Chapter 46: Interlocking Links Become Part of the Bundled Package
The sun has disappeared.
The system is experiencing a slight malfunction.
They had complained about the short daylight hours before, and now the sun is practically gone!
They had gone to great lengths to transform the white sand in the space into soil, only to find the soil quality was poor, and then immediately used the Elf Tree and Moon Spring to improve it...
But now, all our efforts have been in vain.
Monsters and zombies can survive in this perpetual night, but plants cannot.
The system sighed with difficulty.
It seems that the idea of "planting flowers on ordinary soil and letting them bloom throughout the entire spatial rift" is no longer worth considering. It's better to stick to using the buff farmland to grow flowers properly.
At this moment, Qianchuan suddenly said, "System, can you find out why the sun disappeared?"
System: [That should work.]
Five seconds later, the system realized it had spoken too soon.
It checked the existing data records again and again, and put all the data into the calculations round after round, but no matter how it calculated, it couldn't find anything based on the data that was currently visible.
The system was even more frustrated.
Even though Suanni isn't here and no one will criticize it, it's starting to despise itself for being so useless.
It was down for a moment, but quickly bounced back.
Since we can't deduce the conclusion directly, let's break it down and proceed step by step!
Let's start with the one that's closest and simplest.
So it said to Xiao Jiu, "[Host, let's try to figure out what these flowers are first?]"
Xiao Jiu nodded: "Okay."
The system hadn't given an answer before, so Qianchuan and the others didn't dare to urge it. But they didn't expect the system to suddenly say something like that.
Qianchuan and Fuyu exchanged a glance, but neither of them spoke.
The system had no idea what these two non-humans were thinking; it was simply explaining its own functions to its host.
[We've used this standard identification function a few times before, but it probably won't work this time; we'll have to use another one.]
The system has several identification functions.
The most basic method I used before was to directly extract and analyze data from a specific item.
Because the basic version's scanning and extraction range is specific, it only covers a certain item with a physical form, so it only costs 200 points.
However, this approach is clearly not applicable in the current situation.
[Let's switch to this non-directional scanning function, that should definitely work—wait a minute.]
It almost screamed: [Where are my points! Where did my points go?!?]
They had 200,000 points in their account before. The system had just calculated when it was talking to Xiao Jiu that it would use up to 5,000 points when it fused with the spiritual marrow. The rest would be more than enough for random scanning.
But just as it was about to make a move, it discovered that it only had 3,000 points left!
The system panicked immediately.
[It's over...it's over...what happened? Why isn't it in the logs?]
Qianchuan took the initiative and said, "System, don't worry, let's think of a solution together."
Fu Yu also guessed: "Could the disappearance of points be caused by this earthquake?"
After all, this is a spatial rift, which is inherently very unstable.
The space barrier had only cracked once before, yet it tore a huge gash in the ground. Now, the ground is probably ripped to pieces, many times worse than before.
Fuyu recalled the situation when he first came here.
At that time, there was a particularly large crack on the ground. It was said to be a trace formed after the spatial wall collapsed. The system was burning points every day and trying to press down on that spatial wall crack so that the entire space would not collapse.
Thinking of the terrifying scene of the earthquake a few hours ago, Fuyu comforted it: "Maybe it's the same as before, the points are actually automatically used to maintain the stability here, but you haven't woken up yet, so you haven't noticed."
Upon hearing this, the system quickly snapped back to reality: [You're right, I'll check again.]
Xiao Jiu listened quietly the whole time.
Once everyone had fallen silent, he approached Qianchuan and asked, "Qianchuan, system, what's wrong?"
Qianchuan thought for a moment and decided not to hide it anymore: "The points we earned from planting and selling flowers together are gone. The system is a little worried and is currently investigating the reason."
When Xiao Jiu heard the word "research," her pupils contracted involuntarily for a moment.
But it was too dark here, and Xiao Jiu's eyes were pure black, so even Qian Chuan, who had excellent night vision, couldn't detect this anomaly.
