I've already reached the Nascent Soul stage, and you're saying I didn't time travel?

Chapter 113 Don't Ask, It's Magic
9:00 AM, Sky Screen Live Broadcast Room.

"Have you heard? The lighthouse lost a Super Bumblebee."

"Yes, yes, I heard about it too. It just fell off last night."

"Hey, I'm from Florida, how come I didn't know that?"

"Don't even mention it, bro. Yesterday, anyone who mentioned the plane crash online got their account banned on a massive scale. Only in the Sky Live room did nobody care what we said."

"Holy crap, I was wondering why the military forum I frequented was shut down. Turns out there was a plane crash. But something this big can't be kept under wraps no matter how hard you try to suppress the news."

"The higher-ups only care whether you did it or not, not whether you did it well. If you didn't do it well, it's a matter of ability; if you didn't do it, it's a matter of attitude. Figure that out first."

Moreover, even if it can't be completely contained, it can at least delay things for a few days. Then, new events will occur, and public attention will naturally be diverted.

"This is a huge embarrassment for the lighthouse, so it should be covered up to avoid being ridiculed."

"Actually, I don't think it's necessary to block it at all, because the lighthouse is obviously an unlucky guy. Their fighter jets were shot down, not because of the jets themselves. Any other jet would have been shot down anyway."

"Wait, wasn't Bumblebee crashed due to its own problems? How could it have been shot down?"

"The message I received was that the tank wasn't full and the tank crashed during an emergency landing."

"What the hell? A forced landing and crash? Where did this fake news come from?!"

"What makes you think I'm spreading fake news? I think you're the one spreading fake news! You only know how to side with the monsters, you traitor!"

"I……"

"Stop for a second, everyone. How's the spiky crocodile from last night? Any news yet?"

"I'm not sure. I heard they couldn't kill him, but he was apparently seriously injured by a landmine and has now gone underground."

"Oh dear, what can we do? We can't just run down to catch it; it'll cause trouble for the team members who come to the island later."

"If you ask me, it's simple. Anyway, the island isn't that big. We can just catch any wild beast we see until we've emptied the whole island. Then we can bury landmines everywhere. With no food and just landmines, we're going to die sooner or later."

"Can't you think of a more reliable solution?"

"It is said that the United Nations has neutron bombs on its list of reserves. The neutron flow from a neutron bomb explosion can penetrate tens of meters of rock and avoid large-scale radioactive contamination. However, the problem is that the destructive power of neutron bombs is still too great, and the value of the island is too high. We do not plan to use such weapons unless absolutely necessary."

"According to biologists' speculation, infrasound seems to be able to interfere with that spiky crocodile. Drones carrying infrasound jammers can be used to force it away from the exploration team. For now, it seems that's the only way."

"Don't worry, everyone. Everyone is working hard to cultivate. Some geniuses are making rapid progress. With the help of various precious medicines, we might be able to produce an unparalleled grandmaster someday. At that time, we might be able to defeat the spiked crocodile on the spot like Qi Shen did."

"If one person can't do it, then a group will! We'll eventually wipe it out!"

……

In the live stream, Qi Xuan, who appeared on Sunday, rode forward and said to the camera:

"Yesterday morning we discovered a skeleton, which confirms that there are indeed native inhabitants in this world, and they are quite powerful."

After my search yesterday, a friendly spiky crocodile provided me with information, and now we know the location of the tribe that native is from.

Let's investigate in this direction.

Netizens were speechless upon hearing this:
"Oh right, so being killed is what makes us friendly, right?"

"Do you have some kind of misunderstanding about the word 'friendly'?"

"It seems that in this world, only your enemies can truly survive."

"Don't worry, the enemy will become friendly sooner or later."

"Spiky Ground Crocodile, now I finally know that guy's name. I must say, it's quite fitting."

"Qi Shen, quickly tell me how to kill this spiky ground crocodile!"

"What's there to explain? Just shoot him with an arrow and he'll be dead. Why do I need to explain?"

"So what if you're a Grandmaster?! Just you wait! I'll become a Grandmaster tomorrow, next year, whatever, I'll definitely become a Grandmaster in my lifetime!"

……

Qi Xuan rode his Sunday bike slowly forward, the journey was leisurely, yet he remained vigilant.

As he had predicted, after killing the Spiked Earth Crocodile yesterday, its essence blood floated onto the [Nangong] token, causing the token to change and reveal a route map with the destination marked as Nangong.

Without a doubt, this is the route map to their tribe.

It seems that the Nangong tribe wanted to thank the outsiders who helped them kill their enemies, so they designed the token in this way to guide outsiders to their tribe.

This approach also reflects something from another angle—

First of all, the Nangong tribe is very confident and is not afraid of outsiders knowing their tribe's location. Just as we guessed yesterday, this must be an extremely powerful tribe.

