Ordinarily, one second would be nothing, but for high-level cultivators, one second would be enough to do many things.
But the skill was only useful against people named John Doe? That was freaking useless!
How many people were even named John Doe in this world? Zu An hadn’t encountered a single one yet.
Even if he did, they might not even be his enemy. Even if they were his enemy, Zu An could probably deal with them through his strength alone.
To encounter someone named John Doe, whom Zu An couldn’t defeat with his current strength… The chances of that happening were utterly abysmal, no?
He probably wouldn’t encounter such a thing in his entire lifetime.
Zu An glowered, shifting his gaze to the other skill.
Congratulations on winning the skill ‘Hidden in the Dark’!
Zu An’s eyes lit up. This skill sounds pretty good… At the very least, it seems more reliable than John Doe’s Nemesis.
Skill description: At a certain point in spacetime, there was a socially anxious shut-in otaku scientist. He dreamed of being able to interact with the opposite sex, yet he didn’t dare to even speak to them in real life. As such, he decided that even if he could only hide and sneak a peek, that would be good enough. That way, the other party wouldn’t see him, and he could admire their beauty without disturbing them.
As such, he devoted his entire life to the art of stealth. He called it Hidden in the Dark.
But by the time he developed the skill, he was already old and dying, and the thoughts he had when he was younger had already grown weak. But for fear of wasting a lifetime of devotion and hard work, he decided to use it.
Unfortunately, the goddess of his youth had already passed on, so he sought out her granddaughter. She looked exactly the same as his former goddess. He was so excited when he successfully snuck into her room in the middle of the night; and yet, he saw the goddess of his dreams being plowed furiously under the body of another man. He was mentally ruined. Furthermore, because he was old, he took his last breath there and then…
Zu An was speechless when he saw the description. This guy’s experience… It’s way too tragic, right?
Both tragic and perverted!
Judging from the introduction of the two skills, he realized that the keyboard’s skills all originated from different parts of spacetime. However, they all had one common trait, which was that their creators were all bizarre and twisted individuals.
Recalling that the skills all had various faults, he immediately continued reading.
Skill effects: In a place without any light, you can completely hide yourself. You will not be detected by touch, taste, smell, hearing, sight, spiritual senses, or any other means of perception. However, if you attack, the effects will disappear. At the same time, this skill will not work in places with even a bit of light.
Zu An was speechless.
This thing sounded great, but it was similar to the flashlight he had won before. The flashlight could only be used in bright places, and it wouldn’t shine in dark places. This skill was the opposite. He couldn’t hide in bright places, and he would only vanish in darkness.
If it were completely dark, wouldn’t he already be hidden anyway? Like hell he would still need this skill at that point!
He continued reading with a gloomy expression. In the end, perhaps because he had pulled two skills, he only obtained 250 Ki Fruits, a bit lower than the average. He didn’t get anything else either.
250…
Zu An’s eyes twitched. He couldn’t help but feel as if he were being mocked when he saw the number.[1]
He put away the Ki Fruits. Daji still lacked the Blue Earthflowers, so it was pointless to feed her the fruits at the moment.
“Are you done?” Yu Yanluo asked out of concern when she saw him get up.
“Yeah,” Zu An said with a smile. “Let’s look for Yan Xuehen.”
Suddenly, they sensed a terrifying undulation outside. It was much more intense than before, shaking the entire mine. The cave they were in also began to collapse.
Zu An quickly grabbed Yu Yanluo’s hand and returned to the main mine. Dirt and rubble completely buried the place they had been in just a few moments after they rushed out of it.
Yu Yanluo still felt lingering fear, wondering, “Could it be that Yan Xuehen already met that strange bug?”
Zu An nodded and replied, “Judging from the activity, they seem to be fighting a fierce battle right now.”
Yu Yanluo suggested, “Why don’t we use this chance to look for that spatial rift while that monster isn’t here? Let’s see if there’s a chance to destroy it.”
Zu An remained silent for a moment, saying, “Let’s check on that battle first.”
Yu Yanluo asked with a bit of hesitation, “Are you worried about her?”
Zu An couldn’t help but chuckle. He replied, “Are you jealous? I just realized that we don’t know how to seal up that rift, and we’d probably need Yan Xuehen’s strength to do it.
