My cultivation is too warm

"Junior brother, look what this is!" Liang Huanhuan held up a strangely shaped plush toy in her hand, showing it to Xu Mo with great interest.

Xu Mo looked up, glanced at it, then shook his head and replied, "I don't know."

Liang Huanhuan exclaimed, "This is Sizi! It's a pet from the hottest movie right now. It's amazing! It can breathe fire, spray water, and unleash lightning. It can also be cute and cuddly. When its owner is unhappy, it will cheer them up. It can also..."

She enthusiastically told Xu Mo about the origin of the plush toy. When she got excited, she jumped up and danced around, imitating the poses and lines from the movie, to perform for her junior brother.

"It's super popular right now, lots of people like it, and it's selling really well."

She tried her best to promote the advantages of Sizi to Xu Mo, hoping to make her junior brother like it.

“Junior brother, this company has launched a smart robot version of Sizi that can chat with people. Let’s get one too.”

Liang Huanhuan winked at Xu Mo, hoping her junior brother would agree. That way, he could focus his attention on the electronic pet and perhaps be happier.

After a moment of silence, Xu Mo sighed softly and said in a low voice:

"Senior Sister Huanhuan, breathing fire, spraying water, and releasing lightning are all easy for cultivators, aren't they? What's so amazing about that?"

“When a cultivator reaches the Dao Venerable realm, they can create and destroy worlds with a wave of their hand. Senior Sister, you were once a cultivator at the fourth level of the Transcendent Dao realm. Although you cannot create and destroy worlds, you are still more powerful than that fluffy toy in your hand, right?”

"It's just fiction, but you, Senior Sister, actually possessed these abilities. Why are you still amazed by it?"

"This..." Upon hearing this, Liang Huanhuan's enthusiasm immediately cooled down. She lowered her head slightly, stood on tiptoe, and remained silent.

Huanhuan just wanted to make her junior brother happy, why couldn't he understand?

Xu Mo looked at the silent Liang Huanhuan and continued, "Besides, what about pets? Aren't all the spirit pets of us cultivators like that? Making their masters happy and keeping them company are the basic functions of spirit pets. They can even give everything for their masters, complete all the difficult tasks for them, without their masters having to worry about them, and even give back to their masters."

"Senior Sister Huanhuan, don't forget that we once had the best spirit pet in the world, Elder Nuannuan. Although it was the spirit pet of the Nine Wonders Peak Master, all its love was given to the people of Wuyou Peak."

"Nuan Nuan is only away for a short while, and you've already turned your attention to other spirit pets. Do you think this is a good thing? When Elder Nuan Nuan returns in the future, will you be able to face her? Will you be at ease?"

Upon hearing this, Liang Huanhuan froze, feeling as if an invisible hand was gripping her neck, making her feel suffocated.

With red eyes, she hurriedly explained, flustered and at a loss, "Junior brother, Huanhuan hasn't forgotten Elder Nuannuan. Huanhuan just wanted Sizi to keep you company and cheer you up."

Xu Mo replied calmly, "Is that so? Thank you, Senior Sister. But I can't do what you do. I can't accept any spirit pets other than Nuan Nuan."

Upon hearing this, Liang Huanhuan's heart skipped a beat. This junior brother was so unfamiliar and terrifying.

Her face paled, and she anxiously explained, "Junior brother, Huanhuan really hasn't forgotten Elder Nuannuan. Huanhuan loves Elder Nuannuan the most, but... but..."

She became more and more anxious as she spoke, and eventually she didn't know what to say anymore.

She desperately wanted to explain things to her junior brother and stop him from misunderstanding her, but she was in a state of utter confusion because of his attitude; her mind was completely blank.

Huanhuan clearly didn't mean it that way, but her junior brother seems to have misunderstood; he thinks Huanhuan is a cold-blooded person.

"Huanhuan just wants Sizai to keep her company while Nuannuan is away. That's all. If you don't like it, you can take it."

"Huanhuan isn't cold-blooded, Junior Brother, you can't think of Huanhuan like that. Huanhuan also wants Elder Nuannuan and the others to return as soon as possible."

Xu Mo nodded and said calmly, "Thank you for your kindness, Senior Sister Huanhuan, but I really don't need it."

Looking at him, Liang Huanhuan wondered if he had cleared up her misunderstanding, and her eyes welled up with tears.

