Chapter 390 - 261: Siam’s Land Tribulation: Fragrant Rice as a Guide to the Spirit Core (Part 2)
Chapter 390: Chapter 261: Siam’s Land Tribulation: Fragrant Rice as a Guide to the Spirit Core (Part 2)
Li Xiang let out a cold laugh. He made a grasping motion in the empty air with his right hand, and the 3,600-kilogram White Jade Golden Hook Rod appeared in his hand. The coiled dragon pattern on the white jade shaft instantly lit up, glowing as brightly as molten rock. He brought the rod down in a vicious swing, pulverizing the Naga Snake Demon into crystal dust.
His strike contained not just Spiral Force, but also Vibrating Power. The initial impact was followed by a secondary vibration that ground the target to dust.
[System: Congratulations, Host. You have slain a Tier Three Mutated Creature: Naga Snake Demon. Surprise Reward: 3x Tier Two Mutated Spiritual Medicine, Siamese Blood Orchid. You have gained 60 Achievement Points.]
Li Xiang continued forward, forcibly absorbing the Purple Jadeite Ore Vein as he went.
The greatest weakness of this kind of Earth Vein Spirit was its inability to move its main body. Perhaps a Divine Level spirit could change its location, but doing so would take an immense amount of time.
More and more Naga Snake Demons appeared. They varied in strength; the strongest were merely Tier Five or Six, while the weakest were Tier Two or Three. They were nothing to him, serving only to provide him with Achievement Points and Spiritual Medicine.
Finally, Li Xiang fought his way to the "heart," a Purple Jadeite Crystal Core the size of a small hill. It was of the highest quality—a flawless, glassy violet jadeite.
This quality referred to its grade as a gemstone, its standing in the world of jewelry and jade.
It throbbed rhythmically, as if about to give birth to a living being.
[System: Detected a Tier 26, Saint Tier Mutated Creature: Purple Raksasa Brahma Jade Soul.]
’If this Earth Vein Spirit condenses a Spirit Body in the future, will it be a woman?’ After all, violet jadeite was the kind of thing a girl would wear. But then another thought struck Li Xiang. ’Given Thailand’s... unique culture, maybe it’ll turn out to be a gorgeous ladyboy?’
The Earth Vein Spirit seemed enraged by Li Xiang’s thoughts. The entire "great heart" began to pound furiously. THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP! A giant bird with a wingspan of over twenty meters materialized out of the ore vein and attacked Li Xiang.
[System: Detected a Tier Twelve Mutated Creature: Garuda Golden-winged Bird.]
"Pathetic tricks!"
Li Xiang, of course, was unfazed. He brandished his White Jade Golden Hook Rod, creating a blur of afterimages. Each strike carried over fifty tons of force, and when combined with the rod’s own weight, every blow was as heavy as a mountain. Moreover, his Staff Technique was astounding. A slight shake could fill the air with countless phantoms of the rod, each infused with a variety of incredible Powers, like Spiral Force, Silk Binding Strength, Tumbling Wave Force, and Beng Force...
They fought viciously for no more than five rounds before Li Xiang slew the Garuda Golden-winged Bird with its twenty-meter-plus wingspan.
Afterward, the ore vein materialized several other powerful Demon Beasts, such as the Eight-armed Divine Elephant Ganesha, the Bronze Monkey King Hanuman, the Three-Faced Brahman Combat Puppet, and the Ancient Buddha Puppet Legion. Li Xiang slew them all, one by one, gaining a considerable amount of Spiritual Medicine and Achievement Points in the process.
Li Xiang felt that Hinduism must have had a major influence on the region. This special Earth Vein had clearly absorbed the local culture, as the materialized Demon Beasts had a distinctly Indian flair.
In the end, Li Xiang broke down the special, life-like Purple Jadeite ore vein and stored it all in his system’s inventory.
In the future, it would serve as an excellent, priceless material, whether he used it to craft Accessories or to forge a Crystal Vein Armor.
[System: Congratulations, Host. You have slain a Tier 26, Saint Tier Mutated Creature: Purple Raksasa Brahma Jade Soul. Reward: 2,600 Achievement Points; 3x Tier 13 Mutated Spiritual Medicine, Brahma Heaven Bodhi Seed; 1x Tier 24 Extraordinary Item, Sukhothai Buddha’s Tears Bead Necklace.]
With a thought, the Sukhothai Buddha’s Tears Bead Necklace appeared in Li Xiang’s hand. He examined it closely and saw that it was an incredibly beautiful "Accessory."
The centerpiece was a teardrop-shaped piece of jadeite with a purplish-red gradient. It was as clear as ice, and within it swirled nebulous patterns of rose gold and smoky grey. The necklace itself was formed from hundreds of interconnected, openwork silver rings, each intricately carved with vine and lotus motifs. Dotted between the rings were Pigeon Blood Rubies the size of diamond chips. The piece had the gentle grace of a classical tassel, yet also exuded a magnificent and mysterious exoticism.
This was no simple accessory; it was a Saint Tier Spiritual Object with two Extraordinary Attributes: "Buddha’s Radiant Light" and "Blood Tears Curse Binding."
"Buddha’s Radiant Light" could summon an illusion of a Sukhothai Buddha Tower. The 108 wind chimes on its eaves would play the Sanskrit hymns of the Sutra of the Three Realms, increasing the wound-healing speed of all allies within a hundred-meter radius by 300%.
