Chapter 1730: Automatic Feeder?
Everyone was instantly captivated by the massive pillar at the center of the Spirit Ruin!
Only Xingcheng was completely uninterested!
Lan chuckled: "Let's just go see what it is, shall we?"
With that, she teleported them all over toward the pillar.
As soon as they arrived, Mila and the others were stunned.
The pillar was about three hundred meters in diameter and an astonishing ten thousand meters tall!
It was made of some unknown eggplant-purple material, covered in countless incantations.
Vaguely, they could feel streams of energy passing through the pillar and seeping into the void.
At the base of the pillar was a core shaped like a giant honeycomb.
Every honeycomb chamber was constantly combining and shifting positions, looking extremely mystical.
And within a ten-thousand-meter radius lay a massive curse array containing eighteen miniature sub-arrays. These sub-arrays were currently dim and lifeless, but the main array was still operating!
Lan flew over and hugged the pillar, her eyes sparkling!
‼(💰﹃💰۶)۶|PILLAR|
"Heavens! A spike this big? This spirit material must be worth a lot of money, right?"
"Brother Jiangnan never said the spikes would be this huge!"
Mila's mouth twitched: "I'm afraid this isn't a spike at all—it's a Jueling Pillar, isn't it? Is this the Chujing Spirit Ruin?"
Nothing about this thing looked like a nail!
Moreover, from the projection in Sister Moyan's mind back then, the Spirit-Sealing Spikes were crimson red, but this one was purple.
Looking at the eighteen dim sub-arrays, a hint of worry appeared on Mila's face.
(๑･᷄～･᷅)"Only three spikes should be left, and they've all been pulled out, otherwise the Chujing Spirit Ruin wouldn't have appeared. I wonder how Brother Jiangnan and the others are doing."
The four little ones had traveled this path, devouring nearly two hundred Spirit Ruins without any other gains.
Unexpectedly, they stumbled into the Chujing Spirit Ruin!
Lan's eyes widened:
"(º口º#) "You're saying this is the Jueling Pillar? Dammit! Cheng Baby, stop eating!"
"We're supposed to guard this place! You can't keep eating!"
Xingcheng abruptly stopped, confusedly wiping the dirt from the corner of her mouth, looking utterly disappointed:
☚(๑･᷄﹃･᷅)"Eh~ I can't eat it?"
Lan said seriously: "No! See that big pillar? We have to guard it! Otherwise, when Brother Jiangnan comes, he'll be angry and won't be nice to you anymore, and he'll never give you good food again!"
Xingcheng swallowed hard. Was it really that cruel?
Mila's little face turned stern: "I don't know what's going on, but I believe Brother Jiangnan will be fine and that he'll definitely make it here!"
"Until he arrives, we need to keep this place safe!"
The four little ones exchanged glances and nodded resolutely.
Mila pulled Xingcheng to the edge of the abyss she had just gnawed out and pointed at the spatial mist over the void, her face full of smiles.
(๑ᵔ◡ᵔ)☛"Cheng Baby! See that? That thing is called an automatic feeder. In a little while, delicious things might come jumping out of it!"
"As soon as it feeds, you just eat it all up, okay?"
Xingcheng looked puzzled: (･ิ～･ิ๑)୨"Eh? Really? I haven't read many books, don't trick Cheng Baby!"
There was actually such a wonderful thing in the world?
Mila put her hands on her hips: "How could I, Little Spicy Mila, lie to you? It definitely is an automatic feeder! Just wait—"
Before she could finish, the mist rippled, and a disheveled beggar woman in tattered clothes, along with over a thousand mercenaries, teleported in.
As soon as they appeared, they noticed the towering pillar in the distance. The woman's eyes filled with excitement, tears streaming down her face.
(#༎ຶ口.༎ຶ`)"Crap! After wandering around in here for over a year, I finally found it! That must be the Jueling Pillar! Brothers! We've made it—"
Xingcheng's eyes lit up. It really was an automatic feeder!
So she opened her mouth wide toward the spatial mist and activated her Massive Devour. The space itself collapsed under the powerful devouring force.
Before Beggar Wei could finish her sentence, she and the mercenaries screamed as they were sucked toward Xingcheng's mouth.
"What the hell is this? This young lady—"
[From Vivian's Resentment Points +1003!]
Could she be any unluckier? The moment she found the Jueling Pillar, she ended up in someone's mouth?
As space compressed, everyone who had just teleported in was crushed to bits and entered Xingcheng's belly.
Xingcheng wore a blissful expression:
(ૢ⁼̴〰⁼̴)"Sister Mila! You know so much! The automatic feeder is awesome!"
Mila's forehead dripped with sweat: (乛﹏乛‧̣̥̇)"Ahaha~ Yeah, right?"
Lan facepalmed beside her. One dared to say it, the other dared to believe it!
But with Xingcheng blocking the entrance, whoever came would be eaten. For now, the safety of the Chujing Spirit Ruin was secure.
Poor Beggar Wei—after wandering the Spirit Ruin for over a year, she'd finally made it, but also reached her end.
...
Meanwhile, Jiangnan was speeding along in the car, looking suspiciously at Hairpin Wei.
