Free Web NovelChapter 389: Chapter 376: The Dream Butterfly’s Memory Fragment
The team continued forward, not turning back.
Everyone knew Mianmian might be influenced by the remains of a High-star Pet Beast of the same species, but knowing was one thing, and venturing deeper was another.
The club’s top priority right now was to finish exploring the area around the Yichuan Ruins. Only then would they decide whether or not to venture inside.
As a Two-star Beastmaster, Gu Ming observed the surrounding landscape. Besides bare rock, there wasn’t much hidden from sight.
So, he paid close attention to the text appearing as system messages.
Because the system’s perspective was from thirty-two years in the future, the Yichuan Ruins had already been explored multiple times over.
Even the surrounding terrain had been scoured and fully mapped, leaving no stone unturned.
For Gu Ming, walking around the outskirts of the ruins with the club was like retracing history. He was following in the footsteps of past generations of the Outdoor Adventure Club, seeing for himself the bizarre pockets of land still bearing the residual influence of the Dream Butterflies they had once surveyed.
Soon, Gu Ming passed by a certain spot, and the system displayed a message:
"You have passed through a small forbidden zone!
"That is wing powder left behind by a Primordial Dream Butterfly. A single piece of down is enough to give the team’s Pet Beasts a spiritual baptism."
Gu Ming felt nothing as he passed by the area.
However, since the system said so, he released his Divine Sense to sweep the surroundings.
The other club members sensed his Divine Sense leaving his body, but they merely glanced at him without saying anything.
His search came up empty, so Gu Ming immediately turned his attention to Lu You’s Patterned Ring Worm, communicating with it via his Divine Sense.
"Mianmian, use your racial ability and see if you can sense any down from a High Tier Pet Beast in the nearby rocks or earth."
Upon hearing this, the Patterned Ring Worm’s antennae twitched gently as it activated its Talent Ability.
A moment later, its body trembled.
It hesitated, a look of alarm on its face.
As its master, Lu You also sensed the terrifying aura her Insect Baby had detected, startling her as well.
’It actually found something?’
’Should I tell everyone?’ Lu You subconsciously wanted to steer clear of something so extremely dangerous.
However, she felt Gu Ming’s gaze turn to her. She met his eyes instinctively and realized he had noticed her strange reaction.
Upon meeting Gu Ming’s gaze, the Courage Divine Sense Sword Body within her inexplicably trembled once more.
’That’s right. I should summon my courage and tell him.’
’Everyone’s here; there’s nothing to be afraid of.’
"Mianmian, don’t be afraid. We’re all here. Tell everyone what you found," she encouraged in a hushed voice.
Perhaps encouraged by its master, it suppressed its fear and nudged a nearby rock.
The patterns on the rock looked ordinary, but they unexpectedly stimulated its body.
Especially when its body made contact, Mianmian’s body and even its soul felt as if an electric current had shot through them, and its trembling grew more pronounced.
Gu Ming immediately looked over but still saw nothing out of the ordinary.
The team had just finished surveying this small patch of land and was preparing to head to the next area.
The club president had been keeping an eye on Gu Ming and Lu You. Seeing that Gu Ming wasn’t moving, he called out, "Gu Ming, time to go! We’re heading to the next spot."
But Gu Ming was too curious. After a moment’s thought, he said, "President, please wait a moment. I want to perform a mystical Identification on this area."
"Oh?"
The club president stopped. "Alright. Go ahead with your Identification."
Faced with this sudden request from a newcomer, the club president did not refuse.
Outdoor exploration certainly required a wealth of experience, but sometimes, when you were stuck and couldn’t find what you were looking for, you had to rely on a flash of inspiration.
Who knew? Maybe he’d discover some hidden treasure.
Gu Ming began muttering an incantation. Within his Sea of Consciousness, his Divine Sense Sword Body returned to its place, sending out mysterious ripples. He recited a short prayer, aimed at the rock, and made a light slashing motion in the air.
In an instant, the patterns on the rock’s surface began to writhe like living things, oozing a viscous liquid. The acrid smell of burning feathers suddenly filled the air.
The strange aura instantly enveloped everyone, completely unstoppable.
"What’s happening?!"
The club president looked as if he were facing a great enemy. The other members who were heading out also sensed the aura and summoned their Pet Beasts, taking up defensive stances.
The next second, the world began to spin.
Everyone felt weightless. When they opened their eyes, they found themselves high in the sky.
Below was a thick layer of clouds. As the wind roared in his ears, Gu Ming saw the clouds below churning like cotton fluff.
