Chapter 53: Kaguya-chan, the Wealthy Benefactor~

[Houraisan Kaguya: Well, Miss Kurumi shouldn't be too discouraged either. There are infinite possibilities within this chat group of ours. Even if the prospects look dark, they are definitely not unchangeable.]

[Houraisan Kaguya: However, with the current power of the chat group, it indeed cannot grant Miss Kurumi's wish yet... We can only place our hopes on the future chat group, or perhaps rely on Mr. Chen Mo's magical Main God Space?]

[Chen Mo: That might be a bit troublesome. While it is true the Main God Space can resolve this issue, it is not something that can be done easily...]

In Chen Mo's impression, having the ability to reverse time across an entire plane—especially a plane of considerable magnitude, with the interference of Heavenly Dao and World Will—was something only a high-level saint could accomplish. Furthermore, reversing time by years would make it even more difficult to achieve.

[Chen Mo: But there is no need to rush. As long as you still exist, Kurumi, as long as you are alive, there will be hope. After all, with the chat group around, anything is possible to change.]

Indeed, as long as one is alive and the chat group exists, there is hope. Because who knows when some Order-Good supreme being might descend into the chat group? Even if luck is bad and no tremendously powerful being arrives for a time, there are still members with immense potential in the group who could help her fulfill her wish in the future.

Tokisaki Kurumi let out a long breath of stale air. Calm down, calm down, don't lose your composure...

[Tokisaki Kurumi: Ara ara, is Mr. Chen Mo worried about me?]

[Chen Mo: Of course. If you were to suffer too much shock all at once, accidentally lose your will, go mad, and trigger a localized Demon King transformation right on the spot, that would really be quite a show.]

[Tokisaki Kurumi: ............]

[Chen Mo: ......You didn't undergo a Demon King transformation, right?]

[Tokisaki Kurumi: Aralala, I'm not that fragile, you know~]

[Tokisaki Kurumi: Speaking of which, does Mr. Chen Mo have any plans for afterwards?]

Such an obvious change of topic.

However, considering that Tokisaki Kurumi had previously nearly undergone a Demon King transformation but reversed the process using the Fourth Bullet, and given the hope provided by the chat group, she shouldn't turn into a Demon King... Even if she did, she could probably pull herself back, so there shouldn't be any need to worry.

[Chen Mo: Plans? Just to keep growing stronger, ever stronger.]

[Chen Mo: Although I have the Main God Space as my backing and many opportunities, it is also fraught with peril. Don't look at how smoothly I got through the last samsara world of The Sky Crawlers with everyone's help; the difficulty of the Main God Space is dynamically balanced, and the difficulty of the next samsara world will most likely shoot straight up.]

[Chen Mo: Earlier, I gave Han Li many seeds of heavenly treasures and rare herbs that I bought in the Main God Space. Although they are all branchless seeds, I carefully selected them, and the resulting fruits should all be at least B-rank side plot value in worth.]

[Chen Mo: After that, my teammates and I will return to The Sky Crawlers, find a safe corner in the world to live in seclusion, and use the heavenly treasures accelerated by Han Li's Heaven-Splitting Bottle to assist our cultivation, striving to improve the combat effectiveness of myself and my teammates... That's pretty much it.]

[Han Li: A very steady cultivation method. When one finds a perilous place in the Main God Space, one ought to properly temper their cultivation base.]

Within the chat group, there were two publicly available member information files: one was "Jackie Chan Adventures" provided by Long Wu, and the other was "The Infinite Terror" issued by Lu Mingfei with Chen Mo's authorization.

After all, he would be trading with all the members in the chat group in the future; revealing a bit of his own background and laying his cards on the table would make it easier to build trust.

[Chen Mo: By the way, Brother Han, if you manage to cultivate the Gold Thunder Bamboo, could you send me a few stalks? In my next samsara world, I will likely run into a bunch of vampires. The Evil-Warding Divine Thunder of the Gold Thunder Bamboo should be effective against them.]

[Han Li: Naturally. But vampires... doesn't that race feel more like demonic entities? Can the Evil-Warding Divine Thunder really take effect?]

[Han Li: It should. The kindred in our world belong to the Undead races, the same category as wraiths and death knights. It ought to work.]

[Houraisan Kaguya: Ah, if Mr. Han Li manages to grow that Gold Thunder Bamboo as well, could you also send me a cutting of the seed?]

[Han Li: That wouldn't be a problem at all, but what does Fairy Kaguya intend to use this Gold Thunder Bamboo for?]

[Houraisan Kaguya: I've grown tired of the bamboo forest around Eientei and want to replace it with a new batch of bamboo—just changing the scenery, you know.]

[Han Li: Er...]

[Houraisan Kaguya: Besides, according to the manga Chen Mo sent me called "Touhou Chireiden ~ Subterranean Animism," in the future, an evil spirit called the Prison-Breaking King will break into Eientei and cause trouble all over Gensokyo. Since this Gold Thunder Bamboo happens to restrain it, I wanted to use it to make some self-defense weapons.]

[Han Li: I see. However, the growth rate of this bamboo is extremely slow; for it to grow into a Heavenly Thunder Bamboo containing the Evil-Warding Divine Thunder, it takes ten thousand years...]

[Han Li: It doesn't matter (｡ò∀ó｡), I can use my ability to manipulate eternity and the instantaneous to accelerate its growth, so you don't need to worry about that~]

[Chen Mo: Ah, right, how could I have forgotten about your ability, Miss Kaguya?]

He had forgotten that this person was also a lunar princess capable of controlling time. With the power to manipulate the degree of eternity and the instantaneous, through these days of communication, Chen Mo discovered that this Houraisan Kaguya was actually the strongest being in the chat group currently.

According to her, the combat power in the Gensokyo where she resided seemed relatively high, and she herself possessed strength comparable to a stage four advanced existence—currently acknowledged as the chat group's big shot and wealthy patron.

[Chen Mo: @Houraisan Kaguya, would you like to enter into a strategic cooperative relationship? I provide the seeds, Her Highness the Princess provides the time, and we split the final harvest 50-50. How about it?]

[Houraisan Kaguya: Okay (｢･ω･)｢, medicinal seeds from another world, huh? They should give a pretty good boost to Eirin's research... But I do have one unrequited favor to ask.]

[Chen Mo: ? Please speak.]

[Houraisan Kaguya: If Mr. Chen acquires any treasured artifacts in the future, please be sure to let me observe them! My hobby is collecting and observing all kinds of treasures... For example, the talismans from Jackie Chan's world—I am extremely interested in those peculiar treasures!]

Simply interested in treasures... That seems to match her established setting quite well.

Chen Mo thought about it: if what this Houraisan Kaguya said was true and she was indeed a big shot with formidable power, she probably wouldn't covet his current treasures. Even if he did obtain some secret treasure in the future that even stage-four advanced beings would covet, if he worried Kaguya might pocket it, he simply wouldn't have to take it out—after all, Kaguya wouldn't know what treasures he had anyway.

Trading a promise for the goodwill of a stage-four advanced big shot was a guaranteed win without any loss.

[Chen Mo: That's fine, then let's have a pleasant cooperation.]

[Houraisan Kaguya: Then a pleasant cooperation~ ✪ω✪]