Dashing Student
Chapter 1418: Signs Begin to Emerge
The child’s idle words left Chen Nan feeling somewhat melancholic.
The people at the bottom of the Heavenly Cutting Abyss are born in perpetual darkness, trapped in this cage—living here is more like being imprisoned here.
They believe the sky is naturally dark, and that the world has always been this small.
Seeing the yearning on those children’s faces, Chen Nan could only try his best to describe the scenes outside to them.
Not far away, the Divine Calculator was competing in drinking with the men of Fengdu City; though most of the food in Fengdu City lacks flavor, it’s not exactly bad but definitely not delicious either.
However, the wine here is decent, though it also contains a strong concentration of Yin Energy, it is unknown what special method was used to brew it—even the Divine Calculator had drunk too much.
The banquet lasted a very long time, and the Divine Calculator was eventually carried away by others. Chen Nan followed the old woman who had delivered hot soup to them before and headed home; everyone called the old woman Granny Qian.
"Big brother, can you tell us more about the world outside tomorrow?" a child shouted to Chen Nan.
Chen Nan turned back at them with a smile and nodded, "Of course."
"That’s great!"
The children ran off happily, bouncing with joy.
Granny Qian’s house appeared quite ordinary. Chen Nan and the Divine Calculator slept in an empty room, but the Divine Calculator, having drunk too much, was snoring thunderously, making it impossible for Chen Nan to calmly cultivate.
Thus, he went outside alone.
In Fengdu City, it’s unknown how people distinguish between day and night. It should be nighttime in Fengdu City right now, as the streets were empty with everyone home to rest.
Walking along, Chen Nan arrived at the ruins destroyed by the Demon Clan, which had been cleared away, but given the city’s residents, it was uncertain how long it would take to rebuild.
However, the Divine Calculator had decided to help these people rebuild, perhaps because he received ample respect here, with everyone treating him like an Immortal.
Remembering the blissful appearance of the Divine Calculator being praised, Chen Nan gave a silent chuckle, his gaze suddenly falling to a corner, where there was a bloodstain.
The bloodstain had dried up and would soon disappear completely.
"It definitely wasn’t left by the Demon Clan, after all, Fengdu City is inhabited by mortals, how could they injure those demons?"
That Demon Clan was under the protection of the Great Saint Ao Hao!
Chen Nan sighed, unable to help the city’s residents escape, he could only offer them as much assistance as possible.
Finding an open space outside, Chen Nan sat down to cultivate, but at the bottom of the Heavenly Cutting Abyss, there was only dense Yin Energy, and not a trace of Spiritual Energy, so he had to rely on using Spirit Stones for cultivation.
In such an environment, even the Demon Clan couldn’t persist long; without the nourishment of Spiritual Energy, their cultivation would rapidly decline, ultimately dissipating or being eroded and assimilated by the Yin Energy.
A night passed without incident.
When Chen Nan returned to the room, the Divine Calculator had just awoken, rubbing his head he said, "Didn’t sleep well last night, felt fatigued all over... By the way, where did you go?"
"Didn’t go anywhere, just walked around." Chen Nan waved his hand, "Aren’t you going to help them? Hurry up, they’ve already started to work."
Upon hearing this, the Divine Calculator immediately straightened up, looking proud, "The Daoist’s compassion can’t bear seeing them suffer."
"Yes, yes, you’re always right," Chen Nan said helplessly, "But I think we should leave soon, there is no way to reach the Inner Sea from here."
"Don’t worry, when the Daoist takes action, helping them rebuild their home is but a trifling matter."
Over the next few days, the Divine Calculator was continuously helping Fengdu City rebuild the structures destroyed by the Demon Clan, and the city’s residents praised him generously.
To him, this was like a paradise on earth, except for the dense Yin Energy making cultivators uncomfortable, everything else was excellent.
Only he would lament to Chen Nan every morning about feeling fatigued, but as a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, merely using Mana to help transport stones, how could he feel so tired?
Chen Nan didn’t have that feeling, yet he observed the Divine Calculator growing increasingly haggard, realizing something was amiss.
"The Divine Calculator’s condition is clearly off, looking like his Essence Energy is depleted, yet he’s just helping out, how could he become depleted of Essence Energy?"
"Moreover, I am fine; being in the Extremely Yin Land for too long, even my Mana is tinged with a bit of Yin Energy, just causing operational sluggishness."
He pondered, finally realizing there was a fundamental difference between him and the Divine Calculator.
The Divine Calculator got drunk every evening before returning to rest, whereas he was sitting outside cultivating every night—this was their only difference.
"Could it be..."
Chen Nan’s heart skipped a beat, and that night he purposely stayed in the room, pretending to sleep, indeed sensing someone entering their room.
He was just about to open his eyes when suddenly a wave of exhaustion hit, as if weights were pressing on his eyelids, unable to open them, and his body became immobile.
"Sleep paralysis?"
Chen Nan was startled, but his consciousness grew blurrier, ultimately falling asleep directly. Before dozing off, he seemed to hear Granny Qian’s voice, "There’s no escaping now, hehe..."
He didn’t know how much time had passed, but Chen Nan suddenly awoke with a shock, looking around, finding himself still on the bed, making everything that happened seemed like a dream.
The Divine Calculator was already up, looking even more haggard, looking at Chen Nan with a smile, "See, aren’t you just like me now?"
Chen Nan’s heart sank, hastily gesturing in the air to conjure a ball of water like a mirror to inspect himself, noticing his own haggard appearance.
The water mirror shattered as his fists clenched tightly, "Last night was not a dream!"
Though he was unclear on what exactly happened, he knew there was definitely something peculiar in this city, and Granny Qian certainly wasn’t as simple as she seemed!
"What dream? I haven’t dreamed in a long time." The Divine Calculator waved his hand dismissively.
Then Granny Qian entered, placing two bowls of hot soup on the table, a kind smile across her wrinkled face, "Come, have a bowl of hot soup!"
Every morning, Granny Qian would deliver hot soup.
The Divine Calculator picked up the soup, having grown accustomed to its taste over the past few days.
But Chen Nan was staring intently at Granny Qian, trying to find something amiss, but alas, he found nothing.
Outside the room, the children were already waiting for Chen Nan, their innocent faces making Chen Nan doubt himself; perhaps last night was truly just a dream?
But waking up depleted of Essence Energy and severely fatigued was a fact; Essence Energy couldn’t just disappear—someone "stole" it!
This could only mean that it wasn’t him who was at fault, but Fengdu City itself!