Huh? Isn't this an adventure kingdom building game?!-Chapter 1003 - 848: Dormant State (Part 2)

[Physical Strength Bar value below 20%, please replenish immediately]

He was pondering about tearing the space open to take a stroll at East Lake Port, wondering if his statue’s protective aura could withstand his new skills, when suddenly a large red text prompt appeared in his field of vision.

Looking up, he indeed saw the Physical Strength Bar had dropped significantly!

"Slurp!"

Swiftly, he took out a teacup and teapot, pouring himself two cups of Spirit Tea to refill his Physical Strength Bar.

When Jiang Yuan reopened the space light gate, he stared at the Physical Strength Bar, noticing that each time he double-tapped, the bar would quickly decrease.

This wasn’t all. Even standing still in the space rift caused the Physical Strength Bar to drop slowly, and it fell faster when caught in strong winds.

By the time he arrived at East Lake Port and opened the light gate near the gigantic statue, about one-tenth of his Physical Strength Bar had been consumed.

"It seems that the larger the spatial span I traverse, the more Physical Strength is required," he quickly concluded after a couple of attempts, "Once the skill upgrades, it should start conserving endurance points."

Returning to the courtyard, Jiang Yuan became quite curious seeing his almost depleted Physical Strength—what happens when the Physical Strength Bar hits zero?

Since binding with the system and entering Wilderness World, he had been particularly attentive to the red and blue bars.

When the red bar hits zero, you’re out of health and die; even with a Resurrection Talisman in the Storage Bag, Jiang Yuan doesn’t want to waste it. But would you really die if the Physical Strength Bar hit zero?

When he first entered the game, the Physical Strength Bar was short and his endurance insufficient; he often had to rest before it even came close to depleting.

During rest, the Physical Strength Bar would gradually refuel on its own. Later on, with various items to replenish the red and blue bars, he never really had the chance to deplete the Mana Bar.

"Anyway, it’s something to do, and I’ve got enough Resurrection Talismans—why not experiment?" With this thought, Jiang Yuan immediately stepped into the forest beside the farmland and began chopping trees with an axe.

[Physical Strength Bar value below 10%, please replenish immediately]

[... below 5%, please replenish immediately]

[... below 1%, please replenish immediately]

[Beep Beep Beep! Physical Strength Bar is zero! Please prepare yourself!]

The prompts grew increasingly prominent, until the last one covered his entire field of vision.

Jiang Yuan found it strange: prepare for what?

Before he could figure it out, there was nothing more. He only felt a wave of darkness take over, losing consciousness completely.

It seemed like only a second had passed before Jiang Yuan reopened his eyes, finding himself enveloped in gentle orbs of light, floating in mid-air.

Interestingly, he didn’t maintain the posture he had when he lost consciousness, but rather sat cross-legged as if meditating in a cultivation game, his hands forming intricate signs, encased in ever-changing lights—all in a very graceful manner!

[Sufficient rest for six hours, Physical Strength Bar is now 100%]

[Note: To ensure player safety, once the Physical Strength Bar is depleted and cannot be replenished, a state of dormancy is entered and a certain amount of Spirit Stones is consumed to maintain an Invincible Guardian. This time consumed: 200 Spirit Stones]

[End rest?]

It really had been six hours; daylight had broken!

The courtyard members saw for the first time how the master meditated and cultivated, vaguely felt the circulation of Law power, a ten-meter radius centered on him was impassable, each of them was secretly amazed.

"No wonder the master rarely cultivates at home; this aura is indeed a bit intimidating," Yun Mo muttered, hiding his head under his wings, "My Realm is low, I don’t even dare to look at the light surrounding the master."

Hu Zhile chimed in: "Yes, I’m a bit higher in Realm, but I still don’t dare to look much. In fact, the Venerable Family’s aura isn’t aggressive; it just doesn’t allow anyone to approach. When the master cultivated in the small courtyard before, we all had to hide."

"Brother must have used some Protector, and that’s not something an ordinary Cultivator can have. Should any ignorant fool try something suspicious, that Protector’s aura would attack directly!" Qing Niao glanced enviously: "When we cross Tribulation or are in need, we have to seek predecessors as Protectors, but Brother brings his own Protector!"

