“Mimi!”

Haylock was stunned at the sight beneath him. Concern of a different kind radiated from Nini. When her grandmother had been almost at death's door after that fight with the water cultivator, she was worried about losing her forever. Something about now was worse.

Dread.

The teen girl rolled her grandmother to her side and looked up at Haylock.

“Flower! Support her head! I need to get something!”

With tender care, Haylock moved a vine into position and put it between Mimi’s white hair and the ground. The moment she rested upon his vine, tremors occasionally coming from the woman, Nini was up and running toward their house.

Haylock’s eyes studied the woman. He could see her chi fighting against his. The tiny bit of his chi she had taken looked so different from that of his caretaker. A black presence seemed to invade the core, trying to cover and surround the glowing yellow light.

Mimi’s core fought back, spinning rapidly, trying to fling the presence that wanted to cover it. Slowly, it began to draw a thin thread of it into the middle of the rotating shape. A black line was carried throughout that chi and started to spread, a single black line going round and round until it looked like a top spinning on the ground.

Having watched too many short videos on his phone while waiting for flowers to bloom, Haylock thought about a video where someone made candy. The different colors would go in so bright and then eventually spread through all of it, becoming lighter and lighter as the original mass worked it completely through.

Mimi’s core was doing that. Spreading that dark chi over every part of the glowing yellow light. It dimmed, like a shadow cast from a cloud, still there, yet not overpowering the older woman’s chi.

Is that what she means about converting? I never really considered that and how much work it took. Mine just sort of consumes it and transforms it.

Lost in the thought of what he was watching and how his own body seemed to handle chi from others, Haylock almost missed the arrival of Nini. She slid along the ground, not caring about what the dirt or stones might do to her bare legs.

A small bottle was in her hand, and Haylock could see that inside, it appeared to be blood. Nini shifted her grandmother until she was between her legs and lying back against the young girl's chest. Tilting the still-shaking woman’s head back, Nini poured a small amount of blood into her grandmother’s mouth and then used her hands, making motions and forcing the blood down the woman’s throat.

Haylock could see that this blood had a different kind of chi than his. As it was absorbed and made its way toward the old woman’s core, he realized that the yellow color of both was almost the same.

Immediately it began to bond with the swirling chi, fighting through the black chi and forcing itself into the the cyclone of power. Unlike the tiny thread that had been taken in, the entire boost of chi Nini had given was soaked up like water into a sponge.

The color began to glow brighter, and Mimi’s core returned to the same yellow shade.

Haylock wanted to groan as he saw another black thread of chi start to work its way in again. It was then he noticed that Nini appeared aware of the change and repeated the process, pouring a tiny amount of blood into her grandmother's mouth and helping it reach her stomach.

Hours had passed, and both women were sweating. Haylock himself felt like he was dripping sap and had not even noticed the two underground creatures his roots had killed when they started trying to take a nibble.

He was fascinated by this whole process and realized that there was an actual danger in what these women and other cultivators experienced if they wanted to absorb another’s chi.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

I wonder what is so special about those pill furnaces that Racha mentioned. Do they break down the chi into a form someone can use without all this danger? Is that why the monster chi is such a good thing? What about those pills Racha had claimed?

So many questions ran through Haylock’s mind as he considered all the different things he still didn’t know. It made him wish that he had more knowledge and understanding, that he could talk with Mimi or Nini and learn what he really didn’t know.

A sigh from Nini snapped Haylock away from his thoughts, and he saw that the black chi inside her was almost gone. The last thread was being spun, but it didn’t impact the chi like all the other times. The black and red lines were gone from her face, the skin returning to its normal weathered tan color.

Nini slowly shifted out from under her grandmother and laid her on the ground, facing upward. Her clothes stuck to her body, the nightgown was soaked to the bone, and revealed a girl who was well onto her way into womanhood.

Averting his eyes, Haylock did what he could to try to figure out what would happen next.

Groaning and stretching, Nini rubbed her face and fixed her outfit, pulling it from her skin.

