Park Su nodded, "Don't worry, I will, but there's no need for repayment."
Before he could say more, Xu Nuo chimed in, "This place isn't safe. There was a horde of zombies here earlier, and the air is thick with the scent of blood. The longer you stay, the higher the chance a new horde will form. Since you can move now, I suggest you leave today. Otherwise, staying here with your condition would be suicide. Here, put this on your car; it can reduce the zombies' detection of you, should last until your body fully recovers."
Xu Nuo placed an isolation talisman in front of him. Although Lu Xia didn't know what it was, she knew it must be something good since Xu Nuo said so. She quickly took it with both hands, grateful. "Really, thank you so much for all the trouble. If you ever need anything from me in the future, I won't refuse!"
Xu Nuo nodded, "If we need anything, we won't be polite." He then looked at Park Su, "Since that's settled, go make some breakfast and prepare some dry rations. We'll leave after eating."
Upon hearing this, Park Su knew there was no time to waste and quickly got to work preparing breakfast. It was a rare moment for everyone to sit together for a meal. After breakfast, they would have to part ways.
Lu Xia felt reluctant but found it hard to express. Meanwhile, Chen Jingxuan kept peering out the car window, and only after watching Xu Nuo and the others leave did he somewhat unwillingly ask his mother, "Do you think Park Su and his friends will come to see us again?"
While driving, Lu Xia patted her son's head, "Since they promised you, I think they will come to see you. So, you must become stronger, not to disappoint Park Su."
In Lu Xia's mind, even if they were to reunite, she didn't know when that would be. In this apocalyptic world, even with her abilities, she wasn't sure how long she would survive.
Chen Jingxuan didn't notice his mother's contemplation; he just solemnly nodded, looking at the spot where the car had disappeared.
As for the two in the other car, it was still Park Su driving, with Xu Nuo sitting with his eyes closed, pondering over something unknown.
Park Su was no longer surprised by Xu Nuo's behavior, especially since Xu Nuo had mentioned he was about to break through, which probably made him uncomfortable at the moment.
He drove towards the suburbs of the city, still charging through obstacles, but as they ventured further, the area became more desolate, and zombies were much fewer, allowing for a faster drive.
By one in the afternoon, they had reached the vicinity of the upscale neighborhood Park Su intended to visit. Looking at these luxury villas from afar, Park Su sighed.
These were once homes only the wealthy could afford, but now, probably more than half were abandoned. At the end of the day, being alive is what matters most; once you're dead, everything could belong to someone else.
Park Su drove deeper into the neighborhood, and Xu Nuo, sensing his intention, opened his eyes to inform him which houses were occupied and which were devoid of life signs.
Since Xu Nuo didn't want to be disturbed while breaking through, they drove to a more secluded spot and stopped at a small villa where there were almost no living people around.
Park Su drove into the yard, and Xu Nuo got out immediately, saying, "There are probably about five zombies in the house; deal with them yourself." Then he started setting up an array in the yard.
The previous array in another yard hadn't been used, so Xu Nuo had brought all the talismans with him, not wasting a single one.
Now, seeing Xu Nuo setting up another array, Park Su watched with great interest.
However, when Xu Nuo was halfway through, he suddenly stopped and looked at him, "You don't understand this, so standing here is pointless. You might as well go deal with the zombies. Are you not hungry or something? I'm waiting to eat. Don't forget, isn't the main reason you're with me because you're good at cooking? Or do you think I'm too stingy to teach you despite my promise, and you won't learn about arrays later?"
Feeling slightly awkward from Xu Nuo's words, Park Su pouted and thought to himself, "Yes, my biggest role is to cook." Then he turned to deal with the five zombies.
The annoying part was that the locks on these high-end villas were hard to break into, unlike the simpler locks in common homes. With both passcodes and fingerprint locks, Park Su couldn't open it after some fumbling and was about to resort to brute force.
But then, the Green Vine beside him said she could cut through the bolt directly.
Park Su thought that if he made too much noise kicking the door down, zombies would surely come, and then he'd have even more to deal with. More importantly, he couldn't guarantee whether the door or the lock would give first if he kicked it.
