Chapter 42 The Star of Elysium

Watching helplessly as Chu Liuxiang was captured by the little gourd spirit, Ji Bingyan and Hu Tiehua were extremely anxious and quickly flew out to try to catch up with them.

How can an ordinary person's lightness skill compare to that of a demon?

In just a few breaths, before Hu Tiehua and his companions had even escaped the oasis, they had already lost track of Chu Liuxiang and the Little Gourd Spirit.

Damn it!

Hu Tiehua kicked the sand and gravel on the ground hard.

"Everything was fine just now, how come that little gourd spirit suddenly kidnapped Old Stink Bug? Will she harm Old Stink Bug?"

Ji Bingyan's expression was also very unpleasant.

He stared at the horizon where Chu Liuxiang and Xiu Chu's adventure had disappeared, and after a long while, he finally gritted his teeth and spoke.

"Let's go back to the King of Kucha. They seem to know more about the Little Gourd Spirit. Let's go find him and get some information."

"You want to know about the Green Reed Fairy?"

The King of Kucha took a sip of wine and pondered for a moment.

"It's not really a secret. The news about the Green Reed Fairy was first spread by a merchant caravan."

"It is said that the caravan encountered a sandstorm in the desert, and the helmsman and his men were separated and almost died of thirst in the desert."

"It was the Green Reed Fairy who saved him and helped him find the caravan. To thank the Green Reed Fairy, the caravan gave her a quarter of their wealth and publicized the matter widely at the gathering place."

The other caravans, upon hearing this, initially thought it was just a story made up by the caravans. However, when faced with a crisis, they couldn't help but recall the merchants' experiences and also began to pray for the help of the Green Reed Fairy.

The King of Kucha paused for a moment, and Princess Pipa naturally continued.

"Then, something astonishing happened. The Green Reed Fairy really appeared."

"Whether it was a lack of food and water, or a search for people or items, the Green Reed Fairy did it all. The only price the merchants paid was a quarter of their wealth. Although it was a bit painful for them, it wouldn't affect their ability to make a comeback."

"The name of the Green Reed Fairy Mother has been passed down in the desert."

Upon hearing this, Ji Bingyan recalled their encounter with the Green Reed Fairy Mother, which indeed matched what the Pipa Princess had said.

Hu Tiehua also recalled what had happened before, and stroked his chin thoughtfully, saying, "Judging from this, the Green Reed Fairy Mother doesn't seem to have any bad intentions."

"But why did she capture that old stink bug? Could it be that his reputation has spread to the monsters, and even the gourd spirit can't resist his charm?"

"puff!"

Upon hearing this, the King of Kucha, who was drinking, couldn't help but spit out his wine.

Recalling the image of the Green Reed Fairy Mother with her lush green hair and goatee, and then thinking of Chu Liuxiang's handsome features, she managed to sketch in her mind a wedding dress to be worn by each of them.

"Cough cough cough..."

Startled by his own imagined scenario, the King of Kucha couldn't help but cough violently.

"Father, are you alright?"

Princess Pipa, unaware of what earth-shattering scene the King of Kucha had imagined, asked with concern.

The King of Kucha waved his hand: "It's nothing, I just choked on the wine for a moment."

Then he looked at Hu Tiehua and the others and said, "Although the Green Reed Fairy Mother's whereabouts are uncertain, we have never heard of her doing anything evil. You two heroes need not worry."

"This vast desert is so boundless, it's fate that we met."

He then glanced at the Pipa Princess beside him: "My eldest daughter has reached marriageable age. It's a rare fate that we've met, and I'm willing to marry my eldest daughter to one of you. I wonder if the chivalrous gentleman would be willing?"

Hu Tiehua and Ji Bingyan looked at the King of Kucha in surprise, not expecting him to suddenly make such an outrageous suggestion.

Although the Pipa Princess was indeed stunningly beautiful, their friend Chu Liuxiang's fate was currently unknown. Let alone the Pipa Princess, even if a celestial being wanted to marry them, they would not be willing.

Ji Bingyan shook her head and refused the King of Kucha's proposal: "I already have a beautiful concubine at home, and I am not worthy of the princess."

Upon hearing this, the King of Kucha turned his gaze to Hu Tiehua: "And what about this chivalrous Hu?"

Hu Tiehua shook his head, thinking of Gao Yanan. Although he felt somewhat sorry for her, Gao Yanan was indeed an excellent shield at this moment.

"I have already promised to marry a female knight-errant, so I am afraid I cannot marry Your Highness."

After being rejected repeatedly, the King of Kucha looked rather displeased. It was Princess Pipa who noticed the problem and quickly spoke up to ease the awkward atmosphere in the tent.

“Father, she already has someone she loves. You haven’t even asked my elder sister if she’s willing, so don’t try to play matchmaker.”

Upon hearing this, Hu Tiehua realized that the eldest princess was not the Pipa Princess, and a sense of relief welled up in her heart.

"It's a good thing I didn't agree. We haven't even met them yet. What if they look like the King of Kucha?"

Thinking of this, he dared not stay there any longer.

"It's getting late, and my brother and I still need to go find Chu Liuxiang, so we won't stay here any longer."

Ji Bingyan also stood up: "Thank you for your hospitality, King of Kucha. I hope we will meet again in the future."

After watching the two leave, the King of Kucha couldn't help but complain to Princess Pipa.

"What do we do now? Chu Liuxiang and Green Reed Fairy Mother are both gone, and we couldn't stop Hu Tiehua and the others either. If Shi Guanyin comes again, how will we defend ourselves?"

