Realmspirit shrank on the ground like a turtle, the heavenly disposition from earlier had instantly disappeared without a trace. "I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die…"
Zhu Yao could not help but throw one last kick before letting him go.
With a face covered in dirt, he sat up and looked at Zhu Yao resentfully. "Yaoyao… How can you do this to me?"
"Shut up." Looking at how he was making such an immoral expression with that face, the image she had of him was collapsing, you know? She then pinched his cheeks and pulled them outwards. "Hurry and swap out from this face."
"Ah! It h-h-h-hurts…" Realmspirit hissed as he breathed in the chilling air. He couldn't avoid her demonic hands either. "You can't blame me for this either! You're the reason why I have this form."
Zhu Yao's hands stopped in mid-air. "What did you mean?"
"Yaoyao, you already know about my true body, right?" Realmspirit said with a smile. "I don't have a fixed appearance in the first place, so the me you're seeing right now, is the appearance of the most beautiful person in your heart."
She was dumbfounded, and at that moment, she understood what he meant. The person with the most beautiful appearance in her heart was naturally her master. After sizing him up for a moment, she could not help but grow a little suspicious. "Are you truly the spirit of the Three Realms?"
He instantly gave a large grin. "Correct. Beautiful maiden, you're actually able to figure it out so quickly. You're so smart." As expected of the one chosen by me?
"Enough of that!" Zhu Yao rolled her eyes, but her heart felt a little stuffy. "So the things you told me before were all true. And this is what you meant when you said that there's a problem with this world when I was first brought here?"
"Mn." He nodded.
Zhu Yao heaved a sigh of relief. She finally understood everything that she hadn't been able to figure out before, including why he had such incredible powers. Why was he able to grant her such strange cheats? Why were the River of Forgetfulness, Bai Yuan, and Wood Spirit all so familiar with him? Why could he claim that even the Heavenly Dao could change? The spirit of the Three Realms, a spirit formed by the Three Realms. He was this world, and the Three Realms was his true body. Even the Heavenly Dao and luck were all part of him, so he could naturally change them.
"Since you're the Three Realms, then those bugs should have been easy to fix on your own. Why did you still have to drag me over to fix them?"
He shook his head. "Yaoyao, I can predict everything in this world, and I can clearly see everyone's paths, but I don't know how to cure them. Though I know where the bugs are, I don't understand the specific methods to fix them."
"What do you mean?" Zhu Yao was a little confused.
"A medical practitioner can't cure himself." Realmspirit solemnly said.
In other words, though he was the one who was sick, he was powerless to stop it? "But there are so many people in the Three Realms, so you can find anyone here to do it. Why do you have to go so far to another plane to drag me over here?"
"The living beings of the Three Realms are all part of it themselves, so they can't clearly see the problem themselves, so how can they possibly fix it? No one in this world can do it, but you're different." His eyes shone. "You come from another plane, everything you know and the thoughts you have are all greatly different from ours. You can see things in a way that we can't."
"Why me?" Zhu Yao frowned. "I'm not an incredible figure, and I don't have any astonishing talents. Furthermore, in our world, I'm just a regular person without any special traits that you can find a bunch on the streets. If you just want someone from another plane to help you find loopholes, isn't it better to find someone more outstanding? Why pick me?"
Realmspirit retracted his smile and looked at her straight in the eyes. With an especially serious tone, he said. "Because we are friends."
"…" So you're the type that trolls your friends?
"Yaoyao, I trust in our friendship. Of course, the most important thing is…" He solemnly said. "You have stronger conviction and principles than anyone else, and you never wavered even once. Even after you were in the Three Realms for so long, you kept holding onto your untainted heart. That's why… you're the most suitable choice."
"Then why didn't you tell me right from the start?" Zhu Yao frowned. If he had truly treated her as a friend, why the need to hide everything from her?
"Because…" He sighed. "I want you to see this world with your own eyes and have you personally understand everything. Only by doing that can you find the most suitable method to fixing the problems that occurred."
