Start from the God of Death and break through the world.

Chapter 1118 Are you stupid?
Lu Xueqing sensed the changes within her body and, after a moment's thought, noticed something amiss. "It's the power that the shadow left behind within us. After our origins were swapped, most of our life force was neutralized."

"Take it slow. I've been working on this for over 20 years. It's good that there's progress now."

Lu Li was quite optimistic. Just as Lu Xueqing said, even if the power couldn't be restored, the injury could be healed by exchanging origins.

He discovered that the power generated when he absorbed Lu Xueqing's red essence and it circulated within his body seemed to contain some kind of supreme power that could contend with those threads, although only a tiny bit. However, he noticed that the edge of one of the threads had indeed been weakened.

In other words, if they persevere, they might one day be able to dissolve these threads.

When that time comes, it will only take a moment for them to recover. They just need to suck on it vigorously, and they will be back to their former human form in less than a second.

Conversely, the power of these threads is terrifying. As long as even one of them exists in their body, they cannot restore their true spirit and reunite their physical body. Lu Li has so many threads in his body that he can't count them all, and he's too lazy to count them for the time being.

"Try again."

Lu Xueqing understood the reasoning behind it, and with practice makes perfect, after letting go of her pride, she no longer rejected cultivating and healing with Lu Li.

With the situation in the World Seas still unclear, and her own experience as a martial arts expert, which had been incredibly frustrating on the Divine Martial Continent, where she was ultimately treated like an ant and destroyed, she couldn't possibly swallow this insult.

Even if it's just for revenge, she has to find a way to regain her human form and go back to fight.

"Okay, let's inhale more this time."

As Lu Li spoke, he began to vigorously absorb Lu Xueqing's essence again. If a third party were present, they would see a black slime lying on the red slime, constantly wriggling.

With each pupation of the black slime, its body expands slightly, while the red slime is flattened out a little.

After a while, Lu Li felt refreshed, and then it was Lu Xueqing's turn to absorb. After repeating this several times, both of their primordial clusters seemed to have become more rounded.

"Wait... let me catch my breath."

Lu Li climbed off the red primordial mass. "Something seems wrong. It's not just that you can't step on your right foot with your left. Even though I feel that my primordial energy has grown stronger, I feel dizzy."

"You're completely out of your mind right now..."

Lu Xueqing complained, "But you're right, I also feel very tired."

The two of them realized something cruel: it was unrealistic for them to just sit there and cultivate until they were fully recovered, because their consciousness was too weak, and even operations like exchanging origins could not be carried out continuously.

The same operation as before can only be performed a maximum of three times a day. Otherwise, even if their essence continues to expand, it will make the paste even more chaotic, and chaotic power is not conducive to their recovery.

For a moment, both of them felt heavy-hearted, because if they could not absorb each other's nutrients without limit, it would be unknown how many years it would take for them to recover.

"Don't think about those things anymore. Rest for a while, and I'll take you for a walk. There might be some opportunities in these ruins. If we can get spiritual energy to irrigate the Immortal Seed and revive it, we can use the spiritual energy to nourish the True Spirit."

Lu Li said, "If there were a life-giving elixir, I might be able to revive the Primordial Spirit Seed, which would offer hope for recovery."

Lu Xueqing thought to herself that Lu Li was really an optimist. This ruin was obviously visited by countless descendants, and there was nothing left. You still expect to find a life-saving medicine?

However, she also found this ruin to be extremely strange, because there was not a trace of spiritual energy inside; it was completely lifeless.

Otherwise, she and Lu Li wouldn't be in such a bad situation. Based on their understanding of spiritual energy, even if the true spirit is a mess, they could still absorb some to improve their condition.

However, she didn't say that Lu Li's idea was unrealistic, because in such a desperate situation, having an optimistic person by your side really makes a difference, and she wouldn't say anything discouraging.

Staying in this desolate place was not a solution. In order to find an opportunity for the two to recover, Lu Li rested for about five or six hours before preparing to continue exploring. However, he found that Lu Xueqing was still standing in the same place and had not followed.