“Well, Flower, she should be fine. Surely, Mimi knew better, but knowing her, she might have done that as a test for me. One doesn’t just try that without knowing they could handle the process on their own or with someone to help.”

She started to walk toward the house, waving a hand over her shoulder.

“Watch her for me, and if something happens, please make a noise.”

Stunned, Haylock couldn’t believe how Nini now seemed like nothing had happened. All the concern, dread, and angst were absent. The teenager walked away without a care in the world, relegating him to watching Mimi like she was some pet sleeping off a sedative.

These women are crazy… a perfect match for each other.

Fufu made a chittering noise that almost sounded like laughter as he followed Nini toward the house. She bent down, scooped him up in her arms, and started talking with him.

—--

About four hours later, Mimi slowly sat up, groaning out loud as she rubbed her face with a hand.

“What in the heavens was that… the darkness,” the haggard-looking woman stated as she gazed up at Haylock. “That was not what I had expected at all, my pet. Inside you is something far more powerful and dangerous than I had originally expected.”

Even though Mimi looked tired, she grinned mischievously and winked at Haylock.

“We are going to have to really be careful when it is time for Nini to attempt that.”

Mimi didn’t appear to be as tired as Haylock had expected, rolling to her feet and popping up.

“She’s in the house?”

Moving his flower up and down, Mimi bobbed her head once and walked away, leaving him dumbfounded by everything that had just transpired.

RePlant System Active

Day: 68

Daily System Credit: 10

Consumed Credit: 1013

[Spend Credit?]

The choice was easy. For over a week, Fufu and Mimi had gone out with Nini to hunt the monsters in the forest.

Nini had broken through the fourth stage in her chi development, and Haylock could see the power exuding from her now. The candle she once had burning inside her core was now almost twice as bright. Mimi had been spending hours each day forcing the girl to meditate under him. They had gone through different movements, all with the intent of helping her develop better control of her chi.

It’s the moment of truth. Spend Credit.

[Credits spent successfully, 1023 credits spent]

Chi Power Upgraded: 6th Stage]

Evolving

[Skill Choice granted after Evolution]

[Using Chi]

[Evolving…]

Darkness overtook Haylock as his body was flooded with chi. Almost every drop that had been in his core was sent to every fiber of his plant. The shock of the sudden absence of its presence made him black out, unable to handle the strain taking place within his growing body.

RePlant System Active

Day: 74

Daily System Credit: 6

Consumed Credit: 0

[Spend Credit?]

His eyes opened, and the world seemed brighter.

Six days?! I’ve been out for six days?!

The sun was behind clouds, but he could sense it even more. Looking down at the property, he wondered what had changed. Then, the truth of just a fraction of the change pierced his mind.

Everything is smaller… why is–

Changing his vision from his eyes, Haylock found that there had indeed been a drastic change. He was now over sixteen feet tall, and his body had changed in ways he hadn’t imagined.

Gone was the skinny stem covered by a few vines for protection. Now, his stem could rival most of the trees he saw in the forest. It was at least three thick, and the vines that wrapped around it like armor were all at least four inches wide. His flower had grown, and the white leaves had also gained girth and size. They stood there, strong, proud, and erect, exposing his face to the world that would want to bask in its greatness.

His glowing yellow eyes were now the size of a basketball, and his teeth had grown longer than he had believed possible.

A pair of roots were shifting slightly in the soil near him, and Haylock noticed that they were beyond thick. Like a bodybuilder who had taken roids and worked out their legs, seeking a desperate pump, his roots were jacked. A thick brown cover, almost like bark, covered them, and there were noticeable six-inch thorns in some places.

Those skinny green vines he had once had were gone. Now, they were replaced with a vine that seemed to taper off as it extended at least thirty feet from his stem. There were multiple thorns, some showing and others he knew were underneath their protective covering, ready to pop out if needed.

Even better was the wall of text waiting on him, and Haylock couldn’t wait to choose.