting Ash, she's been through a lot, and now she's tired. I'm sure she will wake up in a few hours. We will learn what happened then," Liza reassured, as she got up from Tulip's bedside.
Xasha's mood did not improve with those words. He held onto her hands tighter. The conviction in his eyes increased. He raised the back of Tulip's little hands to his lips and declared, "this will not go unpunished."
He rose and left the room, closing the door behind him. In front of him was a scene of a small village with paved roads and neatly built houses. Coaches were going back and forth and towers were off in the distance, cleansing and circling the Imperium on the island.
Xasha hopped onto his bike and rode to the center of the village at a relaxed speed. In the town center was an unusually tall tower, glowing with a blue hue and releasing streams of blue Imperium into the atmosphere.
Surrounding the base of the tower was a large building with many offices and the like. The tower was the new Stardust outpost on the newly discovered Jacana island. Xasha rode through the open doors of his new outpost. He rode through the lobby and into the tower inside the building.
He stopped after reaching a wide-open space with nothing but a glowing blue crystal surrounded by pillars that were siphoning off Imperium from it. Xasha and his team had set all this up in a little over a day.
Because he was concerned for Tulip, he forewent all investigation until he knew she was okay. Two figures approached Xasha the moment he stopped. It was his two children, Ari and Alexi.
"Where is Axia?" Xasha asked the two.
"She went off with Lisa to go fetch the others. How is aunt Tulip?" Ari inquired.
"She is stable. With a bit of rest, we will make a full recovery," Xasha spoke calmly.
"Do you think that-"
"Ari," Alexi interrupted. He knew what she wanted to ask, and he knew that was better left unsaid. Xasha may seem calm on the surface, but he knew for a fact that his heart was in turmoil.
"Oh, right." The realization came, and she couldn't help but feel bad for bringing up such a topic. But like her father, she was extremely worried about her aunt Eloise, Wanton, and the others.
"I have information about the crystal," she changed the topic.
"Oh?" this intrigued Xasha.
Ari pulled out her staff, and Xandria came out from it. Alexi and Ari did the same, and Umi and Mylyn came out. Strange enough, Jakle and Kan came out too. Even stranger Kan had shrunk himself to fit inside the room.
"You could have shrunken yourself all along? Why didn't you until now?" Xasha spoke in annoyance.
"I did not have a reason until now," the old man replied. Everyone scuffed in disdain, they were used to him by this point. His arrogance was his personality.
Xasha walked over to the crystal and touched his hand to it, "so what is this thing?"
"That is crystalized Imperium, the power source of the cultivation world," Umi replied.
"What do you mean, power source? What is this used to power?" Xasha's eyes were shining.
"Well, everything. It powers all our cities and etchings. It's a cultivation resource, and it's as our primary form of currency," Mylyn informed.
"Do you use crystals to power your artifacts instead of Valdis, as we do?" asked Xasha.
"What you do is barbaric, but I cannot fault you all for it. You are from the Abandoned Region after all," Mylyn commented.
"So this works just like the Valdis we use?" Xasha asked.
"No. When the Imperium is used up, the crystal disappears. But your Valdis attracts more Imperium to replenish itself, which is an advantage. The advantage of the crystal is that it has an exorbitant amount of Imperium. More than the average Valdis can hold. The only Valdis you possess that can hold this much energy is the Old Man's. I can't imagine how you would finish that much Imperium casting your weak vlasts," Mylyn became excited speaking about the old man.
Kan looked at Mylyn with a meaningful gaze but said nothing.
Jackle was like a child as his eyes shown looking at the crystal, "this is my first time seeing one so big."
"So what do we do with it?" Xasha turned to the crowd.
"You mine it, silly. What you see above ground isn't a fraction of what is underneath. One it is mined, cut into smaller pieces. At that point, you can use it as currency or cultivate with it. It's advised not to refine over 1 gram of crystal per day," Xandria added.
"How do we mine it?" Xasha asked after seeing how tightly the particles were packed.
"I don't know the process. Find someone who knows how it all works in your new territory," Mylyn said, shrugging.
Everyone else remained quiet, making it obvious they did not know how any of this worked, either.
"How can you all not know how this all works. Haven't you ever been the least bit curious about all this?" Xasha berated the remnant spirits.
"I am a queen. I don't need to know any of this. My subjects spend their days mining and cutting crystals for my daily use. Why would I ever need to know how to perform such grunt work," Mylyn scuffed and spoke arrogantly.
"Grunt work, huh?" Xasha thought for a moment. "But, lyn, with such high concentration of Imperium, how can there be grunts in a place like this?"
"No matter how high the concentration of Imperium might be, it can never take you any higher than an Earth Sage, and that is only after a lifetime of cultivation. If you want to go any higher, cultivation resources are needed. If you want cultivation resources, there are only three ways to get it," Xandria cut in.
"Find it yourself, take it from others, or serves under someone with excess for scraps," Alexi added.
"My ancestors founded the Gale Wind Oasis that I and my tribe members inherited. Jackle was born into the Draconic Abyss Wind Demon tribe, who ruled over the Endless Abyss. The most important rule of owning resources in this world is to have the strength to protect them. Both our tribes lacked the power, and we paid the price for it." Mylyn's tone became heavy as she said those words.
"The second most important rule, if you don't have the strength, be sure to have proper backing," said Umi.
"The third, if you have neither, hide it well," Jackle concluded.