Chapter 308: Chapter 247: Celestial Calamity Dao Foundation

Yan Qing woke up and found it was almost noon.

Although staying up late last night had something to do with it, it was mostly because he was carefree with nothing weighing on his mind, he naturally slept soundly and refreshed.

First, he powered up the console and logged into Rabbit Heroine’s account. As soon as he went online, he saw Ye Si and Jiang Shi sitting cross-legged on the bed. Confirming there were no negative statuses, he changed Rabbit Heroine’s outfit, undid the large braided plait, then switched to Jiang Shi’s account and took Rabbit Heroine and Ye Si out for a spin.

Along the way, they encountered military town Baibao members who were slack-jawed, and even Baibao Banner Masters came upon hearing the news, asking with a complex expression, "Jiang Niang, is your daughter this big already?"

Then his next sentence was, "I don’t mind!"

For a moment, it was hard to tell whether to laugh at his self-indulgence or his bootlicking, but seeing how seriously he said it, he laughed a garlic bird.

Yan Qing still remembered him; seemed like he was called Bu Liuguluo, always with an undying heart wanting to pursue Jiang Shi. While admitting Jiang Shi was a married woman might scare off some people, this world seemed to have quite a few who favored mature women who’ve had children, so Jiang Shi replied, "No, she’s my younger sister, here to seek refuge, her name is Little Rabbit."

Since they’ve arrived in Ping City, Rabbit Heroine was bound to meet people, and Yan Qing couldn’t bear to keep her in storage; this heir of the "Storm" trait Life-taking Messenger was still his strongest trump card.

As for whether she’d be recognized... unlike Jiang Shi, Rabbit Heroine was modeled after Yan Qing’s cousin, quite cute if you put it nicely, but pretty common if you put it not-so-nicely, as there were plenty of little girls looking similar to her all over Central Plains. As long as Yan Qing didn’t let Rabbit Heroine exhibit Third-Turn Combat Power in front of people, who would think that a girl who didn’t look ten years old was the Heir of Calamity?

Moreover, would the True Man of Locking Dragon really spread such embarrassing things around? Because Jiang Shi managed to escape successfully, Liang Kingdom’s Prison-Suppressing Thunder King was still a joke to this day. If people found out Rabbit Heroine successfully escaped from True Man of Locking Dragon, how long would True Man of Locking Dragon be embarrassed?

But the crux of the matter was that Yan Qing still wouldn’t treat Rabbit Heroine differently from other avatars due to her "specialness."

No matter how moving Pharmacist’s Wish and Rabbit Heroine’s relationship was, no matter his good relations with Pharmacist’s Wish, he would never place Rabbit Heroine in safety without allowing her to realize her value.

Players must play the game, game characters must have their own lives.

Even if Jiang Shi and Rabbit Heroine died and attracted Shang Xinlei and Pharmacist’s Wish’s thunderous wrath, Yan Qing wouldn’t back down. He’s not a second-rate game developer; he painstakingly nurtures a character for the sake of his main account, not to sell characters!

The most Yan Qing would do is transfer Rabbit Heroine over to Jiang Shi’s side rather than to Mouse Monk’s Xuanwu Lake Military Town. In case anything happens, Rabbit Heroine could fly solo and decimate Ping City, while Xuanwu Lake Military Town is relatively deep waters, rumored occasionally to be inspected by Foundation Establishment Zhenren, there’s no need to take that risk.

There’s another choice, the Jiangnan County Town’s Niu Xianke, but sending Rabbit Heroine there would be purely for vacation, might as well go to Ping City Secret Realm to mow down mobs.

After handling Rabbit Heroine’s identity issues, next comes the exciting spoil counting!

Actually, there’s not much to count.

Aside from the rewards from Thief’s House, Yan Qing’s extra gains in the quest include Chu Luoyan’s tokens, quite a haul. This should’ve been Pharmacist’s Wish’s spoils, but letting her carry Chu Luoyan’s tokens is like self-surrender, so Yan Qing scavenges them instead.

However, this type of spoil comes with a problem, Yan Qing can only use it himself, because he doesn’t know the complete information about these spoils, unable to store in the warehouse to share with avatars, let alone list them in Treasure Pavilion.

Unless he can meet with avatars, allowing avatars to input their spoils into the warehouse anew...

An idea flashed in Yan Qing’s mind, the more he thought about it, the more feasible and exciting it seemed.

But this matter isn’t urgent for now, Yan Qing continued addressing rewards. Red Furnace Fire Essence, no need to mention, is still used to reinforce his currently strongest token Bingzi Pepper Forest, Bingzi Pepper Forest’s Heaven-Covering Blade Aura combined with [Celestial Calamity Milestone]’s true damage is his strongest killing method at present.

Then onto the main event, [Earth Vein Evil Qi], which can be converted into any treasure among the Seventy-two Earth Fiends spiritual objects!

With this item, Yan Qing can directly obtain his much-desired Earth Fiend, [Tongyou Secret Record]!

Just like how [Mediation Creation Jade Talisman] is a legend among Celestial Spirits, [Tongyou Secret Record] is also a legend among Earth Fiends!

Combining the two, is the pinnacle Dao Foundation with a sterling reputation among power gamers, enduring several versions without ever being nerfed but instead enjoying version benefits —

[Life and Death Profound Dao Foundation]!

Stats? Check. Mechanics? Check!

