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Chapter 173 The Treasure of Zero, The Sleeping Talebages? Take it! (Bonus chapter for 2121 monthly votes)
The hardness of the Taijing Stone Pillar exceeded Xia Chi's expectations.

The crystal pillar was struck with a bat that could send the Star Crystallized Sonic Dragon flying like a baseball, yet it only swayed slightly without cracking at all.

"Boni!"

Ponpo was startled.

I've used so much force, how come you haven't cracked yet?
Looks like I really need to deal with you properly!
"Boni!"

Ponpo turned to Xia Chi and called out to him, then solemnly put on her mask.

Understanding the situation, Xia Chi led Futu and Dr. Orin to retreat to an open space a few dozen meters away.

Ponpo turned around, and with a surge of energy, the Green Grass Mask expanded once again due to its crystallization.

The thorny vine in Ponpo's hand suddenly shone with an even more dazzling emerald green light.

Raise the bat and swing it down.

boom--

The entire Zero Hollow seemed to tremble violently under the swing of Ponpo's staff.

The cluster of crystal stones that had been stubbornly hanging on the stone wall just moments before crashed to the ground with a deafening shattering sound.

Freely detaching from the crystallized state, Ponpo removed her mask and wiped away the sweat that wasn't actually on her face.

"Bonnie~"

Hmph, this is what happens when you make me lose face in front of Xia Chi!

"Great job, Ponpo! Can you smash it a little more?"

Xia Chi, who had walked over, said, "About the size of a Poké Ball would be fine."

The research notes mention that this type of crystal cluster is an important raw material for making crystal beads.

I just don't know how Dr. Orin from that timeline managed to break this thing.

Could it be that she has an elf with power as great as Ponpo?

Xia Chi doesn't need to worry about this. He can just take these crystal clusters back to the Zero Zone Research Institute for composition analysis.

"Boni!"

Having a general understanding of the stone pillar's strength, Pengpeng responded and then began to pound it heavily, like pounding garlic.

With each hammer blow, the entire cavity seemed to tremble slightly.

Before long, a huge crystal pillar, several meters long, was shattered into countless fragments the size of tree fruits by Ponpo's extremely cruel methods.

"Thank you so much, Ponpo!"

After patting Ponpo's little head, which was beaming with a desire for praise, Xia Chi turned to him and said, "Doctor, just bring some. The rest can be carried down slowly later."

The two doctors and another researcher nodded hastily, then carefully placed the shattered crystal into their backpacks as if they had found a treasure.

The group of four continued their exploration.

Dr. Orin asked, "Where are we going next?"

Xia Chi pondered, "Doctor, don't you find it strange? Apart from the first Sonic Dragon, none of the Crystal Flowers we saw along the way have undergone [Star Crystallization]."

Dr. Futu suddenly realized, "You believe that at the center of the Great Void of Zero, there should be a [Star Crystal Cluster], similar to the Star Crystal Cluster? Only the elves who inhabit that place will undergo the Star Crystallization phenomenon?"

Xia Chi nodded in agreement, "Yes, it's just a guess, so let's go and explore the direction from which the Sonic Dragon came."

The fact that research notes are not a panacea is not recorded at all.

In fact, the research notes didn't even mention any details about the Great Void of Zero.

Xia Chi could only rely on himself to figure things out as he went.

Although there are many spirits living in the Great Void of Zero, almost all of them are Crystal Sprouts and Crystal Flowers.

Xia Chi would have a hard time finding even a second Noivernosaurus.

After walking for a while without seeing anything interesting, they decided to set off on a flying-type Pokémon.

After traveling about three or four kilometers, the surrounding environment finally changed.

What grows rampant in the cavity is no longer the crystal pillars, but a brand new crystal cluster with a rainbow-like brilliance flowing evenly within the crystal!
Here, the crystalline flowers growing on the ground and rock walls all exhibit the characteristics of [star crystallization]!
"This is it!"

Dr. Orin looked at Xia Chi and asked excitedly, "Should we collect some more fragments of [Star Crystal]?"

Xia Chi shook his head and said, "Not for now."

Seeing that Xia Chi had a rare serious expression, Dr. Orin asked cautiously, "Advisor Xia Chi, what's wrong?"

Xia Chi did not reply immediately, but instead led Pengpeng to the very center of this sea of ​​star crystals, to a giant star crystal boulder that was the most shocking and exaggerated in both size and color.

Futu and Dr. Orlin exchanged a glance, then followed closely behind him as they walked forward.

------

Although it is different from the giant crystal pillar in the game.

But a strange feeling made Xia Chi think that this was the "Treasure of Zero," the place where Talebagos slept.

