Chapter 271 Value
Within the dark "Panmen," an eerie atmosphere lingered among the cultivators. Beneath the deep brown soil lay another fiery red world, interspersed with scorching white smoke and thick fog, seemingly capable of easily severing all life.
A young girl stood before the dragon, her voice hoarse yet crisp and powerful.
"Cooperation?" The dragon repeated her words, snorting dismissively at the term. "Even if you return the Spirit Pearl, I cannot fully trust you. Besides, what value do you possess that would make me cooperate with you?"
Even though this weak cultivator had demonstrated remarkable reaction and combat abilities in the previous battle, she was still no match for it.
“I know you come from the upper realm, and now you are bound by your freedom while staying here, but I can help you,” Mu Jianjian said.
“No, no, no, little girl,” the dragon denied with amusement, “the key issue is that you have no power to change anything here.”
How could it not know the meaning behind the other person's words?
It's a pity that their side branches tried many methods but failed to achieve this, so how could this young cultivator who has just established himself in the Core Formation stage possibly do it?
Mu Jianjian hesitated for a moment, then changed the subject, "Can you sense the creatures on the lava surface?"
“Dragons always have keen intuition. Although the Tower of Immortality shields everything, I know it must not exist in a normal way.” The dragon’s body suddenly sank into the lava, with only its head sticking out. It was as casual as if it were chatting with an old friend. “After all, they dare not build these things in the upper realm. They retreated to the lower realm for this reason.”
"Okay." Mu Jianjian nodded gently, her gaze sweeping firmly over the dragon. "I will prove it to you."
If we could sense it, everything would be much easier.
After the girl uttered those words, the dragon used the transparent object in its hand to leap upwards with great effort, easily plunging into the surface lava and disappearing in the blink of an eye.
prove?
What does she need to prove?
The dragon slowly recalled the girl's words, then gently sank into the lava, its exhausted energy finally feeling much better under the heat.
For some reason, the person had clearly said that the lava here could greatly enhance physical strength, but as time went by, not only did the spirit orb gradually fade, but none of the clansmen below woke up.
Perhaps the promised time hasn't arrived yet.
The dragon disappeared into the lava, I thought to myself.
——
Among the caravan of monks, a man was comforting the woman beside him. His words were calm and persuasive, but deep in his eyes lay a coldness and disdain.
“But, but…” Ouyang Wenni was still shaken by what she had just experienced. Not only her, but the faces of the surrounding cultivators were also pale. Only the leader, Team Leader Sun, was calm and composed.
Ouyang Wenjin repeated what he had just said, but this time he wasn't as gentle as before, which finally calmed everyone down a bit.
The monks in the caravan were unaware that they had unknowingly come to regard their employer, who had no cultivation, as the person they had to obey first, rather than their leader, Sun.
As he walked, Ouyang Wenjin's expression suddenly froze. He slowly turned his head to look at the bottomless black hole behind him, but less than a second later, he turned his head back to his original position.
He's not dead yet...
Although things may become more difficult, isn't it also quite enjoyable to add some unknown possibilities before the predetermined outcome?
——
Mu Jianjian, drenched in sweat, climbed up from the lava below.
She wiped the sweat pouring down her forehead and cheeks, finally catching her breath.
At this moment, Mu Jianjian knew very well what she should do: prove her worth in front of the giant dragon beneath the lava, and then seek common ground while reserving differences to achieve mutual benefit and win-win cooperation.
The increasing number of Upper Realm beings exposed to the Lower Realm indicates that the larger the base, the higher the completion rate of the mission. They have begun to implement the corresponding plan and are luring Lower Realm cultivators over.
Moreover, and most importantly, there is a deep, insurmountable rift between the two.
She once had Linghu Zhuoyu and Sang Wanyue use the water from the sacred lake to test and sell new types of elixirs, in preparation for that day that would come one day.
Mu Jianjian composed herself, and just as she was about to summon the system, she realized that she had not yet selected a reward.
The choice is between the fixed reward option (Option 1) and the reward option (Option 2), which includes an element of luck.
