Chapter 52: Life Is Hard, Lu Wu Sighs
Chapter 52: Chapter 52: Life Is Hard, Lu Wu Sighs
The entrance, which was supposed to stay open for two hours, disappeared in a flash, causing those who had timed their arrival for the last second to miss their chance.
Those people erupted in furious curses.
This led to another wave of public outcry against Hong’an City.
However, Hong’an City didn’t indulge these Cultivators, and the Law Enforcement Team moved in to suppress them.
All of this made Lu Wu feel a bit wistful.
’For a moment, I couldn’t tell if my luck was incredibly good or terribly bad.’
There was still some time before she had to set up her stall. Lu Wu looked at the stone stele beside her and, after a moment’s thought, reached out to touch it gently.
She didn’t feel any danger from it.
The instant she made contact, Lu Wu felt as if she were in a sea of fire. Within that inferno, she saw an ancient, simple grotto-mansion being consumed by raging flames.
A voice echoed in her mind, asking if she wished to enter.
Lu Wu refused.
’It didn’t look like there were any monsters, but those flames felt absolutely terrifying.’
’Can’t mess with that.’
Lu Wu wiped the sweat from her forehead, fanned herself, and let out a heavy breath.
’So hot.’
’I’ve only been standing here a moment, and I’m already drenched in sweat.’
Enduring the heat, Lu Wu took out her stall.
The process for making the chilled jelly was simple, so Lu Wu planned to make it on the spot.
To help the jelly cool and set quickly, she had inlaid her stall with quite a few Ice Attribute Spirit Stones for cooling purposes.
Now, as she activated the Spirit Stones, the cool air began to soothe Lu Wu’s flushed cheeks.
After savoring the cool air for a moment, Lu Wu began making her chilled jelly in this desolate, empty place.
The jelly mixture was brought to a boil in a pot and then poured into molds to set.
She also cut up some of the fruit, using Spirit Stones to keep it chilled and ensure it wouldn’t spoil.
By the time she finished all these preparations, there was still not a soul in sight.
Not daring to wander off, and bored with waiting, Lu Wu made herself a bowl of mango chilled jelly to cool down.
The smooth jelly paired with sweet, tender mango, followed by a sip of milk, made Lu Wu sigh in contentment.
’You know, eating a bowl of chilled jelly on a day this hot really makes your whole body feel great.’
A faint, cool energy coursed through her body. Wherever it passed, the heat that clung to her like a persistent illness was quickly driven away.
Her skin grew cool.
The effect of the "Cool-to-the-Core, Heart-Soaring Chilled Jelly" was... cooling.
’Before, I thought this effect was pretty useless. But looking at it now, it’s a perfect match for this Secret Realm!’
’It was even more effective than the Ice Attribute Spirit Stones.’
’Plus, the effect was long-lasting.’
Feeling the change in her body, Lu Wu stepped away from the area cooled by the Spirit Stones and discovered that the heat of the Secret Realm was now useless against her.
The cooling effect only began to fade after a full half-hour.
’One bowl wasn’t enough. Time for another.’
Since no one had arrived yet, Lu Wu took the opportunity to eat her fill.
Rubbing her belly, Lu Wu took out a stool and sat by her stall, waiting for someone to show up.
Qin Zhan contacted her every so often, and it wasn’t hard to read the urgency between the lines of his messages. The same went for Lou Xiaotian.
"I’m fine. I’m safe here."
’For now, as long as she didn’t enter the inheritance ground within the stone stele, there was no danger.’
What Lu Wu didn’t know was that she was the only one in the entire Secret Realm who was safe and sound.
Everyone else who entered the Secret Realm also had to endure the onslaught of heat from its natural environment.
Some people had come prepared and were barely able to cope, but others had rushed in impulsively only to find that the temperature here was lethal enough on its own.
They couldn’t even find a shady spot to hide in.
From the sky above to the ground below, inside and out, the entire Secret Realm was saturated with intense heat.
Under the blazing sun, many Cultivators were panting with their tongues lolling out, on the verge of collapsing from the heat.
The physical sensation was so awful, and combined with the dangers that could appear at any moment in the Secret Realm, they found it extremely difficult to get around.
Even a Nascent Soul Realm Cultivator wouldn’t dare say they were having an easy time.
"Get lost."
A snow-white longsword floated behind Qin Zhan. He let out a furious roar as a blast of Sword Qi shot out, cleaving a demon beast blocking his path in two.
After collecting the Demon Core from the demon beast, Qin Zhan didn’t have time to search the area. He looked at the distance between himself and Lu Wu and felt a major headache coming on.
Even traveling at full speed, it would still take him about a day to reach Lu Wu.
He didn’t dare to move too recklessly in this Secret Realm.
Along the way, he encountered many places that gave him a sense of crisis, all of which he gave a wide berth.
"Good thing I have you."
He stroked his sword, feeling a wave of relief.
The sword’s name was Ruxue. Forged from natural ice, it radiated its own cold aura. Upon entering the Secret Realm, he had let Ruxue out to help him cool down.
Even so, his clothes were completely drenched in sweat.
"Boss Lu, you have to hold on."
The man and his sword continued onward.
Meanwhile, Lu Wu, the very person he was worried about, was squatting in front of her stall, bored out of her mind.
’I’ve had my stall open for nearly two hours without a single customer. Since I started this business, this is the very first time this has happened.’
’This quest is gonna be tough.’
’Life isn’t easy,’ Lu Wu sighed.
"CHIRP! CHIRP!"
A bird’s cry sounded out, and in the next instant, Lu Wu felt a new weight on top of her head.
’Something landed on my head.’
Lu Wu flinched and moved to swat it off, but before she could touch it, the little thing fluttered down onto her stall.
Lu Wu breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her visitor.
It was a small bird, about the size of her palm, with exquisite, flame-colored feathers.
Its two round, beady eyes stared at Lu Wu as it tilted its head slightly, chirping as if trying to convey some message.
"CHIRP! CHIRP!"
The bird’s call was crisp and clear, as melodious as a silver bell, like the plucking of a celestial string.
The adorable little creature made the sorrowful look on Lu Wu’s face melt away.
"You mean you want some chilled jelly?"
A few finished bowls of chilled jelly were set out on the stall. The little creature was now standing beside a bowl of Milk and Sour Spirit Fruit jelly, tapping the rim of the bowl with its beak.
Hearing Lu Wu’s question, the little creature nodded and hopped a few times in response.
"One bowl of jelly..." Lu Wu glanced at her system, then said, "is one Mid-grade Spirit Stone."
’Yep!’
’When she had first seen the price, Lu Wu had felt the system just wanted her to find a few fat sheep to fleece.’
’One bowl of jelly for one hundred low-grade spirit stones. The price jump was so steep that even she, the owner, felt ashamed.’
But now, being in the Secret Realm, Lu Wu was starting to understand.
’The price for the jelly, one Mid-grade Spirit Stone, really wasn’t expensive in this Secret Realm, especially considering how useful it was.’
"Do you even know what a Spirit Stone is?"
Lu Wu teased the little bird, not actually expecting it to pay. She was just about to push the bowl of jelly toward it when the little creature gave her a look, flapped its wings with a few chirps, and flew off.
...
’Wait, don’t go!’
Lu Wu desperately wanted to shout.
’It was so hard to find a little creature to keep me company in this place, and I ended up scaring it away.’
Lu Wu felt deflated.
Wiping her face, Lu Wu sat on the stool, propped her chin in her hand, and zoned out, contemplating the meaning of life.
She didn’t know how much time had passed before her head was struck hard again.
"Hiss!"
Something had smashed into her head, and the pain made Lu Wu clutch it, her face twisting into a grimace.
Rummaging through her hair, she pulled out a red stone.