Chapter 85: Warm Little Hands
Yu Xian tinkered with his mystic arts all the way until school was over, but in the end, he failed to come up with any particularly good solution to his problems. The main reason was that Blood Shield was somewhat complicated.
Unlike Mirage Clone, which he could take apart however he wanted, Blood Shield would stop working altogether if even a single component was missing. Other than adjusting its size, he could not change the shape of the shield in any other way.
Yu Xian walked home with Nora, his mind still occupied with how to increase his bubble's defensive power. As for Blood Shield, he was starting to feel like giving up on it.
Nora saw him not paying attention to his surroundings as he walked. "You seem really tired today. Did you run into a problem?"
Yu Xian sighed. "There's a mystic art I want to modify, but I can't seem to change it no matter what I do. It really is a bit difficult."
Nora smiled and comforted him. "I don't understand mystic arts, but when you run into a problem, sometimes setting it aside for a while helps. Maybe things will work themselves out when the time comes."
Yu Xian laughed. "You're right. I'll stop thinking about it for now. By the way, have you made any progress with your cultivation?"
Nora smiled slyly, her expression like that of a big white goose that had successfully snatched some food. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed. I've been secretly practicing every day."
The Sunflower Sunward Divine Art could be cultivated only during the day. Cultivating it at night was extremely inefficient, even worse than simply sleeping. She had tried it at night just once and never again.
Yu Xian became curious. "How does cultivation feel?"
Nora thought for a moment. "It feels like soaking in a hot spring. Also, my body temperature is around ten degrees higher than before. Other than that, I haven't noticed anything especially different yet."
Yu Xian thought of his own situation. "Your body temperature rose? That should be a good thing."
After he had used a large amount of Silver Blood, his body temperature had risen as well. And his physical abilities had improved along with it. He guessed Nora was probably in a similar situation. This meant that she was indeed getting stronger.
Just then, Nora pressed her hand against Yu Xian's face and blinked. "Does my hand feel hot now?"
Feeling the soft touch on his face and looking at Nora's smile, Yu Xian could not help smiling as well. "Not hot. A little warm."
On an impulse, he reached out and pressed his hand against Nora’s cheek. "What about mine? Is it warm?"
Nora quickly pulled away, pretending to look disgusted. "So cold."
Yu Xian used Silver Blood to raise the temperature of his palm, then chased after her and pressed it against her cheek again with a smile. "What about now?"
Nora looked at him in surprise, her cheeks flushed red. "Huh? How did it get hot?"
Yu Xian only smiled and refused to tell her the reason, annoying her so much that she chased after him with a flurry of angry goose-like attacks. The two dawdled, laughed, and fooled around the whole way home. A walk that should have taken five minutes ended up taking more than half an hour.
Yu Xian sent Nora home, then teleported back to his villa. At home, he took a shower, opened the refrigerator, and took out some fresh beef, preparing to make himself a plate of stir-fried beef.
Ever since he regained the ability to eat normal food, he had no intention of mistreating himself, so he had bought a lot of meat and frozen it. Whenever he did not feel like eating outside, he would cook for himself.
His cooking was not bad. In the past, to take care of his father, he had taught himself quite a few dishes. While he probably could not compare himself to a professional chef, his skills were definitely better than the average person's.
Besides, he now had Super Gustation. As long as he was tasting and adjusting the flavors as he cooked, there was no way the food would turn out bad.
Half an hour later, he sat in the living room with a plate of stir-fried beef and a bowl of white rice. Perhaps feeling that it was a little too quiet, he turned on the television, connected it to the Qilin app, and prepared to check for any major internal news.
[A flying zombie has appeared again at Twin West Mountain. Search and capture operations are currently underway. All members below Eagle rank are advised not to approach Twin West Mountain.]
[The Combat Division has added six more captains. The medal-awarding ceremony will be held in Yanjing.]
[The nationwide screening for Brain-Clinging Neural Parasites has been completed. At present, all victims controlled by Brain-Clinging Neural Parasites are under surveillance. The Research Department will develop medication as soon as possible and do everything possible to save every victim.]
[Regarding the detailed rules for weapon applications, all members who meet the eligibility criteria may apply. Special thanks to the weapon provider, Salted Fish.]
