Chapter 144: Chapter 144: Fragment? Fissure?
"Who? And it’s something good!"
"Did Han Tian’s stream blow up?"
Even locked in a desperate struggle with the Yin Sha Deer, Song Jiulai still found a moment to ask the system what was going on.
The system took a look. "A new player made a post. He seems to be a major influencer, so it’s made our game blow up again."
And the quality of this buzz was clearly better than the last time Han Tian posted.
’Didn’t you see? The influx of energy has leveled up again.’
This new influx of emotional energy was worth studying.
Previously, Song Jiulai had thought that as long as Han Tian kept streaming, she could earn more energy, but it turned out that wasn’t the case.
There was hardly any energy influx during his streams.
And then there was that Sect-wide voice transmission, which required Song Jiulai to set up the rules herself.
’I can finally send messages myself!’
Song Jiulai seriously suspected that there was a supervisory system behind her own system, unlocking features only when certain conditions were met.
’The system is the one who’s truly playing a game here.’
’Is it that I’m not allowed to unlock functions if I haven’t reached the right Level?’
However, the functions the system had unlocked so far only seemed to affect things within the Sect. There hadn’t been any particularly obvious features to help the players influence the Yunzhou Continent.
It’s just that she didn’t have time to look into it right now.
As Song Jiulai fought the Yin Sha Deer, she realized that Fourth-rank Demon Beasts were no joke.
’It’s just so damn tough.’
Adhering to the tactic of "strike when the enemy tires," Song Jiulai gave the Yin Sha Deer almost no chance to breathe, relentlessly wearing it down again and again.
Plus, she had the unnatural advantage of never needing to return to a city to restock on medicine.
Her combat prowess at the Foundation Establishment Stage was nothing to scoff at. After several rounds, the Yin Sha Deer was clearly struggling to hold on.
A dense black mist erupted from its body. The mist was frighteningly hot, and a palpable heat wave rolled out for miles, filling one’s heart with dread.
With Song Jiulai fighting a Fourth-rank Demon Beast, it was only natural that others would hear the commotion.
"A Fourth-rank Demon Beast?"
Any nearby Cultivators who were out and about kept a wide berth.
Some had sensed something was amiss ever since the demon beasts began to gather, but since they weren’t from the Feique Sect or the Longevity Sect, they naturally didn’t bother to report it.
Now, seeing the spreading black mist, the more sharp-eyed among them recognized it as a Fourth-rank Demon Beast, the Yin Sha Deer.
"A Yin Sha Deer... that’s not something an ordinary Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator can handle..."
Besides, who would be in the Foundation Establishment Stage while training near First Mountain?
They didn’t even dare get closer to watch the show.
"CRACKLE—"
All they could hear was the incessant sound of lightning from within the mist.
Just fighting this one Yin Sha Deer had cost her three Fourth-rank Elixir Pills.
’It can’t possibly be tougher than those Cultivators from the Supreme Mysterious Sect!’
But the Yin Sha Deer never strayed from that one spot, which made fighting it all the more convenient for Song Jiulai.
When the Yin Sha Deer finally collapsed, powerless, Song Jiulai was actually a little surprised.
’Looks like I underestimated my own strength.’
As the Yin Sha Deer fell, the surrounding black mist completely dispersed, and an eerie glow became much more distinct.
Song Jiulai finally had her chance to approach.
She stored the Yin Sha Deer’s massive corpse in the Sect’s warehouse, then slowly walked toward the crevice.
Just then, the sky began to brighten as the newly-risen sun made its slow ascent.
Song Jiulai looked up at the sunlight, a faint ray slowly illuminating her face.
Song Jiulai suddenly thought of a question. "Hey, why does this world also have a sun and a moon? Could this be another Blue Star?"
System: "Take a wild guess."
Song Jiulai lowered her head, pretending nothing had happened. "So, what’s this thing?"
The place the Yin Sha Deer had been guarding was a crevice, about a person’s width. It wasn’t very large, but it was noticeable because it glowed.
Looking down from her vantage point, Song Jiulai could only see that the crevice was very deep, filled with a mass of eerie, greenish light.
The light was almost stagnant, like a pool of liquid.
It was impossible to see what lay within.
She tentatively tossed a Palm Thunder into it, but there was no reaction.
[Ding! Abnormal energy fluctuation detected. Proceed with charging the Energy Pool?]
"Hm?"
Song Jiulai’s eyes lit up. "There’s a deal this good? How do I collect it?"
System: "Touch it with your hand."
So, Song Jiulai placed her hand on the edge of the crevice.
The moment she did, a jolt shot through her.
’So, so cold!’
It was a cold that reminded Song Jiulai of being thrown into an icehouse back when she was still a mortal.
Thankfully, it was still within a tolerable range.
As Song Jiulai’s fingertips touched the edge of the crevice, the eerie green light suddenly began pouring into her body at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Song Jiulai instantly felt as if her entire body had been scoured by ice water.
She was so cold she couldn’t stop shivering, and her teeth began to chatter.
Song Jiulai: "...I suddenly really have to pee."
System: "..."
Meanwhile, the digitized Energy Pool began to rise at a rate that Song Jiulai could see.
It soared up from just over 500.
Song Jiulai knew this was the energy her system needed. She was a little shocked. "What on earth is this?"
System: "How should I explain this to you? In my eyes, all the energy systems of the Yunzhou Continent are just one type of thing. So, what it is isn’t important. What’s important is that I can absorb it and use it, and that’s enough."
Song Jiulai: "Cut the useless jargon. Just say you don’t know. It’s not like I’m going to laugh at you."
System: "You really wouldn’t?"
Song Jiulai: "Actually, I would."
System: "..."
Thanks to her banter with the system, the bone-chilling cold had subsided considerably. Song Jiulai looked down and saw that the eerie light was gradually fading as she absorbed it.
But in that same instant, a mass of the eerie light suddenly changed, as if something were trying to squeeze its way out of the crevice.
To Song Jiulai, it looked as though something was being compressed and contorted, but before it could fully form, she absorbed it.
That ball of light looked a bit like a Flame Bird.
The only difference was that it was just a palm-sized clump.
’Hm?’
"Could the demon beasts be crawling out of these crevices?" Song Jiulai ventured, finding her own theory hard to believe. "Is that why the Yin Sha Deer was guarding this spot?"
System: "It’s possible. Otherwise, there’s no explaining why the demon beasts aren’t coming from the Demon Cave Valley."
Song Jiulai was taken aback. "Does that mean I wrongly accused that Demon Cultivator?"
System: "...Why the ’I’ve made a terrible mistake’ tone? It’s so melodramatic."
Song Jiulai once again acted as if nothing had happened. "Just expressing my surprise."
Once she had absorbed most of the light from the crevice, the opening began to close.
Even as it closed, Song Jiulai still couldn’t make out what was down below.
The fissure grew smaller and smaller until it sealed completely, and the ground returned to its tranquil state.
It was as if the crevice had never been there at all.
[Ding: Sect energy replenished.]
With her energy replenished, Song Jiulai no longer had to be so frugal. She could now teleport back to the Sect.
The instant the eerie glow vanished completely, thousands of miles away, someone suddenly let out a furious roar.
"A fragment has disappeared!!"
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