Chapter 1018
Jonathan's Surprise
"And don't forget, we also have the Dragon Emperor, and Ziyuan and the others are in the ancient tomb."
"Unless those who manipulated things adjusted the god's power to be exceptionally strong, even if we exerted all our strength and added external aids like the Dragon Emperor and Imhotep, we still wouldn't be able to do anything."
"The probability of that is close to zero in my calculations."
"Wait, I understand, you mean the Buddha statue mentioned in the mission!"
Li Xiao had unlocked the third stage of the gene lock at some point without anyone noticing.
Moreover, it seems to have imitated Xiao Honglu's way of thinking.
Chu Xuan pointed to the map.
"There are two ways to obtain this quest: one is to touch the map itself, and the other is to touch any part of the Buddha statue... So, do you understand?"
Besides Li Xiao nodding, Zhang Jie and Chen Zilong immediately spoke up loudly:
"I don't understand, so let me explain again."
That statement was made with absolute confidence.
Zhu Wen covered her face and gave a wry smile.
Chu Xuan didn't respond to the two clowns, but instead looked at Jonathan and asked, "Tell me about the Buddha statue."
Jonathan replied:
"The Buddha statue is just an ordinary Buddha statue, not very tall, about 1.75 meters. The facial features are not the kind that are amazingly lifelike. In fact, I feel that the workmanship is not very good."
"But I only have the Buddha's head."
Li Xiao frowned: "Do you know where the other parts of the Buddha statue are?"
Jonathan immediately replied, "I don't know, but I heard Yan Xishan say that he sold it for a good price."
As he spoke, Jonathan flashed a knowing, money-grubbing smile.
Chu Xuan nodded:
"If I'm not mistaken, the Buddha statue should have been divided into several parts, ideally the Buddha's body, with the limbs and torso being separate parts."
Li Xiao had already understood:
"Chu Xuan, are you saying that the complete Buddha statue is crucial, and that only the Buddha statue can complete or pass certain levels?"
Zhang Jie, standing between the two, raised his hand to interrupt Li Xiao and Chu Xuan's somewhat inexplicable conversation:
"So, gentlemen, should we do this task or not?"
"If we don't do it, won't we be doomed?"
Li Xiao pinched the hair in front of her forehead.
"I am currently using Xiao Honglu's way of thinking. Although I can only simulate about 70% of it, I have already come up with two solutions."
"The first option is to ignore this task for seven days."
Instead, they went to complete other side quests—specifically, the normal side quests allowed by the God Realm, such as the Holy Grail that Evelyn mentioned earlier.
"Make up for the 10,000 reward points deducted by other side quests."
"Then, with no time limit, we can definitely gather all the Buddha statues, calmly complete the task, and receive the final reward."
"The only loss is that each person gets a B-level side quest."
In fact, Saito Hajime and Chen Zilong shared the same thought: they both felt that Chu Xuan's idea was a bit of an overreaction, or perhaps he was overthinking things.
However, after thinking about the abilities that this person has shown since they met, Saito's first thought was to reflect on how he had no right to question Chu Xuan's deductions.
With my pitifully low IQ, it's better to just listen quietly.
Moreover, Li Xiao, who has now simulated Xiao Honglu's thinking using the gene lock, has not doubted this speculation, so there is even less of a problem.
"Ahem, so Li Xiao, what's the second method?"
Li Xiao stared at the hair in his palm, lost in thought, and said, "The second method is to continue completing this side quest."
"According to what Chu Xuan just said, the primary condition for completing this task is to collect all the Buddha statues."
"Even if the Dragon Emperor closed the country off back then, imprisoning the other parts of the Buddha statue within the national border."
"But it's not easy to find individual Buddha statue parts in such a large area."
"Therefore, we need a large and well-established force to help us."
"Only a force that possesses absolute privileges and strong military power in this country can guarantee the recovery of the Buddha statue parts."
"It must include a sound information distribution and collection system, powerful military force, and the ability to execute orders without fail..."
"Even so, in my calculations, the chances of success are less than 70%."
"It's fair to say that it's far inferior to the first method."
Zhu Wen, watching Chu Xuan and Li Xiao from the side, said with doubt, "If I'm not mistaken, the force you're talking about is the imperial court that the masses are talking about, right?"
Li Xiao shrugged and exited Xiao Honglu's mode.
"Of course, besides such a being, what other force in the Asian region could do that?"
"So, everyone, are we choosing the first option or the second?"
After Li Xiao finished speaking, both he and Chu Xuan fell silent.
It was obvious that both of them preferred the second plan, which had a lower success rate in their calculations.
