13 The Ash Expanse

When he felt the Space energy coating disperse, Xue Mo immediately took the now unconscious Lu Yao in his arms and hugged her close to his body. Xue Mo Unfurled his wings, which instantly decreased his diving speed as his wings took most of the blast. But unlike his frail body, his wings were easily able to take the brunt of the air pressure.

In the last month and a half journey, Xue Mo's small grey wings were able to grow to a little over full-sized maturity. The previous grey colored wings with no extensions and only flesh started growing a layer of scales, while lines of purplish veins were slowly developing.

Flapping his wings for the first time, Xue Mo lost control due to the new experience, but because it wasn't his first time flying, Xue Mo quickly got used to his new organ.

Enjoying the air breeze while moving forward, he looked around him. Finding nothing but trees from all directions, Xue Mo guessed that they landed in a forest. Exploring the area around while trying to find a safe place to land, he noticed what seemed to be a cave not far from him.

With the unconscious Lu Yao laying in his arms Xue Mo slowly strode towards the cave. Making sure that there is no one inside using his superior senses, he descended and landed in front of the cave.

While exploring the forest, Xue Mo found that there are several creatures he had never heard or read about in the Divine Hell Universe. To someone like Xue Mo, who was interested in bodies, bloodlines, and physiques, this had naturally caught his interest. However, he now had more pressing matters to check, and Lu Yao's health was the most important.

Carefully entering the cave, Xue Mo only relaxed when there was truly no one in it. Although he trusted his senses after what happened when he didn't feel Lu Yao's energy back, then he started being more cautious while using them.

Laying Lu Yao on his lap, Xue Mo started checking her vitals. Seeing that her previously ragged breathing had calmed down, and her heartbeat returned to normal, he felt relieved.

Gazing at Lu Yao's new form Xue Mo didn't know what to say. Her former majestic and massive sized appearance had shrunk to a seemingly small white fox while removing all the wolf features that she had before.

Xue Mo contracted his wings slowly before stepping out of the cave and closing it. Although he wasn't a physician, Xue Mo was a pill concoction master, and fortunately for Lu Yao, he found a batch of herbs that he recognized while exploring the forest. One of these herbs was called Nimble Brass. Its properties help increase ingredient fusion. Other than that, it was a great drug to heal internal wounds.

****

Tssss

A sound of something melting was heard in the forest that Xue Mo was in. Slowly a beast was being melted down as a popping sound emerged from its bones. In no time, the black dear had disappeared into nothingness, leaving the Azure colored herb growing on a rock behind it.

A deathly sick hand was stretched out towards it, plucking it out gently. After getting ahold of the Nimble Brass herb, Xue Mo stored it in the white robe's pocket.

"This should be enough for now. If it doesn't work, then I would have to find a village or something with a physician." The place Xue Mo went to wasn't far from the cave, so if anything or anyone tried to get in, he would be ready to take action. Since he got the herb that he needed, Xue Mo made his way back to the cave where he left Lu Yao.

Entering the cave's entrance Xue Mo was surprised to find Lu Yao already awake, although her eyes seemed dazed but other than that, she seemed completely fine as if what happened before was an illusion. But her current small form confirmed otherwise.

'Agh, where am I? Who am I?' Lu Yao thought as soon as she woke up from sleep. Not long after, as if she was hit with a truck Lu Yao held her head with her paw before slowly removing it, ending up in the disoriented state Xue Mo found her in.

Weirdly enough, Xue Mo had asked: "How are you now?" He didn't ask the usual questions that he would have asked before, such as What happened back then? But instead, he inquired about her health.

If this were a month ago, Xue Mo wouldn't care about what happened to her, maybe even rejoice if she died. However, after spending a month and a half with Lu Yao, he accepted the Partnership they entered and started to know her. This made him develop some feelings even and a sense of companionship.

Snapping out of her confused state when she heard Xue Mo's question, Lu Yao answered in a similar confused voice to her face, "I am fine?" Listening to the bewildered answer Xue Mo frowned slightly, taking the azure herb out of his robe's pocket he threw it at her and said: "Eat!"

