Chapter 640: Reasonable, Reasonable
That Xiong Er guy definitely didn't do anything good, right?
Wu Liang, with a darkened face, moved to a different spot to drink. To be fair, it *did* have an effect!
Meanwhile, the seven or eight guys being squeezed by the three washing machines—unable to absorb any spiritual energy—looked utterly miserable.
Who the hell knows how much suffering they went through to get tickets for this top-tier mandarin duck hot pot?
Only 24 hours, and now they're having their spiritual energy snatched away, unable to absorb a single bit!
Watching Wu Liang gulping down bathwater like crazy, the group looked conflicted.
"What the hell are you staring at? Just drink! What else can we do? We didn't come here for nothing!"
"Even if they're freaks, they can't suck all the spiritual energy out of the water. Drinking it still works!"
"Let's set the rules now: nobody farts, pees, or picks their toes while drinking, got it?"
The group exchanged glances, steeled their resolve, and plunged their heads into the water to drink!
Wu Liang's eyes went wide.
What the hell? There are people competing to drink this?
I damn well don't believe any of you can outdrink me!
"Gulp, gulp, gulp!"
Jiangnan looked utterly hopeless. They're even competing over this?
Even the anti-scrub grandma was dumbfounded.
In all my ten years here, this is the first time I've seen young people so ruthless—soaking while drinking!
At that moment, the girls in the clear broth area heard the sound of breakthroughs coming from the spicy area. Their eyes were full of shock.
Are they seriously this savage?
How long have they been in here, and they've already broken through?
Xia Yao had long been impatient. She shouted toward the fog wall: "Xiao Nan! Da da da da da!"
Jiangnan grinned upon hearing it: "Coming!"
With that, he opened a space wormhole connecting the spicy area and the clear broth area, poking his upper body through.
He took out 30 bags of "Heart-Pounding Pop Rocks" and said, "Here—everyone here today gets some!"
The girls in the clear broth area felt their hearts race the moment they saw Jiangnan. Their hearts pounded like deer, and their cheeks flushed.
Whether it was Jiangnan's wet hair or the droplets of water sliding down his chiseled abs, it was utterly irresistible.
At that moment, in their eyes, Jiangnan even seemed to have special effects.
"Wow... so this is what heart-pounding feels like? *slurp*"
"He's so handsome! Ah, how embarrassing!"
"This is what it feels like—help, I can't look away! Hey, handsome, want to add a friend? I can do a loli voice!"
Even the red and blue lights flashing on Xiao Jiuwo's cheeks had turned into heart shapes!
(ෆ❛ัᴗ❛ัෆ)
A barrage of gazes like hungry wolves shot over. Jiangnan curled his lips into a smile, flicked his hair back with a hand, revealing his clean forehead.
"Damn it! It's this irresistible charm of mine again!"
Xia Yao paddled over like a little wolf, took the pop rocks, and her big eyes curved into crescent moons.
She grabbed Jiangnan's arm and hugged it to her chest. "Hehe—wanna come over and soak together?"
Jiangnan's face was full of bitterness as he reluctantly refused: "No... not going!"
Damn it! The dream is right in front of me!
But I can't achieve it! How frustrating!
Xia Yao was stunned: "Why not? This is a rare opportunity!"
Jiangnan's expression turned serious: "For the sake of your future happiness, I can't go soak either!"
Xia Yao gave a mischievous grin, tugged Jiangnan's arm hard, and pulled his entire body through the space wormhole.
"Come on, you! Hehe!"
Jiangnan's eyes bulged wide as he was about to plunge into the water with Xia Yao.
He was so startled that he teleported away in an instant, vanishing back to the spicy area!
Xia Yao grabbed nothing but air: (◦`~´◦)
"Are you that scared of us?"
Nightingale chuckled: "It's not that Jiangnan is afraid of us; he's afraid of turning into a girl!"
"Anyway, what was that 'da da da da' about?"
Xia Yao giggled: "You'll find out once you eat them!"
She distributed the pop rocks, even giving some to Xiao Jiuwo.
Xia Yao and Zhong Yingxue poured the powder into their mouths, bit their lips, and were jolted until their faces turned red. Fortunately, they had eaten it before and built up some tolerance, so they managed to endure it.
Under the stunned gazes of Ye Xingxuan, Nightingale, and the others, Xia Yao and Zhong Yingxue stirred up a water vortex in the clear broth area!
The combination of top-tier talent and the effect of the pop rocks was terrifying!
Everyone's eyes sparkled. What kind of godly pop rocks are these?
They could actually increase the speed of absorbing spiritual energy? Nan Shen is way too generous!
With this, soaking for one day would be like soaking for ten!
Excited, the girls didn't care about anything else. They poured the entire bag of pop rocks into their mouths!
The next moment, high-pitched screams mixed with a series of crackling explosions echoed throughout the clear broth area!
Ye Xingxuan was jolted until her eyes rolled back, and she plunged headfirst into the water, twitching uncontrollably!
Nightingale bit her lip hard, frantically pounding her chest, feeling like she was about to die!
The three cat-girl sisters were now floating on the water, their cat tails bristling, bubbles gurgling from their mouths.
Xiao Jiuwo's cheek alarm lights were flashing wildly from the jolts, tears swirling in her eyes.
