Disaster Summoning

There wasn't even a nest!

In the previous round, Zhu Jiusi's unicycle had come with the Nesting attribute. Sleeping inside it doubled his recovery speed!

But that attribute hadn't been added until the fifth dungeon.

This time, half the options weren't even attributes. They were practically skills.

Zhu Jiusi pondered.

Invisibility wasn't necessary. Give him half a year, and once he reached the Path Seeker realm, ocular arts would be standard issue. Invisibility would be pointless.

As for Spirit Gathering, that wasn't much use either. He'd find out once he started cultivating for real: the spiritual energy in Journey Survival was beyond imagination.

When you were already a billionaire, there was no need to waste an opportunity just to raise your monthly salary by three or five thousand.

Zhu Jiusi trusted himself more when it came to defense and attack.

He was the Mountain Master!

Zhu Jiusi's gaze landed on [Disaster Summoning], and he couldn't look away.

Journey Survival had a rule: the bigger the waves, the more expensive the fish!

There was a monthly summary at the end of every month, along with an overall ranking.

The more battles you fought that month and the stronger the monsters you faced, the richer the rewards.

And once the beginner period was over, many monsters themselves became rare resources. Path Seekers fought over every part of their bodies.

Without further hesitation, Zhu Jiusi chose [Disaster Summoning].

[The title "Blockhead" has successfully advanced.]

A line of warning suddenly appeared on the Scroll.

Zhu Jiusi: "..."

That was just straight-up insulting!

He opened the title to check the details of its advancement.

Defying the odds as soon as he entered Journey Survival; one pig charging into a corpse pit and blowing up an Earth Vein Node; one man openly provoking dozens of zombies and threatening an Enforcer to his face; choosing the Nest attribute... Each incident, one by one, was something no normal person would do.

The Blockhead label was set in stone!

Zhu Jiusi: "..."

Fine, it had advanced!

At least its effects were stronger now.

The intelligence penalty and attack boost were clearer, even with specific values: intelligence -50%, vitality +30%.

Zhu Jiusi sucked in a sharp breath.

This title was ruined!

His intelligence was only 5. Cut that in half, and he wouldn't just be unable to fight—he wouldn't even be able to take care of himself!

He shoved the title to the bottom of the box, then flipped over and tumbled into the nest.

Outside, the Reforging Hammer clanged away, its ringing crisp and pleasant.

Zhu Jiusi took out his stored food, lay back, and nibbled at it now and then.

He'd eaten and slept poorly for the past couple of days in the Secret Realm.

If nothing unexpected happened, he was the only one who had left the Secret Realm. No one would bother him.

This was the rarest stretch of genuine safety he'd had in three years. He could finally relax completely.

The third modification required no other materials—though Zhu Jiusi couldn't have produced any even if it had.

Everyone was in the Secret Realm now. He didn't even have anyone to trade with.

This upgrade would take an extremely long time.

After eating his fill, Zhu Jiusi closed his eyes, hoping for a good, deep sleep. But after lying there with his eyes shut for a long while, he still couldn't settle down.

For three years in Journey Survival, he hadn't dared to truly fall asleep, afraid a life-or-death crisis might strike at any moment.

Now that he knew no one could hurt him, the quiet surroundings somehow made it impossible to sleep.

It seemed he'd lost the ability to sleep like the dead.

He could only keep his eyes tightly shut, listening to the clanging as he tossed and turned.

Just as he was about to fall asleep, he would suddenly jolt awake, certain he'd forgotten something important, though he could never remember what.

A pig's brain really wasn't much good!

At some point, rain began falling outside the temple, pattering against the leaves amid gusting wind.

Zhu Jiusi struggled to get up and store some more drinking water.

But after a brief effort, he sank into sleep instead.

He slept wonderfully, without even dreaming.

When Zhu Jiusi woke, the clanging from the nest was still going, but outside the skies had completely cleared.

The sun hung overhead, and clear rainwater pooled in low spots beside the mountain forest.

Zhu Jiusi filled his empty Gourds, then ate and drank his fill before sitting half-upright in front of the Mountain God Temple, dazed.

For the next few days, Journey Survival would probably have no shortage of food and water.

The people who had entered the Secret Realm would be scouring it for everything they could find.

For the first time, food in Journey Survival had truly depreciated in value.

Zhu Jiusi took out the cultivation manuals the Enforcers had given him as compensation.

Spirit Refining Primer, Treatise on Cloud-Resting Consciousness Refinement

Both were basic introductory manuals.

