Chapter 264: Chapter 259: Splendid Underground, All Head North
A new world opened up to Song Ciwan once again. Before Midnight arrived, she used up her last trade of the day.
[You have sold two thousand Primordial Pearls, the Upper Grade Magical Robe, the Jade Lotus Robe, and the spiritual Marvel, the Ruyi Compass. You have received the Lower Grade Magical Treasure, the Hundred Transformations Ruyi Mixed Element Robe.]
Hundred Transformations Ruyi Mixed Element Robe: A Lower Grade Magical Treasure that can be upgraded through a second Refinement once certain conditions are met.
This Magic Robe is incredibly resilient and can change form at will. It also has the ability to conceal one’s aura, sense Spiritual Objects, and block a certain amount of damage.
The trade had yielded another upgrade. This time, Song Ciwan received not a Magical Artifact, but a Lower Grade Magical Treasure.
And what’s more, this Lower Grade Magical Treasure was upgradeable!
Song Ciwan immediately took the Hundred Transformations Ruyi Mixed Element Robe from the Heaven and Earth Scale. The Magic Robe had no definite shape. Pinched in her hand, it felt like a light, ethereal piece of plain cloth.
But as soon as Song Ciwan dripped her blood onto it, refining and binding it to herself, she immediately understood its marvelous uses.
The Mixed Element Robe flowed over Song Ciwan’s body like water, transforming into a pure-white undershirt. And so, while her outer garments were still ordinary cloth, her inner shirt was now the Lower Grade Magical Treasure, the Hundred Transformations Ruyi Mixed Element Robe.
Song Ciwan’s first thought was a practical one: ’If I ever have to face a Thunder Tribulation like last time, at least I won’t have to worry about being left stark naked after a lightning strike...’
That time, it was true that Song Ciwan had reacted quickly, using another method to cover herself.
But who could guarantee she’d be that fast every time?
’What if I’m too slow next time? I’d die of embarrassment!’
’Becoming strong is just a matter of time, but social death is forever!’
The Magic Robe had arrived at the perfect time. Song Ciwan was delighted.
She then took out her newly acquired Nebula Shuttle. While still underground, she dripped her blood on it to claim ownership and began its Refinement.
During this time, for some unknown reason, numerous Low Level Demon Beasts scurried past her—
Yes, there were Demon Beasts underground as well.
In fact, the number of underground Demon Beasts was quite large. Compared to the ones seen out in the open in the city, the number of small Demon Beasts down here was practically countless.
The most numerous among them were rodent-type Demon Beasts.
Black rats, brown rats, yellow-breasted rats, voles, moles, groundhogs...
There were all kinds, including many mutated and bizarrely-shaped ones that Song Ciwan couldn’t recognize at all. Nor could she be bothered to try.
While using Earth Escape, she was naturally enveloped in a strange effect that let her merge with the soil, making her completely undetectable to ordinary Little Demons.
Song Ciwan couldn’t be bothered with Little Demons that didn’t bother her.
Although the Human and Demon Races were natural enemies, and Song Ciwan didn’t shrink from slaying Demons, she wasn’t a crazed killer of either humans or demons. If a Demon wasn’t causing chaos or bothering her, she wouldn’t just fly into a murderous rage.
Besides the rodent-type Demon Beasts, Song Ciwan also saw many demonic ants and earthworms that carried a demonic aura, existing in a state between demon and common creature. There were also more formidable demonic snakes, and even Insect-type Demon Beasts like centipedes and Lianfei.
The world underground was incredibly vibrant and diverse. Compared to the surface, it possessed a different, otherworldly kind of magnificence.
Gradually, a thought began to form in Song Ciwan’s mind. ’Back in Su Yang City, the rampaging Mouse Demon mentioned Giant Deer Country several times. Where exactly is it?’
’The underground world of Pinglan City is so vast... could Giant Deer Country be right here beneath Pinglan?’
’Even if Giant Deer Country isn’t beneath Pinglan City, there are still so many Demon Beasts living here with such ease. Snakes hunt mice, mice eat bugs, and dead snakes are in turn eaten by bugs—’
’This state of existence, seemingly a simple food chain, was actually teeming with life. And for some reason, it felt terrifyingly orderly.’
Because she cultivated the Great Derivation Birth Skill, and had reached the High Depths of the Sutra of Sitting and Forgetting, Song Ciwan possessed a certain instinct for sensing good fortune and avoiding calamity. As her thoughts reached this point, she suddenly shivered.
’That was it. This underground world was so rich, with so many kinds of Demon Beasts, and yet it continued to exist.’
’There had to be a reason for its existence, and whatever that reason was, it was certainly beyond what she could hope to investigate right now.’
Song Ciwan suddenly felt a wave of relief. Before, she’d had some self-doubt about not killing every Demon she saw. Now, that doubt had vanished completely.
’It’s a good thing I didn’t act rashly. If I had killed a few just because the rat demons, centipedes, and Lianfei were ugly... well, killing a few might have been fine, but who knows what would’ve happened if I’d killed more?’
Song Ciwan completely abandoned any thought of slaying Demons in the underground. But as she watched hordes of Demon Beasts scurry past her, all heading north, another strange feeling began to stir within her.
Her trades for the day were done, and with about half a quarter-hour left until Midnight, Song Ciwan decided to act. Activating her spell, she followed the direction the Demon Beasts were running and began to move north using her own escape technique.
However, to avoid danger, Song Ciwan kept her speed with the escape technique somewhat slow.
As she used her Escape Technique, she continuously employed the Great Derivation Birth Skill to erase her aura. She hadn’t forgotten that she still needed to evade the pursuit of the Second Young Master. In any case, whether she was being followed or not, using the Great Derivation Birth Skill was never a bad idea.
’If you lack quality, make up for it with quantity. If you lack Cultivation, make up for it with caution.’
And so, Song Ciwan continued north, only to see more and more Demon Beasts converging on this northbound route from all directions.
Along the way, snakes and rats didn’t even fight when they met. Centipedes no longer bit snakes, and rats no longer hunted bugs. All the Demon Beasts seemed possessed, single-mindedly rushing northward, wave after wave, with all their might.
When there was no path forward, the rats would dig one.
Song Ciwan even saw an earthworm with incredibly potent Demonic Power. It’s just that earthworms as a species have extreme difficulty attaining sentience. Despite its powerful demonic aura, it clearly possessed no intelligence.
So, as the earthworm shot forward like an arrow, a great many other Demon Beasts—mostly snakes and rats—followed close behind. They trailed in the earthworm’s wake like a long, snaking line, as if the arrow had transformed into a dragon, and WHOOSHED right past Song Ciwan.
Song Ciwan moved aside to let the long dragon pass, then fell in closely behind it.
The farther she went, the damper the soil became. After traveling an unknown distance, it was suddenly Midnight!
Song Ciwan stopped following the long procession. Deep underground, she cast a Dust-Removal Technique on herself—not for any particular reason, just to clean her hands and brush off the dust.
Then, she swiftly summoned the Heaven and Earth Scale and placed five thousand Primordial Pearls, Shao Guang, and three Upper Grade Magical Artifacts onto the Balance Plate.
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