Infinite Flow That Pays Its Own Way (Bonus Chapter for Juice King!)

Watching the flames burn ever fiercer, swallowing the corpses of countless beasts, Zhou Chu finally said, "You've probably seen those novels or films made by the descendants of Crystal Wall Universe aliens, set in the Magic Universe and mourning the glory of their ancestors, right?"

Lü Rang nodded repeatedly. "Seen them, seen them! The Succubus Princess and Her Eighteen Orc Guardian Knights."

Yuan Zhu's ears twitched. Judging by that title, was this some kind of otherworldly magical erotic novel?

Ignoring Mohawk Head, Zhou Chu continued, "Among the many magic-themed novels, the Zhua Gen trilogy is the most famous. It's been adapted for film many times, and even turned into stage plays. Zhua Gen gave a detailed description of the terrifying outer planes known as the Bottomless Abyss and Endless Abyss. In the Crystal Wall Universe, the Abyss was eternal chaotic evil—the negative pole of the universe—breeding endless demons that carried out infinite, irrational slaughter. They not only fought among themselves, but also waged an endless Blood War against another evil plane called Hell."

"Foul Bone Saintess is said to be the product of a small portion of an Abyss Consciousness projection that arrived on Du Ling Star alongside a planar fragment, merging with a local Pollution Source of similar nature. That is why Foul Bone creatures always display the essence of chaotic evil and irrational killing. Foul Bone Saintess can be regarded as Du Ling Star's version of an 'Abyss Consciousness,' while Foul Bone Demons are an alternative kind of local demon. Once discovered, they must be eradicated!"

Though Yuan Zhu had never read the local Zhua Gen trilogy, he had played Dungeons & Dragons and knew all too well how terrifying the Abyss Mother was. He could not help asking, "Is Du Ling Star's Foul Bone Saintess as terrifying as the Bottomless Abyss? If so, isn't what we're facing now basically an 'Abyss invasion' from a novel? Captain, let's run!"

The captain shook his head and pointed out, "The two share quite a few similarities, but the differences are even greater. Foul Bone Saintess is nowhere near as terrifying as the Abyss in the Crystal Wall Universe, nor has it birthed a 'Bottomless Abyss Plane' of its own. It has merely occupied and transformed a number of small worlds in the Foam Layer into nests, frequently invading the Spirit Realm Layer and seeping into the present world. Foul Bone creatures can infect any creature of flesh and blood, but they have not formed a racial lineage like that of 'demons'... In short, the differences are still considerable. But you can treat them as degraded demons. After all, Du Ling Star doesn't even have demons as a species."

Yuan Zhu thought to himself: These Foul Bone creatures didn't sound much like demons. From the description, they sounded more like Resident Evil. Fighting them even carried that sick thrill of massacring mutated zombies. This was the monster version of the G Virus! He sighed inwardly, Du Ling Star really is an inherently evil, filthy world! In just two short days, I've already seen far too much pollution and evil. Please give me a pair of eyes that have never been contaminated.

Little Elf said, "Tell me about it! It's so evil—it's practically a demon's den! I want to go home. I want to cultivate immortality properly!"

Meng Xiyue, who had once stayed up late reading Zhua Gen during middle school, asked curiously, "Du Ling Star has no demons? But wasn't the planar fragment that descended upon Du Ling Star being invaded by the Abyss at the time? In history class, a professor said they launched a continent-scale teleportation spell to escape being devoured by the Abyss Plane, tearing their planar fragment apart and fleeing—only to somehow crash into Du Ling Star."

Yuan Zhu pricked up his ears. So that was how it happened? Another piece of strange knowledge acquired! As expected of an all-purpose university monk—she knew everything.

The captain said, "Of course there were demons back then, but demons need the Abyss to breed and hatch. They evolved from Magic Insects. How many could demons produce just by mating? Du Ling Star has no Abyss Will, no Magic Insects, and certainly no high-magic environment suitable for demons to survive in. Those demons that remained on the planar fragment also quickly kicked the bucket as the environment deteriorated sharply—magic elements plummeted, and they suffocated from a lack of magic. The few that survived were either dragged into laboratories to be sliced up or taken by ancient physicians to be used as medicine. If you visit an old-established pharmacy now, you might still be able to find some nonrenewable, out-of-print demon materials kept as their treasured stock."

