As Long as You Can Still Breathe, You Won't Starve to Death
The Sinkhole No. 2 has actually formed a very special secret place.
The Emperor and Zhang Xuezhou discussed the factors involved in this secret place and briefly introduced its components, but they could not freely enter or leave.
It took Zhang Xuezhou a day and a half to walk out of the secret place, but it took him nearly five days to re-enter it from North Rehe.
The uncontrollable nature of his 'fast and slow' abilities made it extremely difficult for him to enter and leave this area.
If he hadn't entered the Sole Self Realm in another world and gained some awareness, thus enhancing his control over 'fast and slow', Zhang Xuezhou felt that everyone would have been wiped out.
"I have a feeling we're doomed."
Zhou Rihui, whose face had turned purple from eating grass, smacked his lips. He was one of the more lucid Sequence Holder among them and did not gulp down the food, but instead took small bites to replenish his body's nutrients.
The good news is that they finally received food and medical subsidies, but the bad news is that the duration of these subsidies is uncertain, and Zhang Xuezhou also suffers from vegetative state symptoms, so everyone will inevitably continue to go hungry.
Although everyone had experienced many hardships in Qinmeng, their lives had never been as miserable as they are now.
"Either we need to find that staff, or we can only wait for Xuezhou to enter the Ninth Sequence and completely master the domain ability," Ren Anran said.
"I'm looking for a staff," Nagos sighed.
"Finding the staff is definitely more reliable!"
Badun nodded in agreement, acknowledging that the former option was more reliable.
As the only current holder of the Ninth Sequence, Badun is well aware of the high difficulty of the Ninth Sequence.
Even though Zhang Xuezhou has somehow gained control, Zhang Xuezhou sequence is definitely not at the Seventh Sequence, while his opponent still has weak genes.
Considering all the factors involved, Badun felt that the latter's chances of success were almost zero.
Of course, Badun does not deny that Zhang Xuezhou may achieve sequential ascent in the future, but Badun feels that the others absolutely cannot wait that long.
He glanced at the others who had received food, and couldn't help but sigh again.
"Li Qi? Li Qi? Wake up!"
What's Old Ren's opinion?
"Qin Zhong, take it easy on your food. You have a long life ahead of you!"
"Yinghao, what should we do?"
"I have no idea!"
The morale of the people from the Scarlet Alliance State was extremely low.
For modern societies that have achieved genetic modification of crops, hunger is a thing of the past, and people who have grown up in luxury have never experienced the kind of hunger that makes it difficult to even breathe while lying on the ground.
What is Xuezhou's opinion?
Perhaps influenced by the spiritual impact of the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon, or perhaps by the great changes in the world of the Sinkhole No. 2, or perhaps by the mental confusion caused by hunger, Ren Yisheng's mental state was somewhat poor.
It wasn't until he was given a high-concentration nutrient solution that Ren Yisheng's mental state returned to normal, and he asked Zhang Xuezhou for his opinion.
"Although there's a lot of bad news right now, there's also some good news to share," Zhang Xuezhou said. "The factors causing the changes in this area are unknown, but there is definitely Spiritual Qi here. This is the power of the Qin Meng Secret Stone that Lord Badun used to reach the Ninth Sequence. This power can heal your injuries without any repercussions and also allow you to Qi Ingestion energy needed to maintain your basic life force!"
"What do you mean? Inhaling to fill your lungs?" Zhou Rihui interrupted, puzzled.
"That's roughly the idea," Zhang Xuezhou said. "As long as you can still breathe, you won't starve!"
"If he's still breathing, he's definitely not completely dead. Even a child understands that!"
Zhang Xuezhou was telling the truth. Even without practicing the Grain Avoidance Technique, living in a place rich in Spiritual Qi can passively provide similar effects.
It's unlikely that he'll be able to jump around energetically, but eating and drinking a little to prolong his life is no problem at all.
The reason Li Qi and the others were in such terrible condition was that they built the Black Stone Altar, which nearly led to their starvation.
If people maintain low energy consumption, they can stay in such places for a very long time.
