Forge a path to success

Chapter 280 A Flow of Inspiration (3)

This silver-eyed book is none other than Vande's travel guide, whose expertise in investigating the details of relics has always been reliable, never failing to prove its worth. Since heading to the wilderness, the group has faced a series of dazzling battles, and only now has this book finally had its chance to shine.

Chu Hengkong first tapped the painting by the fat painter Kua Lu onto the page of the book, and the appraisal text immediately appeared:

[Mass-produced spore material]

Rating: Bottom-tier

【Origin: The Secret Realm of Senluo - Jingsha City-State】

[Effect: Descriptive material generated using suggestive spores as a medium]

[Longing: None]

"Is this a mistake?" Ji Huaisu questioned. "Where would a relic come from if there were no longing or remembrance?"

What Ji Huaisu said was basic common sense in the world of Chen Dong: even the lowest-grade relics should contain longing, otherwise they would not be able to carry power. Although this painting had a rating, it had no longing, which was something they had never heard of before.

“Perhaps what made it a relic is something other than longing.” Chu Hengkong took out the mushroom again. “Let’s take another look at the true face of the Inspiration Mushroom.”

[Recirculation-type suggestive spores - terminal]

[Rating: Level 3]

【Origin: The Secret Realm of Senluo - Jingsha City-State】

【Effect: Reads the user's physical fluctuations, retrieves information fragments from the spore library, and outputs description materials that meet the requirements.】

Each output of material is considered a completion of a ritual.

[Longing: A mutual consent, a win-win situation]

This report contained a lot of information, so much so that everyone took some time to digest it. Poison Otter stared at the results panel, his brow furrowed: "Retrieved information fragments...?"

“If you’ve never eaten mushrooms, you might not understand, but this description is very vivid,” Chu Hengkong said. “After you output your thoughts, the mushrooms will provide a lot of fragmented pieces of information and reorganize them into ‘results’ based on your thinking. I’ve seen many scattered verses when I write doggerel, but none of them are complete poems.”

"But—how did it do that?" Bangbangji exclaimed in astonishment. "I mean, the person who grows the mushrooms can't possibly know the users' needs in advance—that would be precognition. And a small mushroom can only store a very small amount of information—something this small can only write a few words!"

[Store the information in the mushroom's bloodline factors. Bloodline factors can carry an enormous amount of biological information; if they can be used as "information carriers," a single mushroom could easily contain an entire library.] The Great Seal wrote, [Besides, it doesn't need to cram all the information into a mushroom; it's a terminal, and with a terminal comes an information database.]

"You mean it interacts with data via online transmission?" Van der followed up. "Then it needs a corresponding medium. This thing isn't a real machine; it doesn't need electricity. The medium it can use is..."

"Air, microorganisms, biofields, pheromones..." The Poison Otter stared intently at the mushroom. "There are so many possibilities. I'll have to make a trip to the lab tonight—"

“I guess, editor,” a soft voice interjected, “it’s probably pheromones.”

The shop assistant who spoke peeked out from the second-floor platform; it was an adorable little cat with green fur reminiscent of tender leaves. Chu Hengkong noticed that it was the same shop assistant who had looked off while discussing mushrooms; its name was Miaonu.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop..." Miao Nu stammered, "I was just organizing the bookshelf... and I was also quite interested in this topic..."

"Don't be nervous. The bookstore lobby is a public area. If there were anything that couldn't be discussed openly, we would have talked about it behind closed doors long ago," the editor, Poison Otter, said gently. "Why do you think that?"

Miaonu licked the tip of her nose: "Because, I think I should have seen that 'Ku' before."

·

The incident occurred about two weeks ago when Myo Nu was on vacation, searching for its ideal sunrise photography spot. It discovered a perfect location on the border of the Third Sequence: a valley facing the sea, where one could see the magnificent sunrise over the ocean in the early morning, with sunlight spilling onto the flower fields in the valley.

