Under the dim twilight, a lamp was lit.
The land of lost frequencies had never truly been dark at night; a gust of wind sweeping across the vast ground stirred up dust, brushing past the somewhat stiff figures of the two.
They exchanged the very words both had longed to hear.
This was simply incredible. Wang Zhi, witnessing the scene from the side, silently glanced at the tiny sprites floating above his head. One of them kicked its little legs in the air twice near him.
“Um… Do you really know what this thing is? You seem to care about it a lot, ” Wang Zhi heard the voice of the severed-handed man.
He looked at the silhouetted outlines of the two cast by the light through the carriage door. Cheng Yunze’s expression at this moment was already filled with resolve. Having gone from leaving this world with a group of people to returning alone, Wang Zhi could understand how he felt seeing this wooden staff again.
To be honest, he himself was quite curious to know what it was.
The two little creatures above his head quickly picked up a fine pen and scribbled notes in a tiny notebook made from small stacks of yellow paper.
Cheng Yunze’s hand gripped the “Impression Revival ” tightly. Faced with the opportunity for immediate resurrection after death, his chosen someone was not any teammate in this world, but family back on Earth. At this moment, a sense of regret welled up inside him. It was only when many were suddenly lost that Cheng Yunze realized who had long been familiar and by his side.
“If you can’t tell me what it really is, I’m going to have to apologize, ” he said, his voice low and heavy.
At this moment, Huang Xu felt the faint feedback coming through the wooden staff, and a stir of unease rippled within him.
｛The pathfinding staff threaded through gaps probes: I have detected a persistent trace of regret.｝
This is…
Huang Xu’s heart began to pound with restless anticipation.
So this is the principal material? The totemic patterns of the magical weave flickered ambiguously within his mind’s eye, surging and then receding. He felt that the moment he willed it, these complex symbols would snap into complete, razor-sharp clarity.
“I thought that someone who could ride on a star’s private train would be a person who understands reason, ” Huang Xu said, struggling to keep his voice calm.
But in his heart, he was thinking, I’ve figured out what formula this is, but I haven’t got the faintest idea what it actually does.
Yet, if this wooden staff could buy a staggeringly long lifespan—over a thousand or two thousand years, and if it could fetch a full three millennia? That would be an unbelievable windfall. I might not understand its function yet, but I know the recipe now. An imperishably long life—just make life better first, and in due time, the truth about this formula would eventually come to light.
The rich fool in front of him looked as if he truly wanted this staff dramatically.
“If you want it so badly, I can let you have it at a very reasonable price… “
“I can give you one hundred thousand years of lifespan. “
“？！“
Huang Xu’s jaw dropped, and he stood rigid and dumbfounded on the spot.
Then he woke up to the simple fact that what he had just heard was completely impossible.
A full one hundred thousand years of lifespan—how on earth could that be meant for him? This dampened whippersnapper standing before him had no understanding of what the wooden staff truly was. He was probably just envious of something similar he must have seen somewhere, curious enough to want the real thing. I’ve seen way too many shady young pups just like him.
Huang Xu then began to completely disbelieve the wild claims of the man before him.
Cheng Yunze turned to Wang Zhi and said,
“You still want to go back, right? Lend me two of your better weapons. In the future, I’ll return the same ones or their corresponding Chrono Weapons to you.“
Go back? Huang Xu sized up the scrawny youth beside him, noticing that both of them were dressed in very fine clothes, though the styles were rather old-fashioned and retro.
“No problem, Captain Cheng Yunze. I’ll give him two right away, as you wish.“
Wang Zhi ran back into the carriage and emerged carrying a few blades and swords.
Clang, clang, thud…
｛I’ve discovered a Chrono Weapon.｝
｛I’ve spotted several Chrono Weapons.｝
“You can pick whichever you like. I figure even at the lowest valuation, two of these will more than live up to Captain Cheng’s pledge to you.“
Huang Xu stared at the blades and swords on the ground in disbelief.
Wang Zhi pulled out a Chrono Weapon so sharp that it had stuck into the earth when it fell, turned it around, and tapped Huang Xu with the pommel.
Immediately, Huang Xu’s whole body trembled as his eyes went wide.
“As for this kind of merchandise, even just one is worth everything Captain Cheng Yunze mentioned. But now, if you simply tell us the use and origin of this wooden staff, we’ll give you two.“
A Chrono Weapon of one hundred and thirty-five years!
Huang Xu felt his throat and tongue go dry.
Suddenly, he remembered where he had heard that name before.
It was at the Demon Hero Hall back then! Huang Xu’s eyes lit up.
