Scourge Messenger

Chapter 169 Niu Xianke

Yan Qing is making a new trumpet.

This morning, having nothing to do, he ran the Three Mountains Secret Realm four times, then used a Secret Technique Experience Book, instantly leveling up to level 27. His Secret Technique Left Curve Right Return was probably maxed out.

Fortunately, he didn't consume the experience book last night, otherwise he definitely wouldn't be able to sleep due to excessive energy and blood.

He has now caught up with Jiang Shi in level, successfully overtaking the lower-level account. However, Jiang Shi has already mastered the second secret technique, so it shouldn't take long for him to catch up again. The Rat Monk and the Rabbit Heroine also have the talent for secret techniques. Apart from the unfortunate Ye Si, they are all just a matter of time before they reach the third level.

Yan Qing estimated that his level should be a little higher than Shang Xinlei's. Thinking about it carefully, it was terrifying. Two days ago, he was only level 17. Then, a book on sword mastery and a book on secret techniques directly made him level up 10 levels.

Even without the token, he can now split mountains and shatter rocks, and his thoughts are incredibly fast. Not to mention a perfect dodge, he is confident that he can perfectly parry even a Foundation Establishment messenger!
Of course, I'm referring to within the game.

It's no surprise that the Arcane Experience Book has such amazing effects, after all, it's a reward from a third-tier dungeon, and it might even be a reward that only dungeons of level 35 and above can produce. Normally, second-tier messengers have no way to obtain it.

Yan Qing estimated that only nobles of the level of Yao Shiyuan could obtain secret technique experience books. As for the unknown fourth young lady Shang Xinlei, she probably didn't even have the qualifications to queue up and could only hone her skills step by step.

Thinking of Shang Xinlei reminded him of lunch. She wasn't coming today, but Yan Qing had completely lost interest in the military camp food. Whether it was the Pingcheng military camp or the Xuanwu Lake military camp, it was all the same; the soldiers all preferred heavily oiled and salty food.

Although Shang Xinlei took care of lunch, Yan Qing ate the military camp's special canteen for dinner almost every day. He was worried that eating like this every day would cause him to have high triglycerides, so Yan Qing made a difficult decision today: he would create a new account to search for all kinds of delicious food in the world!
Yan Qing sculpted the appearance casually, since the main responsibility of this small account is to explore food, so it can't be too eye-catching, but of course it can't be ugly either, since it still has to deal with shops.

Yan Qing randomly selected a default face, added some details, and created a handsome middle-aged man in his prime. As for talent inheritance, Yan Qing maxed out his swordsmanship, footwork, and secret arts talents. After all, he was going to be a tool for a long time, and Yan Qing was willing to invest in him.

As for the name, Yan Qing thought for a moment. The simplest name would be "Foodie," but perhaps Yan Qing would need him to travel to other places in the future? Moreover, this alt account would travel all over the world, searching for delicacies and exploring the world map. "Foodie" would be too limited in scope, so he would name it "Immortal Guest," or "Seeker of Immortals."

Since the zodiac animals are listed in order, your name is "Niu Xianke"!
The "Jiangnan Affiliated Beginner Village" has arrived!

He changed into a set of elegant and luxurious clothes and a black belt, and then found the stall selling dried persimmons in the market.

"Grandpa and grandma, do you remember the monk you gave a ride to Jiangnan City about two weeks ago?"

Although Niu Xianke was very kind, the old man became wary and pretended to be confused, saying, "What are you talking about, sir? I don't quite remember."

"It's alright, I'm a friend of that monk. He asked me to tell you that he has already offered incense on your behalf! He prayed to Buddha to bless your wife with a safe delivery!"

Hearing this, the old man believed that Niu Xianke was indeed a friend of the Rat Monk, and quickly said, "Ah, ah, how could I accept this? Thanks to you, my daughter-in-law gave birth two days ago, and both mother and child are safe and sound. It's a big, healthy boy. Come, come, let's pack some persimmons. We're poor folks, we don't have much to eat, please don't mind, sir."

"Congratulations! I won't eat the persimmons; I need to continue my journey."

"On the road? Are you going to Jiangnan City? Come on, get in the car!"

