Ashen God
Chapter 542 - 541: Human Immobilization Technique

Chapter 542: Chapter 541: Human Immobilization Technique

October 21st, the thirteenth day following the end of the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, was also the first day Zhang Yanhang left the Ashen World. At 7:45 in the morning, he strolled along a secluded path where, other than the weekends, people were scarcely seen on weekdays.

Zhang Yanhang casually walked along, scanning the nearby Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. Since Multiple Choice had indicated he would encounter the Sky Demon Purple Crystal Grass on his way to school, he reckoned that the location of the grass would likely be by the roadside or in some inconspicuous nook.

However, as the school was already more than halfway there, Zhang Yanhang had yet to spot the Sky Demon Purple Crystal Grass mentioned by Multiple Choice. He began to ponder whether he had made some mistake.

But even so, being wrong probably didn’t matter much—after all, the specifics of the process didn’t seem too important. Since Multiple Choice had fixed the final outcome, whatever happened along the way would certainly lead to him getting the Sky Demon Purple Crystal Grass, since it was a Destiny System Talent after all.

As Zhang Yanhang was entertaining these thoughts, he suddenly detected an unusual burst of energy fluctuations from a small hill beside the road. Immediately focusing his Perception on the hill instead of the roadside bushes, he conducted a thorough search and eventually discovered a small purple plant nestled in a crevice between a large boulder and the rocky ground on the hilltop.

Upon seeing the grass, its blades and stems both shiny purple and similar in shape to the previously discovered Sky Demon Crimson Crystal Grass, Sky Demon Green Crystal Grass, and Sky Demon Yellow Crystal Grass, Zhang Yanhang felt he had found the right thing. This had to be the Sky Demon Purple Crystal Grass that the options had mentioned.

Zhang Yanhang quickly climbed the small hill, standing only thirty or forty meters high, and easily pushed aside the giant rock, which looked to be about three to four meters tall. Initially, he thought it would be quite heavy, but to his surprise, it was just a tad over ten tons, perhaps because of its low density.

After successfully picking the gem-like, crystal clear Sky Demon Purple Crystal Grass, Zhang Yanhang put the giant rock back in place, ensuring it continued to fit snugly against the top part of the rocky hill.

Once the Sky Demon Purple Crystal Grass was collected, Zhang Yanhang surveyed the surroundings from the hilltop and unexpectedly discovered that this Nameless Mountain could also be part of the southwestern spine of the Lao Mountain Range.

"If that’s the case, maybe that explains why the Sky Demon Purple Crystal Grass is here. It’s related to the Lao Mountain Range again..."

Previously, Zhang Yanhang had found many similar hills in the city areas, usually under fifty meters tall and mostly unnamed. He had judged these hills to be unsuitable environments for the growth of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.

But now it seemed he might have been wrong. Perhaps the height of the mountain was related to the suitability for Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, but it wasn’t an absolute indicator, as even an unnamed hill near his home could harbor the potential for such treasures.

However, these hills were too numerous, and they didn’t even appear on maps. Even a conservative estimate would suggest there were hundreds of such small hills within just three districts of the city.

"Although there are indeed many hills, only a few probably have Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, still, if I have free time later on, it might be worth a try to search them. After all, beating the bushes regardless of whether or not there are dates seems always right."

Even though he could cheat using Time Pause given the magnitude of this task, due to the sheer number of hills, Zhang Yanhang felt it was indeed best to find a separate time to deal with it.

Like when he couldn’t sleep at night or woke up too early in the morning, using these spare moments to methodically search the unnamed hills within the Qin Island City could lead to random treasures.

Despite his confidence in his luck, without Multiple Choice guaranteeing the outcome, he couldn’t be certain of his gains, and it was quite possible that he wouldn’t find a single Heavenly Material or Earthly Treasure at all.

After a brief observation of the little hill, Zhang Yanhang refocused on the Sky Demon Purple Crystal Grass.

"It seems I initially thought that the Sky Demon Crimson Crystal Grass, Sky Demon Green Crystal Grass, and Sky Demon Yellow Crystal Grass together made up the three primary colors: red, yellow, and blue. But now, it doesn’t seem to be the case. Adding the Sky Demon Purple Crystal Grass makes it clear—it’s a freaking rainbow!

If that’s the case, then this Sky Demon Grass is likely a series of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. Conservatively, there should be seven colors, which means I might still get three more from this series: the Sky Demon Orange Crystal Grass, Sky Demon Green Crystal Grass, and Sky Demon Blue Crystal Grass.

The Sky Demon Crimson Crystal Grass boosts Stamina limit, Sky Demon Green Crystal Grass boosts Energy value limit, Sky Demon Yellow Crystal Grass boosts defensive power limit, and Sky Demon Purple Crystal Grass boosts spatial insight. So, the question is, what do the remaining three Sky Demon Grasses enhance?"

If possible, Zhang Yanhang wished the remaining three to all enhance his Energy value limit, though the likelihood was nearly zero.

"Suddenly, I find myself interested in searching the other hills in Qin Island City. Let’s give it a shot tonight."

Initially, Zhang Yanhang wasn’t too keen on searching the other hills because he felt there was a significant chance of coming back empty-handed, but now it was different. By searching those hills, he might continue to find other colors of Sky Demon Grass.

This would undoubtedly increase the probability of finding Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, making it unlikely that he would return with nothing. Given his luck, he figured he should at least be able to find one or two treasures.

Just as Zhang Yanhang was about to leave, he suddenly heard a familiar voice coming from below the hill.

"Good morning, metals," Zhao Yalan greeted while recording an intro addressed to a metallic orb floating in front of her, then immediately directed the orb to start capturing images of the surroundings.

