The Stone Stele Shatters (Part Two)

Zhang Chen had completely lost any desire to dig for Experience Points. He knew that once the stone stele escaped, there were too many uncertainties outside. If it came into contact with some Essence of Sun and Moon and underwent a mutation, it might become a dragon entering the Great Sea and turn around to Counter-Kill him.

Vast golden light circulated within Zhang Chen's body as he pressed both palms against the Jade Tablet, continuously damaging it.

"I refuse to believe there's truly something indestructible in this world." Zhang Chen gritted his teeth as he drove the golden light within him.

A day passed in the blink of an eye. Zhang Chen did not even eat lunch, maintaining his output against the Jade Tablet without pause. By now, large swathes of crimson threads within the Jade Tablet had vanished. Only the crimson threads deep inside remained, in a place Zhang Chen's golden light could not reach.

As the day was about to end, Zhang Chen finally withdrew his hands. Golden light flowed through his eyes as he stared at the stone stele before him, sweeping over the red threads within it. At last, he noticed a subtle change. "The crimson threads are regenerating more slowly!"

The corner of Zhang Chen's mouth lifted in satisfaction. "I knew it. There was no way there wouldn't be a change."

At this point, there was no longer any blood-colored aura around the Jade Tablet. It had clearly been purified by Zhang Chen's golden light.

"It works! It really works! I just don't know how long it'll take to erase it completely—or whether, with my current abilities, I can erase it at all. It's roughly fifteen steps from here to the exit of the underground cave. That means I only have about fifteen days. Once fifteen days pass and the stone stele sees the sun or moon outside, if it truly mutates and gets a chance to strike back, I won't even have a place to cry." Zhang Chen's heart brimmed with urgency. He slung the basket over his back and left the tomb, then went deep into the mountains to gather honey and feed his great hornets. Only after checking his traps did he return home.

The great hornets were his safeguard against any future ambushes, so Zhang Chen was especially attentive in feeding them. He did his best to increase their numbers and provide them with ample food.

After cutting grass, Zhang Chen returned home and fed the fresh grass to the roe deer. Looking at the two roe deer in the courtyard, he pondered for a moment before saying, "Once I've dealt with that stone stele, I'll send these roe deer to Mother and Little Sister. My hunting skills have improved now, and without the Fox Spirit to support, I can't even finish all the game I catch."

It had been three months since he awakened the memories of his previous life, yet he had never gone to see his Stepmother or Little Sister. To be honest, he could not get past that hurdle in his heart and did not know how to face them. After all, he had suddenly gained an entire lifetime of memories, and his consciousness was primarily that of the twenty-first century. He felt less of a sense of belonging in this world and did not know how to face his Stepmother and Little Sister.

"I have to face them eventually. Stepmother has always treated me well. After that cheap old man died, she painstakingly raised the three of us siblings all by herself!" Zhang Chen shook his head. He knew that some things had to be faced in the end.

It was just that his Stepmother did not live in the same village as him. His village was at the Front of the Mountain, while hers was at the Back of the Mountain.

In the past, perhaps because of the Fox Spirit's threat—or perhaps because he did not want to drag his Stepmother and Little Sister into it—he had not wanted to visit them.

He was threatened by the Fox Spirit himself, and he could barely afford to eat. What could he possibly bring when visiting his Stepmother and Little Sister? Going there would only add to their burden. His Stepmother's life was not easy either.

"And I'm afraid the days ahead won't be peaceful. I need to make plans early." Zhang Chen muttered as he lay on the bed, listening to the clatter of pots and bowls next door. He felt that the noise next door had grown louder lately, becoming rather irritating.

What he did not know was that, in order to restrain the stone stele, the Fox Spirit had punched many holes through his wall. Of course the noise would be loud.

Zhang Chen drifted off to sleep in a daze, his mind filled entirely with the stone stele. When he opened his eyes again, a rooster's loud crow rang beside his ears.

He had forgotten to mention that among the wild chickens he had caught, there was also a rooster.

With the crowing of the rooster, Zhang Chen washed up, then carried his basket into the mountains.

There were two wild chickens and a rabbit in the traps today.

Zhang Chen carried the prey to the Ancient Tomb and slipped inside. His eyes fixed on the Jade Tablet in the tomb, which gave off a faint gleam in the darkness. Holding a torch, Zhang Chen stepped forward and lowered his head to examine it closely. Sure enough, the stone stele had moved again, almost exactly the same distance as yesterday.

There were still no Experience Points or skills dropped today.

Crimson threads flowed within the Jade Tablet, but more than half of it remained blank. Clearly, after an entire night, the other side had not managed to replenish it.

Seeing how far the stone stele had moved, Zhang Chen felt urgency rise in his heart. He did not dare delay and immediately sent his golden light forth to suppress it.

Buzz—

Golden light burst forth. Countless crimson threads snapped beneath its radiance, and then a tide of golden light swept over them, causing huge swathes of red threads to vanish outright.

Zhang Chen's hands did not stop moving as he continuously poured golden light into it. In less than half a day, not a single visible red thread remained in the Jade Tablet. Only at its center, in the place the golden light could not illuminate, did a red glow continue to circulate, seemingly trying to resist Zhang Chen's golden light. Yet it failed; the moment a red thread emerged, Zhang Chen's golden light immediately evaporated it.

"It works!" Seeing this, Zhang Chen was overjoyed, his eyes filled with excitement. What followed was another torrential storm of golden light. Now that he had seen his golden light achieve results, he was even more driven.

Vast golden light flowed within Zhang Chen's body. As he poured it in, the crimson glow at the center of the stone stele also seemed to be affected, its red radiance fading bit by bit.

Another day passed. Zhang Chen withdrew his hands, left the cave, and fed the great hornets, gathered honey, fed the Sparrowhawk, cut grass, then went home to sleep.

The morning of the third day

After checking the traps and catching the prey, Zhang Chen returned to the tomb. The stone stele had once again moved the same distance, but after Zhang Chen opened his Dharma Eye, he saw that there were no longer any crimson threads within it. There was only a tiny point of red light, like a feeble lamp flame, struggling to resist in the deepest part of the stone stele.

Zhang Chen said nothing. He tossed the Back Basket to the ground, and vast golden light burst from his palm once more, pouring into the stone stele.

Three hours later, as Zhang Chen mechanically raised his arm once again and pressed his palm against the stone stele, golden light erupted from the center of his palm. Then, with a crisp crack, a sound rang out through the silent underground cave.

The sound was faint, almost imperceptible. Yet to Zhang Chen, who stood so close and had been watching the stone stele's changes at every moment, it was like a thunderclap exploding beside him.

Thanks to the big shot "Why Are So Many Names All Taken" for three hundred coins.

Thanks to the big shot "Sword Hidden in the Mountain Forest" for one hundred coins.