Huh? Isn't this an adventure kingdom building game?!

Jiang Yuan couldn't hear any sounds from outside. He stood inside the flower's heart, carefully examining the internal condition of the Carefree Lotus.

The pink petals formed "walls" that were wide and tall, and the yellow pistil underfoot was dense and soft like a comfortable carpet, perfect for sitting or lying down; the faint floral fragrance uplifted one's spirit, and the roughly fifty to sixty square meter circular "tent" provided a sense of complete security.

The soundproofing was excellent, as once inside, no external noise could be heard. No wonder the system identified this as a great place for hiding and seclusion.

What's more, the Carefree Lotus was planted in the Spirit Pool, blending seamlessly with the lotus flowers that naturally formed there, offering excellent concealment.

"Not bad, the prop was not used in vain! I'll let the young bird see it later, and it'll shock her for a hundred years." The thought of the child's bewildered expression later made Jiang Yuan's lips curl into a smile.

With a thought, the pink flower bud wobbled and grew larger, layer by layer, unfurling its petals.

"Mr. Jiang?!" Xiao Ba was puzzling over this when suddenly he saw a giant lotus blossom from the Spirit Pool, and then he saw Jiang Yuan standing in the center of the pistil, looking both shocked and confused, "The flower you planted is amazing, it can grow so big!"

Jiang Yuan jumped onto the shore and laughed, "For your seclusion, you need absolute quiet and safety, and this Carefree Lotus perfectly meets those needs. Just wait a moment, and I'll prepare some food for you to bring along. Since you haven't cultivated to the Fasting level yet, you might get hungry during seclusion, and then you can just take it out to eat."

Xiao Ba's eyes immediately became moist, deeply touched, "What did I do to deserve such preferential treatment from Mr. Jiang?"

Besides the all-important Five Elements Suppressing Object at Spiders Valley, he also gifted a Storage Bag, helped me out of trouble, and specially searched for a place of seclusion, even considering the possibility of hunger during it.

No wonder since the third young lady joined Mr. Jiang, she's always beaming with happiness every time we meet. Encountering such a good person, truly one could wake up laughing even in a dream!

"I must strive to refine the Suppressing Object, acquire the inheritance, and become a strong cultivator! Only then will I have enough capability to repay Mr. Jiang's kindness!" She clenched her fist and vowed silently, "I must work hard, to not let down Mr. Jiang's great intentions!"

[Xiao Ba's favorability +100]

[Xiao Ba's favorability +100]

...

While cooking, Jiang Yuan watched the screen filled with favorability notifications, witnessing the birth of his second ironclad fan with three diamonds next to his disciple Wan Mingchuan.

Thinking logically, it was understandable. For someone like Xiao Ba, a regular worker with no money, no family to rely on, and no outstanding cultivation talent, even working hard could at most achieve the Foundation Establishment with the help of Hu Jiu or Hu Zhile in their lifetime.

How could they have the resources and confidence to climb the path of immortality?

In the tiresome daily grind of an unfree working life, a chance to change destiny suddenly fell from the sky. As long as it's seized, one could not only turn their life around and carve a new world but with a bit of luck even ascend the path of immortality unimpeded!

Generally, any person with a bit of conscience would be deeply grateful to the one who gives them a chance to change their destiny.

"Mr. Jiang, I will remember your great kindness in my heart, and whether I succeed or not, I will repay it!"

Xiao Ba collected a bunch of steaming fragrant dishes, taking an oval-shaped cocoon that was as white as jade from his pocket and handing it over, "This is the essence collected from my daily silk spinning, not precious at all but the only thing I can offer right now. You have the Textile Workshop that can produce fabric, so maybe it can be of some use, though it's humble, I hope Mr. Jiang won't disdain it."

[Demon Spider Silk Cocoon: A silk cocoon nurtured by the Inner Core of a spider demon, containing the essence of each silk spinning. Special materials can be used for building upgrades or textile processing.]

Huh?!

Jiang Yuan was stunned—this was the only special material stuck in the Fish Pond upgrade that hadn't been obtained yet!

Also, it was the only special material directly obtained from an acquaintance!

Even though there were similar materials before, purchasing them didn't meet the system's specifications and couldn't be used. But why could it work this time?

He couldn't figure it out, so he simply didn't think about it. After teaching Xiao Ba how to use the Carefree Lotus for seclusion, he waited for the lotus flower to wobble and turn into a bud swaying in the gentle breeze, and eagerly ran to upgrade the Fish Pond.

"Why does the Fish Pond require a silk cocoon to upgrade? We don't know and don't dare ask, but after upgrading to Level Two then to Level Three and Level Four, there's just enough material!"

Excitedly, he upgraded the Fish Pond to Level Four in one go, catching up with the main group. He looked at the empty Fish Pond, pondering whether the fish caught in the toxic pond from Spiders Valley could be raised after going there at night.

A Level Four Fish Pond could raise fifty-four fish, and as long as there was enough fish food, several adult Spirit Fish could be harvested daily for cooking.

Soon, they'll have enough fertilizer to upgrade the Level Three farmlands, opening up a new area to plant a patch of Nine Nether Peaches!

"Brother, how did you do it? Didn't you just plant the Carefree Lotus a while ago?!" Sure enough, bringing the young girl out from the Misty Ridge dungeon, the young bird immediately saw the anomaly hidden in the lotus flower cluster—a Carefree Lotus that was only two small sprouts yesterday!

She opened her big, round eyes, looking left and right, up and down, rubbing her eyes and pinching her arms, making sure she wasn't seeing wrong or dreaming, then turned her shocked and puzzled eyes to the inscrutable young man, "Brother~"

With her sweet voice and playful cuteness, the young bird wished to muster all her skills to extract secrets from the other party.

You should know that this Carefree Lotus was a treasure she had obtained with great difficulty before her reincarnation, and the one that aided her reincarnation took over two hundred years of careful nurturing to successfully plant.

To exchange for Immortal Jade, she sold the Carefree Lotus seeds and cultivation method at a low price, thinking that unless someone had extraordinary talent, otherwise, it was unlikely they could grow the Carefree Lotus alive just by relying on that limited knowledge from paper.

After all, this thing is incredibly finicky, extremely fragile during the early stages, and at any moment might die at the owner's expense.

But it's only a few days!

The mysterious brother not only kept it alive but also directly made it mature! If these skills were only used for planting the Carefree Lotus, wouldn't it be a waste?

[Young bird's favorability +100]

[… Favorability +100]

...

Seeing this, Jiang Yuan seemed to have figured it out.

Other members of the small courtyard would occasionally send small gifts, easily moved to tears, and their favorability skyrocketed upwards. But this smelly little sister had high standards and didn't think much of the small crumbs of kindness, making her favorability notoriously hard to increase. However!

She admires strength!

As long as a slightly enigmatic skill is demonstrated, leaving her in awe and unable to comprehend, her favorability immediately flows like water out of a gate.

As the saying goes: One monkey one method. After figuring out where the issue lies, it's incredibly easy to boost favorability in the future!

"It's my unique expertise, others can't learn it." Jiang Yuan wasn't lying, since the system was indeed unique expertise.

The young bird looked gentle and obedient, full of admiration, "Brother, you're amazing! Since you could nurture the Carefree Lotus so successfully, then..."

What other treasured possessions do I have at the bottom of the case? Where are they placed again?

She got stuck, feeling embarrassed while simultaneously annoyed, the reincarnation process was truly frustrating! Not remembering anything crucial at the critical moments, isn't this dropping the ball?

"By the way, why is your Carefree Lotus blue, but mine blooms with pink flowers when grown big?"