“I originally went there for the sun, but the flowers there were also very beautiful. They were a nearly transparent pale blue, and under the sun they looked like a dreamlike swarm of butterflies,” Miaonu said. “So I stayed there a little longer and remembered the scent of those flowers. Later I smelled the fragrance of flowers again, but I found that the scent came from the mushroom stalls in the market. Every Inspiration Mushroom I’ve ever seen has the same scent.”

"Are there mushrooms around the flower field?" Chu Hengkong asked.

"Absolutely not. It wouldn't be pretty if it had a bunch of mushrooms growing on it."

Chu Hengkong temporarily shut down the communication crystal, and the valley appeared before him. Unlike the scene described by Miao Nu, the valley was quiet and deserted at night, with translucent flowers glowing faintly, appearing eerie like will-o'-the-wisps.

Ji Huaisu had changed into his jade armor early and was preparing on the side. Everyone was putting in a lot of effort this time, because whether or not they were creating anything was no longer the primary issue; the "ritual" was.

“This is a very, very ingenious technique,” ​​Van Der said. “The very act of creating a work with mushrooms—whatever its deeper meaning—must necessarily reflect some kind of idea of ​​the creator. Mushrooms themselves do not involve power, but the more enthusiastic the reaction the mushrooms evoke, the more it shows that the creator’s ‘idea’ is recognized by the public.”

"Does this constitute a ritual?" Chu Hengkong asked.

“Rituals, like transactions, are essentially about ‘giving’ and ‘receiving.’ A typical example is the demon-possessed people you’re familiar with; they give up their physical bodies to receive power from the demons,” Vand explained. “The ritual of the Inspiration Mushroom is more abstract. The creator gives up the mushroom, and the act of creation itself is the reward. Transactions are fair on an informational level and harmless on a practical level; they are a standard win-win situation.”

“I think you’re even more amazing for being able to come up with so much from just one sentence,” Ji Huaisu said.

"I've told you countless times, we're library students; all those years of studying weren't for nothing," Vande muttered. "But this technique looks familiar..."

Chu Hengkong stepped into the flower field and plucked a translucent flower. The flower's roots weren't deep, and it was easily pulled out, leaving the pit empty. He blinked, causing crimson to fill his vision. Under the energy perspective of the true machine, the previously empty pit was now filled with a colorful "bubble."

He poked the bubble with his wrist, his expression turning rather strange.

“It’s raining in Macondo,” he said.

"What?" Vande stared wide-eyed.

He activated the communication crystal, and the editor, Poison Otter, had a unique perspective: "I didn't expect you to have read 'One Hundred Years of Solitude'."

“It’s extremely easy to be emotionless during the day, but it’s a different story at night,” Chu Hengkong added.

"The Sun Also Rises." The venomous otter recognized the source. "What's going on?"

"I don't know, I haven't read this book, but this sentence just naturally popped into my head." Chu Hengkong withdrew his hand. "Let me say a few more words for you to hear..."

He then uttered several brilliant lines, from "Gone with the Wind" and a few well-known works from the local anime and manga community. Afterward, he said a few lines with a distinctly chuunibyou (delusional) feel, which the shopkeeper, Big Seal, recognized as coming from an old comic book from Shura Island. He then hummed a little tune—the local Jing Sha song "The Great Ensemble of Insects"—and finally, he even began to describe an oil painting in words, which Bangbangji thought resembled a little-known work from the last century.

"Are all the world's classic works having a meeting in the ground?" Gulibo's confused voice came from the crystal, which was then drowned out by the otter editor's low growl.

"The sacred tree! How could they do this? It's despicable, utterly shameless!!"

“Mmm!” the sea seal agreed.

"What do you mean?" Ji Huaisu was dumbfounded.

“An information repository,” Vande said. “Beneath this flower field lies a massive spiritual information repository, which you can think of as an invisible library filled with famous works from all over the world. The Inspiration Mushroom uses the emotional fluctuations of the consumer as ‘keywords’ to retrieve information from this invisible database.”

