Xuanshui City

An Chen did not know how long he had run.

He only knew he ran until his physical strength was overdrawn, his soul power was exhausted, and his consciousness gradually scattered, until he finally collapsed on the ground.

When he opened his eyes again, the sky was already faintly bright.

He was lying in a barren patch of woods, his whole body feeling as though someone had taken him apart and reassembled him, his throat so dry it felt like it was smoking.

The moment he woke up, he did not get up; instead, he pricked up his ears first.

After listening for a while, besides the sound of his own heartbeat, the wind, and the chirping of insects, there were no footsteps nearby, nor any other man-made sounds.

After lying for a while, An Chen propped himself up into a sitting position, taking out half a canteen of water and one of Oscar's sausages from his ring. He still had some of his previous stock left, basically replenishing them as soon as he finished them.

His soul power had recovered a little, but his legs were still sore and aching.

An Chen observed his surroundings and realized he did not recognize this place, nor were there any signs of human habitation nearby.

He slowly groped his way around, finally finding a main road, and walked along it slowly.

He knew Flender would not come after him because if he wanted to pursue him, An Chen could not escape. Yet it was hard to say for sure; perhaps Flender simply wanted to toy with him.

An Chen thought as he walked.

Before long, the people on the road grew more and more numerous until he finally arrived at a city.

Xuanshui City.

An Chen knew this place; it was a small city located right beside Suotu City. Although it was not large, it sat at the intersection of two rivers with convenient transportation and a constant flow of people, making it a great place to gather information.

An Chen walked into the city and casually rented an inn room to stay in.

He slept for a full day.

Early the next morning, An Chen sat by the window drinking tea, starting to review the events at Shrek.

Those immortal herbs were truly hard to sponge off of, and he could no longer stay there now.

What about Flender and Grandmaster? Did they both seem to have been replaced by some kind of entity, or whatever ghost thing that was?

An Chen frowned. Then what was his—or rather, their—purpose? Could it just be to scare him?

And what was that lump of flesh that came out of Li Yusong's body earlier? Had the sapling that grew from his hand earlier also been "drawn" out by him?

An Chen shook his head. And what about that "himself" that Flender mentioned seeing before? Was it created by Flender and the others?

Why did Tang San and the others have different perceptions from his own?

Was this Flender's ability? Along with the ability to wave his hand and draw out the "abnormalities" inside Li Yusong and his own body.

Then if he could alter other people's perceptions, had he been affected as well?

An Chen took a sip of tea.

This ability was somewhat absurdly strong. Perhaps his own perception had already been altered by him without him even noticing.

There was no use thinking too much about it; he had better figure out where to go next, An Chen thought.

Return to Tieyan City? An Chen shook his head.

No, going there had no benefits and would instead lead Flender and the others right to that place.

Then go to Wuhun City to find Elder Chen? An Chen thought.

Also no, it was too dangerous. He wondered if Elder Chen could beat Flender? What if he could not? Would not that just bring danger to him?

An Chen fell into deep thought.

By now he had reached level thirty, but he still did not have his third soul ring. He should go hunt soul beasts first to absorb a soul ring.

Moreover, there was the system reward, which would provide the potion for the next sequence.

Thinking of this, An Chen summoned the system.

"Ignite the pot."

[Big Iron Pot System]

[Name]: An Chen

[Race]: Human

[Wuhun]: Big Iron Pot

[Soul Power]: Level 30

[Soul Ring]: Yellow, Yellow

[Pathway]: The Hanged Man

[Sequence]: Sequence 8 Listener

[Digestion Progress]: 100%

[System Abilities]: Divination ×2, Clown Warning ×3

[System Status]: Concealment Enabled (Enhanced)

[System Prompt]: The iron pot can be used to brew potions.

[Main Quest] Absorb the third soul ring (Shadow attribute). Reward 1: Hermit Potion Formula and its materials. Reward 2: System abilities rewarded based on the soul ring's age.

