Chapter 121: So, Protagonist Halo, You Can Understand Human Speech...
"The Seven-Star Jade Vein Lotus must have an effect that increases one’s luck. Otherwise, there’s no way those seven old geezers could have been so fortunate."
"How else could they have found such a perfect natural Sanctuary right from the get-go, never having to worry about the high temperatures from the very beginning?"
Qi Suian suspected this was the effect of the first of the Seven Elements Relief.
The effect was likely one that enhanced luck and reduced calamities.
However, after it fell into Qi Suian’s hands, he didn’t feel much of a difference. After all, he already possessed great luck himself.
His natural luck was already high, so even with this addition, the boost was limited for him.
After tinkering for about three days, Qi Suian successfully used the *Beidou Seven Elements True Skill* as fodder, absorbing it into his own nameless Ancient Martial Technique.
During these three days of study, Qi Suian came to understand one thing: the highest he could reach was Tribulation Power. He would be unable to attain Divine Power.
It wasn’t a matter of aptitude, but rather that there was no need for him to completely overhaul himself for a half-baked version of Divine Power.
Moreover, the change wasn’t to his body, but his Spirit. If he didn’t make the modifications, he wouldn’t meet the requirements for a breakthrough at all.
He lacked the foundational Martial Dao Will and Martial Dao Intuition.
Furthermore, these two were strict prerequisites for Divine Power. Without them, a breakthrough was impossible, with no way to bypass the requirement.
So, he gave up on the final Land Immortal Realm.
Other than that, the *Beidou Seven Elements True Skill* wasn’t of much help to him. Qi Suian only took the parts he needed.
He didn’t truly integrate it, even though the origin of Qi Suian’s Ancient Martial Technique, the *Soul-Devouring and Spirit-Eating Evil Skill*, was derived from the first seven parts of the *Beidou Seven Elements True Skill*.
But in the end, they were not the same entity. It had already been changed when it was created, and with Qi Suian’s further major modifications, there was now no trace of any similarity.
Therefore, for Qi Suian, the only real prize left was the Seven-Star Jade Vein Lotus.
’If I give it my Kaiyang and Wuqu, once it’s complete, its quality should be able to reach X-rank.’
’But if I do the reverse and devour its first six stars, I can complete the +3 and +4 enhancement effects of my Celestial Fate: Profound.’
’But the problem is, how do I devour it?’
Qi Suian was stuck on this crucial point.
It was impossible that his devouring of Qin Sheng’s protagonist halo was incomplete; he could feel that himself.
But what was true was that he hadn’t devoured the entire set.
[You could try eating it whole. With your stomach’s fortitude, there is a seventy percent chance of digestion.]
The AI offered its suggestion.
Qi Suian thought it sounded quite reasonable. His stomach had indeed mutated, and its digestive power was incredible.
’I don’t think that’s how it’s supposed to be used. A physical approach is worse than just shouting, "Protagonist halo, go for it, devour all its benefits!"’
’But do you think that’s possible? That kind of thing is less likely than... wait...’
Qi Suian realized something. After he finished speaking, it seemed as though his Celestial Fate: Profound was actually devouring something.
It was a strange sensation, like having an itch that you just can’t seem to scratch in the right spot.
At the same time, the six stars that had lit up on the Seven-Star Jade Vein Lotus were now flickering faintly, as if something was truly being drained from them.
’So it turns out that speaking aloud can effectively activate the protagonist halo. I just never noticed it on a normal day.’
From the looks of it, the protagonist halo was capable of responding to Qi Suian’s commands.
He usually didn’t feel it because when it took effect, it wasn’t affecting Qi Suian directly, so he couldn’t perceive it.
Even if it did affect him, it was only an indirect influence.
For example, when Qi Suian was conducting experiments, a sudden flash of inspiration would present him with a new idea, or it would help him quickly find the path to success from amidst errors and failures.
These influences were all subtle and imperceptible.
Take the optimization and improvement of his own Ancient Martial Technique, for example. Normally, how could he possibly have finished it in three days? It was precisely because of the help from his +4 enhanced Celestial Fate: Profound that he had made such progress.
And to say that finding this place had nothing to do with his protagonist halo would be far too arrogant of Qi Suian.
Relying on luck was never something to be ashamed of. For him, survival was the only thing that truly mattered. So-called face and fame were nothing but illusions.
However, the protagonist halo also had its limits. It couldn’t help Qi Suian achieve just anything. If the challenge was too great, it would be powerless too.
’Looks like I’ll have to be more careful with my words from now on,’ Qi Suian thought, realizing a drawback. ’Otherwise, the protagonist halo might take a casual joke and try to make it happen, which could end up screwing me over.’
Namely, the protagonist halo lacked subjective judgment. Previously, his subconscious would have guided it, preventing such situations.
But that was gone now. He had dealt with his subconscious, so whatever Qi Suian said, the protagonist halo would obey, completely unable to distinguish between a joke and a serious command.
In the end, this would only lead to one outcome: waste.
