Chapter 67: The Mask of Deception

Xianyu never expected that Xiangling would have such a thing in her possession as the Earth Vein Twig.

But now that he knew, it wasn't too late. It was just a matter of tasting the food once. No big deal.

Under Xiangling's hopeful gaze, Xianyu slowly ate. Although the dish looked like a mishmash, the taste wasn't too bad, at least not as repulsive as he had imagined.

It wasn't until Xiangling asked that Xianyu gave his reply.

"The taste is alright, but... are you really planning to use this as a regular dish?"

"If that's what you're thinking, I suggest you reconsider. I can feel a different elemental force flowing through my body now. It doesn't affect me much, but for those without the Vision, you should understand that it's not a good thing."

Xiangling was well aware of this, but she was just unwilling to give up. If she could neutralize and eliminate the elemental presence in the food, that would be great, but this path still required experimentation.

Upon hearing Xianyu's assessment, Xiangling's enthusiasm waned a bit, and she didn't bother him further, instead focusing on tinkering with something else nearby.

Xianyu just shook his head slightly in response and ignored her.

The next morning.

Listening to the birds chirping on the stone and tree branches and feeling the slightly damp breeze, Xianyu slowly opened his eyes.

As usual, he glanced at his system, expecting it to be the same as before, but to his surprise, there was an additional item.

It was a black and white mask, looking no different from an ordinary one.

Initially, Xianyu didn't pay much attention since he already had plenty of similar items. However, upon seeing the name of the mask, it piqued his interest.

And after fully understanding its function, Xianyu was somewhat pleasantly surprised.

[Mask of Deception] (Divine): "This is the prized creation of a certain evil god from another world. Wearing it will lead to different discoveries, but the unsteady will lose themselves."

Seeing the word "Divine" behind the mask, Xianyu pondered.

He remembered the last time he received something with "Divine" was the "Year-end Bonus."

By timing, it seemed like another year had indeed passed.

However, this item had somewhat vague descriptions and unspecified uses. Moreover, it was crafted by an evil god, making him somewhat uneasy.

After some thought and seeing the cloudy sky, Xianyu decided to put on the mask. Since it was a product of the system, it shouldn't lead to any major issues. Besides, the warning on the mask was quite clear: only the unsteady would lose themselves.

And he, Xianyu, always had clear goals, coupled with enough self-confidence, so he decided to give it a try.

Upon wearing the mask, it didn't feel as cold as a regular mask. Instead, it seemed to meld with his skin.

This sensation prompted Xianyu to immediately take out a mirror and examine his face, but there was no physical mask visible.

According to his speculation, this thing wasn't a physical object but rather an illusion of one. Once used, it would adhere to the face.

But when he tried to take it off, he could still remove it, which relieved him.

He was afraid it might be stuck, even though to others, he still had the same face, unchanged. However, he could feel a slight difference within himself.

He understood the mask's function upon wearing it.

Its utility wasn't significant; it merely served as a disguise.

It could prevent others from divining or predicting, and could even alter appearances. Yet, it didn't provide a substantial enhancement to his abilities.

Of course, this avoidance didn't mean others couldn't predict his existence; it simply caused deviations in their calculations, providing false information.

Nevertheless, even with this, Xianyu still found the item somewhat lacking. He wasn't particularly concerned about divination or similar methods. If someone like Mona tried to divine his future, it would backfire on her.

Merely the existence of divine techniques could make her suffer.

"Better than nothing, I suppose. Though it's not something like divine techniques, I didn't have high expectations anyway. It's a pleasant surprise."

Xianyu planned to keep wearing the mask. Since it didn't alter his original appearance, there was no harm in doing so.

With his thoughts settled, he got up and prepared to continue the journey. They couldn't afford to waste time.

"Time to get up and move."

He woke up Xiangling, who was still drooling in her sleep, and instructed her to get ready before setting off.

...

Along the way, Xiangling occasionally stared at Xianyu, who noticed but didn't say anything.

After several glances, Xiangling couldn't resist speaking up.

"Xianyu, you seem a bit different. How so?"

"What do you mean? Am I not still me?"

Xiangling couldn't pinpoint the specific change; several attempts to describe it ended with an uncertain statement.

"Not your appearance, but... your aura?"

"Yes, that's it! When I first met you, I felt a unique aura about you, one that made it difficult to get along."

"But now, you seem much more comfortable, even... warm."

"Of course! It's not that you weren't likable before, but I feel like you're even more pleasant now."

Xiangling's observations immediately made Xianyu think of the mask on his face. He unconsciously touched his face.

He thought to himself, "Could this mask also distort others' perceptions?"

"Oh? Is that so? Perhaps it's just your imagination. I've always been like this, not much has changed."

"Let's pick up the pace. We should try to reach our destination by today."

Seeing Xianyu quicken his steps, Xiangling stopped questioning. Although still curious, she didn't want to argue further since Xianyu dismissed her concerns.

"Could it really be just my imagination?"

Suppressing her doubts, she followed closely behind Xianyu.

Although it was wilderness, the route to Tianqiu Valley was still relatively clear, so they didn't encounter much trouble.

The dangerous part lay ahead, beyond Tianqiu Valley.

That stretch of road was rarely traveled, overgrown with weeds, and harbored various poisonous snakes and insects.

Though challenging to traverse, taking shortcuts would undoubtedly lead to trouble.

"Huff, huff..."

"I can't go on. Let's rest for a bit before continuing."

The employer stopped, and Xianyu had no choice but to halt.

"I noticed many burrows on the ground while we were moving. There must be young Geovishap Hatchling around. If you're still able, let's move a bit further."

"Young Geovishap Hatchling!?"

Xiangling's excited exclamation gave Xianyu a bad feeling.

"Great! I've always wanted to catch one, but they're so elusive, always hiding underground. It takes a lot of effort to find them."

"I used to hunt them alone, but it's not easy. Now that you're here, and we've encountered them, shall we catch one together?"

Geovishap Hatchling not easy to catch?

This was somewhat true, but wasn't it too difficult?

Weren't they aggressive towards humans? Simply wandering around their territory could easily draw them out.

However, hearing Xiangling's words made Xianyu doubt his expectations.

"Is it really just my imagination?"

The question was quickly pushed aside, and she followed Xianyu.