"Blood Tears Curse Binding" was like an enhanced version of Black Magic or Witchcraft. It could summon cursed Sanskrit from the epic of *Rama’s Strength*, which would transform into a Nine-Headed Naga Demon Snake to bind an enemy. The snake’s fangs injected a potent super-toxin, and those cursed would suffer the bizarre symptom of having their internal organs petrify until they became a stone statue.
「Meanwhile, public opinion in Thailand was once again in an uproar.」
With so much Jasmine Rice stolen in such a short period, many people were trembling in fear. Everyone was saying that the mysterious Armored Man had returned. ’It has to be him!’
Although he hadn’t used brute force this time, that only proved his power had grown even greater! He was now able to act with complete stealth.
An online rumor suggested that the mysterious Armored Man only took the freshly harvested rice because Thailand was notorious for selling its old, stale rice to China. A Chinese Extraordinary Being had become enraged and decided to teach them a small lesson.
Li Xiang thought, ’Who wrote this? They actually guessed my motive? Looks like there are plenty of clever people in the world.’
To the public’s astonishment, the King of Thailand actually knelt and issued an imperial edict of self-blame, apologizing for his transgressions and promising to never again sell old, expired rice to China.
But it was useless. For some actions, an apology wasn’t enough; a price had to be paid. ’Once my inventory gets another upgrade,’ Li Xiang thought, ’I’ll definitely come back to plunder them every year.’
Indian Netizen: "What? He’s clearly an emissary of our Indian Shiva God! Why doesn’t anyone believe it?"
Japanese Netizen: "Can you guys get a clue? Where does this confidence come from? Daddy America already said it’s a Chinese Extraordinary Being, why won’t you believe it?"
American Netizen: "Don’t call us ’Daddy.’ Just have your women call us ’Hubby.’"
Japanese Netizen: "..." (Seething, but not daring to talk back.)
When Luo Feifei saw these messages, she called Li Xiang, but he didn’t pick up. She left him a voicemail: "Were you the one who caused all those phenomena around the country a while ago? Hmph! And now you’ve run off to play in Thailand without me."
’If you keep this up,’ she thought, ’your Little Aunt is going to have some words for you! I won’t even show up to support your livestreams anymore!’
When the strange phenomena had appeared in China’s three ancient capitals, Luo Feifei had wanted to call Li Xiang to ask about it, but she was either too busy or his phone was unreachable. Now that she finally had some free time and saw him stirring up trouble again, she couldn’t suppress her desire to get involved.
A long while later, Li Xiang finally called her back.
Luo Feifei deliberately let it ring for more than ten seconds before answering. ’Hmph. As if I’d pick up on the first ring. Don’t I have any pride?’
"How have you been?" Li Xiang asked.
"Tch! You didn’t even take me with you."
Li Xiang replied, "Weren’t you always too busy? I was afraid of interrupting your work."
"Haha, whatever, I won’t hold it against you. I’m free for the next few days, so come get me. Quickly."
Li Xiang asked, "Don’t you have the Electric Light Illusion Armor? It can reach 3 Mach, can’t it?"
"Isn’t it tiring flying on my own? Why pass up a free ride? Stop dawdling and come get me, or I’ll smack you!" Luo Feifei said, feigning a cute tantrum.
The adorable way she threatened to hit him was charming enough to captivate someone even through the phone.
Li Xiang sighed helplessly. "Where are you? I’m on my way!"
"I’m in Jinling. You know, the place where you caused that big stir. Mhm, I’ll be waiting for you on the Jinling Eye Pedestrian Bridge. Hurry!" A captivating smile played on Luo Feifei’s lips.
"Aren’t there security cameras there?" Li Xiang asked.
Luo Feifei replied, "Then I’ll be under the bridge."
「At that moment, Li Xiang was in Yunnan Province.」 After leaving Thailand, he had traveled to Ruili to visit his little aunt and cousin and inspect the work at his Jade Processing Factory. Night was falling, and he had been preparing to head to Vietnam. Since Luo Feifei wanted to tag along, he was more than happy to have her company.
Immediately, Li Xiang shot into the air and sped toward Jinling at a cruising speed of 2.8 Mach.
Despite the vast distance of over two thousand kilometers, Li Xiang could travel more than 3,400 kilometers per hour. He arrived with ease, his heart rate steady and his breathing even.
Beneath the Jinling Eye Pedestrian Bridge, Luo Feifei was sitting alone by the riverbank when a dark figure suddenly descended from the sky and landed before her. It was Li Xiang.
Luo Feifei broke into a radiant smile and immediately threw herself at him, curling up in his arms like a kitten.
Li Xiang hugged her back, though he couldn’t feel much through his thick Armor.
Just as he had that thought, the beauty in his arms whispered, "Get rid of the armor. It’s digging into me."
Li Xiang silently retracted his Armor. Luo Feifei’s embrace tightened as she buried her head in his chest, listening to the sound of his heartbeat.
A moment later, Luo Feifei started playfully pounding his chest with her small fists. "I told you to get rid of the armor!" she complained. "Why didn’t you retract it all the way? Something’s still digging into me!"
"We should go, it’s getting late," Li Xiang said awkwardly. The Giant Whale Saint Armor materialized around him. He scooped up Luo Feifei, and with a series of faint sonic booms, they vanished into the distant night sky.
’Wait, what was digging into me wasn’t the armor at all...’ Luo Feifei suddenly realized, and her face flushed crimson.
But her embarrassment quickly turned to a sweet, happy feeling. ’So he finally had *that* kind of reaction to me,’ she thought. ’Mhm, I’ve got a shot!’