(The system is now accessible. Immediately bring up the menu for the user right now...)
== == == == ==
[Main Menu]
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=>Conversion - Crafting - Inventory
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=>Locked
=>Locked
=>Locked
== == == == ==
Chen Xuan was full of hope as he waited for the system interface to come into his view. But the more hope he had, the faster all his hope was crushed.
'What the heck with the locked options? Does that means I can only choose from the first three options?" Chen Xuan looked like he was in a daze right now as he stared at the system panel with limited options to choose from.
His current action made the swordswoman wondering if his previous act of reflecting the Great Qi of the Divine Light was from pure luck.
'Is this system is somewhat similar to those system novels I've read online? How can the interface look so simple, with three-quarters of the function is still locked?' the swordswoman had no idea that there are multiple thoughts in Chen Xuan's head right now.
Obviously, he was the only one that could see the system's control panel. The interface was relatively straightforward, and to his surprise, hovering his hand over the interface actually did nothing.
'Maybe I have to use my voice to control the interface instead?' Chen Xuan made a wild guess.
'Conversion!' Chen Xuan spoke softly to see if he guessed it correctly. And it seems he got that right when the system responded to him. The interface immediately changed. But a notification popped up at the same time.
(Conversion option is chosen. The user does not have enough resources option. Returning to the main menu right now.)
Chen Xuan was kicked out of the first option instantly before he managed to understand anything.
'What? That's it?' the entire process from going into the option and return happened too fast. He doesn't even have the opportunity to check before the interface returns to the first page. But at the very least, he found out that there's something categorized as (Resources) in the system's menu.
"Crafting!" unwilling to give up, Chen Xuan selected the second option. His voice was louder this time as he had utterly forgotten that there was still a woman and Jiangshi nearby.
Currently, Chen Xuan looks no different from a mentally ill patient right now. At least, that's how he seemed in the swordswoman's eyes.
'We're in a fight, you idiot... Why the hell are you daydreaming over there?' the swordswoman wished there was a pebble nearby her right now. She could at least use that pebble to wake him up.
(Crafting option was chosen. Not enough Material or Ingredients to continue. Returning to the main menu right now.)
"Aargh! Again?" Chen Xuan scratched his head in a fit of anger from the two failures to open and use the system's function. But that was normal, considering that he didn't even have a single material in his hand.
But from his second failure, Chen Xuan found out that two other categories fall under the Crafting option. The requirement over here was Materials and Ingredients, which was much more straightforward.
Resources, Material, and Ingredients.
These three were what he needed to utilize the Conversion and Crafting Panel available on his system's interface. Through his own understanding, the ingredient option is likely related to edible and usable, such as plants, herbs, pills, and sort.
As for the material option, he can only temporarily assume something like ore, stone, metal, textile, and paper.
The only puzzling one would be the resources option, which he had difficulty guessing what it might be. And since it comes under the conversion option, it might be something good. At this point, Chen Xuan felt a little uninformed as all of these could be explained by the gods before throwing him here without a means to protect himself.
'Let's choose the Inventory option next.' Chen Xuan sighed and decided to go for the last option on the interface. But the swordswoman yelled at him before Chen Xuan muttered the word.
"Run, Idiot!" said the swordswoman.
Her warning startled Chen Xuan. The Jiangshi was coming at him as he took a glance at the swordswoman's direction. It seemed that the Jiangshi was attracted by Chen Xuan's sigh.
'How come the Jiangshi not recovering itself as the other Jiangshi did earlier? Did I miss something here?' Chen Xuan was staring at the incoming one arm Jiangshi. He noticed that the injury caused by the powerful golden light seemed to disintegrate entirely.
"Super-Mighty Ground Rolling Technique!" Chen Xuan rolled out of the Jiangshi's way before getting back on his foot and run.
His gaze came onto the swordswoman while he ran in another direction from her. He noticed that she didn't get attacked by the Jiangshi even though she was breathing casually.
'There must be something that I don't know here.' Chen Xuan said to himself and played the game of cat and mouse with the Jiangshi again. But this time, his steps are firmer than before.
It seems that killing one of the Jiangshi earlier made his guts bigger than before.
"Woman! Come and help me after you're fully rested! I'll get its attention for now." Chen Xuan said as he moved further away from the swordswoman.
"What? Who do you think you are?" the swordswoman wanted to retort his words. But as she thought about doing so, Chen Xuan had pulled himself further away from her. It seems that all he could do now was to lure the Jiangshi away until she recovered.
Luckily, the system's interface is still around even while he wasn't in a stationary position.
"Inventory!" Chen Xuan spoke while he tried to distanced himself from the Jiangshi. This time, he had a feeling that this would end up as another pointless struggle. If he had something on him, won't it be available for him to use right away?
But the more he felt hopeless, the more surprises were waiting for him. There's indeed something inside the inventory option. And it wasn't just one, but two items. Furthermore, the two items seem to be the last thing in his hand before he was sent to this world.
