NOVEL NEXT 137. Innate Space
The white tiger had been carrying her senior sister on her back, but upon reverting to her cub form, she found herself pinned underneath. With Yun Qingyu injured and her condition uncertain, the little white tiger dared not move, taking quite some time to poke her head out.
The system, seeing its host’s predicament, showed rare concern: “Host, are you alright?”
The little white tiger exhaled, ceasing her struggle, and asked the system, “System, first scan the surroundings to check for any dangers or other people.” Based on her years of experience, such a grand palace surely had more than one entrance. Perhaps the secret realm had many trials scattered about, allowing those who passed to enter, face further tests, or compete.
The system quickly scanned the area around the palace and replied, “Rest assured, host, there’s no one else here. As for other dangers, I apologize, but the area is filled with energy fluctuations. I’ll need a detailed analysis to make any judgments.”
Given the system’s specific mention, this analysis wouldn’t be quick. However, one thing was certain: the little white tiger and her senior sister’s current position was safe. As long as they didn’t move, their safety was guaranteed for the short term—as for long-term safety, who knew if there were any formations set up that might turn safe spots into deadly ones?
The little white tiger understood this and wasted no time, urging the system, “You can analyze later. First, scan my senior sister’s injuries. She hasn’t woken up; I hope there’s no severe internal damage?”
The system obediently continued scanning, taking slightly longer for the more precise human body scan: “Host, your senior sister’s condition isn’t good. Her meridians and bones are damaged, and her Nascent Soul seems weakened.” After a pause, it added, “Worse still, you have nothing but Qingyuan Spirit Essence for healing, and even that seems to be running low.”
Qingyuan Spirit Essence was Divine Lord Zhiming’s prepared food for the young white tiger, akin to milk for infants. While infants could grow on rice porridge without milk, they’d likely be malnourished.
The little white tiger had indeed been working hard to level up independently, but being born weak and wanting to advance quickly, she often relied on treasures like Qingyuan Spirit Essence to aid her cultivation. Consequently, much of Divine Lord Zhiming’s gift had been consumed, and with some used earlier to treat her senior sister’s wounds, little remained. Unfortunately, her senior sister’s current injuries were severe.
Looking at the dwindling Qingyuan Spirit Essence, the little white tiger felt momentary regret, wishing she hadn’t used it for cultivation. But then she realized that without it, her cultivation might not have advanced so quickly, and she might not have even entered the secret realm.
Amidst her chaotic thoughts, the little white tiger focused on using the remaining Qingyuan Spirit Essence on her senior sister.
Yun Qingyu’s tightly furrowed brows seemed to relax slightly, but she showed no signs of waking.
After thoroughly searching her space again and confirming there were no other medicines, the little white tiger turned to the system: “System, surely the mall has medicine that can heal Senior Sister?”
The system silently opened the mall, precisely searched, and quietly glanced at the item prices. Finally, meeting its host’s hopeful gaze, it had to be honest: “Host, you can’t afford the medicine in the mall…”
A pauper isn’t qualified to open the mall… No, a slacker isn’t qualified to open the mall.
Over the past year, the host had diligently cultivated, leveling up quickly, but that was all. Apart from daily tasks akin to picking up loose change, defeating monsters for points was her only source of income. As for the occasional tasks issued by the system, she either lacked interest or found them troublesome, resulting in a very slow accumulation of points.
While secluded cultivation at Xuanqing Sect hadn’t made this apparent, as the sect was generous and she lacked for nothing, this outing revealed how quickly points could be spent and how few she had earned. Now she found herself at a loss.
The little white tiger gritted her teeth, unsure whether to be angry at the system’s merchant-like behavior or her own laziness.
Finally, with no other option, she asked the system, “System, can I buy on credit? Or can you offer loans? I don’t mind the interest rate; I’ll definitely work hard on tasks to earn points and repay the debt after this is over.” She vaguely remembered the system mentioning that, as a newly manufactured system, it had no savings and had bought the game system on credit.
Jiang Mo’s memory wasn’t wrong, but the system regretfully informed her, “Host, it’s not possible. The mall doesn’t accept credit, and you have no loan quota.” After a pause, it added, “Given our factory-bonded relationship, I could have helped you with a loan, but my loan quota is used up too.”
The system’s loan quota had long been exhausted, and its inability to repay was the host’s fault for not completing tasks, depriving it of commissions.