That's why they are fearless of external risks and potential enemies, and dare to face all opponents head-on. This strong confidence is clearly revealed through the design of the token.

Secondly, the Nangong tribe's attitude towards outsiders should be relatively friendly, because outsiders might accidentally discover the bodies of their tribe members, or they might kill the enemies who killed their tribe members for other reasons.

However, the Nangong tribe didn't care about the process. As long as they helped in killing the enemy, they took the initiative to reveal their tribe's location and invite them to visit.

Finally, there must be other tribes besides the Nangong tribe in this area, otherwise they would have no reason to display their tribal locations on the token.

This is all for outsiders to see. If there are no outsiders around, and no outsiders have ever appeared in the vicinity for a long time, what is the point of making this kind of design?
In general, he has determined that this is a very powerful and hospitable tribe.

Nevertheless, Qi Xuan remained cautious in today's operation, unlike yesterday when he was tracking the Spiked Ground Crocodile, where he recklessly charged through the forest.

Because he will encounter members of the Nangong tribe at any time during his journey. Although they are friendly, there may be other taboos, and these taboos may even overshadow his goodwill in helping to kill the tribe's enemies.

For example, the hornless people.

Only those with horns are considered human; those without horns are seen as underdeveloped and untouchable, and may even be driven away or killed... Those hornless people ahead, do you dare to fight them?
These are all possibilities, and we must give them serious consideration.

In addition, Qi Xuan was also worried about whether the Nangong tribe still existed.

After all, two hundred years have passed since that person was murdered.

Two hundred years is neither a long nor a short time. Many Foundation Establishment cultivators can only live for that long at most without taking longevity elixirs.

Even in relatively stable border regions, the transition of Foundation Establishment cultivators within small sects can often cause violent upheavals, let alone in such a dangerous jungle.

If one is not careful, the entire tribe will suffer a huge blow, and may even be defeated or wiped out by other tribes.

But worrying about those things now is useless; time has already passed, so we can only accept the current outcome.

If the Nangong tribe persists until now and treats him kindly in future interactions, then...

He also wanted to take this opportunity to learn more about everything related to the world.

For example, why are there four suns hanging in the sky?

Why did the sun collapse?

Why does the earth change drastically after the collapse, and why does the concentration of spiritual energy increase significantly?
How did others manage to avoid the catastrophe?
When will the next collapse occur?
……

Etc., etc.

These questions can only be answered by contacting the local indigenous people.

Therefore, compared to cultivating alone in silence, Qi Xuan preferred to interact with the natives.

Because this world is so dangerous, the risks of contacting the natives are negligible compared to the enormous catastrophe caused by the collapse of the sun.

However, no matter how low the risk is, we must find ways to reduce it and avoid it carefully, ideally avoiding risk-free exposure.

With a mix of trepidation and excitement, Qi Xuan rode the pig forward.

The morning's live broadcast passed easily during this leisurely trip.

By the afternoon, viewers outside the studio immediately noticed a significant change in the environment:
"What's going on? Why is it so dark around us?"

"Why are even the trees black?"

"Holy crap, this is so creepy, where the hell did they all go?"

"Qi Shen, are you lost? This place doesn't look like a habitable place at all."

……

Indeed, as the audience said, the place they were currently traveling on looked extremely dangerous.

The surrounding area is covered with daylily trees of varying thicknesses and heights.

Qi Xuan had never seen such a strange Luo Xuan tree before; it looked as if a large area of ​​black paint had been splashed on it by someone.

However, the direction indicated by the Nangong token was to continue deeper inside.

This made him even more vigilant.

Fortunately, apart from the trees around them having a slightly menacing appearance, they didn't encounter any danger.

We walked for about half an hour, and the journey was relatively peaceful. We didn't encounter any wild beasts, or even insects.

Of course, this doesn't mean there weren't any insects around; they were probably all hiding, and he had no intention of looking for them.

Just then, Qi Xuan spotted a clump of trees ahead and abruptly stopped.

A clump of trees.

It was indeed a clump.

Countless thick, dark green branches, as thick as thighs, twisted and intertwined like vines, forming a huge tree cluster covering an area of ​​over a thousand square meters.

Netizens were astonished upon seeing this cluster of trees:

"What the hell is this thing?"

"Why are all the trees growing together? Have they stopped photosynthesizing?"

"In that godforsaken place called the floating continent, many trees could probably survive even without photosynthesis."

"Indeed, the animals and plants there can't be judged by normal standards... but these trees are growing way too strangely! How can they all be intertwined?!"

