Chapter 146: Madman Guan's Gift

Ye Chong forced his eyes open, his head heavy and throbbing with a dull ache as if it were about to split apart. He propped his upper body up and vigorously shook his head, trying to clear his senses.

"I didn't expect you to still be in one piece. Truly astonishing!" Shang remarked in a teasing tone.

"Shang, what on earth is going on here?" Ye Chong pressed his throbbing temples, voicing the question weighing on his mind immediately.

"Well, much of this is absent from my database, so I cannot provide an explanation. However, she left something behind for you that might prove useful! Leaves, your vigilance seems to have plummeted dramatically as of late. Could it be a prolonged lack of blood-soaked stimulation? Ah, a beast surviving purely on instinct, as expected. Leaves, I never imagined you would actually be ambushed and taken advantage of by a woman! Tsk tsk, heavens, could it be that you've developed some unknown romantic feelings for her? Well, that is somewhat understandable..." Shang's old habit flared up again as it rambled on incessantly.

Ye Chong stood up with great difficulty. The movement left his entire body feeling almost completely drained. He had no idea what the Madwoman Guan had actually done to him, but his limbs were limp and entirely devoid of strength. Even the simple act of standing felt intensely grueling.

Ye Chong quickly spotted a chip resting on the table nearby. This must be the gift the Madwoman Guan had left him, as Shang had mentioned. Picking up the chip, Ye Chong inserted it into the room's optical computer. A second later, the Madwoman Guan's image materialized in the holographic projection.

"Little Leaf, I truly never expected you to give me so many surprises. Hmm, I’ve already gotten what I wanted out of you. Thank you, Little Leaf; if not for you, I doubt I would have found my sister so easily. Sister is off to find her sister now!

Hehe. Little Leaf, who would have thought you were so formidable? It seems Sister underestimated you. Heehee. You know, Sister loves formidable men the most!

I'll be taking this necklace, but the gift Sister left behind is something you're bound to love. Well, now that I finally have a lead, Sister can't possibly let it go. Besides, Little Leaf, thank you for saving my possibly-younger-sister—even if that wasn't your original intention.

Take good care of yourself. Oh, that's right, don't forget to be extremely careful when dealing with token-cultivators in the future! Heehee!"

The Madwoman Guan held up a wine glass, smiled cheerfully at Ye Chong, and then the holographic projection immediately shut down. Just as Ye Chong thought it was over, the optical computer suddenly prompted: "Data detected. Read data?"

Ye Chong froze for a moment, but immediately reacted: "Read!"

Once the optical computer finished playing all the information, Ye Chong finally understood what the Madwoman Guan's so-called gift was. She had stored all the specialized cultivator courses she had prepared specifically for Ye Chong on this chip, allowing him to study at his own pace. Only, the sheer scale of the curriculum slightly exceeded Ye Chong's imagination. After skimming through all the courses hastily, just as Ye Chong thought it was over, the Madwoman Guan's image suddenly popped up before him again.

Could there still be something else? Ye Chong's mind was filled with questions.

Unlike before, the Madwoman Guan's expression in this recording was extremely solemn: "Little Leaf, I originally hadn't planned on giving you what comes next, but you are my only student. Moreover, your current situation doesn't seem all that great. While this item might not necessarily bring you much use, I am leaving it for you anyway, hoping it can help you out just a little. But you must remember: do not rely on it too excessively. Only the knowledge you master yourself is truly worth relying on. Your talent is exceptional; if you keep studying persistently, you will surely become an outstanding cultivator. Heh, though I suppose I won't live to see it." At this point, the Madwoman Guan flashed a somewhat bitter smile.

"You want to leave the Orbital Ring? Heh, surprised that I knew? Once you finish all the courses, you'll understand. If you manage to get out, Little Leaf—and I mean *if*—could you do me a favor and visit Axial City on Guanghua Star? My family is called the May Night Ridge. Remember, you must wait until you have finished all the courses before going. I have no hope of leaving the Orbital Ring; my greatest hope is simply to find my sister. Well, Little Leaf, I hope we both have good luck! Oh, right, don't forget to tell your master the formula for the strengthening fluid!"

The moment her voice trailed off, the Madwoman Guan's image instantly vanished. In its place appeared a prompt from the optical computer: "Guan's Automated Analysis Mechanism initialized. Please input primary materials and final requirements."

Ye Chong stared blankly as the optical computer demonstrated the process over and over again.

"This is incredible! Leaves, the Guan beauty is truly amazing! Leaves, I told you long ago that the Guan beauty is a stunner who combines both appearance and wisdom! Tsk tsk, to think someone could actually create such an automated analysis mechanism—what a genius! And an exceptional beauty at that. Leaves, how many times have I advised you to charm her early on, but you simply wouldn't listen? Look at where you are now—where on earth are you going to find a genius with such personality again?" Shang lamented in a tone of profound grief and regret.