Its expression grew increasingly grim as it spoke: "It can simultaneously search hundreds of thousands, even millions of books, extracting snippets as 'fragments' that meet its needs. These fragments are then packaged by the mushroom and output in reverse, becoming entirely new works..."

Ji Huaisu realized, "Holy crap, then what kind of situation is this—"

A whistling sound pierced the night, and Ji Huaisu drew her light shield to block the attack. The hidden weapons floated down lightly, drifting into the dim light of the flower field. They were nothing more than two delicate leaves, yet they struck the light shield with a resounding clang like metal striking metal.

"Who is it? State your name!" Ji Huaisu said lazily.

A large shadow swept across the flower field, as if a giant eagle with an astonishing wingspan had descended from the sky. The attacker folded her wings and landed in the center of the flower field, bowing to the two men. Her smile was vibrant even in the night.

She had long, white hair that reached her ankles, braided into two long plaits, and wore a slightly old-fashioned red beret. Judging by appearance alone, she was a sophisticated, scholarly girl, suitable to be the class monitor of an honors class in a high school or university. However, she also carried a long, thin wooden gun and possessed a pair of enormous wings, woven from thorns and driftwood, each over three meters long when outstretched. This feature was her most obvious identifier.

The Path to Unity, Point 4, Embracing the Sky Wing.

"Good evening, good evening. I'm Lico, a freelancer." She slung the wooden gun over her shoulder. "Congratulations on discovering the old man's little secret, but if you investigate any further, I'll have to pay the fee—"

Ji Huaisu slung the Shadow Blade over his shoulder: "What, trying to silence me?"

Lico stared at her in shock.

"...Is this...is this really a case of calling for war?! A few mushrooms can't possibly be this serious, can it?"

Ji Huaisu cleared her throat forcefully, realizing once again that she was no longer in the Despair Wilderness, and most battles wouldn't require her to fight desperately. But having already uttered the harsh words, she decided to continue her provocation: "What do you want, little girl?"

With a flick of her wrist, Lico revealed a small object that looked like a flashlight.

"After all, I also have a duty to maintain confidentiality... Could the three of you please experience amnesia for a short period of time?"

(Thanks to Earthbound Spirit for another Silver Alliance donation! Knock knock knock!)

Chapter 281 A Flow of Inspiration (4)

"It's been a long time since I've stretched my body." Ji Huaisu raised a light shield. "I'll go first!"

She lunged forward, her shadow blade transforming into a giant sword that swung directly at Lico's wooden wings. Lico folded her wings and touched the ground with the tip of her spear, causing the soil beneath their feet to churn and dozens of thorns to spring out like snakes.

Ji Huaisu's sword flashed, severing the thorns. But the moment the strike ended, several new shoots rapidly sprouted from the clean cut. The regenerated thorns surged forward, binding Ji Huaisu tightly like ropes. Extremely cold air seeped from his green armor, yet the thorns remained intact, merely covered by a layer of frost.

Ji Huaisu struggled desperately but could not break free. The thorns tightened their grip, and even through the ice armor, her beautiful figure could be seen.

Li Ke silently gave a thumbs up, and Chu Hengkong let out a long whistle.

"Shut up, you bastard!" Captain Ji yelled. "What the hell is this breed?!"

"These are frost-resistant plants cultivated on the farm, you didn't lose badly~" Lico flicked her gun, "Alright, that's a wrap!"

Lico thrust her spear forward, and Ji Huaisu stuck out her tongue and made a face. Her azure armor instantly melted, turning into shimmering golden armor. The scorching flames burned the thorns to ashes, and the Purifying Fire Greatsword slashed straight at Lico's spear.

Lico dodged the attack by changing direction with her wooden wings, her eyes wide with surprise: "Are you kidding me? Turbid Tears uses fire?"

“There are so many things you haven’t seen yet!”

Ji Huaisu drew two swords with his fingers, and the sparks in the air instantly connected to form a burning magic circle. The soil, arising at his will, split into sand, and under the high temperature of the fire, it was reshaped into translucent glass, like an inverted flask binding Li Ke completely.

