Chapter 127: Fast Asleep

“What exactly is that thing?” Qing Hu wondered suspiciously.

“We couldn’t figure out what it was either,” the eldest White family brother said honestly.

“Let’s wait until we see it,” Qing Hu decided. “Has everyone rested enough? We’re about to set off.”

No one objected.

In a place like this, it was best to stick close to the main group.

Even the weakest, Helan Che and She Qi, agreed to depart.

The three White brothers, Qing Zhen, and Ruan Qingwu had no objections.

The dogs and another group of little lions took charge of scouting ahead.

However, the little lions weren’t very skilled at scouting; every time they caused chaos, barking excitedly, frightening the surrounding valleys into trembling.

“Will this work? Won’t the corpse crabs come crawling out to chase them?” Qing Zhen asked, a bit haunted.

“No worries. Corpse crabs are just insects. Though we might get chased in narrow spaces, if they dare to come out, I’m not the one running,” Qing Hu said. When she once fled with a stone egg, she ran fast, but the key was not knowing where the corpse crab tamer was.

Now that she knew where they lurked, those corpse crabs weren’t a problem. If they dared to come up, she’d take them out.

“You do have the Light Sword Fish. If we really face a horde of corpse crabs, your little Light can definitely handle them,” Qing Zhen encouraged.

“Fourth brother, I’m not stupid. Don’t expect me to fight those corpse crabs with Light Sword Fish,” Qing Hu replied.

The fish fry of the Light Sword Fish fighting those foul corpse crabs? What was her fourth brother thinking?

“If you don’t deploy the Light Sword Fish, I’m afraid we really can’t beat those corpse crabs. Poor little birds of mine—they’ll lose their father soon,” Qing Zhen said pitifully. The corpse crabs were countless. If they encircled us, how could we escape?

He could run once or twice, but had no confidence to keep running.

Their own Glow Sparrows and eldest brother’s little kittens were left outside, looked after by Jiuquan and the others, because the cubs were too young.

“Who curses themselves like that?” Qing Hu snapped. “Alright, alright, if it comes to a fight, I have a plan.”

“Do you really?” Qing Zhen asked eagerly.

“Of course,” Qing Hu nodded confidently.

“That’s a relief,” Qing Zhen said.

“Why do you always expect your sister to come up with ideas? Why don’t you think of ways to deal with those corpse crabs yourself?” Qing Hu rolled her eyes.

“If I could solve it, would I need you? I’ve thought about it. If you can’t either, then we should figure out how to escape, not just kill some big demon. That underground palace is so dangerous; I don’t want to go through it twice,” Qing Zhen replied immediately.

“With you acting like that, do you still consider yourself a sword cultivator? Real sword cultivators are bold and brave,” Qing Hu mocked.

“What? Sword cultivators don’t just slash straight ahead, you know? They use flanking tactics, shadow sword techniques, chess sword arts. Who says sword cultivators don’t understand strategy?” Qing Zhen always thought of himself as a sword cultivator combining swordsmanship and wisdom.

Whether that was true or not was another matter.

Qing Hu didn’t think sword cultivators had to be extreme, abandoning everything but the sword.

Wives, children, brothers, sisters, parents—none of that should be discarded. Just wanting the sword? That’s madness.

It reminded her somewhat of humans cultivating techniques like the Forgetting Classic or Supreme Detachment.

Qing Hu never saw much merit in such arts. They usually simulated the high-speed rational mode that gods use to handle complex affairs.

The problem was, gods had vast consciousness seas, with different areas managing minor matters easily.

But humans imitating gods, with their limited consciousness capacity, would certainly suffer brain damage.

Back in Yinzheng City, Qing Hu had encountered an old man who acted like a crazy child, wandering about madly.

She looked closer and saw he cultivated the Way of Detachment.

His mind was damaged, impairing his emotions and memory. A good old man turned into a baby, playing hopscotch and catching frogs with a bunch of runny-nosed children.

Though powerful, no one could harm him. The old baby roamed Yinzheng City for over a month, then disappeared—likely taken home by family.

