Chapter 9: Return to the Present World

"This surprise truly far exceeds my expectations!"

The woman wearing the Wealth God mask whispered, her long, slender legs pressing slightly together, growing even more pleased.

She had witnessed the entire process: Jiang Yan, using his wisdom and decisiveness, successfully lured and killed ten Vajra Hayagriva cavalrymen.

For an ordinary person to reach this point would already be considered genius!

But Jiang Yan did not stop at merely completing the survival mission; instead, he chose to use the enemy's force against them, helping General Lu kill the Giant Rat Guards and eliminate the lingering threat.

Finally, he even reverse-engineered information from the historical mission, utilizing the tidal effects of the River of History to advance steadily, severing the arm of General Lu, a peak Mid-Tier Transcendent, and successfully seizing the Deer-Horn Dragon Flag.

He achieved maximum profit!

Especially General Lu; that fellow was favored and cultivated by someone from the Corpse-Release Wang Ting, possessing strength and wisdom that could not be underestimated.

Yet he still suffered a defeat at Jiang Yan's hands.

If she had not seen it with her own eyes, who could believe that just one hour ago, Jiang Yan was still an ordinary person knowing nothing of Transcendent knowledge?

If this were spoken aloud, it would likely leave many so-called "geniuses" dumbfounded.

Even she herself, under the same conditions, might not have been able to perform so perfectly.

"However, what exactly is his Historical Gift?"

The woman looked curiously at Jiang Yan and the Burial Coffin Spirit behind him.

Although in terms of strength, this Coffin Spirit was far inferior to the Giant Rat Guards she could casually summon, let alone the Copper-Flesh and Silver-Flesh Envoys and other high-ranking soldiers.

Yet its wisdom surpassed that of most mutated creatures transformed from humans, and she vaguely sensed that the blood threads and bone spikes were not the entirety of this coffin's power.

It seemed to hide abilities related to wealth and fortune.

Moreover, although a spirit pet is born alongside its master, it is essentially an independent individual.

But the Coffin Spirit's aura was almost identical to Jiang Yan's; a mysterious connection bound them together, forming a single, complete entity.

Like countless roots spreading from a great tree, digging into the earth to draw nutrients and nourish the main body.

Is this... All Things Returning to One?

Furthermore, she saw that after Jiang Yan received his Historical Gift, he clearly lost a massive amount of vital energy, yet he still managed to seize the Vajra Hayagriva Seal and wield it.

The woman had seen many methods of stealing enemy abilities; even within the Rice God Church, there were similar spells, but they all required a heavy price, and the stolen abilities could never match the original owner's, relying solely on brute force.

How could Jiang Yan use them immediately upon acquisition, even mastering them better than before?

If everyone were like this, wouldn't the world have fallen into chaos long ago?

As for the dark tendrils spreading from the Demon God Embryo, she did not see them.

"Could it be a Sacrificial Priest path, directly communicating with the gods to receive blessings from the Vajra Hayagriva? But I feel no aura of divine blessing... Or perhaps the Path of the Netherlord, growing stronger by killing and enslaving the slain... It can't possibly be that his comprehension defies heaven..."

The woman murmured to herself, very much wanting to grab Jiang Yan's shoulders and ask him properly; she had not seen such an interesting person in a long time.

Unfortunately...

There was no time.

"The commotion here is too great; it has already alerted the people of the Historical Correction Bureau."

The woman raised her head, her gilded eyes beneath the Wealth God mask piercing through the gradually shattering sky of this Borderland, seeing far into the distance.

Figures were rushing here from every corner of Jiangnan Province; among them were a few individuals she would have to handle with care.

She could indeed escape unscathed, but bringing Jiang Yan along was uncertain.

Moreover, she had more important matters to attend to.

Buzz!

The woman spread her palm, upon which floated countless glowing rice grains; but looking closely, one would discover they were hundreds or thousands of proportionally shrunk Giant Rat Guards holding Jade Ruyis and rice meat, standing like minions.

Within them, more mysterious and terrifying Rice Lives manifested, circling together to imprison a swirling, yellowish-black light orb that struggled like a living creature, constantly battering the cage.

No matter how hard they struggled, they could not break the blockade and were quickly suppressed.

This time, through a ritual, the woman summoned reconnaissance cavalry from the Corpse-Release Wang Ting from the River of History, successfully intercepting this crucial clue.

Leaving Jiang Yan behind would also help divert the attention of the Historical Correction Bureau.

"Rice ears also require long years and the absorption of many nutrients to nurture delicious spirit rice."

The woman smiled as she watched the man surrounded by the gale; instead of retreating to the sidelines to wait for the Borderland to collapse, he chose to close his eyes, face the storm directly, and savor the afterglow of victory.

Such spirit was not bad.

I hope that when I return to harvest in a while, it will be laden with abundant fruits!

"Jiang Yan, I look forward to our next meeting."

"How long is this wind going to blow? I can't even open my eyes!"

In the eye of the storm, Jiang Yan complained inwardly; it was not that he did not want to speak, but that his mouth was forcibly stuffed with stones and dust, choking him painfully.

