CHAPTER 57: CHAPTER 57 MORTAL WORLD

This combat suit provides Lu Ren with considerable protection; otherwise, even if his strength increased significantly, he wouldn’t be able to break through.

Enemies surged from all directions like a tide, truly terrifying; a moment of carelessness would result in getting trapped.

Breaking through the array meant certain death.

"Mercy, great hero!!"

The big guy trembled in his voice, the feeling of death had never felt so close.

The small guy was shaking all over, unable to speak.

Lu Ren looked at them: "Are you living people?"

"Living people? Yes, yes, we are people of the Mortal World!"

A minute later, Lu Ren sheathed his sword and sat on the ground, taking out a Highly Concentrated Nutrient Pill from his pouch and swallowing it.

"Do you have water?"

"Yes, yes!"

The big guy clumsily took the water flask from his waist and handed it to Lu Ren.

Lu Ren took it and retrieved something the size of a pen from his backpack to insert into the water flask.

Beep!

Watching the detector light up green, he then rotated the detector around the mouth of the flask to ensure there were no abnormalities, slightly relaxing his vigilance, and handed it back to the big guy.

The big guy was stunned for a moment, then quickly took a sip and swallowed it before handing it back to Lu Ren.

Lu Ren nodded slightly, and the big guy, understanding, also let the small guy take a sip.

After confirming everything was fine, Lu Ren took the flask.

He placed the detector back into his backpack and gulped down the water.

He hadn’t drunk water for almost a day and night; during the breakout, he had been in a state of high tension, exerting his full strength, causing his blood to surge and evaporating a lot of water during intense movement.

After drinking more than half a flask of water, Lu Ren returned it to the big guy, Zhang Yan.

As for the small guy, Chen Ling, she was actually a girl about fifteen years old, covered in dirt, with unknown paint on her face, but judging by her face shape, she seemed quite pretty.

Lu Ren pondered and asked: "You said you’re from the Mortal World, how did you end up here?"

Zhang Yan answered honestly: "In the nearby Chen Mountain Ghostly Battlefield, there’s Cold Condensing Grass, a very precious herb, so we came here to try our luck."

"Where is the Mortal World?"

Zhang Yan was taken aback, but seeing Lu Ren’s indifferent expression, he dared not ask more.

"It’s about eighty miles north from here."

After nearly an hour of questioning, Lu Ren finally gathered the basic information about this world from them.

This place, named the Underworld, is an Otherworldly space; Zhang Yan described it as nearly endless, with no one having explored its limits.

The Underworld occupies ninety-nine percent of this world, with Mortal World scattered like raindrops, varied in size.

The large ones are like lakes, the small ones like puddles.

After death, bodies are absorbed by the Underworld, mutating horribly, becoming strange demons.

The Mortal World is covered by a thick membrane like a mother’s womb’s water, filtering the sinister Qi of the Underworld, preventing assimilation.

"So, the Mortal World is the safest place?"

Zhang Yan shook his head slightly: "It’s only relatively safe."

Chen Ling chimed in: "I heard the Mortal World was once huge, all connected, but the Underworld’s erosion has changed it. The sects inside the Mortal World are focused on clearing anomalies."

Lu Ren’s expression shifted, "Sects, what do they practice?"

Zhang Yan and Chen Ling exchanged bewildered glances, wondering if Lu Ren was a demon transformed; he seemed ignorant.

But as prisoners, they had to answer honestly.

"Of course, they practice martial arts," Zhang Yan replied.

"How do they eliminate those anomalies or demons from the Underworld?"

"Martial artists train their bodies, building Qi and blood until their body enhances Yang Qi, which counteracts demons, forming Qi and Inner Breath."

Yang Qi?

So, maybe Lu Ren could learn too.

Lu Ren was intrigued, unsure if this world’s practices would suit him, as biological differences might hinder compatibility.

"Do you two know how?"

Zhang Yan sighed: "Hero, if we knew, we wouldn’t be captured so easily."

"Take me back."

"Ah... Okay."

"..."

Lu Ren often felt like a victim; now, coercing Zhang Yan and Chen Ling was a temporary measure. If the Mortal World was truly safer, he could be more secure there.

"By the way, you mentioned seeking Cold Condensing Grass."

Zhang Yan lowered his head: "Yes."

"What use does it have?"

"Cold Condensing Grass has extremely cold attributes; if properly prepared, it’s excellent for aiding martial artists’ training. It’s a treasured medicine balancing Yin and Yang, highly valued."

"Yes, yes!" Chen Ling interjected: "If we find a single plant, we might afford a large courtyard and escape our dilapidated home. We’re driven by necessity to explore the Mortal World."

Zhang Yan sighed: "These days, fighting desperately just to survive."

Lu Ren contemplated and asked: "Is that why you were near the Ghostly Battlefield?"

"Yes."

"Is this it?"

Lu Ren pulled a clump of grass from his backpack, which fell while evading blades in a grassy area.

Seeing Lu Ren casually holding a handful of broken Cold Condensing Grass, Zhang Yan was pained and excited: "Yes, that’s it! How did it end up like this!!!"

Chen Ling was nearly faint with heartache.

"Hero, did you treat it like weeds?"

Lu Ren: "... Isn’t it just weeds? It’s a bit cold to the touch."

The grass had appeared alongside the Ghostly Battlefield and Lu Ren hadn’t had time to process it.

Zhang Yan and Chen Ling, both medicine gatherers, watched the precious treasure medicine handled roughly by Lu Ren, reduced to scraps.

Zhang Yan hesitated, stared at Lu Ren: "Hero, may I handle it?"