After a night passed, a warm ray of morning sunlight streamed into the Daoist temple.
Cao Yi slowly opened his eyes and looked toward the door.
Howlingsky was curled up on its hind legs, breathing deeply with an expression of enjoyment, seemingly absorbing the spiritual energy that overflowed from Cao Yi.
"Feeling good?" Cao Yi asked with a smile.
Howlingsky nodded human-like.
"Can you understand human speech now?" Cao Yi looked at Howlingsky in surprise.
Feeling uncomfortable under Cao Yi's gaze, Howlingsky stood up and walked away.
Cao Yi sat for a moment, suddenly recalling the box in Yi Xiaochuan's hand and the conversation between Yi Xiaochuan and Xiang Yu. He couldn't help but say, "That box must contain gold."
"Yes," the system's voice chimed in.
The usually silent system actually spoke.
"What is the current situation of gold in this era?" Cao Yi took the opportunity to inquire, wanting to avoid being caught off guard later.
"Before Emperor Qin Shi Huang unified the six states, the Chu state was the only one to use gold as legal currency. After unifying the six states, Emperor Qin Shi Huang established gold as a primary currency, making it one of the legal tender options."
As long as it's legal tender, that's good.
"By the way, I practiced a technique all night without guidance. Is there any problem?" Cao Yi asked with some concern.
"No problem; this ends the response," the system replied, and fell silent.
Cao Yi stood up, stretching his muscles with a series of crackling sounds.
"Whew."
He exhaled forcefully, and a tangible gas shot out, creating a loud bang.
Cao Yi nodded and left the shrine, spending forty minutes resolving breakfast.
After over twenty minutes, he finished his morning rituals.
Xiang Yu and Yi Xiaochuan had not yet arrived.
"They probably won't be here for a while; I'll start with corpse refining."
Having obtained the technique, he couldn't neglect the corpse refining.
Cao Yi stepped out of the Daoist temple and walked step by step into the depths of the beautiful peach grove.
Due to the morning dew, the grass beneath the peach trees was covered in droplets.
Cao Yi hadn't gone far before the bottoms of his shoes and Daoist robe became wet, collecting a lot of grass roots.
"There's a clearing over there," Cao Yi said, lifting his leg to walk over.
It was a patch of open ground about the size of two houses, with only a few wild grasses scattered on the ground.
Cao Yi took down the gourd from his waist, removed the lid, and said, "Come out."
With a puff of blue smoke, a figure appeared—a tall woman clad in black armor, her eyes devoid of any luster, holding a massive axe, emanating a chilling aura.
"Continue to communicate," Cao Yi said, taking out a communication talisman he had drawn over the past few days, and directly pressed it to Yelü Zhigu's forehead.
A cool sensation flowed through his fingers into his arms and body.
If Cao Yi hadn't strengthened his body, he would not have been able to hold on for long.
After about six minutes, Yelü Zhigu suddenly opened her eyes.
"Success! Today, I will teach you to walk," Cao Yi said, lowering his hand and taking a step.
Yelü Zhigu awkwardly lifted her leg and took a step forward.
"Very good, continue."
Yelü Zhigu began to walk slowly.
An hour passed.
"Too slow."
"Ah, so cold!"
...
"Where's the Daoist Priest?"
By the time the sun was high in the sky, Xiang Yu and Yi Xiaochuan had arrived.
However, their host was nowhere to be found.
"Let's go out and see; the hermit might be nearby," Xiang Yu suggested.
Yi Xiaochuan nodded. "That makes sense; let's look around."
The two left the Daoist temple and entered the peach grove.
"This place is just like Peach Blossom Island," Yi Xiaochuan said with a smile after walking for a while.
"Peach Blossom Island? What place is that? Your hometown again?" Xiang Yu asked, not waiting for Yi Xiaochuan's response, looking bewildered.
Yi Xiaochuan chuckled and remained silent.
After walking about a thousand steps, they were completely immersed in a sea of peach blossoms.
"Something's ahead!" Yi Xiaochuan exclaimed.
"Let's go check it out," Xiang Yu said.
As they passed through a fragrant peach grove, they spotted a massive axe embedded in the ground, next to two large ice blocks covered with thick layers of peach blossoms.
"It's already March; how could there be such large ice blocks?" Yi Xiaochuan wondered.
"What a mighty axe!" Xiang Yu's attention was drawn to the axe.
"Let's take a look," Yi Xiaochuan hurriedly moved forward.
Walking around the two large ice blocks and the massive axe, they felt a chill that made them shiver.
"What a heavy axe!" Xiang Yu, who had also come over, frowned as he tried to lift the axe.
"This axehead isn't copper, iron, or wood. Could it be made from a meteorite?" Yi Xiaochuan's imagination ran wild.
If Cao Yi weren't frozen and unconscious, he would definitely say, "You're right on the mark."
Whoosh! A gust of wind howled.
"What a weapon!"
Xiang Yu swung the heavy axe like a hungry tiger charging down the mountain, rushing into the delicate peach grove. Each time the axe cut through the air, it left behind a shower of broken branches and fallen peach blossoms.
"Xiang Yu, stop!" Yi Xiaochuan urged.
This peach grove must be something the Daoist Priest cherished; if Xiang Yu wreaks too much havoc, when the Daoist Priest returns, how could they explain it?
By then, it wouldn't just be a matter of not inviting the Daoist Priest out; they might end up being chased away.
"A divine weapon!"
Xiang Yu beamed with excitement.
Having possessed incredible strength since childhood, no matter how sturdy the weapon, it couldn't withstand his full force. But today, this massive axe from the heavens was different.
Suddenly, a loud cracking sound echoed in the quiet environment, startling them.
"What was that sound?"
Xiang Yu gripped the axe tightly, stepping back to stand in front of Yi Xiaochuan.
"It seems to be coming from the left ice block," Yi Xiaochuan pointed cautiously.
Upon hearing this, Xiang Yu approached the left ice block, his fierce eyes locked on it, noticing some faint cracks appearing on its surface.
Bang! Bang! … Another series of cracking sounds erupted.
"Could there be some kind of monster inside?" Yi Xiaochuan said with worry, influenced by countless modern films.
"What's there to fear? Even if a dragon shows up, it will still have to coil in front of me," Xiang Yu replied boldly.
Bang! Bang! … The cracking noises quickened, culminating in a loud bang as the massive ice block shattered. A figure dressed in black armor, tall and with a face as pale as paper, with a yellow talisman affixed to her forehead, emerged. The temperature around her suddenly dropped by over ten degrees.
"There's actually someone in the ice?"
Xiang Yu was puzzled but also increasingly wary. This person gave him an extremely dangerous feeling.
"What's that yellow talisman on her forehead?"
Yi Xiaochuan peeked out from behind Xiang Yu, his eyes wide with surprise.
"The characters on it are quite strange; they don't resemble any script from the Seven States," Xiang Yu said, looking at the yellow talisman with a frown.
"It says here, 'The General's Decree to arrive here,'" Yi Xiaochuan revealed a look of fear.
This person with the yellow talisman was likely a blood-sucking zombie.
"What 'General's Decree'?"
Xiang Yu furrowed his brows and yanked the yellow talisman off forcefully.
"Don't pull that!" Yi Xiaochuan shouted a moment too late.
A powerful chill erupted from Yelü Zhigu's body.