A series of system prompt messages sprang to his mind.
"The host has established connection to the 'Extraterrestrial Meteorite Region 1002'."
"Connection valid for 24 hours…"
"Within the month valid for beginner's protection, the host will be given 30 free deaths!"
"The host has been granted a beginner's space, one cubic meter."
"The host can use elementary 'Aeon Plant Identification Spell' three times…"
"Please head out on your own…"
Su Ping opened his eyes at once. Before him was a bleak mountain forest with no signs of civilization. He could look directly into the vast space with countless stars above his head.
Su Ping took a quick look around. He exhaled in relief after making sure that there were no monsters of any kind. Then, he asked the system in his mind, "I heard you say 30 free deaths. Shouldn't it be unlimited times?"
"Of course not," The system answered indifferently, "The benefit of unlimited times is exclusive to the beginner's quest. Currently, the host has finished that quest and therefore is no longer eligible for that benefit!"
"Also, after the beginner's protection for one month, the host will no longer be granted free deaths. Therefore, the host must improve his abilities as soon as possible, or else it will be difficult for the host to move a single step in the future!"
Su Ping was stunned. He found this hardly understandable. "So, according to you, what will happen to me when I can no longer enjoy free deaths? Will I just drop dead, literally?"
He didn't have the confidence to say that he would never die, not even once, in a horrifying place like the Thunder Cloud Realm!
"The host can purchase chances for deaths with energy points and the price is one tenth of the price of that corresponding cultivation plane. When the times of available deaths return to zero, the host will be forcefully teleported back to the main world," the system explained.
"They can be purchased?" Secretly, Su Ping sighed in relief with this new information. That would be reasonable.
Roar!
All of a sudden, a violent roar came from the distance, just like a sudden clap of thunder.
Caught off guard, Su Ping bent over. Then he saw that across the sky on the horizon, the clouds and mist were dyed red as if something were burning. It seemed that a fierce battle had broken out under that sky!
"My God, the roar was so loud. Not even a king of beasts could be this loud…" Su Ping's heart was pounding. Without hesitation, he turned around and soon ran to the other side of the forest.
He ran for a few hundred meters.
Bang!
A shrill cry was suddenly heard. Su Ping only had enough time to turn his head. In his sight, there appeared a ferocious mouth moving in closer.
He blacked out.
Su Ping knew that he had died before he could experience the pain.
To make it worse, he didn't even have the chance to see what killed him.
There was something he was sure of, though. His body must have been eaten up by that thing.
"Does a cultivation plane that costs one energy point have to be this terrifying? What the hell…" Su Ping had nothing else to say. How long had he been in here? He died an unnatural death without doing anything. This was such a sudden death!
"I am too vulnerable…"
Su Ping felt worn out already. He was just a common person. Some monsters that were skilled in hiding could be concealed in the dark. There was no way that he could have noticed them. Maybe he would be just sending himself to the mouth of those monsters…
He saw a prompt message. "Revival on the spot/revival at a random spot?"
Su Ping rolled his eyes. He didn't even know his own actual state after death. He had no tangible body but with a force of habit, he chose "revival at a random spot."
White, glaring light flooded over from all sides. He had a better sight after that jump.
Soon, he could see his surroundings. This time, he found himself on a desolate hillside with sparse weeds. There were no monsters around.
"Wait a minute. Is that…?"
All of a sudden, Su Ping saw a pile of rocks trembling in the distance. Upon a closer look, he felt his whole body break out with gooseflesh.
That was no pile of rocks. It was a python that had a body built with rocks!
Winding Stone Snake
Property: pet of the earth family
Rank: the lower position of the eighth rank
Combat Strength: 8.1
Aptitude: poor
Abilities Mastered: Entangle, Swallow, Mine Burst, and Earth Guardian.
While Su Ping was gazing into the distance, information about this python suddenly jumped to mind. Su Ping's pupils contracted as he saw the rank. This was a pet of the eighth rank!
But, this eighth-rank Winding Stone Snake had a poor aptitude. Su Ping had not seen anything like this before. This python had to be one of the weaker amongst its peers with a combat strength of hardly above eight.
"Run!"
Su Ping turned around and prepared to run away at once. He kept on mumbling, "It cannot see me."
The moment he turned around, he cast a glance through the corners of his eyes. He stopped on the spot at once.
