Chapter 88 [VIP]

The first thing you see is the dazzling yet warm sunlight; the solid ground you imagined is nowhere to be found; and the fragrance of flowers and grass wafts into your nostrils from all directions.

Jiang Zhuochen hadn't even stood still when he instinctively turned to go back. Suddenly, his arm was grabbed, and he stopped, looking blankly at Xu Xing, muttering, "Master, he hasn't come in yet..."

Xu Xing gently brushed his eyelashes across the corner of his eye, where the light was even more pronounced than usual. The other man pursed his lips, his nostrils flaring slightly, gazing at him intently.

"I still need to take him to be reincarnated..." Jiang Zhuochen said hoarsely.

Xu Xing sighed almost imperceptibly, pulled the person into his arms, and gently comforted him: "I left Bu Xu in the Ghost Realm. Don't worry, we'll go back to find him once we leave the small world."

Jiang Zhuochen hugged Xu Xing tighter, and breathed a sigh of relief after hearing that at least the Bu Xu Sword was protecting the child. He snuggled against Xu Xing, slowly turned his head to lean against him, and muttered, "Then we need to hurry."

"Okay." Xu Xing patted him on the back.

Only then did Jiang Zhuochen have the mind to look at his surroundings. They were in a dense forest, sunlight filtering through the gaps in the massive tree canopies overhead and dappling the moss-covered ground. Colorful mushrooms dotted the landscape, and the faint sound of a stream flowing in the distance could be heard.

"Hmm?" Jiang Zhuochen rubbed his eyes in confusion. Did the mushroom move just now?

Upon closer inspection, he saw that there were indeed many "mushrooms" growing at the base of the overgrown weeds under the big tree.

When his gaze shifted, the "mushrooms" seemed to realize they had been discovered and quickly and sparsely hid themselves, so their numbers dwindled.

Jiang Zhuochen went around to the back of the tree and sure enough, he saw a group of "mushrooms" tightly huddled together. He casually picked one out, and the "mushroom" rolled around with a creaking sound and pretended to be dead in his palm.

"It can talk?" he asked Xu Xing in surprise.

Xu Xing walked over to him, glanced at him, and calmly responded. Since it was a self-contained little world, anything was normal.

Jiang Zhuochen lifted it with his fingertip, and the "mushroom" was passively turned over, revealing its other smooth surface. This was no mushroom at all; it was clearly a bunch of round, glutinous rice balls.

He squinted and leaned closer, but still couldn't make out any shape.

"Waaaaah... They're going to kill Tuanzi!"

Jiang Zhuochen found it amusing and actually reached out to flatten and knead it. The delicate and soft texture made him unable to resist squeezing it a few more times. He then said in agreement, "Be a good boy and I'll spare your life."

"Waaaaah, they're going to kill Tuanzi! Heavenly Father, save me!" The round, chubby Tuanzi was powerless to fight back and could only wail weakly and helplessly.

"Strange," Jiang Zhuochen said, puzzled. "Where is its mouth? Where is the sound coming from?"

Xu Xing pointed a finger at Jiang Zhuochen, and the dumpling in Jiang Zhuochen's hand snapped open.

"Hey! You bad guy! Don't touch my belly!"

"Joke." Jiang Zhuochen's eyes lit up.

Previously, it was round and plump because the glutinous rice ball had shrunk itself up. Now it has unfolded, with limbs on both sides that are about the length of its finger joints. Its hands are the same length as its feet, and its facial features, which are wrinkled into wavy lines, are finally revealed.

It opened its tiny, beady eyes and glared angrily at Jiang Zhuochen, but its voice was still soft and delicate: "What, what are you? Where did you come from? Are you trying to take our home?"

“I have a home, I won’t take yours.” Jiang Zhuochen tried to soften his tone. “I dropped something here, we’ll leave once we find it, really.”

The little dumpling looked at him hesitantly, and after a long while, it arched itself up and looked up to meet Jiang Zhuochen's gaze. Because it didn't sense any malice, it gradually relaxed a little, and its whole body became even rounder.

Upon hearing his words, more dumplings peeked out from behind the tree, whispering amongst themselves.

"Outside, there are hard rocks and terrible wind and rain."

“The Father said there is no honeydew to drink outside, nor sweet sun fruit or moon fruit.”

"They look so strange, why aren't they round? They're so ugly!"

Jiang Zhuochen listened to their chattering discussion, but his gaze was drawn back to the sound coming from his hand.

"What did you drop?" Tuanzi raised both hands and rubbed her cheeks, her eyes darting around. "It's been a long time since any strange things have fallen in here."

“Two people…” Jiang Zhuochen chose his words carefully, “or perhaps two fragments of a soul. Besides us, are there really no other people or objects that have entered?”

The group of children looked at each other and shook their heads in unison.

"Or what about the Heavenly Father you mentioned?" Jiang Zhuochen persisted. "Is he very powerful? Has he ever said anything about it?"

"No." Tuanzi was overjoyed at the mention of God the Father, swaying her body from side to side. "God the Father loves us the most. He only gives us delicious food every day and lets us play everywhere. If there is any danger, he will definitely make us hide."

“But that thing is very important to us,” Jiang Zhuochen said to it. “Could you take us to see that Heavenly Father?”

The little dumpling's whole body scrunched up, and it asked in a low voice, "Is it a bad person?"

“No.” Jiang Zhuochen shook his head, pointing to Xu Xing who was standing silently to the side. “If you don’t believe me, don’t you believe him? He’s so handsome.”

Tuanzi turned to the colorful pile behind her and corrected, "Plump ones are prettier."

