Chapter 222: Nuclear Winterwood

Elegant houses filled with the scent of sandalwood, while speckles of sunlight streamed through latticed carved windows.

"Passable." Weigong Shilang studied his reflection in the bronze mirror, carefully inspecting himself before using an ancient bronze dagger to trim his sideburns neatly.

He glanced at his red hair, reaching waist-length, gripped the strands with his left hand and drew them together at the back of his head, then lightly sliced them with the dagger in his right.

"Hmm, that's about right."

Weigong Shilang nodded in satisfaction, changed his long robe for the "Adidas" sportswear he'd arrived in—exactly matching his appearance from last year.

He packed all his belongings into a storage pouch; in truth, there wasn't much—just a few projected goods and some Fasting Pills and such.

Due to the previous holy site's business being exposed, identical goods could no longer be sold; discarding the projections felt wasteful.

Since they could last a long time, and with a storage pouch, they took up negligible space—he lacked a Wheel Sea, otherwise it'd be even easier.

Come to think of it, Wang Zhi's Treasury was also an unusually large storage space—wouldn't a space-type treasure with a throwing function count as a low-end treasury?

Weigong Shilang shook his head and discarded this impractical thought; though the weapons were projections, hurling them away was too wasteful unless he added an auto-retrieval function—better to keep them, at least they'd reduce future workload when orders came.

After finishing, Weigong Shilang rubbed his temples; this period had been nonstop—preparing for the new shop's opening and studying Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements, with no rest at all. When his mana depleted, he switched to spiritual energy; fundamentally, magic circuits merely refined life force into mana.

Repeating this cycle repeatedly, how long had it been since he rested? For a late Foundation Establishment cultivator, he was nearly at his limit.

His cultivation speed was already extremely fast, but essentially it was because Weigong Shilang had used the Time Sand Granules Ye Fan brought back, training for countless years within a time-displaced zone.

With resources more than sufficient—even abundant—his breakthroughs came naturally; had Ye Fan not told him to pause, he might have already attempted advancing to the Golden Core Stage.

'Besides learning forging, studying and solidifying related spells should now be prioritized.'

Weigong Shilang closed the door and descended the stone steps; lush grasses thrived, fine trees flourished, and in the distance, a lake shimmered under the sunlight.

He could've just opened a teleportation gate to return, but he was heading to his spiritual herb garden to harvest some spiritual fruits—these would benefit Teng Jie and Old Man Lei Hua.

He also needed to bring back specific spiritual fruits and herbs he'd bought with his salary; they might help Yilia's condition—if even slightly strengthening her bodily functions, it would be worthwhile.

Weigong Shilang wasn't sure; Yilia's condition was tied to the Holy Grail—the origin and endpoint of their story.

Too much to do, too many people to save; he'd once watched an anime called Fantasy Carnival.

Honestly, it felt like the studio had deliberately made it as pure entertainment—could a world like that truly exist? All Servants and Masters gathering for a joyful carnival, playing like children, the Holy Grail War reduced to mere formality, everyone living peacefully in modern times.

That kind of life was actually quite nice.

Ah, except the version of himself in it was utterly despicable—he deserved to be split into seventeen pieces.

'In modern terms, that'd be called social death.'

Recalling the scenes of watching anime with Yilia, Weigong Shilang now wanted to crawl into a crack in the ground.

Yet despite that, a faint smile unconsciously curled his lips—those daily moments living with Yilia and Mr. Hercules had been truly wonderful.

He called him Hercules instead of "Berserker" because the man had requested it.

After all, the man now showed not the slightest trace of a Berserker.

"Jade Mushroom Fruit, Crimson Phoenix Fruit, Snake Scale Fruit."

After selecting some items that weren't too bizarrely shaped and resembled actual fruit, Weigong Shilang stepped out of the herb garden—and froze.

"Why are you all here?" he asked in surprise, then his lips twitched, beads of cold sweat breaking out on his forehead: "Is there an urgent order?! I'll go back right away."