Indeed, if she had known Realmspirit was the Three Realms right from the start, she would have simply given him suggestions on fixing the bugs and not understand the world in depth. It's like playing a game. Only by going deep into understanding the game can one find the best way to fix the bugs.
"Then what's with this tower clearing mission?"
"It can be considered as the final dungeon, I guess." He solemnly said. "Only by reaching the peak of the tower can you understand everything about me. When that happens… It's also the time for the real patch to be implemented."
Zhu Yao was shocked. "Real patch? Didn't I fix a lot of bugs already?"
"No, everything has yet to start." He shook his head, his smile grew even more dazzling. "Once you've understood everything, I will leave all the decisions to you. And you, my friend, is my final hope."
"What do you mean?" What final hope? Zhu Yao wanted a clarification, but his figure had begun to fade. Even the space itself was beginning to dim.
"I will always believe you, my friend."
"Wait a minute!" Clarify yourself. Zhu Yao grabbed onto his hand, but she instead was faced with a pair of familiar eyes. The face was the same, but the demeanor had completely changed.
"What is it?" The person in front of her stroked her head, carrying a relieving, chilling intent.
"Master…" She's back.
"No need to be afraid." Yu Yan however thought that she was anxious and pulled her in a little. "Master is here."
Only then did Zhu Yao realize the surroundings had changed. Mountains and rivers filled the lands, stretching beyond her line of sight. It wasn't any different from the Divine Realm. "This is… inside the tower?" The map is a little too big, isn't it?
"This place should be the lower ten floors of Lightning Divine Tower." Yu Yan solemnly said. "Teacher once mentioned that the High Deity level is the lowest cultivation level one would have in Lightning Divine Tower. It's best that we take caution."
"Ou." Zhu Yao nodded. Looking around, she did not see any human figures, though not far behind her, a black light flashed. Right after the flash, Yue Ying appeared.
She knew that he would follow after her. Zhu Yao frowned, but chose to ignore him as usual.
""What do we do now?" When it came to clearing the tower, they still had to figure out where they should clear from!
Yu Yan suddenly pulled out a gold talisman. "Teacher once said that if I enter the Lightning Divine Tower, I can use this talisman to contact him."
Grandmaster! Zhu Yao's eyes shone. There's a 'find guild member' feature, say so earlier! "Hurry, hurry."
He cast an art and instantly activated the talisman. A golden light flashed, but in the next moment, the talisman began to burn and turn into ashes.
"…" What happened.
"It seemed like teacher has already entered the upper ten floors." Yu Yan sighed.
Zhu Yao could faintly hear a notification saying: Finding guild member… failed!
"Let's wait and see then." Yu Yan had no other options either. After all, everything here was too foreign. They could only take a step at a time.
The two of them turned and flew forward. Zhu Yao was still thinking about Realmspirit's words and did not pay much attention to her surroundings. After flying out of a forest, they arrived at a grass plain. Zhu Yao released her divine sense and scanned the surroundings, only to realize the plain was outrageously large. Her divine sense was actually unable to cover its entirety. After scanning around, she still did not see a single human figure. They could not even ask for directions.
For a moment, she was a little hesitant, not knowing whether they should continue moving forward.
"What should we do?" She turned and looked at her all-powerful master.
Yu Yan frowned. "This grass plain is boundless, and it seems even after venturing a thousand kilometers, we would not find a single town. It looks like we have to turn back."
Great, we have to head back. Zhu Yao expressed that she was tired.
"Let's rest for a moment before moving."
Left with no other choice, Zhu Yao sat down. She wondered just what was going on in the tower? The population density was a little too small, wasn't it? Even after flying for so long, let alone a person, they did not even spot a single living being. Even in this boundless grass plain, there were only a few long-eared rabbits.
