111 River Experience
The next day
As the most experienced person among the group, Jia Shan guided Xu Miao and the company toward the northwest, following a small stream toward the long Crimson River.
The stream flowed from a nearby mountain to the river, so it was the best clean water source for the party. Xu Miao stocked enough water for the long journey.
It took them half a day to reach the Crimson River. As its name, the entire river was as red as blood.
"Have you been here before, Xu Miao?"
"No, senior. This is my first time."
Jia Shan chuckled as he taught Xu Miao about the river history, "This is the famous Crimson River, the longest river of this continent. Legend said that an immortal was sealed under the bedrocks, and his blood flows into the river. However, nobody can confirm this legend or survive after diving into the river."
"Huh?" Xu Miao tilted his head, finding the story odd, "Are you sure? Aren't the redness from some kind of pathogens or bacteria?"
"Pa-to-what?"
"Never mind. Say, even a 7th-stage cultivator like you can't survive inside the river?"
Xu Miao gazed at the wide river. Judging from his eyes, it was at least a kilometer wide. The red water moved from west to east, which was similar to China's Yellow River.
"I think you should experience it yourself. Scoop a handful of water from the river and throw them away."
Xu Miao's face distorted. He got paranoid, "My hands won't dissolve from the acid, right?"
"It's not acidic. Actually, it will just make you… a bit crazy."
"How crazy?"
"A Li~~~~~ttle tiny bit crazy," Jia Shan burst into laughter as if he was looking forward to seeing a good show.
Sensing the ominous prank of the senior, Xu Miao turned to his yin slaves, whom Xu Miao had adjusted the traits and behavior last night.
"Pan Xiaofan!"
The leader of the 10 ex-broken slaves saluted like a modern soldier, "Yes, master!"
"Scoop the river water with your hands. Don't drink it."
"… Can I refuse?"
Xu Miao raised his eyebrows, "Why?"
"It will make me… crazy."
"How crazy?"
"VERY crazy."
"…"
Xu Miao glanced at Jia Shan, "You said – Li~~~~~ttle tiny bit crazy. Why did she say VERY crazy?"
"It's your imagination."
"…"
Xu Miao turned to the slave girls and Wei Yuan. For some reason, everyone shook their head, "We're not going to do it. We had done it at least once this year. We can't do it anymore."
Jiang Lan and Kang Yan also seemed afraid of the river. They hugged each other, and they were on the verge of crying, "Please don't let us do it. It's shameful. We'd rather die."
"…"
Xu Miao turned to Jia Shan again, "Li~~~~~ttle crazy?"
"Li~~~~~ttle crazy."
"How crazy?"
"Li~~~~~ttle, little crazy."
Xu Miao frowned and looked at everyone again. Now, everyone avoided eye contact.
"Fine. I'll test it out. If I do something a li~~~~~ttle crazy, I won't take responsibility for my action."
Jia Shan waved his hand and smiled, "Don't worry. We all have done it many times in the past. It's a necessary rite of passage."
Upon hearing the word, [Rite of Passage], Xu Miao had a change of heart, "Now, I don't want to touch this river water anymore."
"If I say that you'll get some immunity against elemental attacks, such as fire, ice, or thunder, will you touch it?"
Xu Miao was surprised, "Oh? You should have said it earlier! The river water can strengthen us? But why did you say that no one can survive after diving into the river."
"You have to experience it yourself."
"…"
It was suspicious, a li~~~~~ttle too suspicious to the point that Xu Miao wanted to toss Jia Shan into the river as a guinea pig. Yet, Xu Miao walked to the river and scooped a handful of water.
\u003c\u003cWarning! You've touched the diluted blood of the Rooster God.\u003e\u003e
\u003c\u003cThe remnant of Rooster God's will has temporarily controlled your body!\u003e\u003e
Xu Miao clicked his tongue when the system told him the true identity of the Crimson River. He tossed all water in his hand and leaped away from the riverbank.
But it was too late.
Xu Miao suddenly bent his knees and elbows. He flapped the fold-in elbows and raised his chin.
POGPOK!!
A weird rooster's noise came out from Xu Miao's throat.
Then, he roared.
AEK-EE-AEK-AEEEEKKK!!
It was a weird rooster's cry.
Xu Miao kept flapped his wings, aka folded arms. Then, he widened his mouth and cried proudly.
AEK-EE-COCK-KOOO!!
"…"
Jia Shan didn't laugh or hold back his laughter. He only nodded as Xu Miao's rooster cry was unique, "I remember that I did something like, cock-koo-doo-doo."
Jiang Lan, Kang Yan, and Wei Yuan had a wry smile. They couldn't laugh since Xu Miao reminded them of their dark past. Everyone averted their eyes, waiting for the shameful experience to end.
Five minutes later, Xu Miao regained control of his body.
\u003c\u003cDing\u003e\u003e
\u003c\u003cCongratulations! Your natural resistance against all elements has increased by 0.01%\u003e\u003e
"…"
Xu Miao stopped flapping his elbows. He dragged himself to his feet, slowly turning his head toward the girls and Jia Shan, looking them with a dark expression.
"You knew this, didn't you."
Jia Shan folded his arms and nodded, "It's a rite of passage for all children and adults. Doing something a li~~~~~ttle crazy like this can give you a bit of resistance against elemental attacks. I did it 200 times already, so there's nothing to be ashamed about."