Su Lin, Han Li, Ye Fan, Black Emperor, and Xiao Nannan stood not far ahead, clearly waiting for him.

Su Lin covered his head upon seeing Weigong Shilang's state, feigning a headache: "You guys are something else—worked him to this state."

Han Li cleared his throat and shifted his gaze elsewhere; he'd been cultivating in this world, studying the Golden Apple Tree.

The spiritual liquid from the Sky-Palm Vase had some effect, but the tree clearly required enormous quantities—so Han Li had only allocated portions of the liquid while tending other herb gardens.

Ye Fan glanced aside, pretending not to hear Su Lin's words, then countered: "What do you mean 'exploited'? We pay triple wages for overtime."

Weigong Shilang's resources exceeded those of some mid- and small-sized clans—even elders from holy sites would kill to steal his sources and heavenly treasures!

Had Weigong Shilang's productivity and output quality been higher—if his projections had fewer flaws, and if higher-tier treasures hadn't occasionally been detected—the Ye Zhetian Trading Guild might already possess a fraction of a holy site's core reserves.

Exaggerated? Not at all.

What costs are there? The shop is rented, staff are hired, raw materials cost nothing—so far, the only loss has been Duan De.

Uh, Duan De?

"Any news on Duan De?" Ye Fan finally remembered him, asking Black Emperor: "If he's still alive, tell him to come to the new shop—we're going for bigger business."

"Heard a senior elder of a holy site personally intervened—he's still missing," Black Emperor stood, adjusting his flowered shorts: "That corrupt fatso's got some tricks."

"Enough about that. Weigong kid, come here."

He waved Weigong Shilang over.

Seeing it wasn't about overtime, Weigong Shilang exhaled slightly—his break wasn't ruined—but he froze after two steps, for a pile of materials now lay on the ground.

Green copper essence, crimson jade marrow, divine blood soil, star stones… all manner of precious materials were present.

These were the materials Black Emperor normally used to carve array patterns; some could also be used in forging, so he had some familiarity.

"Come, take off your clothes—I'll carve some array patterns on you," Black Emperor urged with human-like impatience, his dog paw pointing at the pile.

Carve… array patterns?!

Weigong Shilang quickly shook his head, refusing: "Who ever carves array patterns on a person?!"

He wasn't Duan De! How could he let such things be carved into his body?

"Trust me—I'm the Black Emperor himself," Black Emperor crossed his arms confidently: "I pity your suffering, so I've come to carve a life-saving array on you. Come, quickly."

Black Emperor hadn't expected his offhand remark would prompt the suspected Emperor-level force to follow Ye Fan's trail—now he had to carve it, whether he liked it or not.

That brat Ye Fan must've snitched on him behind his back!

"Come here! Do you think I'd harm you?!"

Weigong Shilang turned pleading eyes toward Su Lin and Ye Fan—they watched Black Emperor with amused, knowing smiles, unsure of the situation.

"Enough," Su Lin laughed, stopping Black Emperor from carving the array—success was uncertain, and Black Emperor's arrays were like Schrödinger's cat, perpetually hovering between working and not working: "Forget the herb garden. If you really want to help him… consider this?"

He spread his hands, and a virtual screen appeared before them, displaying:

【Wisdom Blessing, Price: 1 Array Pattern】

【Holy Radiance, price: 1 rune pattern】

【Revenge of Light, price: 1 rune pattern】

【Solar Horn, price: 1 rune pattern】

【Resurrection Coin (Resurrection Spell), price: 10 rune patterns】

From enhanced-state spell skills to one-time offensive techniques, finally to the Resurrection Spell, Su Lin displayed before the Black Emperor all the buff abilities granted by his Divine Light Grail.

"Given your loyalty and the fact that we're all old acquaintances, I'll personally enhance his ability to handle danger—how about that? This is a discounted rate."

Each skill had its own description, formed from condensed light elements, accompanied by demonstration animations.

Ye Fan smirked and chimed in:

"Black Emperor, my impression of you has improved greatly—I never thought you'd care so much about Weigong Shilang. You're truly a loyal, brotherly dog!"

