81: Try it

“Young man, I can’t trust you anymore unless you can prove yourself.”

Zhou An’s eyes flickered with vigilance. He was already starting to suspect that Li Si had never been to the Icy Cold Pond.

“Of course.”

Li Si nodded and then said, “I’ve already dived 1360 meters into the Icy Cold Pond. I estimate the total depth of the Icy Cold Pond to be around 1400 meters. Am I right or wrong?”

He sharply questioned at the end of his sentence.

“Right! It’s 1400 meters!”

The vigilance in Zhou An’s eyes gradually dissipated, and he said, “So, if you’re a bit faster, you’ll be able to reach the bottom? And retrieve the ice jade marrow?”

“Yes!”

Li Si’s reply was absolutely affirmative.

“Alright! I’ll trust you one last time!” Zhou An took a deep breath and took out a fruit.

“Ding!”

“Congratulations! You have obtained the item—Speed Fruit (Epic).”

Speed Fruit: After use, attack speed permanently +5%, movement speed permanently +5%.

“Thank you for your trust! This time, I will absolutely help you retrieve the ice jade marrow!”

Li Si swore, righteous like a Judgement Angel, while simultaneously using the Speed Fruit, swallowing it whole.

“Boom!”

Light green energy surged, significantly increasing his speed.

Attack Speed: 3.36.

Movement Speed: 47.5.

“Hehe—not bad!”

Li Si felt like he had made a fortune. Well, after returning from the Venomous Plains, he would trick Zhou An one last time.

An endless purple plain.

Li Si’s figure quietly appeared, immediately attracting the surrounding poisonous creatures. Scorpions, centipedes, toads… various unsettling creatures gathered in groups towards Li Si.

“Ding!”

“You are immune to poison damage… You are immune to poison damage… You are immune to poison damage… ”

The main source of damage from monsters on the Venomous Plains was poison damage.

Li Si could stand still and be immune to most of the damage.

“Ding!”

“Heaven Rewards Diligence.”

“Physical damage below 3000 points reduced by 87% → 88%.”

“Physical damage below 3000 points reduced by 88% → 89%.”

“Physical damage below 3000 points reduced by 89% → 90%.”

Time passed, and two hours later,

Li Si finished exploring the Venomous Plains, and the physical damage and magic damage reduction below 3000 points had just stacked to 100%.

OK,

There were no anomalies within the Venomous Plains.

Then there was only one last possibility: signs of the Fallen God Disturbance were in the Wind-Sand Stone Forest.

“Buzz!”

Space rippled, and Li Si returned to Zhou An’s side once again.

“Old man! You f*cking harmed me!!” His voice contained endless anger.

“How did I harm you!!”

Zhou An’s tone was firm, but his evasive gaze made him seem lacking in confidence.

Alright, case closed. From the looks of it, Zhou An definitely knew that the owner of the ice jade marrow was the Great Ice Dragon King.

Li Si’s last shred of guilt vanished at this moment.

Well, mutual harm it is.

“You want me to steal something from the Great Ice Dragon King? How many lives do I have? I’m not taking this quest. You can find whoever you want.” Li Si turned and walked away.

“Don’t!”

Zhou An quickly stopped Li Si, ecstatic inside. This kid actually managed to sneak to the bottom of the Icy Cold Pond. If he could see the Great Ice Dragon King and still be alive, he could definitely retrieve the ice jade marrow.

“If you help me retrieve the ice jade marrow, I’ll give you a treasure, a spatial treasure, a treasure you can’t refuse!” Zhou An said through gritted teeth.

“Ding!”

“The successful reward for the hidden quest—ice jade marrow (Star Rating Fluctuation) has been changed to—Spatial Sublimation Stone (Legendary).”

What was the Spatial Sublimation Stone?

Li Si vaguely understood. “Spatial” was easy to understand, and “sublimation” seemed understandable too. Spatial sublimation, did it mean to enhance space? Was its purpose to increase the volume of backpack space?

“What’s the use of the Spatial Sublimation Stone?” Unable to figure it out, he decisively asked Zhou An.

“The Spatial Sublimation Stone has a wide range of uses. It can be used to upgrade spatial equipment, skills, or items to legendary quality. In addition, the Spatial Sublimation Stone can also forge equipment and set up formations. And most importantly, it can serve as the foundation for legendary-tier powerhouses to become gods.”

Zhou An reluctantly explained.

Li Si could tell he was pained and didn’t want to use the Spatial Sublimation Stone as a quest reward.

“So that’s how it is.”

Li Si wanted the Spatial Sublimation Stone, and he also wanted five golden-quality wind attribute gems.

“A Spatial Sublimation Stone, plus five golden-quality wind attribute gems, and I’ll risk helping you retrieve the ice jade marrow. But there’s a precondition: you give me the reward first.” Zhou An was too devious; Li Si didn’t trust his character.

“Impossible!!”

Zhou An’s eyebrows shot up, like a husky whose tail had been stepped on.

“If not, then forget it. You can’t afford to provoke the Great Ice Dragon King, and neither can I.” Li Si turned and walked away.