He summoned the Noisy Dragon, took Ponpo aboard, and said, "Noisy Dragon, please take us to the top."

"Buzz!"

The Sonic Dragon immediately spread its wings, carrying Xia Chi and Peng Peng to the top of the crystal pillar, and then landed.

Xia Chi's gaze searched the top of the stone pillar for a while, and then fixed his eyes on the place where the crystal shone the brightest.

There, there stood a rather irregular hexagonal crystal!

Xia Chi's heart skipped a beat. Was it the sleeping Talebages?
Whether in the game's DLC "Zero Treasure" or in the Horizon animation, there exists a crystal that is almost exactly the same as the one in front of you!

Its true identity is the sleeping Talebagos!

Xia Chi tried her best to suppress her excitement and walked slowly towards that place.

Then he crouched down and tried to pull out the crystal that was connected to the stone pillar at the bottom.

Unexpectedly, the crystal was not firmly embedded in the stone pillar as in the game, and it took Wu Li a lot of effort to pull it out.

Xia Chi simply pried it off the stone pillar with a gentle touch, and it was easily lifted off the pillar.

Gazing at the crystal with its shimmering, iridescent interior, Xia Chi fell into deep thought.

It was picked up so easily, and the crystal didn't even react?
Xia Chi didn't finish watching Horizon Zero DLC; the only reference he could get was Zhu Zi's Zero Treasure.

In the game's storyline, after Uri pulled out the crystal, he awakened the sleeping Talebages.

Upon waking up, the first thing Talebagos saw when she saw the protagonist, a Padia succubus, was to walk towards him without hesitation.

Enraged, Uri threw a Master Ball to capture it, and then crystallized it to awaken the true [Star Crystal Form] of Talebagos.

It almost caused a major disaster.

That storyline made Xia Chi a bit overweight, with Wu Li transforming into "One-Ball Superman," and the obsessed Bai Leiya adding fuel to the fire.

Two characters who should be part of the main cast were made to be more disgusting than the villains.

At the time, Xia Chi was even thinking of taking care of those two BYD members as well.

Pulling himself back to reality, Xia Chi hadn't expected that the crystal, which most likely contained the dormant Talebages, hadn't awakened.

However, in a sense, this is also a good thing.

Because the Star Crystallized Talebagos in the game is ridiculously strong, switching to Talebagos allows for infinite shield regeneration.

Currently, Xia Chi, who only has Ponpo, is extremely unlikely to be able to defeat it.

However, since there's been no movement...
Or should I pick it up and put it in my pocket?

"Brother Tong, what do you think?"

The host's low-quality behavior is unrelated to the system!

Xia Chi: "."

No, it's not "I think", it's that nobody wants them!

Xia Chi asked helplessly, "What I mean is, will the sleeping turtle wake up? How long will it take to wake up?" Seeing that Xia Chi was serious, Tongzi also fell silent for a while.

[They will wake up, but the time of awakening is uncertain.]

Xia Chi frowned and asked, "What is this again?"

How can I control how long someone wants to sleep?

Xia Chi: "."

So it was because you didn't get enough sleep?
Millions of years ago, Regigigas moved continents, causing violent changes in the Earth's crust. This led to the near annihilation of the Talebagh race deep underground, but one of them survived by completely crystallizing itself after exhausting all its astral energy.

Suddenly, Brother Tongzi started telling historical stories.

Xia Chi clicked his tongue in amazement; it turned out it was related to that Divine Pillar King.

In his previous life, he had some questions when he was learning about the background story of Taleborg—

The Earth's crustal movements are slow and gradual over a long period of time, so how could they lead to the extinction of the Talebagh people?

Now there's an explanation; it turns out it was that important person who did it.

In that case, wouldn't these two first-level gods have a blood feud that led to the extermination of their clan?

But then another question arises: if Talebagos was also a first-order god, why couldn't it withstand the tectonic movements?
Tongzi helped Xia Chi understand.

The slumbering Talebages absorbed the astral energy of all their fallen kin, bringing astral energy to the Padia Crater.

Xia Chi suddenly realized.

The same clan performs a sacrifice to the heavens, so their magical power is boundless, right?
The movement of tectonic plates, caused by the pulling of the land by the Pillar King, led to the extinction of the Taleborg.

The Great Void of Zero, which gathers countless star crystal energies, is also a banner of ten thousand souls.
Feel the cool touch emanating from the surface of the crystal, and the faint glow of energy.

After thinking about it, Xia Chi decided to put the "legendary elf" in his pocket.

------

"What's wrong, Consultant Xia? Have you discovered anything?"

Furtu and Dr. Orlin arrived just then, riding on their Steel Raven and Starhawk.