Zhu Yao turned and looked at the rabbit that was currently squatting next to her, nibbling on the grass without the slightest sense of danger. She wondered just what breed it was, as it was actually not afraid of humans.
It even had such a rotten street name called Little White…
Eh?
Name!
Zhu Yao rubbed her eyes. Was she seeing things? Why was she seeing two yellow words hanging above the rabbit – Little White? And below the name was a long red HP bar.
As a qualified game developer, she could not help but poke it with her itchy hand. A row of words then instantly floated above the rabbit's head: HP – 1
She had a bad premonition…
In the next instant, the yellow words "Little White" turned red. The rabbit that was still one-mindedly nibbling on the grass just earlier turned its head and unceremoniously bit on her hand.
Blood flowed out…
"Mommy! It hurts…" Zhu Yao waved her hand forcefully, immediately flinging the rabbit away. However, a bone-deep wound was left on her hand.
What a terrifying rabbit!
The moment the rabbit landed on the ground, it dove into the patch of grass. After that, shuffling noises could be heard from the grass, as one red "Little White" after another popped up like lights being turned on. It looked like the colour were infectious, as red instantly filled the entire grass plain.
Uh… It seemed like, she accidentally started a battle!
"Yu Yao?" Yu Yan was just about to ask. "What is it…"
"Run!" Zhu Yao grabbed onto her master and madly flew into the forest they came from. Shuffling noises followed after them from behind.
When she turned to look, her heart almost leapt out of fright. A large mass of red names rose into the air and chased straight after them. Aren't they rabbits? Why can rabbits fly? What you guys have are long ears, and not wings, hey! The biology teachers are going to cry!
"Yu Yao…" Yu Yan pulled his flustered and stupid disciple and stopped in the air. With a solemn voice, he said. "No need to panic! Leave it to your master."
With a short incantation, he summoned a bolt of purple lightning and struck it to the back. Just as the horde of mad rabbits were about to be zapped, the rabbit at the very front suddenly flapped its ears and propelled itself upwards. Ahmm! It swallowed the lightning… swallowed it… swallowed…
"…"
Zhu Yao weakly turned her head. "Master…" What happened to the promise of leaving things to you?
His expression was still as calm as usual. With a wave of his hand, he called out his Life Artifact and grabbed onto his disciple. After taking a deep breath, he said with a serious look. "Let's run then!"
With a speed ten times faster than earlier, he turned around and madly flew off…
"…"
Thus, on their first day in the tower, the master and disciple duo ran to as if their life depended on it, while being chased by a horde of little white rabbits.
Chapter 362: Look At My Pure and Clear EyesZhu Yao whose biology teacher had died too early on, swore that she would never offend a rabbit so easily ever again in her life. Even when she were to spot one, she would make a detour if she had to. After all, not anyone would have the precious and deep experience of being chased by a horde of rabbits for three days and three nights.
Even now, she still did not know what mutated breed the horde of rabbits was from. They were actually immune to all types of divine arts. No matter how strong an offensive art she cast, they would swallow them down with an ahmn. Even Yue Ying's devillic attacks were useless. The only differences were whether they would take a single or two bites, or two of them taking a bite together, or three of them taking a bite together.
Most importantly, no matter if they fled into forests, flew in the sky, or dove deep into the ocean depths, those rabbits would always chase after them. They were simply living beings that could live in the land, sky, and sea. As though they had activated invincibility mode, they chased after Zhu Yao and Yu Yan for three days and three nights, and only now did traces of them slowly disappear.
Zhu Yao tiredly laid on her master. She did not want to move again, at all.
"Master…" She felt that her common sense had been struck with a heavy blow. She wanted to head back to the zoo and look at the animals again.
Yu Yan heaved a sigh of relief as well. He pulled over his disciple's bitten hand and cast an art. However, he realized that it was completely ineffective, and his brows began to furrow.
"It's still useless." Zhu Yao looked at her own hand, feeling as though she wanted to cry. For some reason, the wound she received from the rabbit's bite from before could not be healed by using arts. "Nevermind."
