Jiang Yan flew high above the sky. With a casual beckoning gesture, Little White—who had been lounging in Liyue Harbor—instantly appeared in his hands.
"What d'you want, boss?"
Little White pouted, clearly having been in the middle of happily accepting food from the people of Liyue before being summoned away.
"All you do is eat. Look at you—you've even got a little belly now."
Jiang Yan laughed as he looked at Little White's slightly bulging stomach.
"I—"
Little White wanted to argue, but when it looked down at its own belly…
Alright. It really had gotten fat.
"Hurry up and get to work," Jiang Yan said, placing Little White on his shoulders.
Little White closed its eyes, carefully sensing the aura leaking from nearby treasure chests.
"Oh right, be more precise this time. No need to tell me about Exquisite or Common chests," Jiang Yan reminded.
Little White nodded. After following Jiang Yan for so many years, it could already accurately distinguish the aura of different chest rarities.
"Boss! Northwest!"
Little White suddenly called out.
"Roger!"
With Little White acting as a navigator, Jiang Yan's efficiency in hunting treasure chests skyrocketed.
Seven-colored light flowed around his body.
In an instant, Jiang Yan accelerated, turning into a streak of light as he shot toward the northwest.
Natlan.
A Precious Chest stood quietly within a volcano.
"Shattered Star!"
A clear voice rang out from the sky. In the next moment, a fist shadow—gleaming with seven-colored light—smashed down, instantly leveling the entire volcano.
Magma splashed everywhere as rainbow light descended from above.
Jiang Yan waved his hand, dispersing the surrounding lava, then opened the Precious Chest before him.
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Dragon Ball World – Senzu Beans ×10."
The system's voice echoed in Jiang Yan's mind.
"System, you really are afraid I might die, huh?" Jiang Yan chuckled.
[Apologies, host. With the Dog Talisman, it seems you can't die anyway.]
Rarely, the system joked back.
"Haha, that's true."
"Little White, next one."
Laughing, Jiang Yan spoke to Little White on his shoulder.
"Northeast—not far from here!"
Little White replied with its eyes closed.
"Hold tight!"
As Jiang Yan finished speaking, he shot into the air once more, flying toward the location Little White indicated.
For a full month, Jiang Yan searched nonstop throughout Natlan.
Naturally, the commotion he caused couldn't escape the notice of Natlan's Pyro Archon.
When she learned that Jiang Yan had arrived, she even came personally to check things out.
Jiang Yan explained that he was just wandering around out of boredom, opening treasure chests, and wouldn't interfere with her affairs.
Only then did the Pyro Archon refrain from saying more.
She was genuinely afraid he might bring an army again.
After all, the last time Jiang Yan had come, he'd brought five thousand Millelith soldiers and beaten Natlan's elite forces into utter chaos.
But if it was just Jiang Yan sightseeing on his own, she was more than happy to welcome him.
After telling him that he could come to Natlan City if he needed anything, the Pyro Archon returned, no longer paying him any attention.
After more than a month of searching, Jiang Yan finally discovered a Luxurious Chest at Natlan's border.
This thrilled him beyond measure.
The last time he'd opened a Luxurious Chest in Sumeru, he'd obtained the Twelve Talismans.
So this time… what would it give him?
Jiang Yan was filled with anticipation.
Every Luxurious Chest had always rewarded him with something astonishing.
Rubbing his hands together excitedly, Jiang Yan slowly opened the chest.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for opening a Luxurious Chest!]
[Extracting ability…]
[Extraction complete!]
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Marvel World – Infinity Stones!]
[Ding! The six Infinity Stones will permanently embed themselves into the host's arm in the form of a gauntlet. They cannot be removed.]
The mechanical system notifications echoed in Jiang Yan's mind.
Immediately after, a pure white light burst from his right arm.
A white-gold, fingerless gauntlet appeared, fitting snugly around his arm.
Six Infinity Stones shimmered in different colors, resting quietly upon it.
Jiang Yan tugged at it lightly—there was no way to remove it.
The gauntlet felt like part of his own skin. Unless he chopped off his arm, it would never come off.
Infinity Stones!
Jiang Yan grinned.
With the Infinity Stones in hand, his confidence soared.
The Abyss?
Wasn't that something he could handle effortlessly?
Easy. Completely under control.
Jiang Yan clenched his right fist.
On the back of his hand, the blue Space Stone flared brightly.
Space
A massive portal unfolded, appearing before him.
Musk Reef.
A portal suddenly opened.
Jiang Yan stepped out slowly.
Looking at the surrounding scenery—lush greenery, birds singing—he frowned.
Not here?
According to his memories from his previous life's game, Musk Reef should be the gateway to the Abyss.
Jiang Yan frowned and scanned the area.
Yet everything before him seemed to indicate that there was no trace of the Abyss here at all.
For a moment, he felt stuck.
If he didn't know where the Abyss was, then no matter how he searched, it would be useless.
"Tsk… this is kind of irritating."
Suddenly, Jiang Yan seemed to recall something.
"I remember… the deepest part of The Chasm should contain the ruins of an ancient underground nation that once researched the Abyss, right?"
"Maybe I can find traces of the Abyss there!"
With that thought, the Space Stone on the back of his hand lit up again.
A portal appeared, enveloping him as he vanished from sight.
Deep within The Chasm, atop the Skyfrost Nail.
A portal slowly opened, and Jiang Yan stepped out.
This should be the underground depths of The Chasm.
He quietly surveyed his surroundings.
"Oppressive, isn't it…"
Looking at the scenery, Jiang Yan spoke softly.
"Because I restricted how deeply the people of Liyue could mine this place, the depths of The Chasm are still largely undeveloped?"
He murmured to himself, floating upward as he continued to search the area.
Soon, he found it—
The location that had appeared in the storyline of his previous life.
An upside-down city.
The underground ancient nation that once delved deeply into the study of the Abyss.
Back then, when Celestia dropped the Skyfrost Nail, it was probably just like the one on Dragonspine—meant to wipe out this civilization as well…
Jiang Yan ran his hand over the surrounding ruins, lost in thought.
To read 30+ future chapters, head over to patreon:
patreon.com/ToastWizard