The Interstellar Queen of Scavengers

Chapter 154: Chapter 154: Layers of Mystery

After the Iron Plate disappeared, all the Spiritual Silks became listless, especially Old Five who was overexerted by Ji You. Among the group of plump and robust ’giant pythons’, it was particularly delicate, looking like an underdeveloped bean sprout.

Watching this scene, Ji You inexplicably felt guilty.

”Ahem...” Ji You cleared her throat and said, ”I’m granting Old Five a leave of absence for a while. If anyone dares to bully it during this time and I catch them, they’ll bear the consequences themselves.”

Old Five wagged its tail and circled around Ji You, clearly very happy.

The other Strands also wagged their tails to show they understood.

Ji You was somewhat skeptical, particularly scrutinizing Fourth and Boss for a while. She found that Boss was laying around lazily like a dead silk, while Fourth was more spirited but kept turning its head around restlessly, with no clue as to what mischief it might be planning.

”Humph~”

Ji You huffed heavily.

Instantly, Fourth stopped and assumed the behavior of an obedient child.

Ji You said, ”Now, I’m calling on two Strands to work. Fourth, Boss, step forward.”

Fourth and Boss immediately perked up, looking confused.

But Ji You was the Master after all. When the Master insists, even if they are unwilling, everyone considers the ’delicious treats’... Ah no! At least they give the Master some face. So this time, Boss and Fourth behaved, crawling over obediently and cleverly.

Ji You said, ”Not together, one at a time. Boss first.”

Ji You found that once the Iron Plate showed up, she pushed Old Five to work and made 5 pairs of earrings, all of which were Soul Devices, meaning the success rate reached an astonishing 100%. This was terrifying—

Now with the Iron Plate gone, if she were to create Soul Devices again, how high would the success rate be?

Ji You wanted to try.

So, she continued with the preset design, carving smoothly without any hesitation. Yet—there was this odd feeling, as if the things she carved with her hands looked right but lacked a soul.

Ji You focused her mind, waiting for the final moment for Boss to make its vital finishing touch.

Boss, wagging its tail, followed Ji You’s strokes and made a round across the entire pattern. Its movements were exactly like those of Old Five, but—

Ji You furrowed her brows:

No, that’s wrong.

It’s not right.

It’s not a Soul Device.

What happened?

Curious, Ji You repeated the process, this time with Fourth, but the result was the same. The items she crafted were not Soul Devices.

Ji You looked up towards her Spiritual World, where within this illusory space, there was no sign of the Iron Plate; its hiding place was unknown. Ji You tried concentrating her spiritual power to call for Xiao You, but there was no response from Xiao You either.

Does that mean the Iron Plate is hiding again?

Recently, Ji You had consumed a lot of Butterfly Honey and sneaked a few High-level Butterfly Honey Candy Beans made by Teacher Mu. Her spiritual power threshold had actually increased significantly. In the past, when she made Soul Devices, it was all done by feeling, and she had no clear view of the situation inside the Spiritual World. Now, when she crafted Soul Devices, she could do it while observing the Spiritual World and noticed that the Iron Plate would silently appear in this illusory space.

Ji You guessed that the Iron Plate must have appeared in the past too, she just hadn’t been aware.

So what now?

Ji You sank into thought, coming to two certainties:

Firstly, when making Soul Devices, if the Iron Plate appeared along with the help of Spiritual Silks, a 100% success rate could be achieved. Why? Ji You had no idea, she speculated that the presence of the Iron Plate had some stabilizing effect, or perhaps something else?

Secondly, the Iron Plate feeds on Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures like Butterfly Honey and Candy Beans, which are processed products of such treasures—in other words, it might require a massive amount of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to charge it.

So what now?

Arriving at these conclusions, Ji You was both happy and worried. Happy because in the future, she likely wouldn’t have to worry about the success rate of making Soul Devices, but worried because to get the Spiritual Silks and the Iron Plate to work for her, she would have to spend a lot of money on various Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.

Never mind the Iron Plate, this ’wayward Golden Finger’ of hers that she couldn’t even control. As for her own Spiritual Silks, they were also crafty, and without good items for them, she couldn’t easily exert pressure on them either.

Ji You sighed deeply.

Sigh~

It’s tough.

Behind every surprise lies a deep pit. And behind every deep pit lies an abyss...

Yingyingying...

Ji You pondered and placed a pair of ordinary handcrafted earrings beside the Soul Artifact Earrings, carefully comparing them. Without a doubt, one could immediately see the difference. The Soul Device inherently possesses a mysterious magnetic field, appearing lively and extraordinary, almost as if it were alive. In contrast, ordinary handcrafted items look lifeless, even if their carved lines and painted colors are vivid—they are still inanimate objects.

Are these Soul Devices useful to me?

Without hesitation, Ji You took out a pair of Soul Artifact Earrings and put them on her ears. She carefully felt for a moment and didn’t perceive anything.

Not feeling refreshed or spiritually enhanced—the effects one would expect from such an artifact—were completely absent.

Just then—

Ji You’s expression suddenly froze.

She saw two new things appear in her Spiritual World which, in shape, surprisingly resembled the Soul Artifact Earrings she made. That small, pink, distinctive look—no doubt about it, it was them!

However— the appearance of the earrings now wasn’t exactly the same as in reality; they actually looked similar to an ’Iron Plate’. Yet, unlike the dull black of an iron plate, they were tiny clusters of pink, with a circle of patterns wrapped around their pink bodies—these patterns, at this moment, were emitting a shimmering luster, and the design was clearly visible, a lotus flower about to bloom...

This was indeed the pattern she had carved!

Confirmed!

One hundred percent, her own crafted Soul Device.

Ji You was startled: What... what’s going on?

After wearing them, could a Soul Device actually appear in one’s Spiritual World?

Ji You raised her hand to touch her earlobes and found that the earrings were still dangling there and hadn’t disappeared.

So, what does it mean?

Could it be that it’s not the true form of the Soul Device that enters the Spiritual World, but its patterns and magnetic field instead?

Ahhhh...

The more she thought, the bigger her headache grew.

Ji You simply stopped thinking about it.

Just as she was about to remove the earrings, she suddenly felt something strange. Where were her lazy Spiritual Silks? Why were they all indolently lying motionless? According to Dr. Luo, Soul Devices could stimulate the growth of Spiritual Silks.

No matter what, this was still a Soul Device, right? For the Spiritual Silks, it should be a substantial tonic.

But—

These lazy Silks seemed as if they didn’t see it at all, just lying there languidly, unwilling to move.

Even—

When the earring quietly landed near the Six Strands, they all simultaneously extended their tails and slapped the two earrings aside...

When one earring was smacked away, it happened to land on Fourth’s head. Fourth shook violently, quickly flicking it off, and as if that wasn’t enough, it suddenly swung its tail to kick the tiny earring away like a ball—

Clang—

The earring fell in a corner far away from the Spiritual Silks.

Ji You: ”...”

Watching this scene, even through the barrier of the Spiritual World, Ji You could feel a strong, intense sense of disdain emanating from within.