156: Chapter 155 Mountains of Spoils! Melting a Flute is Useless! Let the Dung Beetle Do It (2)
A faint golden glow surged from his palm, enveloping the pile of items.
The objects floated up within the golden light—potions, Medicinal Pills, Spirit Stones, equipment, Materials, skill books, jade plaques, Talismans, and storage equipment—all drifting like a swarm of colorful butterflies.
They spun, collided, and fused, as if dancing, fighting, or devouring one another.
[Detected fusible items: Potions × 137, Medicinal Pills × 48, Spirit Stones × 356, Equipment × 52, Materials × 283, Skill Books × 31, Jade Plaques × 17, Talismans × 42, Storage Equipment × 24]
[Super Fusion]
[Warning: Too many types of items for Fusion, quality varies greatly, success rate unknown]
[Suggested consumption: 2,000,000 - 3,000,000 mana]
[Fusion Direction: Special Item]
Lin Feng looked at the warning and gritted his teeth.
Two million mana... he currently had over 2.8 million, so it was enough.
He took a deep breath. "Inject two million mana!"
The golden light exploded, forcing him to squint his eyes.
The items spun wildly within the golden radiance, faster and tighter, like a colorful cyclone.
The potions melted, turning into various colored liquids.
The Medicinal Pills melted, turning into various colored liquids.
The Spirit Stones melted, turning into various colored liquids.
The equipment melted, turning into metallic liquid.
The Materials melted, turning into liquids of various colors.
The skill books melted, turning into motes of light shaped like characters.
The jade plaques melted, turning into a milky-white liquid.
The Talismans melted, turning into red motes of light.
The storage equipment melted, turning into a gray liquid.
The liquids and motes of light gathered together like a giant pot of stew.
They were rotating, fusing, and reshaping.
From a pile to a mass; from a mass to a solid block.
The object slowly took shape within the golden light, becoming clearer and clearer.
It was a flute—long, slender, and entirely emerald green, resembling jade, bamboo, or malachite.
Patterns were carved onto the body of the flute: clouds, cranes, mountains, and water.
The clouds drifted, the cranes flew, the mountains shifted, and the water flowed.
A red string was tied to one end of the flute, threaded with a bead that was golden, like a miniature sun.
The golden light dissipated.
The flute fell from mid-air into Lin Feng's palm.
[Obtained: Taixu Pure Tone Flute (Gold)]
[Quality: Gold]
[attack power: 3000-3500 (Sonic Attack)]
[Effect 1: spirit +300, Agility +200]
[Effect 2: Can release "Pure Tone Incantation" when played, dealing spirit × 10 sonic damage to all enemies within a 50-meter radius and applying a "Confusion" effect for 10 seconds. mana cost: 50,000, Cooldown: 1 minute]
[Effect 3: Can release "Requiem," soothing the emotions of all creatures within a 100-meter radius and causing them to lose their Battle Intent. mana cost: 100,000, Cooldown: 10 minutes]
[Effect 4: Can release "Demon-Breaking Sound," dispelling all Restrictions and illusions within a 30-meter radius. mana cost: 80,000, Cooldown: 30 minutes]
[Effect 5: Holder can comprehend the skill "Rhythm Mastery"]
[Rhythm Mastery: Passive skill. When playing the flute, all sonic skill effects +100%, consumption -50%]
[Rank Requirement: Level 45]
[Description: A spiritual flute fused from various Materials, containing the Rhythm Dao of the Taixu Dojo. Once the flute sounds, all laws become void.]
Lin Feng's eyes lit up as he read the description, then dimmed again.
spirit plus three hundred, agility plus two hundred—the attributes were good.
Sonic attacks, area control, dispelling Restrictions and illusions... the functions were quite comprehensive.
But the problem was—he didn't know how to play the flute.
He picked up the flute, brought it to his lips, and blew.
Pfft—no sound. Only a puff of air came out of his mouth, blowing up the dust on the ground.
He blew again, still no sound.
He blew once more. Pfft pfft pfft, it sounded like passing gas.
He lowered the flute and looked at it, falling silent for a few seconds.
"Forget it, I'll put it away."
He tossed the flute into the wanxiang ring.
He couldn't use this thing.
When he got out, he'd give it away or sell it for money.
He stood up and brushed the dust off his clothes.
The items were processed; it was time to leave.
He looked up at the Light Gate. The pale golden gate hovered in mid-air, half a meter off the ground. The runes on the frame were still glowing, faint and soft, like breathing.
The door would take a while longer to open, so he stood there waiting.
The wind blew from behind him, carrying sand and the scent of blood.
He looked down at the corpses—over twenty of them scattered in front of the Light Gate. The blood had already dried, turning into dark brown crusts stuck to the sand.
He remembered something.
Xiao Jin, his pet, that Void Holy Beetle, the dung beetle.
He hadn't seen it for many days.