She said in a flustered tone, "Huanhuan knows that Junior Brother wants to continue his cultivation as soon as possible, but you've been working too hard lately. Huanhuan is very worried. Junior Brother, can you take a rest for a while?"

"Huanhuan doesn't mean to disturb your research, Junior Brother. She just wants you to relax and not be too tense. You seem to be in a very bad state lately. Huanhuan has done her research and knows that if you continue like this, you might not even be able to continue your cultivation path before you collapse and go crazy."

"So, junior brother, take a break. Huanhuan will take you out to play."

She nervously voiced her concerns, then stared anxiously at Xu Mo, awaiting his reply.

Unexpectedly, her words seemed to touch a sensitive spot for Xu Mo. His face immediately darkened, and then he suddenly buried his head in his hands, muttering to himself:

"As expected, Senior Sister Huanhuan, you also think I can't do it? Hehehe, yes, I really am useless. I've been researching for so long, but I still don't have a clue and I'm still standing still."

"The more I research, the more useless I feel. Is it really okay to place my hopes on someone like me?"

"Why should we place our hopes on me? I'm just a useless piece of trash who only knows how to enjoy myself under the protection of others."

"Everyone has left, leaving me here to conduct research. What can I do? Now that all the paths have been erased, how am I supposed to reconnect with them?"

"Starting a new path of cultivation from scratch? Isn't that giving me too much credit? Or is it really even possible?"

"No, no, no, it's impossible to do. Even if it were someone else, they definitely couldn't do it. It's something that no human being can do."

"Wait, something's not right. What is the Great Dao? What is cultivation? Do these things really exist? They must be fake. Maybe everything before was just my imagination, or perhaps just a dream?"

"That's right, that must be it. After all, if it's a cultivation world, then what's with all these computers and phones? How could a cultivation world have modern technology products? That's not scientific at all, and it's not cultivation at all."

"So, everything before was just a dream? No, no, dreams aren't that real, so this might just be my hallucination."

"Huh? Hallucination?"

"So, is this hallucination caused by schizophrenia?"

Xu Mo suddenly woke up with a start, jumped off the sofa, and ran frantically towards the door, shouting anxiously as he ran:

"Senior Sister Huanhuan, hurry, hurry, take me to the hospital! I think I might have schizophrenia. I need to get treatment right away, otherwise I'll be sent to a mental hospital, and that would be terrible! No, no, I can't..."

But before he could finish speaking, his face suddenly froze, and he slapped himself hard across the face.

Then, looking dejected, he returned to the sofa, grabbed his hair, and said with a pained expression, "Ah, I'm sorry, senior sister, I'm sorry you had to see this."

He then nodded and said, "Senior Sister Huanhuan, you're right. I've been under a lot of pressure lately. Just now, I actually wanted to escape all of this. That was really wrong of me."

Then he took out a stack of white paper, spread it out on the table, grabbed a pencil, and started doodling and writing on it.

His pen kept moving, but there was no actual content; it looked more like doodles. His eyes were vacant, and he didn't even know what he was writing or drawing. He just felt that the pen in his hand could not stop, and the research could not stop.

As he drew and wrote, he muttered, "I promised Senior Jiu Miao that I wouldn't collapse no matter what happened, but I still collapsed. It's so wrong of me." "No, I can't go on like this. Everyone is waiting for me to reconnect the Great Dao, to embark on the path of cultivation again, to resurrect all those who were erased, and to reunite with my former relatives and friends. How can I collapse?"

"We must pull ourselves together, be strong, and find a breakthrough as soon as possible. We cannot let everyone down."

He then patted his cheeks, forcing himself to cheer up, looked at Liang Huanhuan, forced a smile, and said calmly:

"Senior Sister Huanhuan, don't worry, I'm fine. My will is not as weak as you think. I'm very strong."

"Alright, Senior Sister Huanhuan, I need to get back to work. You can go out now. I'll leave dinner to you."

Upon seeing Xu Mo's statement, Liang Huanhuan immediately fell silent.

She knew she shouldn't leave, but seeing her junior brother like this, she really didn't know how to encourage him.

My junior brother is getting more and more out of control. How can we rekindle his hope and help him pull himself together?
She felt truly lost and helpless, seeing everyone outside using entertainment and games to make themselves happy.

But she had already tried this method, and it didn't work on her junior brother.