Yu Yan's face was ice-cold, he clearly had a slightly irritated mood. He kept silent as he stared at his disciple's hand.
"I'm really fine." After all, she was a High Deity as well, though it was a little embarrassing to be bitten by a rabbit. Even without arts, it's been three days and her wound had already closed. It was already considerably healed.
Yu Yan was still silent, though his face was growing colder by the minute. Even Yue Ying at the side was beginning to stare at her hand.
Don't look as though I'm terminally ill, alright?
"… Then, shall we bandage it up a little?"
"Mn." Only then did Yu Yan feel contented as he retrieved a white cloth from his storage ring. After tearing it into a strp, he then wrapped it around her hand. He wrapped it extremely meticulously, and at the event, he even tied a beautiful knot. While he was at it, he even embroidered it with something.
The corner of Zhu Yao's lips twitched. Master, you're embroidering a bunny into it, are you sure you're not doing it on purpose?
"We should not stay in this place for too long." Yu Yan solemnly said. "It's best that we find a settle down in a divine city."
"Mn." Just as Zhu Yao was about to stand up, a shuffling noise could be heard in the bushes next to them.
A human figure popped out. "Eh? You guys…"
Before he could even finish, Yu Yan had already grabbed onto his disciple and disappeared without a trace.
"Eh!? Wait, wait a minute!" In a flash, that person immediately went to catch up with them.
Hearing this, not only did Yu Yan not stop, he accelerated even faster.
"…"
Zhu Yao turned to look at the person chasing after them, and the poked in front of her. "Master… The person behind is a Deity, not a rabbit!"
A certain person's face stiffened, as he then stopped in mid-air.
Uh… He had gotten used to it!
In an instant, that person caught up. He looked a little fatigued, his hair was dishevelled and even his clothes were covered in stains. For some reason, his blue robe was stained with yellow on one side and white on the other, a paste flavour was even floating around him. Above his head was a string of yellow words: Unknown Deity (Level 1)
The corner of Zhu Yao's lips twitched, as the feeling of playing a net game overwhelmed her…
He seemed to have had a hard time chasing after them. After panting a few times, he said. "Why did you two run?"
The master and disciple duo's lips twitched a little.
"Why did you chase after us?" Zhu Yao asked back.
"I saw you two running, so I started chasing."
"We saw you chase after us, so naturally we ran!"
"…" The man became a little confused. He then unmindfully waved his hand and said. "Nevermind, I finally managed to see a living person. Are you two returning to Hillriver City?"
Hillriver City? Zhu Yao glanced at her master. There was actually really a divine city nearby.
Thus, they immediately nodded.
"What a coincidence, me too!" That man replied. "Let's go together. In this Lost Gallery, it's safer with a bunch of people together."
Naturally, it was a blessing for them if someone could guide them. The master and disciple duo immediately nodded.
"Let's go, let's go!" That man did not have any interest in making friends either. He basically did not make a self-introduction, as though he simply wanted to partner up and head on his way. He immediately flew up and moved past them. While casting a Dirt Removal Art on himself, he casually let out a complaint. "I sure had bad luck today. I wonder which idiot offended that horde of 'Little White' rabbits in the grass plain. I only managed to get rid of them after being chased for such a long time."
The three idiots: "…"
"What's even more unbearable is that not only did they offend the rabbits, they were even stupid enough to use divine arts to attack them." The man grew angrier as he spoke. "Who doesn't know that those Little Whites relied on divine energy for their meals? The more divine arts are used, the fuller they become, and they will have even more energy to give chase. Initially, they could have been gotten rid of in a hundred kilometers, but they actually chased after this daddy here for over a thousand kilometers."
The group of three who were chased for three days and three nights received a sudden enlightenment.
The man turned around and glanced at the three people that were standing especially straight. "Did you people encounter those pestering horde of rabbits?"