“That Scaled Deathworm is a bit too strong. If Yan Xuehen can’t defeat it and ends up being eaten, it’ll become even harder for us. We might as well use this chance to see if we can be of any help.”
“Why would you think I was jealous?” Yu Yanluo asked with a strange expression. “Unless there’s actually something between you and Yan Xuehen?”
In her experience, Yan Xuehen had been a senior of the martial world, as well as one of the most powerful cultivators, for as long as she could remember. She even seemed to practically be the leader of the orthodox faction. She was known for being free from emotions. How could someone like that develop feelings for a young man, and her disciple’s man at that?
Even though Yu Yanluo thought Zu An was outstanding, her thoughts couldn’t go in that direction no matter how great her imagination was.
Zu An’s face heated up. He was naturally too embarrassed to explain the Gold Phoenix’s skill. Fortunately, Yu Yanluo didn’t think too much of it either. She said, “That makes sense. Let’s go and see if we can help her. Even if Yan Xuehen doesn’t let me go then, I’ll acknowledge my fate.”
The entire mine would be destroyed if the Scaled Deathworm were left in it. At that point, forget about the Yu clan, all the common people of Cloudcenter Commandery would be massacred by it. In comparison, her own safety wasn’t that important.
Zu An held her hand and said, “Don’t worry, that won’t happen.”
The two of them quickly hurried in the direction of the battle.
…
Meanwhile, Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen both gasped for breath.They no longer looked as graceful and elegant as before. Both of them were in a sorry state; even their hair was in complete disarray.
Yan Xuehen exclaimed angrily, “This is all your fault, you crazy woman! Look! Now we’re both going to die here.” There were spots of blood on her white dress. Her injuries definitely weren’t light.
On the other hand, Yun Jianyue retorted with a foul expression, “It’s this stone cold woman here who insists on willfully slaughtering the innocent.”
“I didn’t even kill Zu An!” Yan Xuehen exclaimed, feeling somewhat regretful. If not for her pride keeping her from explaining things to her old rival, they wouldn’t have put each other in such a state, potentially letting the strange worm that had appeared take advantage of their current situation.
“Hmph, I didn’t expect the glorious White Jade Sect’s master to still speak lies even in a moment of life and death,” Yun Jianyue shot back. She wasn’t convinced at all. As far as she knew, Yan Xuehen was incredibly stubborn and had always wanted to ruin Zu An’s relationship with her disciple. It would be strange if she had chosen not to do anything using the situation with Yu Yanluo as a pretext.
“Why would I lie to you at this point?” Yan Xuehen replied, looking at the terrifying worm that towered before them with a wry smile of distress.
She couldn’t have expected to have ended up in such a situation after dominating this world for so many years. In truth, she didn’t actually fear death. However, it was a bit hard for her to accept being eaten by the disgusting worm before her.
Yun Jianyue was stunned. She couldn’t help but curse, “Then why didn’t you tell me you didn’t kill him to begin with?!”
“It was you who insisted on fighting…” Yan Xuehen said weakly, but she seemed to be losing confidence midway. She immediately stuck out her chest and straightened her back, exclaiming, “Why do I need to explain any of my actions to you?!” She was going to die soon anyway, so she might as well die with a bit of dignity.
Yun Jianyue was dumbstruck. But she was from the Devil Sect, so there was no need to go through hell for the sake of appearances. She quickly said, “What about that incredible Ice Heart Pill of your White Jade Sect? I know you usually carry two on you. Hurry up and take them out! We’ll take one apiece. With our strength, we might even be able to escape from this brute.”
She was seriously injured, so not even the best medicines would allow her to recover quickly. Her medicines weren’t even as good as Yan Xuehen’s; the Ice Heart Pill could quickly help them recover some strength. If the two of them worked together, they might be able to defeat this strange worm.
But Yan Xuehen’s face turned red and she exclaimed, “I don’t have any!”
How could she tell her that she had given her precious medicines to Zu An? How would she even explain that? She would rather die than admit to that when she thought of Yu Yanluo’s gossipy expression.
1. In the past, 500 taels of silver were referred to as one ‘feng’, while 250 taels was referred to as a ‘half feng’. ‘Feng’ is pronounced the same way as the word for mad/crazy. Over time, people began to use ‘250’ to describe stupid, rude, and impetuous people. ☜