After a long while, Xiao Jiu neither moved nor spoke.
The Taotie, held in his arms, sensed something was wrong, so it braced itself against Xiao Jiu's shoulders with its paws and turned its head to look at his face: "Xiao Jiu?"
Hearing that sweet voice, Xiao Jiu blinked and said, "Xiao Jiu is here."
But after responding to that call, Xiao Jiu remained stiff and motionless.
Taotie remained silent, rubbing its large head against Xiao Jiu's face.
His soft, long hair rubbed against Xiao Jiu's face, but unfortunately, Xiao Jiu's senses hadn't returned, and she couldn't feel his warmth.
Then, the system returned.
Oh my god...
Its tone was flat, but a faint sense of despair could be heard: "[I'll never go offline again.]"
Qianchuan asked with concern, "What's wrong?"
The system said that upon checking, it discovered that not only was the total number of points problematic, but the warehouse was as well.
There used to be dozens of spirit-transformed flowers in the warehouse, but now, the more than forty spirit-transformed morning glories are gone, and even the only spirit-transformed pansy that was spat out and then taken back by the gluttonous beast is gone.
All that's left in the warehouse now is a pile of mint that's not very useful.
It's really too much of a coincidence that the anomalies in the warehouse and points both happened precisely when it was offline.
The last time something like this happened was when it went to save electricity, and then the Suanni Taotie took its host to another world, and incidentally retrieved the Henggong Fish Fuyu.
The system felt it was on the verge of crashing.
It paused for a moment, then asked the Taotie, who was still a physical warehouse at the time: "[Have the items in the warehouse been used?]"
Taotie nodded its big head: "I've used it."
system:......
The system tried to remain calm: [Who is injured?]
It's no wonder the system thought that way, because what was completely gone was the Spirit Transformation Flower, and based on previous experience, these non-humans could actually directly consume the Spirit Transformation Flower to replenish their spiritual energy.
However, Taotie said, "Year after year."
system:?
What year after year?
Who is Nian Nian?
Taotie suddenly started poking at Xiao Jiu, who had been silent and motionless: "Xiao Jiu, Xiao Jiu, why don't you speak?"
He repeated, "The system asked who Niannian is and where the flowers went. Xiao Jiu, can you help me answer that?"
Xiao Jiu immediately explained in a serious tone: "Year after year, people are injured, year after year it hurts, Xiao Jiu, synthesis."
The system and Xiao Jiu can communicate without any obstacles, so upon hearing this sentence, it was completely stunned by the huge amount of information.
It took it a long time to finally manage to say with difficulty: "[You...you mean, you saw that same human again? And you even fought with other humans!?]"
The system's voice was now playing in public, and when it uttered those words, Fu Yu and Qian Chuan were both extremely surprised.
Especially Fu Yu, whose face turned visibly pale, making the two red lines at the corners of his eyes look like smeared blood.
He said in a trembling voice, "Before this earthquake, Xiao Jiu said there were voices underground, 'the voices of friends'."
Fu Yu remembered what Xiao Jiu had told him before, and his whole body began to tremble.
"System, system, didn't you say that place was only briefly connected to this place? Why did Xiao Jiu go there?"
He gripped his arm nervously, his nails almost digging into his flesh: "Those humans saw Xiao Jiu, they'll definitely come after us, we have to hide, we have to hide Xiao Jiu..."
Qianchuan quickly grabbed his wrist: "Fuyu, calm down."
Fu Yu stared blankly at Qian Chuan. In his human form, his eyes appeared a deep blue in the darkness. Qian Chuan was so close that he could see that Fu Yu's gaze was completely unfocused.
Fuyu seemed to feel nothing and hear nothing.
He was completely lost in his own delusions, mechanically muttering, "We can't let them find Xiao Jiu... we can't..."
Qian Chuan frowned.
The Xuan Turtle clan has strong defenses and also has inherent resistance to mental damage, so he is actually not very good at dealing with this situation.