Yu Xian’s expression turned odd. What is so special about Twin West Mountain that flying zombies keep appearing there? It's way too scary.
Also, he had been under the impression that Qilin had dropped screening for the Brain-Clinging Neural Parasites after the debacle with Deimos. As it turned out, the organization was secretly working behind the scenes to sweep every major city across the country.
What surprised him, however, was that Qilin had not immediately purged individuals infected by the Brain-Clinging Neural Parasites. Instead, they wanted to save them.
Those infected by the Brain-Clinging Neural Parasites were indeed not dead. The parasites had replaced only their nerves, while their brains were still intact. It was just that the parasites controlled all the information the brain received, so every action these people took could be misinterpreted. Yu Xian also felt that if there was a way to save these people, Qilin should fight for it rather than kill them.
Shoveling a few mouthfuls of rice into his mouth, he offered a silent blessing in his heart. I hope the Research Department succeeds.
As for the final piece of news, although he had sold the weapons and equipment to Qilin at the standard market price, supernatural weapons and equipment had always been in short supply. If many of those items were actually put on the market, they would sell for far above market price.
On top of that, the number of weapons and equipment he had sold was extremely large, greatly easing the supply pressure on the Logistics Department. That was why the Logistics Department had specifically thanked him.
He clicked open the news, and sure enough, many were expressing their thanks to Salted Fish. Seeing so many people thank him put him in a rather good mood.
After finishing his food, Yu Xian prepared to continue his journey. Although last night’s trip had been somewhat tiring, dull, and even a little dangerous, what he felt even more was curiosity toward the unknown and anticipation for the scenery ahead. He was starting to like that feeling.
In an instant, he appeared at the location he had marked the night before. Then, he controlled a bubble and continued flying forward.
The sky had not completely darkened yet. The setting sun cast a red glow along the horizon, and the crimson clouds in the sky looked like flames burning through the endless expanse. The dim yellow mountaintops flickered between light and shadow, like massive beasts lying in wait.
After locking in the navigation coordinates, Yu Xian slightly adjusted his flight path. He whipped out his phone and snapped photo after photo, capturing every bit of the stunning scenery filling his vision.
Just as he was checking the photos he had taken, a green shadow shot up from the ground at terrifying speed. Yu Xian instantly formed a Blood Shield, which was cut in half by a single slash.
When he got a clear look at his assailant, his heart leaped. What a huge mantis!
The next second, just as the mantis slashed out with its scythe again, Yu Xian teleported into another nearby bubble. In that instant, he saw the bubble he had originally been in sliced open with a single cut.
Yu Xian seized the opportunity and cast Appraisal. The mantis’s attributes appeared before his eyes.
Name
- Slashing Mantis
Codename
- None
Race
- Demon
Gender
- Female
Age
- 30
Lifespan
- 0
Rank
- Lower Eagle Rank
Faction
- Hostile
[Abilities]
Iron-Cleaving Strike
- Uses its razor-sharp scythes to easily cut through even steel.
Frenzied Flurry Slash
- Swings its twin scythes at its fastest speed, cutting apart everything around it.
Summary
- A super swordsman among insects.
It is actually at Eagle rank! And it's clearly a glass cannon with high attack and low defense. No wonder it could cut open my bubble with a single slash.
The Slashing Mantis pursued Yu Xian again, its sharp scythes gleaming with a cold light. Seeing that the creature had no intention of stopping, Yu Xian frowned. "Tsk! Overestimating yourself. You’re courting death!"
He raised his hand and flicked out a bubble. The bubble flew forward and rapidly expanded, while the space inside became chaotic and distorted.
Caught off guard, the Slashing Mantis crashed headfirst into the Chaotic Spatial Bubble. An overwhelming crushing force instantly shredded it. In less than a heartbeat, the mantis exploded, reducing to nothing more than a spiraling haze of green gore.
It had arrived in a flash and perished just as quickly. At the very least, that was a mercifully swift end.
Yu Xian looked at the green blood inside the bubble and suddenly grew curious. If I drink this thing's blood, will I be able to obtain a new ability tree? However, in that case, won’t the Chaotic Spatial Bubble basically be a blender?