Preparations for the Hunt

Li Qingyan and Bai Muxi did not need sleep, but Xu Yuan did. After setting up a simple camp, the three settled down to rest along the edge of the cave-in. Gathered around the campfire, the dancing flames cast their shadows against the empty passageway like looming behemoths. Taking advantage of the idle moments before sleep, Xu Yuan sat in the center and unhurriedly laid out his plan to hunt the Black Serpent to the two women. After some time, his voice wound down. Sweeping his gaze across the two, he asked softly, "Do either of you have any objections to my plan?" "......" A moment of silence fell. Bai Muxi's bright eyes flickered. Though hesitant at heart, she answered briskly, "Replying to Young Master, Muxi has none." Hearing this, Xu Yuan turned toward the chest-bound princess, whose face remained utterly devoid of expression. "Qingyan, what about you?" "Me?" Li Qingyan was not as obedient as Little Bai. But after letting out an ambiguous soft laugh, she sighed. "I have already said that as long as we remain in this crypt, I will carry out all of your orders." At that point, she paused briefly, her long, narrow phoenix eyes gradually narrowing as she stared at Xu Yuan. "However, Changtian, do you even know what you're saying?" She realized that ever since entering this Silent Crypt, she had grown increasingly unable to comprehend what went on inside her future husband's head. Hunt that Transcendent aberrant ghost? Judging from the intelligence this exasperating fellow had supposedly procured from who knew where, although this serpent-shaped Transcendent aberrant ghost lacked higher intellect, its current strength was not a bit weaker than an ordinary Transcendent expert. Her, plus a half-baked Origin Realm, along with a piece of deadweight, going to kill a Transcendent aberrant ghost? Kill it how? By ramming their heads into it? Based on her judgment, with such a terrifying Transcendent aberrant ghost lurking nearby, the optimal course of action was undoubtedly to leave this region as quickly as possible. They could even consider turning back to the cavern city to formulate a new plan. After all, according to Bai Muxi, aside from when the Blood Nest rioted, these aberrant ghosts were incapable of stepping foot outside the Blood Demon Cave. "......" Meeting Li Qingyan's gaze, Xu Yuan was not surprised in the least by her reaction. Her golden promise to obey him would not stop her from privately questioning his decisions. Thus, Xu Yuan replied quite bluntly, "Of course I know what I'm saying." Seeing his resolute gaze, Li Qingyan pondered slightly and said, "Changtian, as you stated just now, whether these Transcendent aberrant ghosts live or die will not affect our escape from this crypt. That being the case, all we need to consider is—" "Just how to successfully escape?" Xu Yuan interjected, finishing Li Qingyan's thought. Interrupted, Li Qingyan did not take offense. She merely nodded and quietly persuaded him, "If you want to acquire certain treasures on this Transcendent aberrant ghost by killing it, we can easily wait until we return to the capital and report this to Duke Xu or Imperial Father. They can dispatch powerful experts to sweep this place clean. There is no need to risk your life." "......" Xu Yuan was left somewhat speechless. To others, and even to some Transcendent experts standing at the pinnacle of Great Yan, this Silent Crypt was dangerous, but it was also a great opportunity. Be it the black death armor, the demon crystals dropped by high-tier aberrant ghosts, or the viscous, unknown substances deep within the Blood Nest, every one of them was a bargaining chip capable of bolstering one's strength. If a Transcendent expert learned of the treasures within this Silent Crypt, even if the danger was immense, they would most likely explore it themselves rather than report it upward. At most, they would call upon two or three close friends to "run the dungeon" together. Reporting it to the top was safe, but the vast majority of the opportunities here would be carved up by the highest echelons of power. The person who discovered the opportunity would only be left with scraps. Yet that was only true for ordinary cultivators. For him and Li Qingyan, this place offered only danger. Given their status, so long as they could make it out alive, whatever lay down here could belong to them if they wanted it. Even if the "high-level muscle" who risked their lives to clear out the aberrant ghosts wanted the treasures inside, the prime minister's estate and the imperial family would offer other forms of compensation to "forcibly requisition" them on their behalf. Xu Yuan stared blankly into the fire before him. Li Qingyan's words were very reasonable. Having blundered into a death trap like the Blood Demon Cave, surviving was indeed of paramount importance. In *Cangyuan*, being attacked by a high-tier aberrant ghost carried a probability of inflicting an incurable, persistent grievous wound status. Thinking back now, that status had most likely been aberrant ghost transformation. As the fire dwindled slightly, Xu Yuan casually retrieved some specially treated oil from his Sumeru ring to stoke it. "In truth, my motive for wanting to hunt that Black Serpent is very simple: to give us an extra layer of insurance so we make it out alive. I don't