The driver nodded upon hearing that and did not ask any more questions. After all, this passenger clearly did not want to discuss the topic further.
In truth, Lu Li was not exactly lying. Jinji Village had originally been his hometown; it was only ten years ago, after his grandfather passed away, that his whole family moved to Qingfeng City.
As for why he was alone now, that was another "accident."
Once the maglev car left the city, it sped up considerably. In less than two hours, Lu Li arrived at Jinji Village.
As he got out, Lu Li said, "Sir, could you leave me your number? I'll need to trouble you to come pick me up later. It's pretty hard to get a taxi around here."
The driver nodded and asked eagerly, "Sure! The fare is 120. Cash or transfer?"
Lu Li said, "Transfer."
After leaving his phone number, the driver drove away. Lu Li did not enter Jinji Village. Instead, he took a Tortoise Shell from his hiking backpack.
As a high-quality transmigrator proficient in the Hundred Immortal Cultivation Arts, it was perfectly reasonable for him to know how to tell fortunes, right?
Although the difference in World Law meant his divinations could only predict luck, there should be no problem with relying on mysticism for once.
He cast a divination and recited the incantation.
Three Ancient Bronze Coins fell to the ground.
Lu Li stared at the coins on the ground in silence for a moment, picked them up, then turned and plunged into the mountains.
The Divination showed that he would face danger but escape unharmed, and that the east was a place of great fortune.
The Divination had been this cooperative and explicitly said the east was auspicious, so he definitely had to trust mysticism this time.
As for what he would do if the Divination showed great misfortune? Wasn't a Cultivator's path all about defying fate and changing one's destiny? What Cultivator believed in fate these days?
There was another reason Qingfeng City had failed to develop: the endless Qingfeng Mountains had left its location somewhat awkward.
After all, the wilderness was Pokémon territory. Even with humanity's current technology, no one dared to recklessly alter the environment of any region.
Wielding a machete as he hacked his way through the undergrowth, Lu Li enjoyed the benefits of successful cultivation for the first time. He swung that machete for over six hours straight, yet did not feel the slightest bit tired.
As he ventured deeper, Lu Li encountered more and more Pokémon.
Pidgey flew overhead, Rattata scurried along the ground, and he occasionally spotted a few Caterpie. He even discovered a Paras lying among the withered leaves.
Unfortunately, his goal was Pokémon Eggs. Otherwise, Paras would have been quite a good choice.
As a Bug- and Grass-type Pokémon, Paras had a base stat total of over 400, giving it respectable combat strength. More importantly, Paras was an economic Pokémon.
Paras could support itself. The mushrooms on its back were a renewable resource, and they sold for quite a high price.
After stopping to eat a few bites of dry rations and rest for a while, Lu Li continued using his cheat.
As a transmigrator skilled in the Hundred Immortal Cultivation Arts, it was normal for him to know a little Spirit Sight Technique, right?
The Spirit Sight Technique was a minor spell that spiritual vein surveyors had to learn among the Hundred Immortal Cultivation Arts. Its general effect was to distinguish areas with denser spiritual energy, allowing one to precisely locate spiritual veins buried underground.
In the Pokémon world, the Spirit Sight Technique had roughly the same effect. Its main function was to distinguish the density of attribute energy.
After activating the Spirit Sight Technique, Lu Li discovered that he had entered an incredibly strange world, one composed of all kinds of attribute energy.
Hmm?
Lu Li stared at the third mountain peak in the distance in surprise.
"How strange..."
Lu Li muttered doubtfully, "Areas that actively gather surrounding attribute energy are common enough, but what the hell is actively emitting attribute energy?"
At that moment, Lu Li suddenly recalled a book introducing Secret Realms.
Other than Divine Beasts, only the legendary Secret Realms could actively emit energy.
In this world, Secret Realms were actually fragments left behind after other worlds had been destroyed. Those fragments had been stabilized by the Space-Time Duo with their spatial and temporal power, then drifted beyond the world, within the Void.
If two worlds were close enough, those fragments would gradually merge into the other, undestroyed world. Furthermore, the attribute energy levels of destroyed worlds generally exceeded those of the Real World.
That was why these Secret Realms continuously leaked attribute energy outward. It was like a small bottle filled with water that kept leaking endlessly.
So was this a special case, or...
After shutting off the Spirit Sight Technique, Lu Li forcibly suppressed his racing heart, picked up the machete from the ground, and continued toward that mountain peak.
The Spirit Sight Technique consumed quite a lot of energy. With his pathetic Qi Refining Layer 1 cultivation, lasting three minutes was already impressive.
As the saying went, a mountain looked close enough to kill a horse. It seemed nearby, but it still took him nearly two hours to reach it.
After arriving beneath a big tree, Lu Li sat on the ground and cultivated to restore some of the energy he had just spent.
He didn't know whether it was because of luck or some special reason, but he hadn't encountered a single Wild Pokémon attack along the way. He couldn't tell whether that counted as good luck or bad luck. Lu Li felt somewhat relieved.
Normally, the vast majority of Wild Pokémon were territorial. When faced with an intruder who suddenly entered their territory, they would generally threaten or attack the trespasser.
Yet his entire journey had been peaceful. That was actually quite strange.
Once he had recovered enough, Lu Li activated the Spirit Sight Technique again and searched for the source of the emitted attribute energy.
"On the mountainside..."
Lu Li gripped his machete and continued forward.
Whoosh~
A rock wrapped in Dark-type energy shot toward Lu Li's head. With a Cultivator's keen senses, Lu Li crouched down and narrowly avoided the sudden attack.
Boom!
The unfortunate big tree behind Lu Li was instantly blasted in half by the rock.
"Hiss~"
Feeling the movement behind him, Lu Li sucked in a sharp breath.
"That was close! Just a little closer, and I could've changed classes into a ghost cultivator." Still shaken, Lu Li fixed a sharp gaze in the direction from which the rock had flown.
A strange Pokémon stood in a tree, staring at Lu Li with bloodshot eyes. Its entire body was grayish-white and covered in long fur. It resembled a monkey, yet had a pig-like snout.
"Annihilape???"
"Annihilape!!!"
The instant he recognized the Pokémon's appearance, Lu Li went completely numb.
He did not know whether to call himself lucky or unlucky.
Annihilape!
This was a Pokémon that had never appeared outside before, yet he had actually run into one.
But the problem was, a creature like this was probably Elite-level at the very least.
He was not even a Rookie Trainer, yet he encountered something like this the moment he went out? How was he supposed to fight it?
According to the game settings, Annihilape evolved when Primeape learned Rage Fist, and Primeape needed to reach level 35 to learn Rage Fist.
Converted to the Pokémon world's power scale, that was already mid-Elite-level. In the Real World, Annihilape definitely could not evolve simply by learning Rage Fist.
If it were really that simple, the Pokémon League would have discovered Primeape's evolution long ago. After all, Annihilape had a base stat total of 535, which already surpassed the Starter Pokémon.
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