In fact, he was lucky. Even without memories, he could play well with kids, showing he was essentially a good person. The Detachment technique wasn’t especially harmful.

Qing Hu also saw a convoy passing through Yinzheng City carrying a coffin.

They checked into the city’s largest, most luxurious inn with it.

Inside lay a black-clad middle-aged man.

He either didn’t wake or became murderous upon waking, with wild, beast-like eyes.

Clearly, some escorts knew what he was; when he started killing, they fled.

He had just killed some inn staff when Qing Hu reacted, knocking him unconscious again.

Before dawn, many people hurried into the inn for cleanup, probably the escaped escorts returning.

Qing Hu also examined the man she knocked out; he too cultivated a form of Detachment, but his technique twisted humanity into a bloodthirsty monster.

Since then, Qing Hu hoped her fourth brother wouldn’t pursue the extreme path of sword cultivation—it was too risky. But that didn’t stop her from often teasing him for being a bad sword cultivator.

“Eek, eek, eek? Something’s ahead,” Qing Hu said, gazing at a patch of forest.

“So far away, your dogs can actually send messages back?” Qing Zhen was puzzled.

“They’re not dogs. They can’t communicate from such a distance,” Qing Hu said.

“Then who is it?” Qing Zhen asked.

“It’s the Light Sword Fish. I sent one ahead to scout our route. The little fish reported some gains,” Qing Hu pointed in a direction.

“Alright, let’s head that way,” Qing Zhen said.

“Let’s go,” Qing Hu led the way again.

As they crossed mountains and ridges, time passed quickly.

Near dusk, Qing Hu found a small valley and decided to stop. They could visit the little fish’s station tomorrow. No need to rush.

They made camp; she was hungry.

The dogs and lions returned.

This spiritual cave space had nothing—scarce even were wild beasts or birds; only a few tiny insects, and those were rare.

“Big Sister Hu, we’re starving. We just want some meat, but there’s no prey,” a dog flopped down upon returning.

“You want meat, but corpse crabs want meat too. They’ve eaten so much, you think there’s anything left? The wild beasts here were probably wiped out long ago,” Qing Hu said.

The dog looked pitiful, about to whimper.

“Alright, I’ll give you some meat, but just this once. My meat doesn’t grow on trees. You all better work hard tomorrow,” Qing Hu said.

The dog jumped up, smiling and snuggling close.

Qing Hu tossed out a few long, slender fish with tiny black specks for them to prepare.

Qing Zhen eyed the lively fish hopping about and immediately felt hungry.

“Little Hu, you’re smart. You stash some fish meat; your little Light can eat it, so can you.”

“Want grilled fish?” Qing Hu pulled out a silver fish, cleaned it, and placed it on a grill.

“Come on, I’ll cook, I’m good at this,” Qing Zhen volunteered.

“Alright, it’s all yours,” Qing Hu said, giving him plenty of seasoning.

Qing Zhen had been self-reliant since childhood, helping his mother brew wine at a young age; grilling fish was no big deal.

Soon, the rich aroma of grilled fish made everyone hungry.

Even the usually meat-averse White brothers couldn’t resist.

“Brother Qing Zhen, I didn’t know you had such skills,” a little lamb approached, sniffing eagerly.

“I grill often, but my eldest brother’s cooking is still more seasoned,” Qing Zhen said, slicing a large piece of grilled fish, filling a big plate. “Little Hu, come eat.”

“Coming,” Qing Hu ran over and took the plate.

Qing Zhen chopped more grilled meat into another plate. “I know you don’t eat much meat, so here’s a big plate. If you like it, come back for more. There’s plenty of grilled fish here. We siblings can’t finish it all.”

“Thanks, Brother Qing Zhen,” the little lamb said, carrying the plate back.

Their two brothers smiled at him.

Qing Zhen served Helan Che and She Qi two large plates each, then two for the dogs and lion cubs, finally filling his own plate and digging in.

Qing Zhen’s mouth dripped with oil, quickly eating half a plate.

“This Silver Dragonfish is delicious—tender and fragrant,” he said. The fish was covered with silver scales, a large head, and two pairs of silver dragon whiskers.