So Yan Qing switched back to Jiang Shi's account and ran the dungeon twice more. Around noon, Niu Xianke had already been driven to Jiangnan County by the old man. This time, Yan Qing didn't rush into the town because there were even more delicious foods there. Shang Xinlei recommended several streets—yes, the food here is counted by the street, and every street is full of good food.

Yan Qing spent a full hour shopping, and even though she was already full, she had only explored less than a fifth of the county town.

However, even this short journey had already broadened Yan Qing's horizons: a racecourse, an opera house, a debate square, a library... a down-on-his-luck painter drawing portraits for passersby on the street, an artist playing the panpipes as he walked, large sculptures everywhere... He didn't know what Chang'an and Never-Night City were like, but the prosperity of the county town in Jiangnan exceeded his expectations.

Previously, I had only glanced at things and passed through in a hurry. Now, as I take the time to appreciate them, I realize that the culture of this world is equally rich. Perhaps because of the secret realm, ordinary people not only do not have to worry about resources, but can also obtain a lot of knowledge from other realms. Residents near the main city have a lot of time to devote to their hobbies, which eventually led to a flourishing world where a hundred schools of thought contend.

Although they are just faint glows that the messenger can easily extinguish, when gathered together, they can be as dazzling as the Milky Way.

Besides eating, drinking, and having fun, Yan Qing also discovered that there were many martial arts schools in the county town. As long as tuition was paid, the martial arts schools would provide food, lodging, and training grounds. Yan Qing also needed a place for Niu Xianke to AFK, so everyone hit it off and Niu Xianke became a disciple of Badao Martial Arts School, becoming the only middle-aged apprentice in the school who was over thirty years old.

I spent three hours in the afternoon clearing the Stone Sinking Creek Secret Realm with the Rat Monk, but I wasn't lucky this time; I only got the Seven Star Sword and no advanced manuals. After spending most of the day completing daily tasks, Yan Qing finally logged into the Rabbit Girl's account.

In the courtyard, the pharmacist was training Wu Qiu and Shi Dong. The Wolf Biting Knife Technique he hired from Jin Li was for them. Although it was just a change in attack method and not an advanced technique, a third-tier attack module could cause greater damage in actual combat, and naturally, they could gain more experience and learn advanced techniques faster.

They still have a long way to go, but they're already on their way.

"Have you rested enough?" the pharmacist asked as he approached. "A few more days of rest won't hurt."

Bunny Girl shook her head and looked around: "Haven't those middle-aged men arrived yet?"

"No, they're probably still exploring the central courtyard. They won't ask us for help until they hit a wall." The pharmacist crossed her arms. She was now wearing heavy armor, her expression solemn and dignified, showing no trace of her terrible sleeping posture and impressive figure from the previous night.

"If we're lucky, they'll come looking for us in about ten days; if we're unlucky... we'll just have to watch them monopolize Si Wuxie's inheritance."

The Undying Skull Tower, with its elite units that can continuously regenerate health and summon demons, is likely an isolated case; the later stages are unlikely to follow this pattern. Unless a unit possesses the ability to regenerate health or summon demons, the three guardians can completely abandon them and slowly whittle down the demons in the secret realm using kiting tactics.

In the Shu Dao Mountains, neither their strength nor influence could match the three guardians, making it impossible for them to compete for the inheritance. If the Pharmacist had first joined the three guardians, she might have been able to fight alongside them in the secret realms and then act accordingly. But now, she and the Bunny Girl had formed their own faction, making it absolutely impossible for the three guardians to accept her. "But staying here like this is so boring. Why don't we go check out the Wolf's Den?"

"That's possible, but we can't conquer the Wolf's Den on our own. We need to recruit some demonic messengers, so we can only go tomorrow at the earliest."

The bunny girl nodded and sat on a rock in the courtyard, lost in thought. Time passed by, and when the pharmacist called a halt, Wu Qiu Shi Dong was almost completely exhausted, sweating profusely and panting heavily.

"It seems there's really no way out if they don't let us in," Bunny Girl said suddenly, resting her chin on her hands. "Unless we kill them—but it'll be difficult to conquer the Forest of Bones with just the two of us."

