Volume 1, Chapter 107 – The Draw

This newly issued quest might allow three years, but Shi Lan did not feel it was generous at all. Along the way, she had helped who knew how many people, yet her reputation had only risen to just over a hundred. As for this extra thousand or so reputation points, they had all surged up in one sudden jump.

On top of that, the quest penalty was once again tied to the Lottery section. This time it was even more direct, simply canceling the Beginner Lottery entirely.

Since the quest had already been issued, it could not be changed. She could only go with the flow and take things one step at a time.

……

As dusk fell, Shi Lan and the others stopped by a river. Wang Ning and the rest started a fire, prepared dinner, and helped clean the wounds of several injured people.

Shi Lan, meanwhile, took out the bundle of spirit crystals Qiu Hongxin had wrapped up and began counting them.

The number of spirit crystals had increased quite a bit. Back in Qianyun Sect’s main hall, Shi Lan had only swept a glance over them and estimated there were just a few thousand. In the bundle Qiu Hongxin had given her, there were not more and not fewer, exactly ten thousand pieces.

Clearly, Qiu Hongxin had added quite a few extra spirit crystals. His intention went without saying.

Among these ten thousand pieces, there were fewer than a hundred mid-grade spirit crystals. Shi Lan had still lost a small portion of her own, and the Divine Cloud Bow had vanished without a trace. The loss was not small.

After finishing the count, Shi Lan left the camp, found a secluded spot, sat down on the ground, and opened the Lottery section.

With great willpower, she forced her gaze away from the Intermediate Lottery Wheel that gleamed with golden light and pressed the draw button.

As the number of draws had increased, Shi Lan was no longer as nervous as before, of course only when it came to the Beginner Lottery.

Just the Intermediate Lottery Wheel alone, even ignoring that golden glow, its sheer size made it hard for Shi Lan to stay calm.

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[Congratulations to the host for obtaining a One-Star item, Fish-Gut Sword.]

Shi Lan took from the system’s temporary storage a bare dagger without a sheath, a little under two feet long. Its blade was like autumn water, clear enough to almost reflect a human face.

The Fish-Gut Sword stirred a vague memory in Shi Lan’s mind. It seemed to be a famed ancient weapon from legends on Earth, with no small reputation, but for her current self it was already completely useless.

As a mere One-Star item, this Fish-Gut Sword could not even cut her skin.

After playing with it twice, Shi Lan lost interest and tossed it back into the system’s temporary storage, then opened another draw.

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining a Two-Star item, Basic Formation Disk.]

A wooden disk about the size of her palm appeared in Shi Lan’s hand. A formation disk was a type of auxiliary item used to store formations.

The formation patterns were carved onto it. When needed, one only had to supply spiritual power and activate it, and a formation would instantly unfold, saving a great deal of setup time.

The formation disk in Shi Lan’s hand, just as the system description said, was only a Basic Formation Disk. It could not bear any truly remarkable formation. At best, it was only enough to deal with Innate Realm martial artists.

Moreover, one had to be careful when using it and not activate it too frequently. A moment of carelessness and the disk could shatter.

For the current Shi Lan, this disk could only be used to set up a Spirit-Gathering Formation to assist in cultivation and save her a bit of trouble. It was like a chicken rib, tasteless yet a pity to throw away.

After all, with Shi Lan’s strength as it was now, there was no need to bother with formations to deal with ordinary Innate Realm opponents.

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Putting the formation disk away, Shi Lan felt a bit disappointed. As her strength increased, One-Star and Two-Star items were gradually becoming insufficient for her, while the chances of drawing a Three-Star item from the Beginner Lottery were not very high.

Thinking of this, Shi Lan could not help glancing again at the Intermediate Lottery Wheel to the side.

She only had a single Intermediate Lottery chance, gained from completing a hidden achievement. Shi Lan truly could not bear to use it.

And the Intermediate Lottery allowed her to choose a category. She was not lacking in cultivation techniques at the moment, her weapon was still handy enough, and her cultivation was aided by Spirit Marrow. She had no urgent needs, so using it now felt wasteful.

Shi Lan shook her head and used up her last Beginner Lottery chance.

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining a Two-Star item, Yulong Fruit.]

Shi Lan was a little surprised. This was the first time she had drawn a plant.

She opened the system’s temporary storage, and when she saw the Yulong Fruit, her surprise grew.

A brocade box less than half a foot long appeared in her hand, sealed with a strip of paper.

“Yunzhou Chamber of Commerce?”

Seeing the characters on the seal, Shi Lan frowned slightly and silently asked, “System, where do these lottery rewards come from?”

[The Lottery Wheel is directly connected to the Three Thousand Great Worlds. As for the specific sources, the system cannot provide an answer.]

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Shi Lan pondered. The formation manual from last time and this Yulong Fruit now all suggested that the items granted by the Lottery were very likely owned or once owned by someone.

The Three Thousand Great Worlds were not just an empty phrase.

Still, this had little to do with her current situation. Shi Lan tore off the seal and opened the brocade box.

As soon as the box opened, a wave of spiritual energy rushed out. A small emerald-green fruit, less than the size of her palm, lay inside. Its spiritual energy content was not particularly astounding, not far off from those second-grade spiritual materials she had found together with the Red Glow Lotus before. It could not be considered rare.

Lunhui took all of this in, its apprehension deepening. Being directly connected to so many great worlds was not as simple as mere words.

What was a great world? The most basic requirement was that the world contained strong beings who, without relying on any external power, could cross the sea of stars by their own strength.

Being able to survive in the starry sky did not mean one could traverse it. The starry sky often hid terrifying dangers.

To cross the starry sky meant being able to ignore most dangers in the universe. Such a being’s strength could easily crush an ordinary star.

For a world that could nurture such strong beings, there was no need to belabor how terrifying its Heavenly Dao must be.

To bypass the Heavenly Dao of a great world and directly take an item, then bypass the Heavenly Dao of the Lingyang Realm and deliver that item here, the conditions required to accomplish this were far too complex, not something that could be made clear in a few words.

Shi Lan let out a soft sigh, took out the Yulong Fruit, and wiped it with her sleeve. “System, is this Yulong Fruit poisonous?”

[The Yulong Fruit is non-toxic and has a special healing effect on hidden injuries in a martial artist’s body.]

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Crunch.

Hearing the words “non-toxic,” Shi Lan immediately bit off a piece of the fruit. Its crisp, sweet taste barely soothed the disappointment in her heart.

Strictly speaking, this draw had not been especially unlucky. Two Two-Star items were fairly average, but her cultivation was no longer what it used to be, so the sense of letdown was only natural.

In a few bites, she finished the Yulong Fruit, dusted off her hands, and stood up to return to camp.

……

Back at camp, Shi Lan found a corner, closed her eyes, and began cultivating the Jade Purity Creation Art, digesting the Yulong Fruit’s spiritual energy.

The night passed in a flash.

When the sky grew pale, Shi Lan slowly finished her cultivation. The innate true qi in her body had grown another notch.

After checking the map with Wu Lingkong and discussing for a bit, Shi Lan and her group continued along the previously planned route, heading toward the Sacred Martial Immortal Sect.

As for the Huoyun Escort Agency, Shi Lan no longer planned to double back to Panshi City and waste time in further entanglements.