Burp!
"You've done well, boss!"
"Yes, thank you, boss!"
"My little girl has been able to eat. Thank you, boss!"
"And my little boy too!"
"And my little twins!"
"We love you, boss!"
"We love you!"
Tummy Town was peaceful once again...
Neo wiped off the pink juices all over his mouth and stared at the mini mountain of pink peels before him.
He had enjoyed those fruits so much that he didn't realise when he had eaten close to 50 of them!
It was truly the good stuff!
Neo also discovered that the fruit miraculously quenched his thirst as well.
He had been scared of having to drink from that scary blue pond, so learning of this wonderful benefit brought a smile to Neo's face.
Sigh!
After filling up his tummy to the brim, Neo lay down on the soft field of pink grass and breathed in the pleasant smell it emanated.
Now that he was full and had a massive supply of food for the time being, Neo needed to start thinking about accommodation.
He needed to find a safe place to rest for the night and practise in peace.
Since he couldn't go to the surface for now, Neo would have to find a way to settle down here for the duration of his stay while he focused on getting stronger.
Strong enough to fight his way out of that deadly zone on the surface.
Since he was now in the Spirit Realm, he had a bit more time on his hands.
Time flowed five times slower in the Spirit Realm. That is, a day outside was five days in the Realm.
It was why there were Real and Spirit calendars. Real time was the time on Earth, while Spirit time was the time in the Spirit Realm.
So if Neo were to spend just one Real week in the Spirit Realm, that would actually be five whole weeks within the Realm!
That is to say, Neo had time.
But there were also disadvantages. If Neo didn't manage to find a spirit to fuse with somehow within that time and find some formation pills, he would still die.
Wait a minute!
Didn't the party already have, like, 30 plus bloodline spirits?
Worst comes to worst, he was going to sneak up to the surface and take one of the common-grade bloodline spirits.
It was just that common-grade spirits were really the worst grade of spirits out there, and no one fused with them anymore. They were used only to power arrays or Spiritech.
His strength would be the absolute worst in his realm if he did that, and he would have to grind like crazy to purify his spirit to the level where it would be helpful.
Neo sighed once again.
His future didn't look too bright...
"Well, I guess this tree is as good as any to use as my little treehouse," Neo grumbled. The tree would be highly uncomfortable, but it smelt nice and had food close by. What more could one ask for?
This wasn't like some relic where caves were just lying around without any inhabitants. Any cave was already in use for years!
Even if one managed to chase away the beast residing within, one would still have to deal with the smell!
Beasts were not neat beings. They didn't care to avoid staining their place with urine, faeces, or saliva.
Their home would stink for sure!
Neo envied those adventurers who had their dynamic super tents that simply unfolded from a one-metre cube into a two-storey detached duplex.
Such comfort. One would be able to relax comfortably and sleep without stress.
That was the life...
It was expensive like crazy, though. Neo couldn't see himself buying such a product in the next couple of years...
Maybe even an eternity!
He spent the next couple of hours trying to set up a makeshift treehouse on the large tree with pink fruits.
After his dreams of becoming a spiritualist were turned into mere dreams as a kid, Neo had shifted his focus to the next best profession that he could excel in, which was to become a Dreamer. As a result, he was very knowledgeable amongst his peers.
The Dreamer profession was the only other profession that gave one a high level of prestige not based on Ascension or Battle power.
It was based purely on the mind—the larger and quicker it could accommodate new knowledge, the faster and more detailed it could think.
Those were the skills required to become a Dreamer, and so Neo had spent years absorbing every bit of information he could find.
Although he no longer wanted to become a Dreamer, since he could now fuse with a spirit, he was still extremely knowledgeable in a wide range of topics.
Neo knew how to make the best treehouses!
Super comfy ones!
But he didn't really have ropes, so he had to get very creative, but it all worked out in the end.
After hours of work, Neo lay down in the awkward-looking treehouse and commended himself for his hard work.
Accommodation was complete.
It was time to feed again!
By casually stretching out his hand, Neo caught a juicy-looking fruit and lazily yanked it in.
Wrong move!
Boom!
Neo fell from the treehouse as if he had been excreted from the bowels of a large beast.
He had accidentally destabilised his treehouse structure and was now back to square one.
Neo smiled bitterly and slowly climbed the tree once more.
He spent another couple of hours toiling and sweating until his treehouse was extremely sturdy and stable.
Neo did a few mental tests and concluded that it would no longer shoot him out after just pulling one fruit.
But still, Neo wasn't planning on trying...
He would just pluck from the other side of the tree.
It didn't take him long to finish eating, and Neo quickly fell fast asleep.
He slept like a log. If not for his chest rising and falling slowly, one would think he was dead.
Night gradually arrived in the mysterious underground world as the crystals providing light darkened.
Neo was still dreaming about his favourite female models when all the hair on his body stood on end.
His instincts flared, and Neo woke up with a start.
There was darkness everywhere, causing the formerly beautiful forest in the far distance to look quite eerie.
Neo peered from behind tree leaves at the forest where he saw a dark shadow slowly slinking back into it.
Its red, glowing eyes maintained eye contact with Neo before slowly disappearing behind the trees.
Neo's back was drenched with sweat.
'What the hell was that?'