He didn’t believe the protagonist halo could provide him with benefits unconditionally. There had to be some kind of cost or consumption.
If it didn’t adhere to some law of conservation, wouldn’t Qi Suian’s words become law?
Why else would the protagonist halo need to devour the halos of other protagonists?
Its very existence was related to level and strength.
’I wonder how long the devouring process will take.’ Qi Suian had no real idea. This was truly his blind spot.
The AI couldn’t answer either. Just like Qi Suian, it didn’t understand luck.
In the end, all they could do was wait.
But he was wondering, ’If most of the Seven-Star Jade Vein Lotus’s abilities are devoured by my Celestial Fate: Profound, how will I deal with the coming high temperatures?’
It was undoubtedly a key item, but he didn’t know how to use it, which was a big problem.
After mulling it over, Qi Suian decided to continue cultivating his Ancient Martial Technique.
’Things have already come to this, so it’s better not to overthink it. Just empty my mind.’
’What else can I do? Since it’s all up to luck now, there’s no need to think too much.’
The worst-case scenario was just losing the Tai Sui God. Qi Suian himself wouldn’t die.
With "Death Reforged," he absolutely could not be killed, unless he was reckless enough to charge into the core of the "Sun in a Bottle."
"AI, keep exploring this place. See if there’s anything else left behind," Qi Suian said.
He was idle anyway, so he might as well have the AI continue its investigation.
Qi Suian hadn’t explored the natural Sanctuary where the seven men had lived too deeply. He had started his research as soon as he obtained their legacy items.
In reality, it wasn’t of great value to Qi Suian; it was purely a waste of time.
Besides, the AI’s search was much more thorough than his, aided by its reconnaissance network.
The Tai Sui God quickly set to work. The natural Sanctuary was not small, and its special structure allowed it to achieve an effect equivalent to the Mantle Sanctuary.
However, its depth was nowhere near as deep underground as the Mantle Sanctuary.
Qi Suian didn’t bother pondering why this was the case. That was a matter for the AI to record.
After all, this wasn’t his field of expertise. If he really wanted to understand the principles behind it, he would have to start learning from scratch.
[Underground space formed by a special structure detected. Preliminary analysis suggests this area is not entirely natural; there are partial artificial traces.]
"You actually found something?" Qi Suian couldn’t help but stop his cultivation, a look of "what the hell" on his face.
His idea had just been a shot in the dark, but he never expected the AI to actually find something for him.
[Affirmative. Based on the spatial geometric structure, stereoscopic...]
As the AI explained, it presented a three-dimensional diagram to Qi Suian, rotating and zooming in to give him a clear view.
"So we have to open it physically, right?" As Qi Suian spoke, a Floating Cannon emerged from his Subspace Pocket.
It immediately fired a Dark Energy Beam, blasting open the sealed area.
"I’m pretty sure this isn’t the normal way in." Qi Suian’s eye twitched. "They had a door."
[But that would have taken time. This method is the fastest.]
[After all, a straight line is the shortest distance between two points.]
"You’re so good at math," Qi Suian said, speechless.
Then the Tai Sui God strode forward like a meteor and leaped right in.
Below was a spiraling downward passage, formed by a combination of natural tunnels and artificial excavation.
If they had gone through the entrance, they wouldn’t have needed to jump down; they could have just walked.
Unfortunately, they didn’t take the conventional path.
"Those seven old geezers weren’t lucky enough, I guess. They never even found this place," Qi Suian quipped.
The SSS-rank item, the Seven-Star Jade Vein Lotus, had led them here, but sadly, they never discovered this secret.
But that was to be expected. The Land Immortal Realm was just a self-proclaimed title; it’s not like they had truly become immortals.
Besides, the barrier was thick. If not for the AI, even with all his luck, Qi Suian wouldn’t have noticed it either.
"When I have enough module slots later, I’m definitely installing reconnaissance modules like drones and robotic dogs," Qi Suian said.
With the help of those modules, his security would definitely be higher.
[There is never a time when one has enough module slots.]
The AI corrected Qi Suian.
"I was just thinking out loud." Of course Qi Suian knew that.
Modules were easy to come by, but module slots were rare and required a huge amount of resources to acquire.
"Oh, and I need to install night-vision and illumination modules. I’m always using the reconnaissance network, but that thing can only create schematics; it can’t actually see what’s in the dark," Qi Suian said.
That was right; the Tai Sui God lacked both of those functions.
Its predecessor, the Viper Armor, clearly had them, but the evolution had wiped the slate clean.
Of course, such minor functions were just built-in features of the Viper Armor, not considered true modules.
[Your ideas are excellent. I hope you can stick to them.]
[The Tai Sui God’s evolution is imminent. If nothing unexpected happens, for your next module, you will likely choose either Power or the Seven-Star Jade Vein Lotus.]
Hearing this, Qi Suian gave a sheepish smile. "Well, about that... we’ll see, we’ll see."
The original plan had, of course, been the language module. But things had changed, so what was once set in stone had now become a "we’ll see."