In reality, the compressed food they carried was far from enough to last so long; they had run out of food several days ago, but the fact that no one had starved to death is proof of that.
Zhang Xuezhou's good news brought both joy and sorrow to many, and also sparked a series of criticisms.
"Zhang boy, are you sure the conditions here are similar to those of the Qin Meng Secret Stone?" Qi Meng Haige asked seriously.
"You can try Badun's method and see if you can enter the Ninth Sequence," Zhang Xuezhou nodded.
"This old guy said he was able to achieve success by combining a near-death experience with the Qin Meng Secret Stone," Chimon Haig said. "I was starving and on the verge of death every day. If I had the Spiritual Qi you mentioned, that would be very close to Badun's situation back then, wouldn't it?"
"I feel it's very relatable!"
Zhang Xuezhou nodded, and Chimon Haig was immediately satisfied, ceasing his nagging and complaints. Nagos, however, remained silent, his face covered in burns and soot.
"What did he say?" Ren Anran couldn't help but ask.
Ren Anran's use of "he" clearly refers to the Emperor, while Zhang Xuezhou shook his head.
He had said everything he needed to say, and the Emperor was helpless in this situation, only offering the Giant Tree's suggestion based on speculation.
"I'll go search that area of the main hall high up there and see if I can find anything!"
Zhang Xuezhou pointed towards the sky.
The Soul-Locking Pillar turned to ashes, but the direction of the high-altitude palace was not hard to find.
Unlike the distorted external space, the space from the Soul-Locking Pillar to the main hall was extremely stable. However, Zhang Xuezhou did not dare to be careless, since the explosion originated from the main hall area. He was mostly just observing the situation and the possibility of taking action was relatively low.
"You can use your Yang Soul to travel around. When you discover any new situations, go out and communicate with him to see if he has anything else to add," Zhang Xuezhou said.
Compared to Zhang Xuezhou's somewhat unstable control over 'fast and slow', Ren Anran's Yang Soul's ability to traverse distorted space is not particularly difficult. The drawback is that Ren Anran's Yang Soul is formless and cannot carry physical objects in or out; it can only engage in cognitive communication.
"This is the only way!"
Ren Anran nodded.
No different from the others, her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down, and she no longer thought about returning to North Rehe.
Although this place was no different from imprisonment, Ren Anran had to admit that the current outcome far exceeded her expectations. No matter what their fate was, at least they didn't die.
All calculations, schemes, and grudges must be put aside; it seems there's no longer any way for people to hold grudges against each other.
Zhang Xuezhou was in such a rush to get everyone into the Sinkhole No. 2 that he forgot Zhu Bufan, Zhao Tianhua, and others. But it seems the situation isn't too bad right now; these people can at least keep the Scarlet Alliance State in check, so they won't be leaderless like the Aomeijia Alliance and the British Alliance State.
The two communicated in whispers. After eating and replenishing her nutrition, Ren Anran had more strength and was able to accompany Zhang Xuezhou to explore the surrounding area.
"He actually envies this place and wishes he could jump right in!"
"Oh?"
He said this place is a chaotic microcosm created at the beginning of time, a world that not only constantly generates Spiritual Qi but also contains primordial chaos energy!
What are the benefits of chaotic energy?
"The chaotic aura is the primordial, undeveloped form of Spiritual Qi. Some who obtain it experience physical expansion and gigantism, others see a significant increase in strength, and still others transform the mundane into a treasure. The mysteries within it are far more profound than those of Spiritual Qi itself!"
"It doesn't sound like a perfect 'good'!"
"This kind of impure Spiritual Qi has some potential problems!"
Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran whispered among themselves as they wandered around. Several sharp-eared people listened for a while and were able to muster the strength to keep their bodies from recovering.
The group had searched before, but this place was changing rapidly, with almost every day being different.
The concepts of Spiritual Qi and chaotic energy are difficult to understand, but as long as they are regarded as benefits that can be obtained, like Ren Anran did, everyone can deeply understand them and will search for them in the same way.