Chapter 074: The Journey Home-Godlike Extraction(Fruit of Chaos)

Su Jingxing sighed with emotion.

It wasn’t necessarily true that the hidden content on the last page of “Nine Steps to the Heavens” was some kind of martial art. It could just as well be a map marking the location of a hidden treasure, or perhaps a piece of extremely important confidential information, unknown to outsiders. It might even be a high-level alchemical recipe, or a method for forging a spiritual weapon. Or perhaps, it was simply blank—a prank left behind by the Wei family’s ancestor, with no secret at all.

Any of these possibilities could be true. To uncover the mystery, he would have to meet with the White Goose.

With this in mind, Su Jingxing carefully examined the “Nine Steps to the Heavens” manual one last time to ensure there was nothing else to discover, then stored the book in his palm space.

Afterwards, he sped off on his motorcycle, heading straight for Xinyuan City. Upon arrival, he found a random repair shop and sold his motorcycle at half price. Then, he hacked into the Aviation Center at an internet café, purchased the fastest available flight, and headed to the airport.

Only after boarding the plane did he finally relax a little. If nothing unexpected happened, he would be back in Qinghe City by tomorrow night.

He only feared something might go wrong during the journey.

The first flight arrived safely at its destination. After transferring to the next, the first half of the journey was also smooth. During the latter half, they encountered a patch of turbulence, but it passed without incident.

Another transfer, and he was on the final flight.

This time, his luck seemed to run out at last: the plane was targeted by an avian beast.

“Attention passengers, this flight has encountered an avian beast. Please prepare yourselves.”

“Attention…”

The announcement sounded three times in the otherwise silent cabin before stopping.

By the time the first announcement played, Su Jingxing had already looked around to see every passenger calmly retrieving the safety packs stowed under their seats. They each took out goggles, masks, gloves, helmets, and parachute packs, putting them on one by one.

Throughout the process, no one screamed, exclaimed, or panicked.

Su Jingxing followed suit, feeling a bit odd as he equipped each item.

This was the Star Planet, after all. If it had been Earth, the cabin would have been in utter chaos by now.

On the Star Planet, everyone was psychologically prepared for emergencies before boarding a plane. If an accident happened mid-flight—if the plane was attacked by an avian beast and blown up or crashed—the airline bore no responsibility. Everyone had to sign a waiver before boarding.

Once aboard, one’s life or death was in one’s own hands.

Compared to Earth, the probability of an aviation disaster on the Star Planet was several times higher. Nearly every month, there would be an incident of an avian beast attacking a plane.

Of course, when such accidents occurred, planes were not defenseless. As Su Jingxing donned his gear, the cargo holds on both sides under the plane suddenly opened, and four drones launched into the sky.

These drones unfolded completely, each resembling a giant bird with a wingspan over ten meters. Under manual control, they sped forward, emitting loud, clear bird calls as they flew to the left of the plane.

Once they had put some distance between themselves and the plane, the calls grew louder, provoking the giant eagle—its wingspan a hundred meters across—that was preparing to attack the plane.

At the sound, the eagle’s sharp gaze turned cold. It shifted its attention from the plane to the drones, then, under the gaze of the passengers, turned and pursued the drones.

Luring away avian beasts—this was one of the plane’s defensive strategies.

In addition, there was direct confrontation: every Star Planet airliner was outfitted with heavy weaponry, making them especially large. If a real battle broke out, the plane would also call for help from the nearest air base. Each day, fighters from the various prefectures’ air bases patrolled the skies.

With these three layers of defense, while planes were attacked, the chance of an explosion or crash was not particularly high. Perhaps one or two incidents a year, sometimes only once every three to five years.

So, all in all, the safety rating was acceptable. Most plane passengers were martial artists, rarely panicking in the face of attack. Ordinary people who dared to board were all bold individuals.

When the danger had passed and the announcement was made, Su Jingxing couldn’t help but marvel again.

“Truly…”

[Corpse detected. Collect it?]

Huh?

Su Jingxing was taken aback. Someone had died?

But there hadn’t been any attack—how could someone have died?

“Yes,” Su Jingxing replied in his mind, his expression turning odd.

He was about to use the “Voice to the Ear” secret technique to listen to the cabin—

“Damn, how did this guy die? Attendant, someone’s dead over here!”

Three rows behind Su Jingxing, a young man stood up, looking both frustrated and alarmed.

In the seat beside him, a fat middle-aged man sat slumped forward—lifeless.

“He really is dead.”

“What happened? There wasn’t even an attack, was there?”

“Heh, must’ve had some preexisting condition, and got so worked up he killed himself.”

“If you’re that sick, why fly? Looking for death?”

Passengers nearby glanced at the dead man and began to discuss.

No attack had occurred, yet someone had died. The unfortunate middle-aged man had truly been unlucky.

Su Jingxing watched for a while, then looked away before the attendants arrived.

The man was dead, and had to be dealt with. As for cremation, that would have to wait until they reached their destination and sent him to the local crematorium.

The card Su Jingxing collected for the corpse, he kept for now.

The rest of the journey went smoothly.

No further incidents occurred until they landed in Qinghe City.

Once off the plane, Su Jingxing went to the restroom, entered a stall, then took out the card and read its information.

Soul-Calming Card!

“A Soul-Calming Card? So the fat man died of fright?”

Su Jingxing was speechless.

It seemed those discussing it on the plane had been right—the man really had been sick, and quite seriously at that.

To still board a plane in that condition—he was at a loss for words.

Unlocking the card yielded two Spirit-Nourishing Pills, which Su Jingxing put away before leaving the restroom.

He took a taxi back to the small courtyard at the foot of the mountain, arriving after eleven at night. After a quick meal and a shower, he went to bed.

The next morning, he set out for the Azure Cloud Mountains.

Once there, he dug up the red-scaled porcupine tusks he had hidden earlier and stored them in his palm space.

Then, with practiced ease, he climbed the thousand-meter cliff to the valley where the White Goose resided.

It was still early, so Su Jingxing didn’t descend into the valley immediately. Instead, he used a treasured weapon to clear a flat spot on the inner slope of the valley wall, preparing a breakthrough point.

To break through to the sixth rank, one had to choose a place rich in energy.

The energy in the valley was more than sufficient for Su Jingxing’s needs.

The only problem was the abundance of poisonous creatures in the valley, which was why he had chosen to stay on the slope.

“Gaa-gaa!”

A familiar call echoed from within the valley.

Su Jingxing looked up just in time to see the White Goose spreading its wings and soaring through the air, flying swiftly toward him from above the valley…