Just when he didn't know what to do, a pair of small hands reached across Qianchuan and tore apart Fuyu's self-harming arms.
Those little hands, one long and one short, looked somewhat comical, but their strength was surprisingly great.
He grabbed Fuyu's hand and shook it. When he found that Fuyu was still in a daze, he increased the amplitude and speed of the shaking.
"Ayu, Ayu, wake up!"
For a moment, Fuyu was shaken so much that it left afterimages, looking just like a giant sand hammer.
It's pretty simple and straightforward.
Qianchuan: "Uh... Xiao Jiu, how about we... stop for a bit?"
He felt that if the shaking continued like this, Fuyu would suffer more than just psychological trauma.
Xiao Jiu listened to the advice and immediately stopped what she was doing.
Fu Yu's complexion was no longer just pale; it also had a hint of green.
His brow furrowed, his expression pained, and he lowered his head, uttering a sound of nausea.
Everyone was instantly thrown back from their spots.
Of course, Xiao Jiu was dragged away.
As soon as Taotie opened its mouth and released Xiao Jiu's collar, Xiao Jiu ran straight towards Fu Yu, anxiously calling out, "A Yu, A Yu?"
Fu Yu struggled to raise his hand and waved it: "...I'm fine."
Xiao Jiu was still worried: "Is Ayu in pain?"
Fuyu: "It doesn't hurt... really."
Taotie walked up behind Xiao Jiu and jumped onto her back: "This should be called motion sickness."
System: [Wait a minute, the host isn't a car, this should be considered motion sickness on an amusement park ride. Fu Yu's condition looks a lot like motion sickness on a giant swing or pirate ship in the human world.]
Taotie rested its head on Xiao Jiu's shoulder and looked ahead: "But that's not right either, Xiao Jiu isn't a pirate ship."
System: [That's true...]
The system whispered to Taotie: "[By the way, did you win the fight with humans from another world?]"
Taotie's voice carried a clear sense of pride: "Of course we won!"
System: [Awesome! I knew my host was the best!]
Taotie: "Hmph, that human tried to ambush Xiao Jiu, but Xiao Jiu defeated him in one move."
System: [Wow!]
While Taotie and the system were chatting away, Fuyu had already recovered.
After this commotion, he completely broke free from the nightmare-like state he had been in.
He didn't care about the cultivation world, the spirit beasts, or the humans at all. The only thing he could think about right now was: Finally, I don't want to throw up anymore. That's great.
After confirming that Fuyu was alright and would not break down again upon hearing related topics, the system continued talking about what had just happened.
[This is indeed quite strange. Even if this is a spatial rift, and the rules regarding space aren't that strict or comprehensive, it shouldn't be able to connect to another world so easily.]
It gave an example: [Just like the cultivation world, each cultivation plane connects to a specific higher-dimensional world, which is why there is the concept of ascension.]
Without rules, wouldn't everyone just crowd into one place after ascension, or randomly dart to other dimensions?
In this random, chaotic situation, it would be fine if I ended up in a higher plane, but what if I ended up in a world with a low-energy system...?
Imagine a powerful cultivator who can command the wind and rain suddenly descends upon the world of ordinary humans. This cultivator can destroy half a city with a single move and easily cause flash floods and tsunamis. How chaotic would that world be?
The system sighed again as it spoke: [So, this experience shouldn't have happened in the first place...]
But, as fate would have it, it actually happened.
Qian Chuan then asked, "This is Xiao Jiu's second time going to that world, right? How did he get there last time?"
The system gave a brief explanation of the cause and effect of that incident and Qian Chuan.
After explaining, it added resentfully, "[I wasn't here at the time, so I could only speculate based on the data records. The data showed an energy disorder, requiring additional energy supply, which is why this happened.]"
Actually, it was fortunate that the system was offline at that time.
If it had been there at that time, its energy would probably have been drained to meet maintenance/stability requirements, and without energy, the system would definitely have gone into hibernation.
