Chapter 600: Jiaojiao, I don't feel like eating dirt anymore
Translator: GodBrandy Editor: Kurisu
Yu Jiaojiao told the chef to prepare a sumptuous meal for breakfast so that Song Shuhang could replenish the blood he'd lost yesterday night.
After breakfast, Shuhang and Yu Jiaojiao started their morning practice.
After all, early morning was the best period to practice.
Shuhang displayed all the cultivation techniques he knew once. After he was done, he felt that the strength of his constitution had increased a little.
"Should we head out?" Yu Jiaojiao asked.
Song Shuhang stopped his training and exhaled a mouthful of bad air, saying, "Sure. Let's set out! How should we head there? Is it nearby?"
Since the branch of the Three Ages Worldwide Express Delivery was in the Jiangnan area, was it better to go there on foot or by car?
"Hold onto me tightly, I'll bring you there," Yu Jiaojiao said with a smile. After saying this much, she gently jumped and landed on Song Shuhang's shoulder.
"Do you want to go over there with a flying sword?" Song Shuhang asked. Additionally, how was he supposed to hold onto Yu Jiaojiao...? Should he hold her small body in his palm?
Yu Jiaojiao shook her head and said, "No, the branch of the Three Ages Worldwide Express Delivery isn't located in the sky."
After saying this much, she used her small claw to grab Song Shuhang's ear. It was the most convenient place for her to grab. Afterward, she said, "Get ready, we are setting out!"
"Where are we headed then?" Song Shuhang asked. Where was the branch of the Three Ages Worldwide Express Delivery since he had to hold onto Yu Jiaojiao to go there? Apparently, the branch wasn't in the sky...
Just as he was in deep thoughts, Song Shuhang's heard a bang, and white mist appeared before his eyes, shrouding both him and Yu Jiaojiao.
Next, the white mist started to merge with their bodies, and around two breaths later, their bodies transformed into 'mist' as well. Thir current state was somewhat similar to that of a soul.
It wasn't only Shuhang's body, but his clothes, size-reducing purse, and various treasures that had also transformed into mist as well.
Right at this time, Yu Jiaojiao gently shouted, "Earth Crossing Technique!"
In the next moment, Song Shuhang felt as though the earth beneath his feet had melted, with him and Yu Jiaojiao immediately dropping into the liquid earth.
From the looks of it, the earth had changed into the sea, and he and Yu Jiaojiao could swim through it. In addition, he could faintly see things within a range of ten meters even though he was underground. However, the things he was seeing were blurry and indistinct.
Was this the 'Earth Crossing Technique'? This technique could unexpectedly turn the surrounding earth into liquid—no, it wasn't the earth that had liquefied. It was his and Yu Jiaojiao's body that had undergone a change.
Song Shuhang was now clear as to what had happened. For their current body, the earth was like a liquid, and they could directly submerge underneath it.
At first, Shuhang thought that the 'Earth Crossing Technique' would allow the cultivator to quickly drill through the earth like an earthworm... well, he was clearly wrong!
Through the dense fog, Song Shuhang could faintly see certain living organisms. There were earthworms, all kinds of strange insects, and plant roots. However, he didn't see rocks, because all the rocks that entered the range of the 'Earth Crossing Technique' would become see-through.
At this time, Song Shuhang got the impulse of learning this mysterious magical technique!
Anyway, since we had to use the Earth Crossing Technique, does it mean that the branch of the Three Ages Worldwide Express Delivery in the Jiangnan area is located underground?
In the end, it was an express delivery company that targeted cultivators. As such, they had to be careful not to appear in front of ordinary people, and the underground world just happened to be a very good hiding place.
Just as he was in deep thoughts, Shuhang felt a wave of pain transmit from his ear. For some unknown reason, Yu Jiaojiao had tightened the grip on his ear.
Song Shuhang didn't dare to turn his head around and look at Yu Jiaojiao, because if he were to do so, he might cast off Yu Jiaojiao who was currently holding his ear. If Yu Jiaojiao got cast off, cutting off the connection between the two, the effects of the Earth Crossing Technique would disappear. At that point, wouldn't he get stuck in the ground?
Thereupon, he said via secret sound transmission, "Jiaojiao, did something happen that you had to tighten your grip?"
Yu Jiaojiao quickly replied, "Nothing important. When I increased the speed of the Earth Crossing Technique earlier, a person building a construction appeared right in front of us, giving me a scare. Therefore, I had to slam on the brakes, and I ended up unconsciously increasing the strength of my grip."
No 'construction' had appeared within Song Shuhang's field of vision. That was because Yu Jiaojiao's field of vision was much larger than Song Shuhang's while she was using the 'Earth Crossing Technique'.
"What kind of construction was it?" Song Shuhang asked.
