She Has a Gun!

In the Medicine Garden, sunlight filtered through the dense canopy of leaves. Shadows danced softly, and dappled spots of light swayed across the grassy ground like fluttering butterflies. Xu Wenwu lay sprawled on his back across a patch of pasture immortal grass, munching on half a root of Water Spirit Ginseng. Crisp and succulent, it tasted almost like fruit. A faint mist drifted above the surrounding grass—spiritual qi so dense that it was on the verge of condensing into watery vapor. A mortal simply lying here would find both aptitude and bone structure slowly improving. This was the very heart of the Medicine Garden and the place where spiritual qi was thickest in all of Qingming. The Nether Dragon Nightshade that Xu Wenwu had personally tended in the early days had now grown into a towering tree whose sprawling canopy stood like an umbrella. It was just that the air around the tree carried a somewhat eerie, ghostly chill, and unknown creatures often prowled in its vicinity. Xu Wenwu was lying barely a hundred feet from the Nether Dragon Nightshade. Just as drowsiness was beginning to overtake him, a faint buzzing suddenly sounded beside his ear. A mosquito the size of a palm appeared and landed on his thigh, its toothpick-like proboscis stabbing down toward the flesh! Suddenly, with a booming blast, a flare of fire exploded across the giant mosquito. Its wings were blown clean off, sending it tumbling to the ground, where its six long legs kicked in helpless spasms. A miniature, palm-sized tank rolled out from beneath Xu Wenwu’s feet, both of its gun barrels visibly steaming. It took aim once more at the dying mosquito and fired another volley, finally finishing off the grotesque insect. Xu Wenwu let out a loud yawn without even opening his eyes. The little tank drove straight up the trunk of a nearby tree, ultimately hanging upside down from a branch right above Xu Wenwu’s head. From its commanding perch, it kept watch over the surroundings. The moment any insect or creeping bug dared draw near, it would blow it away with a blast. In just a short while, dozens of assorted insect carcasses piled up around Xu Wenwu. One of them was over three feet long, and the miniature tank had fired more than a dozen shots in rapid succession to blow it in half at the center, preventing it from disturbing Xu Wenwu’s sleep. When Wei Yuan walked up beneath the Nether Dragon Nightshade, this was the exact scene that met his eyes. Wei Yuan was in no hurry to wake Xu Wenwu, first taking a look around. The Nether Dragon Nightshade was one of the earliest spirit plants he had sown, and it had subsequently mutated after absorbing a tremendous amount of karmic luck. Grown continuously in the core area of the Medicine Garden, its growth rate was dozens of times faster than that of the outside world. By now, its medicinal age exceeded two hundred years, and even a few of its leaves would serve as prime ingredients for Body Casting pills. However, consuming Body Casting pills refined from it made one's Dao Foundation prone to developing nether and yin-chill affinities. Treasures were everywhere across Qingming’s Medicine Garden now. Tens of thousands of Five Elements Spirit Ginseng roots had been planted, of which seven or eight thousand possessed a medicinal potency exceeding a century. Judging by its aura, the Water Spirit Ginseng in Xu Wenwu’s mouth was only about a hundred and twenty years old; with an abundance of them in the garden, munching on one as a snack was hardly an issue. Yet while treasures abounded in the Medicine Garden, it had also grown extraordinarily dangerous. One only needed to look at the circle of insect corpses around Xu Wenwu—every single one was a spirit insect at the Dao Foundation stage. Ever since Goutou the immortal dog merged into the earth of Qingming, the realm's entire environment had transformed. Spirit beasts and spirit insects underwent an explosive boom, multiplying dozens or even hundreds of times over. The Medicine Garden naturally held countless spirit plants and dense spiritual qi, making it a paradise for all manner of spirit insects. The small animals that preyed on insects surged in number as well; as a result, the marten and cat grew increasingly pudgy by the day, taking on a delightfully comical chubbiness. Once these spirit insects reached the Dao Foundation stage, they underwent a transformative metamorphosis, their lethality skyrocketing. A mosquito could pierce through steel, while a butterfly could bewitch the mind. Even setting those aside, the venoms of various poisonous insects experienced a qualitative leap, and with their enlarged bodies, many had become genuine threats even to Dharma Idol cultivators. Qingming now had a vast population, and with so many people, a mix of the good and bad was inevitable. Quite