Xie Chenyuan watched from afar, clamping his right hand with his left, dreading that itching curiosity might compel him to divine Jiang Senior’s Protector and see something deadly.

Jiu Mu, with all nine of her eyes, attempted to pierce through the lights but failed and whispered, "Don’t they resemble those orbs surrounding Lord Demon King?"

"Now that you mention it, there is a bit of a resemblance!" Jiu Qing said with a puzzled expression, "Does the Demon King also have his own Protector? Then how come he..."

Ling Di scratched his ear with a dog paw, continuing: "The Demon King disappearing is a big deal; technically, the Demon Realm should have erupted by now, yet everything’s so quiet. Doesn’t he have anyone else close to him aside from you?

Looks like the Demon King didn’t do too well either. When you find him, just persuade him to live with us in our little courtyard and forget about all that nonsense."

"If it were Yun Li before he became the Demon King and knew of such a serene place, he would likely be thrilled," Jiu Mu sighed, "but he chose to become the Demon King, he must have found his Path and probably won’t settle for living in seclusion."

The offhand remarks stirred something within Old Dog’s heart.

What exactly is my Great Path? He looked up at the sky, his mind a jumble of clouds he couldn’t grasp.

Receiving enlightenment from his master during his recognition, he faintly touched upon a profound and mystical sensation but never fully realized it, never found his own Great Path.

Thanks to his master’s blessing, he ascended to the Tribulation Crossing Realm without needing to undergo a Tribulation Crossing, but Ling Di knew that without a Great Path, it would be hard to advance any further.

As they spoke, Jiang Yuan finished his rest, and the rays of light gently lowered him onto the grass before vanishing without a trace.

[Main Quest: Construct Level Eight Homestead. Reward: 1 Mystery Pack of your choice]

[Mission 4: Make no fewer than ten types of paper for a total of 100 sheets, completed. Reward: Accelerator delivered]

[Accelerator: Garden Construction Divine Artifact. Can use Spirit Stones or other high-value objects as fuel, select focused acceleration, including but not limited to agriculture, animal husbandry, workshop manufacture, cooking, etc. in all production lines]

[Mission 5: Upgrade all buildings within the homestead to Level Eight. Reward: 10 Oversized Seed Packs of your choice]

The finished products from the paper workshop weren’t collected yet, but once the last piece was completed, the system eagerly popped out a new quest.

Jiang Yuan hadn’t yet shifted emotionally; he was entranced by the six hours that felt like an instant, particularly because it only cost 200 Spirit Stones to have an Invincible Guardian during rest—this cheap?!

Could he exploit this, leveraging the invincible protection during rest to find a bug?

For instance, when facing a formidable enemy and needing to stall, if he never clicked to exit rest mode, would invincibility continue to apply at the rate of burning 200 Spirit Stones every six hours?

Additionally, while in protective undeclared rest, could he still use skills?

"I’ll get back to the main quest later, I first need to run another experiment!" Jiang Yuan said excitedly, promptly getting up to consume Physical Strength by tearing open space.

[Space traversal forbidden within the courtyard. Modify settings?]

[Cancel complete prohibition on space traversal?]

[Add those allowed to tear open space for traversal]

[Successfully added, click confirm to take effect. After modification, only the courtyard owner, Jiang Yuan, may freely traverse space...]

Once all was set, he got up immediately and clicked open the light gate to take a spin around Trapped Snake Island.

Feeling the space fluctuations, Old Dog grinned, thinking, unsurprisingly, he is the master; look how masterfully he wields the Space Technique!

In this little courtyard, at least, I can’t find any seams he could tear open.

Jiu Mu too was surprised. After years of cultivating Space Techniques, she admitted she couldn’t find seams in such tight space to tear open and lacked the power to forcibly tear them.

Moreover, Mr. Jiang used the Space Technique with zero superfluous fluctuation, the space was incredibly stable, so smooth it seemed a door was waiting for him to open.

In comparison, she grew increasingly impressed.

Most Cultivators are experts in one field of study, and even there, becoming a master is rare.

Yet, the enigmatic Mr. Jiang seemed proficient in everything, a truly exceptional genius!

"If Yun Li were to meet Mr. Jiang, they’d surely become good friends, right?" Jiu Mu thought, sighing, not knowing where to start looking for the missing Demon King.