CHAPTER 624: CHAPTER 623: JOURNEY THROUGH THE VOID

Before Jiang Yuan does anything important, he habitually considers all possible scenarios, making it easier to devise appropriate strategies.

The void is filled with bizarre things, and the Ice Flame he received from Qingniao is still in its juvenile stage. The Soul Hook slices are effective but slow, so he instructed Qingniao to cultivate at home from now on, waiting for the call at any moment.

"Okay, brother! I promise that if needed, I’ll be in the best state to face the fight!" Qingniao stomped his foot with enthusiasm.

"Xiaobai, temporarily set aside all tasks and cultivate well at home. If needed, you’ll also join me into the void." He turned his gaze to the contract pet, still exuding a murderous aura.

Since devouring and refining the Power of Flood Dragon Bloodline and subsequently swallowing the Flood Dragon’s soul remnants, the Snake Demon’s eerie aura has lessened, replaced by a faint sense of majesty.

Fighting against bizarre demon cultivators certainly won’t work, but if the opposing old fox is also a demon cultivator, the brave and aggressive Xiaobai can be useful.

"The venerable family need not worry, we’re ready at any time." Bai Yunqi nodded in agreement.

Xie Chenyuan, who had hurried back from the Secret Realm in a somewhat disheveled state, clearly didn’t have a smooth operation before the emergency teleportation. Hearing about their full effort to solve Miss Hu’s curse and heading into the void, he quickly declared, "Senior Jiang, how can I help?"

After asking, he instinctively scanned the small courtyard, still not seeing the ancestor’s figure. Logically, in such a dangerous situation, having the ancestor secretly guarding would be safer. Why wasn’t it here?

"There is currently no need; the few of them should suffice." Jiang Yuanxin thought: You excel at divination, not at combat, and can’t summon, so what’s the point of bringing you along?

The void is extremely dangerous, but I have the Bronze Compass to gauge fortune, and at crucial moments, the passive utilization of the Foreknowledge Technique is available, so there’s no need to find a method to bring you in.

Then Jiang Yuan’s gaze landed on Yun Shu.

"Sir, I can!" She gladly stepped forward, engaging her thoughts to display the "charging plate" wings hidden under her shoulders, earnestly declaring: "Furthermore, I can attempt to absorb energy in the void, and I can throw talismans and electrify enemies like an electric fish to assist in battle!"

Ever since he casually mentioned the electric fish once, Yun Shu remembered she had a particularly special and practical skill called "electric fish."

Previously, she worried about energy consumption, fearing frequent use would deplete Immortal Jade too quickly, so she rarely discharged electricity. After discovering she had a backup solution for quickly replenishing energy, Yun Shu became especially confident.

If, as Miss Hu mentioned, the intense and dazzling lights in the void could replenish energy, then it could be used at will!

"Hmm, indeed this opportunity can be tested." Jiang Yuan opened the system interface again for a check. Although the pet bound to Old Doggy can be summoned, it has remained in the Otherworld for a long time, and its most crucial task currently is secretly safeguarding the disciple. It’s best not to use it unless absolutely necessary.

All arrangements in place, Hu Zhile efficiently finished communicating with his little sister and teleported back.

Everything set, with the Bronze Compass showing today’s fortune as auspicious, everything is propitious.

He clicked to use the Disposable Void Teleportation Talisman, which popped a prompt—[The teleportation talisman has been set with target coordinates, and besides the user, it can carry only one companion. Please choose to add accompanying personnel]

[Would you like to take the contract pet: Hu Zhile, along for the teleportation to the destined location?]

Clicking to choose yes, Jiang Yuan seemed to hear the wind whistling in his ears, and the next second found himself standing at the edge of a massive world fragment!

[Side Quest: Hu Zhile’s Obsession]

[Task 5: Use the Disposable Void Teleportation Talisman to reach the destination with Hu Zhile completed. Reward: Attack, Defense, Damage Reduction buff +10 hours issued]

[Task 6: Assist Hu Zhile in freeing from inner obsessions. Reward: Thousand Mechanism Moistening Spirit Pill Pill Formula +1]

[Thousand Mechanism Moistening Spirit Pill: A magical elixir crafted from 101 herbs, capable of nourishing and repairing damaged Dantian Spirit Roots, with prolonged usage having a chance to enhance Spirit Root quality]

With the system displaying new side quest prompts, a gold light glowed and encircled the top three shortcut icons representing different buffs in Jiang Yuan’s view, clicking to check the ten-hour countdown had begun.

[Detected an unclaimed territory, it can be cleaned of pollutants then choose whether to integrate into the courtyard, becoming an area pending unlock, waiting for the completion of the main quest to unlock and develop]

He barely had time to fully observe the strange and grand scenery ahead when another large prompt box was triggered by the system.

"Can the fragment be merged into the courtyard?" Jiang Yuan was momentarily stunned before reacting.

No wonder after leveling up the courtyard to Level Six, once the undeveloped area in the northwest corner was cleared, a small ridge separated the courtyard from the distant forest, and continued unlocking areas did not happen.

He thought the system-provided yard was only so large, and further development would require seeking out other courtyards to develop. Unexpectedly, it could "devour" and merge the unclaimed floating land in the void!

"Such a large piece of land, what would it turn into when integrated?" He couldn’t quite imagine at the moment, but since the system provided the opportunity, refusing it seemed rather unfriendly.

He reluctantly decided to take it!

