173: Chapter 173 The Role of Dark Energy Crystal Cores

"Mm! Thank you, Dad!" Su Xiaobai was deeply moved.

He knew this was a gift from his father—not just the dark energy crystals, but a magic tool to build a good relationship with his younger sister and brother!

He had rarely met his third sister and fourth brother, and their relationship was average. They were about to arrive on Shengyuan Star, and with these dark energy crystals, he could show his care for them and bridge the gap between them more quickly.

"Cultivate well!" Su Fan said with a smile, then looked toward Jiang Zibo.

"Holy Lord Jiang, I brought a gift for you this time as well."

"It is truly my good fortune that Elder Su kept me in mind!" A smile appeared on Jiang Zibo's face.

"Red Queen, open the cargo bay doors of this spaceship!"

At Su Fan's command, the cargo bay doors opened, revealing that it was also filled to the brim with dark energy crystals!

"Elder Su, you... this is too much!" Jiang Zibo said he was embarrassed, but his eyes lit up.

"Just a small token of appreciation, not worth mentioning," Su Fan said with a smile.

"However, there is one thing inside that isn't for Holy Lord Jiang. Instead, I need your help to see if it can be opened." Su Fan pointed to the dark energy crystal core, which was slightly revealing its curved, circular surface.

"Oh?" Puzzled, Jiang Zibo extended his Mental Energy and gave a gentle flick. A large amount of dark energy crystals were moved out of the cargo bay, revealing the spherical dark energy crystal core within.

"This is... a Spirit Stone Core?!" Jiang Zibo exclaimed, his face full of pleasant surprise and disbelief.

"Holy Lord Jiang knows what this is?" Su Fan smiled slightly.

"I do, how could I not!" Jiang Zibo's tone was excited. "A Spirit Stone Core can only be born within an incredibly massive vein of spirit stones."

"Starting from the fourth level of God Forging, using a Spirit Stone Core for cultivation can yield twice the results with half the effort!"

"Furthermore, the Spirit Stone Core has another important function!" Speaking of this, Jiang Zibo's tone became even more excited.

"What important function?" Su Fan asked.

"A crystal core will actively absorb the surrounding spiritual energy. This energy will then slowly gather around the Spirit Stone Core, eventually forming a new spirit stone vein!" Jiang Zibo looked at the Spirit Stone Core with burning eyes.

Su Fan's expression changed. He had originally intended to ask Jiang Zibo if there was a way to cut open this dark energy crystal core; he hadn't expected the thing to have such a function!

"System, can a dark energy crystal core really form a dark energy crystal vein?" Su Fan inquired.

"It can, but the time required is far too long—starting from ten thousand years!" the system replied indifferently.

Su Fan's excitement instantly dissipated; ten thousand years was far too long.

However, considering that the Great Xia Federation couldn't use this thing yet, and his second son Su Xiaobai—the fastest cultivator—was only at the third level of God Forging and didn't need it for now, Su Fan decided to keep it as it was for the time being.

"Holy Lord Jiang, do you have a way to cut it open?" Su Fan asked.

"Ah? Cut it open?!" Jiang Zibo's eyes widened, and even his white beard fluttered. "This thing is a foundation-level treasure for a race, and you're talking about cutting it open?"

"I'm just asking first." Su Fan hadn't made a decision yet either.

"It can be cut open; our Shenyuan Clan has a way." Jiang Zibo breathed a sigh of relief.

Su Fan nodded, then said with a smile, "In that case, Holy Lord Jiang, please take these spirit stones first. I plan to take the Spirit Stone Core back to Blue Star and bury it underground."

"Yes, bury it in Blue Star; that is our shared ancestral land after all." Although Jiang Zibo was somewhat envious, this was not his property, after all.

Next, Jiang Zibo directly used his Mental Energy to envelop the dark energy crystals in the spaceship, then soared into the sky toward the Shengyuan Holy Land.

Su Xiaobai followed suit, likewise enveloping the dark energy spirit stones in the other spaceship with his Mental Energy, and then also soared into the sky, flying toward the Shengyuan Holy Land.

As for Su Fan, he smiled and controlled the Android to return to the spaceship, then tilted his head...

Within the Shengyuan Holy Land, Su Fan's other Android suddenly opened its eyes.

...

A few days later, Su Mingxia brought the third child Su Huang and the fourth child Su Feng to the Shengyuan Holy Land.

Su Huang and Su Feng were 20 years old this year. Since Su Fan handed them the Guidance Technique and God-Forging Technique at age 16, they had been cultivating for over four years.

In those four years, their progress had been extremely rapid, fully comparable to the cultivation speed of the second son, Su Xiaobai, at the same age.

Su Huang had inherited the excellent genes of Su Fan and Zhou Xiaoxiao. She had grown up to be very beautiful, standing 176cm tall with fair skin, a lovely face, and long legs. In terms of temperament, she had that cool-faced 'big sister boss' vibe.

Su Feng was the complete opposite. He was quite fat and of average height, not even as tall as his elder sister Su Huang, standing at only 172cm.

His only advantages were his fair complexion, large eyes, and a very good personality. He was smiling all day long and naturally radiated a strong sense of approachability.

"Su Huang, Su Feng, this is your second brother Su Xiaobai. Although you haven't seen much of each other growing up, he is your biological brother."

"In the future, while you cultivate on Shengyuan Star, you can go to him with any problems. His cultivation is very high now, having reached the third level of God Forging, which is definitely at the level of a big shot." Su Fan smiled as he brought the three children closer.

"Second Brother!" Su Huang called out with a smile. She was naturally cold and didn't smile much even when facing her parents at home; for her to smile and call him 'Second Brother' was truly rare.

"Hello, Second Brother!" Su Feng stepped forward immediately, grabbed Su Xiaobai's hand, and called out affectionately.

Su Feng's personality was that of someone who acted like an old friend from the start. Combined with his round body and harmless face, it was very easy for people to feel fond of him.

"Hello, Third Sister! Hello, Fourth Brother! If you have any difficulties in the future, come to me anytime." Su Xiaobai was a bit shy.

Just like that, all three of Su Fan's children began their advanced studies on Shengyuan Star.

As for Su Fan, after a brief chat with the children, he let them spend time alone together.

During the following three days, Su Fan learned more about cultivation from Jiang Zibo, and additionally, he inquired about some information regarding the Upper Realm.

Unfortunately, the Shengyuan Holy Land didn't have much information recorded about the Upper Realm either, only knowing that it was a world of a higher level than this one.

"Did the several ascended Saints not pass down any information?" Su Fan asked, puzzled.

"No, we are unable to establish contact with the Saints who have already ascended," Jiang Zibo sighed.

Su Fan fell into thought. Perhaps this was what the ancient legends of Great Xia called the 'Severance of Heaven and Earth'.

The Upper Realm and Lower Realm were unable to communicate?

Perhaps that was the case...

Su Fan left. He didn't want to interfere in the war between the Canglan Empire, the Black Dragon Empire, and the Alma Federation for the time being.

Their war provided precious time for the development of the Great Xia Federation.

The most important thing now was to continue gathering all kinds of resources, speed up the independent research and development of class-c spaceships, and increase the number of class-c spaceships in active service.

Under Su Fan's arrangement, except for some spaceships that continued to scout and monitor the war situation among the three nations, all other ships bypassed the battlefield in batches to collect resources.

Spaceships disguised as the Black Dragon Empire went to gather resources within the Canglan Empire's territory, and spaceships disguised as the Canglan Empire went to gather resources within the Black Dragon Empire's territory!

...