Xiaoli

Deep in the sea of consciousness, Xing Chen could be seen standing in front of a tree as violet petals fluttered around the windless world.

'Where the fuck am I?' Xing Chen cursed inwardly.

He was just in the library, reading a book until his notification went off to accept a spiritual connection. Of course, after he accepted, he was brought into this weird place. In all honesty, this tree had strong similarities to a weeping cherry tree. The only difference was the petals were of violet color, not white or pink.

Xing Chen looked around him, figuring where he was. From his guess, he was on a small island of some sort that seem to be about 33 meters in circumference. Looking at the center, where the weeping cherry tree was rooted, a small girl wearing a violet robe could be seen sitting upon its branch. However, it seems as if she hasn't notice him as she swung her small legs in the air.

'There's no exits around me. The only place I can walk to is that tree with the little girl… what did I get myself into when I accepted,' thought Xing Chen with no other choice but to walk forward.

Nearly a few feet away from the tree, the small girl finally noticed Xing Chen.

"Who are you and how did you get here?" asked the little girl with her head tilted to the left.

"I would like to know how I got here too," replied Xing Chen as he carefully studied the little girl.

"I am Xing Chen, you are?"

"I do not have a name, but when I was born, I knew I was called the Violet Star Umbrella many years ago."

'So, she's the umbrella' spirit... I've struck it big this time!'

"Hmm, that name is too long. How about I call you Xiaoli?"

"Mmm, okay! I like this name a lot. I am now Xiaoli!"

Xiaoli smiled brightly and transformed into a violet ball of light that quickly shot into Xing Chen before he could say anything. Soon, the world of darkness surrounded him once more as the land with the violet weeping cherry tree vanished. His eyes closed once more, as he entered another deep sleep.

…

[Spiritual Connection 97% … 98% … 99%]

[Spiritual Connection 100%]

** Ding

[Spiritual Connection Has Been Completed]

[Recalculating Host's Status 1%...33%…69%...88%...99%]

[Status Has Been Updated]

[Awakening Host]

…

Xing Chen opened his eyes to an unfamiliar room, feeling an odd energy within his body. Taking in a deep breath, he slowly got up and he noticed three people staring at him in shock. For a moment, Xing Chen almost didn't recognize the three in front of him. It appeared as if his father, Xing Yun, and his mother, Xing Hua had age quite a bit. Although the weird elder, Xing Mushu, appeared the same.

"Did something happen?" asked Xing Chen but what came out wasn't his childish ten-year-old voice. It sounded older; a bit more mature than he remembered.

"My voice…?"

'How long was I in that world...'

" Xing Chen, my son… my son… you're finally awake. You're finally awake," cried Xing Hua, realizing that her son actually woke up. She began touching Xing Chen's face, pulling his cheeks hard to make sure he was truly awake. Of course, she would have pinched herself, but Xing Chen's various expressions showed everything she needed to know.

"Ouch! Mom, what do you mean I'm finally awake? What happened to me?"

"Xing Chen, you've been asleep for 5 years," answered Xing Yun as his glazy eyes turned a tinge of red. He held in the lump of grief in between his throat, feeling the heavy burden on his shoulders vanishing. As a father, a husband, he had to stay strong for his family. Even so, one could tell he was truly happy to see that his son finally woke up.

'Fuck! 5 years in a comatose state? I was barely in that weird place for ten minutes. How did ten minutes go to 5 years? I'll check my status when they leave me alone.'

Xing Mushu stood to the side, allowing the parents to express their love for their son. He remembered when his parents were alive. They were quite strict, but they loved him dearly, but their time came, and they passed onto the next cycle. One day, he too, will join them and hopefully meet them again.

"Ahem," coughed Xing Mushu after patiently waiting for an hour.

"Ah, yes. I'm sorry patriarch," exclaimed Xing Yun once he noticed there was another person in the room.

"Xing Chen, let patriarch do a check up on you. He was the one who found you when you were unconscious in the library and ensured you stayed alive in these past five years."

"Thank you for keeping me alive, patriarch," smiled Xing Chen, bowing his head in respect. It would be a terrible shame if he died again.

"En. No need to thank me. This is a small matter for me after all the help you have given us a 5 years ago. Without you, we wouldn't be able to understand and solve the problem that had been plaguing us for thousands of years. Hold your wrist out, please."

Xing Mushu then walked over and place his right index and middle finger against Xing Chen's wrist, slowly circulating his qi to make sure there were no more problems. As time let on, his eyes suddenly widened as he did a few cycles through Xing Chen's meridians.

"What's wrong?" responded Xing Chen when he saw Xing Mushu's expression of shock. He was worried if there was something wrong with his body causing the patriarch to react this way.

"This is a guess, but it seems the pills I steadily gave you for 5 years had nourished your body to the point that it automatically reached Tempered Body 3rd Layer. If you trained in the path of cultivation some more, the huge amount of unused qi stored in your body can boost you up to Tempered Body 8th layer!"