Chapter 84: The Harvest

“No wonder,” Liu Zhi murmured, “I always felt something was missing from the Secret Sword of Z. Turns out I never learned the prerequisite swordsmanship. Hm, Level 1 only costs 300 experience? I’ll learn it.” He stretched out his hand, and a heart-shaped black gem appeared in his palm.

[Night Stabbing Swordsmanship, Level 1: You have begun to master the Night Stabbing Swordsmanship and the Night Breathing Technique, transforming your physical qualities from within. Agility +0.1, Constitution +0.1.]

[Description: This sword technique is a foundational practice for the Secret Sword of Z, and in itself does not possess overwhelming combat power.]

“Interesting.” Liu Zhi took a moment to sense his breathing, a faint smile on his lips. He drew his longsword and tried a few moves.

But he soon realized that using an ordinary longsword felt awkward; this technique relied heavily on thrusts and upward stabs, and the longsword simply couldn’t perform them at its best. He pondered for a moment, then put the black gem away.

Meanwhile, Liu Zhi’s skeleton soldiers had clambered to their feet once more, finishing off the West Sea sailors and native warriors who had been scattered by the explosion.

He walked to the spot where Cutler had detonated. Instantly, new messages appeared before his eyes.

[Notice: You have slain a rival. According to Regulation DF-009, upon defeating this rival, the rival mode will be terminated and no new rivals will appear.]

[Notice: You have slain a rival whose enhancement level was three. You have received a Mid-Tier Rival’s Chest.]

[Notice: Upon defeating your rival, you have obtained information related to the mandatory identity quest—Curse of the Golden City. As you have found the Golden City, this information has now become Hidden Secrets of the Golden City.]

[Notice: You have completed the mandatory identity quest by slaying the focal character of the Curse of the Golden City. The focal character’s enhancement level was two. You have received a Lesser Rival’s Chest.]

[Notice: You have slain the focal character and obtained information related to the mandatory quest—Curse of the Golden City. As you have found the Golden City, this information has now become Hidden Secrets of the Golden City.]

[Notice: The focal character has been slain, rival generation is halted, and the mandatory identity quest—Curse of the Golden City is complete. You have received a Career Advancement Gift Pack.]

With the cascade of notifications, Liu Zhi noticed three gift pack-like items had appeared in his hand.

But his attention was not on these rewards. Instead, he turned his gaze to the spot where Cutler had exploded. Cutler’s body was now in fragments, his soul reduced to motes of light. Liu Zhi was curious how, even in this state, information about the Golden City’s hidden secrets could remain.

To his surprise, he found a scrap of clothing left at the epicenter of the explosion.

He bent down and picked it up, discovering strange patterns drawn upon it—something oddly familiar. Reflecting for a moment, Liu Zhi realized these were demon-repelling symbols. The sense of familiarity stemmed from the hall where he had fought Leif; the patterns on the scrap mirrored the layout of that hall. In the hall, eight feathered serpent heads spouted water, while here, nine serpent heads gushed mercury.

A thought flashed through Liu Zhi’s mind: the hall had concealed a ninth feathered serpent statue, which was likely the key to the secret.

He resolved to find the opportunity to return and investigate what might be hidden there.

This discovery piqued his interest in anything Lloyd might have left behind.

He searched Lloyd’s corpse, but was disappointed; apart from a few West Sea silver coins, there was nothing of value.

Puzzled, Liu Zhi wondered why, when Cutler had been obliterated and still left something behind, Lloyd had left nothing at all.

At that moment, a sudden insight struck him. He quickly rummaged through his backpack, pulling out Perkin’s notebook and flipping through the pages rapidly.

He soon found that an extra page had appeared—one he had never seen before. It contained information about the blood-stained trees, including methods of concocting medicines with their fruit. But the truly valuable part was the speculation about transplanting these trees.

Though not directly related to the Golden City, Liu Zhi remembered encountering such details in the murals of the Aztec region of the Golden City, where trees were depicted growing upon waterfalls.

He had not forgotten where that room was.

“Excellent. It really is time to venture out and take a look,” Liu Zhi said with excitement. Yet he did not rush to leave, for there were still important matters to attend to.

For instance, he needed to dispatch the Runaway Corpse Wagon to gather the corpses here. If possible, he should destroy the blue passageway to prevent others from entering via that route.

He also wanted to inspect the battlefield where Cutler and the others had fought—surely something must have been left behind after such a fierce confrontation.

Once all this was done, Liu Zhi intended to find a spot with good feng shui, wash his hands, and then open the treasure chests. After all, these were his total earnings from the game in the short term, and if luck deserted him, he’d have nowhere to weep.

Stowing the three gift packs in the twentieth compartment of his bag, Liu Zhi proceeded along the blue passageway.

This time, Videnina made no move to stop him. In her view, they had survived such a great battle; there was nothing to fear in the wilderness beyond.

She followed Liu Zhi, stepping into the blue passageway as well.

Once inside, Liu Zhi glanced around. “This passage is intriguing. It almost feels as if sunlight is shining on me. Is this the power of the Sun God forcibly opening a way through to the Underworld? It’s not impossible—many myths tell of the Sun God coming and going freely from the realm of the dead.”

As he spoke, Liu Zhi arrived at the site of Cutler’s last stand.

A massive explosion had taken place here, erasing all the undead and leaving behind a ground as smooth and lustrous as glass—a testament to the blast’s power.

Standing there, Liu Zhi could still sense a faint current of solar divine energy emanating from the earth.

“A formidable effect indeed. Good thing we weren’t here at the time; otherwise, none of us would have escaped. That man truly was strong—he managed to flee even from such an explosion. Wait, what’s that over there?”