Chapter 25: Manor Level 25

Ai Ling didn’t notice that He Xi was blushing and continued asking, “That’s not the point. Why don’t you go handle it yourself?”

He Xi gazed into the distance, frowning slightly. “I did go, but there’s a kind of barrier inside that cave—I can’t enter. But you might be able to.”

He paused, then added, “And the farther west I go, the more my divine power weakens. Even flying, I can only take you as far as the great waterfall. Once we reach the third-level platform, I can’t fly anymore.”

Ai Ling was confused. “Why would a local like you be restricted by so many things?”

He Xi gave her a glance. “Because the barrier around the cave was created by your Xi Slayers, and the restrictions on the platforms were left behind from ancient times—no one can undo them.”

“Oh, I get it now!”

Ai Ling suddenly understood. Even though she didn’t quite know what he meant by “platforms,” those restrictions must’ve been designed to trap the Demon King—and unexpectedly, they also ended up limiting a local like He Xi.

“Oh right,”

Ai Ling suddenly asked, “What do you think of the Demon King?”

He Xi’s brow twitched, and his expression instantly turned cold. “Don’t bring him up in front of me. I have no opinion about him. Are you going or not? Just answer—don’t talk nonsense!”

“Going, going! Of course I’m going!”

Ai Ling quickly said, “This is also for the good of my plants, so I have to go.”

Hmm… looks like this local doesn’t have a good opinion of the Demon King either. He doesn’t even want to mention him.

Well, he is the great Demon King—he must’ve done terrible things to Blue Star. So it makes sense that the natives resent him.

Since she had decided to go on this adventure and likely wouldn’t be back for a while, Ai Ling gave all her plants and flowers a final round of watering before setting off.

When she entered the orchard, she looked at the fruits that had already grown to full size but still hadn’t ripened at all. Her heart was uneasy.

It had already been more than a month—by now, those fruits should’ve ripened. But why wasn’t there even the slightest sign of it?

She had never dared to tell He Xi about this, afraid he’d think her cultivation project had failed.

To be honest, when she’d confidently promised it would succeed, she was especially afraid of facing someone’s disappointed look if it didn’t.

With that nervous feeling in her chest, Ai Ling packed up the house, shut all the doors and windows, picked up her little basket, brought along a small knife for self-defense, and set off together with He Xi.

The farthest west Ai Ling had ever gone was just before reaching the Great Waterfall—she hadn’t even seen it before.

But this time, under He Xi’s protection, she finally made it to the base of the Great Waterfall.

It was a waterfall that poured down from an incredibly tall mountain—just like in the poem by ^[1]Li Bai (also known as Li Po) was a famous Chinese poet during the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD). He is one of the most celebrated poets in Chinese literature, known for his romantic and imaginative … Continue readingLi Bai: “A stream descends straight three thousand feet—As if the Milky Way fell from the Ninth Heaven.”

The waterfall came crashing down from the sky, carving out a bottomless pool below.

She remembered how she once foolishly fantasized about taking a shower under the waterfall. But now that she saw it in person, that was clearly pure fantasy.

If she really went under it to wash up, she’d probably either be crushed by the falling water or drowned in the depths of that abyss.

After admiring the waterfall, Ai Ling wanted to keep going forward, but she quickly realized there was no path ahead at all.

The enormous waterfall completely blocked the way—unless they flew across, there was simply no road to take.

She turned back to look at He Xi. “Why don’t we go around to the sid—”

Before she could finish saying the word ‘side’, she suddenly felt her body lighten. He Xi had already wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her into the air.

They flew upward, straight into the misty spray of the waterfall. The mist surrounded them like they were drifting in a fairyland.

The flight took about ten minutes before they reached the top of the waterfall. As soon as He Xi reached the top, it was as if all his strength had been drained. He landed immediately on solid ground and set Ai Ling down.

Ai Ling was practically thrown to the ground, but she had no mind to blame He Xi—because the sight before her left her completely stunned.

What lay ahead wasn’t a mountaintop, but a vast, solid stretch of elevated land.

In front, to the left and right, the terrain extended flatly for dozens, maybe hundreds, of kilometers. That meant the land below was a lower-tier platform, and this place must be what He Xi had referred to as the third-level platform.

She looked farther ahead and saw the tall, cloud-piercing celestial mountain she’d glimpsed once before—it seemed to stand right at the edge of this platform.

Then she recalled the abyss she had fallen into before. Thinking about it now, it was probably just land on a platform lower than where she lived.

If the land beneath the cliff was the first-level platform, and her home was on the second-tier, then this place being the third-level platform made perfect sense.

With that in mind, she asked He Xi, “Is your planet shaped like a cone or something? Like, rising up layer by layer—and that huge celestial mountain ahead is the peak?”

He Xi gave her an annoyed glare. “Your planet is the one shaped like a cone. This is all man-made. You’ll understand as you keep exploring.”

Ai Ling didn’t ask any more questions—because she noticed that in the hazy forest ahead, there seemed to be many structures hidden among the trees.

Their shapes were strange—some tall, some short, some fat, some thin—but without exception, they were all covered in thick vines and moss, making it hard to see what they originally looked like.

When she first came up, she thought they were all strange-looking trees.

Ai Ling was utterly amazed. She saw He Xi already walking forward, so she stopped daydreaming and followed him, stepping carefully through thick layers of fallen leaves and moss.