Jiang Mo guessed as much without the system’s explanation, feeling immensely regretful. But it was too late for regrets now. She could only turn her gaze back to her unconscious senior sister, gently pushing her shoulder with her paw: “Senior Sister, Senior Sister, please wake up. I have no more healing pills. Wake up and take your own medicine…”
Clearly, the severely injured Yun Qingyu wouldn’t wake so easily. And no matter how many healing medicines were in her storage ring, even if the little white tiger was anxious enough to tear her fur out, she couldn’t access or use them.
◆◇◆◇◆
Cultivators have incredibly tenacious life forces. As long as their foundation isn’t damaged and spiritual energy surrounds them, their injuries will gradually heal. However, this self-healing process takes a long time and may leave hidden dangers.
The little white tiger could sense her senior sister’s condition slowly improving, but she felt no joy in this.
Firstly, relying on self-healing, who knew when her senior sister would wake up. Secondly, the strange, deathly silent palace made her uneasy. What if others arrived, or if something changed after a long time? It felt like waiting was just asking for trouble, and the longer they waited, the more anxious the little white tiger became.
After a long while, she finally shifted her gaze from her senior sister to the majestic palace opposite. As she turned her attention to the palace, the long-absent system voice suddenly rang out—
“Ding! Congratulations, host, for triggering a temporary task. Map Exploration: The palace before you is majestic and mysterious. As an explorer, you’re filled with curiosity. Perhaps just one step inside could bring you what you desire most.
Task completion reward: For each palace room explored, gain 5,000 experience points and 500 points.”
The little white tiger was startled by the system’s generous rewards this time. Since reaching level 41 and losing all debuffs, the system’s data had completely normalized. Not to mention combat power and such, even the experience required for each level up had changed from an astronomical, uncountable number back to five digits.
For instance, she was currently level 47, needing only 45,000 experience points to reach level 48.
In this light, a 5,000 experience point reward was incredibly generous. She only needed to explore nine rooms to gain a full level, and the palace before her surely had more than nine rooms!
Besides experience points, there were also the much-needed points. The temptation of this temporary task was undeniably great.
However, faced with such temptation, the little white tiger’s first reaction was to step back—everyone knows there’s no such thing as a free lunch. If the system’s rewards were so generous, the dangers of exploring the palace must be proportional. With her senior sister injured and unconscious, leaving her alone to protect herself, what if something happened to the little white tiger too? What would become of her senior sister then?
After some thought, the little white tiger shook her head and stepped back again.
Seeing its host’s cowardice, the system couldn’t help but remind her, “Host, don’t be a coward. Think about it, do you have any other options? Waiting indefinitely isn’t a solution, and you can’t afford anything in the mall. Isn’t this palace your only hope?”
The Canglan Secret Realm would be open for a year, and this was its first opening. Logically, even for a secret realm trial and inheritance, it shouldn’t choose an inheritor so quickly. Moreover, while the sand golem was formidable, the system thought it too easy if defeating it meant gaining the secret realm’s inheritance. So it analyzed that this palace was either a treasure trove or perhaps a minor inheritance.
The system emphasized key points from the earlier task description: “Obtain what you desire most… Host, what do you want most right now? Isn’t it medicine to heal your senior sister?”
System tasks weren’t directly issued by the system but calculated and approved by the main system, so task descriptions weren’t arbitrary.
The little white tiger’s eyes brightened, showing rare eagerness for the task. But her gaze quickly returned to her senior sister, seeing her unconscious state, and she hesitated: “But Senior Sister is still unconscious. How can I leave her here? What if someone comes while I’m gone and harms her?”
The system grew impatient and bluntly pointed out, “Don’t you have an innate space? A divine beast’s innate space isn’t an ordinary storage space; it can hold living beings. Why not place your senior sister in your innate space?”
Hearing this, the little white tiger’s face showed inexplicable reluctance—earlier, while fleeing with her senior sister, she hadn’t thought to put her in the innate space, naturally for her own reasons, though these reasons weren’t for others to know. Now, faced with the system’s repeated urging, she seemed to have no other choice. Finally, gritting her teeth, she decided to take her senior sister into the space.
Simultaneously, the system’s perspective suddenly darkened as the host closed off its perception.
In the external world, beyond the system’s awareness, the little white tiger had indeed taken her senior sister into her innate space. A divine beast’s innate space could even form its own small world, but due to the little white tiger’s young age and low cultivation, her current space was not only small but also a chaotic void.
At this moment, two figures suddenly appeared in this quiet chaos, but not the expected human and tiger—the unconscious beautiful woman was lying horizontally, pulled into the space, while the one holding her hand was a small, chubby child…