Princess Pipa's expression was also icy: "Who said that if they leave, they can't help us defend against Stone Guanyin?"

He then turned and instructed the guards behind him: "Pass on the news that the Star of Bliss is with the Green Reed Fairy Mother. Tell her that we encountered danger and were helped by the Green Reed Fairy Mother, so we gave her the Star of Bliss as a reward."

"And also spread the word that Chu Liuxiang has been favored by the Green Reed Fairy Mother, who has given him a bottle of divine medicine that can keep him young forever."

She then sighed again, "It's rare to meet such a handsome man. I originally wanted to keep him. But then I remembered that my plan was ruined by the Green Reed Fairy Mother."

"In that case, let him play one last role."

"I want to see whether the world-renowned Chu Liuxiang is more powerful, or the Shi Guanyin who occupies the desert is more powerful."

"No matter who wins in the end, we will benefit from it."

*********

Looking at the small hill he had passed by more than a dozen times, Chu Liuxiang sighed deeply.

“If the Immortal Mother is unwilling to send me away, I can leave on my own. There’s no need to keep circling around in circles.”

"Haha," Xiu Chu laughed awkwardly, "would you believe me if I said I got lost?"

“I really want to believe it,” Chu Liuxiang said helplessly, pointing to the small hill in front of him, “but you can’t just stop acting and keep going around in circles on such a small sand dune, can you?”

"You're already in this state, and you still expect me to believe you didn't do it on purpose? Aren't you just putting me in a difficult position?"

Showing off his extraordinary encounter, he scratched his head and remained silent.

She was indeed careless.

She used to build up her relationship with her alternate account by riding the same quirky mount and getting stuck in the wall, moving forward together.

However, this was a vast desert, and there was no invisible wall to give her a chance, so she could only circle around the sand dunes.

But they forgot that the NPCs in the game levels are highly intelligent, and as a result, their little tricks were exposed in no time.

Seeing that Xiu had shared his extraordinary experience but refused to speak, Chu Liuxiang inexplicably felt a little sorry for him.

"Maybe she was just too lonely and wanted someone to keep her company, so she resorted to this little trick."

Chu Liuxiang thought to himself. But remembering that Song Tian'er and the other two were missing and that Hu Tiehua and the others must be anxiously searching for him, he could only harden his heart and speak.

"Fine, put me down, I'll go back myself."

Upon hearing this, Xiu Chuqi instinctively opened the favorability interface and was pleasantly surprised to find that Chu Liuxiang's favorability had reached the level of "riding together on horseback," which unlocked the qualification to purchase heroes.

She decisively put away the red box and placed Chu Liuxiang down.

"Okay, then you can go back first."

Anyway, there's no rush to build up goodwill: "I'll come find you to play when I have time later."

Let's book the next trip to build rapport first.

"Okay," Chu Liuxiang said gently, completely unaware that he had already been forcibly given favor by a mysterious force and would be controlled by it later. He foolishly made a promise.

"I'll definitely come visit you once I've finished dealing with everything."

*********

After watching Chu Liuxiang leave, he showed off his extraordinary encounter and resummoned Bota, preparing to continue searching for the last oasis.

She hadn't gone far when she saw several giant eagles circling overhead.

With the appearance of the giant eagle, a text-based whistle sound appeared in the current channel, followed by a group of people called the Men in Black reporting their positions.

Showing off his unexpected encounter, he suddenly realized the truth.

"Are they using giant eagles to find something?"

A strange competitive spirit, unique to players, surfaced: "It's just a bird, right? I have one too!"

He then recalled Bota and summoned Zhi.

This is a pet she found at Lenglong Peak; it only cost her five thousand gold coins.

The moment he summoned the fierce beast, Xiu was astonished by the extraordinary encounter.

The pet skills that were originally just for interaction seem to have mutated. Showing off a strange encounter, she discovered that she can actually interact with the hawk and set up a target to find it.

Showing off his adventure, his eyes lit up. Just as he was about to set the Oasis in, he suddenly realized that the surrounding sound effects were wrong.

Looking up, I realized I was surrounded by a group of men in black.

The burly man at the head stepped forward: "Hand over the Star of Elysium!"

"The Star of Elysium? What is that?"

Upon hearing this, the burly man at the head of the group assumed that showing off his extraordinary encounter was merely an excuse to avoid handing over the Star of Bliss, and his face immediately darkened.

But the next moment, for some unknown reason, he suppressed his anger and spoke up to persuade her.

“I know that you, Green Reed Fairy Mother, love gold and silver. If you are willing to hand over the Star of Bliss, I can exchange it for a thousand pieces of gold.”

A thousand gold pieces!

Although it's not much, it's definitely not a small amount either.

If Showdown has the Star of Elysium quest item, she will definitely hand it over to claim the quest reward.

Unfortunately, she didn't.

He could only watch regretfully as a huge sum of money slipped through his fingers.

"You've got the wrong person. I don't have Elysium Star."

"However, if you want it, I can help you find it. You can then exchange it for a thousand gold pieces."

The man in black was taken aback by the unexpected reaction.

Looking back, I whispered a few words to my companions, then showed them my unexpected encounter and saw them discussing whether they really didn't have the Star of Elysium.

After a short while, the burly men in black, having failed to reach an agreement, decided to ask their leader.

"Wait a moment, let's discuss this."

Showing off his extraordinary encounter, he nodded knowingly and calmly watched the giant eagle fly away in the sky.