What are you still doing standing there?

Lu Li asked.

"I……"

Lu Xueqing was extremely embarrassed, and at the same time, she felt very unwilling. "I...I can't move."

Both of them were injured and flown to this place, but Lu Li not only woke up before her, but was also able to lay pupae on the ground.

Even if she could endure the pain, she couldn't move at this moment because the threads inside her body firmly locked her mobility. At most, she could only tremble and sway slightly, but she couldn't lay her cocoon on the ground.

This either means her injuries are more serious, or it means Lu Li is stronger than her. Either way, she is in great pain.

"I'll wait for you here. Go explore, I'll look at the books here."

Lu Xueqing added that she could extend a little bit from the paste and turn the pages when it vibrated.

"I've already read all the books. What's so interesting about them? Although I haven't encountered any enemies or monsters in recent years, who dares to say that this ruin is safe?"

Lu Li said, "No, you can't stay here. You have to come with me."

"Are you stupid!?"

Lu Xueqing's voice became somewhat sharp, "Wouldn't you be able to explore much faster by yourself? Your exploration efficiency would be much higher. As long as we find the elixir you mentioned, we can break this deadlock."

“My friends always say I’m not smart, or that I’m stupid or something. You’ve known me for a long time.”

As Lu Li spoke, he went back to his pupa, ignoring Lu Xueqing's objections, grabbed her, and dragged her outside. Lu Xueqing wanted to object, but seeing Lu Li dragging her, his body trembling with each step forward, she knew that Lu Li was enduring immense pain, though he remained silent on the surface.

Suddenly she understood that Lu Li wasn't a pure optimist after all. He had always known that it was impossible to find any miraculous medicine in this wretched place, and that it wasn't necessarily safe.

Most importantly, Lu Li mentioned earlier that when he was exploring the ruins, he discovered that the room had changed when he retraced his steps. This means that the ruins may actually be moving under the support of some kind of force.

If they separate, it might be very difficult for Lu Li to find them again, and it might even be their last goodbye.

If she stays here unable to move, she's basically just waiting to die.

Although from the perspective of exchanging origins, the two must cooperate, they have already proven that it seems very difficult to recover in this way, and it would take many years. Going out to explore might bring unknown opportunities.

Seeing Lu Li enduring such great pain while forcefully dragging her along, Lu Xueqing felt a complex mix of emotions. The thought that Lu Li had been carrying her like this for over twenty years stirred up a strange feeling within her.

And so she finally shut her mouth, but every now and then she would remind Lu Li to stop and rest for a while so that the two of them could exchange their essence.

They explored the ruins repeatedly, and before they knew it, another ten years had passed.

Over the course of ten years, Lu Li's condition improved. He even managed to melt a thread within his body, and he seemed to have adapted to the intense pain. Even while enduring the pain, he could still perform various agile movements with his slime-like body.

They can even bounce on the ground like water balloons, and their forward speed is much faster, basically several meters per second.

However, Lu Xueqing's condition was still not optimistic. Her injuries seemed to be more severe than Lu Li's. Although she had also lost a thread, she was still unable to move. She could only manipulate the edge of the paste to grow something like small tentacles and grab some things from the edge.

Sometimes, watching Lu Li jumping around her, making all sorts of silly shapes out of the paste, she felt both resentful and amused.

For example, right now, Lu Li seemed to be using all his strength to make two circles bulge out from his lump of paste. The circles were contracting and expanding, as if they were opening and closing. "Look, I have eyes now!"

Seeing Lu Li's appearance, Lu Xueqing couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Those aren't eyes, they look more like obscene objects."

Lu Li raised his eyes and tried to form eyebrows again. "What are you talking about? I think I've done a great job. I've decided that if it really doesn't work, I'll mold this lump of paste into a human shape. That way, wouldn't I be able to rebuild myself into a human again? Don't you think I'm a genius?"

"In a way, you really are a genius..."

