I’m Definitely Taking This Power-Fantasy Protagonist Role! Chapter 62

Jiang Baiyu was feeling a bit wilted, so he tried to adjust his crawling position. After some careful thought, he figured he could give lizard crawling a shot. When it came to crawling close to the ground, amphibians had quite the say.

I have to say, talent is a mysterious thing. The same action can look completely different depending on who’s doing it. Jiang Baiyu thought he was doing lizard crawling, but what he ended up doing was quite different from what others thought lizard crawling should look like.

And thus, a peculiar species was born.

Lin Zhao Ren: "……"

True Inheritance Disciple: "……"

Elite Disciple: "……"

They had a weirdo mixed in among them!

The entrance to the Storm Gorge was located at the center of the storm. The eye of the storm was calm, so the closer one got to the center, the stronger the winds became. This was a huge drain on stamina. To avoid being swept away by the storm, the disciples had to dig their fingers deep into the rocks to stabilize themselves. If they got blown up, they would be quickly whisked away into the sky, spinning with the storm until they were flung away by centrifugal force.

If one could escape, that was lucky. The scariest thing was being caught in the storm, unable to break free, and turning into a dried corpse in the air.

The first person to discover the Storm Gorge truly had a spirit of adventure, braving such a terrifying storm to reach the eye of the storm and find the entrance to the fissure.

From a distance, the Storm Gorge looked barren, just a patch of rock, not even a blade of grass grew there. Nothing could take root and sprout on the rocks that had been ravaged by storms for years.

Fortunately, there were no mistakes made in reaching the eye of the storm. These were not just any disciples; they were either the carefully nurtured True Inheritance Disciples or the Elite Disciples who had gone through layers of selection and promotion. They had undergone another round of selection before entering the secret realm, so they could be considered the cream of the crop, unlikely to make such a rookie mistake.

The biggest danger in the Storm Gorge was the stormy area. Once they passed through it and entered the fissure, there wouldn’t be much danger left. The hidden poisonous insects in the dark corners were a hassle, but as long as they were careful, it would be fine, especially since they had detoxification pills to take in time.

The rare ores hidden within the fissure were quite valuable and had many uses, but mining them was troublesome. The rocks were extremely hard, and it took a lot of effort to chisel out a piece of ore.

Every time the Yuan Gu secret realm opened, the Storm Gorge welcomed a batch of visitors, digging deeper and deeper.

In terms of rewards and risk levels, the Storm Gorge had the highest cost-performance ratio. Once they passed through the stormy area, they just had to diligently dig underground.

Thus, staying here for a few days was quite worthwhile.

However, this time, the free activity time was only ten days. Time was precious, and they still had to go to other places according to the list, so they could only stay for a day at most.

The True Inheritance Disciples didn’t lack resources and weren’t particularly interested in the common ores and spiritual herbs found in the Storm Gorge.

Leading the group was Ling Hansu, who said as they walked deeper, “The ores in the upper layers of the Storm Gorge are of ordinary quality, making it hard to dig out anything good. The deeper you go, the higher the quality. There have even been cases where someone dug out a piece of Star Dust Mysterious Jade, which was later forged into the famous Xuandu Sword. Yes, the one wielded by Master Cangfeng.”

“According to speculation, the reason the Storm Gorge is shrouded in storms year-round is due to the energy released from beneath the fissure. There must be even higher quality ores buried down there. The deeper you go, the harder the rocks become, making it increasingly difficult to mine, which is why no one has found the source of the storm.”

“The stuff above is left for the other disciples. Let’s go down and try our luck to see if we can find some high-quality ores.”

After passing through layers of fissures, they finally reached their destination, but they couldn’t go any further down.

The True Inheritance Disciples all used illumination spells.

Whether they could dig out high-quality ores depended on luck. They might spend an entire day without any rewards, so everyone spread out and chose their favorite spots to start digging.

Jiang Baiyu looked around and picked a spot, “Senior Brother, let’s dig here.”

He drew out the Xiguang Sword, a small and exquisite flying sword with considerable power. It spun rapidly and drilled into the ground like a drill bit, making a sharp, ear-piercing sound as sparks flew.

