Before Xia Wan's "delivery," Cheng Shi managed to cast a healing spell on her just in time.
Because Xia Wan was carrying multiple fetuses, this healing spell was very effective, directly restoring her to full health.
But this also meant that the newborns she gave Birth to would be exceptionally healthy.
The group ran desperately outwards, and before they had run too long, the lifeforms gestating within Xia Wan couldn't wait any longer and were born.
life catalyzed by [Genesis Grass Seed] wouldn't wait for any delivery Doctor; when they were halfway there, the bulges on Xia Wan's body burst open, exploding out several bizarre, half-flesh, half-plant vines.
The good news was that these vines weren't very strong in combat, and Song Yawen alone dealt with them.
The bad news was that while Xia Wan was fine, Nangong was close to Death.
Her eyes were half-closed, and she was burning up all over, clearly hovering on the brink of life and Death; the wounds on her ribs and lower abdomen still carried the scent of [decay] and continued to rot, and it was clear she was breathing out more than in.
"At this rate, Nangong will die."
After all, they were teammates who had just gone through life and Death together, and there was still more than half a day of Trial time left; no matter what, no one in the team wanted to lose a member here.
They had survived the Demon Army's attack; dying here would be too much of a loss.
Chen Chong stopped, dropped Cao San Sui from his back, and said to Cheng Shi:
"Nangong's body can't withstand the healing from [Birth] anymore. If it doesn't work, you can heal the Mage and let the Mage use time magic to keep her alive."
Cao San Sui wanted to, but He was a Mage, not a Priest or a Singer, and didn't have that many support spells.
Cheng Shi looked at the sorrowful expressions on everyone's faces, sighed, and took out a small red bottle from His small safe.
"What is this?" Song Yawen immediately leaned over; He seemed to smell the scent of [Death] in the bottle.
"An A-Level potion, 'Elixir of the Dead's Disdain,' produced from devout [Death] believers.
His agents believe that some people are unworthy of enjoying Death, so they extract this disdain and brew it into a potion to punish Oathbreakers who have committed grave sins.
It prevents them from approaching [Death] again, from hearing His teachings."
While explaining, Cheng Shi poured the potion onto Nangong's body.
"As long as it's mixed with one's own blood, even severe injuries won't kill you. However, it has no healing effect; it's purely for prolonging life."
"Huh? There's such a thing?"
Song Yawen quickly reached out, wanting to catch a drop to study, but Cheng Shi's hand was faster; He slapped His hand away, scolding with a smile:
"One drop less and it loses its effect. Do you want her to die?"
Song Yawen's face froze, and He flushed, saying: "I... I've never seen it before. Nangong, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."
The pale-faced Nangong had no strength to pay attention to Him; She just watched the liquid poured onto Her body quickly merge into Her blood, and then...
She felt nothing.
"Is this... useful?"
Cheng Shi glanced at Her and said:
"It's useful, and it's very expensive. When you recover, remember to compensate me."
Nangong gritted Her teeth and nodded heavily: "Okay!"
Xia Wan had just given Birth to "children," and was bleeding from various places, but She was a [Birth] believer and had stronger resistance to "Reproduction," so Cheng Shi didn't use the potion and just gave Her a normal healing spell.
Luckily, She didn't get pregnant again.
Chen Chong saw that Cheng Shi had simply saved two more lives and asked very seriously:
"Cheng Shi, what's your score exactly?"
"I..."
"Besides 1501."
"..." Cheng Shi looked around, seeing the confusion in everyone's eyes. Seeing that they didn't believe Him, He still said shamelessly:
"It really is 1501."
Chen Chong didn't believe a word; He said in a deep voice:
"You think I'm stupid? The healing chain in that situation just now could only be achieved with an S-Level talent. Plus these two bottles of 'Elixir of the Dead's Disdain,' you...
Absolutely cannot be below 2000 points."
The initial score for [path to godhood] is 1000 points. During each settlement, a score below 1000 results in immediate Death. A score above 1200 can yield B-Level talents or items, above 1600 can yield A-Level, and only above 2000 can yield S-Level talents.
"Ah, yes, yes, yes. Do you want to keep guessing scores here, or come with me?"
Cheng Shi picked up Nangong in one go and led the way forward.
Everyone exchanged glances, a hint of helplessness flashing in their eyes, and quickly followed.
What can you do when the Big Shot(Da lao) doesn't want to tell the truth? Of course, you follow everything He says!
Song Yawen was naturally talkative and didn't stop asking questions along the way.
"Cheng Ge, what's your talent? Tell me."
"Cheng Ge, what's your score exactly?"
"Cheng Ge, do you have any more of that little red water? Can I trade something else for some..."
"Cheng Ge,..."
Cheng Shi really couldn't stand it anymore and asked back:
"...Shouldn't Assassins all be silent and taciturn?"