He Xi remained unusually silent the whole way. No matter what Ai Ling asked, he gave no reply.

It wasn’t until they entered the cluster of giant buildings that Ai Ling saw clearly—this must once have been a massive metropolis.

The huge structures, now completely overtaken by plant life, stood like dark, yawning mouths—waiting to swallow up any lost explorers who wandered inside.

Ai Ling was shocked, nervous, and curious all at once. With He Xi still silent beside her, she had no choice but to call out Fluffy Ball.

“Fluffy Ball, Fluffy Ball, look! This used to be a huge city, right? It’s so incredible! Do you know the history here? Can you tell me about it?”

Fluffy Ball gave her a disdainful sideways glance. “Why don’t you ask the guy beside you if you’re so curious? Why are you asking me?”

Ai Ling grinned. “Aren’t you my system? If I don’t ask you, who else can I ask?”

Fluffy Ball rolled its eyes. “Oh, now you remember I’m your system? Then do you still remember what kind of system I am? You’ve been here for so long, and all you’ve thought about is helping people graft fruits. When exactly are you planning to help me kill the Demon King?”

Ai Ling knew it was still angry. Her eyes lit up with mischief and she smiled sweetly, “Sure! Then hurry up and tell me where the Demon King is, and I’ll have He Xi go kill him. He’s so powerful—taking out a Demon King should be a piece of cake, right?”

Fluffy Ball quickly froze in place, thinking to itself—this might be a good opportunity to let her find out who the Demon King is.

So it stared hard in He Xi’s direction and began to seriously point out, “He’s in front… to the left… to the right… in your vi—”

He Xi’s gaze swept over like a blade.

Fluffy Ball shuddered all over and instinctively blurted out, “Not him!”

Ai Ling sighed. “See? You can’t even tell me exactly where the Demon King is. How am I supposed to go kill him? As a system meant to guide a Xi Slayer, this level of performance is really kind of unacceptable, don’t you think?”

Fluffy Ball tightly shut its mouth, puffing up in anger, and flew forward without saying a word.

Ai Ling hurried after it. “Don’t run off, Fluffy Ball! I’m not mad at you—wait for me!”

This area was densely packed with tall buildings, almost completely blocking out the sun. As a result, the main road was covered in damp mist, and visibility was only about ten meters ahead.

Fluffy Ball zipped off in a flash and disappeared from sight in the blink of an eye.

Afraid of losing it, Ai Ling shouted, “Fluffy Ball, come back! You’ll get lost!”

Suddenly, He Xi reached out and covered her mouth. “Be careful. Don’t shout so loudly.”

Ai Ling could hear the flurry of startled birds flying off all around them. She could only smile apologetically. “Sorry, I was just worried about Fluffy Ball.”

He Xi said coldly, “It’s just a system. It can’t die. You’d better worry about yourself instead.”

Ai Ling thought about it and realized—yeah, she was totally worrying about nothing.

So she gave up on finding Fluffy Ball and carefully kept walking forward.

She had only taken four or five steps when suddenly, a sharp scream rang out from ahead: “Help!”

This shout was way more intense than Ai Ling’s had been—it was so loud, she felt the buildings above them tremble, and a swarm of dark birds burst out from within the buildings in waves.

Fluffy Ball came flying back like a spiky puffball, looking like a panicked hedgehog and zipping through the air like a bullet.

“Ai Ling, run! Run back, quick! There’s a monster ahead!”

Ai Ling really couldn’t stand how dramatic it was acting. “What’s there to be scared of? There isn’t a single normal animal on this whole planet—everything here’s basically a monster to me. Besides, He Xi’s right here!”

She turned to look at He Xi—only to find him staring dead ahead at something emerging slowly from the mist, his face pale as a sheet.

Ai Ling was startled. She quickly turned around to look too.

Holy crap! Holy crap! HOLY CRAP!

There really was an alien!!

【Oh my god, what is that thing?!】

【Oh my god—is that a Zerg?! I thought the Zerg were completely wiped out!】

【No no no, it’s not Zerg. I’ve fought them head-on—I’ve never seen a Zerg look like that!】

【But look at those wings, those limbs, and that sharp beak—if it’s not a Zerg, then what is it?】

【That may be true, but it actually looks more like the Ancestors than the old Zerg ever did. Could it have evolved?】

【Oh my god, don’t tell me this is the real reason the Ancestral God sealed off Blue Star?】

【Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap—forgive me, I have no other words to describe how I feel right now.】

【God, seriously, how could Blue Star be hiding a secret like this? Luo Ling, aren’t you going to come out and explain something?】

【If this really is the Zerg, I suggest destroying Blue Star immediately. If these things get out, it won’t just be one or two planets destroyed—the entire universe will be plunged into war again.】

【Alright, alright, no need to panic. Commander Ji Wen is already making preparations. Blue Star will be destroyed within three years.】

【This time, I fully support Commander Ji Wen.】

【I don’t care—no one’s allowed to hurt my Number 5! I still need to trade food with her! And besides, that clearly isn’t a Zerg. Stop spreading fear.】

【Yeah! And my son is still there.】

【And my husband.】

【And my boyfriend.】

……

【Pfft~~ blind stans are really going to ruin the world.】

On the other side of the screen, Commander Luo Ling—who was also closely monitoring their movements—was likewise staring fixedly at the monster emerging from the mist.

She too wanted to know… what exactly had they become?