met free Chapter 2 What are you doing picking up tree branches?
Chapter 2 What are you doing picking up tree branches?
"jump over!"
With one shout, the coffin fell silent.
Li Xian instantly became the focus of everyone's attention.
Dozens of eyes turned to them at once, creating an awkward atmosphere.
"What's going on? The new version doesn't allow skipping the story anymore?"
At that moment, a handsome man with a strong build squeezed through.
"Old Immortal, what's wrong? Even the Warring States period tomb didn't scare you, but you're already flustered?"
Li Xian was taken aback and turned to look at the person.
Could this appearance be Ye Fan?
Thinking of this, he finally retrieved the character's background from his loaded memories.
Before entering the game, his identity in this timeline was Ye Fan's best friend; the two had a bond that included going down into a large tomb and fighting zombies together.
As a side note, Ye Fan bought his Mercedes-Benz outright after that adventure.
At this moment, the student in charge of counting the number of people screamed:
"Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty... how could there be... a thirtieth person?"
Only 29 people, including Li Xian, made it to Mount Tai.
"There's one more person..."
"Who...who is it?" The person was stuttering as they spoke.
Li Xian glanced at the crowd, paused for half a second on a burly figure in the corner, and then naturally moved away.
The extra one is Pang Bo.
The protagonist is a close brother and a powerful teammate, and moreover—his identity gives him an innate affinity with Ye Fan and Pang Bo.
No rush, let's explore the Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin first.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Li Xian sneaked to the inner coffin.
He pressed his palm against the coffin wall, his fingertips tracing the ancient patterns belonging to the mythical era.
He tried pushing it, wanting to crawl directly into the little fairy realm inside.
Unfortunately, this hidden location can only be accessed by players at least at the Quasi-Emperor level, essentially a new map that only appears in the second playthrough.
After fumbling around for a while, Li Xian sighed.
Adhering to the principle that a thief should never leave empty-handed, he memorized a portion of the patterns on the coffin wall, intending to transfer them onto his Dao-proving artifact later.
Li Xian felt more at ease after failing to exploit the bug.
Without a control panel, you play by hand; it's a mature skill-based game, emphasizing having a mental image of the game.
Just as they were planning how to arrange the Yinghuo station, a loud tremor rang out.
The bronze coffin looked as if it had crashed into something.
"bright!"
The Heavenly Emperor's ex-girlfriend, Li Xiaoman, called out.
Everyone turned their heads at the same time.
The bronze coffin overturned, its lid tilted, revealing a crack through which light shone straight in from the outside.
We've arrived at Yinghuo Station.
"This isn't Mount Tai, where are we?"
"Oh my God..."
"The flickering firelight, so chaotic and confusing..."
"This... looks like Mars?"
Li Xian didn't call out either, nor did she hesitate.
When the coffin lid was opened just wide enough for one person to crawl out, he slid sideways and got out.
He landed, his knees buckled, and he almost fell face-first into the mud.
"Those legs," Li Xian staggered, "the immersion is just too ridiculous..."
He cursed under his breath, but didn't stop walking, glancing around as he went.
While everyone was still helping each other climb out, he was already squatting next to the true dragon's corpse.
The dragon scales were harder than he had imagined.
Digging your fingernail into it is like scratching a steel plate—it doesn't even make a sound. Trying to forge a weapon using immortal scales? Dream on.
Li Xian changed his approach, reaching his palm into the gaps between the scales.
My fingertips touched a sticky, moist sensation—no, not moist, but warm.
Deep within the dragon scale grooves, a trace of extremely faint Origin Qi essence remained.
The remnants of the divine or alien source that splashed onto the ground after being shattered were sealed by the scales and had not yet completely dissipated.
He pressed his entire palm down and greedily sucked it in.
The moment that wisp of primordial energy entered my body through my fingertips, the burning sensation in my lungs disappeared.
It didn't fade away gradually; it just disappeared completely.
My legs felt stronger, the tinnitus stopped, and I felt much more refreshed.
The mortal body is initially activated.
Li Xian flexed her fingers and clenched her fist.
There's something there.
At this moment, Ye Fan and Pang Bo slowly climbed out of the coffin.
