Chapter 145: Tracking

{Right, Captain Xuelin, this assignment is such a sweet deal for us. Each person gets fifty years of Time Sequence every day, plus free incense pills. I sold two for three hundred years—feels pretty great.}
As Yuan Xuelin and the others chatted, Li Zhinan suddenly felt a chill wind brush past him.
The insects in the air were flung away by this abrupt gust, crashing onto the vines hanging from the branches. The group watching through the bugs in the distance felt their heads spin.
{Quiet, something’s up.}
Li Zhinan by the bushes gave a sudden jerk. He looked back suspiciously at the leaves rustling without any wind, then quickly tightened his belt.
Wiping the cold sweat on his forehead, Li Zhinan glanced at the faintly glowing crimson tree stem in his hand. Seeing no other anomalies around, he finally relaxed.
“Ah, just scaring myself.”
Yet he inexplicably felt the surrounding atmosphere was growing eerier.
As the figure approached, a phantom silhouette of a person emerged in the darkness above him, suspended in the air near the mountain peak.
He looked down like a deity, his gaze radiating an oblivious indifference that conquered all.
At that moment, in his eyes, Li Zhinan was encased in a resilient layer of energy, like flowers blooming and continuously expanding outward in ripples.
This was not only due to the organs of Wang Chaoyang implanted in Li Zhinan, but also because of the energy contained in the moist, lustrous wood he carried, which enhanced Li Zhinan’s abilities.
Wherever he passed, even the maddened beasts softened their gaze upon encountering him and ceased their attacks.
{This piece of wood is truly a treasure.}
The voice of the bandages echoed in his mind, making Li Zhinan’s body and mind tremble slightly.
The same words resonated within the invisible train beside Li Zhinan, where Luo Bin, eyeing what he held, was practically drooling, “This is a treasure! So this is what an A-level cross-space is like—there are plenty of good things here!”
……
Inside the tunnel at the base of the mountain, vines quivered and spread apart, revealing a concealed passage.
{You’re here.}
Li Zhinan, bearing Wang Chaoyang’s appearance, raised the stem in his hand, which continuously emitted energy waves, resonant with the plant blocking the entire passage ahead.
“It has amassed fifty thousand time sequences inside.”
The trunk of the massive vine-like tree trembled, revealing a human face that said:
{Good, with this, I can leave here and head beyond the mountain.}
Quickly, the vines skittered across the surrounding walls, and two smaller tendrils curled down to wrap around it.
{Human, you’ve done me a great favor. Rest assured, I will grant you secret techniques for human cultivation as agreed.}
On the train, Luo Bin whispered excitedly to Yang Zicang, “So this is where secret techniques come from! I wonder what kind of secret technique this place will yield!”
“Keep it down. We can’t let it get this piece of wood. With fifty thousand years of elapsed time, its power will definitely skyrocket.”
“Shouldn’t we at least wait until it hands over the secret technique?”
At that moment, the bandage’s voice rang out in Li Zhinan’s mind:
{Ask it what the secret technique is—does it involve spiritual or mental abilities?}
Li Zhinan didn’t dare hesitate for a moment and immediately looked up at the large face on the tree trunk, saying:
“Excuse me, is the secret technique related to spiritual or mental abilities?”
A slow, deep voice responded:
{Of course not. My secret technique allows you to consume the Five Elements or Primordial Star Energy… Oh, most people in the world now probably don’t have that yet. Perhaps consuming life force would also work—it can quickly speed up the growth of plants.}
A small sphere of light appeared in the air.
{Primordial Star Energy…}
The spirit inside the sphere muttered as it recorded with a pen on crumpled paper.
“It’s plant-ripening.” Yang Zicang felt a stir of interest in his heart.
Both Yuan Xuelin’s group, who were watching closely from the sidelines, and the intelligence room officials in Hub Town, who suddenly saw this scene through the little reporter’s perspective, secretly sighed. Plant-ripening was a highly prized skill in the Lost Frequency Zone.
If learned, trees could sprout rapidly on stable land plots, providing timber and firewood.
With ample firewood during winter in the future, many fewer people would freeze to death in the Lost Frequency Zone, let alone the advantage of easier food acquisition.
But for a lone wanderer like the bandaged doctor or Wuying, its value is not enough to make one abandon items related to mental and psychic abilities.
After hearing the inner voice continue to direct him, Li Zhinan suppressed his longing for the secret skill and said,
“Excuse me, what else is above this mountain? Is the spiritual object that covers such a vast area behind this passage?”
{You can only choose one. If you obtain my secret skill, my mission will be complete. The items above will be claimed by me.}
An item!
Everyone watching here was stirred at once—so it really is an item!
