In the dilapidated straw hut, Zhang Chen trembled with his hands, continuously striking the firestone in his palm. At last, a spark rose from the pinewood, and Zhang Chen hurriedly picked up the blood-red scripture, throwing it into the stove to burn. The orange flames in the stove were dyed red by the blood-red chapter, as crimson as blood, terrifying and filled with an ominous aura. It seemed as if faint, sinister laughter echoed from the flames.
Until the chapter burned completely, the flames in the stove returned to their orange color. Zhang Chen looked at the stove fire with a bewildered and uncertain expression, a trace of bitterness in his gaze, as he lamented, "Oh my God, how did I encounter such a thing? It's a sin!"
Turning his head to the Little Fox, his voice hoarse, "My little ancestor, you're going to kill me. Where did you get this ghostly thing?"
In the room next door
Zhang Chen was unaware that one human and one fox next door already had worried and bitter expressions, both looking at each other with big eyes. Meanwhile, Zhang Chen in the next room had only just opened his eyes today, recalling the events of last night, thinking as he sat by the bed, muttering, "Strange! Strange! There are Fox Spirits in this world, and some other oddities, which don't seem that hard to accept either."
Zhang Chen dressed in the room and was about to go out carrying the Luoyang Shovel. Yet, as he opened the door, his steps paused, for there were two dazzling clumps of experience points at the doorstep.
[Experience Points +150]
[Experience Points +200]
After collecting the experience points, Zhang Chen looked at his own Golden Finger Interface:
[Name: Zhang Chen]
[1st Skill (Second Tier): Light of the True God (0/5000)]
[2nd Skill (Unranked): Dragon Qi (0/2000)]
[Points: 2250]
"I did nothing overnight, yet suddenly gained three hundred fifty experience points, which equals a day's hard effort." Zhang Chen looked at the Golden Finger Interface, his gaze falling on the second skill, Dragon Qi, but ultimately resisted the urge to upgrade. For him, specializing in one Divine Technique was most important. More low-level skills can't compare to the impact of a high-level skill at critical moments.
"Only two thousand seven hundred fifty experience points more, and my Light of the True God can be upgraded. But I wonder what incredible power the third tier Light of the True God might hold." Zhang Chen recalled last night's scene; he hadn't even clearly seen the bizarre figure before his Exorcising Golden Light had automatically driven it away. It seemed his Exorcising Golden Light was ineffective against living people, yet had miraculous effects against these supernatural entities.
Zhang Chen carried the Luoyang Shovel up the mountain, checked the traps, but found them empty today.
"Strange! Could it be that the wind and sand were too strong last night, or perhaps some bizarre entities appeared, affecting the prey's movements?" A thought flickered in Zhang Chen's mind.
Still, Zhang Chen, who eats meat every day, could endure skipping breakfast, and thus directly carried the Luoyang Shovel to the cave. He suddenly remembered the buried snakes, and a thought occurred: "I could eat snake meat!"
"But snake meat has many parasites, so forget it." Zhang Chen thought of the damn parasites and the low medical level of this world, immediately dismissing the idea.
Zhang Chen entered the cave and made his way to the stone tablet. Indeed, there was another cluster of experience points beneath it.
[Found Experience Points +200]
Zhang Chen's heart moved, and he immediately collected the experience points. The Golden Finger Interface refreshed:
[Name: Zhang Chen]
[1st Skill (Second Tier): Light of the True God (0/5000)]
[2nd Skill (Unranked): Dragon Qi (0/2000)]
[Points: 2450]
"If this happens a few more times, I won't need ten days to earn more experience points." Zhang Chen looked at the experience points, now considering he had already collected half, he could soon upgrade a skill.
"Something's wrong, today's stone tablet seems unusual!" As Zhang Chen collected the experience points and was about to resume excavating the ancient tomb, his steps suddenly halted. His eyes turned to the stone tablet, noticing the writing on the tablet had dimmed slightly. Among the inscriptions, blood stains began to seep through, gradually gathering into a droplet of blood, which dripped into the soil and vanished without a trace.
"What is happening?" Looking at the blood seeping from the stone tablet, Zhang Chen's scalp tingled as he inhaled sharply, revealing a hint of horror in his eyes, "The stone tablet is bleeding?"
"Could it be that the blood I applied yesterday wasn't fully absorbed?"
Cautiously, Zhang Chen tore a strip of cloth from his shirt and wiped the blood stains from the stone tablet. Yet, within a moment, countless tiny blood-red beads, as fine as mist, began seeping through the inscriptions on the tablet again.
"This stone tablet is indeed odd, acting almost like a living thing, capable even of bleeding." Zhang Chen stared at the stone tablet with a cautious glint in his eye.
Nevertheless, he was not afraid, for the stone tablet hadn't harmed him before, so it had no reason to harm him now.
"Moreover, according to the inscriptions on the stone tablet, it seems the 'imperial' unearthed this stone tablet from the grave of a formidable foe. What's more, it is especially used as a headstone for the Princess, so it's not an ordinary object. Such anomalies seem quite normal." Zhang Chen pondered over the useful information, gazing at the blood emerging from the tablet with a curious gleam, "I wonder if the blood on this headstone has any functions."
Zhang Chen thought of his Golden Light Body Protection, extending his hand to try and touch one of the blood-red mists.
Strangely, as soon as the blood-red mist touched Zhang Chen's skin, it disappeared without a trace, as if it had vanished into thin air.
"Strange?" Zhang Chen withdrew his hand, a perplexed expression crossing his face. He did not notice anything amiss, yet also noticed no benefits.
"I thought the bizarre flowing blood might have some mysterious effect, but it seems to have none." Zhang Chen glanced at the blood on the headstone, quickly losing interest. He then picked up the Luoyang Shovel and resumed his permafrost excavation.
Until noon
Zhang Chen emerged from the cave and started checking the traps. This time, luck favored him, as he managed to catch two wild ducks.
Zhang Chen returned to the cave, and without further ado, dispatched the ducks, spilling their blood over the stone tablet. As expected, the steaming blood was swiftly absorbed by the tablet, and even the continuously seeping blood from the tablet came to a halt.
"It's effective!" Zhang Chen watched as the stone tablet ceased seeping blood, a hint of surprise and contemplation in his gaze, "Feeding on blood, this thing might not be legitimate. In a novel, it would certainly be some kind of demonic creature."
Nonetheless, Zhang Chen chose to continue the blood offering, for no other reason than because it offered so much in return! Maybe it could even provide skills; regardless of its origin, he definitely intended to serve it well.