Chapter 53: A Small World

"Thanks, brother."

Ye Xiaoyao suddenly felt a bit guilty, realizing that he was somewhat taking advantage of Xu Fan.

"Since we’re brothers, no need for formalities," Xu Fan said with a wave of his hand. Losing a few puppets wasn’t a big deal.

"Brothers look out for each other, so I must give you a proper reward."

With that, Ye Xiaoyao pulled out a space ring and handed it over. "I noticed you don’t have a space ring yet. Take this one; it has a hundred-foot radius of space inside."

"This is too generous," Xu Fan said, accepting the ring. He knew that such large space rings were crafted only by master craftsmen skilled in space rune formations and were extremely rare.

Just as Xu Fan was feeling lucky to be tagging along with the protagonist, a space crack suddenly appeared beside the submarine, swallowing it whole.

In the secret realm, Xu Fan’s submarine landed in front of a crumbling city gate.

Xu Fan was stunned.

"What’s going on?" he muttered, looking around.

Behind the submarine stood a ruined city gate, clearly abandoned for centuries. Beyond it stretched a vast grassland.

"Little Fan, if I’m not mistaken, we’ve hit the jackpot. This is a small world," Ye Xiaoyao said.

"We need to find a way out and report this to the sect. There could be huge rewards."

"Of course, that’s assuming this small world isn’t completely worthless," Ye Xiaoyao added after a quick glance around.

At that moment, Xu Fan, using his Eagle Eye technique, peered into the distance and said, "Forget getting rich for now. We’ve got a bigger problem on our hands."

"Brother Ye, how much fighting strength do you have left?" Xu Fan asked.

Ye Xiaoyao felt the ground tremble and looked toward the horizon. A flock of strange birds was heading their way.

"Old Sword, what’s happening?"

"This small world was created during the Overcoming Tribulations stage. Once you recover, you can find the exit," Old Sword explained.

"I also noticed that this place only has some swordsmanship inheritance. Nothing else of real value."

"It’s not worth exploring further."

Hearing this, Ye Xiaoyao felt a surge of excitement. Swordsmanship inheritance was still a great find.

Then Old Sword added, "Don’t say I didn’t warn you. It’ll take you at least ten days to regain your strength. Whether you survive or not depends on your good brother here."

Old Sword’s tone was teasing.

Ye Xiaoyao’s expression shifted as he noticed the hordes of beasts in the sky and on the ground.

"Little Fan, I’m not at full strength yet. Let’s find a place to hide."

Xu Fan scanned the area with his Eagle Eye technique for a while before saying, "Hiding won’t work. We need to run."

He summoned the Spiritual Wind Boat and helped the weakened Ye Xiaoyao aboard.

In the sky, Xu Fan matched the speed of the approaching beasts.

"Brother Ye, is there a way out?" Xu Fan asked, knowing Ye Xiaoyao’s mentor would have the answers.

"Once I recover, I’ll find the exit," Ye Xiaoyao replied.

“Brother Ye, how many days do you need to recover?”

“Ten days.”

“Brother Ye, I’ve got your back.”

Xu Fan continued to calmly steer the Spiritual Wind Boat, maintaining a safe distance from the pursuing strange bird beasts.

“Luckily, the strongest among these beasts is only at the Golden Core Stage.”

“If there were Nascent Soul Stage beasts, we’d be in real trouble.”

Xu Fan wished he could hide, but they had been marked the moment they entered this world. No matter how well they concealed themselves, their presence was as obvious as a thousand-watt bulb in the dark.

“Little Fan, head towards this spot; it looks like there’s a powerful cultivator’s residence over there. There might be some inheritance waiting for us.”

“Got it.”

Xu Fan swiftly changed direction, steering the Spiritual Wind Boat toward the location Ye Xiaoyao had indicated.

I hope nothing goes wrong this time, Xu Fan thought to himself.

Soon, Xu Fan arrived at a sprawling complex that resembled a royal palace.

Ye Xiaoyao pointed to one of the palaces and said, “Little Fan, don’t bother with the other areas. Just head straight for the Hall of Inheritance.”

“Alright.”

The Spiritual Wind Boat suddenly accelerated toward the Hall of Inheritance, and a voice echoed through the air.

“I am Jian Yunsheng. I am venturing into the Extreme Void Domain to seek a way to break the boundaries of this world. I leave this inheritance for those destined to find it.”

“If fate brings us together again in the vast Thousand Worlds, we shall continue our master-student bond.”

Xu Fan ignored the unnecessary speech and quickly began collecting all the useful items in the Hall of Inheritance—mostly jade slips and inheritance jade butterflies.

By then, the strange bird beasts had completely surrounded the Hall of Inheritance.

The palace had originally been protected by a Formation, but as soon as the two entered, the protective Formation vanished.

Once Xu Fan was sure he had taken everything of value, he and Ye Xiaoyao boarded the Spiritual Wind Boat. Xu Fan blasted a large hole through the roof of the Hall and steered the boat out into the open.

Looking up, Xu Fan saw the sky filled with strange birds. Most were at the Qi Training Stage, a few at the Foundation Establishment Stage, and there were even a couple of massive Golden Core Stage birds.

Xu Fan turned to Ye Xiaoyao and said, “Brother Ye, things might get a little rough. Hang on tight.”

Ye Xiaoyao gave a weak nod.

“Do what you need to do, brother.”

Xu Fan nodded, put on a mask, and summoned his black Spiritual Energy Armor.

At the same time, a dozen giant bird-shaped puppets appeared around the Spiritual Wind Boat, and a team of Archer puppets, each with Foundation Establishment Stage strength and armed with high-quality bow artifacts, emerged on the deck.

“I knew it. My little brother is no ordinary guy. At least his artifact crafting skills are pretty creative,” a voice in Ye Xiaoyao’s mind remarked.

“They’re just puppets,” Ye Xiaoyao replied.

“These puppets have some intelligence. They’re not as sharp as real people, but they’re more than enough for simple battles.”

Xu Fan directed the Spiritual Wind Boat toward an area with fewer Golden Core Stage birds, with the bird-shaped puppets leading the charge.

Hurricane Technique, Fireball Spell, Wind Blade Technique, Gold Sword Technique…

The strange birds unleashed their spells. Though these were basic spells, each one packed a serious punch.

After just one round of spell bombardment, a large number of strange bird corpses fell to the ground, creating an opening for the Spiritual Wind Boat.

Seizing the opportunity, Xu Fan steered the boat through the gap and broke free from the encirclement.

“Little Fan, your puppets are impressive. Each one has the strength of a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator.”

“Can you make puppets with Golden Core Stage strength?” Ye Xiaoyao asked, eyeing the puppets guarding the front.

“Of course! Golden Core Stage puppets require the complete body of a Nascent Soul Stage beast and soul orbs.”

“If Brother Ye wants one, I can give you a discount—300,000 spirit stones each, not including materials,” Xu Fan said, seeing a potential business opportunity.

“Ha ha, big brother’s a bit short on cash right now. But when I have the spirit stones, I’ll definitely support your business,” Ye Xiaoyao laughed, though he was already thinking about using those spirit stones to upgrade his flying sword.

“Alright, I’ll be waiting for you, big brother,” Xu Fan replied with a smile, glancing back at the sky filled with strange birds. His expression turned serious.

This is going to be a tough one.