Throughout its life, it had only encountered smooth, round balls of flesh, so it had no concept of tall, slender people. However, the person standing next to it exuded an extraordinary aura, making him seem more credible than Jiang Zhuochen in front of it.

"I need to discuss this with my friends."

Tuanzi jumped down from Jiang Zhuochen's hands and ran towards the group of dumplings with its two short legs.

They gathered under the tree, their little round heads pressed together, occasionally turning back to stare at the two of them, then chattering away.

Jiang Zhuochen glanced around, completely baffled by the disappearance of the two ghost cultivators. "Perhaps they've gone into hiding?"

“The flow of time is different in each small world,” Xu Xing said slowly. “They came in earlier than us, but they were seriously injured and couldn’t run far. Perhaps they were disguised.”

"Disguise?" Jiang Zhuochen asked, puzzled. "They still have the ability to disguise themselves?"

"It's not a difficult task." Xu Xing lowered his eyes, seemingly glancing aimlessly at the group of little dumplings in front of him.

Jiang Zhuochen choked. What did he mean by 'not a difficult thing'? Two seriously injured people could easily cover their tracks, didn't that mean he was weak?

Xu Xing didn't even turn his head, yet he knew Jiang Zhuochen's current appearance perfectly. He raised his hand and gently patted the back of the other's head, saying in a gentle voice, "Your strength is far more than this, so don't underestimate yourself."

"Moreover, besides their own strength, they have plenty of magical artifacts for disguise."

Jiang Zhuochen felt a little better. Maybe those two really did find some treasure and hide him away?

The little dumplings over there had almost finished discussing and walked towards the two of them in unison, raising their heads in perfect unison.

"Okay, we can take you home."

"But you can only do it outside your own door."

“You may enter only after we have asked our Heavenly Father and He has given His permission.”

Jiang Zhuochen bent down and pointed at their little hands with his finger: "No problem."

The two followed the bouncy little dumpling deeper into the forest and stopped in front of a magnificent castle to wait.

At first glance, this castle looks no different from buildings in the human world, but it is not reduced in height because of the short stature of the natives. It has dozens of floors and is so wide that you can't see the end of it.

Jiang Zhuochen had no doubt that this place could hold the entire dumpling of the small world.

As the last rays of the setting sun slowly disappeared from the sky, the so-called Heavenly Father, leaning on his cane, slowly walked out of the front door. His somewhat cloudy, beady eyes observed the two of them for a while, and then he slowly nodded.

"Come with me."

On the flat open ground, clusters of firelight rose, and groups of children played around nearby, rummaging and carrying over a chair and a large blanket.

The Heavenly Father sat down in a chair and said with a slight apology, "Our race is all small in stature. These are all left behind by people who came before. We'll have to trouble you to make do with them."

"fine."

Along the way, Jiang Zhuochen discovered that the creatures in this small world were completely powerless, and they had to make everything they needed, including food and clothing, by themselves. They were also so small that they could survive peacefully until now. Either they didn't have any treasures, or the people who came in were probably not bad people.

He had no intention of disrupting the order here, so he spoke again to assure them, "We'll leave as soon as we find what we need. Heavenly Father, has there really been anything unusual here lately?"

The Heavenly Father hesitated, “I haven’t met anyone like you. But a month ago, the essence of our clan’s precious trees, the Sun Tree and the Moon Tree, withered away overnight. With the essence depleted, those trees no longer bear fruit, and it will take many years to recover. This is all the nutrition the little ones need to grow…”

For the past month, Heavenly Father has been so worried that his skin has wrinkled. He keeps tugging at his empty head, has no appetite, and is so busy that he can't find the cause.

When it heard the little dumpling say that two people had arrived, it was startled, thinking that it was an alien creature that had done it. It was about to go to the warehouse to bring out the defensive weapons that the people who had come before had left for them, but the little dumplings were chattering and didn't seem to be threatened at all. After thinking it over, it decided to go out and investigate.

Fortunately, these two people, like the others before them, had kind faces, which reassured it a little.

“A month ago…” Jiang Zhuochen murmured, facing Xu Xing.

They entered one after the other, yet so much time has passed. I wonder if they can still find those two ghost cultivators.

"Could you take us to see those two trees?" Xu Xing asked.

The Heavenly Father pondered for a long time, then said with some unease, "This is the most important treasure tree of our clan. I can only take you to see it from afar, is that alright?"

“Of course.” Xu Xing nodded. “Thank you for your help.”

To save time, Jiang Zhuochen held the Heavenly Father in his hands and, under the other's guidance, passed through the castle, followed the stream downstream, and arrived at a vast meadow.

Two towering trees stood on either side of the grass, their abundant fruit gleaming orange and silver in the night.

“On the left is the Sun Tree, and on the right is the Moon Tree. Their fruits glow automatically at night, making it easier for the children to pick them,” the Heavenly Father explained, then pointed with his cane to a spot on the two trees. “Can you see that? That dark spot is the essence of the tree.”

The two cultivators, with their keen hearing and sharp eyesight, noticed them immediately upon arrival. They heard the aged voice of the Heavenly Father, and their minds were perfectly clear.

This thing, which is called tree essence, is called the Myriad Transformation Pearl in their land. It is used to change one's form and appearance. Xu Xing even gave Jiang Zhuochen one, which is now in his Qiankun bag.

Unfortunately, this treasure could not escape the discerning eyes of the great powers of the time. At most, it could only temporarily conceal itself among a group of novices. Logically speaking, Xu Xing should have been able to see through it at a glance.

Xu Xing lowered his eyes. "How many people are there in your clan?"

“Not too many,” the Heavenly Father said slowly. “There should be tens of thousands.”

A note from the author: