[Location: Eastern Outskirts of Jinling City · Zhongshan Mountain Path 4]
[Time: Si Shi, Second Quarter (9:30)]
[Currently walking...]
[You are walking on the mountain path.]
[The steep road leaves you physically and mentally exhausted.]
[Your stamina is completely depleted.]
[You have entered a state of hunger.]
"I..."
Chen Xuan stared at the large characters on the pitch-black screen, almost cursing out loud, but instead, he let out a long breath and opened his backpack, taking out the last of his rations.
The three wild peaches he had earlier were already eaten.
There was no choice; his strength was too low, and his stamina too little.
More crucially, his movement technique was also lacking, making his walking speed painfully slow!
And most importantly, this ruined temple was ridiculously far away!
After unlocking the map outside of Jinling City, he had been walking for two and a half hours.
That's right, two and a half hours in the game, which was also two and a half hours in the real world! After all, real-time and Martial Dao time were synchronized, though the day and night were reversed.
A normal standalone [Mountain Path] scene, according to the forums, could be completed by most people with a movement technique of three or four points in about ten minutes.
In Chen Xuan's case, it took at least half an hour.
And this was even after using the 'Defy Heaven and Change Fate' ability to boost two of the three attributes from the jade pendant to his movement technique; otherwise, it would have been even slower.
During this half-hour, Chen Xuan could do nothing but watch the repetitive text prompts in the map scene:
[Currently walking...]
Chen Xuan sighed, but a hint of relief appeared in his eyes.
In fact, walking slowly wasn't the most important thing; safety was paramount!
He was genuinely afraid that the map would suddenly refresh with bandits or wild beasts like wolves, bears, tigers, or leopards.
If that happened, it would be too unjust.
Fortunately, this torturous journey, more troublesome than walking himself, was finally coming to an end.
Don't get it wrong; he wasn't about to reach Jinling City, but he was finally leaving this mountain path called 'Zhongshan.'
More importantly, according to the map obtained from the ruined temple,
At the foot of Zhongshan, there was a river named Purple Gold River. Following this river westward, it wouldn't be long before reaching East Lake near the outskirts of Jinling City.
The so-called Chen Family was located on one side of East Lake.
That's right, Chen Xuan planned to take the water route.
Otherwise, if he took the main road, according to the map, the distance was no different from the mountain path. In that case, with the remaining half of his rations and his crippled attributes, he probably wouldn't make it to the Chen Family before his stamina ran out.
[Your body is too weak.]
[Walking the mountain path leaves you physically and mentally exhausted.]
[Fortunately, you finally left that steep mountain path, and two paths lie before you.]
[The land route leads to the official road to Jinling City,]
[The water route leads directly to the edge of East Lake via the Purple Gold River.] (Requires the ability 'Swimming' to choose this path.)
[Please make your choice.]
[Without a second thought, you made your choice!]
[You carefully wrapped up the remaining rations and then directly entered the Purple Gold River.]
[You enter the scene: Eastern Outskirts of Jinling City · Purple Gold River 1]
[The icy river water is bone-chilling, yet it washes away all your fatigue!]
[In the river, your movement technique +2.]
[You feel your body becoming lighter.]
["The abyss is deep, dark without daylight. The fish frolic, I alone dive..."]
[You silently recite the mental art of the 'Fish Leaping Through the Dragon Gate Art.']
[Following the river's flow, you move half-swimming, half-floating, your speed surprisingly faster than the pedestrians on the shore by several degrees.]
[Currently swimming...]
Chen Xuan stared unblinkingly at the screen,
The occasional sound of the river made him incredibly tense in the deep night.
The importance of this game made him unable to relax for even a second!
Especially with no safe zones around!
Although the river had the Fish Leaping Through the Dragon Gate Art, and Chen Xuan had already experienced the effects of this mental art, whether he could cross four map ranges to reach the Chen Family estate and get a meal was still a question.
Fortunately, this time, he didn't have to wait long!
[In the river, you are like a fish in water, moving as if swimming along the river like a carp.]
[You swam through the area 'Purple Gold River 1' and entered 'Purple Gold River 2.']
Twelve minutes!
Chen Xuan clenched his fist!
But now was not the time to be excited; he quickly opened the attribute panel, and the stamina value, which had just been fully restored through eating rations and resting, appeared:
[17/23]
Chen Xuan exhaled a long breath, finally relaxing completely.
Enough!
Even if the rations were soaked in water and at risk of being inedible, this stamina was enough to support him to the Chen Family estate! Follow the newest chapters on novelping.com.
As it turned out, Chen Xuan was right.
As time passed, Chen Xuan felt the drowsiness in the real world's night, making him subconsciously want to close his eyes.
But instantly, he snapped awake.
Now was not the time to sleep!
The real world's night was the day in Martial Dao.
He would have to adjust his biological clock in the future.
[You swim quickly in the river, though somewhat tired, the joy of mastering the water flow is intoxicating.]
[...]
[You swam through the area 'Purple Gold River 2' and entered 'Purple Gold River 3.']
[You swallowed the rations soaked in river water, rested on the shore for a while, and then continued on your way.]
[...]
[You swam through the area 'Purple Gold River 3' and entered 'Purple Gold River 4.']
[You feel your stamina is somewhat exhausted.]
[But fortunately, you see the end of the river ahead, leading towards East Lake.]
[The powerful family of Jinling City, the Chen Family, is there!]
[You leave the Purple Gold River and enter the area 'Eastern Outskirts of Jinling City · Outside the Chen Family Estate.']
[You enter a state of hunger.]
Here it is!
Chen Xuan's eyes filled with tears, partly from exhaustion, partly from excitement!
However, just as he was about to click on the screen, a familiar prompt appeared before him:
[You have gained sufficient understanding of the 'Purple Gold River' scene. Would you like to activate the Fate Ability 'Defy Heaven and Change Fate'? Check all encounters and trigger conditions in the current scene.]
The mountain path down Zhongshan didn't have this prompt! Clearly, that place had no encounters.
Chen Xuan perked up, eagerly clicking yes.
[You activated Defy Heaven and Change Fate, and in the mysterious realm, your eyes turned golden, with fate, time, and causality as clear as your palm lines before you.]
[You have observed all fixed encounters and trigger conditions on the 'Purple Gold River' map:]
[1. Rare Delicacy Treasure Fish (Mystic): In the Purple Gold River area 3, each time you bait with ten copper coins, using earthworms soaked in bamboo leaf green wine and dough as bait, you can catch the Treasure Fish 'Golden Qianmin Fish.' You can catch at most one per week.
Golden Qianmin Fish: A unique fish species in East Lake and nearby waters, its flesh is incredibly delicious and has a significant effect on stimulating Qi and Blood! It is hailed as one of the 'Treasure Fish.' Consuming this fish has a permanent effect of invigorating blood and increasing strength. It is a treasure sought after by countless martial artists in the jianghu.]
Seeing the encounter prompt before him, Chen Xuan's eyes widened.
This encounter offers a chance to permanently increase attributes?