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Chapter 91 Keep Your Head Up When Walking
Chapter 91 Keep Your Head Up When Walking
The chief elder's laissez-faire attitude toward the living erosion was obvious; apart from the initial quarter's worth of food rations, Nan'an had not received any assistance.
They seemed to have forgotten to appoint a clerk to record the changes in the town.
Father Rusca volunteered to take over the job, which was not difficult for him. According to Oka Oka, the living eclipses respected the priests who worked with them and were mostly willing to accept the scriptures and doctrines described by the priests.
However, Ruska's missionary content is completely different from the traditional Dawn Cult and the various sectarian factions.
He doesn't talk about original sin, redemption, or the promises of gods that hang high in the clouds.
He was talking about something else entirely, like how to build sturdy roof beams from rough timber.
How to grow edible crops on barren land?
How can you survive without anyone's help?
Nan'an smiled and gradually understood why Huoya had recommended his old friend for a job in Lianshui Town.
The next morning, everyone in the town of Sicklewater saw off Qi Zhan and Cole.
Even on the most tranquil surface, the natural tendency of the active erosion to be attracted to black fog remains unchanged.
As pioneers, Qi Zhan and Cole are risking their lives to pave the way for the future of the town's eroded future.
Two rabbits and a wild boar were their farewell meal.
The long-term imprisonment has severely hampered Huo Shi's manual dexterity.
He saw a wild rabbit sacrifice itself, only to end up completely black and staring at the sky.
The charred corpse lay stiffly on the grill, its eyeballs bulging from the intense heat, gleaming eerily in the morning light.
His original intention wasn't to share the joy with the people, but he couldn't bear to see food being wasted. However, he actually saw tears in the eyes of the man named Kansui.
They were indeed carefully selected, the purest and most innocent group of living eclipses.
Nan'an dared not imagine what it would be like if the Senate were to be filled with all sorts of people, good and bad.
Does it support the extraction of fragments of gods and demons?
Upon entering the Siam River quarantine zone, he learned that the unlucky guy Nilar still had twenty days left in his "sentence," and couldn't help but chuckle as he brought in the three dishes and one soup he had prepared with cat food.
While in jail, he even got special prison food made by cats. Nilarton felt like he'd hit the jackpot, muttering thanks to the generous box as he ate.
I wonder what the large television set that escaped the pursuit of the Weeping Mist would think of this scene if it possessed sentience.
The owls coming and going kept casting suspicious glances at Qi Zhan and Cole, and many of them took out Windgrass crystals to demonstrate.
As expected of a professional, he saw through the fact that the two were not human without even using any props.
The camp in front of the black fog of the sickle river has been expanded again, and a large stronghold is beginning to take shape.
The Graves camp was replaced by a spacious wooden cabin, filled with maps, scrolls, and numerous sand tables.
Upon seeing Nan'an, he politely served Suiyue tea and pastries, gesturing for her to find a comfortable place to sit.
The owls were used to Suiyue's mascot status, and even though Suiyue was wearing a luxurious, eye-catching, and extra-large magical artifact, when it came to mental activities, she still had to sit at the same table as the children.
Qi Zhan and Cole were somewhat embarrassed as they entered the cabin. Grave merely glanced at them coldly before no longer giving them a proper look.
If it weren't for Suiyue, who was dragging a plate of pastries and gesturing for the two to sit with her at the children's table, they would have become the most dazzling wooden stakes in the entire venue.
"The venerable elder from Nan'an—"
Nan'an discovered that his seniority always fluctuated.
Senior, veteran.
Nan'an, old man.
Oh well, let them be.
Before them lay a huge sand table, with mountains, rivers, plains, and dense forests arranged in a well-organized manner.
Nan'an was puzzled; the spatial displacement caused by the black mist resulted in inconsistent information from previous explorations, rendering the explorations useless.
How can a sand table be made?
Moreover, the most eye-catching feature of this model is the colossal silver-white church that stands swaying between the plains and mountains.
It was clearly a frequent visitor he encountered during his two visits into the black fog!
"After repeated and intensive explorations, we discovered that only the surface layer consistently exhibits the distorted spatial dislocation phenomenon. Once you pass through the surface layer after the entrance and arrive at the second floor, the scene that appears is not entirely random."
Graves took out a scroll with hundreds of scenes densely listed on it.
The number of Owls is large, and they can enter and return to random scenes with high intensity.
Based on the landing sites and the results of the exploration, the data they recorded became increasingly abundant.
This is a condition that the Elu does not possess.
On the scroll, 12 sets of scenes with highly similar and almost one-to-one replicas have appeared.
The results, recorded on the photographic roll, show that in some areas, even the positions of pebbles and trees are exactly the same.