“Wait!” Zhou An finally agreed to Li Si’s proposal. “I can give you the reward first, but I also have a precondition.”

“Speak.”

“I need to plant a tracking mark on you. Otherwise, what if you take my reward, hide somewhere, and don’t help me retrieve the ice jade marrow?”

“Alright.”

Li Si thought for a moment and agreed to Zhou An’s proposal. He had already prepared for the worst-case scenario: seeking refuge with Beatrice and having Beatrice deal with the Great Ice Dragon King.

“Deal!”

Zhou An finally smiled.

“Ding!”

“Warning: NPC—Zhou An has planted a tracking mark on you.”

“Warning: NPC—Zhou An can sense your location based on the tracking mark.”

“Hint: After completing the hidden quest—ice jade marrow (Star Rating Fluctuation), the tracking mark will automatically be removed.”

“It seems this quest must be completed.”

Li Si could, of course, take the reward and not do the quest. But then he would definitely be tracked by Zhou An, and the inevitable result would be him throwing himself into Beatrice’s embrace.

So Li Si decided to take a gamble.

If the quest succeeded, everyone would be happy. The Great Ice Dragon King would lose a piece of ice jade marrow. If the quest failed, at worst, he would be tracked by the Great Ice Dragon King. Ultimately, he would still end up in Beatrice’s embrace.

Success, or throwing himself into Beatrice’s embrace.

Li Si had predicted his two possible outcomes. A gamble might turn a bicycle into a motorcycle, and perhaps it could even succeed.

“Ding!”

“Congratulations! You have obtained the item—Spatial Sublimation Stone (Legendary).”

“Congratulations! You have obtained the item—Wind Attribute Gem (Golden) x5.”

Li Si took the quest rewards from Zhou An’s hand.

One crystal, five gems.

He picked up the crystal and chose Great Teleportation Technique.

“Ding!”

“Your skill—Great Teleportation Technique (Special) failed to advance.”

“Reason for failure—Quality does not meet requirements.”

“...As expected, it failed.”

Li Si guessed that the true quality of Great Teleportation Technique surpassed legendary, possibly even mythical tier.

“If Great Teleportation Technique doesn’t work, then only Flash is left.”

So, he used his will and chose to sublimate Flash.

In an instant, the Spatial Sublimation Crystal shattered, erupting with dazzling spatial power that merged into the skill bar.

“Ding!”

“Congratulations! Your skill—Flash (Golden) has been upgraded to Legendary quality, and its level has been adjusted based on experience consumption.”

Light flickered.

The level 10 Flash became level 2.

“Flash Lv2”

Quality: Legendary

Active: Break through the surrounding space, instantly teleport 30 meters. (Before sublimation)

Active: Break through the surrounding space, instantly teleport once within a range of [300 + Player Movement Speed * 200%] meters. You can control the teleportation distance, but it cannot exceed the maximum distance. (After sublimation)

Release Requirements: 50 → 1000 Mana cost, 10 → 5 second cooldown.

Upgrade Requirement ①: 200 million experience points.

Upgrade Requirement ②: 2 Skill Upgrade Stones (Legendary).

“...OP.”

The data increase from Golden to Legendary was terrifying!

And this wasn’t even a max-level Flash!

“Too bad I don’t have enough experience points!”

There were many Legendary Skill Upgrade Stones in Divine Smith Valley, only lacking experience points. Li Si only had 150 million experience, still a considerable gap from 200 million.

He closed the skill interface and continued to use the quest rewards.

The gale sword embryo slowly appeared and began to absorb the energy within the wind attribute gems. Soon after, the five gems became dim and turned into a handful of dust.

“Ding!”

“Having absorbed enough wind attribute energy, the attributes of the special equipment—gale sword embryo have been enhanced.”

Li Si opened the gale sword embryo’s panel.

After absorbing the five gems, the attribute boost of the gale sword embryo exceeded his expectations.

“gale sword embryo” (Special)

Level: None

Effect [Windstorm Great Path]: As you advance with the gale, Attack Speed +5% → +15%, Movement Speed +5% → +15%.

Effect [Gale Devour]: Devour wind energy to enhance the attribute bonus of the gale sword embryo.

Effect [Special Artifact]: Possesses unique power, can integrate into the player’s body, attributes automatically take effect.

Description: The divine foundation of the Wandering Swordsman. Please re-nurture it to enhance the attribute bonus of the gale sword embryo.

...

“I thought it would only increase by 5%, like the divine smith token, but I didn’t expect it to increase by 10%.” At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before the gale sword embryo regained its former glory.

Attack Speed: 3.62.

Movement Speed: 51.3.

The maximum teleportation distance of Flash also increased to 300 + 51.3 × 200% = 402.6 meters.

If Ghostly Swift Steps was activated, the maximum teleportation distance of Flash would further increase to 300 + 51.3 × 200% (1 + 30%) = 433.38 meters.

“Old man, I’m going.”

After putting away the gale sword embryo, Li Si’s figure disappeared from Zhou An’s sight and reappeared inside the Icy Cold Pond.

...