"Old Immortal, are you reincarnating so fast?" Pang Bo cursed, looking at the reddish-brown wasteland in front of him. "Holy crap, where am I?"
"Mars, Yinghuo."
Li Xian didn't even turn his head, squinting as he stared at the blurry outline of the ruins in the northwest.
The Great Thunder Temple is in that direction.
Elixir of immortality and Buddhist artifacts are all top-tier resources for the initial stages of cultivation. Especially the elixir of immortality—for mortals, this is the foundation; without it, one can't even begin to grasp the basics of cultivation.
"Old Immortal."
Ye Fan walked over, looking relatively calm, but his brows were furrowed.
He lowered his voice: "What did you mean by shouting 'jump over' from inside the coffin?"
"I had a nightmare and was talking in my sleep," Li Xian said without changing his expression.
Ye Fan stared at him for two seconds, then turned around to comfort the others without asking any further questions.
Li Xian nodded to himself.
That's the good thing about Ye Fan; he doesn't ask questions he shouldn't, and he's reliable in crucial moments.
Of course, being reliable is one thing, and being fast is another.
We can't follow the main characters' pace; it's too slow. In the original story, Ye Fan and his group dawdled around Yinghuo, even losing several lives in the process.
Five hundred years, not a single minute can be wasted.
"Classmates," Li Xian said, stepping onto a protruding rock and clearing his throat.
Everyone looked at him.
"I know you're all scared, and I'm scared too. But staying put will only kill us. Look in that direction—"
He pointed northwest, where the faint outlines of buildings could be seen.
"Doesn't that look like a man-made structure?"
Everyone looked in the direction he was pointing, and there was indeed something at the end of the desert.
"Where there is architecture, there is civilization; where there is civilization, there is a way to survive. I'll go ahead and scout ahead; Ye Fan, you lead the others and follow."
"Wait a minute." Ye Fan frowned. "Are you going alone?"
"I can run fast."
Ye Fan glanced at Li Xian's thin, bamboo-like frame, his expression subtle.
He didn't stop them anymore. He turned around and briefly organized everyone to follow.
Pang Bo strode up to him and patted him on the shoulder: "Old Immortal, how did you know there was something over there?"
"intuition."
"Your intuition has been eerily accurate ever since the Warring States period tombs."
Ye Fan, who followed behind, chuckled, but quickly stopped smiling: "You mean this place really is Mars?"
"Yes."
"Then how do we get back?"
"Live first."
Ye Fan remained silent for a while, then didn't ask any more questions.
After walking for about half an hour, the group started to fall behind.
Due to the high altitude, low air pressure, and insufficient oxygen, several students with poor physical condition have fallen behind.
"Almost there, just ten more minutes," he called back.
Li Xiaoman, standing in the middle of the group, suddenly spoke up: "What makes you think you can judge this by ten minutes? Have you been here before?"
Li Xian didn't even turn her head: "My eyesight is worse than yours."
Pang Bo chuckled softly.
Before long, the group stopped.
Ahead, a temple stands at the edge of the desert. Yellow sand covers half of the walls, the pillars are askew, and Buddha statues are scattered all over the ground, but its scale is undeniable.
Great Thunder Temple.
"My God..." Liu Yunzhi stammered, "How could there be a temple on Mars?"
"Humanity is not the only civilization," Ye Fan said in a deep voice, his gaze sweeping over the collapsed Buddha statues.
Li Xian remained silent and walked straight to a withered ancient tree in front of the temple.
The tree trunk was crooked and strong, and the whole tree was dry.
This is the Bodhi Elixir of Immortality.
He strode forward and took half of the branch, including the six green leaves. Its essence was contained and as warm and smooth as jade, belonging to the category of incomplete immortal medicine.
The rare and precious item, which was so hard to come by, was stuffed into his bag in less than three seconds.
His movements were so practiced it was almost painful, an instinct honed from countless looting sessions. He moved so fast that, apart from Ye Fan and Pang Bo who were closest to him, no one else could even see what he was doing.
"Old Immortal, why are you picking up tree branches?" Pang Bo asked, leaning closer.
"It's beautiful, I'll keep it as a souvenir."
Pang Bo rolled his eyes.
Li Xian remained calm and turned to walk towards the temple.