(◔～◔ิ#)
Was this guy holding a grudge against him? He hadn't done anything to provoke her—why was she giving him Resentment Points?
Seeing Jiangnan constantly staring at her with ill intent, Hairpin Wei shuddered violently.
I'd better show my value quickly, or this guy might use the ring to poke me again!
"Ahem! The news has spread. Now the whole world is starting a massive relocation of civilians, and every country has begun to act."
"The world is in chaos because of this news. Also, someone saw a golden light flash over Mountain City—it should be Odin coming through the Rainforest Maze to support us."
Jiangnan's spirits lifted. Little Bro came that fast?
The others on the car listened, their scalps tingling, faces bitter: "I can't imagine what it's like out there now."
Because of a message sent from here, the world was trembling and undergoing drastic changes.
Everyone had their own concerns, and the car suddenly fell silent.
Each of them had parents, relatives, and friends outside—were they also being evacuated? Had they gotten lost in the chaos? Would they be bullied?
Xia Yao thought of her parents far away in Jiangcheng, Zhong Yingxue worried about the Zhong family, Mountain Cat thought of her parents, grandfather, and sister...
It was only natural. When facing such a crisis, not being able to accompany family and friends through it was the most worrying and painful thing.
Even the usually lively Xia Yao was now bowing her head and fiddling with her fingers, lost in thought.
Gao Xingyu held a notebook, wrote something for a long time, crossed it all out, tore it up, crumpled it, and threw it away. Then he started another page, crossed it out again, and threw it away.
Jiangnan tilted his head: "Hey, hey, hey! You're not writing a suicide note or something, are you? Writing a suicide note at a time like this—do you really want to die?"
"Don't you know that in dramas and novels, whenever someone writes a suicide note, takes out a photo, says 'I'll marry you when I get back,' or 'My daughter is three years old,' they're guaranteed to die?"
Gao Xingyu shuddered, his face turning black. He quickly threw the notebook away—no way he was setting up a death flag!
Zhong Yingxue covered her mouth and laughed:
(∗❛ั◡❛ั)"You said that too when you led everyone into the Abyss before."
Jiangnan grinned: "Cheer up! We don't know if we'll live or die going into this, but I'll do everything I can to get all of you out alive."
"As for suicide notes—don't bother writing them. If you really die, how am I supposed to deliver the note to your parents? How can I face them as they cry their hearts out reading it?"
"It only makes the family who see it even more sorrowful. We might die—end of story, light and easy—but those who survive are the ones who suffer the most, aren't they?"
"Don't let your parents and family drown in grief, tearing open the wound again and again. They just need to know what their son or daughter was doing, what they died for, to be proud of you, to miss you often—that's probably the best outcome."
Everyone took a deep breath, looking at the smile on Jiangnan's face, their eyes firm.
Yeah. Why add more pain?
Here, we fight for all of humanity. Dying is worth it. Living is even better.
Clearly, at this moment, everyone had set aside thoughts of life and death.
Mountain Cat said flatly: (◦`~´◦)"Like you, carving on your tombstone: 'I had things to do, so I hung up first'?"
At that, many people chuckled. Jiangnan said bluntly:
(￢◡◢)"Of course! If I really die, then—mmph!"
Before he could finish, Zhong Yingxue rushed over and covered his mouth, looking at him with reproach.
"Ptooey ptooey! Don't say that! Hurry, you ptooey too! Mmm—don't lick my hand!"
Zhong Yingxue's hand snapped back, her face flushing crimson. Jiangnan grinned mischievously.
"Enough of that. First, we need to find the Chujing Spirit Ruin. I don't know what means Ruiya and the others have, but it's best to get ahead and find it first."
Qin Shou scratched his head: "My bad luck time is over, and Boss Nan's has about ten minutes left."
"Isn't Wu Liang supposed to be a lucky charm? We've gone through over thirty Spirit Ruins and come up empty. Maybe Boss Nan's luck is canceling out Wu Liang's?"
At that, Jiangnan's face darkened. He shrank his neck and put on a wary expression.
Seventeen minutes left. He just had to tough it out! Only after his bad luck was over would there be any chance of finding the Chujing Spirit Ruin!
...
On the other side, Ku Po stood in front of a spatial mist, looking disgusted.
"What a useless cherry. It's been half an hour and I've gotten nowhere!"
He'd only stumbled upon a few top-tier spirit material mines, was hit on the head by a spiritual fruit when walking, ate it and happened to level up one star.
He was about to level up anyway—that was just coincidence! Did you call that luck?
And it was supposed to let him break through to Transcendent? What a joke!
Disgruntled, Ku Po stepped into the spatial mist.
When he came out, before him lay an abyss, and in the distance stood a majestic Jueling Pillar.
Ku Po froze. Well? The effect timed out just as he stumbled upon the Jueling Pillar?
So the lousy cherry wasn't completely useless after all?
But in the next instant, an overwhelming devouring force erupted, and Xingcheng, her mouth wide open in anticipation, lunged toward Ku Po.
The collapsing space nearly crushed his body.
Ku Po: !!!
What the hell is this?
(⚆ᯅ⚆‧̣̥̇)"Hey, hey, hey! Don't—"