But he feared that if he wandered too far, he would not be able to return to the Present World, so he could only stand rigidly in place.

Why not use the Vajra Hayagriva Seal to block the wind and sand?

Are you joking? Using skills doesn't consume vital energy and stamina!

He had already sacrificed most of his fresh blood to create the Burial Coffin Spirit, and combined with fighting the Vajra Hayagriva cavalry squad and resisting the sword qi hidden within the Dragon Flag, he was already overdrawn.

Even though the skill offspring saved him a lot of effort, he was now starting to feel dizzy and disoriented.

When walking, his calves were trembling.

If he did not restrain himself, becoming a weak and frail young master would be a minor issue; the real trouble would be if he fainted.

The Burial Coffin beside him was eager for him to lie inside; Jiang Yan was not so pretentious as to be superstitious and claim it was unlucky.

Mainly because...

There was still a Vajra Hayagriva cavalry corpse inside that had not been fully digested, which would absolutely smell terrible!

Hah! Hah! Hah!

He wondered if the River of History had heard Jiang Yan's complaint; the wind in his ears vanished, replaced by scattered chatter growing closer.

Soon, a breeze brushed his face; when Jiang Yan opened his eyes again, he had already returned to the Old Street.

Pedestrians came and went all around, laughing and playing, while merchants busily shouted to do business.

Yet, seeing the house previously destroyed in the battle between General Lu and the Great Rat Guards now completely intact, he felt as if everything he had just experienced was but a dream or a bubble.

For a moment, he could not tell the difference...

However, the connection with the Burial Coffin and the Vajra Hayagriva Seal quickly pulled him out of his confusion.

Since the Burial Coffin's main body is composed of blood and white bones, it can expand and contract freely, shrinking to palm size at its smallest; Jiang Yan had told it beforehand never to let ordinary people discover it, so at the instant the Borderland shattered, Coffin Grandpa shrank its size and hid in his backpack.

"The scene is exactly the same, but won't the house shattered in the Sick World's history affect reality?"

However, Jiang Yan did not ponder this question deeply, because from the instant of his return, his peripheral vision had been alert to his surroundings.

After waiting a few minutes and confirming he saw no sign of the mysterious woman from the Rice God Church, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, slowly lowering his left hand which had been forming the Vajra Hayagriva Seal.

The doll this woman casually gave could fight General Lu to a standstill.

She was absolutely no simple character.

With uncertainty over whether she was friend or foe, not meeting her was a good thing.

For this reason, he had deliberately not nurtured General Lu's arm and the Dragon Flag into offspring, fearing it would expose his abilities.

"If only the Burial Coffin had a storage space."

Jiang Yan felt somewhat disappointed; why wasn't his first offspring of the spatial type?

He propped the flagpole against his right shoulder, felt it, weighed it, and said, "This must be at least over a hundred jin."

Fortunately, it was a deer antler, not iron or copper; otherwise, the unit would have to be tons.

Even without his blood and qi drained, he was merely a mortal flesh-and-blood body mastering only a few skills; he did not often do manual labor, so if he carried something this heavy for a stretch of road, he would definitely have a sore back and aching waist the next day.

So, with a thought, a large amount of blood threads quietly crawled out of the backpack, pressed against the flagpole, looking like patterns on his clothes, then pushed the suitcase toward the Old Street exit.

Many passersby naturally noticed Jiang Yan's strange attire, looked at him curiously a few more times, but felt no fear.

After all...

Humans don't have arms that big.

Plus, since Jiang Yan was so handsome, in their eyes, he must be a cosplayer attending a comic convention, currently portraying a character from some manga or anime.

As for the blood and flesh on the severed arm, and the broken tendons...

Young people nowadays are all about restoration, aren't they?

After Jiang Yan left, the Old Street remained bustling with people coming and going.

He didn't know when it started, but every tourist area would have shops selling iron-grilled spicy squid, Changsha stinky tofu, wolf-tooth potatoes, and so on, all identical, with tastes that were surprisingly...

Terrible!

They even suppressed local specialty restaurants; therefore, tourists who knew a thing or two would go eat at local farmhouses serving regional specialties.

But one could not deny they did make the tourist areas much livelier.

"What sound is that?"

The owner of one iron-grilled squid stall was busy sprinkling seasoning on these squid from the Great Qing era, preparing to shout and welcome customers, when he suddenly heard a creaking sound from above his head; instinctively, he looked up, and the next second, several tiles fell, smashing onto the iron plate and covering it directly.

"Damn it..."

The owner was startled too; he looked at the ceiling and found the area where the tiles fell was perfectly straight, resembling a mark from a blade split.

"That heartless renovation company definitely cut corners!"

The owner cursed, confirmed the other tiles were not loose and wouldn't fall again, breathed a sigh of relief, cleaned up the rubble, and then switched to a batch of new frozen squid to start grilling and shouting.

However, neither he nor the many tourists noticed that large numbers of ants, insects, rats, and so on had begun to migrate out in groups.

(End of this chapter)