Instinctively reacting to the command, Lu Yao put the herb in her mouth and started chewing not long after her eyes seemed to have regained clarity while her cheeks started getting redder. Lu Yao's state appeared to have improved before she threw a mouthful of black blood again. Instead of becoming sick again, the previously unnatural red that surfaced on her white-cheeked fur seemed to have returned to its original color.

"Thank you." After having her head cleared up, Lu Yao woke up from the state she was in. Knowing that Xue Mo saved her life, a weird feeling emerged in her heart before disappearing.

"No need for thanks, but do you know what happened to you back then?" After making sure that Lu Yao was truly fine this time, Xue Mo was surprised to see no problem in her. Since he didn't know what happened, he decided to ask Lu Yao to see if she did.

Towards Xue Mo's question, Lu Yao had no answer. She was as perplexed as he was, "I don't know. Suddenly my strength seemed to leave me while I felt that my life was getting sucked out of me. But now I feel fine, could it be because of that plant you made me eat?" Hearing Lu Yao's description and suggestion, Xue Mo went silent.

After a minute of thinking, he shook his head and said: "The Nimble Brass doesn't have such effects. Even though it could heal some damage done to internal organs, this is as far as it could go. Even the damage it could heal isn't much." Hearing Xue Mo's confident words, Lu Yao was convinced, but this left them with no more ideas.

"Again, thank you, I will try to repay this debt in the future." Lu Yao seemed determined, but Xue Mo did another weird thing: "We are Partners. We are supposed to help each other, no?" Contrasting with his usual cold and expressionless appearance, Xue Mo had a warm smile on his face.

"Indeed we are, I-" Lu Yao was about to talk when she discovered that she had received several notifications.

She decided to check them out before she continued. Only for Xue Mo to remark something that interrupted her,

"You have shrunk." Lu Yao already noticed her particular situation, but she didn't want to be reminded of, so hearing Xue Mo say that while seemingly holding a laugh, made her shoot him a dark look before ignoring him.

'Wait, did I just tease someone?' Xue Mo had also noticed his weird action and decided to ignore Lu Yao so he could reflect on what was happening to him.

Seeing Xue Mo in a concentrated expression, Lu Yao ignored him before focusing on the small panel that seems to be shining at the corner of her eyes. Knowing that this light only appears when someone got a notification Lu Yao pulled it open by muttering 'status screen' in her mind,

[Name: Lu Yao

Title(s): BLOOD QUEEN, UNIQUE CREATURE

Level: 1 [Because the host had ignited her bloodline and left the Hollow Sky Universe, all stats and Levels had been reset.]

[Previous Level: 468, Arcane Mage]

[The Host is lucky to be alive, so due to her miraculous survival, a title has been generated.]

Ding*

[Survivor: Due to surviving when the odds were against you, the title has survivor had been unlocked,

+500 increase to HP

+100,000 increase to Intelligence

Soul Power shall be unlocked

+10 addition to Soul Power

+Skill Growth]

Experience:0/10

Titles: [None are currently equipped]

HP: 1500

MP: 1500

Soul: Unknown?? [Evolvable]

Race: Nephilim/Chaos Beast??

Bloodlines: [Evolvable/Upgradable]

Finally, knowing what had happened to her, Lu Yao felt confused and angry. 'Was there a function like this?' It was the first time she heard of people dying because they left the Universe or completely lost their stats. She decided to check her stats and see what happened to them. Expanding the blue monitor that only she could see Lu Yao observed the changes,

[Stat]

Strength: 9

Stamina: 15

Agility: 24

Intelligence: 150,000

Wisdom: 210438

Soul Power: [Unknown, 10]

Elemental Affinities:

[Void: PeakTier]

[Holy: High Tier]

[Darkness: High Tier]

[Curse: Low Tier]

[Light: Low Tier]

[Fire: Low Tier]

Skills:

Active Skills: [All active Skills had been reset due to host leaving the Hollow Sky Universe's territory]

[Void Magic: Level 1]

[The host's Peak affinity with Space Magic and because of the Void Bloodline, Void Magic shall not be reset to Space Magic.]

