Chapter 17 Consider It a Good Deed to Accumulate Merit

"I've lost in the end!"
"Utterly and completely defeated!"
"I've lost everything!"
Ji Huo knelt in the courtyard with a blank gaze, tears welling up in his eyes, looking like a wronged young bride.

A full two million points, coupled with the blessing of the European Emperor, shouldn't it be a piece of cake to draw four million cultivation values?
At the very least, he should be able to advance the "Element Codex" to the third level!
Never did he expect to only draw two million cultivation values! Just enough to bring the second level to perfection.
As for the rest, apart from pulling one single item, the rest were all flowers.
Should I make some flower pastry to eat...
This thought popped into Ji Huo's mind, and then he shook it away fiercely, shouting in his mind:
"Refund!"

Unfortunately, the void in his mind gave no response whatsoever.
Ji Huo shrugged, then closed his eyes, pouring all two million cultivation values into the "Element Codex".
And so, the second level instantly reached perfection.
[Prompt: The second level of the "Element Codex", "Earth", has reached ultimate perfection.]

Arcane information poured directly into Ji Huo's mind, accompanied by the spontaneous circulation of his inner Qi.
Ji Huo couldn't help but cross his legs and sit on the ground, feeling a continuous stream of Qi surging up from the ground, more frantic and more jubilant than before.
At that moment, the earth and he became indistinguishable, as if a pair of hands were gently embracing him. The heavy, nurturing, nourishing, and all-bearing power of the earth was vividly manifested in an instant.

Ji Huo kept his eyes tightly closed, carefully experiencing this power. He suddenly had a feeling that this earthly power was just like the inner Qi in his body; as long as he wished, he could manipulate it at will.
Inside and outside the body, there was actually no difference.
Moving with his thoughts, he could summon the power of the earth with a wave of his hand.
This was a moment of sudden enlightenment.
He took a deep breath, feeling his entire body permeated with the power of the earth, refreshed and invigorated.

Then, he opened his eyes.
Pitch black before him.
"..."
Ji Huo blinked, finding that it was still pitch black.
No way, could it be that my cultivation went awry? Did it directly blind me?

He moved his body and only then noticed that he seemed to be in a place denser and more viscous than air.
Ji Huo groped around casually and touched something. Feeling it carefully, it was slender and long, with some strange grooves and meridians on it, seemingly a section of a tree root.
Could it be... His heart skipped a beat, a thought flashed through his mind, and his body rapidly floated upward, then burst out from the ground.
"Spit!"
His positioning was bad when he came out. As soon as he opened his mouth, he bit a mouthful of grass.

He crawled out of the ground as if a force had dragged him out, without any effort at all. There wasn't even a speck of dirt on his body, clean as could be.
"Damn it, I've really become Earth Traveler Sun!"
Pondering this, a thought crossed his mind, and he dived back into the soil. This time he could feel it even more clearly; being underground was even more comfortable than being in water. He was like a fish in water, and could even breathe and speak through the power of the earth.
As long as he wanted, his speed could be extremely fast, and he could shuttle through the underground at will, just like the legendary earth-escape technique.
The problem was... he couldn't see!

"Damn it!"
He cursed, "What's the use of this? I can't see a thing! If I accidentally burrow into an underground lake, wouldn't I drown?"
"Or burrow into magma and get burned to death?"
He sat cross-legged deep in the earth, reaching out to touch his chin. By now he could move naturally and freely, just like instinct.
Only, he still couldn't see...

"I've never heard of earth-escape making people blind before..."
Ji Huo said quite helplessly, "Well, I've never heard of anyone knowing earth-escape before either. Besides, this isn't earth-escape, at best it's just the manipulation of earth-type power."
Originally he thought about leaving the underground, but then figuring since he was already here, he might as well shuttle through the soil, popping his head out from time to time to check the direction.
To be honest, Ji Huo was genuinely worried that as he burrowed along like this, he might plunge headfirst into a dry latrine.

"Mommy, just now a head popped out of the ground, stared at you for a while, turned around and bumped into the cart wheel, and then shrank back underground."
A little girl said in a milky voice, pointing at the ground.
A gorgeous, voluptuous mature woman, who had just changed into fresh clothes and was tying her buttons, walked over from the other side of the carriage. She was startled at first, then after a careful inspection, she gave the little girl's forehead a playful tap with her finger.
"What nonsense are you talking about? How could anyone crawl out from the ground."
"There was too! He even had a nosebleed!"
"Pfft!" The mature woman burst out laughing and said, "If there really is such an interesting fellow, he must be an innocent virgin. It's no loss for him to have a look; consider it a good deed."

***

"Come, come, come! Taste how this is. Your side definitely doesn't have this kind of street-stall hotpot."
Big Brother enthusiastically used his chopsticks to stir the vegetables and dump them into the pot, saying with beaming eyebrows:
"It was only a few years ago when I went to see Huozi that I occasionally ate street-stall hotpot once. The taste left a deep impression on me, and hearing that a new one just opened in the capital these past few days, I brought you to try it."

Xia Wuji was already shoveling rice into his mouth in large mouthfuls. He had also mixed himself a chili oil dipping sauce, just like Xia Nianshang's, with plenty of *Houttuynia cordata* added in, looking quite authentic.
"Delicious, delicious!"
Xia Wuji picked up a clump of vegetables, dipped them in the chili oil, placed them on his bowl, and the red oil dripping from the leaves dyed the rice red. With one big mouthful, the savory and spicy flavor rushed straight to his taste buds.

Big Brother smilingly picked up a piece of cured meat and put it in his bowl, laughing: "Try this too, it's also peerless!"
Xia Wuji looked suspiciously at Big Brother and explained, "Don't look at me like this; actually, our Dragon Country has plenty of delicacies too! I'm just hungry!"
Big Brother picked up the white porcelain wine jug and poured a cup, his eyes smiling:
"Naturally, the Dragon Country is rich in products, so there are naturally many delicacies. It's just that Brother Xia has newly arrived in Daqi, so I must play the host."

Xia Wuji finally relaxed and quickly shoveled more rice, and before long, another bowl of rice was gone.
He stood up, about to habitually slam the bowl hard onto the ground, but seeing Ji Junhong's gaze, he sheepishly put it down. Last night he had been lectured because of this matter, so he could only gloomily shout at the top of his lungs:
"Waiter! Three more buckets of rice!"
Sitting back in his chair, the more he thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt, so when he put down his bowl, he slammed it down with a crisp "bang".
Ah, that felt satisfying.

Ji Junhong smiled, then turned serious and asked, "What do you think of the matter Huozi brought up during the day?"
Xia Wuji didn't even raise his head, still rapidly shoveling rice, and casually said, "That kid has probably discovered something too, and might even know more than we do."
During the day, Ji Junhong was busy handling state affairs, and Xia Wuji, bored and too lazy to tour the capital alone, hid in the secret passage behind the Imperial Study.
Who knew which generation of emperor had built that secret passage; it had everything from beds to furniture, and could even lead directly to the inner palace... Anyway, whenever either Ji Junhong or Xia Wuji discovered it, they felt that former emperors really knew how to have fun.

"Right." Ji Junhong took a sip of wine and said seriously, "I could sense Huozi's tension."
"Not going to ask?" Xia Wuji asked.
Ji Junhong smiled and said, "Why ask? Whatever he wants to do, I'll support him."
Xia Wuji nodded; he understood this sentiment.

Ji Junhong took out a duplicate copy of the formation diagram from his arms, handed it over, and said:
"Brother Xia, should this formation also be set up within the borders of the Dragon Country?"