205 Quest Dilemma
The shocking display of Zhu Qiao's power was over. Cao Mao and his gang felt relieved.
Ma Ping was not in a good condition. He had just regained a bit of his strength, and yet he had been forced to engage in combat. His energy had been used up, and he would need more time to recover.
Nobody cared about how or why Cao Mao killed Xie Tian anymore.
Ju Shoufen fed Ma Moxi a high-grade healing pill and carried him on her back. Everyone rushed south to their new home in a hurry.
…
Flying was convenient.
Within five minutes, Cao Mao, Ju Shoufen, Ma Moxi, Ma Ping, and everyone reached the Siren City. It was easy to spot their new home as Jia Wenhe had built tall walls and a red shield array to protect the city from the Blood Sea's haunted spirits.
Jia Wenhe and Kang Yan welcomed their new comrades. They also took Ma Moxi to rest at a newly constructed house, so he could recuperate.
The Ma clansmen introduced themselves to Jia Wenhe and told him about their encounter with Zhu Qiao. Cao Mao also explained what he knew about the girl.
Everyone was wary of the emerging Zhu Clan. They took a mental note that they shouldn't look down on this unknown clan that had appeared out of nowhere with a young monster.
For now, the Ma Clan agreed to combine forces with Ju Shoufen and Cao Mao regardless of their differences or secrets. The elders ignored the fact that Cao Mao and his family were a group of orcs and demons since there were other frightening cultivators out there that could suppress Ma Ping.
Without unity, they might not survive.
Still, the Ma Clan members couldn't resist their curiosity to see Cao Mao's orc children. They asked for permission to see the babies, and Cao Mao allowed them to do so.
The babies were unexpectedly cute. They had the same appearance as human babies, if one chose to ignore the green skin. Perhaps unsurprisingly their PPs were bigger than average children.
Curious about this unique bloodline, Ma Shoucheng wanted to know more about Cao Mao's origin and his agenda against Liu Bian.
"Miaomiao, can you tell me anything about Liu Bian? Since we have the same enemy, it's better to share some info."
"Sure. It's a long story."
For hours, Cao Mao patiently answered Ma clansmen's questions regarding Liu Bian. Of course, he didn't tell them about the system quests. He simply made up a story about his grudge against the crown prince fueled by the atrocities that Liu Bian had committed.
Then, the topic shifted to his orc bloodline.
Cao Mao had gotten used to Ju Shoufen's interrogation and question bombs. He had copied both volumes of Orc King Sutras and written them on several scrolls, just in case someone might find out about his bloodline and interrogate him.
"My Dao God gave me this and ordered me to memorize it. I got my bloodline from memorizing all the texts."
Everyone, including Ju Shoufen and Jia Wenhe, examined the sutra. The scroll contained stories of several orc heroes in ancient times, including their achievements, philosophies, culture, laws, and way of life.
Ma Ping had a photographic memory. He memorized everything by skimming through the scroll once.
Suddenly, Ma Ping's vigor increased. Yang essence in his body boiled, and his element Qi resonated with the new power.
"This is interesting. I feel that my vitality has just increased by a lot. Miaomiao, do you have another part? I feel like this scroll is incomplete."
Cao Mao's face distorted, "Do you want to turn into an orc, too?"
"Err, no. But I think I can get even stronger by reading more of these…"
"You should stop while you can. Otherwise, you'll just turn into a lustful old man. Trust me, you won't be able to control your desire if it happens. The sutra will just corrupt your mind."
Cao Mao spoke from experience. During his early days, when his mental strength had still been weak, after he had memorized half of the first volume, his erection would persist unless he had at least 100 rounds of sex. He was afraid that this old man would suffer the same curse as him.
Ma Ping snorted, "Who do you think I am? I fought on many battlefields, and I killed many nascent soul cultivators! Do you think I can be corrupted that easily!?"
"…"
Cao Mao gazed at Ma Ping's pants.
Yep, it was energetic.
Everybody also followed Cao Mao's gaze and shifted their gaze towards Ma Ping's bulging pants.
Ma Ping also looked down.
"…"
"This is a dangerous sutra. It might help you in the beginning, but you'll be cursed with THAT," Cao Mao pointed at the pants.
"…"
The Ma clansmen agreed that they shouldn't continue reading the scroll. If the first part was enough to even corrupt Ma Ping, none of them would be able to resist the curse.
The talk about Cao Mao's secret slowly shifted to the construction of their new home. From that point, Jia Wenhe and Ma Ping took over the conversation and got busy designing their city layout.
During the entire conversation, Jia Shan never showed up.
Cao Mao felt bad for his mentor. Ma Moxi had a cure for him, but he wasn't allowed to eat the pill because of Kunwu's quest.
…
Later that day
The blueprint sent a beacon signal to attract powerful cultivators several times.
Fortunately, Jia Wenhe, Ma Ping, and Pang Lingming were around. They drove off all curious eyes from their city whenever they got close.
Several 5th-stage experts had come to check the beacon signal, but they retreated after they had sensed the presence of three 6th-stage experts and a nascent soul powerhouse.
Since this blueprint was too eye-catching, Cao Mao requested Ju Shoufen to hand him the scroll, so he could use it to build the headquarters pylon.
Ju Shoufen returned the scroll to him, "What is this for? Is this a treasure?"
"It's something that can provide Qi and element Qi to the people around it. Well, I'm going to construct something."
Cao Mao took the scroll and examined it. He talked to the system and consulted it.
'How do I use this blueprint?'
Ding
\u003cPlace your hand on it, and you will be able to review the structure.\u003e
\u003cOnce you press [OK], the building will be automatically constructed. However, it will take a month to complete.\u003e
"Okay. Here goes."
Cao Mao touched the center of the blueprint.