The choice is to add some leeway to one's survival, or to choose auxiliary skills for long-term development.
These are all things that Mu Jianjian needs to consider.
If she had just transmigrated into this world from the book, she would probably have chosen option two without hesitation.
After all, the "enemy" she faced back then was too simple. She could prevent the villain Chi Wenqing from turning evil and guide him on the right path of growth. But now she is very clear that if she wants to stop the destruction of the lower realm, she will need to confront someone even higher up.
We must rely on ourselves.
"I choose reward one."
She remembered that the system had mentioned this "physical transformation" reward before, and she guessed that if she didn't choose it this time, it would still appear when the task progress bar moved next time.
Mu Jianjian leaned against the stone wall, lowering her head to calm the various functions of her body after being burned. This time, she didn't speak in her mind, but let the words float out of her mouth.
[Congratulations, host. Reward one: You have gained the ability to revert to your memories and cultivation level, providing logistical support in case of battle defeat.] The mechanical female voice was completely flat. [I hope you can always escape danger and never need Reward one again.]
“Ha,” Mu Jianjian gave a dry laugh, “That’s quite humane.”
After catching her breath, she stood up and continued walking forward. This time, with the illusory butterflies guiding her way in the light, she had much greater assurance of her safety.
Just a few seconds later, that childish male voice echoed in her mind again: "Host! Host! I'm back... Waaah... That was terrifying! I just lost control of the data, it scared me half to death! Thankfully, I'm back now..."
The system was still intermittently recounting what had just happened to Mu Jianjian. After hearing the girl's gentle words of comfort, it finally felt much better.
"Do you know what the mechanical female voice that just appeared in my head was?" Mu Jianjian asked.
"I don't know, I'm sorry, host." The system's voice sounded pitiful.
Mu Jianjian hadn't expected it to know, but sensing its fear and unease, she smiled and said, "Why don't you give yourself a name? That way it'll be easier to call you, and it'll be more convenient if you have a physical form in the future."
"[Me... should I name myself?]" The system's earlier gloom vanished, replaced by curiosity and excitement.
It has been consciously called "system" since then, and over time we have become accustomed to it. If it could give its own name meaning,
"Yes." Mu Jianjian nodded.
"I want to...I want to get up—" The system paused, "Anything is fine?"
"Yes, you can." She affirmed very patiently.
[From the wood element.]
The meaning of this word can be clearly understood from its homophones.
It wants to be an assistant to its host. Although it can only do some insignificant data analysis and reminders in its mind now, it believes that one day it will be able to stand by its host's side and become an indispensable part of her life.
After the little incident, Mu Jianjian followed Huan Die into this dimly lit place, but the further she walked, the more terrified she felt.
"It's not just the lava below, the smell in this cave is disgusting too. This strange odor coming from afar feels like human blood, but it doesn't quite look like it." Mu Jianjian rubbed the goosebumps on her arms and complained softly.
The dragon said that lava was like a life-saving "medicine," but from its tiny details, it was clear that it was powerless and exhausted.
Mu Jianjian suddenly thought of the countless lives imprisoned under the Sand Cave Manager's Mansion, where people were confined together and their true energy was squeezed out for profit. The two were similar in nature.
However, one is forced, and the other is voluntary.
Is she overthinking it?
"Squeak, squeak—" A faint scraping sound suddenly came from afar, like the scraping sound of something heavy being dragged on the ground. Although it was not loud, it was exceptionally clear.
Mu Jianjian instantly became alert and was about to take a step back when the voice suddenly grew louder, as if it were coming right up to her ear and reaching straight to her heart.
Danger.
Her intuition sounded an alarm for her.
Was it the mysterious creature that attacked their caravan in the shadows earlier? Or was it a cultivator who came here to search for rare herbs and hide them?
In an instant, Mu Jianjian's thoughts went through countless twists and turns, but in the end, she was still frightened when she saw the grayish-white creature that suddenly appeared on her face.
No amount of positive self-talk can help...
Rather than a "species," it was more like a translucent gray substance. It was short, only reaching Mu Jianjian's waist, but its limbs were strong and powerful. After jumping up quickly, its two eyes, which were the size of soybeans, shrank again.
