The Stone Tablet Is Trying to Run!

What if that brute had been pushed too hard by him and simply moved away?

That monster was far too terrifying. Its abilities were especially effective against souls; even she found it troublesome to deal with. At certain moments, it seemed she truly was no match for that damned monster.

The Fox Spirit decided she had better not go overboard. Besides, she now had a new goal. Was Fox Immortal NanNan the sort to suffer a loss? She had moved things from Zhang Chen's home before because they lived next door to each other, and because her severe injuries had prevented her from transporting things too far. Now that she had recovered somewhat, the situation was naturally incomparable to before.

Looking at the pheasants and rabbits hanging on the wall, Zhang Chen had no idea why the Fox Spirit had changed her attitude, but he did not dwell on it. Smiling, he hung the rabbit on the wall as well. Whether the Fox Spirit wanted it or not, he had to show some goodwill. As for the pheasant he had hung there yesterday, it was surprisingly still tenaciously alive. Zhang Chen did not slaughter it, instead putting it in a cage to raise.

Pheasants were not easy to keep, but that was no problem for Zhang Chen. He possessed Dragon Qi, which could suppress all birds and beasts, while also drawing close to and soothing them.

The pheasant obediently settled into its cage. After washing up a little, Zhang Chen lay down on the bed and fell asleep.

Next door

The Fox Spirit and Zhang Chen stared wide-eyed at each other, sitting before the lamplight in silence.

The bookworm Zhang Chen was not reading, and Little Fox, for once, was not listening to a story. Both fixed their eyes firmly on that page of blood-red scripture, yet no strange phenomenon occurred throughout the night.

"Could that monster have been badly wounded by the golden light yesterday?" Little Fox looked at the whitening window paper and knew dawn had come. Her body went limp, and she flopped onto the bed and fell asleep. Seeing her movements, the bookworm Zhang Chen could no longer hold on either. He collapsed onto the bed and immediately fell asleep.

Zhang Chen next door noticed none of this. In the early morning, crisp birdsong sounded outside. After opening his eyes and washing up a little, Zhang Chen fed the pheasant, then slung his Back Basket over his shoulders and headed out in high spirits.

"This weather is so hot!" The moment Zhang Chen stepped outside with the Back Basket on his back, a scorching wave of heat washed over him, leaving him rather unaccustomed to it.

"Why is it so hot this early in the morning? It's nearly as hot as noon." Zhang Chen muttered, then carried his basket toward the mountains. When he reached his traps, he found an extra pheasant and rabbit inside.

Zhang Chen tied up the prey and made his way to the Underground Tomb. The Underground Tomb, which had once been freezing cold, now seemed rather cool and refreshing.

Zhang Chen was in no hurry to wrap himself in animal hides. He set down his basket, then climbed over to the stone tablet, where he could not help frowning. "No Experience Points dropped?"

No Experience Points had fallen before the stone tablet, though blood mist still flowed from it.

"Did I squeeze it too hard yesterday?" Zhang Chen circled the stone tablet, studying it with a probing look in his eyes.

"Something's wrong!"

Zhang Chen suddenly stopped and looked beneath the stone tablet. His pupils contracted. The stone tablet had sunk into the soil—the entire twenty-centimeter base had completely disappeared underground.

"How is that possible? I've been digging here for over ten days, and that stone tablet has always stood unmoving as a mountain. How did it sink twenty centimeters into the ground overnight?" Zhang Chen sensed that something was amiss. Staring at the sunken ground around the stone tablet, he snatched up the Luoyang Shovel nearby and drove it down. The soil beneath was firmly compacted; it should have been fully capable of supporting that weight.

Gripping the Luoyang Shovel, Zhang Chen exerted a little force and dug the stone tablet's base back out. Then he patted the stone tablet. "How did you sink twenty centimeters underground overnight?"

Zhang Chen opened his Dharma Eye and examined the stone tablet before him. Countless blood-red threads were tangled within it, endlessly writhing back and forth like innumerable worms—or like countless Meridians and blood vessels twisting without end.

Zhang Chen stared at the stone tablet, a thoughtful look in his eyes. He studied it for a long while but detected nothing unusual. The next moment, golden light burst from his hand and landed on the stone tablet.

Experience Points +4

Experience Points +3

Experience Points +2

Experience Points +1

Experience Points +3

Experience Points +3

Experience Points +1

Experience Points +2

Zhang Chen struck several times with golden light, and great swaths of blood-red threads within the stone tablet turned to nothingness. Yet even fewer Experience Points dropped.

"Even fewer Experience Points dropped than yesterday, and it still hasn't recovered after an entire night?" Zhang Chen stopped striking. He looked at the stone tablet before him, curiosity flickering in his eyes.

"The Experience Points have dropped by so much. Should I let it recover for a while?" Zhang Chen looked at the Experience Points dropping from the stone tablet, which had already fallen into the single digits, hesitation appearing in his eyes.

"Who knows when it'll recover? If I have to wait another half year or year, wouldn't that waste the progress of upgrading my skills?" Zhang Chen muttered, looking at his Golden Finger Interface:

Name: Zhang Chen

Skill 1 (Second Order): Righteous God's Light (0/5000)

Skill 2 (Unranked): Dragon Qi (0/2000)

Points: 4500

"Just five hundred more Points, and I can upgrade. When that happens, it'll be another whole world for me." Zhang Chen looked at the Golden Finger Interface, calculated briefly, and said, "Only five hundred points short. It doesn't seem worth waiting any longer!"

Upgrading his skills was far too important to him. A Fox Spirit of unknown depths lived next door, and he did not feel the slightest bit safe.

"Each time I damage the stone tablet with golden light, it drops about three Experience Points. If I strike and stimulate it around another hundred and fifty times, I should be able to upgrade Skill 1." Zhang Chen gazed eagerly at the Second Order Righteous God's Light.

The temptation was too great. Probably today, he could upgrade his Second Order skill. Once he advanced to the Third Order, it would be another whole world.

"Stone tablet brother, just bear with it a little longer! Just endure one more day!"

In the end, the temptation of upgrading his skill was too great—so great that Zhang Chen could not restrain himself. The next moment, he pressed both palms against the stone tablet without hesitation:

Experience Points +5

Experience Points +3

Experience Points +3

Experience Points +1

Experience Points +1

Experience Points +2

Experience Points +1

Experience Points +2

Experience Points +1

Experience Points +1

Experience Points +1

Experience Points +1

Experience Points +1

The Experience Points were clearly dwindling. Even 2s stopped appearing altogether, every one of them turning into a lone "1."

"This thing must really have been drained dry by me, right? Who knew even anomalies could be squeezed dry!"