Park Su, looking at the small mountain of crystal nuclei before him, didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He remembered how hard it was to get even a few nuclei in the past, and now, here was this huge pile for him to absorb and break through.
Such a scene was something he wouldn't have dared to dream of in his previous life. However, absorbing thousands of nuclei in such a short time seemed like an overestimation of his capabilities.
Before he could voice his protest, Xu Nuo spoke, "I know what you're thinking, but the situation is getting more dangerous by the day. You saw what happened in Jiangcheng. Zombies are evolving faster than we anticipated. If we want to live well without worries later on, we can't afford to slack off, especially since you'll have your mother to look after in the future.
With these many nuclei at your disposal, along with the hallucinogenic dandelion and green ivy to help you deal with impurities, all you need to do is focus on cultivation. I believe if you concentrate, absorbing these over 3,000 nuclei shouldn't be an issue.
Most of these are first-tier nuclei, which shouldn't pose any difficulty for you. Plus, you know your own situation; only by breaking through can your green ivy and hallucinogenic dandelion evolve beyond the third tier.
If you reach the fourth tier while they reach the peak of the third, that will significantly boost your combat strength, allowing you to handle most of the problems in this apocalyptic world.
Additionally, increasing your internal energy will benefit your use of Taoist techniques. I'm about to start teaching you how to draw talismans, but you've had little time to cultivate Taoist energy. The spiritual energy you have now is clearly insufficient.
So, I've been thinking about converting your esper energy into spiritual energy for drawing talismans, though I'm not sure if it will work yet. But by combining spiritual energy with your esper abilities, you can cultivate Taoist techniques faster, which will also accelerate the enhancement of your esper powers."
"Park Su, I hope to be with you for a long time. When Taoist cultivation reaches a certain level, it extends one's lifespan. I really don't want a day to come when you leave before me. You understand this, right?"
Faced with Xu Nuo's sincere plea, Park Su found himself unable to voice any refusal. In the end, he nodded obediently, taking the mountain of crystal nuclei back to his room for cultivation.
Seeing Park Su's compliance, Xu Nuo was deeply moved and followed him back to the room, planning to enhance his own Taoist cultivation while Park Su was occupied. With so much on his plate recently, he'd only had the mornings and nights to practice, leaving his progress slower than he would have liked, despite the excellent conditions for spiritual energy cultivation.
The situation now was far different from before the apocalypse; there were significant matters to deal with, especially with someone he wanted to protect dearly. Under pressure, cultivation became even more crucial. Knowing that practicing alongside Park Su would be twice as effective, he couldn't miss this opportunity.
He was also aware that his inability to confront Cheng Mingxu directly was due to his insufficient strength. Otherwise, he wouldn't need such roundabout methods or cause Park Su to worry. The more he realized this, the harder he worked on his Taoist techniques.
He needed to become stronger to create a safe haven for Park Su.
Over these three days, the atmosphere within the team was incredibly harmonious and positive. With the abundance of crystal nuclei, two peak first-tier espers managed to break through to the second tier within two days.
By the third day, there were no mid-first-tier espers left in the team; the lowest was now at the peak of the first tier. Each member felt a surge of confidence in their future, grateful for having listened to Lü Xia's advice to join this team. Initially, they just wanted to gather more resources, but they hadn't expected such rapid improvement in their abilities alongside.
Particularly, those who had transitioned from the peak of the first tier to the second were even more thankful, knowing how difficult it would have been to gather enough nuclei for such a breakthrough in this apocalyptic world, especially with families to support.
Not only did Xu Nuo share resources but also these nuclei - it was incredibly generous, unlike anything they'd experienced in other teams.
The more they thought about it, the more gratitude they felt towards Xu Nuo. Now, as second-tier espers, their status would be different even back at S Base. They could organize small esper teams for hunting in nearby towns, providing better lives for their families, gaining more resources and nuclei, thus accelerating their own cultivation in a virtuous cycle that made their future seem less bleak.
