Extra's Strategy: Cultivate Protagonists, Become Invincible
Chapter 74: Enter The Zombiemaker

Chapter 74: Enter The Zombiemaker

[ Congratulations to the host for completing the Quest: Mu Ran’s Last Pillar. Issuing rewards... ]

[ Reward-1: 120 Survival Points (✓) ]

[ Reward-2: An Unorthodox Mystic Art (✓) ]

[ Reward-3: A Rare Foundation (✓) ]

[ Reward-4: A connection to a fallen Anti-Celestial (Uncertain) ]

[ Warning: Earning Reward-4 is a highly circumspect outcome and associated with risks far beyond Host’s current capabilities. Beware of biting off more than you can chew. ]

All of his prior assumptions about this system had ended up being proven correct. So Han Xuhan didn’t spend much time on the system panel.

There were more important matters to focus on at the moment. With a happy heart, he turned to look at his skeleton soldier, who was idly gazing at the approaching fog near the cliff.

"Little Zhanxian, what did those cultivators do after we left?"

Zhanxian sighed. Then he ignored the questions and continued gazing at the fog.

"...Zhanxian, don’t make me ask again," a blue vein began to throb on Han Xuhan’s temple. This minion was trampling on his dignity!

Wordlessly, Zhanxian pushed out a bony hand toward Xuhan and showed him his empty palm.

Gritting his teeth, Han Xuhan took out a handful of Spirit Stones from his pocket and gave it to him. The money wasn’t even his own. He had borrowed the coins from Xiao Wu before leaving for the mission.

Nodding in satisfaction, Zhanxian pocketed all the coins except one, which he put inside one of his empty eye-sockets.

"What does he need the spirit stones for?" Mu Ran asked in confusion. Han Xuhan explained while gnashing his teeth.

"He wants to save up for bone nourishment pills from the Medicine Pavilion. He thinks those pills will make him as strong as Martial Path cultivators."

"...."

Mu Ran decided not to break the minion’s naive dreams, not in a moment so critical.

Satisfied with the treat, Zhanxian finally started speaking.

"After you guys left, those cultivators praised their leader, Feng Jun, for not trying to use you as cannon fodder while exploring this... What was that word? Right, this ’world fragment’.

"Apparently they all think you two are cunning, greedy devils who would deceive and betray them, had they tried to rely on you. Then, they walked closer to the fog and I realized that I couldn’t hear most of their words from my hiding spot.

"So I slowly climbed across the wall of the canyon and got close enough through some rifts where I caught a bit of their discussions. They spent quite a while arguing over the nature of this fog.

"I don’t know what method they used, but the final decision they came to regarding the fog is that once you enter, there is no way to avoid being poisoned. You just have to find the antidotes of the poison as soon as possible.

"One of the members of the group cultivates her eyes, it seems. She observed the silhouettes inside the fog for a while and reported that those people have been running from one ball of light to another, moving deeper and deeper into the fog.

"So it became clear to them that the balls of light floating in there might be the clues to the antidotes. Otherwise, it’d be impossible for those people to keep moving in the fog for so long.

"The ultimate consensus was that this world fragment is a well-hidden inheritance ground. The fog is just one of the many obstacles meant to test the ability and determination of cultivators with potential who can inherit the legacy inside.

"After reaching this conclusion, they decided to enter the fog, one team after another. I don’t know if they succeeded or not, but none of them made any sort of ruckus like that zombie. And the last team didn’t sound particularly nervous when it was their time to enter the fog."

Zhanxian’s words were enough to bring an exuberant expression to Mu Ran’s face. He immediately turned around and ran toward the fog. Han Xuhan gave one final glance at the spirit stone in Zhanxian’s eye socket and followed him.

Standing just a few feet away from the border of the foggy area, Mu Ran beamed at Han Xuhan.

"Underling, in terms of contribution, you’re already way ahead of me. So I’ll take the risk to enter first and find out if this strategy really works. In any case, this is my only shot. I have to do this."

Mu Ran took out a small, green piece of jade and handed it to Han Xuhan.

"Here, this is a precious soul signature jade. As long as this jade emits warmth, it means I’m not dead yet. If it doesn’t go cold after I enter the fog, you can come in as well."

Then, turning away from him, Mu Ran added in a slightly different tone,

"But don’t feel obliged to follow me just because of your sense of duty, okay? I’d rather see you safe and sound when I return!"

Han Xuhan didn’t have any complaints about such an arrangement. He stood still and summoned Zhanxian back into his spiritual world. The cloak the skeleton had been wearing was left behind, giving him the opportunity to snatch away the spirit stones he had had to sacrifice.

Mu Ran lightly jumped up and down and stretched his legs for a few seconds before targeting one floating ball of light in particular. It was one of the biggest red orbs in the outer region of the foggy area, thus easy to keep track of.

Taking a deep breath, Mu Ran glanced at Han Xuhan and nodded one last time before putting on a mask and running into the fog at a superhuman speed. Han Xuhan barely blinked once and realized that Mu Ran’s shadowy figure was almost undetectable in the fog.

If he hadn’t specifically kept his eyes on the orb Mu Ran was targeting, he might not have noticed his silhouette approaching it.

The fast-moving figure reached the orb within a few seconds and leaped toward it vigorously. Han Xuhan’s fingers clenched around the piece of jade in his hand.

It was slightly warmer than his own body. Mu Ran’s silhouette vanished within the fog after leaping toward the orb. But the jade never lost its unusual warmth.

For nearly fifteen minutes, the jade’s temperature didn’t change in the slightest. But Mu Ran didn’t show up near the orb either.

Feeling confident that the strategy had worked, Han Xuhan put the jade inside his pocket, adjusted the mask over his face, and rushed toward the fog at breakneck speed.