I Am Your Natural Enemy

Chapter 428: Chapter 179: The Gift, Blood Lock for Twelve Years (5k)_2

Wen Yan took a look at the Black Mountain Stone Sculpture. The tiny stone chip at the peak of the mountain was already gone, leaving only the Mountain Essence in his hand.

He swallowed the Mountain Essence, instantly feeling a warm rush in his belly. While practicing his punches in the courtyard, the Nameless Combat Technique he had just received naturally started to flow from him.

Yang Energy and the Power of his body twisted into a single strand. The Yang Energy that would normally disperse was now bound, circulating within his body, making his Power considerably stronger—if he exploded with force, it’d definitely be even more intense.

The Mountain Essence in his belly dissolved, all its contained energy digested by Wen Yan. It felt as if a gentle warmth cloaked all his organs, then streamed out to every limb and bone. He could clearly feel himself becoming stronger and tougher.

There was also another stream of Power, endlessly flowing into his eyes, making them brighter and brighter.

When he finished practicing, he looked north, and found the mountains there appeared even clearer than before.

Now that the Mountain’s Demon was dead, the mountain obviously wouldn’t move anymore—it could only be that his sight had gotten stronger.

Being able to see further was super practical here. Wen Yan now didn’t even dare to wander too far. Last time, after being mockingly taunted up close by the Mountain’s Demon without dealing with him in advance, the main reason was because he was scared of getting lost.

If you get lost here, no one can help you, because he already knows this place better than anyone else.

Now, just by looking up, he could see the northern mountains. Wen Yan was rather satisfied. This was a powerful landmark and point of reference. Compared to the previous unending wastelands all around—where, just by stepping away from the manor, you’d totally lose your bearings—this was way better.

With his sight improved, he estimated that even dozens of miles away, he could still faintly make out the silhouette of the mountain. If, at times, the fog high in the sky cleared a bit, maybe he could spot it from even further out.

This meant his roaming range could now extend, with the mountain as the center, to a radius of seventy or eighty kilometers.

This would be a huge help in finding a way home by himself going forward.

He glanced again at the Black Mountain Stone Sculpture. If he kept transcending it for more Mountain Essences, and his sight kept leveling up, then maybe he could see through the fog even farther. His activity range would just keep expanding along with it.

Wen Yan felt that the time for him to go home might not be far off—at least now he had something to hope for.

He was already getting used to days without the internet, but going home was still better, of course.

Previously, his Fourth Great-uncle Master had said that he couldn’t place the shelves’ window anywhere near him—it could only open at the closest spot possible.

They’d tested it a few more times afterwards, confirming this was the case.

The closest spot to him was inside the Nether Soul Realm,

So as long as he could find a way into the Nether Soul Realm, he could leave the Netherworld.

Thankfully, Cai Heizi didn’t throw a mushroom bomb into the Nether Soul Realm earlier. If he had, they’d all be screwed now.

The current problem was that, for this exploration plan to work, he had to guarantee safety—and not get lost.

He’d thought about having the Scorching Sun Department send down something to help find directions, but too bad, all the compass apps on his phone were now trash. Wen Yan’s claim that the mountain was to the north? Totally just his own definition at this point.

The next day, Wen Yan got up on time, trained, had his breakfast, and gave the Grave Walker a bowl too, then lit a stick of incense.

Lin Jue, watching from the side, looked on hungrily. These days, he gets Paper Money every day, yeah...but only Paper Money.

He didn’t even know if he should eat like Wen Yan, or like the Coachman—neither seemed all that appropriate.

If he ate directly, he’s in Nether Soul mode now and couldn’t eat. If he copied the Coachman, well, he wasn’t a ghost, and he was kind of afraid that taking a bite would really turn him into a ghost. So, every day, he was stuck just staring at them eat.

Wen Yan glanced at Lin Jue, convinced he and Brother Fu had nothing in common—this guy really was...to use a Guanzhong County phrase, ”blessedly cheap.”

He couldn’t eat, but insisted on watching people eat. Then he’d say he read somewhere, in some book, that if a Nether Soul leaves its body and wants to avoid actually turning into a real ghost, it has to always remember what being alive felt like.

Best to remember human desires, the simplest being two: good food and pretty girls.

This guy now spent every day just watching people eat—someone else enjoying a bowl of sour soup noodles was enough to make him sniff nonstop, claiming the level of vinegar was just right—gone was the harsh acidity, only the rich aroma remained, the sourness still strong, and it’d be perfect as a soup base.

When he was done, if nothing else was going on, he’d hug a copy of a classical literature parody, reading intently. He claimed he’d previously overlooked the masterpieces of ancient culture, but these books were really well-written—even just a few words would make him itch for more.

The guy, all day long, looked more like a real human than Wen Yan did sometimes, so Wen Yan stopped worrying about him.

Of course, Wen Yan thought Brother Fu did have one good trait: generosity.

Any Paper Money he received, he just gave it all to Wen Yan as ”life-extension cash.”

Wen Yan had nowhere to spend the Paper Money, no use for it at all, so he just handed it out—whether to the paper people in the manor or the Grave Walker, they’d all gotten Paper Money from him.

The Grave Walker said the Paper Money could be used directly to strengthen himself, with great effect—but it was a bit too precious, so he was reluctant to use it. If Wen Yan hadn’t shoved entire wads of it into his hands, he still couldn’t bear to spend it even now.

Brother Fu’s family had really spared no expense back then—sending money at fixed times every day. Maybe besides Paper Money there was other stuff too, just that they weren’t able to receive it here.

It was a peaceful day. In the afternoon, as Wen Yan was relaxing and killing time with some tea, someone showed up outside the door again.

The players who’d disappeared before, for some reason, hadn’t returned—until today. Finally, one of them came back.