“Cheng Yunze? I remember now—you are Yang Zicang’s enemy? Good, I have a formula. “
The Demon Train beside him turned in surprise, glancing at Huang Xu. With a mix of excitement and nervous uncertainty, Huang Xu spoke:
“The staff holds a formula inside it. However, I’m still searching for some of the ingredients. The supplies in this Distorted Frequency Land are far too scarce, making them rather difficult to find. Besides, the main material isn’t nurtured anywhere between heaven and earth. “
“What formula is it? “
Cheng Yunze asked with a startled expression.
Facing this seemingly simple and unassuming mysterious figure, and thinking of the terror that the staff commanded when used by the man at sea beyond the skies, Cheng Yunze thought there might be some truth to the claim that its main material was not of the natural world.
Huang Xu looked at the staff, sensing the continuous extractable materials upon it. He let out a soft breath.
“The initial-grade recipe of the Regret Fulcrum: a Century-old New Branch. First, you need a persistent portion of regret. “
Seeing the expressions of the two before him, a twisted, long-suppressed sense of vindicated satisfaction welled up within Huang Xu.
Feeling a small, inner pleasure within himself, he continued slowly:
“Next… one to three petals of a Moon-Edge Flower from the thin air, perhaps only found in a place like the Tianshan Snow Mountains—up to one hundred thousand… well, strands. “
He wasn’t entirely certain of this unit of measurement.
Maybe those flowers resembled chrysanthemums or daylilies, he thought; if so, artificial cultivation might be needed to gather as many as one hundred thousand strands.
Wang Zhi asked Cheng Yunze with some curiosity:
“Captain Cheng, the one to three petals of moonlight, that should mean one to three colors, right? “
“Huh? ” Huang Xu looked up in surprise.
Cheng Yunze, soaked through, thought for less than a second. “It might just be similar, but if it really is the same thing, that would be great. Yet I feel it genuinely might be identical… Forget it, ” he turned to look at Huang Xu, “Is there anything else? “
“Ah? Uh… yeah, ” Huang Xu’s brow furrowed slightly, “A bundle of weeds imbued with the aura of the Withered Grove. Do you know about this? “
“Ah, I know about this, Captain Cheng. “
Wang Zhi said excitedly:
“Among President Buchen’s close friends, there’s one named Shegui who makes these things. He taught me how to help him collect these weeds. “
Wang Zhi continued in a low voice, “And these weeds have even better uses. I stored some on the bus. “
A sudden, inexplicable panic struck Huang Xu as he watched Wang Zhi run into the train carriage.
Two small balls of light followed, bobbing along as they drifted inside.
In less than a dozen seconds, they emerged again, accompanying the young man who was carrying a woven basket. Inside it was a bundle of ordinary-looking yellow grass.
“Excellent. ” Cheng Yunze examined it and nodded, then turned around and said, “This grass contaminated by the aura of the Moon Realm is indeed a bit hard for ordinary people to find. Are there any other ingredients in the recipe? “
Huang Xu watched Cheng Yunze’s hand tightly gripping the wooden staff; there was no sign of him loosening his hold, as if he feared being able to take it and run away with it.
“Well, besides the magical patterns, there’s another rather special material that I haven’t fully researched yet. “
{What could it be, Huang Xu? } Li Li Ya, wearing a small white dress adorned with many decorative sequins, asked in a very polite tone.
“… It’s something called ‘Radiance.’ I need five portions of it, ” Huang Xu said, holding the other’s gaze.
These people certainly couldn’t have some such oddly named thing, could they?he thought to himself.
Cheng Yunze visibly relaxed.
“Ah, so that’s it. Wang Zhi, I’m starting to think what you said about those ten thousand strands of moonlight might actually be true. “
“I agree! Things like moonlight and radiance sure sound like stuff that would be used frequently at Bu Chen’s—pfft—I mean, at Chairman Yang’s current place. “
“Right, I think so too. “
Cheng Yunze furrowed his brow in thought. “I haven’t sold any Radiance myself, and as for moonlight, I’ve only got a tiny bit on the first floor. The only problem now is understanding what the main ingredient for this formula is, and what exactly it does. “
“? ” Huang Xu stood frozen in place, completely bewildered by what was happening.
Cheng Yunze recalled the spreading light and golden pathways, as well as the storm that had sealed off psychic energy. Since it had lasted only a short time, he had no idea what might happen next.
“Thank you for telling me this. If a weapon could be added as part of the deal, would you swap this wooden staff for me? “
“No way! ” Huang Xu refused flatly.
These people had definitely been somewhere — somewhere where one could find weapons stronger than Century Weapons this easily!
And moreover, that place was apparently full of materials he had never even heard of!
“Alright, I can leave all these weapons here for you. But this wooden staff, I must have it. ” Cheng Yunze’s hand gripped the staff, slowly dragging it towards himself bit by bit.