The stones deep within the fissure were indeed extremely hard; even ordinary flying swords would struggle to inflict damage.

Lin Zhao Ren frowned slightly, displeased with the harsh sound. He drew out his sword, named Yaoling, and said, “Go.”

The spirit sword plunged fiercely into the rock, and the spiritual light spread out, instantly causing it to shatter into fragments.

Seeing this, Jiang Baiyu quickly put away his Xiguang Sword and imitated Lin Zhao Ren, first driving his small sword into the rock and then using the spiritual light to shatter the surrounding stones. This method not only looked more impressive but was also much quieter, avoiding the continuous ear-piercing noise.

It also allowed him to practice controlling his spiritual power, enhancing his micro-manipulation skills to achieve the best results with minimal output.

The two of them focused their efforts in one direction, like playing a match-three game, continuously clearing away the hard rocks in front of them to dig out the gems hidden underground.

A layer of red light shone through the rocks, indicating that there was something inside.

Jiang Baiyu couldn’t help but perk up. He had been chiseling for who knows how long, and he was tired, but finally, there was a reward. Judging by the glow, it had to be something big!

He immediately concentrated his spiritual power and struck at the spot of red light with his sword.

Sure enough, there was something behind it, and the opening he created revealed an even stronger red light.

Lin Zhao Ren raised his hand to signal Jiang Baiyu to stop chiseling. Cautiously, he traced the edge of the red light, and just by looking at the outline, he could tell it was quite large and round.

Seeing him stop after outlining the shape, Jiang Baiyu was puzzled, “Senior Brother?”

Lin Zhao Ren’s face was serious as he pondered, “The Storm Gorge has never dug out such a large ore before; it’s a bit strange.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the red light suddenly vanished and then reappeared, like the moon waxing and waning, almost as if it blinked.

Hmm? An eye?

Before Jiang Baiyu could react, the rock blocking the red light cracked, following the circular line Lin Zhao Ren had drawn, revealing what was behind the stone: a crystal-clear red gem. It was huge, almost like a round arch, radiating a red glow.

Just as the two were stunned, it suddenly moved.

Jiang Baiyu felt a chill run down his spine.

The crystal-clear red gem seemed to focus, becoming more lively, and both of them felt a distinct sense of being watched.

If the eyes were this big, how big could the actual body of this unknown thing be?!

The thing that looked like a red gem or perhaps an eyeball moved again. It strained to push itself out from the rock layers, forcefully cracking the rocks that blocked it and bouncing out.

Behind it was a spherical deep pit, with nothing else around.

So, they had dug out a moving eyeball??

Jiang Baiyu and Lin Zhao Ren stared at the red gem eye, both falling into silence.

After all that hard work, were they really going to take this thing as their haul?

The eyeball was quite docile. After squeezing out from the rock layers, it lay quietly, and they could feel its gaze—calm and peaceful, with no hint of malice.

When they received the gathering message from their senior brother, they suddenly realized that a whole day had passed.

Aside from this thing, they hadn’t dug out anything else.

What a waste of time! Digging for so long and finding nothing meant that there were no ores in this direction!

Jiang Baiyu was filled with regret.

But it was too late to regret. To avoid coming back empty-handed, they could only take this strange thing to the gathering. They could show it to their senior brothers and sisters, and if worse came to worst, they could take it back to show the sect leader and elders to see what it was.

Maybe it was a mineral spirit, like the Stone Lady, a stone that had become sentient.

When the two arrived at the gathering spot, they instantly became the center of attention. After all, such a large red gem was truly shocking.

Ling Hansu gasped for two seconds, “…Jiang Shidi, what is this…??”

Jiang Baiyu replied, “We don’t know; it just jumped out from the stone by itself.”

The True Inheritance Disciples surrounded it, all exclaiming in wonder.

“What a huge piece of ore! If it’s of high quality, we’ll make a fortune!”

“Is it just me, or does it seem like it’s alive and looking at me?”

“Do you feel that too?”

Everyone had managed to find something, except for Jiang Baiyu and Lin Zhao Ren, who had invested time and effort only to dig out an unknown object.