The Spirit Refining Primer taught one to absorb spiritual energy and temper the body, cultivating both vitality and intelligence. It had no particular strengths, but no weaknesses either.

The Treatise on Cloud-Resting Consciousness Refinement focused more on tempering spiritual consciousness, favoring the cultivation of intelligence over vitality. It was also exceptionally suited to Zhu Jiusi: sleeping in his nest counted as cultivation.

Zhu Jiusi was the Mountain Master. His physical body would inevitably grow stronger and stronger. If he wanted balanced development, he ought to choose the Treatise on Cloud-Resting Consciousness Refinement now.

But Journey Survival had no true jack-of-all-trades. The bucket theory didn't really apply here.

The key to survival was to push your strengths to their absolute limit.

Especially since one's first cultivation forged the foundation. The choice was all the more important.

If he chose the Treatise on Cloud-Resting Consciousness Refinement to cultivate his spiritual consciousness, then the cultivation of his soul would become his foundation. That ran counter to his identity as Mountain Master.

Zhu Jiusi thought it over for a long time, then put the Treatise on Cloud-Resting Consciousness Refinement away.

He would cultivate his spiritual consciousness and refine his nature after the Spirit Refining Primer produced his first strand of true qi.

He read through the manual once.

The three Enforcers hadn't lied to him. There was nothing wrong with the manual.

He closed his eyes and focused, drawing in a gentle breath. A cool wisp of energy entered his nostrils, rose first to the crown of his head to nourish his soul, then descended to his lower abdomen.

At the beginning of cultivation, he felt nothing at all. His nostrils were simply cool and refreshed.

This was qi storage.

By breathing according to the breathing method, he would gradually accumulate spiritual energy. Only when he had gathered enough could it become a strand of spiritual power—and that was when cultivation truly began.

Zhu Jiusi sat motionless in front of the Mountain God Temple, as still as a stone statue.

Time passed little by little, from daylight to night. After a long night, daylight came again. He still hadn't moved.

Fortunately, it was during a dungeon. He was the only pig outside the Secret Realm, with no travel assignments and no monster attacks.

Inside the Secret Realm, at the Changxin Marquis Mansion.

Daoist Number 323 cut off a walking corpse's head with one slash, then stretched contentedly.

"Bring me a horse!"

He'd finally gathered enough points. Even with the Marquis Mansion's private soldiers helping him, it had taken a long time.

It wasn't that he couldn't beat the zombies. The problem was finding them.

He was in the commandery city, where the Yin-Yang Studies division under the Imperial Observatory had already dealt with the corpses nearby. Even the private soldiers at his household had to travel a long way to find zombies.

Most of what he killed were ordinary walking corpses instead.

Still, by any measure, he was probably among the fastest.

He would go to the Land God Temple and upgrade his vehicle at once!

Daoist Number 323 looked toward the distance, where the Scroll marked the Land God Temple.

He had to take first place!

That pig had been far too lucky, taking a huge lead early on. This dungeon was his only chance to catch up.

He had a vague, uneasy feeling that the pig might know he'd joined Bright Moon Illuminating People's group in their attempt to surround and kill him.

The temporary safety he'd gained by backing down earlier was about to vanish!

Daoist Number 323 gazed into the distance, his expression dark.

In the direction of his gaze, two figures raced through the mountain forest. Hearing the other's voice, they stopped at once and went on guard.

One held a saber, the other a sword. They looked at each other.

"Are you Sword Seven Doesn't Learn Sword?" the man asked in a low voice.

"Yes," the woman replied.

"I'm Orchid Pavilion Scholar!" the man said. Once they knew they were on the same side, both relaxed.

"Damn, this Land God Temple is hard to find! I've caught enough mosquitoes to make two meat pies," Orchid Pavilion Scholar grumbled.

Sword Seven Doesn't Learn Sword frowned slightly. She wasn't used to conversations full of profanity.

"The Scroll says it's nearby. Use sand to search in every direction."

They had reached the area around the Land God Temple, but the temple was hidden. They couldn't find it at all!

As they spoke, a voice came from the woods. "Holy crap, you scared me to death! My damn hands are gone!"

The two frowned and shot toward the voice.

They'd heard that voice many times. It belonged to Monkey Has Iron Rod. The two of them were fast, but that monkey had genuinely good gear: two fine horses pulled his carriage, and he traveled through the mountain forest as if it were flat ground.

They rushed over and saw a young man feeling his way forward. His hands had vanished into thin air.

He'd reached into the Land God Temple, and the rest of him had been hidden along with it.

They'd found it!