"I'll never insult you again. By the way, you won't be too stingy to buy him a Resurrection Spell, will you? After all, their world is teeming with danger; if Weigong Shilang returns carelessly, he might never come back."

"Woof!" The Black Emperor glared at Ye Fan with clenched teeth—he now realized he'd been tricked!

No! How could the Emperor be greedy for his rune patterns? It must be this brat Ye Fan! But this Emperor is also strange.

The Black Emperor ground his teeth, scanning Ye Fan's body, searching for a place to bite and muddy the waters, hoping to sweep this whole matter under the rug.

"Dogs shouldn't bite people," said Xiao Nannan, who wasn't even as tall as the Black Emperor's leg. She patted him gently, looking up with her small face.

"Ugh…" The Black Emperor instantly softened and had no choice but to surrender.

Ye Fan gave Su Lin a glance; Su Lin nodded and walked beside Weigong Shilang. Without Weigong Shilang knowing what was happening, Su Lin poured an immense torrent of light elements into his body.

Gradually, a coin forged from pure light appeared at Weigong Shilang's heart.

This was not a Resurrection Coin—it was the pure Divine Spell "Light's Lament" stored within Weigong Shilang's body, to activate automatically when his bodily functions ceased.

To others, it was indeed a powerful and practical spell, but for Weigong Shilang, the king of sit-ups,

it was like a useless rib—tasteless to eat, but a shame to discard.

After all, his body contained the "Sheath Avalon"!

Avalon, also known as the Ideal Land Beyond the World, was a treasure of the magical realm capable of severing all physical interference, interference from Parallel Worlds, and multidimensional communication up to the sixth dimension.

Once Weigong Shilang learned that King Arthur existed in his world, his safety would no longer be a major concern.

And the most absurd thing was that in one Parallel World, after returning the sheath to King Arthur, Weigong Shilang projected it again himself.

With the help of its owner, he could also project treasures of this caliber.

"When you get back, remember to follow the Fate route," Ye Fan walked over with a kind smile and patted Weigong Shilang's shoulder. "Listen to your brother: a white moonlight is a lifetime thing—keep her by your side forever."

If King Arthur vanished, Avalon would return with her to the Sea of Stars, and Weigong Shilang's memory of the sheath would vanish too.

But if he followed King Arthur's path, it would be different—even if only she could use its strongest ability, the future was long. With her permission, someday he might successfully modify and project it, turning it into a top-tier product of Ye Zhetian Trading!

Weigong Shilang's face flushed red, his body stiffening in place.

"Alright," Su Lin patted Weigong Shilang. "Done."

Weigong Shilang nodded and thanked everyone, then summoned a teleportation gate to leave.

"Weigong," Han Li spoke up. "Always be cautious. If an emergency arises, preserve your life first—only then do you have a future."

"I understand, thank you, Brother Han Li!" Weigong Shilang replied solemnly and stepped into the gate.

Han Li sighed helplessly. Personality isn't easily changed—it takes years of experience to polish. He didn't expect Weigong Shilang to act with deep deliberation in emergencies, but he hoped he'd remember he still had the chat group, that he could still travel to other worlds for future comebacks, and that he shouldn't stake everything on winning or losing a single battle.

Carrying the longsword he had forged himself, Weigong Shilang finally returned to his long-absent Fuyuki City.

A peaceful place.

Hmm… nuclear peace.

Weigong Shilang recalled the Duan Zi he'd seen online and winced.

The sky was slightly darker than when he'd left a year ago—normal, since he'd briefly stayed in Lin's World.

Not long—about one or two hours—but the Administrator's World and One's Own World shared synchronized time flow.

"Too slow!" A clear voice rang out behind Weigong Shilang.

Weigong Shilang froze, then turned around in surprise to see Dada Liya sitting idly on a park bench, smiling faintly as she watched him.

A breeze brushed past her silver hair and small frame; her deep crimson eyes, once frozen in eternal winter, slowly thawed.

"Didn't you promise you'd come back the next moment? Liar!"

End of Chapter