Before entering the Secret Realm, he had placed Xiao Jin on the Living Soil to let it play by itself.
Since entering the Secret Realm, he had been constantly busy—busy breaking illusions, busy fighting, busy scavenging items, and busy fusing.
He had forgotten about Xiao Jin.
He quickly took the Living Soil out of the wanxiang ring.
The Living Soil was still the same—dark golden soil emitting a warm, gentle glow.
The Evergreen Tree planted in the center was a bit taller than before, its leaves greener and its trunk thicker.
The medicinal herbs had also grown significantly, some nearly mature.
But Xiao Jin wasn't there.
He searched all over the Living Soil, but found nothing.
He searched again, still nothing.
He grew anxious. "Xiao Jin? Xiao Jin!"
No one answered.
The wind howled from the west, sounding like an answer, or perhaps a mockery.
He knelt down and looked closely.
There were footprints on the Living Soil—tiny footprints with six legs, belonging to Xiao Jin.
The footprints extended off the Living Soil and disappeared into the sand.
Xiao Jin hadn't run away.
It hadn't run away; it had gone treasure hunting.
Its Talent was treasure hunting, capable of sensing the aura of treasures within a thousand-meter radius.
It must have sensed something good and run off on its own.
Lin Feng stood up, looking in the direction the footprints led.
It was deep into the desert, in the direction of the Light Gate.
He followed the footprints. They were shallow in the sand and vanished with the wind, but some traces remained.
After walking for a while, the footprints suddenly veered off in another direction.
Not toward the Light Gate, but somewhere else.
He followed the footprints for about ten minutes until they stopped in front of a pile of rubble.
In the rubble pile was a hole, very small, just enough for a hand to reach inside.
He crouched down and peered inside.
The hole was pitch black; he couldn't see anything.
He reached out and probed inside.
He felt something round and smooth, like a bead.
He pulled it out—it was a golden Spirit Stone of very high quality.
He pocketed the Spirit Stone and continued feeling around the hole.
He felt something else—hard and cold, like a piece of metal.
He pulled it out—it was a copper medallion with the character for "Command" engraved on it.
He tucked the medallion away and kept searching.
Then he felt something soft and warm, and it was moving.
Startled, he jerked his hand back.
A squeaking sound came from the hole.
It was very familiar.
It was Xiao Jin.
Lin Feng laughed. "Xiao Jin! Come out!"
The squeaking from the hole grew louder.
Then, a round, black object rolled out of the hole.
It was the dung beetle.
Its body was jet black, with a pair of purple antennae on its head and six golden legs that shimmered with a metallic luster.
It was a size larger and fatter than before, round like a black ball.
It rolled to Lin Feng's feet, looked up, and stared at him with its tiny compound eyes.
Then it opened its mouth and spat out a pile of things—Spirit Stones, Medicinal Pills, equipment, Materials, a jade plaque, a stack of Talismans, and a whole bunch of miscellaneous items.
They piled up on the ground like a small mountain.
It lifted its head proudly and squeaked, as if saying—Look, I found these!
Lin Feng looked at the pile, caught between laughter and tears. "You ran out just to find all this?"
Xiao Jin nodded and squeaked.
It pointed its golden front legs at the pile and then at itself, its expression looking like it was claiming credit.
Lin Feng crouched down and patted its head. "Okay, okay, you're the best."
Xiao Jin narrowed its eyes and rubbed against his hand contentedly.
Then it pushed the pile toward Lin Feng and squeaked, as if saying—These are for you.
Lin Feng looked at the pile, then at Xiao Jin.
A wave of warmth rose in his heart.
He had brought this dung beetle out of a Secret Realm, and it hadn't been with him for long.
But it was very well-behaved, obedient, and even helped him find things.
He smiled and stored the items into the wanxiang ring.
Spirit Stones, Medicinal Pills, equipment, Materials, jade plaques, Talismans—he took them all.
Then he stood up and looked at Xiao Jin. "Let's go, lead me to more good stuff."
Xiao Jin nodded, turned, and ran.
Its six golden legs moved rapidly, like a miniature excavator.
It ran very fast, much faster than before; Lin Feng had to jog to keep up.
It ran toward the Light Gate, not in a straight line but in curves, zig-zagging as if avoiding something.
Lin Feng followed behind, watching it leave a trail of shallow footprints in the sand.
The wind blew from the west, gradually erasing the footprints.
Grains of sand rolled and filled the deep indentations. Soon, the ground returned to its original state, as if no one had ever passed through.
But Lin Feng knew that in this desert, there were still things waiting for him.
Xiao Jin knew it too.
It ran even faster, its six golden legs carving streaks into the sand.
Lin Feng quickened his pace to keep up.
In the distance, the Light Gate was still flashing—faint and soft, like moonlight or candlelight.
The runes on the frame pulsed like a heartbeat, like breathing.
The door was about to open.