Golden Gourd

The night passed in silence; Zhu Jiusi sat motionless in the nest with his eyes closed, appearing as if he were asleep.

But with three rustling figures outside, how could he truly fall asleep?

Regardless of anything else, that was a top-ranked player from a district!

Everyone else was different from him; he had innate information from his restart.

For others to be thrust into Journey Survival and not only survive but also secure the top rank, they must possess extraordinary capabilities!

Zhu Jiusi had no right to underestimate any top-ranked player.

Fortunately, the three did not commit any overstepping actions, and by morning, Zhu Jiusi had eaten and drank his fill, preparing to begin the day's journey.

The three hung their heads and spoke up: "Master of Cloud Stack Cave, may we discuss this? If you untie us, we are willing to hand over half of our supplies."

Zhu Jiusi glanced at them, then broke into a light jog and headed forward.

The three grew anxious at once; two of them hooked their legs over the third like a burden, and that man stepped forward to keep pace with Zhu Jiusi.

Zhu Jiusi acted as if he saw nothing, focusing only on searching and traveling.

Perhaps the harvest yesterday had been too bountiful, or perhaps it was because of these three burdens, but from morning until nearly nightfall, Zhu Jiusi hadn't encountered a single gourd!

Today's travel speed was significantly slower; because yesterday's haul was so large, the bulky items had been stowed in his pack, yet the Beast Nest was still piled high with goods, leaving him in a state of heavy-load travel.

The three behind him took turns carrying their companions to keep up. They chased him all the way until Zhu Jiusi completed his mileage, yet they refused to give up.

Or perhaps they dared not stop, even fighting over who would act as the "legs." Even on Zhu Jiusi's path, they wanted to complete their own daily mileage.

But no matter how they ran, the mileage on their Scrolls did not decrease by a single step.

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

"It's him! This is his path; does everything we run count toward his total?" one of them shouted.

"Fellow Daoist Master of the Cave, wait a moment!"

Zhu Jiusi couldn't be bothered to respond; to three dying men, he didn't even have the inclination to explain.

He simply pressed forward; he had been too busy yesterday and had only barely finished his task, so today he needed to push ahead and gain some distance.

Having experienced the ranking once, everyone knew the importance of mileage.

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

Zhu Jiusi, while jogging, glanced back and was almost amused to the point of laughter.

He cursed under his breath and continued forward.

Where did they get the audacity to shout such things?

Just then, a thunderclap erupted from the cloudless sky, and a bolt of lightning struck between Zhu Jiusi and the three men.

Heavenly Tribulation warning.

With one hour left until sunset, the three had not begun their mileage, and the Heavenly Tribulation warning sounded.

This bolt of lightning seemed to open the floodgates of the sky; the next moment, crackling bolts of Heavenly Tribulation rained down one after another, striking both sides of the path.

The three were terrified, and looking at the Wild Boar running with his head down, their anger grew even more intense.

"Stop!"

"Give our mileage back to us!"

The three screamed, tumbled, and gave chase. The lightning in the sky grew increasingly dense.

They didn't know how long they had run when they saw the Wild Boar ahead come to a sudden halt.

A Silver Gourd was growing quietly by the side of the road.

"A Silver Gourd!"

"Grab it!"

The three were overjoyed.

There might be a solution inside the gourd!

Everyone knew that in Journey Survival, even on a path of certain death, a glimmer of hope would be left behind.

Hadn't this Wild Boar failed to find a single gourd all day just to save up his luck for them?

The three scrambled and crawled, fighting and grabbing as they rushed toward the gourd vine.

Yet no one noticed that the countdown on the Scrolls had entered its final three seconds.

The three took their final steps and reached out to grab the gourd vine, but at the very instant before they touched it—

The sky went dark.

Without warning, it turned pitch black as ink; one could not even see their own fingers.

At the same moment the darkness fell, the lightning from the sky crashed down.

Crack!

A bolt of lightning struck the three figures. The three distorted silhouettes instantly shattered, turning into fly ash and vanishing without a trace.

The lightning that had been continuously striking the surroundings dissipated along with them. Only three piles of ash remained, with electric arcs still darting between them, being drawn one by one toward the gourd vine.

The gourd vine began to shrink visibly to the naked eye.

It gradually diminished from two people's height down to one, yet the vine began to glow with a golden luster.

Specks of mottled gold spread from the leaves to the rest of the plant.

In the blink of an eye, the gourd vine became brilliant and golden.

What a fine golden gourd vine. Even the tendrils upon it had turned gold.

Zhu Jiusi stood to the side, a look of deep contemplation flashing in his eyes.

Could the Heavenly Tribulation actually improve the quality of the gourd vine?

Lightning was hard to come by, but the Heavenly Tribulation could be summoned every day, provided he wanted it!

The only problem was how to guide the Heavenly Tribulation onto a growing gourd vine.

Regardless, this was a viable path. He must try it when he had the chance!

Zhu Jiusi confirmed that the lightning on the ground had dispersed, then immediately ran over to pluck the Golden Gourd.

He rested for a moment, waiting for his vision to fully adapt to the night and to familiarize himself with the surrounding mountain forest environment.

He stepped on the gourd body with his hooves and pulled out the stopper with his mouth.

Bang!

A puff of mist sprayed out. Zhu Jiusi tensed his four hooves, waiting for a monster to appear.

But when the mist settled, there was no monster to be seen.

Not every gourd contained a monster.

On the ground lay only a single golden horn.

It did not resemble a bull's horn nor a goat's horn, and it was not particularly sharp.

[Weapon: Golden Horn]

[Skill: Assault]

[Whose horn was this? Never mind, put it on and see!]

The Scroll displayed an introduction at the opportune moment.

He had pulled a weapon! Zhu Jiusi was overjoyed. The next moment, text appeared asking whether to make an announcement.

This was the first opening of a Golden Gourd.

There was no need to hesitate; announce it and claim the reward!

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

The announcement did not cause much of a stir, merely prompting some envious congratulations in the chat area.

Zhu Jiusi sent a smiley face in response. His gaze immediately fell back onto the Golden Horn.

The Scroll immediately presented an option to equip it, feeling quite like a game.

Equip!

The horn on the ground blurred and vanished.

At the same time, a tickling sensation came from the bridge of his nose, followed by a cold, heavy feeling.

He rolled his eyes forward to look, but could see nothing.

A wild boar had a small blind spot directly in front of its face.

A pig could not see its own nose, and it could not see the anomaly on its nose bridge either.

Zhu Jiusi focused his mind. All the content on the Scroll vanished, turning into a blank sheet. The surface of the scroll acted like a pure silver mirror, reflecting his appearance.

A sturdy wild boar, its body covered in dried mud that had formed a layer of armor, with a golden horn on its nose bridge.

A rhinoceros... a rhino-pig!

Once the horn was equipped, an instinct emerged. Zhu Jiusi pawed the ground and charged at a locust tree as thick as a thigh by the roadside.

Just as he reached a meter from the tree, the Golden Horn on his nose flashed with light. The entire pig suddenly lunged forward, and the Golden Horn slammed into the tree trunk with a boom.

With an upward thrust, the tree snapped at the waist and crashed to the ground.

Skill: Assault.

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

The spiritual power within his body flickered slightly, consuming a tiny bit.

The Golden Horn required spiritual power to activate. In the current Journey Survival, this was surely a one-of-a-kind item.

Zhu Jiusi was extremely satisfied.