“You’re talking about the Deep Sea Silver Whisker Dragonfish? You’re lucky to eat live ones here. Those water tribes rarely trade us deep-sea live fish,” She Qi said. “Especially ones with faint dragon blood in their veins.”

“Why?” Qing Zhen asked, noticing She Qi’s plate nearly empty, so he added a big piece of grilled meat for him to cut.

He and his sister couldn’t finish more than 20 or 30 jin of grilled meat; the rest would be shared.

“Because if live fish are slaughtered and eaten immediately, we can absorb more dragon blood. If they’re slaughtered long ago, the dragon blood dissipates, leaving only nourishing fish meat, which has limited effect on our dragon transformation,” She Qi explained. “If we land dwellers absorb too much dragon blood and transform, wouldn’t we threaten the water tribes’ survival?” She Qi sneered. “Their little schemes are obvious.”

“I see.”

“That’s why their water tribes have it easy, always having various fish and shrimp with faint dragon blood to eat. They naturally grow and transform faster than us. We want fast growth but it’s hard. Few land creatures have dragon blood. Even if they do, they get hunted quickly.”

She Qi frowned. “That means our resources for dragon transformation are extremely scarce.”

“Why must you transform into dragons?” the eldest White brother asked. “Doesn’t your clan have the Celestial Python that can evolve?”

“Celestial Python is an ancient beast, comparable to innate gods and demons. Its transformation is extremely difficult,” She Qi said bitterly. “We wish we could, but there’s no resource.”

“I think She Shiyi is also on the dragon transformation path,” Qing Hu said.

“Exactly. Most young ones in our clan take that path,” She Qi said, cutting and eating.

“Dragon transformation is tough,” Helan Che sighed.

“No kidding, it’s difficult and resources are scarce,” She Qi agreed.

“If you had a few Jiaolong Dragon Pearls, maybe you could transform,” Qing Hu said.

Helan Che gave her a blank look.

“Those pearls are even rarer,” She Qi said. “Our clan leader once got half a pearl, and his cultivation is beyond us all. I don’t expect to get a pearl, just some Jiaolong dragon essence blood will do.”

Qing Hu fell silent there. She had Jiaolong dragon essence blood, but what could She Qi offer in exchange? She didn’t underestimate him, but such treasures were not easily traded.

After dinner, Ruan Qingwu came over.

“Qing Hu, I want to refine some Turtle Essence Pills. Can you give me some turtles? When the pills are ready, I’ll share them three to seven.”

Qing Hu agreed immediately, handing over ten spiral turtles.

Qing Zhen also asked for turtles. “Give me thirty. I’ll extract the essence myself during the night.”

Qing Hu gave him a small storage bag with thirty spiral turtles.

The spiral turtles seemed doomed; why were they always the injured and captured ones?

Because spiral turtles were the most prolific egg layers among turtles, laying 70 to 80 eggs per clutch, while others laid fewer.

Their slow reproduction meant Qing Hu temporarily protected them.

The small population of Stoneback Dragon Turtles was also protected, so only spiral turtles, black turtles, and dragon turtles remained abundant in her shell—thousands, preventing extinction.

But black turtles and dragon turtles reproduced slowly, so Qing Hu instinctively caught spiral turtles each time.

During rest, Qing Hu checked the camp before returning.

Qing Zhen sneaked up and asked, “What were you doing?”

Qing Hu looked pained.

“Fourth brother, my Earth Marrow Pearls are completely used up—six gone.”

“What did you do this time?” Qing Zhen asked curiously.

“Just trying to make something to fight corpse crabs. Poor pearls—they were lost before even meeting the big bad in the spiritual cave,” Qing Hu said. Luckily, she had sixty-six drops of divine liquid.

She broke one drop into strands to nourish her body.

The effect was poor, not as good as Earth Marrow Pearls—gentle but less effective.

Divine energy was too violent; with only strands, refining carefully still harmed her body.

Well, it would have to do for now—she needed some self-preservation in such a dangerous place.

Once out, she’d get more Earth Marrow Pearls.

“What exactly did you make? Can it really kill corpse crabs?” Qing Zhen asked, doubtful.