Ling Hansu said, “Let’s first meet up with the other disciples at the upper layer of the fissure. Time is almost up, and we need to head to other places. If we delay, we might miss the next list.”

“Yes, Senior Brother.”

Lin Zhao Ren lifted the red gem and jumped up, passing through layer after layer of rock until they reached the entrance. As expected, it attracted attention again.

The fissure was manageable, but the next challenge was crossing the stormy area. With such a large and round object, it would be blown away as soon as they entered the storm.

Unfortunately, the storage bag was ineffective against it; they couldn’t store it to take away.

Just as Jiang Baiyu stood in the eye of the storm, feeling troubled, something miraculous happened.

The red gem jumped into the storm, surrounded by a circle of red light, blocking the winds outside and creating a windless zone.

Being able to walk out was definitely more convenient and comfortable than crawling in.

The only problem was that this red gem was a bit wild.

Once everyone was inside the windless zone and ready to set off, it moved again.

With a sudden leap of faith, it enveloped everyone in red light and soared into the sky, swept up by the storm, spinning at high speed for twelve circles before flying towards freedom with the centrifugal force.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!”

Screams erupted, echoing far and wide, startling flocks of birds along the way.

When they landed, everyone was safe and sound, except for feeling nauseous.

They rolled and crawled away, groaning.

Once they regained their senses, they were shocked to find they had already arrived at the second stop, the Listening Snow Cliff.

This place was covered in snow year-round, with a cold pond hiding ice crystal cold jade and small silver fish, which had endless uses, only found in the geothermal area deep at the bottom of the pond.

However, before they could take any action, just as the thought flashed through their minds, the red gem moved again.

It plunged them into the cold pond, charging forward without regard for the terrifying monster fish disturbed at the bottom of the pond. The gaping maw of the fish approached, and everyone could even see the sharp rows of teeth inside, capable of crushing them all in one bite.

At the critical moment, the red gem dodged past, continuing to dive into the pond, while behind them, the disturbed monster fish opened their gaping mouths like blooming flowers, releasing ominous signals.

But the red gem didn’t care, speeding ahead. Suddenly, a massive gaping mouth appeared right in front of them—it was the super monster fish lurking at the bottom of the pond that had been startled.

Everyone’s hearts tightened in fear. Just when they thought the red gem would dodge, it didn’t veer off at all, crashing straight into the monster fish’s mouth, and in a flash, it shot out from the other side.

It was all about a fast ride straight to the destination.

In that moment, everyone felt a chill run down their spines, and screams erupted uncontrollably again.

When they reached the geothermal area, no one was happy at all.

The cold pond monster fish didn’t like heat and lingered outside the geothermal area, watching them closely, while the small silver fish hid in fear.

“…What is this thing?!”

It seemed somewhat sentient, but not entirely so.

Because they wanted to leave the stormy area, it took them away. And because they wanted to go to Listening Snow Cliff to catch small silver fish, it took them straight to their destination???

*

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

Disciples from various sects had gathered at the meeting point, and it was clear that these ten days had been quite eventful.

Only the disciples of Yuheng Sect had not appeared for some reason.

Zhonghua, the sect leader, maintained a calm expression, but deep down, he felt a sinking sensation.

Finally, someone couldn’t hold back, “Zhonghua Sect Leader, why haven’t your sect’s disciples…”

A red light suddenly descended from the sky, crashing heavily into the ground. As the light faded, it was indeed the disciples of Yuheng Sect.

Ling Hansu’s face was pale as she barely steadied herself and bowed to Zhonghua, “Master.”

Zhonghua felt relieved and slowly exhaled, “It’s good that you’re here. Were these ten days smooth?”

Ling Hansu’s expression was complicated, “Thanks to Master, everything went smoothly.”

Zhonghua nodded in satisfaction, “That’s good.”

Before he could express further concern, someone else urged, “Zhonghua Sect Leader, since your sect’s disciples have arrived, why don’t we set off now to search for the Divine Treasure? We can talk along the way.”

As soon as the words fell, the disciples of Yuheng Sect, including the chief disciple Ling Hansu, all showed expressions of terror.

The next second, a red light enveloped everyone.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!”

No need to search for the Divine Treasure now; how nice!