"Scarlet Stone Fruit?"
Four or five meters ahead of him, there was a plant growing out from the stone cracks. It was a small tree that was about half a meter tall with a cluster of fire red fruits which were shaped like raindrops. Those fruits were the size of beans and they were dangling in the wind.
It was as if he had known about this plant since a long time ago. Much information about this plant surged in his mind, including the functions and growth cycles, etc.
What interested Su Ping enough to stop was the fact that this was the Vermilion Bird's favorite food!
"Pet food?" Su Ping was lost in his thoughts. He didn't know that he could find pet food right there under his nose. He had to thank the "Aeon Plant Identification Spell" the system had granted him temporarily. Because of this, such knowledge would prevent him from missing out.
That being said…
The expressions on Su Ping's face changed as he looked at the wiggling Winding Stone Snake in the distance.
After a mere moment of hesitation, Su Ping had made up his mind. He dashed out from behind the rock all of a sudden and ran toward that "Scarlet Stone Fruit," throwing caution to the wind.
He picked up the Scarlet Stone Fruit plant violently. However, its roots were quite firmly set. Since he had overexerted his strength, some of the thorns stabbed his palm, inflicting a dull pain.
"Collect into the storage space. Yes or no?" the system queried.
"Yes!"
Su Ping answered without further thought.
The Scarlet Stone Fruit plant vanished from his hand instantly. At the same time, in his mind, he felt there was an addition of a virtual space with a small area and the Scarlet Stone Fruit plant was floating around inside.
"Is this the storage space?" Su Ping took a look and heaved a sigh of relief.
Hiss, hiss!
Unexpectedly, the ground around him began to tremble.
Su Ping raised his head. In the distance, the Winding Stone Snake had lifted its head as well and was staring at Su Ping.
"Run!"
Without further ado, Su Ping turned around and began to run at once, even though he knew the chances of him escaping were very low.
More than a dozen seconds passed.
"Revival on the spot/revival at a random spot?"
The system presented him with the choices again. It went without saying that Su Ping didn't make it. He was swallowed by the smelly mouth of this Winding Stone Snake and was squeezed to death.
He even felt the pain was surreal when he was falling apart.
Su Ping grimaced in pain. Even to this moment, he was still shivering uncontrollably, as if he had been running nude in the chilly wind.
"Well, that wasn't entirely fruitless…" Su Ping felt comforted that at the very least, he had harvested some food. It was painful but whose life wasn't?
"I have 28 more chances left. If I can harvest some food right before I die every time, I believe I can probably fill up half of the storage space…" Su Ping thought to himself. He was looking forward to the rest of the journey.
Su Ping made his choice. "Revival at a random spot."
Consciousness came back to his body again. But as soon as he was brought back to life, he felt a bone piercing coldness. He looked around, only to see that he was floating in water.
"What random spot is this?" Su Ping was astonished. He turned around. Some monsters that looked like crocodiles were closing in slowly.
"I…"
Su Ping was given no chances to struggle. In the blink of an eye, the crocodiles sprang at him and tore him into pieces.
"Revival on the spot/revival at a random spot?"
"…Random."
"Random."
"Random…"
Repeated deaths and repeated revivals.
Sometimes, he would be killed right after he was brought back to life. Sometimes, he would only encounter monsters after he had harvested special pet food.
Soon, the 30 free revival chances were used up.
"Phew…"
Su Ping felt he had been gone for ages when the light came back to his sight and the familiar environment of the store leaped to his eyes. On one hand, he could put his mind at ease. On the other, he felt sorry for that to end.
"I believe this was a rewarding harvest." Su Ping looked at the pet food filling up the storage space in his mind. He was content. In terms of quantity alone, it was very abundant. But he didn't know how the system would price them.
"Are you going to set a price on the pet food and sell them?" The system asked.
"Yes."
Su Ping answered immediately.
Soon, the pet food in the storage space vanished into thin air. Then, Su Ping saw there were some jars and containers on the shelf behind the counter in the store, or something that appeared to be a potted landscape. With no exception, all of them were packed with the pet food that he had harvested at the risk of his life.
"Scorching Fish Seeker, 380 coins per plant."
"Fire and Ice Snakegrass, 800 coins per plant."
"Scarlet Stone Fruit, 130 coins per fruit."
…