Chapter 248
She won't just grab someone and pull out their brain next time she steals something, will she?
She had a feeling that if she used her Essence Points to activate the Shadow Shift, no skill or item could block her.
What about Tu Lan? If she used her Essence Points to activate Tu Lan's expert skill, could she bring someone back to life?
After hearing Yu Xunge's speculation, Tu Lan shook her head seriously. "No need, really no need! We're not saints; there's no need to resurrect others. Life is a cycle, and going with the flow is the right path. Death isn't something to fear. Is a person really still themselves after being brought back? I don't think so. We should learn to respect death."
Yu Xunge replied, "I didn't say I wanted to try it, and don't think I don't know—you just can't bear to use your Essence Points!"
Tu Lan said earnestly, "Yeah, I really can't bear to. I want to save them for when I die!"
Yu Xunge huffed, "You’re so stingy! You're the type who hoards all the items and materials in a game, and even when you uninstall it, they’re still sitting in your inventory gathering dust!"
Tu Lan didn't blush at all. "That's right, I am! I finally understand Sister Di San now."
Yu Xunge: "..." You used to call her stingy.
Yu Xunge planned to do something big with Tu Lan tonight. She wanted to find a new place and use her Essence Points to try out the skill "Who Will Cut the Moonlight."
It was deep into the night, and Tu Lan was flying high above, gazing at the night sky over Senhai. The forest above was dark here and there, and from a distance, the moonless land looked like a series of black holes.
She suspected that when the 300 years were up, the night sky over Senhai might resemble the ceiling of an airport she once visited with Yu Xunge...
Tu Lan asked, "Old Song, are we really going to do this?"
Yu Xunge pinched Tu Lan's mouth and threatened fiercely, "If I hear you call me that old cliché one more time, I won't let you use your Essence Points!!"
Blame it on Yu Qingshan; he was truly at fault! Why did he give her such a name?
Tu Lan hesitated. She was torn between using her Essence Points and making Yu Xunge furious. While the Essence Points were valuable, Yu Xunge's reactions when she got mad were genuinely entertaining. Tu Lan was in a dilemma, unable to make up her mind for a long time.
Finally, she complained, "You once said you would treat me well; you can't make it so hard for me."
Yu Xunge conceded.
At this point, she and Tu Lan had arrived at a place they had never been before. The moonlight was still intact for miles around, untouched by her previous exploits.
This should be enough for her to wreak some havoc.
After shrinking down, Tu Lan stood on Yu Xunge's shoulder, hugging her ear. "I have a bad feeling about this."
In contrast, Yu Xunge had a very good feeling.
She summoned the swirling purple light particles in her heart—activated the skill—"Who Will Cut the Moonlight."
In the next moment, the area around her flashed.
For a brief instant, Yu Xunge saw the world outside the tower. Was that... the sky of Eternal Night City?!
Immediately after, a chill and sharp pain shot through her right eye, as if icy sand were grinding against her eyeball. The pain was almost soul-crushing, a hundred times worse than when she had pierced her own eye with a bone.
Over the years, she had endured countless injuries on the battlefield, and her pain tolerance was already extremely high. Yet at this moment, she couldn't help but cry out in pain, losing her strength to fly and beginning to plummet rapidly.
Tu Lan was startled. After years of following Yu Xunge on various missions, her combat skills and reaction speed had been honed. She quickly transformed back into her dragon form to catch her, and without hesitation, used her Essence Points to activate the expert version of "Expert Skill" for Yu Xunge.
Whether it was the expert skill taking effect or the disturbance in her eye settling down, by the time they landed, Yu Xunge's eye had calmed significantly. She leaned against a large tree, opened her right eye, and saw nothing but emptiness.
It felt like when she covered her right eye and only used her left to see the world; the covered right eye didn’t just fall into darkness but experienced a void where even blackness couldn’t be perceived.
At that moment, the mini Tu Lan flew in front of her and exclaimed, "Your right eye looks so beautiful; it has something inside!"
Using her skill, she created an ice mirror to take a closer look and saw what was inside Yu Xunge's right eye. It was unmistakably... moon sand?!
She had actually collected moon sand?
Yu Xunge didn't rush to hand the moon sand over to the irritable moon; she wanted to observe it a bit longer.
She took out a bandage and wrapped it around her right eye, unable to resist teasing Tu Lan, "Didn’t you say you couldn’t bear to use your Essence Points?"
Tu Lan shrugged, unashamed. She was always generous with her feelings. "Yeah, but who told you that you’re so important to me?"