The three of them turned back to face him, and with an especially stern tone, they said in unison. "Nope!" Their expressions were as pure as the white clouds in the sky.
"Ou." The man pouted and did not suspect them either. "You guys have great luck." After a moment, he suddenly thought of something and asked with a mysterious look. "Let me tell you guys this, earlier, among the horde of crazed rabbits earlier, I actually saw one shrouded in lightning. Clearly, it had swallowed a lightning art. It seems like someone from Lightning Divine Palace has entered the tower again."
Zhu Yao's heart skipped a beat. She exchanged glances with her master beside her, and intentionally asked. "So what if someone from Lightning Divine Palace enters the tower?"
"Naturally, we have to find that person immediately." That man said matter-of-factly. "For so many years, only the people from Lightning Divine Palace can enter and leave the Lightning Divine Tower freely. Everyone has had enough of it. Furthermore, the previous one who entered the tower has already entered the upper ten floors, so naturally there's nothing much we Deities can do about him now. Another one has finally entered the tower, so naturally we have to find him as soon as possible. Right now, Hillriver City has probably gone insane trying to look for that person. Who would have thought that he would appear within Lost Gallery? If I were to spread this news, I would be able to make some small change too."
He looked as though he had thought of something happy, as his eyes even shone a little.
On the other side however, Zhu Yao's heart had already sank, and as for her master… It seemed like Lightning Divine Palace did not have a good standing in this tower at all.
"Speaking of which…" The man suddenly turned around and glanced at the three people next to him. With suspecting eyes, he sized them up. "You three…"
Crap! He can't possibly have seen through us, right?
"Did you see the Deity that cast the lightning-type arts?"
"…" Her heightened caution instantly came crumbling down. "Hoho, of course not!" Zhu Yao immediately shook her head.
"Then anyone with the Daoist title 'Yu'?" The man continued to ask. "The people of Lightning Divine Palace often like to venture alone. As long as someone is alone, that person is worth the suspicion."
"None, at, all!" Look at my pure and clear eyes.
Only then did the man close his mouth with a disappointed look, and then, he sped up towards Hillriver City.
Chapter 363: Don't Be Abstract, Be RealisticThe Hillriver City the man spoke of was not that far away. In just a short while, they arrived at an enormous formation. The formation was floating in the air, and occasionally there were golden mystic symbols circling around it. It seemed like a teleportation formation, but it was evidently much more advanced.
The moment they crossed the formation, the surrounding scenery changed. They were now standing on a large street, and the place was filled with people even though they could not see even a single person just earlier. Zhu Yao raised her head, and all she saw was a sea of yellow names and red HP bars. Every single one of them had a string of words above their heads: Unknown Deity. Next to those words were levels, and most of them were Level 1s while a small bulk of them were Level 2s and even Level 3s.
The hell, net game mode can't possibly have been activated for real, right? Then are these people NPCs or monsters? She anxiously turned around and looked at her own master, only to realize he didn't have any. Yue Ying on the side did not have anything above his head either. Just what as going on?
The moment they entered the city, the man waved his hand and and separated from them. Zhu Yao wanted to inquire about the present situation, but she realized that the people in the city were mostly in a hurry and did not have any intentions to tend to others. The street was pretty clean as well, without a single stall set up.
Five shining formations of different colours could be seen floating in the sky above the place they entered from earlier. Occasionally, there were Deities going in and out of them. After discussing with her master, they decided to look around the city. In the end, they discovered an extremely large formation at the very center of the city. At the very center of the formation were layers after layers of stairs. The staircase did not have any support around it, rather, they looked like layers of floating white jade stones. Furthermore, they were even constantly moving about. Sometimes they float high up into the air, entering the clouds, and sometimes, they would sink so low, to merely a few inches off the ground.
Next to this mystical staircase was a huge boulder, and a few golden words were slowly circling around it. There was even a flashing arrow right in front of the words labelled: This way to the lower second floor!
