Chapter 83: Comparing Lives (Please vote!)

Cheng Zhi’s voice was thick with restraint and pain. Zhou Yi quickly hurried his steps and exited the stone chamber. Cheng Zhi gripped the green spirit stone, his other hand still holding the baseball bat. Yet at the tip of the bat, a green shoot had sprouted—tender and vibrant, just a palm’s length, with a single leaf trembling and stretching restlessly.

Zhou Yi dared not interrupt; it was clear this was the power granted by the spirit stone.

After a brief wait, Cheng Zhi opened his eyes. Upon seeing Zhou Yi, his face still bore some confusion.

“Not bad, you’ve sensed the wood attribute!”

Cheng Zhi opened his palm. The spirit stone he held showed no obvious change in size. Zhou Yi looked at the baseball bat, and Cheng Zhi followed his gaze. His eyes widened in alarm when he saw the bat, and he released it in a panic—the bat clattered to the ground.

“How did it grow leaves? How long have I been sitting here?”

Zhou Yi chuckled.

“Not long, nearly a day. The weather has cleared outside. Try grabbing some of those dead branches, see if you can control them. After all, your bat is made of compressed, fused material—not truly wood.”

At Zhou Yi’s suggestion, Cheng Zhi’s interest was piqued. There were plenty of dead branches on the ground, collected earlier. He picked out a straight one and swung it up and down.

“Sir, I drew the attribute from the spirit stone, but I have no idea how to use it.”

Zhou Yi casually gestured toward the stone chamber behind him. A stream of water, like a floating ribbon, followed his movement and flew outside the cave.

“Feel it with your heart—there’s no secret method or command. Of course, you can give yourself a cue if it helps.”

Cheng Zhi stood up, holding the dead branch and licking his lips as he focused. This time, he didn’t close his eyes but fixed them intently on the branch, concentrating.

He waited for over ten seconds. Zhou Yi didn’t hurry him. Cheng Zhi’s face flushed red, and sweat beaded on his brow.

It was like someone used to standing to pee being told to do it lying down—completely at a loss. That was Cheng Zhi now.

As he grimaced and strained, a shoot finally emerged from the dead branch, then another—encouragement enough.

Cheng Zhi kept at it, staring at the tip of the branch. Suddenly, three shoots sprang forth, each splitting into dozens of smaller branches, leaves unfurling everywhere until the cave entrance was more than half blocked.

Zhou Yi hastened to raise his hand.

“Stop! That’s enough! Any more and the entrance will be sealed!”

Only then did Cheng Zhi come to his senses and halt. He looked at the branches filling the entrance, excitement on his face, waving the spirit stone at Zhou Yi.

“Sir, am I impressive?”

Zhou Yi cleared his throat.

“Impressive, yes, but see if you can handle these branches—maybe gather them up, or make them wither at least; we could use the firewood.”

Cheng Zhi froze.

Caught up in his excitement, he hadn’t noticed that the branches now wrapped all around, immobilizing him and Zhou Yi alike.

Zhou Yi shook his head, flipped his wrist, and a machete appeared in his hand. He set to clearing the branches before him, making his way toward the stone chamber. It was slow going, but he managed to get inside.

The branches seemed to have a natural tendency to stretch toward the sunlight, so the cave entrance was thick with them, while the stone chamber behind was relatively sparse.

Not bothering with the dumbstruck Cheng Zhi, Zhou Yi slipped into the stone chamber at the back, where the pool was. The fat man was still there.

It wasn’t too dark; the cracked flashlight still shone feebly. The equipment Sofia had given him was of decent quality—even after two days, it still provided light.

Looking around, Zhou Yi spotted the fat man in a corner, already awake, sitting there staring blankly at a yellow spirit stone, seemingly unable to figure out its secret.

Zhou Yi approached quietly, but the fat man didn’t move.

“Don’t be discouraged. Try again when we get outside. There’s plenty of earth here—you can experiment with your power as much as you like.”

The fat man looked up at Zhou Yi.

“Ah, I’m not even sure this counts as control.”

As he spoke, he snapped his fingers, and with a pop, a dirt clod shaped like a pile of dung landed before him. Zhou Yi saw that there were many such dirt clods at his feet.

Still, this level of control seemed less useful than Cheng Zhi’s; at least Cheng Zhi could conjure branches for firewood, while the fat man’s skill seemed quite pointless.

But Zhou Yi decided not to dampen his spirits; after all, it was something.

“It counts. But what we need now is offensive power—if you can master your attribute, you’ll be able to protect yourself. For example, try forming a larger, harder, more solid clod of earth that you can hurl at an enemy, or perhaps dig a hole without lifting a finger.”

The fat man pondered this, sighed, and got to his feet.

“Must be hunger—my ability’s weaker because of it. How’s Cheng Zhi doing?”

Zhou Yi turned and gestured toward the entrance with his chin.

“He’s outside clearing branches. Let’s head out together. Don’t forget to grab the broken flashlight—we shouldn’t leave any traces of our presence.”

The fat man looked confused.

Zhou Yi’s instructions threw him for a loop, but he still stooped to pick up the broken flashlight, gathering up the food wrappers and empty bottles as well.

Zhou Yi packed away the trash. This Five Elements Tomb—who exactly was buried here? Or perhaps, what secrets did it hold?

He had no desire to investigate further. Having collected the spirit stones, his task was done.

If one wanted to explore this world, at the very least some means of transport was necessary. Looking out over the vast, lifeless expanse of the Gobi, how could one possibly search such an area on foot? Zhou Yi had no interest in trekking—leave that to scientists and explorers. It was a waste of time and utterly pointless.

They exited the corridor, passed through the first stone chamber, and found Cheng Zhi had finished up outside. Hearing footsteps, Cheng Zhi turned to the two of them and beamed.

“Sir, I can make them wither, but to clear them completely, I think a fire would be faster.”

The fat man was stunned. The entrance was huge, now strewn with severed branches and fallen leaves.

From Cheng Zhi’s words, it was clear he’d done all this. There was no way such growth could have sprouted overnight on its own—it had to be his wood attribute at work.

Realizing this, the fat man bit his lip and fell silent.

He had been the first to follow Zhou Yi, and he and Cheng Zhi had absorbed the spirit stones together. Yet Cheng Zhi could do all this, while he could only play with dirt—dirt not even as big as a fist. It was humiliating.

Zhou Yi waved his hand.

“Let’s check outside. The rain has passed, and we need to see if the side path still exists. We’ll need to find a way out; there’s no room here for the teleportation disk. We’ll need an open space—at least make it to the mountain peak.”

For the first time, the fat man was eager, hurrying ahead to the entrance. He’d always bossed Cheng Zhi around, but now, stripped of any sense of superiority, his diligence even surprised Zhou Yi.

Standing in the entrance, the fat man gazed toward the narrow path they’d taken on arrival. One look, and he jumped, turning quickly to Zhou Yi and Cheng Zhi.

“Looks like the rain was too heavy. The path we came by is completely gone. On both sides of this cave, it’s just bare rock. Getting out looks tough.”

Zhou Yi came over. Sure enough, the path outside had vanished. The opening now seemed to jut out a meter or so, with nothing on either side. Down below, the valley was still churning with muddy water, with clumps of earth tumbling in from time to time.

The situation was troublesome—they were trapped. The cave mouth was halfway up the mountain, still a long climb from the summit. Even if Cheng Zhi could conjure a vine, Zhou Yi wouldn’t dare to climb it.

If he lost his grip and fell, he’d be finished. There was no river below, just a raging mudslide—no chance of survival.

Suddenly, an idea struck Zhou Yi. He looked at the fat man.

“Perfect timing—try it out. There’s nothing but earth here. Can you use your attribute to fashion a path for us? The rainfall has made the soil very soft. Even if Cheng Zhi conjured a vine, climbing would be dangerous. If you can make a solid path, Cheng Zhi could cover it with vine, like a wooden walkway. Only then can we leave.”

The fat man nodded. For once, he didn’t protest, just held out his hand to Zhou Yi.

“Alright, I’ll try—but give me something to eat first. I’m starving.”