Three minutes later, seven or eight girls were floating on the water, still twitching nonstop.
These godly pop rocks were way too intense! Too overwhelming!
The anti-scrub grandma was terrified; for a moment, she thought there was an electrical leak!
But the next moment, a huge wave surged in the clear broth area. The girls who had eaten the pop rocks had all become spiritual energy black holes!
Xia Yao broke through a star on the spot!
Everyone got excited!
But on the water's surface, no one could out-compete Zhong Yingxue, Xia Yao, and Ye Xingxuan—the three with top-tier talents!
To absorb more spiritual energy, the cat-girl sisters and the others had no choice but to dive deeper into the clear broth area!
That way, they could absorb more spiritual energy!
The mandarin duck hot pot was several hundred meters deep. As long as they dove deep enough, there was no competition for spiritual energy. They just needed to come up for air every so often.
As for Xiao Jiuwo, she took a deep breath, her big eyes full of curiosity, and dove down with all her might.
(◦ᵒ̌～ᵒ̌◦)°°｡
All the way to the bottom, which wasn't flat but a maze of underground waterways!
Without a second thought, Xiao Jiuwo paddled her little paws and dove right in!
...
At that moment, Jiangnan was diligently cultivating. According to this pace, if he used all ten tickets, he should be able to reach Gold Eight!
He turned his head and saw Wu Liang still competing with those eight guys over who could drink more bathwater. Their stomachs were swollen, but they didn't stop!
Jiangnan felt like the water level in the spicy area had actually dropped!
Just then, a figure suddenly burst out from beneath Jiangnan!
"Pwah!"
Xiao Jiuwo gasped for air and immediately threw herself into Jiangnan's arms: "Master~"
Startled, Jiangnan quickly scooped her up: "How did you end up in the spicy area? You're going to grow a beard like this!"
Xiao Jiuwo: ???
"I'm an ice and fire attribute spirit beast! The mandarin duck hot pot has one yin and one yang. Soaking in either side is the same for me!"
Jiangnan was stunned. Damn, I'm so jealous of that physique!
Xiao Jiuwo said excitedly, "Forget about that for now. Master, look what I found!"
She held up two pieces of spirit material in her paws.
One was fiery red, like molten rock crystal!
The other was milky white, warm like mutton-fat jade!
Jiangnan was surprised: "Raw ore of Crimson Flame Iron? And Aqua Jasper? High-grade spirit materials! Where did you get those?"
Although they weren't as top-tier as materials like the Blood-Drinking South Red, they were still worth a fair amount of money!
Jiangnan's compensation for this training mission included 30 jin of Crimson Flame Iron raw ore!
Xiao Jiuwo said, "I found them in the underground waterways at the bottom of the pool. There's a lot more down there!"
Jiangnan's eyes sparkled: "Let's go! Let's check it out!"
Spirit materials under the mandarin duck hot pot?
That means tons of money!
Without another thought, Jiangnan took a deep breath and followed Xiao Jiuwo, diving over 500 meters before reaching the bottom!
Driven by the thought of money, Jiangnan didn't hesitate and plunged into the intricate underground waterways!
Turning left and right, they swam over a thousand meters. By then, the space wormhole could no longer support Jiangnan's breathing!
It was already out of range!
So Jiangnan pulled out an oxygen tank and continued diving deeper!
(◦¥~¥◦)・゜・
At this point, Jiangnan, with his head full of money, completely forgot about the "enhanced" bathtub he had surrounded with spatial barriers in the spicy area!
Once out of skill range!
The spatial barriers automatically disappeared, and the 300 barrels of Force 2.0 inside spread out with the water flow!
After diving over two thousand meters, it was pitch black around them!
Xiao Jiuwo had already turned on her searchlight mode, illuminating the way for Jiangnan!
Finally, they arrived at a vast mountain cave!
The water here was extremely high in pressure and temperature. Even Jiangnan's skin was reddened from the heat!
But what lay before him left him utterly stunned!
The rock walls were covered with Crimson Flame Iron and Aqua Jasper!
Jiangnan even saw an Aqua Jasper ore the size of a truck!
Jiangnan: "Mmph!!! Gurgle gurgle~"
The moment he opened his mouth, he nearly choked!
How much money was this?!
The reason the mandarin duck hot pot had such miraculous effects must be related to these spirit materials growing within the mountain, right?
Xiao Jiuwo immediately started using sign language: "Master~ Can I eat it?"
Jiangnan was stunned: "You can eat spirit materials?"
Then he remembered that when Xiao Jiuwo was still an egg, she had devoured his Ice Flame Crystal!
Xiao Jiuwo nodded: "I'm an ice and fire elemental spirit beast! I can eat ice, water, and fire attribute spirit materials!"
"They can increase the power of my spirit skills and also help me level up!"
Jiangnan stroked his chin, looking hesitant: "But wouldn't this count as stealing?"
Xiao Jiuwo: (◍❛ั̫❛ั◍)
"Nonsense! These things are just sitting here without anyone taking them. Xiao Jiuwo and Master are simply taking them home!"
Jiangnan: (˵•̀◡•́) Reasonable, reasonable!
Huh? Why does that sound familiar?
Still, he pulled out his Fangtian Huaji, eyes sparkling.
"Start digging!"