a few cultivators, upon forging their Dao Foundations, planned to leave Qingming. Reluctant to depart empty-handed, many sneaked into the Medicine Garden hoping to chance upon some fortune of their own. Yet none ever returned; instead, they had merely become the fortunes of the spirit insects. Wei Yuan looked up and spotted the miniature twin-barreled tank overhead. Reaching out a hand, he plucked it straight from the branch. The tank panicked, its muzzle glowing with blue light as it prepared to fire. But with a single pulse of Wei Yuan’s Dao power, it was pinned down, entirely unable to move. Xu Wenwu’s chest suddenly heaved violently. Bolting upright, he cried out, "It’s crushing me to death!" He opened his eyes and blinked dazedly at his surroundings, realizing only a moment later that it had merely been a dream. With Xu Wenwu awake, the miniature tank in Wei Yuan’s hand vanished. Drenched in cold sweat, Xu Wenwu said to Wei Yuan, "I just had a dream. It was terrifying—a giant hand grabbed hold of me and dragged me all the way into the deep sea... Thank goodness I woke up." Wei Yuan said, "Didn’t you know your Dao Foundation could act on its own?" "Of course I know! I let it out to move around whenever I sleep. Otherwise, I wouldn't dare sleep here at all—a single mosquito could suck several jin of blood out of me." Wei Yuan gave a quiet shake of his head. Xu Wenwu lacked common cultivation sense, completely oblivious to how rare it was for a Dao Foundation to possess such spirituality. Then again, a tank attaining sentience did sound a bit bizarre. Wei Yuan said, "Come on. I’m taking you to play in the otherworldly realm." "The otherworldly realm? How do we get there? Did we already build a spaceship?" Wei Yuan said, "Getting there is simple. All you have to do is sleep in a different place." Wei Yuan brought Xu Wenwu back to the immortal city and arranged a bed for him. Xu Wenwu was an old hand at sleeping; the second his head hit the pillow, he drifted happily off to dreamland, appearing inside the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World in the blink of an eye. Xu Wenwu did not have the fondest impression of the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World. In his memory, entering meant nothing but grueling work—exhausting him to the bone, not to mention waking up inexplicably drained. After all, nobody would feel refreshed after spending an entire night in their dreams taking exams and grinding problem sets. This time, however, what appeared before Xu Wenwu was not the familiar cramped cubicle, but the corner of a city. Before him stood a plain-looking young woman who said, "Please follow me." At the sight of a young woman, even an ordinary-looking one, Xu Wenwu’s spirits lifted instantly. Xu Wenwu followed the girl to the base of Jade Mountain, just in time to see Wei Yuan emerge from the portal and set down a strand of Dao profound qi. Seeing Xu Wenwu, Wei Yuan said, "It is very dangerous in there. Complete your training course first before you enter." By now, a massive logistical base had been constructed outside Jade Mountain, including four newly founded research institutes alone. Several Dao Foundation cultivators led Xu Wenwu into a training hall, testing his various physical limits and teaching him all the precautions for surviving in the otherworldly realm, as well as how to operate various types of equipment. The training course lasted an entire day. Then, blessed with azure qi and human fortune, Xu Wenwu finally stepped through the portal. The moment he crossed the portal, the familiar roar of autocannons filled his ears. Under the night sky, flying swords transformed into streams of light, tearing into grotesque monsters in the distance and sending flesh and blood flying. Xu Wenwu found the spectacle striking a deep chord of familiarity, as though he had stepped right into one of the blockbuster war movies he used to stay up late binge-watching. A rush of excitement seized him. Wei Yuan appeared at that moment and said to him, "Follow me." Xu Wenwu followed Wei Yuan into a nearby low building and went up to the second floor. The second floor was an exhibition room, where various objects were displayed under glass cases. Wei Yuan led Xu Wenwu straight to the center of the room, pointing at an item placed on a display stand and asking, "Do you recognize this?" Xu Wenwu blurted out, "Isn’t that just a soda can? Just flattened, is all." Wei Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed he hadn't summoned the wrong person after all; Xu Wenwu truly had countless tangled ties to this world. Wei Yuan picked up the can and asked, "Do you recognize the characters on it?" Xu Wenwu examined it closely, then shook his head. "No. Not a single one." The characters on the can bore a superficial resemblance to the script used by the human race, yet they were fundamentally different. Over the past few days, the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World had already concluded that this writing did not match any human script passed down from antiquity; with insufficient data, its meaning could not be deciphered. Clinging to a final shred of hope, Wei Yuan asked, "Could it possibly be that... 