“Of course,” Qing Hu was confident.

At night, Qing Hu fell asleep carelessly, not even arranging a watch.

Qing Zhen and the others discussed and agreed that the first night’s watch would be him and the White brothers.

Everyone else would rest.

Mainly because in a real battle, Qing Zhen doubted he and the White brothers had much fighting strength. Better to let stronger fighters rest and keep watch.

As for Ruan Qingwu, being a girl, she got special treatment.

Qing Hu lay sound asleep on a blanket.

At midnight, Qing Zhen increasingly felt uneasy.

He circled the camp but found no danger.

Why such unease?

The eldest White brother noticed and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know, just feel very uneasy,” Qing Zhen said.

“Then I’ll go check,” White eldest said.

“No, better not,” Qing Zhen stopped him. “It’s late; who knows what risks await outside. Let’s just guard the camp.”

“No, if there’s danger, we should know early. If corpse crabs block us in camp, there’s nowhere safe; we’re finished,” White eldest said firmly.

“Then I’ll go with you,” Qing Zhen offered.

White eldest shook his head. “I’m faster; you’d just slow me down.”

Burdened, Qing Zhen was speechless.

“Alright, stay alert. I’m going out first.” The White eldest disappeared into the night.

About an hour later, he and a group returned hurriedly.

Qing Zhen and others saw these people were also snake clan members.

“Who are you?”

“I’m She Shiyi. Heard Shen Qing Hu and She Qi are with you?” She Shiyi asked.

“Yes, I’m Shiyi, and this is Seventh Brother,” She Qi appeared.

“Brother Seven, we need to pack quickly and leave. Just beyond this ridge, a massive monster fight is happening,” She Shiyi said seriously.

“What monsters?” She Qi was shocked.

“A battle between stone spirits and hordes of corpse crabs. It’s madness over there. At least five thousand stone spirits; corpse crabs uncountable. Both sides fight fiercely. Stone spirits devour corpse crab souls; corpse crabs devour stone spirit true spirits.

When we arrived, they’d been fighting for who knows how long. Crossing the battlefield, there were piles of corpse crabs and rubble,” She Shiyi said.

“Who’s winning?” She Qi asked.

“Probably the stone spirits,” She Shiyi hesitated, then said.

“Why stone spirits? Because they have tough stone skin?” She Qi asked.

“No. Even if stone spirits are scattered, they can revive from the earth below. Only true spirit absorption kills them completely. Corpse crabs struggle to catch stone spirits’ true spirit light.

True spirits vanish into the earth quickly, and shortly after, they crawl out again.

Killed corpse crabs release soul spirits absorbed by nearby stone spirits. The more souls absorbed, the stronger the stone spirits grow. I even saw a stone spirit split, a small one growing from the big one’s body. The small one burrowed into the earth, and after a few breaths, a big stone spirit emerged again,” She Shiyi said in awe.

“That’s terrifying. Are stone spirits monsters?” Qing Zhen asked.

“Strictly speaking, no. They are clan beings devoted to their gods, indifferent to death. Their gods can revive them anytime. Their bodies are just useless shells, and they can sacrifice themselves at any time,” White eldest said seriously.

“Wow, is this a battle between demons and wild gods?” Qing Zhen was quick to say.

“Stop guessing. Maybe it’s wild gods fighting wild gods. They’re all gods,” She Qi said. “Not something we can provoke.”

“Sigh, why did I have to follow big brother and sister here to the Mysterious Heaven Tower? Too dangerous,” Qing Hu grumbled.

“Now’s not the time to complain. Let’s pack and leave quickly. Let them fight it out. If they die there, it’s good for us,” White eldest said again.

That made sense.

But no matter how Qing Zhen called, Shen Qing Hu wouldn’t wake.

No choice, Qing Zhen carried his sister and left.

Qing Hu laid on her brother, still sound asleep.

Though creating stone spirits consumed Earth Marrow Pearls, it also drained her spirit. No wonder she couldn’t wake.

Sleep, snore, snore~

—End of side story—

Bonus chapter, more to come, please vote? ( ^?^* )

Le Wen