As for the reason, it is also very simple.
Putting aside everything else.
The cultivation manuals left behind by cultivators at the same level as saints alone are beyond what side quests and reward points can measure.
The sooner you get it, the sooner you can feel at ease. These kinds of bugs in games aren't something you can just happen to encounter whenever you want.
However, the greater the risk, the greater the reward.
For a moment, the others looked at each other in bewilderment.
Finally, Zhang Jie broke the silence.
The "old man" said with a smile:
"No need to think about it, I'll choose the second one too. Don't forget, everyone, this is the Main God Space."
"Once we obtain the treasure in this 'Hanging Pavilion' or 'Soaring Pavilion,' what will we have to fear? I'll eat a bowl of porridge and throw it away."
"Um, why does that sound so familiar?"
As Zhang Jie began to speak.
Zhao Yingkong spoke up at midnight and chose the second method.
In the end, everyone in the Zhongzhou team agreed.
After confirming that they had to complete the task, everyone in the room subconsciously looked at Chu Xuan.
Li Xiao smiled and nodded.
So, what should we do next?
Chu Xuan seemed to have anticipated this decision long ago.
He spoke directly, saying, "There are two problems at the moment. The first is whether we can fight against the first god: Hao Yi."
"Since it has been tampered with, it means that this side quest no longer follows the rules of the Fangzhu God Space."
"That means there might be an enemy that we are completely unable to defeat."
"Of course, I wouldn't bring this up if Zheng Zha and Xiao Honglu woke up now."
"The second point is, how many pieces was the Buddha statue actually divided into?"
"If, as mentioned earlier, there are only six parts in total—the torso, limbs, and head—there is still another possibility."
"Then there would be even more, perhaps a truly terrifying number."
Upon hearing this, the lips of everyone present twitched.
Chen Zilong and his companions even saw themselves searching for Buddha statues all over the street, one finger at a time.
"Jonathan, is there anything special about the Buddha statue?"
"The kind of brand that you can recognize at a glance."
Jonathan swallowed and nodded:
"Yes, it might be related to that suspended ancient tomb, which is why the Buddha head I saw could also float in the air."
"Other parts of the Buddha statue likely also have this ability."
Li Xiao was taken aback: "Has this always been the case?"
"Can one float without any prerequisites?"
Jonathan quickly added, "No, no, I don't know how to describe it. It was only a few days after the Buddha statue was smashed that it was able to levitate, but it only levitated for a short while, probably less than a minute."
"Things returned to normal."
"The second time, the second time I remember was the last time I entered the ancient tomb."
"The third time was when we were being chased."
"I don't know what happens next."
After hearing this, Li Xiao was pondering.
Chu Xuan looked intently at Jonathan and suddenly spoke without warning:
“Jonathan, you initially said you were coming to Qin to do business. If you invest, you will have output and gains.”
"So after you collaborated with Yan Xishan to excavate and open this suspended tomb, you must have found something, right?" "The fact that the excavation has continued for so long, and that you even called Eric over, means you must have already made some progress, and the profits from that progress are enough for you to continue investing."
"You said before that it would be split 30/70, so what did you split it into?"
After asking these questions.
The Zhongzhou team members noticed that Jonathan, who had been hypnotized, hesitated.
Then, this person actually turned around and faced the door.
Before he could even take the first step, it felt like he was being grabbed by an invisible giant hand.
After struggling for a long time without moving an inch, he finally gave up.
Turning to look at Li Xiao and the others, Jonathan's eyes no longer held the confusion they had just seen.
His face was full of embarrassment.
Jonathan grinned.
"Hehe, everyone, I was wrong."
"I will definitely tell you everything."
Upon seeing this, Zhang Jie clicked his tongue and approached, his eyes shining as he sized up Jonathan.
"They weren't hypnotized?"
"No, I was indeed hypnotized at first, but I must have broken free later."
"I don't recall you having any mental enhancement abilities... Come on, let me see what's going on."
In no time, Zhang Jie pulled a jade Guanyin pendant from the man's collar.
Enveloped by spiritual power.
This unassuming Guanyin pendant surprisingly exudes a refreshing and pleasant fragrance.
Everyone who heard it was immediately alerted, and even Li Xiao felt a sense of calm and tranquility.
"This is a magical treasure used in cultivation!"
After Chu Xuan finished speaking, everyone, including Li Xiao, widened their eyes.
Then he looked up at the sky, at Jonathan, who looked guilty.
Chen Zilong seemed to understand something and immediately exclaimed, "Holy crap!"
"You've already taken everything out of the ruins?"
"Then what the hell are we even discussing here?"
