Golden Gourd

After a quiet night, Zhu Jiusi lay motionless in the nest with his eyes closed, seemingly asleep.

But with three fidgeting fellows outside, how could he really sleep?

No matter what, he was the top-ranked person in a district!

The others were different from him. He had been reborn with knowledge of what was to come.

The others had suddenly entered Journey Survival, yet not only survived but also claimed the top spot. They were bound to have some exceptional quality!

Zhu Jiusi had no grounds to underestimate anyone who topped the rankings.

Fortunately, the three made no improper moves. They kept quiet until morning, when Zhu Jiusi had eaten his fill and was ready to start the day's journey.

Only then did the three hang their heads and speak. "Cave Master, sir, could we discuss untying our restraints? We'll hand over half of our supplies."

Zhu Jiusi glanced at them, then set off at a jog.

The three panicked. Two of them hoisted their legs over the third man's shoulders like a carrying pole, and he hurried after Zhu Jiusi.

Zhu Jiusi pretended not to see them, focusing only on searching and pressing onward.

Perhaps yesterday's haul had been too great, or perhaps those three burdens were to blame. From morning until nearly nightfall, Zhu Jiusi didn't come across a single Gourd!

He had made much slower progress today. Yesterday's haul had been so large that he had already stowed the bulky items in his pack, but the Beast Nest was still piled high with things, weighing him down as he trudged onward under a heavy load.

The three men behind him took turns carrying one another as they chased after him. They kept at it until Zhu Jiusi had completed his mileage, and still refused to give up.

Perhaps they didn't dare stop. They even fought over who would be the one on foot. Even on Zhu Jiusi's road, they wanted to run enough to cover today's mileage.

But no matter how much they ran, the mileage on the Scroll didn't decrease by even a single step.

The more they ran, the more anxious they became. How could this be? Why was this happening?!

"It's him! This is his road, so all the distance we run counts as his?" one man cried.

"Master of Cloud Stack Cave, fellow Daoist, please wait!"

Zhu Jiusi couldn't be bothered to deal with them. They were three doomed men; he didn't even feel like explaining.

He simply hurried onward. He'd been too busy yesterday and had only barely completed the task. Today, he wanted to push farther ahead.

After the rankings had come out once, everyone knew how important distance was.

"Master of Cloud Stack Cave! Don't be so selfish!"

Jogging along, Zhu Jiusi glanced back and nearly burst out laughing.

He tossed out a curse and continued onward.

Where did this nerve come from, to shout something like that?

Just then, a clap of thunder suddenly split the cloudless sky. A bolt of lightning struck between Zhu Jiusi and the three men.

A Heavenly Tribulation warning.

With an hour left before sunset, the three men hadn't started their mileage. The Heavenly Tribulation had issued its warning.

That bolt of lightning seemed to throw open the gates of the sky. In the next instant, thunderbolts crashed down one after another, striking both sides of the road.

The three men were instantly terrified. Seeing the Wild Boar running with his head down, they grew furious.

"Stop!"

"Give us back our mileage!"

They yelled and tumbled after him as the lightning grew denser and denser.

After who knew how long, the three saw the Wild Boar abruptly stop up ahead.

A Silver Gourd was growing quietly by the roadside.

"A Silver Gourd!"

"Take it!"

The three were overjoyed.

There might be something inside the Gourd that could solve their problem!

Everyone knew that in Journey Survival, even a road that was certain death left a thread of hope.

The Wild Boar hadn't found even one Gourd all day. Surely he'd been saving up his luck to leave one for them!

The three scrambled and clawed over one another as they rushed toward the Gourd vine.

But none of them noticed that the countdown on the Scroll had entered its final three seconds.

The three took their last step and reached for the Gourd vine. But just before they touched it—

It was dark.

Without warning, the world turned pitch-black. They couldn't see their hands before their faces.

At the same time, thunderbolts came crashing down from the sky.

Crack!

A bolt struck the three men. Their twisted silhouettes shattered in an instant, turning to ash and vanishing.

The lightning striking all around them dispersed. Only the three piles of ash remained, with arcs of electricity darting through them. Then bolt after bolt was drawn toward the Gourd vine.

The vine began visibly shrinking.

It shrank from twice a man's height to the height of one man, while a golden glow gradually spread across it.

Specks of gold began to spread outward from the leaves.

In almost the blink of an eye, the Gourd vine was shining bright gold.

What a golden Gourd vine! Even the Gourds growing on it had turned gold.

Zhu Jiusi stood nearby, a thoughtful look flashing through his eyes.

Could a Heavenly Tribulation improve the quality of a Gourd vine, too?

Lightning was hard to come by, but a Heavenly Tribulation could be brought down every day, as long as he wanted!

The only question was how to guide a Heavenly Tribulation onto a growing Gourd vine.

No matter what, this was a lead. If he got the chance, he had to try it!

Once Zhu Jiusi was sure the lightning had faded from the ground, he immediately ran over and plucked the Golden Gourd.

After resting for a while, he waited until his eyes had fully adjusted to the dark and he had gotten familiar with the surrounding woods.

He pinned the Gourd against the ground with a hoof and pulled out its stopper with his mouth.

Bang!

A cloud of mist burst out. Zhu Jiusi tensed all four legs, waiting for a monster to appear.

But the mist settled, and no monster appeared.

Not every Gourd held a monster.

Only a golden-yellow single horn lay on the ground.

It looked neither like an ox horn nor a sheep horn, and wasn't especially sharp.

[Weapon: Golden Horn]

[Skill: Assault]

[Whose single horn was this? Never mind, let's try putting it on!]

The Scroll promptly displayed an explanation.

A weapon had come out! Zhu Jiusi was overjoyed. The next moment, words appeared asking whether he wanted to make an announcement.

This was the first opening of a Golden Gourd.

There was no need to choose. Announce it, and claim the reward!

[Myriad World Announcement: The "Master of Cloud Stack Cave" of the 66th Dao-Seeking District of the Immortal Seeking Realm has achieved the first opening of a Golden Gourd and received an announcement reward. May all Path Seekers press onward and strive hard!]

The announcement didn't cause much of a stir. People in the chat channel merely congratulated him enviously again.

Zhu Jiusi sent a smiley face in response, then immediately turned his attention to the Golden Horn.

The Scroll promptly offered the option to equip it. It felt rather like a game.

Equip!

The single horn on the ground faded away and vanished.

At the same time, an itch came from the bridge of his snout. Then it felt cool and heavy.

He focused his eyes and looked ahead, but couldn't see anything.

Wild Boars had a small blind spot directly in front of them.

Pigs couldn't see their own snouts. He couldn't see what had appeared on the bridge of his snout, either.

Zhu Jiusi's thoughts stirred. All the contents of the Scroll disappeared, leaving behind a blank surface. It was like a pure silver mirror, reflecting his appearance.

A powerful Wild Boar, its body caked in dried mud that formed a suit of armor. A golden single horn jutted from the bridge of his snout.

A rhino... a horned pig!

Once the horn was equipped, instinct kicked in. Zhu Jiusi pawed the ground, then charged headfirst at an ash tree as thick as a man's thigh.

Just one meter before he reached the tree, the Golden Horn on the bridge of his snout flashed. His whole body suddenly lunged forward, and the horn slammed into the trunk.

Heaving upward, he snapped the tree in half at the waist and sent it crashing to the ground.

The skill, Assault.

It was the first skill Zhu Jiusi had mastered in Journey Survival!

The spiritual energy within him flickered faintly, and a sliver was consumed.

The single horn needed spiritual energy to activate. In the current Journey Survival, it had to be one of a kind.

Zhu Jiusi was quite pleased.