novelraw Chapter 550: Diary (5)
Chapter 550: Diary (5)
The box discovered this time was perfectly preserved, without a trace of rust even on the lock.
Jiang Yuan casually pried open the lock with a mining pickaxe and took out a slightly yellowed piece of parchment from inside.
[December 7th, Blizzard]
It’s been over a year since I came to the deserted island searching for the Heaven-Reaching Wood that could lead to the Kunlun Void. I’ve encountered many events that cannot be recounted one by one, which is truly a pity.
But time is running out.
How laughable, that I am still trembling at this moment! But who could remain absolutely calm after witnessing such a sight?
Long, long ago, it was said that in the void, there was a giant fish-like beast drifting unconsciously in a state of sleep, called a Kun. During its slumber, its body could even give rise to various iterations of life, resembling a regular world.
However, when the Kun awakens from its sleep and spreads its wings to become a Peng, everything on its body will be obliterated. The Peng, soaring into the sky, randomly chooses to devour a world sprout, and the world, once its sprout is devoured, will rapidly collapse, devoid of vitality and spiritual energy.
After the Peng is satiated, it falls into a slumber and reverts to a Kun once more.
I always thought it was merely a legend—indeed, it might be a myth—but the collapse of entire worlds after the disappearance of world sprouts is real!
I saw it with my own eyes!
Countless worlds floated in the air like glowing orbs, with a small, tender sprout at their core. The more harmonious the world’s energy, the faster the sprout grows, making the world’s barriers stronger.
Oh, Mother Earth, I was merely cultivating and contemplating to make the Earth Mirror Book cultivation technique more comprehensive. Who knew I would glimpse such a horrifying scene—a small, vibrant world sprout being absorbed by an invisible force, causing the entire world to collapse!
Was it really eaten by the Peng?
Or, did some other unforeseen event occur, which I couldn’t witness?
Even more terrifying, when I calmed down from the shock and re-entered the state of contemplation, I saw the land beneath my feet. At the core deep within, perhaps tens of thousands of miles below the earth, was also a tender little sprout—a sprout already missing half a leaf!
Is the Heavenly Dao hinting at something?
Allowing me to see the terrifying and tragic scene of a collapsed world after the disappearance of its sprout, and then showing me that this world is heading towards ruin?
Is Heaven warning me to escape?
No, I shouldn’t have such thoughts. This land is where I was born and raised, the source of my life and power...
Blindly pursuing the Heaven-Reaching Wood yielded nothing, yet the cultivation technique I contemplated led me down a different path. Perhaps, this is my destiny, and I should do something.
As cultivators seek longevity, they should not fear death; to pursue one’s inner Dao until death and let the Daoist technique endure in the world—who can say this isn’t another form of longevity?
Before doing anything, I put all my offerings into the treasure chest I just found in the Mysterious Cave. For those fated to have them! Of course, if I survive this journey, I’ll be back to reclaim them, hahaha! After all, they’re all treasures that I accumulated throughout my life!
The diary abruptly ends here, leaving only a bold, flamboyant character "Ya".
"So, the sudden disappearance of spiritual energy in the human world without collapsing was because the predecessors did something?" Jiang Yuan was greatly shocked after reading, the power of words struck the soul silently.
He recalled Lin Feng’s resentment describing the scene of the spiritual energy’s disappearance from the human world, and in connection with Hu Zhile’s recounting of how she experienced the cataclysm in her youth, as well as the diary’s record, he seemed to have a guess.
In the position of the ellipses in the diary, there were scribbled meaningless curves, indicating the writer was very conflicted when writing this diary, and after making a decision, continued writing.
Judging by the situation at Shuiyun Lake, it was clear the predecessor did not return.
Whether the person was male or female, human or demon cultivator, where they came from, or where they ultimately went, Jiang Yuan was unaware of anything apart from the fragmented diaries found.
With a heavy heart, he carefully put away the diary. To be honest, without a clear method of resurrection, even if he had a system, he wasn’t prepared to sacrifice his life for all things in the world.
Jiang Yuan had a lucid understanding of himself; he’s just a normal person growing up in an ordinary family.
Loved petty gains and feared death, often kind-hearted but reluctant to stir trouble, a bit cowardly and naive, yet able to distinguish right from wrong.
He couldn’t be selflessly altruistic for others, nor could he prepare to never return once gone. But he wouldn’t ridicule or curse the heroes fighting for it as fools.
Because, regardless of which world, it’s thanks to these silent heroes bearing the burdens that most people can live securely, and so the clowns can fill their bellies and leap around.
Jiang Yuan took all the previous diary pages and smoothed them out, placing them away. Even if no one knew what "Ya" the predecessor did to prevent the world from collapsing after losing vitality and waiting for the revival of the spiritual energy, at least he knew, and possibly, one day, he could also see the world sprout with his own eyes.
After wilderness cultivation, he immediately used a hoe to till ordinary farmland, water, and plant seeds.
The mainline task requires Level Five farmland to be upgraded from ordinary to Level Two, then to be advanced step by step; the higher the level, the more raw materials are needed for fertilizers.
Byproducts from the poultry shelter, fish pond mud, slaughterhouse waste, etc., all take time to accumulate; there’s no chance to burn money, so for now, planting ordinary crops at least prevents a large piece of land from going to waste.
Once he finished all that, an entire night had passed.
[Dawn Light Wilderness Ascension]
At exactly six in the morning, accompanied by the Wilderness Ascension, sunlight spilled over the newly cultivated farmland. The seeds planted not long ago sprang out of the soil with a swoosh as if mimicking game effects, swaying to greet the new day.
This time, Jiang Yuan planted wheat, seizing the moment to plant before six in the morning; with the data refresh, it’s equivalent to harvesting a day early—it feels great!
After finishing his tasks, he flew on his sword towards the Old Dragon Cave to deliver a bouquet as a gift.
"Thank you for the flowers, they’re truly beautiful!" The little elf You Meng accepted the gift in a very "NPC" manner, and the favorability increased slightly.
Without bothering with pleasantries, as chatting wouldn’t add extra favorability points, Jiang Yuan eagerly clicked to upgrade the World Tree, exchanging according to the task requirements list.
After using all 100 gift packs, he was still short of two special materials. He burned twenty thousand Spirit Stones to offset them, finally gathering everything.
Clicking on upgrade, he couldn’t help but sigh, indeed a steed doesn’t grow fat without night grass, nor does a person become wealthy without unearned income. Without extra reward items, how could one gather so many materials to upgrade? Just wait!
The Third Layer Mine has Life Stones, and digging them brings one step closer to crafting a Resurrection Talisman!
[Side Task: World Tree—Task 3: Nurture the World Tree to grow to Level 3, Task Completed. Reward: World Tree Map Fragment has been issued]
[Task 4: Nurture the World Tree to grow to Level 4. Reward: World Tree Map Fragment +1]
[World Tree Map Fragment *2, would you like to synthesize to open the introductory map of the World Tree branch dungeon?]
"Yes, yes, yes!" Ecstatically, Jiang Yuan clicked to synthesize, and a virtual effect appeared before his eyes—two map fragments fit together and then flew into the dungeon page within the interface.
"Wow! You’re truly remarkable, my best friend!" exclaimed the little elf You Meng enthusiastically, "Growing the World Tree to maturity in such a short time, you’re really amazing!"
Just like last time, the earth trembled, as the World Tree grew thicker, stronger, and taller, officially opening the Third Layer Mine.