With that, Park Su decided to let Green Vine handle it. Green Vine emerged from Park Su's dantian, extending its vine and revealing a blue leaf blade. It slid through the lock's gap, and with one swift motion, the bolt snapped in two.
Witnessing this, Park Su couldn't help but marvel. No wonder zombies' necks could be severed so easily; even hard metal was no match for Green Vine. Those low-level zombies' necks didn't stand a chance.
Although Green Vine was very handy, Park Su decided to deal with the zombies inside himself. He hadn't done much all day, and watching others work made his hands itchy. However, the blood splattered everywhere was bothersome. Knowing Xu Nuo would handle it when he came in, Park Su washed his hands and left the mess alone.
Instead, he took out food and seeds for lettuce and other greens from his spatial ring to start cooking.
After Xu Nuo cleaned up the blood and traces left by the zombies in the room, he sat at the dining table waiting for the meal. Watching Park Su prepare food for him was something that made Xu Nuo genuinely happy, perhaps because these things were specially made for him.
When Xu Nuo ate the vegetables that day, he paused, looking up, "Are these vegetables something you prepared before or did you get them from somewhere else?"
Park Su didn't understand why he would ask this but answered honestly, "I used my ability to grow them. Is there a problem?"
Xu Nuo frowned, "Haven't you noticed that the plants you grow still have a very dense spiritual energy even after being eaten? And it seems like some of this spiritual energy can flow into the meridians!"
Park Su looked confused and quickly took another bite of lettuce, but even after waiting for five minutes, he felt no difference from the vegetables he'd eaten before. At most, they were just fresher and tastier, which was to be expected since they were just freshly grown. But where was this so-called spiritual energy?
He didn't feel it at all, so he had to reply honestly, "Did you get it wrong? There's no such thing."
Xu Nuo raised an eyebrow, "You didn't feel any slight fluctuation in your spiritual energy while eating?"
Park Su shook his head honestly, "No, and I don't know what this spiritual energy you're talking about is. What I have in my body should be wood-type ability, right? There's no change in my ability."
Xu Nuo sighed; he hadn't taught him the basic knowledge about Taoist practices yet. But he couldn't rule out the possibility that the vegetables Park Su grew might only benefit cultivators like himself or be useless to others.
Regardless of the possibility, he didn't want others to notice this peculiarity about Park Su. So he frowned and said, "Forget it, I'll research what effect these vegetables you've grown have after I break through. But until I've figured it out, don't let anyone else eat these vegetables you've grown besides us."
Park Su didn't mind this; he wasn't planning on giving the vegetables to anyone else anyhow. He nodded, "Alright, we'll be staying here for a while anyway, waiting for you to break through. I doubt I'll run into anyone else during this time."
Xu Nuo looked at him, raising an eyebrow. If his memory served him right, he had sensed a few strong individuals in the area on their way here. Although these so-called 'strong' individuals weren't much in his eyes, and he could handle them if needed, he was here to focus on his Taoist breakthrough. Judging by the energy fluctuations he felt from those people, they were probably on par with Park Su.
He hadn't taken a close look at them since it was just a cursory glance, but knowing Park Su's habit of sticking close to those he admired, he wondered if this might cause some unnecessary trouble. The thought of such a possibility annoyed him.
Since Park Su had made such a statement, Xu Nuo decided to lay down an additional rule.
So he tapped the table and said, "Since you've said that, I expect you to take this seriously. Even though there aren't many people living here, it's not entirely empty. I sensed two individuals with abilities similar to yours when we arrived. Keep your distance from them, and avoid trouble. I won't have the time to look after you while I'm breaking through."
Park Su was speechless. Did he really look like someone who would cause trouble?
Nevertheless, he was surprised to learn there were others here whose cultivation level was close to his. He always took Xu Nuo's words seriously, especially since Xu Nuo seemed to have a kind of human radar.
However, this revelation puzzled him. After all, he had broken through to the third level thanks to absorbing energy from energy stones and knowing that zombie cores could accelerate breakthroughs, which he had used extensively. How had these people managed to achieve third-level breakthroughs in just a month?
Despite his many questions, seeing Xu Nuo's skeptical look, Park Su quickly assured him, "Don't worry, I definitely won't cause any trouble."