"Divination, divine whether the abnormal Flender and Yu Xiaogang are chasing after me."

An Chen chanted silently in his heart, checking to see if anyone was pursuing him from behind.

[Divination Result] No.

An Chen breathed a sigh of relief, his hanging heart finally dropping.

So he just watched him run away?

An Chen felt puzzled and perplexed.

Yet since they had not caught up, he would leave them alone for now and not provoke them either.

After pondering for a moment, An Chen decided to go acquire a certain item.

Whale Glue.

This was a body-tempering material that did not exist in Douluo I, but was very popular in Douluo II.

It could enhance one's physique, thereby allowing a person to absorb soul rings that exceeded their level's age limit.

Meanwhile, the side effect of Whale Glue in Douluo II was aphrodisiac properties.

An Chen deduced that this thing probably existed in the current timeline as well, except its primary function might not be physical enhancement, but rather a drug similar to an aphrodisiac.

Thinking of this, An Chen put down his teacup and went out to see if this Xuanshui City, hailed as "Little Suotu", had any information regarding Whale Glue.

Xuanshui City was not very large, but situated at the confluence of two rivers, it saw plenty of travelers coming and going from the south and north.

Such a place had well-informed news, making it much easier to inquire about things.

He wandered around the street and ducked into several apothecary shops.

After entering, he intentionally or unintentionally hinted in his words at whether they had any aphrodisiac or yang-strengthening medicines.

Yet the answers he received were all negative.

That shouldn't be right. Whale Glue should count as a kind of medicine; why would it be missing in an apothecary?

An Chen felt somewhat doubtful.

Soon after, he found several bustling teahouses and wine taverns, quietly taking a seat in a corner and pricking up his ears to listen.

Yet most of what they chatted about were trivial matters: whose cargo had been detained, which mercenaries had accepted a big order, and where Wuhun Hall had set up another branch hall.

Whenever he encountered such a situation, An Chen would shake his head and leave, switching to another place.

After changing to three teahouses, he finally heard what he wanted in a wine tavern.

"...Have you heard? People in those villages to the south have gone crazy again."

"How are they crazy?"

"They don't sleep day and night, grabbing and eating whatever they see, and pouncing to attack anyone they meet. Their families couldn't hold them down, so they later pooled money to hire a soul master to tie them up."

"So bizarre? Could they be Evil Soul Masters?"

"Not Evil Soul Masters. They don't have a shred of soul power; they're just ordinary people."

"Forget it, stop talking, drink!"

"...'"

An Chen left without changing his expression.

He switched to another wine tavern.

An Chen ordered a cup of yellow fruit wine, with faint bubbles rising inside the cup.

He took a sip, picked up his wine glass, and walked over to sit beside a drunken sailor.

"Hey, friend, do you know about a certain... item exclusively produced by the seaside?" An Chen tentatively began. "You know, I'm a merchant who frequently travels everywhere, and my wife hasn't been affectionate with me lately."

"Hahaha, you're talking about Whale Glue, aren't you?" The sailor burst out laughing, spraying alcohol breath. "You have to go to the seaside for that; the ocean has everything."

He patted An Chen's shoulder, took a large gulp of wine, and continued, "Of course, you can also go to Sanchao Post. There's a small sea there—not the great ocean, hahaha. They specialize in the Whale Glue business. Not only do they have goods from the seaside, but their bay also has a stranded big whale that can be refined. It's just that that place is a bit unearthly. But for the sake of your romance, it's worth a try."

"How is it unearthly?"

"...'"

The sailor gave a drunken hiccup, repeating the same few phrases back and forth: "unearthly," "abnormal," and then he fell asleep right there.

An Chen had no choice but to settle the bill.

The next day, he packed his things and left Xuanshui City.

An Chen walked toward the seaside, and Sanchao Post still lay ahead. (Complete Book Finished)