……

Standing before the enormous clump of trees, Qi Xuan paused briefly before introducing it to the camera:
"The tree cluster in front of you is called the Earth Firefly Tree. As you can see, it is an irregular sphere with a diameter of about thirty meters. Countless branches grow upwards in a spiral shape, and each branch seems to be alive, actively entwining with nearby branches to form a tight symbiotic structure."

Unlike the banyan trees we commonly see, which can cover the entire field and form a forest from a single tree, this cluster of ground firefly trees appears to be one tree, but is actually composed of many ground firefly trees. Each branch that appears on it represents a ground firefly tree.

The presence of the Firefly Tree here must mean that there are the corpses of wild beasts or humans inside.

"Alright, I've seen the skeleton. Let's have a good fight with this tree."

Without further ado, Qi Xuan continued speaking.

He got off Sunday and walked straight ahead.

The Earth Firefly Tree is not an ordinary plant; it should be classified as a demonic plant, just like a demonic beast. It has the potential to grow and advance, and it also preys on creatures in the surrounding area.

At this moment, upon seeing Qi Xuan approach, some of the closer branches on the tree cluster began to slowly writhe like giant pythons.

Seeing this, netizens were all greatly surprised:
"This...this tree is actually alive?!"

"Nonsense, of course it's alive! But how can this tree move?!" "Has it evolved into a thousand-year-old tree demon?"

"This is outrageous! All sorts of bizarre and ferocious beasts are one thing, but how can plants be so aggressive?!"

"Qi Shen just said he wanted to compete with it, and I was wondering what there was to compete with this tree? Now it seems we really do have to compete."

"No wonder the skeletons we encountered before were all Grandmasters in life. In this dangerous and terrifying environment, it would be very difficult to survive without the strength of a Grandmaster."

"They are all strong people who were forced into it."

"The fight's about to begin! Qi Shen, take it down!"

……

Several branches, each as thick as a forearm, shot towards Qi Xuan like arrows.

Qi Xuan raised his hand and pulled out the Dragon Spear. With tremendous power, he smashed the branches in half on the spot.

But the vibration he felt when it broke made him raise an eyebrow slightly.

This tree is really too hard.

"Unfortunately, I know your weaknesses perfectly well!"

He rushed inside, and a barrage of branches rained down on him like arrows.

With the help of his spear, his keen sense of evasion, and his fluid movements to block, he successfully broke through the rain of arrows and reached the clustered trunk of the Earth Firefly Tree.

Before the tree trunk could unleash its powerful killing move, Qi Xuan casually activated a talisman.

A talisman I never imagined I'd use in this kind of situation—a Rainstorm Talisman.

In an instant, a torrential downpour began, drenching the tree trunks at close range.

Almost instantly, the tree trunks that had been watered seemed to be corroded by acid, emitting white smoke and rapidly surging into the ground.

However, the rain came too quickly and too suddenly, and they were unable to quickly take shelter from the rain as usual.

So much so that many tree trunks drooped to the ground after only halfway through their escape, dying instantly from the rain.

Yes, its fatal weakness is water.

But only an excessive amount of heavy rainfall can quickly kill it.

Otherwise, once it escapes into the ground, it won't be so easy to kill it.

This thing's root system can migrate.

After annihilating the Earth Firefly Tree on the spot, Qi Xuan chuckled and said to the astonished viewers in the live stream:

"Unexpectedly, a sudden downpour happened, so I didn't have to lift a finger."

So that everyone may know that although this earth firefly tree is strong, hard to be damaged by swords and difficult to be ignited by fire, its fatal weakness is water.

"If they encounter excessive rainfall, they will die instantly, without even needing outside help..."

Qi Xuan rambled on and on, but the viewers in the live stream were quite suspicious:

"I have a feeling that this rain came out of nowhere."

"Yeah, it seems like it didn't rain anywhere else, but it rained right here in Yingshu. That's really targeted."

"It can't be that Qi Shen created artificial rain on the spot, can it? Even martial arts can't achieve that level of skill."

"Who knows? What if there's a martial art that can create cold air?"

"Very well, so you've got scientific martial arts, huh? Take this Lorentz Force Electromagnetic Palm!"

"Don't ask, it's just magic."

"Please, give us magicians a way out. I've already started practicing martial arts—Magician Liu Chang."

……

Looking at the scattered corpses of the Firefly Trees, Qi Xuan then reminded them:
"Don't be fooled by how easily these firefly trees died. In reality, these trees are extremely difficult to deal with without water. Their trunks are hard and extremely resilient. Let alone an ordinary fist, even if you were hit by several cannonballs, they might not be destroyed."

Moreover, they can secrete special adhesives, and once you get stuck, you're basically done for.

Besides, the most dangerous part is not its mature form, but its seeds.

The species of ground firefly trees are extremely dangerous. They lie dormant in the ground until a wild beast passes by, at which point they suddenly burst into growth, piercing the beast's body on the spot, absorbing nutrients, and ushering in a period of rapid growth.

