Chapter 201: Master, Be Careful

Chapter 201: Chapter 201: Master, Be Careful

"That’s enough, and there’s still some left over," Cao Cao said with certainty after checking.

"Good. I need to get to the cave before Great Uncle comes down. Cao Cao, don’t forget to keep an eye out and remind me to call to him when he gets close, so he doesn’t go any further down." After Cao Cao responded, Gu Nuan Nuan resumed her careful climb up the cliff face. Her efforts paid off. She didn’t slip and fail at the last hurdle, but instead climbed smoothly into the cave.

PHEW—

Gu Nuan Nuan heaved a long sigh. "I finally made it. But it’s so dark I can’t see a thing. To think I just told Great Uncle I found a cave... Isn’t that a joke? What am I going to do? How can I explain this away?" She looked around, and though her eyes had adjusted to the gloom, she still couldn’t see her surroundings clearly. She couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on.

"Don’t worry, Master. Once I absorb the Spirit Stone in that inner cave, who knows, there might be something inside that can light the place up. Then your story will make sense, right?" Now that Gu Nuan Nuan was safe, Cao Cao was itching to absorb that Mid Grade Spirit Stone.

"But what about Great Uncle? What if something happens to him and you’re not watching?" Gu Nuan Nuan asked, hesitating.

"Master, did you forget there’s a pool at the bottom?" Cao Cao reminded her. "Even if Great Uncle falls, it’s not a big deal from this height. Besides, he has a flashlight for light. He’s so skilled, climbing a cliff face is no different from walking on flat ground for him. He’ll definitely be fine."

Gu Nuan Nuan was speechless.

"Master, I only need five minutes! If Great Uncle gets here and the Array on that small, inner cave isn’t broken yet, he won’t want to linger. He’ll just take you and leave right away. If there really is something good in here, I’m afraid I won’t be able to pull it into the space!" Cao Cao patiently tried to persuade Gu Nuan Nuan.

"There are good things you can’t pull into your space?" Gu Nuan Nuan blinked, her curiosity piqued.

"I can’t bring in spatial items that are filled with anything besides Spirit Stones," Cao Cao said regretfully. "Your grandfather has a storage bag, Master. My master from two masters ago originally filled it with Spirit Stones for me and left it in the space. It’s a shame that your grandfather later filled it with other things, so it can’t be brought back in anymore."

Gu Nuan Nuan vaguely recalled Cao Cao mentioning once before that her grandfather had a storage bag. She fell silent for a moment before smiling. "Don’t be sad about it. There are two sides to every coin; it’s probably for the best that it can’t be brought back in. Otherwise, if all of Grandpa’s possessions suddenly vanished, it would cause a huge uproar. Who’s to say whether your existence would become common knowledge?"

"You’re right—"

Cao Cao tilted its main stalk as if thinking, its indecision vanishing. It spoke seriously, "That’s why there’s an Array in this cave. I suspect the cave itself might not even be natural. What if it’s a temporary immortal-abode carved out by a Cultivator? I think the most likely possibility is... could this place have been left by my master from two masters ago? It’s hard to say what’s inside. To be honest, even if there is something, you haven’t started your Cultivation, Master, so you wouldn’t be able to use any Magic Treasures. But at the very least, a storage ring or a storage bag would be an incredible treasure in the Mortal World."

"The place that belonged to your master from two masters ago? How can you be so sure?" Gu Nuan Nuan asked.

"I’m not completely certain, Master. But I remember when I first arrived on Blue Water Star with my master from two masters ago, there were no other Cultivators here. Yet the energy inside the low-grade spiritual stone I just absorbed was still very potent. That’s why I suspect this place might have been left behind by him." A hint of melancholy crept into Cao Cao’s voice as it spoke of its old master.

"Well, in that case, hurry up and absorb that Spirit Stone. Break the Array so we can find out for sure," Gu Nuan Nuan urged. She stared into the darkness before her, a complex look in her eyes. ’A strange, awkward feeling is bubbling up inside me.’ However, the feeling didn’t last long. She could understand how Cao Cao felt. ’If it felt nothing at the prospect of finding its old master, that would be far more terrifying.’

"Master, only you are irreplaceable in my heart," Cao Cao said, seeming to sense Gu Nuan Nuan’s complicated emotions and unable to resist a moment of sentimentality.

Gu Nuan Nuan’s mood suddenly lifted. She sent her consciousness into the Companion Space, stroked Cao Cao’s main stalk, and gave it a light ’kiss’. "I know."

Cao Cao’s main stalk instantly flushed with a red hue and gave a shy little twist.

Heh heh...

Gu Nuan Nuan laughed, pleased.

Five minutes felt like an eternity and an instant all at once. Unable to see and still dripping wet, Gu Nuan Nuan could only sit patiently where she was. ’I have to remember to keep a spare set of clothes in Cao Cao’s Companion Space from now on,’ she thought. Just then, she heard Cao Cao’s panicked cry. "Master, look out!"

’Look out for what?’

Before Gu Nuan Nuan could even process Cao Cao’s words, a sharp pain shot through her consciousness. Her vision pulsed with blackness. The pain was soul-deep, as if something were tearing and gnawing at her very spirit. She clutched her head, the agony so intense she felt like smashing it against a wall. A powerful sense of crisis washed over her—the feeling that she was about to lose control of her own body.

’Possession?’

At this critical moment, she suddenly recalled the countless Cultivation web novels she had read in her past life. The word ’possession’ surfaced in her mind.

’Is it Cao Cao’s master from two masters ago?’

’Or is it someone else?’

’No! I don’t care who it is. I finally managed to be reborn. I worked so hard to build this new, better life. A bright future is right ahead of me! I can’t just hand over these good days to someone else now. It doesn’t matter who it is. I won’t let them!’

Gu Nuan Nuan held her breath, her resolve hardening. The next moment, her vision shifted, and she found herself in a chaotic world. She felt as if she had become a cloud of white mist being devoured by a swirling black fog. She knew instantly that this was the source of her soul-rending pain. The black fog’s assault was too ferocious. The white mist was steadily losing ground, and in just a few moments, it had shrunk by a large margin...

’I can’t wait any longer!’ Gu Nuan Nuan’s inner power exploded. Enduring the excruciating pain, she opened her ’mouth’ and bit back at the black fog. The moment a wisp of black fog went down, the pain vanished instantly, replaced by a profound sense of satisfaction. Her eyes lit up. No longer caring that the black fog was also consuming her, she quickened her pace, devouring it mouthful after mouthful.

Perhaps it was because this was her sea of consciousness and she had the home-field advantage, or perhaps it was because her will to live and her sheer stubbornness were greater than the intruder’s. Soon, under her counterattack, the black fog was in full retreat. Finally, it even transformed into a tiny, exquisitely handsome manikin that gave her a pleading look—