Song Yawen said with a grin: "This is called contrast; it's popular now."
"..."
...
Fortunately, in the next hour, no other units of the Skeleton Army pursued them.
Cheng Shi and His group walked for half a day across the exposed plain before finally seeing a dense forest.
Song Yawen, who had been chattering all along, volunteered to scout ahead and found it was a home abandoned by Wood Elves. Apart from a few derelict tree houses, there was no living Existence inside.
Cheng Shi and Chen Chong were relieved and quickly led the wounded into the forest.
Cao San Sui's condition stabilized first. He had overdrawn too much mental power, leaving Him weak and powerless. Every muscle in His body was out of precise control, and He could only mumble what He knew about the Wood Elves to the others.
"Wood Elves are believers of [prosperity], an eternally neutral race. They revere nature and never mix with other races. Since this place was chosen as their dwelling, it must be relatively safe."
Hearing this, Song Yawen asked curiously:
"If it's safe, why would they abandon it?"
"I said relatively safe. Before the War, it was definitely safe, but after the Skeleton Army launched the War against the Hope Continent, there was no safe place left on the Hope Continent."
At this time, for safety, Chen Chong was guarding outside the tree house. He turned back slightly puzzled and asked:
"I keep hearing people say the Skeleton Army launched a War against the Hope Continent, but what's the reason for the War?"
Cao San Sui shook His head with difficulty:
"People in the Mage channel speculate it's a Faith War, but people in the Faith channel speculate that underground creatures are fighting over something. [time] focuses on the present, so we have very little information. Perhaps believers of [memory], by looking back at the past, would know more."
Cheng Shi had been listening with interest, but after hearing the divine name [memory], His smile visibly froze for a moment.
"I checked the time; the Trial has already passed 6 hours. We have 18 hours left to endure, but I still need 10 hours to recover..."
Cao San Sui's meaning was clear: although they had survived, the situation would be very grim in the next 10 hours without the Mage's combat power.
No one knew what they would encounter next, and no one believed that after miraculously surviving the hellish difficulty of the Demon Army's surprise attack, there would be no more danger in the Trial.
Perhaps possible in a normal Trial, but absolutely impossible in a special Trial.
Cheng Shi recalled the name of the Trial, his brows slightly furrowed.
"Song of Blood and Fire... We've already seen blood, so what about fire?"
Tsk, His team just happened to be staying in the forest. If a fire were to burn through here...
Eight hundred li of camps burning?
It shouldn't be that coincidental, right?
Forget it, don't think too much. Deal with whatever comes.
Cheng Shi scratched His head and pulled out a bottle of cola from His safe, gulping it down.
"???"
Song Yawen was stunned at this sight.
"Cheng Ge, space in the portable dimension is precious, and you're putting this in there?"
Cheng Shi pointed at Chen Chong and laughed: "Chen Chong even keeps alcohol, so what's wrong with me keeping a few bottles of cola? If a person loses cola, what pleasure is there left?"
Chen Chong didn't turn back, but His vigorous nodding showed He deeply agreed.
Song Yawen's safe actually also had drinking water, but that was water for saving lives and quenching thirst in extreme environments, definitely not comparable to cola for pleasuring the taste buds. Seeing Cheng Shi drink so happily, He unconsciously swallowed His saliva.
"Cheng Ge... cola, do you have any more?"
Seeing His appearance, Cheng Shi didn't say a word and took out 5 more bottles.
"??? Cheng Ge, your portable dimension isn't all cola, is it?"
Cheng Shi raised His eyebrows and didn't speak.
Song Yawen was very happy; at least it wasn't wasting His own portable dimension. He quickly picked a bottle and didn't forget to share the rest with the others.
Facts proved that drinking cola after combat was truly refreshing.
Everyone felt refreshed twice over.
Even Nangong, who couldn't move, drank a few sips with Cheng Shi's help.
"The forest is still too big a target. We'll rest for another 2-3 hours, then move further away."
After finishing His drink, Chen Chong picked up His sword and went out.
Standing guard was His responsibility because He was a lawful [Order] believer.
Xia Wan and Song Yawen sat obediently in the house, taking care of the injured and resting with their eyes closed.
But as soon as Song Yawen closed His eyes, a wave of drowsiness swept over Him.
This drowsiness came so gently and comfortably that for a moment, He didn't have any desire to resist.
"Clang."
Song Yawen, who had been sitting on the ground, fell sideways. The injured people in the house also slowly closed their eyes and fell into slumber.
Just as everyone was sound asleep, Cheng Shi suddenly opened His eyes, a hint of slyness flashing through them.
"Tsk, you'll drink any beverage. You haven't been beaten enough."
Smiling, His gaze landed on Nangong beside Him.
...