Wei Yuan patted Xu Miao's back, "My grandfather forced me to do it 3 times already this year. There's nothing to be ashamed about."
The slave girls nodded in agreement, "Yes. Everything is perfectly okay!"
"…"
Xu Miao furrowed his brows as he found their words suspicious. There was something abnormal about their actions.
Then, Xu Miao's chest puffed. He lost control over his body again.
CLUCK POGPOK!!
Everyone: "…"
Everyone pretended not to notice the rooster sound. They packed their belongings and pointed toward the west, "Let's go. We'll walk along the river to the west."
AEK-EE-AEK-DOOO!!
"…"
Jia Shan patted Xu Miao's back. He muttered, "It will go away after a week. After that, you will grow some resistance against the river water. If you touch it the second time onward, the possession effect will be shorter. Well, it depends on each person, though."
POGPOK!!
\u003c\u003cDing\u003e\u003e
\u003c\u003cCongratulations! Your natural resistance against all elements has increased by 0.01%\u003e\u003e
"…"
As Xu Miao became a chicken, Jiang Lan carried him on her back. They traveled west.
.
.
.
A week later, they traveled along the river and reached the port, 100 kilometers away from the Mountain Goose City, the Rooster Port.
Although it was supposed to be a port, walls and arrays protected this place as if it was an important city.
Xu Miao gazed at the port city and the river with bloodshot eyes. He wouldn't forget the humiliation and the [Rooster Disease] that he had suffered even though his resistance against all element attacks had increased by 0.5% in total.
After suffering the effect of the river, Xu Miao understood why 7th-stage cultivators wouldn't survive if they got into the river. They would have transformed into a bunch of chickens in human flesh and started pecking dirt and rocks for eternity.
No wonder why everyone didn't make fun of him. They understood the humiliation and heart pain.
"Don't touch the water again within a year, Xu Miao. If you do, the effect will last an entire month. Let your body adapt to the side-effect. Then, you can try it again next year after you build some immunity."
Jia Shan kept soothing Xu Miao as they walked. The latter slouched his shoulders and dragged his feet in dejected after acting like a chicken for a week.
The elder and others didn't know. At night, in the Isolation Training Space, Xu Miao's spiritual form turned into a real chicken, and he acted like one. He couldn't practice and dual-cultivate as he kept pecking the floor, searching for eatable food. He had to spend 80 hours every night for a week, being a rooster.
"Ah, cluck pok-pok! (Ah, I'll never touch that river water again!)."
"It will take a while before you can speak the human language again. We should visit the port and buy us spatial rings, clothes, and food supplies. Then, we should be able to get someone to ferry us to the other side."
"Pog-pok. (Sure. Take this.)"
Xu Miao brought out a second-hand refined stone. The old man looked at the refined stone in shock, "Where did you get this!? I thought all of our spirit stones were robbed."
"Pok. Cuckoo! (I have my own ways of procuring resources.)"
"Ugh, I don't understand a chicken's language."
Xu Miao scratched his head. He took out this smartphone and typed … by pecking with his lips. The remnant will of the Rooster God still influenced Xu Miao's consciousness and his muscle memory. It would take a while before he could recover his human side.
Fortunately, the texts were in human language.
"I see. So, you didn't give Xu Xiuying everything."
[Yes. For now, use this refined stone to get us a ferry and a place to rest. We'll also need some cloaks and masks, so these girls can hide their beauty. We'll be walking targets for rogue cultivators if we keep traveling like this.]
"Of course. How about this? You guys stay here and hide. I'll visit the port and buy some clothes for you."
[No. You are a commoner now, so refined stones will attract greedy thieves. Hell, you might die if you hold it for too long since you don't have a dantian anymore. Let's send Jiang Lan, Kang Yan, and Wei Yuan there. Two 3rd-rank cultivators and a noble lady should be able to handle a mundane task.]
"Oh. Right. That might be a good idea since only Wei Yuan still has her spatial ring. Let's send her there."
Jia Shan and Xu Miao made their decision. As Xu Miao couldn't speak normally, he would send his two strongest slaves and Wei Yuan to buy basic supplies for the long journey.
…
While Jia Shan went out to instruct the three girls, Xu Miao didn't forget to do something sinister.
Xu Miao secretly collected a portion of the river water in several containers and stored them inside his invisible ring. Of course, the one who collected the water was White Album as he never wanted to touch it again.
'Cuckoo! (Again!?)'
The clone spirit suffered from the same disease. Although she didn't transform into a chicken like him, her speech was affected. Yet, Xu Miao understood her.
"Pok! Pok! (Try to resist the effect and collect as many barrels as possible! I want to use them as my secret weapon!)"
'Cluck! Cluck! (You're cruel! I won't be able to speak normally for weeks at this rate!)'
"Pok! Cluck! Cluck! (It's not like I have a choice. I'm under the same curse. If I touch the water again, I'll act like a chicken for months!)"
The clone did her best to collect the water with her Qi and a portion of her miasma gas. However, the Rooster God's will poison her mind and slowly corrupt her.
After collecting 30 barrels of river water, White Album began crying like a rooster.
'Cock a doodle doo!'
"… Pok. (Rip)"
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