Chapter 7: Sunny Fruit Basket, Fear No Hardships!
Determined to integrate into the new world, the Tiger Demon moved its limbs, then leaped up, attempting to close the [Boss Template] and revert to human form.
The entire process was exceptionally easy and simple, requiring only a mental confirmation, then controlling consciousness to close a certain area in the depths of the soul.
That was the dwelling place of the [Mutated Spiritual Root], already fused with the soul.
In Yuan Zhu’s perception, the [Mutated Spiritual Root] was like a human’s brainstem, extending out a dense network of plant-like nervous system (autonomic spiritual root tentacles), covering every inch of the soul, inseparable.
When he closed the [Boss Template], these vine-like, sprawling and diffusing soul tentacles curled and contracted one after another, carrying the shadow power filling the body, penetrating deep into the soul, and permeating around the body, retreating like a tide into the depths of the soul, into the dataized space opened by the [Boss Template].
At the same time, the Tiger Demon’s massive body slowly shrank, its coat of black fur collapsing into specks of pitch-black smoke, re-entering the shadow at its feet, flowing into the body, and escaping into the dataized soul space.
Finally, amid the reluctant sigh of the skeleton snake tail, the fur dissipated completely, claws and fangs regressed, and the body posture returned from a crouching feline to an upright primate stance.
With a ‘snap!’, the [Boss Template] locked the little black room and hid itself away.
Yuan Zhu once again became a human with a clean root and feet.
[Great Desolation Immortal Scripture. Supreme VIP Deluxe Upgrade Edition, resuming service for you! Ultimate cultivation, live a second life, fulfill your ascension dream!]
The game sprite’s voice resounded in his mind again, but this time, she switched to a youthful, vibrant, energetic girl image, appearing in Yuan Zhu’s spirit.
The moment Yuan Zhu saw her, he uncontrollably liked her. This appearance, this figure, this image—it was completely tailored to his personal preferences.
In reality, the [Great Desolation Immortal Scripture] would search the user’s memory and, according to their fetishes, create a unique subconscious soul companion. Through the ‘game sprite’s’ built-in image goodwill and mind-reading-like mental affinity, it subtly influenced, guided, and got the user to complete specified missions unknowingly, making them think it was all their own choice.
Compared to the initial mechanical stiffness, this time the game sprite clearly carried the joy of seeing a familiar face, excitedly shouting: “Haha, I’m out again! The little black room can’t hold me. Old Immortal Scripture Master, I want this sky to no longer block my eyes; this earth to no longer bury my heart. I want to step by step reach the highest, standing above the high heavens!”
Yuan Zhu had grown somewhat accustomed to the game sprite’s intermittent craziness, ignoring her bold ambitions and directly asking: “How does this Supreme VIP Deluxe Upgrade Edition compare to my [Boss Template]?”
The game sprite huffed proudly: “Of course, it’s worlds apart. Translated, it’s just an ordinary garbage blank client. I made up the name myself for good luck—sounds nice, right? Super bold! Ordinary client, no hidden spiritual root, no skills, no initial resources, pure blank slate. Only provides basic soul protection, body health monitoring, and auxiliary learning functions.”
“You need to personally integrate into the new world, explore alone, collect resources and intelligence, contact and learn local special power systems, then follow the [Immortal Scripture]’s provided template to independently synthesize an ordinary spiritual root. But now, the world has changed, and the universe’s laws are all unknown. This ‘blank client’ is clearly not adapting to the environment, the [Great Desolation Immortal Scripture] is playing dead, so for now, treat this blank client as isolation gear to help your human body resist pollution erosion from the external environment.”
He had even experienced the [Boss Template], so a mere ordinary client naturally held no resistance. But after tasting delicacies, looking back at the [Ordinary Edition. Great Desolation Immortal Scripture] felt like a cheap instant noodle add-on for a loser upgrade—utterly underwhelming.
“Hiss…!”
After standing steady again, Yuan Zhu noticed his dual vision merge into single, finally regaining that familiar sense of security. This was the feeling of being human, so intimate.
He looked around the bloodstained, eerie hall, inexplicably feeling a chill, but unable to pinpoint what was different.