Xia Chi shook his head and said, "It's nothing. I was just thinking that it might be easier to collect some star crystals here."

He did not tell the two doctors about finding the legendary Zero Treasure.

You have to be selfish when it's necessary.

Besides, Xia Chi found it himself, so there's no question of whether he was selfish or not.

Futu and Dr. Orin had no doubts, but watched expectantly as Ponpo continued to smash the star crystals.

It must be said that this crystal allowed the Talebages to survive crustal movements, as its hardness far exceeds that of ordinary Talebages.

After the crystallization, Ponpo used almost all her strength to chip off a piece from the thinner part at the top.

Not much, but enough for research purposes.

After the researcher put the roughly palm-sized piece of star crystal into his backpack.

Xia Chi said, "Let's go, it's time to go back."

The place where Talebagos sleeps is the deepest part of the Great Void of Zero, and there's nothing more to explore below.

Futu and Dr. Orin naturally prioritized Xia Chi's ideas.

Moreover, the large amount of Taijing Stone and Xingjing Stone collected today is already quite satisfactory.

So the four of them boarded their respective flying spirits and returned to the entrance of the Great Void of Zero along the same route.

Because there's no need to explore on the return journey, it takes much less time than the journey there.

In just over half an hour, Xia Chi and his companions returned to the lowest level of Zone Zero on the elves.

The researchers who were waiting on the ground were naturally overjoyed to see Xia Chi and his group return.

Putting everything else aside, the fact that there were four of us on the way there and four of us on the way back is enough to make us happy.

Being a researcher in Zone Zero is by no means a risk-free endeavor.
After switching to motorcycle lizards, the group returned to the research institute with their spoils.

With the crucial Taijing Stone in hand, the rest is much simpler—

Analyze the components to produce crystal beads.

"Dr. Orin's Research Notes" is indeed a good thing; it can save researchers from taking many detours.

Otherwise, it would only be opening the void of zero, and it would probably take a long time before a stable crystal bead could be produced.

Upon returning to the research institute, the two workaholic PhDs prepared to lock themselves in the laboratory.

Before they went into seclusion, their last request was: "Advisor Xia Chi, could you please take them down to the underground again tomorrow to retrieve those Tai Crystal Stones?"

Xia Chi naturally agreed.

But that happened the next day.

After dinner, Xia Chi returned to her room in the research institute.

Living conditions at a research institute located more than a thousand meters underground are naturally very poor; the room size and environment are even worse than those of a hotel in Jinhui Town.

A family of six squeezed into a dilapidated old apartment of just over 20 square meters, watching the Talebaghs crystal that Xia Chi had retrieved from the void of zero.

The dream demon was the first to lean in and sniff, looking puzzled.

"Miyo?"

What is this? Is it edible?
The ability to determine whether something is edible before tasting it is a sign of a chef's self-discipline.

Of course, it's also a foodie's refinement—

As a foodie who loves metals and stones, Shakiras was also very interested in this crystal.

Xia Chi could even sense the desire in the small eyes inside the shell.

"You can't eat this!"

Xia Chi gave instructions, then thought for a moment and added, "Never mind, you can't eat that much anyway."

If ordinary star crystals could withstand Ponpon's giant thorny club, one can imagine how hard this crystal, which is the incarnation of Talebagos, must be.

Xia Chi even felt that once this thing appeared, the hardest thing in the world would no longer be small diamonds or Diancie.

Yes, it's even harder than a certain part of a person's body—the mouth, of course.

This is an easy question; there's no reward.

"It's something I've never seen before, Loto!"

The Rotom mobile phone also took photos of the crystal from various angles, searched its database, and finally drew a conclusion.

"However, Champion Daigo would probably be very interested in Loto!"

"Stone-obsessed Steven" is a well-known meme in the Pokémon world, even among Cyclops.

Xia Chi thought for a moment and took out the Taijing Pearl that Brother Tongzi had rewarded him with.

After the final battle with Brother Crimson at the summit of Beishang Township, this thing was practically no different from scrap metal.

Because the crystallization energy within has been completely exhausted.

But Xia Chi remembers one setting in the game.

"After directly contacting the energy of the Talebages, even without charging the Ta Crystal Beads, Ta Crystallization can still occur."

Xia Chi wanted to test the effect.

Place the crystal bead on the crystal of the sleeping Talebagh.

In an instant, the previously dull and lackluster Taijing Pearl suddenly lit up with luster, almost no different from when it first came into Xia Chi's hands!

Wow, a giant power bank!

P.S. The bonus chapter for monthly tickets is all paid off! Is that all? Just a small fry, a small fry~ (little devil laughs)
(End of this chapter)