Light, Fire, Earth. Discipline Seal, Demon-Sealing Purifying Bottle.

Immediately, the power of the turbid tears merged into it, layering and constructing the Holy Trinity Array at the bottom of the sealing array to isolate external forces. Inside the purifying bottle, Lico was pointing at the spear, her half-finished spell suddenly extinguished. The little girl stared in disbelief, pounding her fist against the purifying bottle. But she couldn't break it! It's a pity Miss Lico isn't a martial artist from Dragon Village!

"You're still too green to compete with me in terms of practical experience, little girl!" Ji Huaisu said smugly. "Who hired you? What are you doing here? Tell me the truth."

(Have mercy! I'll confess!)

Miss Lico pitifully raised her hands in pleading, and Ji Huaisu took a step forward. At that moment, a dripping sound rang out from the flower field, and the ground beneath her feet expanded like a balloon, with fierce flames shooting straight into the sky!

At close range, Ji Huaisu could clearly see that the source of the explosion was a mushroom, a black mushroom buried deep in the ground! She retreated and slammed her hands on the ground, preparing to summon an ice wall to guard the surrounding area. However, the enemies of the Skywing reacted faster than her. Li Ke took the opportunity to break free of the Pure Bottle and approach, a pink flower growing from her hand, a suspicious fragrance spreading in the air.

Ji Huaisu's thoughts paused briefly, causing her to overlook the enemy's next move. Mental poison? No, unlike the feeling she had when fighting Wen Yao, it lacked that obvious malice, but it disrupted her thinking with incredible speed…

"Pheromones?"

“That’s right, it’s a relaxing floral scent~” Lico chuckled. “Miss, are you a police officer or detective? Your mind is too tense when you’re fighting, this scent is a surefire way to win for your type!”

As she spoke, she had already circled behind Ji Huaisu. Ji Huaisu hurriedly turned around, only to see a continuous barrage of exploding mushrooms. Li Ke, hiding behind the mushroom wall, revealed a small, flashlight-like device. A faint light, capable of erasing memories, flickered from her belongings!

"Miss Policewoman, you certainly have some skills, but unfortunately, I am Cheng Kongyi. In the realm of speed—"

"—I'm still faster," the assassin said.

A silver prosthetic hand gripped Lico's fist, causing the light to vanish into its palm. Chu Hengkong stood between the two, in the spot where the mushroom wall should have separated them.

No one knew how he appeared, just as no one knew where the mushrooms went. It was as if a momentary blank had appeared in the continuous flow of time; one second he was whistling in the back, and the next he was standing there, casually blocking Lico's surprise attack.

Chu Hengkong released his grip, allowing the surprised Li Ke to distance herself. He turned and laughed, "You suffered because of a lack of intelligence, huh?"

Ji Huaisu's skills are all high-powered killing moves, designed to obliterate her opponent. However, in a battle where the fighting is only for the point, she cannot fully utilize them and is easily restricted by her opponent's methods. She said irritably, "Thank you for being so considerate, but it's not just about intelligence. This guy is quite skilled. His speed is inferior to Wen Yao's, but in terms of vitality... 'thickness,' he seems to have the upper hand."

"Legendary Particle 4?" Chu Hengkong tossed Fan De to Ji Huaisu.

"It's all thanks to everyone's high regard for your reputation in the underworld... I wonder which deity from which Dust Island you are?" Lico said with a forced smile.

“They’re all just employees, they don’t have any titles.” Chu Hengkong bent down and picked up two petals. “We’ve changed people, please.”

Li Ke used the same trick again, throwing out two leaf-shaped throwing knives. Chu Hengkong flicked his fingers, and the flower petals between his fingers, infused with his energy, also flew out like blades.

Four hidden weapons, two green and two blue, danced like butterflies, flitting and soaring around the flower field with almost lifelike movements. A leaf-shaped throwing knife first caught a petal, only to be sliced ​​in half by a second petal. The petal then flew vertically backward with an acrobatic motion, colliding with a second leaf that had turned around! Both types of hidden weapons perished together!