Li Zhinan suddenly looked down beside him, sensing a tremor in the air just now. Wuying, who was nearly pressed against him, hurriedly kept still. His earlier excitement had made him swing his arms in a big fist pump, almost giving him away.
In the train, Luo Bin, having melted into the air, whispered excitedly to Yang Zicang, “Remember our deal—this treasure is mine.”
Yang Zicang turned his face away and said, “We’ll see.”
“Damn it, you better not back out.”
Outside, Li Zhinan had already made his choice.
{Are you sure you want to give up such a secret skill? In our world, it’s rare too. With it in your grasp, without effort, you could grow trees with decades of maturity in just one month. Without a hundred years, you could become the master of the forest.}
Of course, he wanted it.
Li Zhinan let out a self-deprecating chuckle. “No need, I want what’s above.”
{Alright. Since I’m about to gain freedom, go ahead and take whatever you wish. Just give me the tree core.}
The wooden block wrapped in vines gradually sprouted countless tiny golden jade-tree-like branches, brimming with spiritual aura, transforming into a golden sword of light composed of branches, coiled around by a hanging vine!
Yang Zicang, who was about to act, immediately stilled again.
“What do we do?” Luo Bin glanced at him.
“Wait a little longer.”
After saying this, Yang Zicang suddenly felt his hands were drenched in sweat.
……
The strange vine outside the car spoke in human tongue, raising its sword and said:
{I will now cleave open the illusionary barrier for you. With the incense master escorting you, you can ascend easily. The second layer holds remnants of a puppet weapon corps from ancient humans—you’ll need to watch out. Moreover, the treasure at the very top is already under the control of a soul, so it counts as claimed.}
It laughed and continued:
{Anyway, if you die, the treasure still falls to me. Step aside.}
The golden strange sword flickered with a dim crimson phantom, an unsettling sight that hinted at countless epochs of passage.
The long sword came down!
{Break!}
Suddenly, the surrounding tunnel twisted like a watercolor painting soaked and deformed.
At that moment, within dozens of kilometers, all those still “treasure hunting” in the mountains at night felt a collective easing of their mental pressure.
This spreading power seemed to be quickly gathering to resist something.
So much so that even people in the marketplace sensed the sharp aura suddenly erupting from the mountain.
“What’s happening?”
They instinctively looked up toward the third mountain from north to south on the left. It suddenly twisted, as if intangible energy were distorting the light around it.
“Such formidable power.”
“Someone entered that mountain for treasure?!”
The crowd marveled. In the dim light, the mountain seemed on the verge of turning to dust and smoke, as if it could dissipate at any moment! Amid it all, a sharp golden aura shot straight into the sky, as if about to burst through the mountain and cut down everything.
Deep within the tunnel, at the same instant that this sword strike landed, the phantom figure that had stood atop the mountain suddenly appeared there.
The figure radiated a wild, violent aura. The moment its eyes flickered, Li Zhinan erupted into frantic screams.
Li Zhinan felt as if the bandaged doctor stood before him, aiming a blazing-hot scalpel at his Adam’s apple. The knife, burning like charcoal fire, kept thrusting in.
In reality, his own hand rose to rest on his throat.
“Ah!”
Li Zhinan suddenly felt that the searing scalpel before him ignited his entire body. The agony of real fire clung to his mind, stabbing into his nerves.
He grabbed his own neck tightly with both hands.
But in less than two seconds, the tendrils of flowers around him burst into bloom. The scorching pain quickly faded, as if it were merely a slap landing on him.
The vines writhed wildly.
The golden broadsword hurtled toward the phantom.
{I have lifted the suppression. How dare you lowly, thieving soul show yourself.}
Boom, boom!
Like a sword striking the heavens and earth, a massive hole directly exploded open within the mountain’s interior.
Golden phantom flames sprouted along the walls of the hole, growing plant-like withered branches tinged with red, wildly extending like roaring, curling waves surging forward.
The flickering phantom stumbled back several times before stabilizing. The fierce gale carried by this sword strike severed one of its arms; while it quickly regrew, it became much fainter.
{Stop. There’s no need for us to fight; he can come up.}
“Admitting defeat just like that?” Watching all this, Yang Zicang and Luo Bin felt a chill—if that sword had landed on them, they’d undoubtedly be reduced to ashes in an instant.
{You brainless, dense creature—you only realize the impossibility of your actions after a hard blow. Hmph, my sword is still superior.}
After the vine mocked him, it retreated in a sinuous motion, revealing the large hole.
{Go in, but beware what’s above. Given your strength… hmph, I advise you not to dwindle your remaining lifespan needlessly. As long as you let me have that treasure, the secret arts still belong to you.}
Li Zhinan entered through the tunnel, panting heavily.
He had no choice; behind him, that madman sought only the treasure.