== == == == ==
Another Realm's Peach Seed / Stone
-Introduction: A seed from a peach fruit that can germinate and grow
into a tree if given sufficient nutrition. Effective in banishing evil spirits.
-Power: 0/1,000
== == == == ==
Another Realm's Peach Tree's limb
-Introduction: A limb cut from a fully grown peach tree. Contained a hint of the essence in five elements. Effective in subjugating evil spirits.
== == == == ==
"That's it! Take the limb of the tree out now!" Chen Xuan screamed. A long wood about the thickness of a male's arm appeared in his hand instantly. But to the weak Chen Xuan, suddenly having a fifteen or so kilogram of wood appearing in his hand was a cumbersome tool.
It almost took him all his strength to keep the wood from falling on the ground. Luckily, the urge to protect himself gave him the power to swing the lumber.
*Bam!*
A hint of golden light appeared when the wood struck the one-armed Jiangshi. Although his attack failed to took the Jiangshi out from a single hit, it seems to be working in deterring the Jiangshi from approaching.
From the start until now, this was the first time it kept a distance from Chen Xuan.
"You're afraid of this daddy's wood, huh?" Chen Xuan taunted the Jiangshi that kept jumping on the same spot without moving forward or retreating. He took this as a hint of hesitation shown by the one-armed Jiangshi.
The worries immediately turned into delight as Chen Xuan felt that he could do many things at this moment. Although holding and attacking using this wood was cumbersome, he thought he could still do this two to three times before giving up.
*Bam!*
Chen Xuan fiercely struck the Jiangshi with the wooden limb. And this caused the golden light to appear for the second time while the Jiangshi fell onto the ground. But as he tried to attack again, the Jiangshi quickly hopped away and escaped.
"Come back! Did you ask for your daddy's permission if I allow you to run?" This time, Chen Xuan became the cat as he dragged the wooden limb with him while chasing the Jiangshi.
But the reverse cat and mouse chase lasted only for five minutes before Chen Xuan was out of stamina. He doesn't even have the power left to drag the wood after chasing the Jiangshi around.
"Oh shit." the wood slipped off from his hand when he was no longer capable of running around with it.
It was at this moment, Chen Xuan realized that he fucked up.
His erratic breathing was like a notification to the Jiangshi to come and attack him. Feeling that the treasure was no longer protecting Chen Xuan, the Jiangshi changed its direction and moved towards Chen Xuan.
And since Chen Xuan no longer had the strength to take the wood with him, there's only one option left to choose from.
RUN!
Chen Xuan sprinted right away before the Jiangshi made its move. But it was almost impossible to outrun a Jiangshi with unlimited stamina. For every three steps he took, the Jiangshi only needed a single jump to cover the distance.
The Jiangshi eventually catches up to him. But instead of delivering a bite on his neck, the Jiangshi give him a slap.
*PA!*
Chen Xuan flew when that slap struck his shoulder. Once again, he felt like he got hit by a car coming from his back.
"Fuck! Stone - Stone - Stone!" Chen Xuan closed his eyes as he slammed onto a stone boulder nearby. Although he had no cuts or bleeding from the impact, his mortal body suffered from the crash.
A part of Chen Xuan had given up in his struggle to stay alive. Right now, all he had in mind was how he was going to die. But then, he noticed that the peach's stone was in his hand.
'When did I get the peach's stone out from the inventory?' Chen Xuan was puzzled, and he had no idea when he tried to take the peach stone out.
But he no longer has the time to think as the Jiangshi came at him with its jaw opened so wide, to the point a fist could fit into its mouth.
"Since you like to bite so much, why not you try to bite this?" Chen Xuan said as he decided to place all his bets in his last struggle. Using the last bit of his strength, Chen Xuan slapped that peach's stone inside its mouth.
The peach stone went inside the Jiangshi's throat without obstruction. And soon, a golden light faintly appeared inside its mouth. This made the Jiangshi maniacally hopped on the same spot as it was tortured by the golden light within its body.
The golden light burns through the Jiangshi like a paper that turns into a fiery wisp in less than a few seconds.
All it was left was a pile of ashes.
(Ding! Successfully absorb "One" unit worth of Evil Qi.)
The same notice appeared in his mind again.
"Victory... It seems that killing the Jiangshi was a way to obtain the Evil Qi, but what can they be used for?" Chen Xuan rested on the ground with his mind pondering about what the Qi was for.
But as he relaxes, the exhaustion quickly hits him while he's still lying beside the boulder. Before he knew what happened, his eyes shut on their own.
"Hey, are you dead?" unknown for how long he rested, the swordswoman woke him up with a few gentle kicks on his cheek.
"Morning?" he was greeted by the sunlight the moment Chen Xuan opened his eyes. It looks like he successfully survived past his first night in this Lingyu Realm.
"Of course, it's morning. Do you even know how long you've been sleeping?" the swordswoman asked.
"Hah... Morning... I actually survived through the first night over here."