"From the looks of it, it was a subway station. With science and technology continuously developing, it's becoming harder and harder to find a place where we cultivators can practice in peace. Actually, it's not so bad for us creatures of the sea, but human cultivators surely have a headache these days. Previously, a cultivator could just go into the mountains, and they wouldn't have to worry about someone disturbing them. But now, the forest and mountains where one can stay are getting fewer and fewer, and even the sky, sea, or underground aren't safe from humans. Many powerful sects with a rich background decided to directly open their personal dimension and move their sect—as well as the spirit veins—there," Yu Jiaojiao said.
Song Shuhang made a hollow laugh.
"Right, try not to talk to me from now on. I need to concentrate on operating the 'Earth Crossing Technique'. I hadn't expected that carrying another person along with the Earth Crossing Technique would be more tiring than carrying ten people with a flying sword. I absolutely can't divert my attention," Yu Jiaojiao said.
"Sure!" Song Shuhang quickly shut his mouth, not daring to say another word. What would he do if he got stuck in the ground? In order to maintain his safety, it was better if he didn't disturb Yu Jiaojiao.
The duo kept traveling through the earth.
Song Shuhang could see the surrounding area rapidly changing. But since he didn't have any object of reference, he had no idea how much he and Yu Jiaojiao had traveled.
But right at this time, he felt another wave of pain transmit from his ear.
"Jiaojiao, is there another obstacle?" Song Shuhang asked unconsciously.
However, Yu Jiaojiao didn't reply to his question.
Song Shuhang discovered that there were some changes happening next to his body—the surrounding soil was moving.
When the 'Earth Crossing Technique' was activated, he thought that the earth beneath their feet had liquefied. However, that was nothing but his misconception. What had changed wasn't the earth but their bodies.
But now, Song Shuhang was sure that the surrounding soil was in a liquid state... was it mud?
Both he and Yu Jiaojiao quickly shuttled back and forth amidst that layer of what seemed to be mud.
However, traveling through the mud had greatly increased Yu Jiaojiao's energy consumption. At this time, she was clenching her teeth and sprinting forward, not having the time to reply to Song Shuhang.
After shuttling back and forth for a bit, Yu Jiaojiao said slowly, "The situation is bad. Traveling through this stretch of earth is consuming too much of my energy. I won't be able to resist for long."
"What?!" Song Shuhang opened his eyes wide. Elder Sister, I can even call you Dearest Elder Sister if you wish, but don't scare me like that! I don't want to be stuck in the ground!
"Try to hold on. I can see a far-off underground river. We'll head there to rest!" Yu Jiaojiao said.
"..." Song Shuhang.
In the next moment, Yu Jiaojiao sprinted forward at high speed.
Around twenty seconds later.
Yu Jiaojiao carried Song Shuhang along and vigorously jumped forward, finally reaching that underground river!
"Splash!" The water of the underground river splashed in all directions.
"Ahahaha, that was a close call," Yu Jiaojiao said with a smile. Then, she drilled into the water and swam for a while. The little fish was extremely happy after getting into the water.
However, the nearby Song Shuhang was deathly pale.
Yu Jiaojiao asked, "Shuhang, how do you feel?"
"Jiaojiao, how much distance is left until we reach the destination?" Song Shuhang asked with a painful look on his face.
Yu Jiaojiao pondered for a moment and said, "I think there are still two-thirds left?"
Song Shuhang faintly sighed and said, "I think I won't be able to make it." Then, he touched his belly and continued, "I don't feel like eating it anymore."
Yu Jiaojiao blinked her small eyes and asked in puzzlement, "What?"
"Dirt... I don't feel like eating dirt anymore!" Song Shuhang said. Then, he stretched out his fingers and put them in his mouth, trying to vomit.
Yu Jiaojiao felt very ashamed at this time.
❄️❄️❄️
Earlier, during that sprint of twenty seconds, Song Shuhang discovered that there was something wrong with the 'Earth Crossing Technique'.
The strength of the 'gaseous' state around his mouth weakened. Although it was still gaseous and could reluctantly keep up with the 'Earth Crossing Technique', something unexpected happened while they were traveling through the earth... all the muddy water next to Song Shuhang's body was forcefully poured into his mouth.
Poor Song Shuhang ended up eating a mouthful of muddy water.
Shuhang quickly shut his mouth... but the strength of the 'gaseous' state around his nose also started to weaken.
As a consequence, the muddy water entered his body directly through his nostrils!
After that, Song Shuhang stretched out his hands and covered both his nose and mouth. He didn't want to become the cultivator that had drowned while traveling across the earth!
Once he blocked his nose and mouth, the muddy water no longer invaded his oral and nasal cavity.
Song Shuhang secretly heaved a sigh of relief.
But just as he heaved a sigh of relief, something even scarier happened... the muddy water directly appeared in his belly!
The muddy water passed through his abdomen as though it had space-related properties and directly appeared in his belly.
Song Shuhang was unable to comprehend the principle behind what was happening!
Even if the effects of the 'Earth Crossing Technique' had weakened around his mouth and nose, why had the muddy water directly appeared in his belly? This was simply unscientific!
Oh, wait. Cultivation was already something that surpassed science.