She was so open about it, not feeling that revealing her affection for Yu Xunge was a weakness. In fact, she felt proud of it.
This left Yu Xunge a bit at a loss for how to respond.
She looked down to tie the bandage, and after securing it, she started to push back the loose strands of hair from her forehead to cover her eyes. As she fumbled with her hair, she instinctively reached to tidy up the medium-length hair she had just cut not long ago, then began to adjust her gear, brushing off the weeds from her pants and the mud from her boots.
She busied herself with a flurry of motions, as if she were trying to distract herself.
But Tu Lan could sense the happiness and gratitude bubbling beneath the surface, along with her affection.
She asked, "If you’re so happy, so touched, and so fond of me, why don’t you just say it out loud?"
Why stay silent and fidget here?
Yu Xunge: …………
Dragons can sometimes communicate easily, with many emotions not needing words. But at other times, they can be a natural nemesis for her.
She quickly stood up and patted her pants. "Let’s go, let’s go! Time to head back for dinner. We made quite a ruckus here; we need to leave quickly."
Tu Lan flew in front of her, tilting her head curiously. "Aren't you uncomfortable holding it in?"
Yu Xunge couldn't take it anymore. "It’s more uncomfortable to say it! I won’t say it, I just won’t!!"
Tu Lan was exasperated. "If you’re shy, just admit it! Why shout so loudly?!"
Yu Xunge: …
**Chapter 322: Tower · The Instance Barrier Can Be Closed**
The pair, one person and one dragon, bickered all the way back to their base. As they entered, Zhao Shuying was just organizing some documents. Seeing them come in, she asked with concern, "What happened to your eye?"
Yu Xunge replied, "Just a little negative status, nothing serious."
Zhao Shuying didn’t press further. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something. I discovered that the instance barriers can be completely closed."
This was the first time Yu Xunge had heard of such a thing. She hadn’t come across it in the kitchen gossip or while being a foot soldier. "How do you close them?"
Zhao Shuying's expression turned serious as she handed Yu Xunge several documents. "Here, I analyzed this. You see, over the years, instance barriers have been disappearing continuously. I can confirm they aren’t being moved elsewhere.
"And before these barriers disappear, the nearby Oak Owls are always sent away in advance.
"I suspect it’s related to the dark veils appearing in the night sky over Senhai."
The expressions of Yu Xunge and Tu Lan, which had been growing increasingly serious, froze at that moment.
Tu Lan exclaimed, "Now who can tell you apart from Sherlock Holmes!"
Yu Xunge pouted, nodding repeatedly as if she were about to brew tea in a thermos. "That makes sense, very much so!"
Talking to this duo really tested her patience.
Zhao Shuying shook her head helplessly and continued, "Besides that, it might also be related to the items collected by the Oak Owls."
Yu Xunge glanced at the documents in her hand, flipped through a few pages, and found what Zhao Shuying had written. It listed the iconic items of eleven different races besides the Oak Owls:
A minotaur's nose ring, an orc's tooth necklace, a blood elf's silver moon emblem, a night elf's moonstone ring, a draenei's right hoof, a dwarf's battle axe, a wind scythe's sickle, a siren's sharp teeth, the first tail of a moon fox, a candle flame from a candle barbarian, and a drop of unholy spring from a death knight.
These items were possessed by every race, but they weren’t guaranteed to drop.
Just like the Oak Owl's little bear cookies—there were millions of Oak Owls logging into Blue Star, yet after all this time, they had only collected a little over a hundred thousand little bear cookies.
Hmm? If the iconic items of the Zelan race were truly needed to permanently close the instance barriers, then to close the instance barrier of Blue Star, wouldn’t they also need the Oak Owl's little bear cookies?
Zhao Shuying continued, "I plan to start collecting these items, and then the three of us will give it a try. Just to be safe, we’ll collect items of the same level... let’s call them specific items for now. We’ll gather specific items of the same level and then try to close the instance barriers of the same level."
Yu Xunge asked, "If there really is a way to close them, why not make it public and let all the Oak Owls collect them?"
Shouldn’t such news be shared to give everyone hope?
Zhao Shuying replied, "That’s why I suspect there might be some benefits involved, because those who go to close the instance barriers are all core members of Song, Maple, and Peach."
Yu Xunge chuckled softly, realizing the truth in that. As long as there were sentient beings with brains and thoughts, it was always the same.
She wondered where that Oak Owl was now, the one who once said to her, "Peach Jar, I really envy you for knowing Lord Peach Crown. He must be perfect, right? Is his wings the same as ours?"
She joked, "If this is true, will Dinghai announce it once we get out?"
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