Ye Chong, however, was completely dumbfounded. He had never imagined that anyone could create something like this. One had to know that within the cultivation industry, the prevailing practice was the accumulation of experience. Because too many underlying principles remained unknown, people often had to rely on experience to judge so-called laws. This was why those ancient noble families were able to delve deeper into the core of this profession—because the experience accumulated by their ancestors over vast stretches of time was far greater.

Yet, the program before him shattered all of that. Although Ye Chong could be considered an idiot when it came to optical computers, he understood the most basic principle: this program was undoubtedly the result of computation. In other words, a principle—and a very explicit one at that—had to exist at the core of this program; otherwise, the optical computer would have been completely incapable of making judgments.

How could this not shock Ye Chong? While everyone else believed that cultivation was merely the product of accumulated experience, this Madwoman Guan, who constantly drank heavily and spent more than half her time in a semi-intoxicated state, had actually touched upon the very core of this industry!

"Well, she told you to go to Guanghua Star. Following common sense, that should be her home. Leaves, why don't you check if she has any sisters? If there's anyone decent, you could make do. Sigh, but then again, a peerless woman like that is truly once-in-a-lifetime. Heavens, my heart is practically shattering!" Shang continued wailing to itself.

Unfortunately, Ye Chong didn't take in a single word of what Shang was saying.

Recovering from his initial shock, Ye Chong grew eager to test the performance of this automated analysis mechanism. Following the instructions, he quickly connected the optical computer to the cultivator's specialized analyzer.

The analytical sample Ye Chong took out was Duokun stone. According to Mu Shang, this type of stone was extremely rare, so it was unlikely the Madwoman Guan would recognize it. Only an unknown sample could truly test the applicability of the Guan Automated Analysis Mechanism.

With shifting colors and a luster flowing like liquid, the moment the Duokun stone was brought out, the entire room seemed to brighten by several degrees.

Ye Chong placed it into the analyzer, then selected "fixed-form cultivation" as the cultivation method, with the final requirement being to stimulate its growth.

The analyzer emitted a low hum, with various data continuously scrolling by. Unfortunately, Ye Chong had not studied to such an advanced level; he could barely comprehend the significance of only a handful of items. Meanwhile, changes were also occurring within the Guan Automated Analysis Mechanism on the optical computer, and similarly, Ye Chong didn't understand a single thing about them. Ye Chong suddenly recalled the Madwoman Guan's words that the knowledge one mastered oneself was the most reliable. It seemed he would need to find time to complete all the courses inside the chip, Ye Chong resolved inwardly.

After about ten minutes, all changes finally ceased, and the Guan Automated Analysis Mechanism produced its result. The optical computer's synthesized electronic voice announced: "This transformation can be achieved. Required materials—Void Stone, Many-Root Grass, Taolun Sand, Soft Factor No. 13, Feiqi Crystals..."

Ye Chong was dumbfounded. Aside from Soft Factor No. 13, which he recognized, he had never even heard of the other materials listed here. There was simply no way for him to verify this!

However, the fact that the automated analysis mechanism could deduce a conclusion that the transformation was possible had already convinced Ye Chong quite a bit.

After thinking it over, Ye Chong decided that inputting the information from this chip into Mu Shang would be the safest bet. Otherwise, if it were accidentally lost one day, he wouldn't even have a place to cry.

From the Madwoman Guan's words, Ye Chong felt as though she seemed to know quite a lot about his affairs. What on earth was going on? The whole event left Ye Chong completely baffled in the end. One thing that could be confirmed was that the wine-red flask was related to the Madwoman Guan. She had said she was going to look for her sister—could Zhuling, whom he had met that day, be the Madwoman Guan's sister? Recalling the image of Zhuling in his memory, Ye Chong found it utterly impossible to connect those two drastically different people.

Ye Chong summoned Shang, climbed into its cockpit, and inserted the chip into the optical computer. To him, there was no place in this world safer than being stored within Mu Shang's database.

Ye Chong asked Shang, "Shang, what actually happened during the time I was unconscious?"

Mu Shang was forever awake, and nothing around it could escape its scanning capabilities.

"See for yourself, I cannot explain it!" Shang then projected the entire scanning process right inside its cockpit.

The holographic projection was exceptionally clear, recording everything that happened to Ye Chong without the slightest deviation. In the footage, Ye Chong saw himself suddenly collapse onto the ground, after which the Madwoman Guan ran into the inner room and concocted a peculiar purple reagent—one Ye Chong was certain he had never seen before. Immediately afterward, he saw her wave the reagent right under his nose.

Then, the most bizarre scene unfolded. Ye Chong watched as he sat up like a sleepwalker, his eyes dull and lifeless. The Madwoman Guan began asking questions, and Ye Chong honestly answered every single one of them. Throughout the entire process, his expression remained blank, his eyes hollow like a puppet, answering whatever was asked.

Bizarre—too bizarre!

A sudden chill crept up Ye Chong's spine. He distinctly felt every hair on his body stand on end involuntarily for a split second, and his scalp tingled fiercely.

Terrifying—truly terrifying!