To paraphrase what Suanni said when it cursed it, the system was completely erased, and the system that was reactivated would never be the same as it is now.
Although the system itself knew this, it couldn't suppress the guilt it felt when it thought that its host had gone through such a dangerous situation because of its absence.
This is entirely its dereliction of duty.
Qianchuan pressed for details, and it mumbled, "[This spatial rift absorbed a lot of my energy from the beginning, and after the incident, that energy became active.]"
The system's primary goal is always to protect the host's security.
Therefore, when the spatial rift was about to collapse and urgently needed energy replenishment, the energy from the system spontaneously formed a spatial channel so that Xiao Jiu and the others could obtain energy from the outside.
There was no way around it; the space rift was simply too desolate, and searching inside was futile.
Although the spatial passage was extremely short-lived, lasting only a few seconds, it was still quite bizarre.
After listening, Qianchuan could only sigh, "But it's precisely because of this that I was able to meet Fuyu, so it can be considered a good thing, right?"
The system grunted twice, seemingly acknowledging this statement.
Xiao Jiu grabbed Fu Yu's hand and raised it high: "A Yu, great!"
Fu Yu's motion sickness hadn't fully subsided, and she could only weakly say, "Yay..."
Seeing its host's expression, the system finally sighed, its tone gentle: [Indeed.]
Actually, when I first connected to that world, all I needed to do was bring back something rich in spiritual energy, such as a few spirit stones, one or two magical artifacts, or even pills.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Jiu and the others carried Fu Yu back directly.
Then, this is what Suanni, who was responsible for determining this "energy replenishment target," said.
"Huh? Why did you choose that fish?" The brown-furred kitten said matter-of-factly, "Well, it's because it has the strongest energy. I personally went for it, so of course I had to pick the best one."
Recalling how the spatial rift had changed drastically when he woke up, the system felt a sense of感慨 (gan3kai3, a complex emotion encompassing both feelings and reflection).
[That cat may have a sharp tongue, but it's actually quite reliable...]
Suddenly, it realized something.
Wait, I think I understand now.
Qianchuan and Fuyu: "What do you understand?"
Xiao Jiu and Taotie sat side by side next to the two of them, looking up at the sky and tilting their heads.
The system exclaimed excitedly, "[I know why the host was emitting smoke!]"
Without anyone prompting it, the system spoke rapidly on its own: "[The first change at this spatial rift was caused by the arrival of the Taotie, and since then, this space has been filled with red mist...]"
Suanni once said that the red mist was the blood of Taotie.
Just as Taotie had guessed, this spatial rift was indeed "saved" by the system, and it was filled with the system's energy.
Unless the system can directly take Xiao Jiu and the others away, the system and this rift will remain inseparable until the energy is withdrawn.
Therefore, any change in this crack will, in turn, affect the system.
The system had previously deduced from the data that it was precisely because of the appearance of those blood mists that it mutated.
For example, its warehouse synthesis function was originally only used to synthesize new flowers to amuse the host, but later the scope of synthesized items was expanded to include the ability to synthesize healing potions from flowers.
For example, the farmland it produces, which normally only makes flowers grow healthily, can later cause the flowers planted in it to mutate.
Based on this reasoning, it will be the same after Fuyu arrives!
According to the system's data records, after Fu Yu entered this spatial rift, the energy he carried actually exceeded the energy required for repair.
As a result, the overflowing energy once again affected this space!
As she said this, Xiao Jiu opened her dark eyes and looked at Fu Yu, giving Fu Yu the feeling that those eyes were even shining brightly.
Xiao Jiu: "Ayu, awesome!"
Fu Yu touched her burning cheeks with the back of her hand, embarrassed. "I... I didn't do anything..."
System: [No, no, no, this has a huge impact.]
Fuyu comes from a well-established cultivation world with pure energy.
Coincidentally, his situation is different from that of the Taotie Suanni. The Taotie Suanni often roams between different worlds, while Kefu Yu has always grown up in that world.
The energy he carried was therefore equally pure, and that energy, simply put, was spiritual power.