And all this was thanks to Xu Nuo. However, they hadn't seen him for three days, though they understood he was probably working on his own cultivation, having entrusted them with the village's protection. They took this responsibility seriously, feeling a sense of pride in protecting their leader for once during their journey together.
Over these two days, their morale was high; they handled all incoming zombies themselves, even cremating the bodies afterward.
They now only hoped that Xu Nuo would also make a breakthrough in these three days, ensuring safer travels ahead and alleviating any guilt about taking so many crystal nuclei from him.
Fortunately, these individuals, though not of high ability, were honest and reliable, having been vetted by Lü Xia or confirmed by Park Su in his previous life. Otherwise, seeing so many nuclei and suspecting Xu Nuo had even more, their first thought might have been to seize them while Xu Nuo was focused on his cultivation, rather than dedicating themselves to guarding him.
Luckily, they had no such intentions because, although Xu Nuo made significant progress in his Taoist techniques, he hadn't reached the level for a major breakthrough. However, he had advanced to the mid-tier of the ninth level in Taoist cultivation, with reaching the peak being only a matter of time.
Attempting anything against Xu Nuo at this moment would have been like hitting a wall with tofu. But Xu Nuo was in good spirits because Park Su was about to break through to the fourth tier.
Seeing the surge of spiritual energy around Park Su, Xu Nuo felt that using over 3,000 nuclei wasn't a waste, especially since many were from second-tier zombies. Despite the assistance from the green ivy and dandelion in processing the energy, the sheer number of first and second-tier nuclei didn't immediately push Park Su from late mid-tier three to tier four, which was somewhat frustrating for Xu Nuo.
However, after using over 3,000 nuclei, Park Su's barrier to the peak of the third tier finally began to loosen. Xu Nuo sensed that Park Su would need even more spiritual energy now.
This outcome was within Xu Nuo's expectations. The two mutated plants had been restricted by Park Su's cultivation level and dantian capacity, staying at the initial third tier. Now, as they helped Park Su advance, they absorbed a lot of energy themselves, aiming to reach the peak of the third tier as Park Su moved to the fourth. This required a substantial amount of energy and spiritual power.
Sensing Park Su's potential breakthrough, Xu Nuo immediately set up a Spirit Gathering Array around him and added more crystal nuclei to aid the breakthrough. These nuclei were prepared for Park Su, as raising his lover's abilities to match his own was urgent for Xu Nuo, so he didn't hesitate to use them.
However, he did feel a slight regret for being so generous with the lower-tier espers, giving them many first-tier nuclei along with some second-tier ones. Although the energy from first-tier nuclei was far less than that from second-tier, Xu Nuo had kept most of the second-tier nuclei for Park Su. Yet, seeing the amount of energy Park Su was absorbing, Xu Nuo realized he might have been too generous.
Thankfully, he had prepared enough nuclei, with plenty to spare. This situation allowed Xu Nuo to relax somewhat and join Park Su in cultivation. During Park Su's breakthrough, the surrounding spiritual energy was rich, especially the vibrant life energy. Previously, when helping Park Su, Xu Nuo couldn't fully absorb this energy, but now he could.
But now he also wanted to trust Ge Qing and the others to guard them fully, as this was also a test for them. After all, Ge Qing and Lu Shang were his first choices for the team he was setting up.
Of course, he wouldn't entrust their lives entirely to these two; thus, while cultivating, he kept his mental energy extended outward to monitor their actions.
Fortunately, these two did not disappoint him. Once they sensed the unusual energy fluctuations from Park Su's room, they quickly understood that either Park Su or Xu Nuo was about to break through, with a high likelihood it being Park Su since Xu Nuo had already done so once before, and it was through that event they met.
Regardless of what those inside thought, they knew they had to fulfill their duty as guardians. After all, Park Su had become a friend, and they were willing to follow both Xu Nuo and Park Su, especially after witnessing their true capabilities and how they handled themselves on this trip.
Finally, amidst a surge of spiritual energy, Park Su broke through the barrier of the third tier, entering the realm of the fourth-tier esper.