Zhang Jie, with a dark expression, let out two sinister laughs.
This person put Jonathan down and then put his arm around his shoulder, saying in a "friendly" manner:
"A mental defense item that can resist my hypnosis, what a good thing, it must be at least a B-grade item, no worse than your Purple Gold Bowl, Lao Qi."
"I don't have such a prop."
"So Jonathan, come on, are you going to let me do it again, or will you tell me yourself?"
“Since it’s a 30/70 split, then…”
Not only Zhang Jie, but Chen Zilong also embraced the other side.
Even Saito Hajime clasped his hands together and closed his eyes.
"Amitabha!"
Jonathan's legs were so weak he wanted to kneel on the ground.
However, two people on either side of him were holding him down, making it impossible for him to move.
Actually, he wanted to say it as soon as he woke up, but he saw that the Zhongzhou team members were having a lively discussion, so he didn't disturb them.
Then he became obsessed with something supernatural.
Chu Xuan took the Guanyin pendant from Zhang Jie, looked at it for a while, and then said to Li Xiao:
"I need to go to the Demon Refining Pot."
Li Xiao asked in surprise, "Now?"
Chu Xuan nodded: "Yes, now."
Zheng Zha, Xiao Honglu, and Zhan Lan were all gone, and the Demon Refining Pot was successfully passed on to Li Xiao.
After confirming that Chu Xuan had indeed made a discovery.
Li Xiao immediately took Chu Xuan inside.
Meanwhile, outside, the Zhongzhou team's mission shifted from worrying about the mission itself to digging for treasure.
After half an hour.
Jonathan was pulled out of the hibernation pod by Chen Zilong.
"That's impressive. They actually made it to the ninth level of the eighteen levels of hell. That's halfway there."
Zhang Jie checked Jonathan's vital signs: "He's fine, put him back and continue. He's still mentally strong."
Just as Saito was about to close the hatch, a hand reached out.
Jonathan's weak voice rang out:
"Stop, guys, stop for a second, I'm really telling you, I'm really telling you."
One minute later.
Wearing only a pair of shorts, Jonathan was thrown into the middle of a Persian carpet, shivering.
The Zhongzhou team members surrounded him.
Jonathan reached out his hand, his hand trembling.
Li Xiao asked, "What are you doing?"
Jonathan trembled: "Isn't there one of those potions that make you tell the truth? Give me a bottle."
Cheng Xiao, standing nearby, exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my, why are you drinking it on your own initiative?"
Jonathan forced a smile: "I just think it tastes pretty good, and I kind of miss it."
He has no choice but to drink; if he doesn't, he won't believe he can tell the truth.
Cheng Xiao leaned closer: "What are you saying? Is one enough? Do you want a few more?"
Jonathan nodded sincerely, "That's even better, I've been missing it for so long."
"I will definitely drink it every day from now on."
After saying that, both Jonathan and Cheng Xiao laughed.
This person didn't stand on ceremony and took out a whole row of them.
Jonathan was equally decisive, picking up both bottles and finishing them off in one go.
Seeing that the other person had swallowed, Chen Zilong squatted down and helped Jonathan up, his face full of apology.
"Look at the mess you've made."
"How could we not trust you?"
"Quickly, Saito Hajime, bring your robe over and put it on Jonathan. Don't let our friend get cold."
Seeing the concerned faces around him, Jonathan, who had calmed down, burst into tears again.
So much so that I couldn't even express my feelings of being "moved".
All he could do was keep taking things out of his body.
A talisman, a pill, a jade slip, and a ring.
"Waaah, stop looking at me. I only took these five, including the pendant."
"I don't dare take the big ones, I can only take these small ones. Do you know how hard it is for me? Waaah."
Looking at Jonathan, who was crying his eyes out like a delicate flower in the rain, as if he had been possessed by Lin Daiyu.
Then he looked at the four cultivation-related magical treasures that had been "contaminated".
To be honest, none of them wanted to take it, and some even didn't want it anymore.
After all, these things were hidden in such a dirty place by Jonathan.
Zhu Wen turned away from the very beginning, unable to bear watching any longer.
"The pendant is similar to the protective jade pendant you gave me before, except that I only knew it could defend against bullets, and I didn't know it could also defend against hypnosis."
"By the way, there's no limit to the number of times this pendant can be used."
"As for the remaining four, I only know the effects of the rings."
"I haven't had time to figure out the remaining jade slips, pills, and talismans."
Cheng Xiao, standing nearby, asked in confusion, "A ring? What's the effect of a ring?"
For some reason, Jonathan gritted his teeth and sighed heavily.
"Sigh!" (End of Chapter)