This was a Hummingbird-class reconnaissance drone she had traded for with another Awakener using Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to better carry out related work. The drone was equipped with numerous miniature cameras, allowing it to capture 360-degree images without blind spots.

Originally intended for scouting monsters in the Ashen World, Zhao Yalan chose to use it for making short videos. While others might see it as overkill, she found it totally worth it. After all, the disparity in abilities between Awakeners can be as vast as the difference between carbon-based and silicon-based life forms.

"The mountain I’m climbing today is called Thunder God Mountain. Legend has it that the Duke of Thunder once passed by on his cloud, found the scenery pleasing, and rested here. At that time, his presence triggered a thunderous anomaly, causing the mountain to be struck continuously for three days and nights. Even today, the rocks at the summit are still somewhat blackened..."

Zhao Yalan began to prattle on about the legends surrounding Thunder God Mountain.

But for Zhang Yanhang, a local resident who had lived nearby for twenty years, it seemed likely Zhao Yalan was sharing some made-up stories. After all, this was just a Nameless Mountain, and usually, no one bothered to visit.

Zhang Yanhang glanced at the ground beneath his feet. While it certainly looked a bit blackened, it was merely due to the natural weathering that had caused a small amount of grey-black patterns on the surface of the rock. The inside was still the usual yellowish-brown or tan color of the stone, devoid of any signs of energy fluctuations.

Zhang Yanhang did know a bit about Zhao Yalan’s search for Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures because he often saw her on TikTok, sharing her most recent finds.

Although their quality wasn’t high, it still made people (mainly ordinary humans) incredibly envious. After all, even if one didn’t use the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures themselves, selling them could easily net tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Of course, when Zhang Yanhang said "often," it was actually just every few days that Zhao Yalan would find a treasure. Compared to someone like him, a Heavenly Destiny Master who triggered lucky encounters every day, it was no competition. Therefore, Zhang Yanhang definitely wasn’t envious.

"So, here comes the question, since Zhao Yalan happened to be searching for Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures around here, did I just snatch what she might have found? Come to think of it, there always seems to be a treasure nearby whenever I run into Zhao Yalan... and this seems to be the fourth time."

Zhang Yanhang found Zhao Yalan’s luck to be absurdly good, not knowing what her Talent was that allowed her to encounter treasures so frequently. And this wasn’t the fake kind of encounters he had, but rather genuine serendipity. No matter how you looked at it, such luck was extraordinary.

"I wonder if I could find any Thunder Attribute Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures..."

As Zhao Yalan stood in place checking the feed from the control terminal of the Hummingbird-class reconnaissance drone, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw it, and she quickly rewound the footage.

Indeed, in the images from the mountaintop, she saw that strange guy who had twice kicked her shoes flying, still dressed in that bizarre outfit resembling a black police uniform.

Just as Zhang Yanhang stood pondering why Zhao Yalan’s luck was so good, he suddenly noticed that in the blink of an eye, Zhao Yalan, who had been at the foot of the mountain, seemed to be using a boost from Spiritual Qi to rapidly ascend the mountain, and she was almost upon him.

Zhang Yanhang thought about turning tail and running, especially since he had just snatched what might have belonged to Zhao Yalan. Now feeling somewhat guilty, he wasn’t too keen on making contact.

"Human Immobilization Technique!" Zhao Yalan seemed to have anticipated Zhang Yanhang’s thought or was used to him running away upon meeting her. She stretched out her hand towards Zhang Yanhang’s direction and immediately fired a white energy ray, likely aiming to immobilize him.

And then, that Human Immobilization Technique actually stopped Zhang Yanhang from fleeing – not because it had controlled him, as he was shielded by the Supreme Will, making him immune to the spell.

So, what really stopped Zhang Yanhang was surprise. He was stunned that Zhao Yalan also seemed to possess D&D series spells. If he remembered correctly, this Human Immobilization Technique was a lower-ranked spell from his own Spell List, the Sixth Circle Creature Immobilization Spell. It was a Second Ring Magic meant for bullying the weak.

"Stinky little brother! Go on, run. Why don’t you run today?! Oh, it’s because you’ve been caught by my Human Immobilization Technique." Thinking Zhang Yanhang was controlled, Zhao Yalan immediately started her taunting. She had been waiting for this moment far too long. The feeling of revenge was so sweet!

Zhao Yalan quickly approached the motionless Zhang Yanhang, first tentatively poking his chest with a finger, then attempting to lift his helmet. After struggling for a while and finding the helmet immovable, she settled for flicking Zhang Yanhang’s head through the helmet instead.

"Hmmph, I didn’t expect you’d have such a day! Now that you’ve fallen into my hands, you’d better not harbor any hope of luck. As the saying goes, ’Fortune changes over time – do not bully the young and poor.’ The humiliation you caused me in the past, I shall return a hundredfold today."

Zhao Yalan eyed Zhang Yanhang with a mischievous look, intending to make him experience the social death of walking to school without footwear. Today, she would strip him not just of his shoes but his socks as well! And she wasn’t going to leave out the helmet!

Assessing Zhang Yanhang’s physique, she noted he was about half a head taller than her, probably around six foot three, and his build gave off a powerful presence – he was impressively robust.

Furthermore, standing before him, Zhao Yalan’s Spiritual Sense mysteriously went haywire with warnings, and she also felt as though an enormous destructive force was brewing within him – whether it was her imagination or not.

The combination of these factors induced an instinctive fear in Zhao Yalan, making her feel as if disaster might befall her at any moment, and she subconsciously stepped back.

"Wait, why should I be afraid of this stinky little brother? He’s already been caught by my Human Immobilization Technique, and yet I’m still feeling so intimidated. This is unforgivable."

Zhao Yalan reached out with her right hand and gave Zhang Yanhang’s left cheek a forceful slap, trying to embolden herself.