Waiting Until His Eyes Ached

No Bottle lowered his head in thought. Then he suddenly spotted a bull's head beside him and jolted in fright.

The old bull was only his own, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He'd thought the Enforcer had come again...

The Enforcer was Black and White Impermanence, not Ox-Head and Horse-Face. He silently reminded himself of that again and again before he could suppress the fear in his heart.

He'd been lucky to survive the Secret Realm seven days ago.

He had just returned to the survival road when he saw an old man and a pair of black-and-white figures waiting on his path.

He'd thought another Path Seeker couldn't stomach what he'd done in the Secret Realm and had come to kill him. The thought had nearly scared him to death.

Only then did he realize the three weren't Path Seekers, but the Enforcers of Journey Survival!

Journey Survival actually had an official institution!

The Enforcers had personally come to give him a mission!

The mission was simple: District 33 and District 66 were about to merge, and he was to deal with Master of Cloud Stack Cave from District 66.

No Bottle had been stunned on the spot.

Master of Cloud Stack Cave was a figure who had appeared in the Myriad World Announcements several times!

Besides, why would the authorities target Path Seekers? If beings like them wanted to deal with a Path Seeker, couldn't they just kill him outright? Why find a little nobody like him?

He wanted to ask, but didn't dare.

Iron chains danced around Black and White Impermanence. At a glance, they were clearly no ordinary folk. The old man leading them hadn't shown anything unusual, but that only made him seem even more unfathomable.

He could only accept the mission.

There was no way he could take on Master of Cloud Stack Cave directly. His only option was to use underhanded schemes to draw enough enemies against him.

Many ants could kill an elephant!

By his plan, it wouldn't have been too much to turn all of District 33 against Master of Cloud Stack Cave.

But Ox Nose loomed over District 33. That fellow was too upright, and he had a few tricks up his sleeve, too. On the very first day, he'd saved quite a few people through various analyses.

By the third or fourth day, he'd even used a Dao Discussion Card to save people.

Before the novice period was even over, he'd already gained immense prestige in District 33.

Then, in the Secret Realm, he'd gone all out to save people and had gradually become the leader of District 33.

That old Daoist was upright and incorruptible. There was no way he'd maliciously turn against Master of Cloud Stack Cave. He'd even do everything he could to stop it!

Ox Nose's presence had instead become a stumbling block in his plan.

So first, he'd lured Cloud Traveler and the others into scheming to get rid of Ox Nose.

Then, during their arguments, he'd subtly steered the conversation and planted the seed in their minds that Master of Cloud Stack Cave had to be their enemy.

"Daoist, your heart is kind, yet you secretly killed him!"

"You conniving little wretches can't be tolerated by the next top-ranked person after the districts merge!"

"No one can tolerate a bunch of traitors who betrayed their own leader!"

"Did you see the Scroll's notice? We're merging with District 66! That's Master of Cloud Stack Cave's territory. You're all dead!"

Two or three days of shouting had made those people instinctively believe that Master of Cloud Stack Cave would treat them as enemies.

Just as he'd said, no leader could accept a bunch of turncoats.

With his prior guidance and their first impressions already set, the merger had begun just as it had today.

He just hadn't expected that bunch of idiots to be so useless. Instead of using their argument with him as a chance to go straight after Master of Cloud Stack Cave, they'd gone and killed some Monkey!

Serves them right for courting death!

They'd completely thrown his plan into disarray and forced him to resort to his worst option. By now, Master of Cloud Stack Cave should have taken Cloud Traveler's group for mortal enemies.

He'd also taken the opportunity to slip in some private business, hiding someone with an unusual connection to Ox Nose in the list.

Quite a few people in District 33 were still grateful to Ox Nose. As long as that pig made a move, he'd only have to guide things from the shadows a little, and all of District 33 would turn against the pig.

That was enough of a result for him to report back to the Enforcers.

Not only would he get his own Secret Realm Instance, he'd also receive a special cultivation method. More importantly, he'd get his foot in the door with the Enforcers. Wouldn't that let him throw his weight around in Journey Survival?