It's hard to describe such a transparent creature in words. It doesn't seem like a setting from a cultivation novel; instead, it's developing in the direction of a supernatural tale.
"No wonder I couldn't see or touch it at first..." Mu Jianjian muttered to herself, dodging the attack with agility and then looking ahead again.
Only then did we notice that its limbs were covered in sharp spikes, from which we can deduce that the sound was from it sharpening its claws.
She raised her hand and flicked it, and the Morning and Evening Hairpin instantly transformed into intertwined branches that surged toward the other party, but as expected, it passed right through the grayish-white creature's body.
It's strange that something without a physical form can still hurt people and sharpen its claws.
The grayish-white creature looked down at its body, which had been "pierced," and seemed to be used to it. It raised its head with an extremely disdainful expression, not taking the weak woman in front of it seriously at all.
“You seem very confident that you can beat me,” Mu Jianjian said as she dodged the attack. “Why?”
The grayish-white creature did not answer her, but its attack became even more ferocious.
Clearly, it understood what she was saying.
Mu Jianjian narrowed her eyes, extended the Fire Fox Dagger, and after injecting true energy into the dagger, the blade emitted a strange light that was particularly dazzling in the dim environment. Without pausing, she swiftly and accurately attacked the grayish-white creature's claws.
Since the claws are scraping the ground, let's first check if the creature's translucent body is torn.
"Sizzle—"
As soon as the words were spoken, the spikes on the grayish-white object's limbs were instantly cut off and fell to the ground. However, it did not seem to feel any pain, and in the blink of an eye, the spikes grew back.
If it could be restored indefinitely, that would be difficult.
Mu Jianjian frowned. What kind of place is this "Panmen"? And where did the creatures here come from?
In a daze, she recalled the main characters from the original book.
I wonder if Yueyue has come here...
At this point, the trajectory of reality had long since diverged from that in the book during the Xuan Tian Secret Realm, which was undoubtedly a good thing. However, the information asymmetry between the two sides also led to her current isolation and helplessness here.
"Squeak—squeak—squeak"
Intermittent noises echoed around, sometimes near, sometimes far, disturbing the mind.
Mu Jianjian turned around abruptly, and the next moment she clearly saw that all around her, countless grayish-white creatures were emerging, their dark, bean-sized eyes fixed on her, like bloodthirsty monsters in the darkness.
"Damn it." She couldn't help but swear.
I never expected there to be so many grayish-white creatures!
One can be dealt with, but with so many sharp spikes and blades, even if she had the ability to create a hundred or eighty clones, it would be extremely difficult for her to cope!
Moreover... these grayish-white creatures react very quickly, as if they are organized and planned. Although they can understand human speech and have emotions, they will spare no effort to complete their "missions".
Mu Jianjian made a quick decision and used her pupil-shifting technique to move herself to another place. When she turned around, she saw a dense swarm of grayish-white objects chasing after her, so fast that they were almost touching the hem of her clothes.
She cursed again and immediately used her pupil-shifting technique to move forward once more, racking her brains for a solution to these things. As she went deeper and deeper, the stench of blood throughout the cave grew stronger and stronger.
It's highly likely that the blood is from one of the cultivators in Sun's group, since Mu Jianjian didn't stay under the lava for long, and the blood here is still very fresh and hasn't congealed.
"Knock knock knock—"
In the silent environment, a girl runs wildly ahead, chased by a group of grayish-white objects.
"Pointy!"
Until a woman's voice broke the balance between the two, Mu Jianjian stopped abruptly upon hearing the familiar voice and saw the woman appearing at the corner.
Wan Xing was wearing the same dress she wore when she fought Xiong Guangze when they parted ways. The burn marks from the flames could still be faintly seen on it. She looked tired, but the joy in her eyes was clearly visible.
"What are you doing here?" Mu Jianjian took a deep breath, grabbed the other person's hand, and asked as she ran.
"I'm so worried about you... so very worried about you. The things here are terrifying." Wan Xing seemed to be terrified by the creatures here, and he was incoherent.
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