As a Tiger Demon, Yuan Zhu could not help feeling a chill between his legs. He understood traditional Chinese medicine all too well!

That accursed traditional Chinese medicine believed that everything could be made into medicine—especially by using its whip... The stronger the creature, the richer its yang energy. Abyss Flame Demons were born so impressively endowed; after crossing over to Du Ling Star, they must have been especially nourishing, right?...

A great fire burned the green chunks of flesh that had been crying "waa waa" to ashes. Dragging along the reluctant lamb, the team continued toward the little monks' settlement.

They encountered no further attacks along the way. The Green Blood Foul Bone creatures nearby had probably all been killed by them. Even when they reached a chaotic, ruined settlement, they found no second living person—not even a severed limb.

After searching around, the little monk found a letter in a rock cave. It recorded that two days earlier, Na Ye Buddhist Kingdom had sent a squad of warrior monks who drove back the green-blooded monsters and led the survivors back to the Buddhist Kingdom for refuge.

The letter also recorded a major event in the Buddhist Kingdom: the new abbot had found a power capable of sealing and suppressing the Buddhist ghosts. A grand ritual would soon be held to completely deliver the dead souls in the city, setting everything back on the right track.

For that reason, the abbot needed to gather every devout believer he could summon, especially ordained monks like Ku Cao. He wished to borrow everyone's strength to call upon the True Buddha to bestow divine power, destroy the Ghost King in the city in one stroke, and save this world.

After Yuan Zhu and the others finished reading the letter, they scoffed at the new abbot's actions. Even the old abbot had kicked the bucket—could a mere backup really quell the disaster of Yellow Springs? Even if he pacified Yellow Springs, Foul Bone Tainted Blood had suddenly emerged here and already infected a huge number of large animals. Who knew how far it had spread? This stuff was like the G Virus, far more contagious than Yellow Springs—a natural enemy of all flesh-and-blood creatures.

Even if the Buddha could quell the Yellow Springs disaster, how much strength would he have left to fight the Foul Bone demonic tide? "Captain, is this world about to end? Are we really not running?" Meng Xiyue, who had read the most and knew the most, could not help urging the captain to take the lead and flee.

"I say we might as well skip this Buddhist Kingdom! Safety first, safety first!"

The captain shook his head. "No rush. Let's go to Na Ye Buddhist Kingdom and take a look. If this new abbot truly has the ability to calm Yellow Springs, then he may be able to contend with Foul Bone Tainted Blood. Even if he fails, we can record the intelligence and resell it to a Foul Bone Demon God. Applying for an opportunity to explore a Foam World costs Mao Mao King quite a bit. I don't expect you to turn a profit for the team, but at the very least, we need to break even and avoid losses—enough to support the next exploration."

Yuan Zhu said, "Huh? Isn't Happy Home's exploration of Foam Worlds a charitable venture funded by Gods' Paradise?"

The captain rolled his eyes. "How could that be? Even Happy Home was bought by Mao Mao King. Every exploration has to pay its own way, so we need to earn more before we can leave."

Yuan Zhu thought: This isn't Infinite Flow at all!

He hurriedly asked, "Then after this mission ends, how long is the rest period? When will the next mission begin?"

The captain said, "That's hard to say. We'll probably get a long vacation. It depends on when Mao Mao King has time, and when she has accumulated enough divine power to pierce through a Foam World. Only then will she gather you all again."

Yuan Zhu thought: ????! Is Happy Home really this casual? Where was the urgency of Infinite Flow? The erasure? The team members constantly crossing worlds, the difficulty endlessly increasing, narrowly escaping death to obtain enhancements? We actually had to wait until Mao Mao King had time, leisure, money, and enough divine power before we could start.

Seeing Yuan Zhu's baffled expression, the captain added a few more words. "Mao Mao King has her own work and business too. Exploring the Foam Layer is just another path to prepare for. Our main business is selling Luxury Children's Wear in other spacetime dimensions. Happy Home is a legitimate clothing company funded by gods."

Yuan Zhu: Emmm...