Chapter 91: Loots and Deadweight

Chapter 91: Loots and Deadweight The onslaught ended. Right after, Xu Tao sat down and gently placed Yifa beside him—then pulled a random robe from his ring and draped it over her naked, childish body. "Phew..." It felt like it had been a long time since he could breathe so freely. However, the fact remained—his Qi was running low. Although he was uninjured from the fight, they’d still be in danger if a stronger monster suddenly showed up. As such, his first priority wasn’t gathering loot, but meditating to recover as much Qi as he could. Unfortunately, the Qi in the air was so thin, he couldn’t expect to regain much in a short time. Xu Tao meditated in silence, for a good while. Only when his Qi recovered to about half did he stop. "It’s a bit lacking, but should be good enough for now," he muttered, rising to his feet. "But... it’s too dark here," he added, before pulling out his sword and making it fly. Using sword telekinesis, he directed the blade toward the ceiling and had it slash repeatedly. Sand began to pour in, forming a small, bright hole—gradually widening as more slashes came. When the hole reached roughly five meters in diameter, shedding ample light into the cavern, Xu Tao called the sword back. "This much should be fine." With the hole now open above, Xu Tao could clearly see his surroundings. Hundreds—almost a thousand—Loot Boxes ranging from Medium to Large sizes lay scattered about, along with various items half-buried in the sand. "These are...?" Xu Tao muttered, picking up a nearby object. It was a weapon—a crude makeshift spear with poor craftsmanship. Just a glance told him it was used by the native people of this world. "And there’s so many of them..." He looked around, stunned. There were at least a hundred weapons and pieces of armor scattered! All of them, unfortunately, were damaged from age and neglect. And even if they weren’t, Xu Tao wouldn’t choose to rely on them anyway. They were just... subpar. Picking up a rock and throwing it might yield better results than trusting his life to such flimsy tools. "But I’ll still gather them!" This was this, and that was that. Xu Tao had learned a concept from games—Loot Trading. In short, there should be a way to convert junk like this into cash or something more useful. So, even the most weathered leather armor was not spared. After gathering everything, he moved to the next curiosity. Ahead of him—in the very center of the pit—was a cluster of white spheres. "These are... eggs?" he muttered, poking one. However, the "shell" was soft. He nearly broke it just with a casual touch. It didn’t take much thought to realize these were snake eggs. And needless to say, he collected every last one as loot. Once he was sure he hadn’t missed anything, he turned to the main event: Loot Boxes! Though their sheer number made sorting through each one a painstaking task, he didn’t bother inspecting the contents. Instead, he opened them and transferred the items into his ring without checking what he got. It was a monotonous, repetitive task—but one he enjoyed greatly. Especially when he caught a glimpse of Rare, SR, or even SSR-ranked items popping up! By the time he finished looting, his mana had fully recovered. That’s how long the process took! "Now..." Xu Tao sighed, turning toward the only remaining issue. "What to do with that?" At the end of his gaze was none other than the still-sleeping Yifa. Quite a bit of time had passed, but she showed no signs of waking. Xu Tao was starting to worry if she’d ever open her eyes. He slowly tread closer, crouched beside her, inspecting her face. She didn’t look pale. Nor did she seem injured. He had no idea why she was still asleep after all that time. "Oo~i!" As a test, Xu Tao gently tapped her cheeks to wake her—and to his surprise, she responded. "Ugh..." Yifa groaned softly, her eyes fluttering open with difficulty. Her green irises reflected the light pouring from the ceiling’s hole as she blinked, lying still and silent for a few seconds before— "...Where am I?" —a quiet question escaped her lips. As she exerted strength to sit up, Xu Tao offered a hand to her back, helping her up. "Looks like you’re finally awake," he said. "As for this place... it’s a long story. First, we need to move." "Huh... You..." Yifa blinked several times, staring at Xu Tao curiously. "Aren’t you Mr. Master? Why is your aura this weak...?" Just as she reached out to touch his face—her hand stopped midway. "...No, wait," she whispered in dread, color draining from her face. "...Where did my cultivation go?!" "..." Xu Tao understood her shock. After all, he’d gone through the same thing—discovering that his cultivation had vanished entirely. He reached out, gently patting her head. "For now, wear these. Then follow me." He extended his other hand, offering a set of clothes he’d found in the loot boxes. Naturally, he chose ones that fit Yifa’s child-like body. "Huh?" Only then did Yifa glance down— "...~!" —and realized the state she was in. She quickly snatched the clothes from Xu Tao’s hand and ran behind a nearby sand pillar to change. As expected of someone with strong bodily awareness, she didn’t even need a full minute to re-emerge—fully dressed. Her attire was a bit off, though. A pair of pale blue jean shorts hanging low, exposing the strap of her black underwear. White shirt that hung just around her bellybutton, and a medium-high-cut military boots. In her arms, the robe she’d borrowed was neatly folded and ready for return. "I appreciate the help," she said as she handed the robe back. "But hearing an explanation would help me adjust better." Her words were pragmatic. She was in a strange place, beside a man who was practically a stranger, with her prized cultivation gone. Her anxiety was understandable, especially with no information to ground herself. "We’ll talk while we walk." But Xu Tao wasn’t in the mood to coddle her. Without warning, he grabbed Yifa’s waist using Sword Manipulation—and jumped straight upward, using Cloud Steps. "Hiiik~!" Caught off guard, the poor girl shrieked, genuinely thinking he was about to throw her to her death—until, a few seconds later, they landed safely on the desert surface above. The blazing sun hung high in the sky, signaling that it was midday. "As expected..." But that wasn’t all. SHRIEEEK! All around them, a swarm of several dozen giant scorpions—Death Stingers—stood buzzing, twitching, and ready to attack.