Everyone was falling, and no one could escape their fate.
Fortunately, one of the Beastmasters in the club had a Flying Pet. He immediately blew a whistle, summoning a Soaring Thunderbird from his Beast Taming Space.
The Soaring Thunderbird let out a long cry. Its body was wreathed in lightning, causing its wings to flash as its speed instantly doubled.
WHOOSH! In two swift loops, it caught everyone. The electricity that coursed through them only caused a slight numbness and inflicted no harm.
"Where are we...? Wait, no. We’re in an Illusion Realm!" the club president said, looking left and right.
"A simple mystical Identification actually triggered an Illusion Realm... It seems there are things hidden outside of the ruins, too."
After the initial shock, everyone regained their composure.
Having a ride naturally put them much more at ease.
However, the ordeal of the dreamscape was next.
The silhouette of a colossal beast faintly emerged from within the churning white clouds below.
The edges of what looked like a butterfly’s wings shimmered with an iridescent glow. With each flap, countless luminous scales flaked off and exploded within the clouds, creating vast Spiritual Ripples.
Gu Ming couldn’t make out the shape of the creature’s antennae when an ethereal, piercing cry suddenly penetrated his eardrums.
He felt as if an invisible thread had hooked his soul and was yanking it violently upward.
Everyone glanced over uncontrollably and, as one, fell into a daze.
"We’re done for! It’s the Voice of Synchronization!"
Before Gu Ming’s consciousness cut out, he heard the club president’s final, despairing cry.
The next second, he felt his soul being strung up like a marionette, ascending to another plane of existence.
An unknown amount of time passed before he suddenly regained his senses.
His head ached, but his Spiritual Power felt as if it had been tempered, and he could faintly sense that it had actually grown stronger.
He looked down again, but the clouds and the colossal shadow were gone. He was back on the black stone path.
He looked around to see the other club members sprawled haphazardly on the ground, letting out muffled groans.
Gu Ming immediately reached out and gently nudged Lu You beside him. She woke up at once, though her consciousness was still a little fuzzy.
"By retracing a historical path, you have experienced a fragment of the Primordial Dream Butterfly’s residual consciousness. Your Spiritual Power has been enhanced."
Gu Ming looked back. Not far away, the patterned rock had crumbled to dust. In the center lay a single, translucent piece of down, which shimmered with a seven-colored halo, like a perpetual rainbow.
Just then, Gu Ming’s and Lu You’s Pet Beasts also woke up. Although their headaches were getting worse, they were otherwise unharmed.
A little while later, after everyone was awake, a quick check confirmed it had been a false alarm.
The club president stepped forward and stared at the tiny piece of down, muttering, "Is this down from a Myriad Phenomena Butterfly?"
His expression was grave as he activated his Identification Technique, which had reached Daoist Skill Perfection. A moment later, his brow furrowed even more deeply, and he said,
"This down is from a previous epoch, a remnant from a high-end Pet Beast similar to the Myriad Phenomena Butterfly. It’s not the same species as the modern Myriad Phenomena Butterfly. Its Spiritual Power is stronger."
Gu Ming became thoughtful. ’If the club president is saying that, then this must be the down from the "Primordial Dream Butterfly" the system mentioned.’
However, this wasn’t the time to investigate too deeply.
After experiencing this dream ordeal, his Spiritual Power had tangibly grown. The Patterned Ring Worm had benefited even more, its antennae twitching happily.
The club president also sensed a slight increase in his own Spiritual Power, and his face lit up with joy.
"Everyone, these ruins must still have a lot of this Divine Beast’s down left in them! Let’s use mystical Identification and find as much as we can!"
For the next two days, the team moved with Gu Ming and Lu You.
Whenever the system displayed, "Passed through a forbidden zone with residual Dream Butterfly presence."
Gu Ming would first have the Patterned Ring Worm use its racial ability to sense the kindred aura, and then he would personally perform a mystical Identification.
Sometimes, when his Spiritual Power was insufficient, he would ask other members of the team to perform the Identification.
Over the next two days, they identified more than a hundred hidden spots, an efficiency that far surpassed the club’s previous expeditions.
The club president took it all in, knowing that Gu Ming and Lu You had made the biggest contribution.
Without them, it was hard to say how much effort it would have taken the team to find these hidden spots; they might even have returned empty-handed.
As his Spiritual Power continued to grow, Gu Ming felt it swell to the level of a Three-star Beastmaster. He could form a contract with a new Pet Beast at any moment.
’This... This is even faster than cultivating with elixirs.’
’Is this normal?’