Currently, both the Yaoxiao and Elu people believe that this is another derivative phenomenon resulting from the disappearance of the unstable nature of gods and demons.
Previous studies have speculated that the spatial distortion caused by the black fog, and those fragmented scenes, originated from its "material splicing" of the swallowed land.
The vast Nora map was pieced together from various sources to create an original map, leaving the fog-breakers racking their brains but unable to break through the impasse.
The sense of fragmentation caused by the distortion of countless small spaces is now disappearing.
The generation logic of the Sickle Water Black Mist and the Kroro Mine is closer to a one-to-one replica of the existing Nora scene, or even a scene in a certain area outside the Nora continent.
The scene is accompanied by small-scale spatial distortion, as well as numerous dangerous spirits and demons.
Meanwhile, the owls also noticed that the previously explored Gransol fortress ruins seemed to have "moved" to a deeper area.
It's as if it sensed the owls' eagerness to enter and fled?
Nan'an fell into deep thought.
What happened to him?
There's no need to traverse the long surface level; simply pass through the passageway to instantly reach the second level and descend upon the church.
It happened twice in a row.
Thinking of this, Nan'an gave up the idea of personally leading Cole and Qi Zhan in training.
Upon hearing Nan'an's request, Graves was surprised for a moment, glanced at the two of them sideways, and then immediately lowered his gaze.
"Since it's a request from a senior, Yaoxiao is willing to serve."
Gazing at the magnificent fissure in the distance, from which black mist was emanating, Nan'an lowered his voice to reassure her.
"Don't misunderstand, it might be very dangerous for you to follow me. This black mist—it has a lot of malice towards me."
Nan'an noticed that Qi Zhan seemed to carry a hint of temper and reminded him.
"Until you prove your worth with your own strength, their prejudice against you is justified."
Qi Zhan took a deep breath: "I understand."
Nan'an gave Cole a look, signaling him to nudge Qi Zhan a couple of times from time to time to prevent this hothead from acting impulsively.
As he entered the fog again, Nan'an had a strong premonition—was it still the church?
Dreams come true.
I opened my eyes in a daze, and the familiar interior of the church came into view.
Suiyue fiddled with the bench that had attacked them earlier, muttering, "Were we marked by the Mist of Sorrow? Why is it always the same scene?"
She paused, then added, "It also automatically skips the surface layer of the entry connection."
Assuming the descriptions of the skinned buffalo and Linem are true, the Weeping Mist considers them its primary hunting targets.
The reason?
Surely it's not that the weeping fog wants to eat beef, right?
Nan'an and Suiyue dismantled two chairs together to confirm that these guys were not possessed by gods or demons, and then pushed open the church door.
"Come on, is it a skinned buffalo, a chair that can fly, or that big box that the old man nicknamed 'television'?"
Upon entering the church, a fixed NPC will be refreshed, and Suiyue consciously entered the process.
Nan'an carefully sensed it and said in surprise, "This time, the church wasn't just wandering around."
"Your description is rather cute—strolling around."
Who wouldn't love a mobile megastructure?
It's a beautiful and shocking sight from an outsider's perspective—provided it doesn't run over Nan'an's face.
The largest "Dayun" train I've ever seen since crossing Nan'an is now asleep. The entire church area is quiet and still. I walked around for a long time but didn't see anything moving.
Suiyue blurted out, "I have a feeling the church is unusually quiet this time?"
Nan An instinctively chimed in, "Yeah, we haven't seen Ling Shi or Shenmo in the corridor either—no, don't say such dangerous things!"
Suiyue was taken aback: "Where is it dangerous?"
"Some people in my hometown say that they were killed by a volley of arrows fired by archers who jumped down from a black luxury carriage."
As he spoke, Nan'an caught a glimpse of the central garden at the corner of the corridor ahead, where a conspicuous piece of yellowish-brown cowhide was exposed.
Standard street vending, and here comes the fixed NPC.
Recalling the details of that unreliable transaction last time, he decided to give it a good interrogation this time to see if he could extract information about gods and demons of even higher status.
"Water buffalo, I've brought your kind to see this—"
Before Suiyue could correct Nan'an's slander, her gaze fell upon the buffalo hide, and her reaction was exactly the same as his.
There were cowhides blocking the road, but the water buffalo itself was nowhere to be seen.
Nan'an squatted down and gently patted the buffalo hide.
"Hello, are you there?"
No response was received.
Suiyue took two steps back, looking surprised: "Old man, don't you feel that this piece of leather is much smaller than before?"
Nan'an observed closely and couldn't help but become suspicious.
Because the buffalo skinning vendors always occupied the church corridor with their stalls, Nan'an clearly remembers that their hides always took up half the space.