Lu Xueqing herself didn't realize that her tone of voice had become much more relaxed over the years, unlike the serious tone she used to have.

After the break, Lu Li skillfully condensed two tentacle-like things from the paste, carried Lu Xueqing's red essence on his body, and bound and sucked it in so that it wouldn't fall off.

Their teamwork has become increasingly skilled. Lu Li can even explore while carrying Lu Xueqing on his back, absorbing her essence to repair himself.

That's why they were able to successfully melt a thread, and the situation improved considerably.

Lu Li carried Lu Xueqing on his back and began their daily exploration. After passing through a long tunnel, Lu Li suddenly heard a noise.

He tensed up instantly, because it was the first time he had ever heard a sound of movement in these deathly silent ruins; it sounded like footsteps.

Over the years, as his physical condition has improved, Lu Li's vision has also become better than before. He can see ten meters in the dark, and his hearing is excellent. He can hear sounds within a range of several rooms.

He focused his mind and listened for a few seconds. After confirming that it wasn't the sound of an old bookshelf collapsing on its own, he began to lead Lu Xueqing towards the wall.

He believed the footsteps were the sound of some kind of creature, and any creature could potentially pose a threat to their lives.

They are not the same as before, having fallen to a state of neither life nor death, with only a paste-like source of power remaining. In terms of power level, even in this state, their source matter is still extremely strong and certainly cannot be destroyed by ordinary living beings.

The problem is that their bodies contain chaotic, thread-like forces. If they encounter any external force, even a slight one, it could cause these threads to injure them again, and in severe cases, it could completely obliterate their consciousness.

This is why Lu Li didn't dare to be hit by the bookshelf before. They have neither speed nor strength now. If they are hit, the external object may be eroded and broken by their original power, but the damage left by the shadow inside their bodies will kill them.

As for how he and Lu Xueqing ended up in this ruin, and why the impact of their fall into the world didn't kill them, Lu Li still doesn't know. But he knows that their condition has just improved and they absolutely cannot be injured by external forces.

But what Lu Li saw next made his focused eyes widen in surprise, because as the footsteps grew louder and more frequent, he saw... an army within the ruins.

Ahead in the tunnel, a series of black figures moved forward. Their movements appeared somewhat stiff, like some kind of metal dolls. Their skin looked rusty from the passage of time, and black rust was falling off as they walked.

The metal puppets, holding spears, patrolled mechanically like guards, with Lu Li and his companions in their path.

Lu Li could tell that these metal puppets were made of special materials, and seemed to be guardians of the ruins. Some of them looked very broken, missing arms and legs. Due to the passage of time, they had also become very slow. However, judging from the heavy sound of their footsteps and their gait, Lu Li felt that these guardians were probably incredibly powerful.

If he were in good condition, let alone anything else, if these metal puppets dared to touch his essence, they would be directly contaminated, brittle, and turned into powder.

Even when he was just a second-tier explorer, he should have been able to find weaknesses and destroy these ruins' guardians. Even before he entered the space, given that these guardians seemed rusty and slow-moving, he could have left with ease.

The problem is that he is now a 'pupae', and he is carrying Lu Xueqing, who is so weak that she can't even move, on his back. His mobility is extremely poor.

If the Ruins Guardian attacks him, although the Ruins Guardian will be melted by his essence, the external force will further aggravate his internal injuries.

Just as Lu Li was trying to shrink into the corner, while simultaneously signaling Lu Xueqing to also let the paste turn into a watery substance and stick it close to the wall for disguise, a guardian of the ruins walking in front suddenly turned his gaze to the two of them, and at the same time, a chilling blue light shone in his empty eyes.

One by one, the ruins guards charged their spears toward the two of them, switching from walking to running, clearly treating Lu Li and his companion as targets to be eliminated.

Seeing this, Lu Li dared not continue to pretend. With a contraction, he turned into a ball, extended two tentacles, grabbed Lu Xueqing's red essence, and began to bounce and run away.

(End of this chapter)