Therefore, they are also known as the "silent killers," so everyone must be careful when traveling outdoors.

The words had just fallen.

The next second, another brand new light screen appeared next to the light screens around the world.

Inside the light screen, the Indian exploration team, which had recently guided the bunker buster to kill the golden sand scorpion, walked briskly through a forest, carrying many weapons and equipment, as well as a large amount of loot, with an expression more relaxed than ever before.

Suddenly, a slight tremor came from the ground.

Before everyone could even show a surprised expression, countless sharp branches suddenly shot out from the ground, like a rain of arrows aimed at the sky.

Once the noise subsided, a small forest, four or five meters tall, suddenly appeared in the spot. Each sapling in the forest was only as thick as a thumb and had a fresh, tender green color.

But this tender green was gradually stained red by the countless streams of blood flowing down.

The trees swayed slightly in the blood, and the corpses above them swayed along with them.

In a daze, I seemed to hear sucking sounds.

"Guji..."

"Guji..."

The screen gradually dimmed.

The people at the joint command were stunned.

People around the world were stunned.

Upon realizing what was happening, countless comments flooded into Qi Xuan's live stream in an instant:

"You fucking jinx, can you please shut up?!"

"Is this mouth blessed or cursed?"

"Please, Master Qi, we can't just keep checking the bad ones every time!"

"I give up! I give up, okay? I'm going to buy insurance right now!"

……

Soon, the live stream ended.

After ending his broadcast, Qi Xuan continued walking forward.

He attacked the cluster of fireflies purely because when they met before, he saw skeletons in the forest, and they were human skulls.

This suggests that it must have attacked humans before, perhaps even linking them together during its initial growth.

I wonder how many unlucky ones there are.

Qi Xuan stepped over the limp branches and soon arrived inside the clump of trees.

Inside the tree cluster was a large pile of skeletons, scattered here and there, including human remains and those of demonic beasts, all remnants of creatures that had been hunted and devoured by the Earth Firefly Tree.

Inside were five adult skulls.

Each skull has a round, penetrating wound.

"Looks like a bunch of unlucky guys."

Qi Xuan was rather speechless.

The attack power caused by the burst of the Earth Firefly Tree seed is even stronger than that of the mature stage, almost comparable to a peak third-tier strike. This is to ensure that the seed can successfully capture prey when it bursts, thereby absorbing nutrients to quickly pass through the weak growth period and enter the mature stage where it can hunt on its own.

They were incredibly unlucky to run into the tree seed eruption. Even with [Flow], they might not be able to withstand it. These five people were simply extremely unlucky.

By analyzing the remains at the scene, he discovered that the five people who died were all in the late stage of Qi Refining.

This discovery caused Qi Xuan to frown slightly.

Encountering a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator was somewhat unexpected.

But the fact that five people have now reached the late stage of Qi Refining only shows that the Nangong tribe is indeed more powerful than imagined.

It is almost certain that there must be someone who has achieved foundation building in the tribe.

As for the Golden Core... it's hard to say for now.

After all, breaking through to the Golden Core stage isn't easy, and the probability of stumbling upon a tribe with a Golden Core cultivator inside is extremely small.

Besides this, what cast a slight shadow over Qi Xuan's heart was...

These five people all have horns on their bodies.

But the positions of those corners are more unrestrained.

Some are on the back of the head, some on the thigh bone, some on the spine, and some even on the pelvis.

Qi Xuan was stunned when he saw the unusually protruding bone spur on his pelvis.

It's tolerable if it's long in other places, but how the hell am I supposed to sit on it if it's long on my butt?
Doesn't it feel uncomfortable to sit on?

Or do we have to carve a hole in every stool specifically to accommodate that bone spur?
What about the bed for sleeping?
We can't just stay still all night, can we?
Are you suggesting we drill holes all over the bed so we can just put the bone spur in whichever spot we want to sleep in?
Qi Xuan found it utterly unbelievable.

The good news is that bone spurs don't necessarily grow on the forehead and are less noticeable.

The bad news is, you definitely have bone spurs somewhere on your body, so don't try to fool me.

There is still a distinction between hornless and horned people.

I have no idea what's wrong with those bone spurs they have.

Racial characteristics? Genetic mutation? Or some kind of disease?

In addition, another point worth noting is that he did not find any other tokens at the scene.

It seems there's only one [Nangong] token.

It seems that, as previously speculated, that person's identity is quite special, which is why they possess the token.

Could it be because his horns are on his forehead, in a more standard position than others?
Qi Xuan couldn't be sure.

His gaze then fell upon the pile of miscellaneous items inside, or rather, the pile of relics.

This time, there were new gains.

(End of this chapter)