Welcome to the Ability Shop!

Chapter 30 "I Will Slay the Demon"

As usual, Chen Xuan inventoried and stored his abilities. He had previously traded his exceptional appetite for Gildre's riding skills and dark magic, bringing his inventory to eight abilities! If he included the four he was currently using, he would have a total of twelve abilities.

Although the overall quality of the reserve capacity is not high and the scope of application is also quite worrying, it is still much better than having only his own four tradable capabilities at the beginning.

In addition, after this transaction, his performance points accumulated to 12, so he naturally wrote another email applying for a promotion, but he doesn't know how long it will take to get a response.

With October just two days away, he's already looking forward to seeing how much his salary will be.

Chen Xuan, of course, did not forget to check each of the two newly added capabilities.

The riding skills are self-evident. After equipping it, he suddenly had the courage to mount any wild horse. Unfortunately, it seems to only work on horses and does not have any derivative functions such as riding wolves, dragons, or roc.

Once you take it off, the relevant experience will disappear, but the memory will still retain the impression that "I was a skilled equestrian just a second ago." This disconnect in perception can be considered a side effect of the change in ability.

Black magic is rather sinister.

Its sole purpose is sacrifice, using the heart of the sacrificed to extend one's own lifespan. No wonder Gilles de Rais went to such an abstract place as capturing children for human sacrifice after Joan of Arc's death; he probably wanted to give Joan of Arc a little more life.

The problem is that this thing comes with a whole host of penalties, such as a hundredfold reduction in the life gain and the curse of having one's soul sacrificed, making it a complete loss. For example, if you sacrifice a rat, which has an average lifespan of 3 years, the life gained after the sacrifice is only a little over 100 days, and the body will also be cursed with ratification, turning into a monster that is almost half-human and half-rat.

This wasn't something Chen Xuan made up; it was something his inherent experience within his dark magic abilities told him. Gildre clearly knew this, which is why he could only choose his own kind, specifically children lacking self-control.

Now that he has lost this ability, he probably won't have the chance to study black magic again.

Considering the potential harm it might cause, Chen Xuan did not intend to trade it to anyone else.

However, what concerned him slightly was the store's trading app's evaluation of black magic.

— "Taboo +1".

Just one sentence.

Why didn't anyone complain that it's gray-grade trash?
It has also given a lot of critical reviews to its other white-related capabilities.

"gentlemen."

A familiar voice sounded.

Chen Xuan quickly closed the inventory interface, then turned around as if nothing had happened, "You're here. Have a seat, I'll get you a cup of coffee."

He was then slightly taken aback.

Because Liu Shuyue was not wearing her usual loose and comfortable clothes, she was wearing a fur coat, cloth pants and boots, and was covered in dust, as if she had just gone on a hard hike in the wilderness.

She has the ability to use magic to keep herself clean at any time.

"What's wrong? Are you... playing in the mud?"

Liu Shuyue smiled and shook her head, "How long has it been since we last saw each other, sir?"

"Don't call me 'sir,' it sounds a bit strange. You can call me by my name, or 'manager' if you prefer."

"Then... Chen Xuan, shall we?"

"Hmm." Chen Xuan handed her a cup of milk coffee with satisfaction. "We just met yesterday afternoon, and it's afternoon now, so it can be counted as one day at most."

“But for me, it was twelve days,” she said, taking the cup.

"So long? Is there still enough instant noodles? No... the disaster relief funds and supplies should have arrived in Zhangwei City by now."

Chen Xuan couldn't help but feel a little strange, since she used to come to him every day to discuss the distribution of food.

"No. In fact, they never intended to provide disaster relief in the first place, and all the refugees from Qingzhou were abandoned."

Liu Shuyue spoke slowly, as if it were just an ordinary thing.

Chen Xuan was startled upon hearing this!
"What did you say? The relief is gone?"

He had considered the possibility of embezzlement or the use of inferior goods, but to not provide any relief at all was truly outrageous; this wasn't the late dynasty when government functions were completely paralyzed. "Let's not talk about that now. I came to see you today to ask you to accompany me to see something."

"This thing...is it related to the disaster victims?"

Liu Shuyue nodded, "Yes."

"Alright... wait for me to close the shop." After hanging up the "Closed" sign, Chen Xuan followed Liu Shuyue through the back door of the VIP room on the second floor and entered her world.