But why hadn't that pig made a move yet?

The three Enforcers had promised to help him after the merger.

He'd dared to provoke those people without restraint over the past few days because the Enforcers had blocked his information. No one could use a Dao Discussion Card to locate him and come kill him.

But the Enforcers had said the block would stop working once the districts merged, and that they'd come block him again. Why hadn't they come yet?

No Bottle waited with bated breath.

Zhu Jiusi slept lightly, feeling the massage in his mind.

Today's massage wasn't only on his brain. Those little hands were clutching his eyeballs, scrubbing them with a squelch, squelch.

He hadn't slept well after being tossed around all night. As soon as dawn broke, Zhu Jiusi woke up.

The Scroll appeared.

Stamina +2

Zhu Jiusi was delighted, then paused.

The Scroll was much clearer than yesterday. He looked outside the nest, and his field of vision had more than doubled.

He could see things forty or fifty meters away!

Little hands... No, it was the snake gall!

Snake gall was supposed to improve eyesight and clear internal heat. The little hands he'd sensed clutching and scrubbing his eyeballs last night were the effect of the snake gall.

He felt great, clear-headed and refreshed!

The Pig Trough hadn't finished fusing yet, so Zhu Jiusi still had to forage in the mud.

After eating and drinking his fill, he put away the nest, turned his back to the sun, and jogged westward again.

He didn't travel very fast in the morning; he still had to breathe in spiritual energy.

As he inhaled, he unconsciously circulated the spiritual power inside him.

Then a surge of spiritual power flowed through his limbs at the command of his mind and settled in his hooves.

A faint glow immediately shone from all four of his pig hooves.

He leaped forward, moving more than twice as fast as before.

Wonderful!

Once his Stamina passed 10, he was beyond the realm of ordinary people, and he could suddenly control the spiritual power inside him.

By the classification method from his previous life, the first realm had ten levels. Successfully drawing in spiritual energy and condensing spiritual power meant reaching the first level.

Being able to freely control the spiritual power within him meant reaching the second level.

At the third level, he could learn the simplest combat skills and techniques.

If he used a blade or sword, he could send out sword or blade auras at the third level. He could also draw simple talismans.

When things went well, his spirits lifted.

He didn't know whether his improved vitality and vigor had brought better luck, or whether the 10% higher drop rate from the merger had finally kicked in.

Today, Zhu Jiusi got eight Gourds. Only two were bronze, though, and he hadn't even seen a single silver leaf.

In the morning, he practiced as he jogged; in the afternoon, he gobbled down supplies and raced at full speed.

He didn't stop until nightfall was near.

Every so often, he circulated his spiritual power. His pig hooves hadn't felt uncomfortable after a whole day of running. If he hadn't been unable to travel at night, Zhu Jiusi could've run straight through till dawn.

He found a spot sheltered from the wind and released his nest.

While waiting for the Pig Trough and nest to finish fusing, he opened Gourds to kill monsters.

He was lucky enough to get a Dao Discussion Card.

About an hour later, a heavy object hit the ground with a thud on the nest.

A medium-sized Pig Trough had appeared beside the nest, fused seamlessly with it.

Just looking at it made him feel a sense of familiarity.

How was he supposed to use this thing?

Zhu Jiusi took out some roots and carried them into the nest.

The Scroll unfurled beside the nest, displaying information.

[Peanuts 30%, fleeceflower root 7%, taro 23%, potatoes 39%, insects 1%.

Suggested additions: nuts, fruit, small vertebrates]

[Detoxifying and removing astringency, 29:57]

In truth, everything was poisonous. The only thing to consider was the dose.

Like salt, living things needed it—during the day, Zhu Jiusi had even licked a rock for it.

But if you ate a big mouthful, you'd still die.

How did this trough detoxify things?

Zhu Jiusi waited.

At the same time, he took out the unknown skeleton and started fusing it with the nest.

[Building nest framework: requires 24 hours. The nest cannot be moved during this time.]