Light shone from the blueprint scroll. Cao Mao's eyes also reflected the same blue light as he could see the 3D bird-eye view of the entire city.
The 3D image was similar to a city-building game. In the projected 3D hologram, square grids covered the entire Siren City, and the tall tower with a humongous piece of crystal was at the center.
Cao Mao could move and rotate the pylon tower around. He could design where he could place the pylon inside the city.
Oddly enough, it could be placed over the structures that Cao Mao and others had built. Moreover, the example image of the tower flashed in a green light when it was placed at the same location as his treehouse. A small speech bubble, [Bonus Wood Element], was highlighted whenever Cao Mao moved the pylon over the treehouse.
Cao Mao was interested. Since Cao Mao's house was at the center of their city, he decided to replace it with the pylon tower. Then, the Qi from the tower would cover the entire city.
After making the decision, he took out his phone and called Wei Yuan.
"Yuan'er, can you pack everything in the house and leave with your baby? I'll deconstruct the building and replace it with something interesting."
Wei Yuan was cooperative. She packed all furniture, clothes, and necessary items into her spatial rings and moved out of the treehouse with her baby. Ten minutes later, she joined Cao Mao to see what he was doing.
Wei Yuan also told Jia Shan to leave the tree cave. He grumbled as he was in the middle of a meditation session, but he cooperated with Cao Mao.
Cao Mao was worried about Jia Shan. Once the pylon tower was built, he might have an issue with the Qi from the tower. He asked the system again.
'Will Jia Shan be alright without a dantian? Will the Qi from the tower be harmful to non-cultivators?'
Ding
\u003cQi from the tower will not harm any commoner or crippled cultivator without a dantian. In fact, it will heal Jia Shan's dantian slowly. By a rough calculation based on Jia Shan's ability, he will be healed within three months after the tower has been built.\u003e
\u003cBut be warned, if Jia Shan recovers his dantian before you complete the divine pill, the quest will fail. Then, your system sponsor will confiscate all divine ingredients.\u003e
'Ah, crap!'
In other words, once Cao Mao started building the tower, he had less than four months to complete the divine pill.
Cao Mao could also delay the tower construction, but the nasty blueprint would continue pinging, attracting strong cultivators nearby.
He began to weigh the pros and cons. There was a high chance that he might fail one of the quests. Even though Cao Mao was confident that if he got serious and went to sleep for 4 months, he might be able to improve his alchemy skill enough to barely make the divine pill with low quality.
It was a difficult hurdle, but he had to try.
Cao Mao gritted his teeth and activated the tower auto-construction right away.
The treehouse turned into green dust. The particles gathered at the center of the city while the ground below it began to change. As if a 3D printer was at work, a ground layout slowly manifested from the green dust.
The blueprint also disappeared like the system had told Cao Mao.
The auto-construction was in progress.
Ding
\u003cBuilding the Pylon Tower…\u003e
\u003cThe tower will be complete in 29D 23H 59M 55S.\u003e
\u003cEvery day at noon, the tower will release mild life Qi for everyone in the vicinity. The Qi concentration will get stronger each day, and the aura will be noticeable.\u003e
\u003cPlease protect the tower from potential intruders until it is completed.\u003e
The countdown had begun.
Cao Mao took several deep breaths, steeling his heart before taking the toughest challenge.
Four months remained.
Each hour was equal to 50 hours in ITS.
Therefore, Cao Mao had roughly 144,000 hours or 6,000 days to make the pill.
The time was against him, but Cao Mao had no choice.
"Guys, I'll be in seclusion for roughly 4 months. I think I'll skip the auction event altogether."
Wei Yuan, Jia Shan, and Ju Shoufen frowned, "Why now? You're nowhere close to the next breakthrough."
"I'm going to solely practice alchemy in my dream space. I have less than 4 months to make a divine pill for Master Jia. If I can't do it within the time limit, my dao god will confiscate all divine ingredients from me, and Kunwu will punish me."
Jia Shan and Wei Yuan were out of the loop. They bombarded Cao Mao with a hundred questions.
Fortunately, Ju Shoufen was there to stop them, "I'll answer all the questions. For now, you go and do whatever you want. Make sure to summon me to your dream space from time to time, so I can lecture you about alchemy."
"Thanks, grandma."
Cao Mao walked away from everyone. He entered a storehouse, which Jia Wenhe had built to store coals and firewood. Then, he sat cross-legged as if he was meditating, but he fell asleep in that position.
The challenge began!
…
Meanwhile
Ding
\u003cAn unknown force has begun constructing a pylon tower!\u003e
\u003cBe warned, if the unknown force completes their pylon, a new nation will emerge.\u003e
\u003cYou have obtained a side-quest.\u003e
In his cabin inside his parked airship, Liu Bian was sitting on his spring bed, glaring at his system screen with anger. He groaned and slammed his fist on the tea table before him.
"Tell me, system. Where the fuck is this mongrel force!? I already have my hands full dealing with those scoundrels Dong Zhongying, Wei Huang, and Qiang Sui. Do I have to take on the new hero forces, too!?"
\u003cYou don't have the permission to view your rivals. You must construct additional pylons!\u003e
"…"
Liu Bian grabbed a hand-sized bell and rang it.
A few seconds later, a 60-year-old eunuch in a formal imperial uniform entered his cabin to receive his order.
Liu Bian wrote something on a golden scroll and passed it to the eunuch. The latter treated the scroll as if it was an edict from the emperor even though the real emperor was still alive.
"Send a battalion to scout the Siren City. If you find a group of people trying to build a base there, come back and report it to me."
"What should I do if the people in the base are weak, your highness?"
"If you run into any core pillar expert or a nascent soul expert, come back and report to me. If you run into weaklings, kill them all!"
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