As he stepped through the door, he couldn't help but let out a soft "wow."

Before my eyes lay a magnificent and awe-inspiring natural landscape.

Hundreds and thousands of stalagmites, resembling pillars, rise from the horizon, each covered in lush greenery. Despite their stalagmite-like appearance, each one is actually tens of kilometers wide at its base, essentially forming uniquely shaped small mountains. They possess all the features one would expect from a mountain: caves, waterfalls, dense forests, and birds can be seen even from afar.

Below the mountain lie a series of shallow lakes, their crystal-clear waters reflecting the sky and white clouds. Animal tracks are visible along the lakeshores, clearly indicating this is a paradise for them to drink and forage.

Chen Xuan couldn't help but think of nature reserves.

The two were located on the top of a small hill, less than ten kilometers away from the "protected area" in front of them.

Where are we?

He looked around and found that he couldn't see Zhang Weicheng, or even a small town. He did find a refugee camp, though, at the foot of the hill, with a population of at least 20,000.

The only somewhat decent house within a hundred miles was this thatched hut behind them.

Clearly, Liu Shuyue had led the disaster victims to escape from Zhangwei.

"The southernmost part of Qingzhou, bordering the vast wilderness of Wanshan."

“I understand.” Chen Xuan immediately realized why the other party hadn’t come looking for him these past few days. “If there’s no way to survive in Zhangwei, then forge your own path. That’s the right choice.”

"Really?" Liu Shuyue smiled, but a hint of fatigue showed in her eyes.

“I think this place is quite nice. It has water and mountains, and the natural resources are quite abundant,” Chen Xuan commented. “In the early stages, we organized people to hunt, and later we fished and cultivated the land. Food will not be a problem. The caves in the mountains are also natural dwellings. If we find someone to clean them up, they should be enough to accommodate these refugees.”

At most, we're just lacking tools for clearing land.

But were tools a problem for him? He could easily buy anything, from machetes and axes to fishing nets and seeds. Liu Shuyue had already gone to such lengths for the disaster victims, so naturally he had to help her a little more.

"To be honest, the environment here is really nice... It could easily accommodate tens of thousands of people. Why doesn't the Qingzhou government develop this place?"

"A great demon lives here."

"I see... Huh?" Chen Xuan didn't react for a moment.

"Its name is Xuan, and it is a green dragon," Liu Shuyue said calmly. "Xuan is a hundred feet long, adept at water and flying, with a body of steel, impervious to swords and blades. It also likes to eat raw meat, and humans are naturally among its prey. Since its appearance, it has probably eaten thousands of people. As long as this demon exists, the Great Wilderness of Ten Thousand Mountains will be an absolute forbidden zone."

She let out a breath, "Of course... the sect's records of the Great Wilderness region are vague, and no one knows whether there are other powerful demons in the depths of the mountains and forests, but at least in the area near the southern border of Qingzhou, Xuan is the most powerful demon. In addition, there are nearly a hundred kinds of ferocious demons in this area, making it one of the regions where demons appear extremely frequently."

"In that case... is it alright to bring disaster victims here?"

Chen Xuan was puzzled.

“Ordinary people can’t survive. Let alone a great demon that can summon the power of heaven and earth, even an inconspicuous night demon can take the lives of more than a dozen people in the blink of an eye.” Liu Shuyue didn’t hide anything and continued frankly, “If we want these refugees to live, we can’t let them continue to be ordinary people.”

"If a person wants to cross the threshold of cultivating and sensing Qi, they need to rely on two things: talent and external aids. Most of the time, sects only select those with talent, because cultivators who rely solely on external aids to improve their cultivation level will have limited reach and will find it difficult to ascend to the Great Dao. But it is undeniable that even the lowest-level cultivator is much stronger than an ordinary person who cannot sense Qi."

"According to the sect's secret records, dragon blood is the best remedy among external things. Even people without any talent can be reborn and defy fate after drinking fresh dragon blood. Not only that, the whole dragon is a treasure. Its scales can be made into armor and its bones can be made into weapons. With this dragon corpse as a foundation, they will have a chance to survive in this desolate wasteland."

She gazed at Chen Xuan, her eyes regaining their former brilliance.

"Therefore, I must slay the demon."

(End of this chapter)