Leng Yanhua felt that this might be the most awesome and coolest moment of his life, following in the footsteps of Tianmiao, swaggering boldly into the heartland of the monsters without any fear.
"The female lead in my future novels definitely needs to be like this! Oh my God, this feels so amazing!" Leng Yanhua couldn’t help but start babbling.
Ai Li teased, "Huh? The protagonist in your novel is the female lead? Isn’t it the male lead?"
"Haha, yes indeed, I’m a male writer writing female-female stories! My heroine is ridiculously cool. You all must check out what I’ve written once we’re out." Leng Yanhua flicked his head and winked his left eye at Ai Li, feeling like he was the center of attention, practically like a Prince.
Lost in thought, he nearly tripped over a stone, stumbling forward several steps, barely avoiding a fall that could’ve knocked him flat.
Ai Li stifled a laugh, covering her mouth, giggling softly in a very ladylike manner.
"Hey, what the heck! Nearly killed me!" Leng Yanhua turned back to see what almost tripped him was indeed a white pebble etched with golden runes. He bent down to pick it up, examining it as Tianmiao also looked over. He handed the stone to Tianmiao, adjusting little Fei on his back.
Congratulations, you obtained - World Keystone 1/30.
"Seems like it dropped from those few players who were fleeing earlier," Ai Li remarked.
Instinctively, Tianmiao turned around, noting someone behind a tree trunk on the tree-lined path eying her coldly, the gaze icy and terrifying, laden with deep-seated killing intent.
Yet in an instant, the person staring at her vanished, as if it had been merely a figment of her imagination.
"What’s up, Tianmiao?" Ai Li followed Tianmiao’s gaze.
Tianmiao turned back, saying, "Nothing, let’s head to find the Weapons Shop’s shopkeeper." She then stored the World Keystone fragment into the Storage Space, continuing toward the fallen Tianhe Town.
Due to some unknown fear from the monsters, the journey was smooth, with several cultivators flying overhead on their swords providing seamless live broadcasts on the Cultivation Daily board, making Tianmiao and the group instant celebrities, the talk of the town everywhere.
The trio wound through twists and turns, as the arrival of monsters caused destruction to the town’s structures, with several paths either ablaze or collapsed. After some effort, they located the blacksmith shop.
The previous shopkeeper, a somewhat dark-skinned young man, was lying on the ground, leaning against ruins, holding a sword. Upon seeing the hastily arriving Tianmiao and Leng Yanhua, he weakly said, "I’ve finally waited for your return."
Seeing the situation, although knowing it’s just a game, Leng Yanhua couldn’t help worry, rushing forward, "Hey, uncle, are you alright?"
The young man shook his head, glimpsing the green-faced little ghost Fei on Leng Yanhua’s back, eyes flashing with sorrow and astonishment, his chest heaving severely before speaking, "Thank you for bringing my son back."
"Sorry, when we arrived, Fei was already..." Leng Yanhua felt a pang of sadness.
"It’s alright, thank you for allowing me to see my son in his final moments," the young man struggled to sit up, saying, "Please bring Fei over, I want to see him. My son..."
Leng Yanhua carefully settled little Fei off his back, adopting a holding stance, walking towards the young man as instructed.
Ding~ Congratulations on completing the task – Returning Home and Receiving the Sword.