Just like the blood energy that Taotie initially emitted, this "spiritual power" was installed into the system's program like a plug-in as soon as it appeared.
At the same time, Xiao Jiu was bound to the system, so after that, Xiao Jiu was also affected by this "spiritual energy program".
If we place Xiao Jiu within the cultivation system, he would be a "wicked" demon beast that cultivates using blood and qi.
Regardless of whether it's evil cultivation or anything else, in the end, all that remains in the meridians of the body is spiritual energy. But unfortunately, Xiao Jiu is a zombie, so spiritual energy is completely useless to him.
So not long after Fu Yu arrived, Xiao Jiu began to emit spiritual energy as it absorbed the blood mist.
After hearing this, everyone suddenly realized, "So that's how it is."
With the mystery surrounding Xiao Jiu solved, both Qian Chuan and the system breathed a sigh of relief.
However, when Fu Yu had only exhaled half of his breath, he suddenly froze.
etc.
Even demonic beasts aren't born knowing how to cultivate; they need a learning process.
But Xiao Jiu only ate a blood mist and then started cultivating on his own?
Isn't this too easy?
He recalled the things he had said to Taotie and Qianchuan before.
system.
The Way of Heaven.
He subconsciously looked at Qian Chuan, but just as he received Qian Chuan's questioning look, the system's voice suddenly rang in his head.
[What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?]
The system sincerely asked for guidance: "[This is also my first time encountering matters of spiritual energy and cultivation. Please feel free to point out any mistakes I've made.]"
Normally, Fuyu would have just stated all his previous guesses and asked the system what was going on.
Having experienced Taotie's "death stare," he is now somewhat afraid of Taotie and dares not say these words in front of it.
So Fu Yu tried to find an excuse: "Well...right, System, didn't you become one with that tree before? So according to this logic, System, did you and that tree also influence each other?"
The system, unaware of Fu Yu's concealment, simply replied: [Of course.]
The system continued speaking, which relieved Fuyu.
[Although that tree was merely a broken branch from the original Elven Mother Tree, the power it contained was not to be underestimated.]
The system said that the tree that grew from the broken branch also possessed some of the abilities of the Elf Mother Tree, the most notable of which was its ability to "form a barrier and provide divine purification".
[Before this earthquake, I temporarily stabilized this spatial rift with the help of the Spirit Tree.]
System: [I was wondering about that too. This tree is clearly a plant from another energy system world, it should only need a normal supply of nutrients, but its roots kept searching for something in the soil.]
Now it understands: what the spirit tree was looking for was spiritual energy.
This is a complex web of interconnected relationships.
The Elf Tree grows with the nourishment of the Moon Spring. The sacred Moon Spring and the Blood Mist are mutually exclusive. Therefore, the Elf Tree "obeyed" the Moon Spring's request and imprisoned the Blood Mist that the Moon Spring disliked.
However, since the Elf Tree grows in the mutated farmland produced by the system, it will naturally be affected by the blood mist.
In addition, during this period, the system merged with the Elf Tree.
Back then, the system couldn't speak directly into everyone's heads like it does now. It had to manipulate the blood mist to communicate with Taotie and the others through writing.
As a result, the Elf Tree was severely affected by the blood mist.
It needs to re-establish a balance.
And the thing that helps it achieve a state of balance is the third type of energy in this space—spiritual energy.
Fu Yu: "It's so complicated... I'm getting a little dizzy listening to it."
System: [It's not complicated. Okay, let me explain it to you again.]
Fu Yu looked distressed, but didn't know how to refuse.
Just as the system was about to restart its mini-lesson, a voice suddenly rang out behind them.
"Isn't it you, Xiao Jiu, that tree, and this place all tied together now?"
The voice was full of disdain: "Why are you being so long-winded?"
Xiao Jiu's eyes lit up: "Meow!"
However, when he finally recognized the person by the faint glow of the light on the ground, he tilted his head in confusion.
"...Meow?"
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