I Cultivated Too Long and Got Isekai'd Into a Game
Chapter 41: Back to the Start

Chapter 41: Back to the Start

A new Grand Quest, an achievement, and a few rewards. All of them were just so sudden, Xu Tao was overwhelmed for a moment.

"First, let’s check the rewards." But thinking about how messed up the Lost System was, he let it slide quite easily.

The rewards automatically entered his Storage Ring, so he had to first scan its contents for the newest items added. It didn’t take him long to find them, of course.

"This..."

Now, in his hands, were two items. One was a small seed, about sesame-sized. It was so small he feared that if it got blown away, he’d have to use a magnifying glass to look for it—but that’s if it somehow managed to hide the pure Qi that was emanating from it.

"This seed is even more potent than a 100,000-year-old Spirit Grass!" he growled in shock.

He wasn’t sure what a Small World Tree was, but if its seed was this powerful, he could only look forward to the fully-grown tree itself. He’s not one to look at immediate profits only to lose out grandly from rushing things!

After carefully returning the small seed into his ring, he then looked at the sword.

"Heaven-Defying Sword... Error 404?" he parroted the name he read from the notification, staring at the sword with eyebrows raised. "But this... is just the hilt, isn’t it?"

No matter how he turned it around, flipped it, or shook it, the thing in his hand was just a hilt. Its design was simple, but quite grandiose, with dragons adorning the handle and the sword guards.

But the middle was blank.

The spot where the blade should be inserted was empty, with nothing in it. Not even some sort of device was hidden into it... Just plain missing the entire blade.

"This..." Xu Tao sighed. "Is trash, isn’t it?"

Although disappointed, thinking about the prospects with the Small World Tree, he decided that it was well-balanced enough. That seed alone was reward-worthy. The broken sword? Just an extra.

"Anyway, where were we?" Xu Tao turned toward the Dark Elf representative once again.

"...Around harvesting seeds?" Jehanne inputted, recalling the conversation where the talk stopped.

"Ah, right."

Xu Tao nodded before firmly addressing the girls before them.

"I understand your plight, and I don’t really plan to reprimand you or anything about it. Your race’s future is on the line, after all," he said flatly, before raising a finger. "But never, ever try to sow discord amongst us. Do that, and I can’t promise I’d be nice to you anymore."

Accepting outsiders into a circle that’s not even solidified yet is a risky maneuver. Such things often lead to the quick dissolution of said group—if not their deaths.

Xu Tao released a strand of compressed Qi, reinforcing his aura, intimidating the Dark Elves. But his "intimidation" was so powerful right now, everyone but Arthur and Jehanne felt as if a blade was pressed against their necks.

Pepe, for one, shook like a poor dog left in the middle of a wintry, stormy night without shelter.

"Y-Yes... We won’t..."

Squeezing her words through her shaking legs, the lead Dark Elf answered.

The next instant, Xu Tao retracted his invisible pressure and turned around.

"Then we’re good. You should stay with Arthur while here, but if you want to go back to your settlement, then please alert me or my proxy, Jehanne, over here."

"W-We understand..."

And with that, the matter with the Dark Elves was settled.

They got the general geography of their surroundings, and the current state of the locals. They even learned of the beings called Visitors, and the source of the monsters—the giant asteroid that hit the planet.

"And now, this Grand Quest..."

Xu Tao sighed. There were too many things to think about that he was confused on where to first begin.

"At times like this..." He clapped his hands together, smiling. "It’s best to take your frustrations out against some beasts!"

From the way that the Dark Elf leader spoke earlier, the monsters should only be present near the sandy edge, the area close to the now-turned desert land.

The closer to the edge, the weaker the monsters... "And the further you go, the stronger they get!"

Now that Xu Tao reached Qi Gathering stage, he could finally do something that he couldn’t beforehand—covering large distances in an instant!

Movement techniques are convenient, after all. A technique to allow one to walk mid-air—Cloud Steps. A technique to cover short distances instantly in battle—Ground Shrink. And finally, a technique to cover large distances but take a long time to cast—Thousand Li Step.

Of course, the one he’s going to need at the moment was the last one, Thousand Li Step. It’s a technique that needs a complicated set of footwork, along with a large amount of Qi—not something he could freely use anytime, anywhere, while still in Body Refinement stage.

But, before that...

"I need to tell Jehanne where I’m going, at least."

If he just disappeared without warning, panic would begin within the settlement, for sure.

Thinking as such, he turned around and grabbed Jehanne’s shoulders, whispering lightly, "I’ll be heading out, toward the desert. I’ll be back before sundown."

"...!"

Jehanne jumped forward, holding her ear—the one Xu Tao whispered at—and fell to the ground. Her face looked red as she nodded many times, as if her head was about to come off.

Xu Tao was weirded out by her over-the-top reaction but didn’t bother delving any further.

Instead, he turned to Pepe and waved a finger, calling it over.

Although Thousand Li Step is a personal Technique, one could carry objects with them while using it. Pepe, for one, counts as an object rather than another "person," so it should be possible to take it along.

"Pui, pui~!"

The clueless cutie didn’t even think twice before coming toward Xu Tao and jumping on top of his shoulder.

"We’re going hunting, buddy. Be prepared for a wild ride!"

"Pui!"

And seeing its brave expression, Xu Tao figured it wasn’t against the idea of tagging along. With that, he didn’t delay further and began to cast the Thousand Li Step.

He took a step forward with his right leg, twisted his foot 90 degrees, and pulled it back before taking two steps back. Then, left leg to the right, lifting it up, and stomping down. The process continued for a good minute, as Qi began to get imprinted onto the ground itself.

His footsteps drew a mysterious formation on the ground, glowing in a weird pattern.

"Please be careful out there." Jehanne, who had recovered from her surprise and embarrassment, bowed lightly.

Xu Tao smiled, nodding toward her in appreciation. "Ah, we will."

And then, the next moment, Xu Tao and Pepe’s figures vanished.

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