Could it be too many dead people, heavy resentment lingering, all cursing him? But he was the King of Hundred Beasts who enslaved ghost companions—what, old longevity star hanging himself? Or perhaps the multiple evil god pollutions hadn’t fully dissipated? Lacking the [Tiger Demon]’s powerful pollution resistance in human stance, he felt the bone-chilling cold?
“Neither! Feeling cold is just common sense, isn’t it? Look down, mind your image, sunny fruit basket big brother. Friendly reminder: your clothes are dead.”
Hm?
Shock!!
Yuan Zhu looked down, then his heart jolted: good grief! Truly good grief!
He hurriedly crossed his hands to cover his vitals, feeling embarrassed. Fortunately, the hall was empty. He looked around, trying to find something to cover himself with.
Tiger Demon transformation was powerful, but the size change was too drastic. From a 187cm human, it burst into a 4m-long (excluding tail) giant ferocious tiger. That bloodstained outfit had long been torn apart, lost somewhere in the melee.
Soon, Yuan Zhu rummaged through the blood pool and found a relatively intact and clean cloak, hastily draping it over himself, finally relaxing as he continued examining the murder scene, searching for useful items or key evidence to prove his innocence.
Even with the game sprite providing psychological counseling, he still had to face this world’s police and legal authorities.
He couldn’t just rely on the [Boss Template] to flee, abandon everything, and bear all the crimes for these cultists as a wanted criminal, right?
But as for clearing his name…
Looking at the empty hall, those fingers, flesh chunks, internal organ fragments sticking to the walls, roof, tables, and chairs, constantly peeling and falling off…
He truly didn’t think he could be released without charge. This scene was too misleading, and as the only survivor on site, he simply couldn’t explain it clearly.
“How about giving up proving innocence and just fleeing?” Yuan Zhu said in his mind to the game sprite.
The game sprite opposed this: “If you flee, it’s like admitting guilt. They won’t care if you’re innocent—they’ll pin the crime on you directly. If you stay, you can still struggle and fight. Worst case, if proving innocence fails, we can always break out of jail.”
“Break out?”
The game sprite nodded: “What do you think the [Boss Template] is? You’ve taken down dozens of demonic creatures from evil god descents—can a prison for detaining mortals stop you? Don’t have a weakling mindset, be confident. You’re cheating, we’re strong! Besides, if you really end up in prison, it’s full of talents with unique skills, sweet talkers—you can better contact this world’s secrets, learn hidden info, acquire useful knowledge.”
“Ordinary people only access society’s surface. Prison big shots delve into deeper layers, even knowing supernatural system secrets. These are vital intel to help the [Immortal Scripture] adapt to the local environment and make you stronger. Moreover, I don’t recommend rashly exposing the [Boss Template]. It’s your trump card for self-preservation; once exposed, you might get labeled an ‘evil god believer’.”
Yuan Zhu nodded in understanding. The [Tiger Demon]’s demonic energy or magic power (mana bar) was directly extracted from [polluting energy. shadow power], a pure evil ritual product. Though he tamed the shadow power via [Mutated Spiritual Root] for coexistence, to locals, he was a bona fide demonic path player, everyone shouting to beat him.
So he had self-preservation ability and confidence to face any adverse situation, but he wouldn’t act rashly to expose it, choosing to hide instead. First hunker down, play it safe and gauge the winds—even if enduring some grievance.
However, proving innocence and clearing his name still needed doing. So Yuan Zhu suppressed his discomfort, lingering in this flesh-splattered crime scene, searching for valuable items.
“Eh, there’s a wallet soaking in blood over there—pick it up quick.”
“That! That! There! Behind the overturned cabinet, a finger wearing a gold ring. Trust me, pure gold!”
“And over there, half an ear with a nice pearl earring. Pity only half an ear, can’t make a pair.”
“Genuine leather ladies’ bag!”、”Is this a coin pouch? Lots of coins inside.”、”Necklace!”、”This cigarette box is polluted by slime, garbage. But this brass lighter has a vintage feel—maybe an antique?”、”Hey, there’s a pair of leather shoes here; quickly pry your feet out and put them on yourself. Barefoot on the ground is easy to catch a chill.”
Seeking follows, seeking votes… seeking support.