Of course, the prerequisite is to first remove the pollutants; in other words, this world fragment may have something eerie.

"Zhile, be careful. If the situation doesn’t look good later, retreat first; I can summon you back anytime." Jiang Yuan was genuinely worried about the contracted pet getting polluted, especially since the Elixir Field Spirit Root was already damaged. Getting polluted by something eerie would also require the use of the Soul Hook, and just thinking about it wasn’t good for the body.

"Okay, okay." Hu Zhile’s mind was still foggy.

She thought she had prepared herself mentally, but when she really arrived in an instant, there was an uncontrollable excitement and resentment.

Years ago, it was here that they embarked on a new world, escaping the fate of dying and disappearing at any moment.

Turning her head to look, the void was all empty, but Hu Zhile seemed to see herself holding her little sister, standing on that glacier, looking out here.

The two figures became more and more distant, more and more indistinct, until her small self finally disappeared into the void. She quietly wiped the corner of her eye, and her originally surging emotions suddenly cooled down.

"It’s time to put an end to this." She took a deep breath, turned to look at the largely unchanged forest, lake, and the somewhat ruined palace in the far distance, shaking the soft sword with her right hand, a hint of battle intent appearing on her face, "Venerable Family, let’s go."

This was Jiang Yuan’s first contact with the much-desired void since entering the Wilderness World.

At this moment, he felt as if he was part of a sci-fi movie scene, or perhaps like entering a fantasy novel.

Looking down at the edge of the fragment beneath his feet, he could even see the tearing marks from back then, and the huge inverted triangle-shaped "root" below. The whole world fragment was like a broken spaceship, drifting aimlessly in the void.

Looking up, there was also a sun here, the cyan-white sunlight shot straight down, but the light wasn’t that abundant, and stars could be seen twinkling in the sky. Occasionally, a stone fragment fell silently, drifting towards the deep void.

"It’s really big here, but the Spiritual Energy is already very thin. I remember back then this world fragment was full of Spiritual Energy, as if it wasn’t affected at all by the rupture." Hu Zhile flew in mid-air, wrapped in colorful ribbons, her keen senses discerning the various scents mixed in the wind.

Jiang Yuan was flying on his sword, wearing a Soul Hook on his left wrist; the right hand grasped a paper figure, and the Clear Wind Sword ready for immediate deployment.

"Who dares to intrude upon my Snow Mountain Fox Race territory?"

An unexpected, melodious questioning voice came from mid-air, the person unseen but the voice heard first.

Hu Zhile raised her eyebrows slightly, the territory of the Snow Mountain Fox Race?

Meaning those clansmen leveraged their looks to ascend to the new world, outwardly submitting while secretly joining forces, and succeeded in overthrowing the high and mighty human cultivators?

Seemed like something they could indeed pull off!

Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but feel admiration for the Venerable Family’s thoughtful planning; they specifically provided her with a Magical Treasure to conceal her aura before setting out, avoiding immediate revelation of her true identity.

"I am Jiang, this is my attendant." Jiang Yuan stopped in mid-air and said loudly, "The two of us, master and servant, are Void Hunters, specializing in collecting rare items in the void.

From afar, we saw this world fragment with its beautiful mountains and waters and thought we might find herbs or treasures here, so we came to have a look. Unexpectedly, we found out that Dao friend already occupies this place."

Void Hunters?

Hu Jun was slightly startled, then wildly overjoyed—after drifting for so many years, finally, there were other worlds nearby!

If only he could get along well with these Void Hunters, they could guide him to a safe Otherworld, and he would no longer need to endure in this void!

"Dao friend, please hold on, wait for a moment!" As he was about to reveal himself to greet them, he realized he was no longer the Snow Mountain Fox Demon he once was but a polluted eerie entity. Given the counterpart were Void Hunters, they must be knowledgeable.

Cannot let them see, otherwise...

Hu Jun hurriedly stood up and rummaged through the dust-covered table in the silent chamber, finally finding a dusty Medicine Pill and swallowing it in one gulp; the rampant eerie aura within his body promptly subdued.

Then he used some magic to tidy up his clothes, and only then, spiritedly, flew into the air, greeted with a bright smile, clasping his hands together, "I am Hu Jun, a Demon Cultivator from the Snow Mountain Fox Race.

The two of you must be tired from exploring the void. This piece of land is quite expansive and has many rare products; cultivators shall not be greedy, how could I enjoy alone? Take a moment to rest, please freely explore here and seek treasures."

[Polluted by eerie: Hu Jun, originally a Snow Mountain Fox Race Fox Demon, a Fourth Layer Advanced creature in the Body Tempering Realm. Consuming an inferior Medicine Pill made by eerie entities can temporarily hide eerie aura]

[Snow Mountain Fox Race polluted by eerie: After the world of the Fox Demons collapsed, they drifted with the surviving world fragments in the void, on the brink of life and death, accidentally encountering this land fragment, the Fox Demon clan sacrificed dignity to survive.

Later, taking advantage of the land fragment approaching the Ghost Realm, human cultivators attempted to jointly dodge, nearing success, when the fox demons made a sneak attack from behind, attempting to severely obstruct human cultivators’ dominion and snatch victory.

But, just one step short, due to the sneak attack leading to the scatter of human cultivators’ defenses, they failed to completely dodge the Ghost Realm, and once the first eerie appearance occurred, like a plague, it relentlessly spread until none remained uninfected]