"Lower second floor, what does this mean?" This seemed like a passageway.
"It should be the second floor of the lower ten floors." Yu Yan next to her said with a low voice. "I once heard from teacher that Lightning Divine Tower is separated into the upper ten floors and lower ten floors. This place must be the first floor of the lower ten floors, and this should be the passageway to the second."
As expected of a tower, it really was separated by floors. According to the international guidelines of clearing towers, as long as the boss at the very top floor was defeated, then the challenge would be cleared. Reaching the peak of the tower was a necessity. She never expected that they would find the escalator so quickly. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's head up!"
Zhu Yao immediately took a big step and stepped on the lowest tile. She however ended up stepping on empty air and fell. Fortunately, her master caught her at the very bottom.
What happened? She actually couldn't step on it.
"Hahahaha…" Laughter suddenly rang from the side, as a green robed man walked towards them. "Girly, you guys have only entered the tower recently, right?"
The person that came forward had a slim but tall figure, giving the impression that he was a walking bamboo pole. He possessed a rich amount of divine energy, yet he carried a hint of demonic energy. It was actually a Demonic Immortal.
"Without the clearance key, you can't step on this Ascending Stairway."
"Clearance key?" They finally managed to find someone who was willing to care about others. Zhu Yao immediately went forward and said with a smile. "This big brother, we've indeed just entered the tower, and we are still unsure of many things about this place. Big brother, I wonder if you can give us a pointer or two?"
This Demonic Immortal seemed to be in a very good mood. He sized her up with a glance, then looked at Yu Yan beside her, as well as Yue Ying at the back. "I don't mind giving you pointers, but first, you have to tell me something. Have you guys… entered a group?"
"Ah?" Enter a group? What's that? The Communist Youth League? Does the Young Pioneers count? I'm once a fresh and bright red scarf!
"You guys haven't entered a group yet!" The eyes of Demonic Immortal shone, and he instantly became enthusiastic. "Great! You guys are in luck. Coincidentally, my group is currently looking for members."
Why did Zhu Yao feel as though she was being dragged into a cult?
"Hoho, do all Deities who enter the tower have to enter a group?" Zhu Yao asked.
"Of course!" He nodded heavily as he pointed to the few formations in the sky. "Do you see the five formations over there? Connected to them are dangerous secret realms, and a Nascent Divided Pearl is placed in each of these secret realms. Only by gathering all five Nascent Divided Pearl can the clearance key for the second floor be constructed. Furthermore, the five Nascent Divided Pearls must leave the secret realms at the same time, otherwise, they would be teleported back to its original spot by the formations. How can this possibly be done with the strength of a single person? That's why we have to form various groups."
Ou, so it's a dragon ball collection quest. "Then, big brother, which group are you in?"
The slim and tall Demonic Immortal chuckled. Then, he stepped forward and spoke in a mysterious tone. "Girly, have you heard of Amway?"
"…" Zhu Yao was stunned for a moment. Then, she turned around and prepared to leave. "We're not going to buy them, thank you."
"Wait a minute, girly!" The slim and tall person pulled her and zealously recommended. "We Amway Group is the second biggest group in Hillriver City. The first group Blue Bird Group is already full. The reason why we're taking in new members today is because our group coincidentally lacks of people right now. If you miss this opportunity, you might not be able to enter again, you know?"
There's actually people who name themselves Amway! She doesn't want to be recruited into Amway, what to do?
After going through the slim and tall man's constant recommendations, Zhu Yao in the end relented and got successfully recruited into Amway. Along with her master and Yue Ying, they had supposed become a part of the fifty-fifth squad. Only then did Zhu Yao understand the scale of these so-called groups. According to the slim and tall man, a small squad consists of five people at least. If there were fifty five squads, then there were at least two hundred Deities in the group.
"Then that's it." The slim and tall man was really happy that he managed to recruit some fresh meat. He pointed in a direction not far away and said. "You guys first register in the Amway Hall. We still have a member in the squad, I will call him over."