"Amazing...!" Lico exclaimed.

On the surface, it seemed like a draw, but as a forest dweller, Rico knew how cunning the enemy's move was. The forest dwellers' throwing techniques were extremely dependent on the materials used. The plants they cultivated were naturally connected to them, making them easy to use, while plants picked up casually were like rotten wood—usable but not easy to work with.

Her leaf-shaped throwing knives grew from her own body; they were top-tier Heart Sword materials even in Longquan Township. Her opponent, on the other hand, only picked up two petals… To achieve a mutual kill despite such a huge difference in materials, just how terrifying is this person's skill?

"Senmin's hidden weapon skills are not very good." Chu Hengkong shook his head. "Please excuse my poor performance."

"Looks like you're the type who likes to look down on people..." Lico clinked her fists. "Then let's see what you're really made of!"

Her wooden wings grew and transformed with her movements, turning into another pair of powerful giant fists. Lico crouched down and charged, her figure vanishing from her spot in an instant. Even with the transformation of her Sky-Bearing Wings, she still possessed the incredible speed to shrink the distance between them; in the blink of an eye, the massive fist shadow was already hurtling towards Chu Hengkong!

Compared to Li Ke, Chu Hengkong's movements were noticeably slow; he only had time to raise his fist when the attack came. However, the back of his fist blocked Li Ke's path, and the wooden fist struck, only to be violently bounced back. Chu Hengkong sidestepped and spun to dodge the second blow, his fist striking again with the force of rotation. This time, the ground beneath their feet sank three meters, and his other wooden fist was also sent flying.

"Good! Let her see the power of the Dragon Village's secret techniques!" Fan De encouraged.

“It’s not a secret technique,” ​​Ji Huaisu said. “He wasn’t using the Qi Armor just now; that was… Chenjun Palace’s Qi-Intercepting Strike!”

Chenjun Palace's Qi-Intercepting Strike cuts off the flow of energy, disrupting the enemy's attack. Chu Hengkong didn't use the secret technique of counter-attack; instead, he used the Qi-Intercepting Strike to sever the internal power flow of the wooden fist, causing Li Ke's attack to collapse on its own.

Green fluorescent spots appeared in the surrounding environment, their light flowing into the wooden fists and rapidly healing the injuries inflicted by Chu Hengkong. Li Ke clapped her hands twice in quick succession, shrinking the wooden fists from one to two, then from two to four. She leaped up, using her spear as a springboard, unleashing a barrage of four pairs of wooden fists from above. Chu Hengkong remained unharmed amidst the blurred shadows of the fists; Li Ke's attacks merely grazed past him, failing to inflict any real damage.

He slapped a fist to the side to block it, and said, "More isn't always better."

"If you want to see the technology, look here!"

The wooden fist instantly rotted, along with all the fists in the body, and specks of green light transferred from it, attaching to Lico's spear. After landing, Lico thrust the spear straight at him. She was wielding a cross-shaped spear with a thin and extremely long shaft, wrapped with thorn patterns, and its attack range was even wider than the ancient Japanese "cross-shaped spear".

Chu Hengkong used his treacherous wrist to intercept the spear, and the thorny patterns on the spear shaft instantly came to life, wrapping around his wrist at the same time. He used his inner energy to pierce the thorns, but the thorns, instead of being pierced by his inner energy, became even more resilient, firmly binding his wrist. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Li Ke pressed down on the spearhead to stab his ankle. Chu Hengkong tried to retreat but was pulled forward by the thorns, and had no choice but to use his right hand to slap the spear shaft to adjust his stance.

Chu Hengkong's eyes lit up: "Not bad."

Unlike her previous brute force attacks, this unique marksmanship was clearly the result of hard work. By combining the growth and characteristics of various plants, she could develop an endless variety of techniques. Lico carefully maintained her distance, her mouth sharp and unwavering: "Has anyone ever told you that your tone is annoying?"