The pharmacist nodded: "That's right. Even in an ordinary third-tier secret realm, it takes at least two third-tier messengers to have a good chance of conquering it, not counting the casualties of second-tier and first-tier messengers. In a special secret realm like the Corpse Forest that spans the third and fourth tiers, the final demon king must be incredibly powerful. It would take at least four third-tier messengers to defeat it."

The bunny girl naturally brought up the premise of killing the three great protectors, and the pharmacist did not question it at all, as if she really believed that this little sister in front of her could kill the great protectors who had ruled over Shudao Mountain for more than ten years.

"If they don't invite us, how long do you plan to stay here, big sister?"

"How long will I stay? I don't know either." The pharmacist gave a bitter smile. "I have nowhere to go. If I go outside the mountains, I might be hunted down. At least here I can train in secret realms. What about you? This kind of life must be very boring for you. Do you want to go home?"

"No, I came here to conquer the third-level secret realm and see if I can find a suitable Foundation Establishment spiritual item. Even if I go home, it's so that I can go back and beat up my brother after I've established my Foundation."

"Looks like your brother is really strong. Even you need to reach the Foundation Establishment stage to beat him up."

"No, that's not true. In places like ours, we slaughter pigs and chickens to celebrate happy occasions. Since I've reached the Foundation Establishment stage, I naturally need to have a celebration ceremony. Beating up my brother would be the perfect way to let him scare me with bitter gourds every day."

The pharmacist smiled, her eyes crinkling as she covered her mouth.

"It sounds like my sister is reluctant to let me go and is deliberately making up an excuse to stay."

"No way!" The bunny girl immediately straightened her legs and shook her head rapidly. "Woman, don't be so confident. My goal is to be the best in the world. I won't stay here for such a trivial reason! I would stay even without you. After all, you can't find a third-level secret realm that you can just enter anywhere else."

"I don't want to hear it, I don't want to hear it! It must be because you don't want me to leave that you're saying this." The Pharmacist reached out and hugged the Rabbit Girl: "It's no use saying anything now. You even gave me such a precious spiritual item as the Earthly Fiend. Now whatever you say, I'll just think you're being coquettish."

Bunny Girl was shocked: "What an arrogant woman, even more perverted than my brother."

"Of course, my goal is to unify the Central Plains and establish a Medicine Master Dynasty that lasts for thousands of years. Those who aren't self-assured have no right to have such a grandiose ideal," the Medicine Master said, stroking the bunny girl's head. "And my first step in conquering the world is... how about I braid your hair?"

"You're jumping from topic so fast, has your brain gone off the rails?"

"This is the future emperor braiding your hair, little sister, shouldn't you follow me wholeheartedly?"

"Then how are you going to repay what you owe me?"

"I'll give you half of the throne!"

"It doesn't feel as practical as my brother saying he'd share the cake with me..."

After the pharmacist finished braiding a thick, shiny braid for the bunny girl, the servant knocked on the courtyard gate and said to them, "Wolf Master Demon Protector, Star Rain Heroine, the protectors invite you in."

……

...

"They gave up so quickly?"

In the conference room on the second floor, Bunny Girl kicked open the door and came in, saying, "I thought that even if you encountered difficulties, you would at least work hard for more than ten days before realizing how incompetent you are compared to me. I didn't expect you to give up in less than a day. You guys are just lame."

"If it were just a matter of the difficulty of the third-level secret realm, we would definitely try harder." Prajna ignored the bunny girl's sarcasm and said calmly, "But the current predicament is indeed beyond our capabilities."

"Not the difficulty of the Third Stage Secret Realm?" Pharmacist Yuan frowned slightly. "Could it be... Si Wuxie?"

"Yes." Bei You put down his paintbrush, pressed the scroll down with a paperweight, and said, "Si Wuxie changed the environment of the Central Courtyard, and this foundation-building power has not yet lost its effectiveness after a hundred years."

His tone was very solemn, full of reverence for the ancients: "Under the authority of Foundation Establishment, our will and senses are distorted, and all our efforts become laughable illusions."

Yan Qing was taken aback.

Are Foundation Establishment Messengers in this game really that strong?
(End of this chapter)