Judging from his junior brother's condition, he probably won't last much longer.

Liang Huanhuan walked out onto the street, looking somewhat lost and dejected. She was truly envious of the passersby. They were all survivors, and their feelings were similar, yet they seemed to be living very fulfilling lives.

Everyone wore faint smiles, as if the disaster had never happened.

Why is this so?
She couldn't figure it out.

Is Huanhuan too stupid?
She went to the movie theater, which was packed with people, most of whom were families of three, a couple with a child who was only a few years old.

The children were very young, many of them unable to speak, but they stared intently at the images on the movie screen with their large, pure eyes.

After the movie ended, the couple, holding their child, walked out of the cinema chatting and laughing.

She went to the arcade again. In the past, the arcade was full of people like her who walked alone. They came here to relax, and it was very lively and noisy.

But now, this place has become like a movie theater, filled with families of three, couples with their children, and even some families of four or five. They no longer come here to relax, but more to entertain their children.

The children cried at the drop of a hat, making the whole arcade very noisy, but Liang Huanhuan didn't find it annoying. Instead, she watched the crying children with great interest.

Perhaps it was because her junior brother had been suppressing his emotions for too long that the atmosphere at home was so gloomy, like a stagnant pool of water. But now, hearing the child's crying gave her a strange feeling; she felt that the child's crying was very energetic.

She went to many places and observed many people. Seeing their fulfilling lives, she felt curious, especially envious, and also puzzled.

As night fell and she saw families sitting together in the restaurant, enjoying a simple yet warm dinner, a strange thought suddenly arose in her mind.

That heartwarming scene seemed to remind her of something, but it vanished so quickly that she couldn't hold onto it.

This made her very anxious.

No matter how she looked at it, she still couldn't find the inspiration she had before.

She could only leave with a dejected expression.

She still had to go back to cook for her junior brother and couldn't stay too long.

Back home, she brought the meal she had prepared to Xu Mo. Resting her chin on her hands, she watched her junior brother eat silently and suddenly spoke:

“Junior brother, Huanhuan went out for a walk today and saw everyone’s lives. Everyone is living a fulfilling and happy life, so you don’t have to be in such a hurry. Just take your time.”

Xu Mo was silent for a moment after hearing this, then nodded and replied, "Is that so? That's good."

After saying that, he shook his head again. "But this doesn't prove anything. People live their lives, but that doesn't mean they don't have expectations. Perhaps they are at ease because they believe that I can definitely bring the path of cultivation back to life."

"In that case, I must not let everyone down."

"Otherwise, although people may not say it, they will definitely blame me in their hearts, thinking that I, the ancestor of all spirits in this new era, have failed everyone's expectations and am really useless."

Upon hearing this, Liang Huanhuan immediately stood up and said excitedly, "No, no, junior brother, how could you think that? No one would do that."

Xu Mo calmly retorted, "Is that so? Senior Sister Huanhuan, you're not them, how can you be sure of their true thoughts?"

“This…” Liang Huanhuan fell silent.

However, she firmly believed in her heart that this was not the case.

The next day, she went to the restaurant as usual and watched everyone enjoy a warm dinner.

Then she mustered up her courage, went up to the family, and asked, "Excuse me, but I want to ask, you all seem to be living a very fulfilling and happy life. Huanhuan is very envious of you, so I would like to ask how I can be like you."

"Also, if we are never able to resume our cultivation, will you be disappointed? Will you be unhappy? Will you be angry?"

When the family saw Liang Huanhuan looking anxious, they paused for a moment, then shook their heads and smiled, saying, "We are so happy because of her."

Pointing to the child in their arms, they said, "She is our hope. With her, we can forget all the hardships of the past. Now we just want her to grow up healthy and happy."

"As for whether or not one can cultivate, it doesn't really matter anymore, and the reason is the same."

"Because we have a child, this new life can carry our future. Watching her cry and laugh is already very satisfying. Perhaps even if we can cultivate ourselves in the future, we won't have that thought anymore."

"After all, all our attention is on her."

Liang Huanhuan was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, and then she frowned and began to think about it very seriously.

So it turns out it was all because of the children?

Having a child fills everyone's heart with hope, making them stronger?

It seems that's indeed the case, because that's how everyone has been these past few days.

In that case, if my junior brother also has children and his own offspring, can he cheer up?
(End of this chapter)