Stone Tablet Shatters (Part 1)

Zhang Chen carried the leftover chicken from last night all the way to the beehive. A sky-filling swarm of giant hornets flew out and landed directly on him, crawling through his hair and over his head in a show of affection.

Zhang Chen smiled at the sight. He casually placed the diced meat on blades of grass and let the giant hornets eat, then brushed the hornets off himself and headed deeper into the mountains. He had yet to use his Beast Control Technique today, and intended to have the mountain bees gather honey for him.

"What a pity I haven't found a beehive. If I could find the bees' hive, I'd never lack honey again." Zhang Chen gazed at the mountain scenery and sighed softly.

In these deep mountains and old forests, beehives were well hidden and not easy to find. Besides, Zhang Chen was not the sort to reap without sowing. The bees worked so hard to collect honey; if he took it all, they would likely starve to death. It was better to use the Beast Control Technique to make the bees serve him for an hour. Over time, he could still accumulate quite a bit of honey.

The Beast Control Technique activated, and countless bees darted through the forest, laboring tirelessly to gather honey for Zhang Chen. An hour later, he looked at the seven or eight more "lidfuls" of honey in his jar. Only then, satisfied, did he tuck the honey into his Back Basket and turn toward the tomb.

He had always felt uneasy about the stone tablet in the tomb. It was, after all, an anomaly. Who knew what other tricks it possessed? It would be best to destroy it as soon as possible.

He was actually somewhat worried. What if the anomalies in this world were truly undying and indestructible? Or what if he could not destroy the stone tablet, and it escaped?

If the stone tablet ran off, Zhang Chen feared he would never sleep soundly again.

Zhang Chen made his way to the grave. The flames inside the tomb had not yet gone out, and blazing heat waves continuously surged from the cave. Zhang Chen stood quietly at the entrance and waited. He had nothing else to do that day anyway, and staying in the mountains to wait for changes in the tombstone put his mind at ease.

Zhang Chen had gone up the mountain at six in the morning. Eight shichen later, the flames went out. It was now roughly half past two in the afternoon, still an hour away from when Zhang Chen usually headed home.

Zhang Chen normally crawled out of the tomb around four in the afternoon, packed up his things, and went home, lest there truly be some terrifying anomaly within the tomb.

Only after the flames in the grave had died and the heat waves gradually dispersed did Zhang Chen crouch halfway and crawl into the tomb. But the moment he entered, he froze. His eyes fixed tightly on the stone tablet before him, and shock filled his face. "What is that?"

The stone tablet was still a stone tablet, but its color had changed completely. It had once been the color of weathered stone, yet after being tempered by blazing fire, it had turned the color of jade—like Mutton Fat White Jade, white, fine, smooth, and lustrous.

A red glow faintly circulated within the stone tablet. Countless threads wove back and forth, flickering in and out of sight.

"Has it undergone a mutation?" Zhang Chen stood five steps away, examining the stone tablet from afar. After staring it up and down for a long while and seeing no abnormalities, he cautiously entered the cave and circled the stone tablet for a closer look. There were no Experience Points or skill points to be found.

"Interesting! Such a huge piece of Mutton Fat White Jade—if I carried it out and sold it, I'd strike it rich. It would surely fetch a good price." Zhang Chen stood before the stone tablet, golden light glinting in his eyes as he inspected it from top to bottom. Yet he saw nothing unusual about it. Only the blood-red writing had lost its luster and turned golden-yellow, as though it had gained the faintest trace of holiness.

Golden light burst from Zhang Chen's palm, and he slapped the stone tablet. No, it should be called a Jade Tablet now.

Golden light shot from Zhang Chen's palm and pierced directly into the stone tablet. This time, it penetrated deeper and farther. When the red threads met the golden light, they were instantly vaporized, and the threads across a large portion of the Jade Tablet vanished into nothingness.

Zhang Chen continuously adjusted his breathing, activating the Light of the Righteous God and using it again and again to invade the red threads within the stone tablet.

But an hour later, Zhang Chen stopped. Looking at the stone tablet before him, he could not help frowning. "No change? Could it be that the anomalies between heaven and earth truly are undying and indestructible? If so, that will be troublesome."

A sudden sense of urgency rose in Zhang Chen's heart. The Jade Tablet was moving every day, trying to escape this place. He had to turn it into nothingness before it fled.

Seeing the bone-chilling aura begin to billow through the cave again, Zhang Chen had no choice but to prepare to leave.

Before departing, he gave the stone tablet an uneasy glance, then headed back with a heavy heart.

Life suddenly seemed to calm down. If not for the pressure of rent, everything might have been peaceful and fine. As usual, he inspected the traps in the mountains and caught two pheasants. Zhang Chen tied them up, cut some fresh grass, and then leisurely made his way home.

Just as Zhang Chen reached his front door, golden light suddenly burst from the depths of his eyes. Then he saw a phantom-like young woman carrying a huge bundle of pork belly and holding a basin of coarse rice, happily walking over from the village.

"Damn it... no wonder the Fox Spirit has stopped bothering me. So she's probably gotten sick of meat and turned her demonic claws toward the villagers instead." Zhang Chen watched the Fox Spirit approach from afar, but did not dare look any longer. He hurried into his own courtyard.

He tossed the grass directly to the two muntjacs, then entered the house, took the coarse rice to feed the pheasants, and used yesterday's roasted meat to make pan-fried pork belly in the stove. After eating his fill, he washed up and went to sleep.

Nothing happened that night. The man and fox next door also seemed to have quieted down, and the blood-red pages had shown no abnormalities these past few days.

Early the next morning, Zhang Chen woke up before dawn with worries on his mind. He grabbed a piece of steamed jerky and headed into the mountains.

He checked the traps, fed the hunting falcon, then hurried to the grave and crawled straight into the cave. His eyes turned toward the jade-like stone tablet, gleaming softly before him.

There were still no Experience Points or skill points on the stone tablet, but it had left a long trail across the ground, the mark carved deeply into the earth.

"About one step's worth of distance. That means in less than half a month, this Jade Tablet will be able to 'walk out' through the tomb passage and appear in the outside world. Once it reaches the outside, if it absorbs the Essence of Sun and Moon or draws blood from living creatures outside, things will become even harder to predict." Zhang Chen stood before the stone tablet, a grave look in his eyes.

He no longer had any thoughts of digging for Experience Points or leveling up his skills. He only wanted to destroy the stone tablet before him as quickly as possible.