“That’s impossible. And… do you even know what this formula is used for? “
“I don’t, but I do know this staff is not something you can hold onto. No one has discovered it yet, that’s all. “
Huang Xu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Thinking of the mysterious woman with wings he had encountered, Huang Xu felt a sudden spark of inspiration and said:
_”As it happens, you have that main ingredient. If you’re willing, half the weapons here go to me, and I’ll help you make whatever that ‘Century-Old New Branch’ recorded in the formula is.
“Without my magic patterns, even if you get this trail staff, it will be useless. “
“Trail staff? ” Cheng Yunze looked at the staff with confusion. “Fine, I’ll do as you say. “
He turned his head. “Azhi, how much Monochrome Moonlight do you have? “
Wang Zhi wore an annoyed expression. “About sixty to seventy thousand. “
“Hmm, ever since Zicang warned me, I haven’t been casually selling any radiance, so I only have thirty to forty thousand basic moonlight on me. I’ll have to borrow a few tens of thousands from you first. “
“You don’t need to call it borrowing. Jiajia and Anxi are all my friends. It’s just some moonlight. ” Wang Zhi said, flicking open his coat and revealing the three necklaces hanging on his chest, along with two small brooch accessories pinned to his shirt.
“There should be enough inside to piece together. However, ” Wang Zhi looked at the two, “how should the transaction be conducted? “
Just as Cheng Yunze was also pondering, with Huang Xu’s thought stirred by the question, the wooden staff shimmered faintly with a trace of pale golden light, astounding all three present.
More information surged into Huang Xu’s mind.
“It seems… just standing in this path of light should be enough. “
“Path of light? “
With a whoosh, a circle of pale golden light radiated from the patterns on the wooden staff, enveloping the three of them and the swaying Demon Train.
A thought-like message echoed in Cheng Yunze’s mind.
｛The Pathfinder Staff Through the Cracks indicates: The conditions for configuring ‘Pivot of Regret, Centennial New Branch’ are now fully met.｝
｛I can contribute one share of ‘Enduring Regret.’｝
Before Cheng Yunze’s eyes, a vision of him charging toward the sea appeared.
This was it…
Cheng Yunze felt a twinge of anguish in his heart. If only he had discovered it sooner, if only he had arranged for more high-level experts to protect them, if… if only there were more “ifs “…
｛… ‘Glorious Starlight,’ any quantity between one and five; 12,500 threads of First-Petal Moonlight; 14,000 threads of Second-Petal Moonlight; and 12,500 threads of Third-Petal Moonlight.｝
In Wang Zhi’s mind, emotionless telepathic voices also appeared.
｛I can provide ‘Glorious Starlight,’ any quantity between one and five; 66,230 threads of First-Petal Moonlight; 42,859 threads of Second-Petal Moonlight; and 10,000 threads of Third-Petal Moonlight…｝
Some illusory moonlight condensed like mist before his eyes, his vision as if slipping into a daze. Wang Zhi, however, kept his head rational, and he allocated the first layer of fifty thousand moon motes and the second layer of thirty thousand.
Huang Xu’s head throbbed with pain. He sensed that magical rune within his mind attempting to fully unfold multiple times, yet each time it made his consciousness feel as if it were on the verge of collapse.
Huang Xu looked up at the little elf fluttering down. {Little secret, you know. Think of something embarrassing to perk you up. }
“Ah? ” An instant flash of the previous scene shot through Huang Xu’s mind, and a sliver of regret involuntarily made him clench his teeth. Finally, the magical rune in his mind fully materialized all at once.
Immediately after, he heard a series of sounds rising, followed by a dense array of moon-halo petals, shimmering with needle-like glow, appearing before his eyes and circling around the exploration staff.
Next were five beams of light, like small, twisting rivers of stars drifting like miniature galaxies.
“Is this the Glorious Light? ” Huang Xu was stunned. Then, a hazy, seascape apparition appeared, trembling into full form, instantly drawing in the dense swarm of moon-halo petals that overloaded his eyes and mind.
The withered grass around rapidly burst into flame by itself, without any visible ignition source.
The mysterious energy within caused the incandescent petals of moon-mist to adhere to the canvas-like marine scene, as though summoned to the very surface. Then, like and curtains, they parted from left to right, revealing the mesmerizing tapestry of a distorted ocean.
The faint sound of waves could be heard!
Cheng Yunze looked on in shock!
｛The pathfinder staff indicates: It is now safe to tread, a life catalog etched in memory, indelible.｝
Huang Xu, having staggered back a step, gripped the pathfinder staff tightly in his hand.
He finally understood the recipe for these so-called “Regret New Branches “! Inexpressible shock surged within his heart.
“What the… hell… “
“We’re going in. ” Cheng Yunze barely glanced at the illusory door before speaking with unwavering resolve. “Great star, do me the favor and come with me one more time. “
{I suggest we go find the conductor. }
The veil radiated a message that everyone involved in its creation could comprehend.
“Yes, there are more people out there. “
“Where is that? I… can I go? ” Huang Xu murmured.
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