[Space-Time Magic: Level 1]

[Holy Magic: Level 1]

[Darkness Magic: Level 1]

[Curse Magic: Level 1]

[Fire Magic: Level 1]

[Mana Manipulation: Level 1]

[Appraisal: Level 1]

Passive Skills: [All Passive Skills had been reset due to host leaving the Hollow Sky Universe's territory]

[Mana Sensing: Max Level]

[Prime potential: Level 1]

Race Skills:

[Blessed by Void Wolf: Max Level]

[Blessed by Nephilim: Max Level]

[Foundation of Chaos: Max Level]

[Sacred Devourer: Max Level]

[Growth: Max Level]

Although she had lost all her stats and her skills reset, Lu Yao wasn't bothered by it, instead. She was happy to know early on, that it's possible to lose everything so easily, at least this way she could think of other ways to solve it.

'Wait since when am I optimistic about something or look at the bright side? This is so unlike me. Is it because of the thousand-year hibernation I have been through? or is it something else?' Lu Yao seems to have put the problem with the system in the back of her head as she deliberated her recent behavior.

Xue Mo had been silent for a few minutes thinking about his emotions, but seeing that he couldn't do anything about them but keep suppressing them with his will power, he gave up on the subject.

Seeing that he wasn't the only one lost in thought, Xue Mo decided to see if he could help her. That way, at least he could be useful in a way since he has no way to solve his current problem.

"ao, LU YAO." Xue Mo had been calling her name a few times without getting an answer, showing just how much she was lost in contemplation.

"Huh?" Getting interrupted didn't make her mad but instead, relieved. At least that way she wouldn't overthink things or even think of things above her level.

"What were you thinking so hard about that I had to scream your name to catch your attention?" A month and a half of being together allowed Xue Mo and Lu Yao to get closer and broke down the invisible wall that made them strangers. So Xue Mo being casual with her didn't annoy her, but instead for some odd reason made her sense a sentiment that she hadn't felt since her childhood. She felt happy.

But because she was in a gloomy and crappy mood, Lu Yao's face was sour and cold, making Xue Mo wonder what happened?

"It seems this system isn't as good as I thought it would be? How could a useful tool be useful if it could take the advantages that it gives back and almost kill you in the process?!!" Xue Mo had no idea what Lu Yao was talking about, but he could infer some things from what she said.

'So this blue screen is called a system? Did she mean that what happened to her was caused by this 'system'?' Xue Mo's deduction was half correct. It wasn't that the system was trying to kill Lu Yao, but because she had left the Hollow Sky Universe space, this made her a target to get rid of. And with the injuries she suffered back then, Lu Yao's situation was precarious. Furthermore, Lu Yao needed all the power that she could get, as only with enough skill and strength could she succeed in her goal.

Xue Mo had some thoughts regarding the blue screen, but he didn't know much. Before Lu Yao's situation went critical, she was about to explain some things to Xue Mo, and he remembered that.

Although her current situation now wasn't better than before, if her mood stated anything, Xue Mo thought that she would appreciate something to take her mind off things while he would know what she was talking about and what the blue screen is.

"Could you tell me what this blue screen is? Could it be this is the 'system' that you mentioned before?" Xue Mo asked when he saw her ease up, as that way, he would get all the answers he wants as one go, instead of extracting them one at a time.

Xue Mo thought that way because back then at the Divine Hell Universe, although he didn't like or get near a woman of his own volition, he was able to learn through observation many things about them. One of these things was to never talk to a girl when she is pissed less you get the brunt of her anger by letting it out on you.

Though he felt that Lu Yao was different from those women after spending time with her, he didn't want to take any chances. Fortunately, he acted at the right time and got his curiosity satiated.

"The system? Oh right, you aren't from the Hollow Sky Universe, so you don't know. Yes, you are right. The blue-colored screen displaying your stats is the system.

