When Ji Xinghuo saw the East Pole Pass built upon the perilous mountains, he couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief and happily said, "We’re back."
"Yeah!" Chi Zhonglin nodded vigorously, "It really wasn’t fucking easy!"
Jiangnan Caiyi also looked exhausted.
Only Ren Mian remained full of vigor, maintaining her peak condition, her eyes filled with joy.
It took them fourteen days to reach the Deep Rock Rift Valley when they set out, but the return journey took only ten days. They traveled almost day and night, barely resting.
They couldn’t afford to slow down.
Soon after leaving the Deep Rock Rift Valley, Ji Xinghuo noticed that the Beiluo Shimen Clan’s patrol teams had increased, obviously searching for their group. On the road back from the Deep Rock Rift Valley, every city had sent out many teams, with overt searches and covert ambushes— there was no telling just how many.
There were also Gorak’s flying squads in the sky, conducting a nearly carpet-style search.
Ji Xinghuo didn’t dare to relax for a minute.
Thanks to magnetic field sensing and the Wanxiang Star Pupil, they evaded wave after wave of enemies. Even when they encountered monsters, they didn’t engage, moving with little to no sleep at the fastest pace back home.
Now, they were finally back!
Upon entering the East Pole Pass, the four of them checked directly into an inn within the fortress to sleep well for more than ten hours and recover their spirits.
The next day, they rode horses into Yanhuang City and took an airship back to their villa in Olympia.
Returning to their familiar home, the four of them truly relaxed.
Ren Mian went upstairs to her bedroom, while Jiangnan Caiyi immediately changed into her house clothes and, as always, began to clean.
"Nothing beats the comfort of home!"
Chi Zhonglin set down his Molten Rock Gun, threw himself onto the living room sofa, and lay there, sighing, "I could lie here all day long, not doing a damn thing."
"Then just lie there."
Ji Xinghuo chuckled, returned to his room, put down his weapon equipment, and took off the porcelain steel armor, feeling instantly relaxed.
Qing Hong slithered down from his wrist to the doghouse on the windowsill, revealing its true form as the Iron Arrow Qing and coiled into a circle.
Every time they camped on the return journey, it had to keep watch; now it needed to rest.
Ji Xinghuo, after showering, saw that Qing Hong had fallen asleep.
He opened the interface of the Wanxiang Star Pupil.
This foray of more than twenty Star Realm Days, almost two months on Earth, had continued without proper cultivation, yet his Star Power had still grown automatically, reaching 394 points!
"Ether Affinity is really the best!"
Ji Xinghuo sighed, glanced at the progress of Ether Affinity, which was still at (Third Level 197/1439), far from an upgrade.
However, the gains in Spiritual Origin Ability were substantial, mostly obtained in the Stone Lizard People’s city.
[Spiritual Origin Ability: 820]
Ji Xinghuo looked at the number on the screen, eagerly rubbing his hands together. This was the first time he had so much Spiritual Origin Ability, enough to upgrade a few Abilities.
"Let’s try upgrading Qing Hong’s Ability first."
He glanced at Qing Hong, coiled in its nest, and opened the small interface, selecting its "Dimension Stomach" and pouring Spiritual Origin Ability into it.
The result was no response.
The Ability progress didn’t change, and the Spiritual Origin Ability didn’t decrease.
Ji Xinghuo thought for a moment; maybe it required contact with Qing Hong to work? He approached the windowsill, gently laid his hand on Qing Hong’s serpentine body, and then attempted to upgrade the Ability again.
This time it finally worked.
As the Spiritual Origin Ability was consumed, the progress of the Dimension Stomach (First Level 13/1021) began to rise, 14, 15, 16... quickly breaking 20, but Ji Xinghuo stopped soon after, shifting to enhancing "Miniaturization," which could also grow directly.
Qing Hong had two Abilities that synchronized with him, Golden Scale Iron Spine and Ether Affinity.
Ji Xinghuo tried them out and found that as long as he upgraded his own Ether Affinity, Qing Hong’s Ether Affinity would also increase at the same rate.
The same was true for Golden Scale Iron Spine.
After some consideration, he decided, "Let’s enhance Golden Scale Iron Spine first."
One reason was because it offered the best cost-effectiveness, increasing both his and Qing Hong’s Defense Power, getting double the effect from a single point of Spiritual Origin Ability; another reason was that Golden Scale Iron Spine (Second Level 34/257) required only a little over two hundred points of Spiritual Origin Ability to upgrade.
Ji Xinghuo’s hand stayed on Qing Hong, continuously consuming Spiritual Origin Ability.
The recently asleep Qing Hong opened its eyes, full of confusion. It sensed that it was getting stronger rapidly and felt a bit panicked!
Ji Xinghuo sent a mental message to soothe it, "I’m enhancing you. It’s a good thing."
Qing Hong calmed down, its scales starting to shine faintly while their color gradually changed. The original emerald green hue faded a little, the gold around the edges of the scales spread inward, and the texture became harder and more resilient. Inside the serpentine body, its spine was also strengthening, increasing its strength and explosive power.
Similarly, the scales on Ji Xinghuo’s skin increased his defense and strength bit by bit.
Quickly, Golden Scale Iron Spine became (Third Level 1/1237).
He immediately stopped the flow of Spiritual Origin Ability.
Like Superior Ability at the same Third Level, Golden Scale Iron Spine required more Spiritual Origin Ability than Thousand Spirit Skillful Hand to upgrade, and the remaining Spiritual Origin Ability wasn’t enough.
By now, a quarter of Qing Hong’s scales had turned golden, and Ji Xinghuo himself looked less green.
"Two more levels, and I should completely turn into a little golden man," Ji Xinghuo quipped to himself.
Qing Hong lifted its head to look at him, conveying its surprise and joy while also asking why he stopped.
"Enhancing isn’t something I can do whenever I want; it comes at a cost," Ji Xinghuo explained. However, Qing Hong likely didn’t understand the concept very well, or perhaps it acted as if it didn’t, rubbing its head affectionately against his hand, like a child asking for candy.