'foreign language' you mentioned?" "No! I've never seen them in my life." Wei Yuan nodded. "Get ready. We set out in half an hour to explore the cluster of buildings over there. This is Longying. Stay at his side at all times—do not run off under any circumstances." Now that the expedition was truly at hand, Xu Wenwu thought of all the infamous monsters lurking in the dark, and a wave of nervousness instantly washed over him. He gave a stiff nod. He desperately wanted to back out, but lacked the nerve to voice it, leaving him no choice but to bite the bullet and agree. Half an hour later, Wei Yuan set out again at the head of the team. During his previous scouting runs, Wei Yuan had intentionally avoided the square building at the heart of the complex, first combing through the surrounding smaller structures. Only after clearing the perimeter did he finally approach this building. Bringing Xu Wenwu along paid off almost immediately. Looking at the building, he blurted out, "Is that a gas station and a mini-mart?" "A gas station?" Xu Wenwu pointed toward several pillars standing in the open lot outside. "Looks like one. Those blackened piles of scrap metal beside the pillars should be fuel pumps. Why are they rusted into such a mess, though?" Wei Yuan asked, "What dangers exist in a gas station with a convenience store?" "Dangers?" Xu Wenwu scratched his head. He truly couldn't imagine what danger there could be in a place like this, aside from there usually being a lot of people. A lot of people? A chill gripped Wei Yuan’s heart. He finally realized the source of his unease. He immediately summoned a dharma idol warrior to escort Xu Wenwu to the rear and set up a firing position on the second floor of an abandoned building. Wei Yuan himself cautiously advanced, stepping into the convenience store. Inside, the mini-mart was dead silent, showing no signs of life. Metal shelves were thick with accumulated dust that had caked together into solid clumps. A layer of thick black grime coated the floor, leaving deep footprints wherever Wei Yuan stepped. "The front is the retail floor, the counter is against the wall, and the back should be the stockroom..." Xu Wenwu followed Wei Yuan with his gaze, relaying whatever he recognized to the dharma idol warrior beside him. And what the warrior heard, Wei Yuan knew. Wei Yuan arrived before the counter and spotted a faint silhouette behind it. The outline appeared to be that of a woman, busily tending to something behind the register. As Wei Yuan approached, the figure turned its head, seemingly noticing him, and began feeling around beneath the counter. Xu Wenwu instinctively yelled, "She has a gun!" The shadow pulled something out from beneath the counter and aimed it straight at Wei Yuan! Wei Yuan shifted laterally in a flash, dodging the barrel's line of fire. The surrounding space seemed to shudder, and a small pit suddenly cratered the wall behind him, spraying shattered rock! Wei Yuan’s heart clenched. That blast had carried immense power, on par with a full-force strike from a late Dharma Idol cultivator! Had he taken the hit, even he would have suffered injury. Seeing the shadowy figure raise its gun to aim once more, Wei Yuan leaped directly over the counter. Demonic Blade Qiyue appeared in his grip, severing the shadow’s gun-bearing arm in a single slash. "Wait, don't—" Before Demonic Blade Qiyue could finish its cry, Wei Yuan struck three more times, cleanly severing all of the figure's limbs. The shadow coalesced from ethereal to solid, revealing its true form: a humanoid creature charred completely black from head to toe. Whether scorched by fire or eroded by the passage of ages, its surface was as black as charcoal. The stumps where the demonic blade had severed its limbs exposed a dark gray substance flecked with white—not flesh and blood, but something resembling silt. The blade of Demonic Blade Qiyue trembled violently, letting out a wail of misery. "No more! It stinks too much! It's horrifying!" Wei Yuan could perceive no scent, but the demonic blade's reaction hardly seemed feigned; its spirituality had actually dipped slightly, having suffered genuine damage. The demonic blade's wails seemed to awaken the entire building. One after another, silhouettes emerged from the shadows, every single one fixing its gaze on Wei Yuan. Decisively tossing the noisy demonic blade aside, Wei Yuan leaped backward and burst out of the building.