The 'system' is a multifunctional object that everyone here knows of from the moment they were born. Although many Players tried to learn of its origin or how it's connected to us, they couldn't.

One of the abilities that the 'system' has is to automatically scan anyone or anything connected to it and show it's abilities as skills, physical and immaterial power as stats. In contrast, their life force and energy are shown as HitPoint and Mana Point (HP, MP).

Another ability is to categorize a Player's affinity in tiers that go from Lowest, low, mid, high, great, greatest, and Peak. Attunements could also be used and turned into abilities and magic, such as the space magic I used to get us here.

Experience points and levels are better to be shown so that I will explain them later.

As for titles and bloodlines, they could grant some specific effects that could be any one of the following: skills, stats, affinities, etc...

Bloodlines and Souls are something that I don't know about. All the information that I know was either from my late mother or the Black Rift Academy." Lu Yao had told Xue Mo everything in one go giving him no time to analyze what she was saying. Seeing so much info dump on him, Xue Mo took a minute to process it before he remembered something,

"What is Soul Power?" As someone who fused with a being like Primordial Origin, he didn't need to ask about the Soul. As for Soul Power, he had some ideas on it, but he wanted confirmation.

This time Xue Mo was bound to be disappointed as Lu Yao's answer, although not satisfactory, is the truth. "Soul Power? Dunno." Lu Yao shrugged her white-furred shoulder and answered.

Xue Mo had no way to test his theory, so he let the matter go with the last thought being: 'Maybe it's like Soul Cultivation?'

"Can you tell me what stats are? How are they formed?" Xue Mo pressed on with questions.

"I can't tell you how stats are formed as no one know that. But I could tell you what they are. Open the status window and say stats so I could explain to you visually." Xue Mo didn't say more and complied inwardly muttering, 'Status Window, stats.'

The same blue colored display that he saw before appeared in front of him, but this time it was in a much smaller version, making him understand how status window worked.

[Stat]

Strength: 4

Stamina: 10

Agility: 6

Intelligence: 1000 [Unlock MP]

Wisdom: 100000

Soul Power: [Unknown]

"As you could probably see in front of you there are six different stats with each one indicating to something specific,

Strength indicates the property of physical bodies. Muscles, bones, flesh. All Physical Prowess is connected to the strength stat.

Stamina, instead, is..... the stamina. It indicates how much you could last, and it depends on the will of the person and their bodies.

Agility is about reflexes, body control, muscle memory, and other related matters.

Now the last two may seem similar or close due to the names, but they aren't. Intelligence refers to how much Mana a person has or could control, which coverts every 500 intelligence = 5 points in MP.

Wisdom instead could be the simplest or hardest Stat to grasp, as it works on the Player's comprehension, learning, and other mental faculties to calculate. It could also be increased with age and experience; this is why it is both the simplest and hardest Stat." Lu Yao tried to be as thorough with her explanation as she could give Xue Mo a clear view of the stats are. Because she already said that she didn't know about the Soul Power stat, Xue Mo didn't ask again.

'This 'System' seems to be its very own inborn Power-system of the Hollow Sky Universe. But this is also a very dangerous method to gain power. If I understood what happened to Lu Yao correctly and confirmed why I didn't feel any Arch energy from her, the 'System' simply doesn't have any cultivation capability; instead, it uses stats.

If my deduction is correct and the reason Lu Yao ended up in this state because she lost her power (stats), then it's basically a borrowed power-based Universe.

That also means I have a significant advantage if I cultivate as there would be no one else other than me with real power, a power that is my own.' Xue Mo also thought of teaching Lu Yao cultivation, seeing that they are Partners now, but he first wanted to test her more and see if she is worthy with such power; if not, he would just let gain strength through stats again.' Xue Mo thought deeply since this is the path that would decide his future plans. As for Lu Yao, Xue Mo has plans for her as for why he started feeling weird emotions in his heart ever since he met her. He would solve it later.

Right after he finished thinking both Xue Mo and Lu Yao got a message, opening the notification what was displayed was,

[Welcome to the Ash Expanse]