Just as he was about to leave, he seemed to have recalled something. With an apologetic look, he said. "Oh right, I forgot to ask. I'm Nangong Cheng (Southpalace Orange), a Demonic Immortal. How do I address the three of you?"
"Uh…" Recalling that the Lightning Divine Palace did not have a good name here, Zhu Yao exchanged glances with her master and then activated her name changing mode. "Hoho, hi Nangong Cheng, I'm Dongfang Hong (Eastway Red)!"
"…" Eh, something feels off? He turned to look at Yu Yan.
"Beichen… Lan (Northday Blue)!" A certain master said without a change in his expression.
He then turned to look at Yue Ying who was silent the entire time.
"Ximen… Zi! (Westgate Purple)" He went with the flow.
Zhu Yao immediately gave a thumbs up to her team's quick wits. What a neat naming style.
"So it's Dongfang girly, Daoist Beichen, and Daoist Ximen…" Eh, these people have strange surnames? But… why do they feel so intimate? "Then, let's meet up in a while."
Nangong Cheng happily went to look for his little companion, while Zhu Yao and the rest entered the Amway Hall. According to rumours, this was where the headquarters of Amway Group was located, though the interior did not look the part, instead, it looked more like an inn. The counter was right in front, and there were resting tables and chairs in the surroundings. However, the place was empty and hence a little calm and quiet.
There was a Deity tending to the counter, and he was spinning a tablet in his hand. Zhu Yao stepped forward and explained their intentions, and then the Deity glanced at them. He took out three tablets and cast an art on all three of them. Then, he gave each one of them a piece. "This is your squad's communication tablets, they have all the necessary information inside. Once the Nascent Divided Pearl is found, you can use it to directly communicate with with the people that found the other Nascent Divided Pearls."
Zhu Yao received it and had a look at it. An unique formation was engraved on the jade tablet, and at the very center, the words 'Fifty Five' were written on it. Nangong Cheng said that the Nascent Divided Pearls had to be brought out of the five secret realms together in order to combine them into the clearance key. Otherwise, they would automatically return to their original positions. Most likely, this jade tablet was used to communicate with the other squads, making it convenient to discuss the time to exit the secret realms.
After a short wait in the Amway Hall, Nangong Cheng brought his little companion over. Compared to Nangong Cheng's skinny and malnourished look, his little companion clearly was the type who was overnourished. That strong build and firm muscles made it look as though a mountain was moving. Yet, he was wearing a white robe that was a size smaller than his build, making his robe so tight it looked as though it was about to burst.
"Dongfang girly, Daoist Beichen, Daoist Ximen." Nangong Cheng waved them over from afar. "Are you guys done with the registration?" He contently looked at the tablets in their hands, and then pointed at the mountain behind him. "Let me introduce him to you. This is my comrade, Zhonggu Lu (Centerancient Green)."
Great! North, south, east, west, and center! We can finally form a mahjong table.
Nangong Cheng then introduced each of them to Zhonggu Lu, but evidently, this Zhonggu Lu did not buy into our names. He looked at the three of them with narrowed eyes, and then turned his head around with a scornful look. "Enough, enough. Since we're all here, then let's go! If we don't hurry up, the sky will turn dark." He rubbed his firm arms, and then he suddenly pulled out a mirror out of nowhere. He looked left of himself, and then to the right. "I don't want to rush in the middle of the night. It would be bad if my flowery and beautiful appearance is hidden in the darkness, after all."
"…" The corner of Zhu Yao's lips twitched. With those muscles of yours, just how are you beautiful? I can only see 'flowery' all over.
Clearly, Nangong Cheng was already used to his good friend's personality. He pointed at the yellow formation at the very center in the sky, and said. "Then let us head over to Carnetian Jade Secret Realm then! I'm more familiar with the terrain there, and I've already inquired about the location of the Nascent Divided Pearl."
