Chapter 138: Stronger than Gold
Ultimately, under Feng Shi’s friendly mediation, Ruan Ping reluctantly supported Quan Xinghe.
“If Senior Brother hadn’t said you were still useful, I wouldn’t have helped you!” Ruan Ping kept rolling his eyes.
Quan Xinghe let out a low chuckle but didn’t speak. However, he subtly leaned more of his weight onto the boy.
Ruan Ping grit his teeth, his cheeks puffing out with anger as he secretly gave the man’s waist a hard pinch.
He didn’t hold back. Quan Xinghe gasped in pain, his body tensing as his face turned pale. His teeth ground together, but he could do nothing about it.
The deeper they went, the denser the demonic energy became, and the passage grew wider.
Before long, their vision suddenly opened up as they arrived at a new grotto.
The place appeared to be a limestone cave. The ceiling was densely embedded with ice-blue spirit stones, twinkling like a starry sky and illuminating the area.
A pool of water sat on the ground, pitch-black and seemingly bottomless. A cold wind blew from ahead, carrying a faint fishy smell.
Upon closer inspection, though the water was stagnant, ripples appeared from time to time.
Feng Shi opened his system panel to check his current location.
The system did not provide a detailed map of the underground, but it did have positioning for the surface.
On the map, a red and a blue dot flickered, overlapping—the coordinates for him and Shen Songhe. From the map, he could see they were currently near the Yuguang Immortal Mansion. Further ahead lay the foundations of the mansion.
Could it be that there was some secret hidden beneath the earth?
Feng Shi closed the panel. Pressing two fingers to the space between his brows, he closed his eyes and spread his divine sense, probing further into the distance.
Sure enough, there was another space beyond this area.
Feng Shi lowered his hand and surveyed what lay ahead.
The grotto was enclosed. All he could see was rock, with no apparent exit.
“Senior Brother, this looks like a dead end.” Ruan Ping said, sniffing the air before wrinkling his nose in disgust. “And the smell here is really awful.”
Quan Xinghe let out a cold laugh and interjected, “Delicate.”
Feng Shi looked at Shen Songhe, who was staring at the water’s surface. He wondered what the boy was thinking.
“Has Xiao He discovered something?”
The coldness in Shen Songhe’s eyes softened visibly. He drew his sword and pointed it at the water. “There is something inside.”
With that, he flicked his long sword sharply through the water.
A pungent, fishy odor wafted over as a series of eerie, cackling laughs suddenly echoed in their ears.
The sounds lingered for a long time before finally fading away.
Hearing the noise, Ruan Ping instinctively backed away, his face pale as he began to imagine the worst.
Quan Xinghe sneered, looking down on him even more.
Feng Shi crouched down to observe for a moment before reaching out his hand.
A pale, thin hand quickly reached out from beside him, grabbing his wrist.
“Senior Brother, don’t touch it!”
Feng Shi followed the elegant hand upward until his gaze met Shen Songhe’s nervous face.
His thoughts strayed for a moment.
Feng Shi thought to himself that Shen Songhe’s hands had grown quite large; one hand could easily wrap around his wrist.
“It’s alright, I know what I’m doing.” He smiled, offering it as a form of comfort.
Shen Songhe’s dark eyes fixed on him. He pursed his lips and, after a long while, slowly released his grip.
Feng Shi turned his attention back to the water. He gathered spiritual qi in his hand and reached in. A moment later, water splashed everywhere.
Feng Shi pulled something out and tossed it onto the ground.
The group took a closer look. It was a fish emitting black energy.
The fish was about half the length of a human arm. It made sounds resembling ghostly laughter when it opened its mouth, revealing sharp, needle-like teeth. It was a truly gruesome sight.
“Isn’t this something that only exists in the Demonic Realm? Why is it here?” Ruan Ping asked, before adding to his own question, “Though, with demonic energy this dense, it’s not surprising there would be demonic creatures…”
Feng Shi crushed the fish’s mouth with his foot.
The laughter came to an abrupt halt.
Quan Xinghe immediately showed a look of disgust.
Feng Shi lowered his gaze, his expression almost cold. In the next breath, he said something that made their scalps tingle: “We have to swim across.”
“What!?”
“No way! I firmly refuse!” Quan Xinghe shouted, his face looking grim. “These demonic fish feed on spiritual flesh. If we go in, aren’t we just seeking death? We’d be delivering ourselves to them on a platter!”
Ruan Ping was also terrified: “Yes, Senior Brother… is there no other way…?”
Feng Shi glanced at Quan Xinghe. “Objection overruled.”
“Don’t worry, I guarantee you won’t die.”
This was the correct path. If they wanted to get out, this was the only way.
Feng Shi summoned his panel again, letting Qingqing select a suitable item for him.
To his surprise, it was the giant egg prop they had used before—”Stronger than Gold”.
“Is there nothing else we can use?”
[Host, this is the only one that is one hundred percent guaranteed to work~]
“…” Fine then.
Feng Shi thought back to his previous experience. Mm… actually, it was alright…
With that thought, he didn’t hesitate and clicked to purchase two.
If you were to ask why he didn’t buy four, it wasn’t because he didn’t have enough money. It was because this thing was a “couple-limited” item that had to be used by two people together.
Feng Shi looked down at the two small spheres in his hand. He let out a sigh and handed one to Ruan Ping.
Ruan Ping took it and looked at it curiously. “Senior Brother, what is this?”
He looked up at Feng Shi, only to find the other man looking at him with a strange expression. Feng Shi then looked at Quan Xinghe beside him and let out another sigh, shaking his head.
Ruan Ping suddenly felt his scalp tingle.
“Ahem, it’s nothing, just a magical artifact. We’ll use this to swim through the water in a moment.”
Feng Shi was evasive.
Ruan Ping nodded in confusion.
Feng Shi offered a second of silence for him before activating the item. He reached out and pulled Shen Songhe toward him, encircling him in his arms. “You two, do exactly as we are.”
Hearing this, Ruan Ping’s obedient, rabbit-like expression crumbled. He looked as if he had swallowed something foul.
He forced a smile: “Senior Brother… you must be joking with me…”
Feng Shi shook his head seriously and gave him a “fighting” gesture. “A true man knows when to yield and when to stand tall. Xiao Ping-er, Senior Brother believes in you!”
Ruan Ping was falling apart.
Unfortunately, Quan Xinghe didn’t see the issue. He impatiently reached out and snatched the item from Ruan Ping’s hand: “Stop dilly-dallying like a woman!”
Dense spiritual qi radiated from the items, slowly forming solid barriers that enveloped Feng Shi and Shen Songhe.
Once “Stronger than Gold” was formed, it was indestructible; no external force could break it.
However, the space inside was narrow, forcing the two people within to press their bodies tightly against each other.
Before entering the water, Feng Shi called out a reminder to the two outside: “Pay attention! You must stay pressed tightly together! Once you enter, the artifact will guide you out!”
The rustling sound of fabric came from outside as if the two were arguing. A moment later, Quan Xinghe’s irritable voice drifted over: “Understood!”
Translator’s Note:
- White-eyed wolf (白眼狼): A common Chinese idiom for someone who is ungrateful or heartless.
- Stronger than Gold (情比金坚): The literal meaning of this idiom is “love/friendship stronger than gold”. In the context of the system’s wacky items, it functions as a “couple-limited” protective barrier.
- A true man knows when to yield and when to stand tall (大丈夫能屈能伸): An idiom used to describe someone who is flexible and adaptable to their circumstances.
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