But even in the previous life game, these two were extremely low drop-rate Celestial Spirits and Earth Fiends, in player trades, a single [Mediation Creation Jade Talisman] could generally be exchanged for four Celestial Spirits, and a single [Tongyou Secret Record] could even be exchanged for seven Earth Fiends!

Therefore, from the start, Yan Qing never considered trading board for [Tongyou Secret Record], even though he held excess Celestial Spirits and Earth Fiends, but this world’s drop rate is far lower than in the game. For a legendary Earth Fiend like [Tongyou Secret Record], Yan Qing would likely have to put his entire fortune into it.

Game players who want to pair the Life and Death Profound Dao Foundation either have big accounts carrying small ones or spend real money. If a broke player wants to hit the Life and Death Profound Dao Foundation right off with the first account, then they can only beg worldwide saying, ’I’m a student, gift it to me quickly.’ With the strength of a Third-Turn Messenger, gathering the Mediation Creation Jade Talisman and Tongyou Secret Record is too challenging.

Think about how Yan Qing acquired the Mediation Creation Jade Talisman? By permanently destroying a Third-Turn Secret Realm, it exploded into existence. Meaning, no one would share the spoils with Yan Qing, allowing him to feast alone, or else they’d fight over it till their brains burst.

Missing out on the Dragon and Snake Seven Kills customized legend is a pity, but Yan Qing doesn’t regret it at all. Compared to the customized legend, the Earth Vein Evil Qi is what he currently needs most.

Thinking of how he soon can gather the Celestial Spirits and Earthly Fiends of the Life and Death Profound Dao Foundation, Yan Qing couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious. At times like this, he must not rush. Yan Qing opened the Mediation Creation Jade Talisman’s Dao Foundation pairing directory to review it again, afraid he’d miss some detail.

Indeed, there was something overlooked.

Yan Qing rubbed his eyes, and when he pulled the directory to the bottom, he saw a Dao Foundation pairing he had never seen before, with a name glowing in green:

[?? Celestial Calamity Dao Foundation: Catastrophe-Neutralizing Creation Talisman + Catastrophe Earth Fiend]

What the heck?

Not only was the name unclear, but the rating of this Dao Foundation wasn’t medium, superior, or perfect, but unknown. It’s worth noting that Dao Foundation pairings start at the medium grade. Only failure to absorb Celestial Spirits and Earthly Fiends during Foundation Establishment or errors in pairing can result in a Lower Grade Dao Foundation.

What is Catastrophe-Neutralizing Creation Talisman? How does it operate?

Yan Qing contemplated a possibility, logged into the Rabbit Heroine account, transferred the Mediation Creation Jade Talisman to her personal warehouse, and opened the interaction options.

[Absorb], [Inject], [Reforge], [Catastrophe].

There really is catastrophe! Since when did it appear?

Yan Qing clicked on [Catastrophe], and the game prompted:

"Would you like to consume 10 points of Celestial Calamity Karmic Force to effectuate the Catastrophe-Neutralizing Creation Talisman?"

Yan Qing suddenly realized why it hadn’t shown up before; at minimum, one catastrophe requires 10 points of Celestial Calamity Karmic Force. Rabbit Heroine only has 11 points because she absorbed Si Wuxie’s Disaster Stone.

This means it takes 20 points of Celestial Calamity Karmic Force to pair a Celestial Calamity Dao Foundation. Given the difficulty of achieving Celestial Calamity Karmic Force, if this Celestial Calamity Dao Foundation isn’t superior to others, nobody would want to invest in it.

But 20 points of Celestial Calamity Karmic Force...

Yan Qing hesitated; he didn’t doubt the strength of the Celestial Calamity Dao Foundation. Based on his understanding of the developers, such a mechanism only triggered in real mode is destined to be overpowered. He just needs to power up for the next task facing the Fourth-Grade Demon and Monster Gold Seal Chief Constable, where he needs all his might.

In the twenty days ahead, is there any way he can gain 9 more points of Celestial Calamity Karmic Force?

Otherwise, he must either abandon the Celestial Calamity Dao Foundation or forsake the Thief’s House, choosing not absorbing Celestial Spirits and Earthly Fiends into the task is like gambling to not break wind when having a tummy issue, betting he won’t crap himself.

Yan Qing pondered for a long while, decided to wait and see; after all, there are twenty days left.

It’s almost noon; Yan Qing skillfully wrapped his bandages, wondering if Shang Xinlei was still angry. If she didn’t want to cook, he’d ask Niu Xianke to order takeout from Kitchen God Building. He remembered she loved to eat the lion’s head, born-fired ribs, sweet and sour pork, crab stick egg, braised tofu with green onions, plum vegetable pork belly, oil-braised lobster, golden fried rice...

As Yan Qing thought, he opened the door to find the Thief Hall filled with smoke, the stone table’s edge furnace boiling the broth. Shang Xinlei came out of the room with two plates of lamb, and Pharmacist’s Wish carried a wine jug emerging.

Hearing the noise, they both looked over.

With them looking on, Yan Qing felt embarrassed to sit and wait for the meal, so he helped move chairs. He moved Pharmacist’s Wish’s chair to his left, Shang Xinlei’s chair to his right, letting out a breath.

Good, now he can comfortably wait to eat—

Smack!

His occipital just got smacked. Yan Qing turned, finding Shang Xinlei and Pharmacist’s Wish had moved their chairs a bit farther from him, unable to discern who had snuck the attack.

Having hotpot requires everyone to sit close together for fun, really.