In the following days, all Leyvi did was spend his time accompanying Hana and their newborn son, Leylin.
After a full year of intense Spiritual Cultivation that had constantly strained his mind, being around his baby proved incredibly soothing. It helped calm and restore his worn-out mental state in a way nothing else could.
Bana, who had officially become a grandfather, visited frequently. He loved carrying his grandson around with pure doting affection and laughing joyfully the entire time. Sometimes his happy laughter grew so loud that Hana had to gently chase him out of the room so he wouldn't disturb the sleeping Leylin.
During these days, Leyvi spent every night in Hana's room.
It had been decided by the harem council that the husband should stay with the wife who had just given birth every night for at least two weeks before he could visit the other ladies' rooms again.
Leyvi naturally had no problem with this arrangement. He was simply curious whether this kind of rule only existed in his own household.
After giving birth, there was one particular thing Hana always asked him to do every night after she finished breastfeeding and put Leylin to sleep. Leyvi found it both amusing and endearing.
"Come husband, touch them again before they're gone later," Hana would say softly as she took Leyvi's hands and guided them to cup her somewhat enlarged breasts.
That was right. During her pregnancy, her breasts had grown significantly. Now, instead of being nearly flat-chested, she had a pair of modest but soft breasts that Leyvi could play with. Because of this, she had been asking him almost every night to touch and enjoy them before they potentially returned to their previous size.
Leyvi found her request funny, but he always went along with her whims happily.
---
"Layla, when is Barcas' wedding again?" Leyvi asked as he visited her office one afternoon.
He also wanted to catch up on the latest news, especially any developments regarding the Red Eye Craze phenomenon. Although he had picked up bits and pieces through his spiritual hearing from people around the mansion, he preferred getting the full picture directly from Layla.
"Barcas' wedding is in four months," Layla replied promptly. She had already prepared all the relevant information in advance.
"His family household, the Buchanan Family, is located in the southeast area of the Central Region. It's actually closer than the location where the Mystic Realm portal appeared. From here, the journey will take slightly over two months by airship."
"Buchanan Family? Are they famous over there?" Leyvi asked curiously.
"The Buchanan Family is a very respected household among scholars and academics," Layla explained in her clear, secretary-like manner.
"They have made many significant contributions to research in various fields, primarily cultivation. Over the years, they have improved numerous cultivation manuals, making cultivation faster and more accessible for the general population. For quite some time now, they appear to have been working closely with the Protectors on a secret project."
Leyvi nodded slowly. Those descriptions fit Barbara and Barcas perfectly. These two scholars definitely came from that family. He had witnessed Barbara's genius firsthand while he was in seclusion with her.
In a relatively short amount of time, she had made massive improvements to the Spiritual Cultivation Manual he had received from Dastan, allowing him to cultivate and reach the Spiritual Touch Realm much faster than expected.
This was not some random cultivation manual. It was a royal family cultivation manual that was already considered perfected by its original creators. Yet Barbara had improved it just like that.
He was so impressed by Barbara's intelligence that he agreed with Anda's plan to bring her into the Leyan Family. It was necessary so she could help solve any future cultivation problems they might encounter, especially his own.
His core was one of a kind and still a complete mystery. That was why he needed an expert he could fully trust, like Barbara, to help him understand and develop it. Fortunately, she had easily fallen in love with him, which would make bringing her into the family much easier.
"I think I know what secret project they are working on," Leyvi informed Layla.
"Really? What is it?" Layla asked, clearly curious.
"It's about Spiritual Cultivation. The same path I am practicing now," Leyvi replied. "Barbara told me about it."
"I see," Layla nodded. Leyvi had already explained Spiritual Cultivation to them before.
What were originally considered side products of Qi Cultivation, such as spiritual sense, spiritual pressure, and spiritual touch, had actually come from the advancement of the Sea of Consciousness.
From this clue, people had begun trying to cultivate the mind directly, eventually forming its own separate cultivation system.
The Protogaea Continent had reached this stage long ago, while the Cloud Continent had only just begun the process and was still figuring things out.
Layla remembered when Anda had proudly bragged about Leyvi's Spiritual Cultivation talent, claiming it had even shocked people from the Protogaea Continent. She did not doubt her Big Madam's words at all. After all, she had personally witnessed Leyvi's abnormal spiritual sense and spiritual pressure.
"Right," Leyvi continued. "They have been developing and testing Spiritual Cultivation for many years now, but their progress is still nowhere near what the Protogaea Continent has already achieved. But don't worry. With Barbara around, our continent's progress in this field will definitely skyrocket."
"She collected a large number of Spiritual Cultivation Manuals from people of the Protogaea Continent back then. I'm sure they are actively studying them right now. Once they finish, this won't be a secret anymore. Spiritual Cultivation will become public knowledge, and everyone will be able to try learning it. It will be another huge step forward for our continent."
Layla smiled warmly. "Do you want me to help promote Spiritual Cultivation once it becomes public?"
"Of course!" Leyvi replied. "One of the best things about Spiritual Cultivation is that it doesn't rely much on external sources of energy. The spiritual energy naturally present in the atmosphere is enough to help the mantra stimulate the brain. That means it's a very low-cost cultivation system."
Layla was surprised. "Isn't that too good to be true? How can cultivating be so easy?"
Even Body Cultivation, which almost anyone could practice, required very high-quality and expensive resources. Cultivators had to endure constant pain while strengthening their bodies and learn suitable martial arts that matched the specific type of body enhancement they pursued. All of this made it a high-entry cultivation system in reality.
Take Ava for example. Her body had been modified and enhanced to become extremely flexible and fast, so the body cultivation martial arts she practiced also had to reflect those changes. Otherwise, her combat power would remain low.
Layla found it hard to believe that such an easy cultivation system could truly exist.
"I didn't say it was easy," Leyvi clarified. "Like Body Cultivation, mortals can also learn Spiritual Cultivation. But Spiritual Cultivation is actually extremely demanding on one's mental talent. One must be able to focus for a very long time without any distraction. It sounds simple, but only a handful of people can truly do it. Even on the Protogaea Continent, there aren't many Spiritual Cultivators."
"Now this is more believable," Layla nodded. "No cultivation path is truly easy."
"Hahaha. But I'm sure there will be people out there who have a natural talent for this, just like I do," Leyvi said with a smile. "So when the time comes, we must find them and help them start on this path."
"Alright. Since my husband said so, I will do my best to prepare for it," Layla replied warmly.
"Ah, I'm so lucky to have you as my wife," Leyvi said affectionately. "I can leave any task to you and know it will be handled perfectly."
He suddenly scooped Layla up in a princess carry from her seat and gave her several playful kisses on the cheek and lips.
"Hehehe. I enjoy doing all of these," Layla giggled. "I don't mind if you give me even more work."
"Alright," Leyvi said as he gently set her down. "Tell everyone to get ready. We will depart for the Central Region in three days. Along the way, we will pick up Caterina. I'm sure she's close to giving birth now. I want to be there in person to see my first daughter born."
"Yes, husband. I will inform them right away," Layla nodded obediently.
Afterward, Leyvi asked her for the latest updates on the Red Eye Craze phenomenon. After confirming there were no particularly noteworthy incidents that required immediate attention, he left Layla's office and headed toward Sawi's workshop. She had been wanting to show him her newest inventions for some time now.