intend to be dictatorial about this. If neither of you is willing, we can reconsider our approach." The added oil caught fire, and the faint flames flared up once more. Li Qingyan watched his side profile, illuminated by the flickering firelight, for a long while before sighing. "Tell me what this insurance is." Xu Yuan did not turn his head, his eyes fixed on the fire before him. "Just as the demon race possesses demon cores, and we humans possess dantians and seas of consciousness, aberrant ghosts likewise possess something within their bodies called demon crystals." "Demon crystals?" Bai Muxi hesitated slightly before speaking up. "Yet in my twenty-odd years, Muxi has never seen anything resembling a crystal within an aberrant ghost's body. Even the cat demon aberrant ghost Her Highness slew just now had none." "About that..." Xu Yuan grinned and said, "I don't know either." "......" Li Qingyan. "......" Bai Muxi. Facing the two women's stares, Xu Yuan unhurriedly fished out a military Inedia Pill from his Sumeru ring and swallowed it to fill his belly, missing Old Man Luo for the first time in a while. If that old immortal who had survived the Great Aberrant Ghost Calamity were around, every question concerning aberrant ghosts could probably be resolved without effort. Unfortunately, his dear old dad seemed to have found the old fellow a new love interest. After a moment of thought, however, Xu Yuan managed to cobble together a fabricated excuse: "Perhaps it is because ten thousand years is so long that the demon crystals disappeared. But I am certain that there is a demon crystal inside that Black Serpent." "So what does a demon crystal actually do?" Li Qingyan's question cut straight to the core as always. "A demon crystal has plenty of uses. Just the ones I know of number four." Xu Yuan gave a slight smile. Counting them off on his fingers, he smiled and explained, "If one cultivates an appropriate art, a demon crystal can directly enhance one's cultivation base. Even without an art to absorb the quintessential energy inside, it can steadily strengthen one's physique and boost physical regeneration. Swallowing it directly yields an even greater effect—a demon crystal contains the aberrant ghost's origin life force, allowing one's physique to surge dramatically within a short period. "Of course, everything comes at a price. Direct ingestion will rupture the body's meridians. Qingyan, you can understand it as a high-tier version of Qi-Erupting Powder." Li Qingyan listened silently, her expression unchanging. "While these three effects are tempting, they aren't reason enough for you to risk your life, Changtian. What is the fourth effect?" "Heh, Qingyan really does know me best." Xu Yuan gave a low chuckle, his eyes turning slightly vacant. "Consuming a demon crystal can temporarily reverse the process of aberrant ghost transformation." "......" Silence fell with his words. Li Qingyan's delicate brows furrowed slightly. A look of disbelief flickered across Bai Muxi's eyes, and her gentle voice rose a pitch. "Young Master, the ancient records state that once converted, the process of aberrant ghost transformation is irreversible." "I know." Xu Yuan raised a hand to signal for her to calm down. Realizing her breach of composure, Bai Muxi immediately composed herself and whispered, "Young Master... is your information reliable?" Sitting cross-legged on the ground with his fingers interlaced over his lap, Xu Yuan spun a half-true, half-false fabrication on the spot: "Muxi, your underground city was likely a subterranean nest built ten thousand years ago by the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion and several major sects of that era to study aberrant ghosts. My information comes from a Holy Venerable of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion from ten thousand years ago." Bai Muxi bowed her head and cautiously glanced at Xu Yuan's expression. "It was... it was Muxi speaking out of turn. I should not have questioned Young Master's words." Xu Yuan waved his hand to dismiss it, then looked at Li Qingyan. Bai Muxi's opinion did not matter; what mattered was Her Royal Highness the Princess, who would have to act as the main carry. Li Qingyan did not speak immediately, pondering his earlier words. After a long while, she murmured, "Temporarily reverse?" Xu Yuan nodded. "Aberrant ghost transformation is a terminal affliction beyond the reach of medicine or herbs. A Transcendent aberrant ghost's demon crystal can only drag out the process, allowing the victim's original consciousness to endure longer." A glint flashed across Li Qingyan's phoenix eyes. "I remember when we first entered the crypt, Changtian told me that even if I were transformed into an aberrant ghost, you had a way to save me. You weren't merely boasting, were you?" Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes and grinned. "Of course not. However, the cure to reverse the transformation is located in the deepest depths of the crypt. We have to reach that place first before we can obtain it." There was indeed a cure for aberrant ghost transformation. How that cure had been concocted in this reality, Xu Yuan did not know. But *Cangyuan*, being a game, would never incorporate an incurable, permanent poison debuff. The 2.5D game style dictated that no matter how skilled a player's mechanics were, taking zero damage was exceedingly difficult. Furthermore, with so many aberrant ghosts in this Silent Crypt that loved swarming the player, even an expert gamer like Xu Yuan had to tread carefully. If an unlucky ordinary player were scratched by a common mob right upon entering the dungeon and inflicted with the 'aberrant ghost transformation' poison status, were they supposed to just restart the game? *Cangyuan* had to account for gameplay experience and player feedback. Consequently, the bastard developers of *Cangyuan* had designed a rather urgent, time-limited progression path: Get poisoned, slay an elite boss to drop a demon crystal, consume the crystal to temporarily delay the poison effect and survive, delve deeper into the crypt, and then slay another elite boss to use its crystal to keep clinging to life until finally breaking into the boss chamber to obtain the cure. By now, however, that dormant aberrant ghost had most likely left to pursue the Barbarian King. With the crypt being so vast, they stood a high chance of using this window to sneak into the Blood Nest and teleport away. Having thought to this point, Xu Yuan looked toward Li Qingyan and asked, "So, my dear Princess, what is your choice?" "......" Li Qingyan lowered her lovely eyes, her slender fingers habitually rubbing her Sumeru ring. Suddenly, she said, "I agree to your plan." Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow and smiled faintly. "So decisive? No further consideration? We're talking about hunting a Transcendent aberrant ghost here." "I am still capable of weighing the stakes." Li Qingyan snorted softly and rolled her eyes at him. "If we don't follow your plan, we can only leave things to fate and pray that we don't run into any Transcendent aberrant ghosts on the path ahead." Saying so, a dash of the spirited, gallant charisma belonging to Princess Wuyuan surfaced across her brow, and her crimson lips curled slightly. "Rather than leaving things to heaven, I prefer to grasp the variables in my own hands." With this explanation, she had already deduced the general contours of the plan proposed by the man before her. Taking the risk to slay that Transcendent aberrant ghost and obtain the demon crystal within was an insurance policy, as well as a trump card for delving further into the Blood Nest. So long as they killed that Transcendent aberrant ghost and secured its demon crystal, if they encountered an adversary beyond their strength further down the road, she could willingly allow herself to be transformed, swallowing the demon crystal to delay the transformation while exchanging it for greater power. A tightrope walk. If an accident occurred at any point along the way, they would most likely be buried here. Yet in such a desperate predicament, how could any path be devoid of risk? Thinking to this point, a smiling thrill surfaced within Li Qingyan's fiery red phoenix eyes. "It is very risky, but I like it." "......" Xu Yuan figured the princess had let her thoughts wander onto all sorts of odd tangents, but seeing that she had agreed, he said no more, speaking in a low voice, "In that case, Qingyan, do as I instructed you earlier. As for you, Muxi..." Turning to Bai Muxi at his side, Xu Yuan's eyes flickered with a hint of hesitation. Seeing that hesitation, Bai Muxi seemed to realize something. Pursing her lips, she whispered demurely, "Young Master, please speak. Whatever it is, Muxi will carry it out. I only ask that once you return to the imperial court, you will not forget the cavern city..." "I never said I was using you as bait." Xu Yuan instantly realized this woman thought he intended to use her as a decoy. Chuckling, he waved his hand. "You only need to protect my perimeter. Once the battle begins, my cultivation base will almost certainly fail to keep up with Qingyan and the monster's speed. If that aberrant ghost targets me, I will circulate a teleportation technique inside my body beforehand. You just need to channel your Source Qi into me to help me activate it." Pausing, Xu Yuan pondered for a moment before suddenly retrieving a storage subtle box from his Sumeru ring, from which he took out yet another Sumeru ring. And then— *Rumble—* With a tremor, a Great Yan Dynasty city-defense military array-inscribed ballista with a bowspan of several zhang appeared directly before the three of them. "......" Bai Muxi. "......" Li Qingyan. Seeing this, Li Qingyan stared at the dozen or so Sumeru rings inside that subtle box, her red lips parting slightly. She realized that the wealth this man carried on him was somewhat beyond her imagination. Moreover, this military array-inscribed ballista... As if noticing Li Qingyan's gaze, Xu Yuan turned back at once and said with a chuckle, "Don't look so shocked. The sect sold this to me. I will also set up some other military Source Crystal bombs in advance. When the time comes, I'll give you a batch and plant some in various spots beforehand. All we need to do is lure that thing over—we might even blow it to death directly without needing to fight." Saying so, Xu Yuan looked at Bai Muxi, gestured toward the military array-inscribed ballista, and smiled. "Come, Muxi, let me teach you how to operate this thing first. If you can land a hit on that Black Serpent with it, hunting it might become much easier for us."