Zhu Yao nodded. They were all newcomers, so naturally they did not have any opinions about his decision. Thus, they followed Nangong Cheng into the secret realm.
However, in an instant, large stone walls and canyons appeared in front of them. There were no longer any greens on the land, looking a little like a wasteland. In order to have newcomers familiarize with this lower first floor quickly, the information in the jade tablets they received earlier had detail introductions to the five secret realms. This Carnetian Jade Secret Realm was the smallest out of the five. Though it did have a huge land area, the place was filled with such canyons. The terrain was thus extremely steep, and finding the Nascent Dividing Pearl was not easy.
Though Nangong Cheng was a rather experienced guide. After entering the secret realm, they did not hurry with their search. Instead, he gathered everyone around for a meeting and shared his experiences.
"The Nascent Divided Pearl is in the deepest area of the secret realm. I heard that it's about a kilometer away from the Purifying Pool. But, that place is guarded by demonic beasts."
"Demonic beasts!?" Zhu Yao was stunned for a moment. This tower actually still had demonic beasts.
Nangong Cheng nodded as he picked up a twig and drew on the ground. "I've already clarified with the others. The demonic beast is extremely powerful. It does not have any spiritual intelligence, does not speak the human language, and does not even have a soul of its own. It cannot be considered as a living being. However, it has an incredibly powerful poison all around its body, and death would follow after being stained by it. Also, the breath that it spits out is even more venomous. Even divine bodies can be harmed by its venomous breath. And, the Nascent Divided Pearl is inside its belly."
"Then how do we retrieve it?" From what he said, even approaching it would be impossible.
"We do not have to rush with that. Everything has its own strength and weaknesses. Though it's a highly venomous being, the water of the Purifying Pool can coincidentally treat the poison on the demonic beasts' body. We have to think of a way to lure it to the side of the pool and kill it there."
"Didn't you say that it doesn't have a spiritual consciousness?" Zhonggu Lu raised his hand and asked. "Then will it follow us to the poolside like that?"
"That is something I'm worried about as well." Nangong Cheng sighed and said. "Actually, many other squads tried this tactic before, but for some reason, that demonic beast was just unwilling to approach the Purifying Pool. I don't have the confidence to lure it over either."
"Then why don't we bring the pool water over?" Zhu Yao suggested. When fighting monsters, it was natural to bring in HP and MP potions. "If the pool water can treat the poison, we can keep the water on our bodies. That way, even if we're struck with the poison, the treatment wouldn't be too late."
"No!" Nangong Cheng shook his head and said. "The water of Purifying Pool only has the poison-curing effects if ingested next to the pool. If the water were to be brought out of the poolside, it would turn into regular water."
It's effect range was actually limited.
"If both doesn't work, what should we do?" Zhonggu Lu glared at him a little irritatedly. The veins on his arms protruded out.
"So I decided that we should first observe that demonic beast." Nangong Cheng said. "Let's not make a move in a hurry. We should find out about its weaknesses before attacking. Oh right, there's a large number of demonic beasts around here. In order to prevent you all from looking at the wrong target, I shall first draw its looks for you people. Remember, do not make a move on your own."
The little companions all came crowding over, watching him closely.
He hurriedly drew on the ground, and a moment later, he retracted his wooden baton. "This is how it looks."
"…" A long silent pause.
"If you accidentally offend that demonic beast, remember to hurry into the Purifying Pool to treat the poison. Everyone, are you all clear?"
"…"
"Alright everyone, use this as a reference when you're looking for it. For now, let's rest a little before we depart!" As he said that, he stepped away from the squad and began to meditate.
"…" The corner of Zhu Yao's lips twitched. She silently looked towards her master. "Master… Can you figure out what is being drawn here?"
Yu Yan was silent for a long while. Then, he said. "… Dog?"
"No, I think it's a pig!" Zhonggu Lu refuted.
"… Why do I see a sheep?"