"Goo goo? Why are you here?"
Liu Nanfeng was surprised and taken aback to see Gu Gu.
Gu Gu immediately ran up, raising her hands, which held a greasy flatbread.
"For me to eat?" Liu Nanfeng asked.
Gu Gu: →_→
"Haha, I was just kidding. You want to give it to Xiao Liyu, right?"
Upon hearing this, Gu Gu's face lit up, and she nodded repeatedly.
"I'll help you call her out."
As Liu Nanfeng spoke, he summoned his [Guan Shan Hai] and called Xiao Liyu out of the scroll.
The result—
Xiao Liyu was covered in oil, her hands clutching a giant bone, her mouth wide open, ready to take a huge bite.
She was clearly in the middle of gnawing on the bone, and her sudden appearance left her a bit dazed.
Of course, Liu Nanfeng and Gu Gu were also a bit dazed.
Xiao Liyu glanced somewhat sheepishly at the bone in her hand, then offered it, "Do you guys want some?"
Xiao Liyu and Gu Gu both shook their heads in unison.
The bone was gnawed full of pits and grooves, likely coated with a lot of drool.
"Big brother, why did you call me 'si'? I was eating."
It was clear that being interrupted while eating displeased her greatly.
"Goo... this... here... for... you." Gu Gu hurriedly offered the flatbread in her hand.
"Wow, a meat patty," Xiao Liyu sniffed and immediately identified it as a meat patty.
"Mom... mom made... made the patty," Gu Gu said proudly.
"Bull... bull bull..."
"Oh, is it beef?'' Xiao Liyu glanced at it and took a big bite.
Gu Gu watched her with anticipation.
"Delicious," Xiao Liyu mumbled, her mouth full of food.
Upon hearing this, Gu Gu immediately broke into a happy smile.
Then she waved goodbye to the two.
"Bye... bye."
Before she could finish speaking, she seemed to lose her color, fading completely before disappearing from their sight.
Gu Gu's ability was truly convenient, its ease of use even surpassing the Anywhere Door.
She could appear at any point within her own timeline.
The reason she could appear in Liu Nanfeng's living room was that she had been in his living room before, so she manifested in the present timeline as a past existence.
It was a bit convoluted, but the ability was truly magical.
Liu Nanfeng had wanted to ask her how her past few days had been, but she had left in such a hurry.
"Big brother, big brother..." Just then, Xiao Liyu tugged at his clothes, looking at him expectantly.
As for the flatbread in her hand, she had already finished it, and even the meat on the sauced bone had been consumed – her speed was truly remarkable.
The reason she looked at Liu Nanfeng with sparkling eyes was that she wanted him to send her back, lest the delicious food be eaten by the big bad cat.
Liu Nanfeng understood her intention. He reached out and pinched her chubby little cheek, and before she could open her mouth to bite, [Guan Shan Hai] swirled in the air, drawing her back into the painting.
Liu Nanfeng did not enter the world of [Guan Shan Hai] with her.
Instead, he sat down at the dining table again. On the plate were some withered wild grasses.
These were remnants from his previous research.
Logically, time in [Guan Shan Hai] was longer, and he would have more time to analyze the "mother grass" there. However, it couldn't be calculated that way. Why was that?
It was because the real world was more complete than [Guan Shan Hai], and there was information in the real world that [Guan Shan Hai] lacked, and this information could provide Liu Nanfeng with more inspiration.
All things have their mutual generation and restraint. Seemingly unrelated, they actually have subtle connections.
It was a pity that as these wild grasses withered, much information was lost, rendering them useless for reference.
Just as Liu Nanfeng was about to throw them into the trash, he suddenly recalled a popular poem.
The grasses on the plain, withered and then reborn.
Unquenchable by wild fires, they sprout with the spring wind.
...
Withering and growing?
Countless inspirations burst forth from the depths of his mind.
The withered grass slowly regained a touch of green.
Withering and growing, yin and yang, life and death, beginnings and endings, cause and effect...
At that moment, a thunderous roar suddenly echoed, shaking the earth.
"Is it an earthquake?" Liu Nanfeng looked around in surprise.
He could hear a commotion outside.
Liu Nanfeng did not rush out of the house like others. After all, even if the house collapsed, it wouldn't crush him.
However, why was there an earthquake?
Thinking of this, he strode to the balcony and looked up at the sky. Indeed, a ray-like desolate beast was floating in the air.
As the desolate beast moved, its body shimmered with light, its colors constantly changing like a chameleon, sometimes blending into the void, sometimes revealing its form.
It emitted sounds like an infant's cry, and with its cries, the earth trembled.
Jiang City was not at the epicenter, yet the tremors were so strong. One could imagine the immense force at the center.
Fortunately, the Heavenly Gate was located above the sea, but even so, it stirred up colossal waves. The coastal areas would likely suffer again.
Liu Nanfeng frowned. In recent times, prices had soared, and many goods were out of stock. Liu Nanfeng had wanted to stock up, but found that he couldn't buy them even with money.
As a last resort, he went to an agricultural supply store and bought many seeds.
Since he couldn't buy them, he would grow them himself. After all, the land in [Guan Shan Hai] was fertile and rich in spiritual energy.
However, his actions reminded the agricultural store employees, who also secretly hoarded some. If the apocalypse really came, even if these seeds couldn't be planted, they could be used as food.
Putting that aside for now, let's focus on the present. Humanity could not stand idly by while the desolate beast in the sky wreaked havoc.
From the ground, an arrow shot into the sky, like a rainbow, piercing the heavens and heading straight for the belly of the desolate beast.
Judging by the direction of the arrow, it wasn't from the people of Daxia. Liu Nanfeng guessed it might be from the Australian region, as the Heavenly Gate was close to these island nations. If the desolate beast caused a natural disaster, these island nations would be the first to be affected.
Then, a blade energy traversed the sky, splitting the milky white spiritual energy into two, as if tearing a piece of cloth. Those on the ground even felt a sensation like fabric ripping.
Liu Nanfeng knew this; Zhu Yin'e had told him about it before – it was the Eastern Ying Sword God, Ryūsei Kenzai.
And from Daxia, someone also made a move, it was Zhang Chuchen, the Celestial Master from the Celestial Master's Mansion, who had also acted before.
He likely wanted to regain some prestige, so he unleashed his ultimate move right from the start.
The reason for saying this was that among the three who had acted last time, he was the only one who had failed, making him the least popular among the officially announced individuals.
This indirectly affected the reputation of the Celestial Master's Mansion, so he intended to vindicate himself this time.
He manifested his divine form, covering half the sky. It was solemn and majestic, his expression stern, like a deity looking down upon the mortal realm.
He struck downwards towards the desolate beast in the sky, lightning flashing in his palm, forming a giant Bagua net.
Liu Nanfeng did not continue watching. He closed the window and returned indoors.
As expected, with a deafening roar and another violent tremor of the earth, the world returned to calm.