How come it's shrunk to a quarter this time?
He called out again, but there was no response from Niu Niu. Nan An bent down and picked up Niu Pi. This was definitely a typical example of what not to do if a fog-breaker saw this. Any experienced fog-breaker would probably faint on the spot.
If you rashly touch the unidentified object deep within the black fog, the consequence will be sitting at the same table as the unfortunate academy members imprisoned in the quarantine zone.
Corella once joked that they were already well-known figures in the academy.
Before the people were even out of quarantine, the academy used their creation of a new black fog as a negative example, which, in a sense, made a name for themselves in the school's history.
Capturing gods and demons with bare hands—in all of Nora, only Nan'an would dare to do it without any psychological burden.
The texture of the cowhide is indistinguishable from the real thing. Perhaps it is due to the vitality bestowed by gods and demons. Even after being peeled off and dried, it still retains a certain degree of moisture and stickiness.
"Suiyue, your skin feels nice to the touch."
"I am a deer!"
As Suiyue routinely proved herself, the cowhide in Nan'an's hand turned into a white light and disappeared without a trace.
Suiyue looked around: "The water buffalo are here, where are they?"
Nan An's mouth opened slightly: "No—I sucked its skin in."
Suiyue's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
She rushed forward, grabbed Nan An's right hand, turned it over and over to look at it, and rubbed his palm vigorously as if examining some kind of alien creature.
"You really can eat all sorts of weird things!"
The cowhide landed precisely in front of the cabin. A swarm of curious flies flew up, drawn by the scent. Before they could even take a couple of breaths of the slightly damp, bloody smell, the entire cowhide floated lightly into the air.
The Rubik's Cube-like purification process was initiated seamlessly.
"The skinned buffalo, is it dead?"
From the perspective of the fallen object, everything makes sense.
The attack of the weeping mist was fierce, but the moving church, being mindless and merely moving mechanically, remained unaffected.
The television set, possessing basic cognitive abilities, and the skinned buffalo became the direct targets of the attack.
Gods and demons devoured each other, and the remaining remnants are now the cowhide that the Rubik's Cube is happily absorbing.
"They've clearly vanished into the void, as if they've been teleported away. How could they not escape the pursuit of the Weeping Mist?" Suiyue shuddered.
Without Linem's protection, they would likely have met the same fate.
"Quick!" Nan'an suddenly exclaimed excitedly, "Since the Mist of Sorrow wiped out the entire field, there must be other leftovers."
It would be better if gods and demons just punched each other in the head; he and Suiyue would only laugh it off.
Pushing open the doors of church after church, the arduous search finally paid off.
The old, dilapidated CRT television set had a shattered screen with shards of glass scattered all over the floor.
Its lower body was gone, leaving only half of its body, as if it had been bitten off at the waist by something.
A large mural was embedded in the large-screen television.
The mural covers the entire wall and originally depicted an unknown chief god hosting a banquet for various deities. The gods sat around a long table, raising their cups and drinking, creating a peaceful atmosphere.
At that moment, the large head of the television set was carved right onto the head of the main god, taking its place.
It spread its arms, looking down at the world with an air of benevolence.
It looked as if it were the main character of the mural, bestowing blessings upon the gods.
Despite the sacred and solemn theme, Nan'an couldn't help but laugh out loud in this situation.
With great difficulty, they pried the television out of the mural. Their hands made intimate contact for less than a few seconds, and the opponent that had once given them a hard time entered Nan'an's womb.
Even if you don't do it yourself, who wouldn't love picking up the body without any damage?
Perhaps it was the weeping mist that swallowed the most dangerous core power of the two gods and demons, because as soon as the big-headed TV hit the ground, the Rubik's Cube was able to perform dual-threaded operation, purifying two units at the same time.
Nan'an was very curious about what the Rubik's Cube could still produce for him after being drained by the Mist of Sorrow.
Suiyue lightly tapped her chin with her index finger, recalling, "In that case, only one Nightmare God remains."
A mysterious, flying chair.
Nan'an never understood the characteristics of this god-demon. It seemed that its existence was only for scaring people, and its threat was limited to physical attacks.
Compared to gods and demons like water buffalo who possess a certain power of communication and rules, they are the purest of the pure.
After another round of searching, tapping and fiddling among the messy chairs in the church, Nan'an still couldn't find any food that would be favored by the Rubik's Cube.
Exhausted, Suiyue stretched lazily: "What a lousy chair! It won't let anyone have a moment's peace—ugh! You old geezer!"
Suiyue quickly grabbed Nan'an's head, making him look upwards.
A chair floats motionless on the church's dome.
When Suiyue pointed at it, the chair immediately swayed from side to side, as if to say that the two of them had finally learned to look up.