However, this matter went even against the principles of cultivation! The 'gaseous' state of the 'Earth Crossing Technique' was still intact around his abdomen. Such being the case, why had the muddy water directly appeared in his belly?!
Was it possible that the gaseous state of the 'Earth Crossing Technique' had weakened somewhere else too without him noticing?
Anyway, regardless of the reason, the muddy water flooded Song Shuhang's belly.
Then, after Yu Jiaojiao got through that layer of mud, dirt likewise started to appear within his belly.
Just what the hell was going on?!
As a consequence, Song Shuhang's stomach was now full of dirt.
❄️❄️❄️
At this time, Song Shuhang had already eliminated that thought about learning the 'Earth Crossing Technique' from his mind. And even if he wanted to learn it, he would do so only if it was completely safe.
By the way, the taste of having dirt in one's belly was truly impeccable.
❄️❄️❄️
After five minutes of suffering, Song Shuhang was finally able to get rid of the dirt in belly thanks to the assistance of Yu Jiaojiao's water-type magical techniques.
This time, he had experienced firsthand the suffering of ordinary people whenever war broke out in ancient times... when they were so hungry that they would start eating dirt!
"Shuhang, should we continued advancing forward?" Yu Jiaojiao asked, particularly embarrassed. She had overestimated the level of her Earth Crossing Technique.
After all, she was the crossbreed of a cute water-type fish and a flood dragon and was thus skilled in water-type magical techniques.
Additionally, one had to remember that amidst the five elements... earth restrained water!
The fact that Yu Jiaojiao could learn the 'Earth Crossing Technique' was only thanks to her 'flood dragon bloodline'.
Then, carrying another person with her while using the 'Earth Crossing Technique' had indeed turned out to be something beyond her capabilities.
Song Shuhang clenched his teeth and said, "Let's go! We have already traveled one-third of the distance. We can't waste all the previous effort!"
Yu Jiaojiao said, "However, you'll end up eating dirt again if I run out of energy."
"That's easy to handle." Song Shuhang suggested, "Jiaojiao, let's divide the remaining part of the distance left into four parts. Each time we are done traveling one-fourth of the remaining distance, we'll find a suitable place and take a break. If we can't find a place, we can just take advantage of the remaining time of your 'Earth Crossing Technique' to create a hole in the ground and rest there!"
Yu Jiaojiao nodded and said, "Good, we'll do it this way."
Thereupon, after resting for another five minutes, Yu Jiaojiao and Song Shuhang continued traveling through the ground!
❄️❄️❄️
Around an hour later.
Song Shuhang and Yu Jiaojiao finally arrived at their destination, which turned out to be a big tunnel.
Just as Yu Jiaojiao opened her mouth and said 'we have arrived', Song Shuhang's eyes teared up a little.
Afterward, the duo entered the tunnel under Yu Jiaojiao's guidance and headed toward the Jiangnan branch of the Three Ages Worldwide Express Delivery.
The duo quickly arrived at the end of the tunnel.
But what appeared in front of them wasn't the branch of the Three Ages Worldwide Express Delivery, but a huge, circular cavity.
However, there wasn't even the trace of a person inside!
"Eh? Where is the branch of the Three Ages Worldwide Express Delivery?" Yu Jiaojiao was dumbfounded. When she was a kid, her father brought her precisely here. There was no mistaking!
Song Shuhang glanced at the huge empty cavity. From the looks of it, there had indeed been a branch of the Three Ages Worldwide Express Delivery here in the past. However, it now disappeared without traces.
Yu Jiaojiao looked at the huge hole, somewhat confused, and said, "Is it possible that someone destroyed the branch of the Three Ages Worldwide Express Delivery?"
"But there aren't the traces of battle around." Song Shuhang glanced inside the huge cavity and quickly noticed something glistening in one corner. "Jiaojiao, there is something down there!"
"Let's go and take a look," Yu Jiaojiao said.
❄️❄️❄️
The duo quickly headed toward that glistening place.
In there were engraved two small formations.
"The formation on the left is a 'spirit gathering formation', but I don't know the formation on the right. It seems a fire-type formation used for illumination, I guess?" Yu Jiaojiao said.
Illumination?
The whole branch of the Three Ages Worldwide Express Delivery disappeared. Nevertheless, they left a lighting formation behind. Was it possible that there was something down there?
Song Shuhang stretched out his hand and touched the area below the lighting formation.
"There is something here!" Song Shuhang quickly wiped the dust off that place below the lighting formation.
Very soon, Song Shuhang finished cleaning up the metal plate-like object.
Dear client of the Three Ages Worldwide Express Delivery, in order to expand our business, the company decided to move Jiangnan's underground branch to the 30th floor of the Fanhua Mansion in Jiangnan area's 'Leyuan Street'. Therefore, we invite every client that needs our service to visit us there. We ask you to kindly forgive us for any inconvenience we might have caused.
We thank our numerous clients for all their concern and support!
In addition, we wish all our clients happy holidays and good luck!
May 1st, 2009.
"..." Yu Jiaojiao.
"..." Song Shuhang.