Zhang Xiaoman thought there was a saying that was very true.
Home, is a warm haven.
A bowl of steaming rice, a comfortable hot shower, plus a soft sofa and strong coffee, were enough to sweep away all the fatigue of the recent days.
Zhang Xiaoman sat on the sofa; he hadn’t watched TV in a long time, probably not since a year ago.
After two movies he had been wanting to watch ended, it was already past midnight.
Perhaps because he had just had a cup of coffee, Zhang Xiaoman wasn’t very sleepy at the moment.
He glanced at the black stone on the coffee table in front of him and decided to go to the Original Realm to use up today’s lottery chances.
The black stone was naturally the hearthstone from before, but now, influenced by the Sect Establishment Order, it had been renamed "Starry Stone."
As he began using Dark Energy to inscribe the patterns on the Starry Stone, Zhang Xiaoman’s proficiency had clearly improved a lot, especially in his control of Dark Energy. This allowed him to complete the teleportation in just about 30 seconds, nearly doubling the speed of last time.
The Starry Stone now directly teleported the user next to the big stone in the gang territory—the Original Realm—and Zhang Xiaoman’s third-tier Starry Stone could even fully recover his Energy during the teleportation process, which was unquestionably a very convenient change.
The Original Realm looked the same as before, desolate and not a blade of grass in sight. Since Zhang Xiaoman had last used a portion of Star Dust to extend the area by several meters, he hadn’t made any further modifications.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but rather that he simply didn’t have enough Star Dust on hand, with only 8 portions currently. His top priority now was to gather 20 portions of Star Dust in order to purchase Olharast Rock.
Summoning the System panel, Zhang Xiaoman used today’s lottery draw. Compared to the green or blue items, he now looked forward to drawing the white Star Dust more.
"Congratulations, you’ve obtained a white item—System Elf’s Testament."
Zhang Xiaoman’s usually composed expression froze on his face the moment he saw the name of the item; he, who thought he had seen countless grand scenes, actually stumbled here.
"A testament? And it’s the System Elf’s testament? What the hell is this..."
As he was murmuring to himself, space twisted, and a small white object fell out.
He reached out and summoned the object. It felt ice-cold to the touch. Zhang Xiaoman’s gaze fell on it and saw a thumb-sized white oval object, which, from its appearance, seemed to have no clear purpose.
Zhang Xiaoman focused his attention on it and brought up its attribute panel.
—A Jade Scroll used by Cultivators. Infuse it with divine sense to record or project the contents within.
After reading the explanation of this little thing, Zhang Xiaoman immediately guessed its likely use. He hadn’t read few internet novels in his time, and the concept of Jade Scrolls was very clear to him; its existence, simply put, was like a USB drive in the Cultivation World.
"Hey, this is a great treasure. Let’s set aside the testament for a moment, the item itself is quite a find."
Zhang Xiaoman was quite pleased with the result of the lottery draw, and a smile appeared on his face.
"Right, what exactly is divine sense? How do I use it?"
He gently clenched his fist, trying to concentrate his spiritual power in the palm of his hand to see what changes would occur in the Jade Scroll.
As he focused, Zhang Xiaoman felt a warmth in the palm of his hand and a unique connection formed in his mind. He could now clearly sense some information about the Jade Scroll.
He spread open his palm, where the white Jade Scroll was now emitting a faint light. With a thought, a projection shot out and cast upon the empty ground before him.
This was the content recorded within the Jade Scroll.
In the projection was a boundless land.
Across the land, countless Dimension Rifts tore through space, and from them emerged an innumerable horde of terrifying monsters.
Opposite the monsters stood a group of warriors clad in armor.
They had resolute expressions, their faces showing determination, as if the endless monsters couldn’t bring them the slightest fear.
Some were tear-stained yet showed no sign of retreat, and just a quick glance from Zhang Xiaoman deeply moved him.
A fierce battle erupted, as the warriors charged fearlessly, their sharp blades like dawn’s first light mercilessly severing the bodies of the monsters.
Brilliant magic also danced over the battlefield, turning endless terrifying beings to dust.
However, the number of monsters was simply too great; for every one the warriors killed, more poured out of the Dimension Rifts.
Even though mages had initiated a seal, it was nothing more than a drop in the ocean.
At that moment, three figures shrouded in Golden Light descended onto the battlefield like Heavenly Gods, striking at the monsters’ rear and immediately slowing their onslaught, finally giving the human warriors a chance to breathe and hope.
The three swept through the monster ranks, while the mages seized the opportunity to seal most of the Dimension Rifts.
Among those three, one summoned a meteor from beyond the heavens, only for a huge hand to grasp it, effortlessly crushing it into dust, revealing the monstrous presence among their ranks.
The battle had reached a white-hot stage. Zhang Xiaoman could only see countless glimmers flashing before his eyes, the sky growing dim, the ground as if a layer had been peeled away.
As time passed, the projection rapidly flickered through one bloody scene after another, and the battle quickly approached its end.
Two of the three mighty heroes had fallen, and the terrifying giant monster was finally vanquished.
Thanks to the relentless efforts of the mages, the Dimension Rifts were at last all sealed, and humankind achieved the ultimate victory.
Zhang Xiaoman was enthralled by this magnificent sight and was fully immersed in it. When he saw the end of the battle, he couldn’t help but let out a long sigh of relief.
However, just when he thought everything had ended, an unexpected change occurred on the field. In front of the people, more Dimension Rifts ripped through space, like a multitude of sinister purple eyes gazing at them, emitting mocking light.
In the warriors’ eyes shone despair, but still, no one retreated.
Silently, they laid down their comrades’ bodies, halted their steps towards home, picked up their weapons again, and turned to face the new surge of monsters coming their way.
The scene stopped there, and then the projection closed, returning the surroundings to normal.
Zhang Xiaoman felt a tightness in his chest. He was silent for a long time, with the recent scenes replaying in his mind.
Just then, the projection, which he thought had ended, lit up again. A flicker like electric currents danced across, and a small creamy white orb appeared in its place, along with a familiar System prompt voice.
"System malfunction... Void Plane invasion detected as successful... World-saving Plan declared a failure... System tasks no longer being issued... System Elf self-destructing..."