Chapter 555: The Mystery of Origins

The beautiful woman’s smooth, fair skin glowed with a delicate hint of red, like a layer of rouge brushed onto white jade, making her already stunning face even more captivating.

She wore a flowing white dress, adorned with jade and gold threads, perfectly blending ethereal grace with aristocratic elegance. It was as if an unattainable celestial fairy had descended to the mortal world, transforming into an earthly enchantress.

Her dress was not revealing, yet its design was just right. The semi-transparent, hazy quality it conveyed fueled one’s imagination.

Her graceful, lithe figure, beautiful jade-like neck, slender waist, and flawless white skin made her appear even more enchanting and alluring.

Her beautiful eyes were like a vast, tranquil starry sky, betraying no emotion. Yet, her entire being exuded an irresistible charm and seductive grace.

Just one glance made Zu An’s heart pound and his breath quicken. This woman was truly a bringer of ruin. She stood there with an innocent purity, making no provocative gestures, not even moving her gaze, yet her entire presence was utterly captivating and intoxicating.

It was then that he realized this devastatingly beautiful woman was Daji.

"Daji is also a Valkyrie?"

Zu An was bewildered; he couldn't connect China's most famous fox spirit with anything related to combat.

The only association he could make was that if bedroom activities counted as combat power, she would undoubtedly be Tier 0.

However, upon carefully studying the information provided by the system, he realized he was mistaken; this Daji could indeed fight.

Following the prompt, he focused his thoughts on Daji, and a menu page about her appeared in his mind. It naturally didn't display stats like attack power, defense, or health, but rather detailed her abilities.

Daji specialized in using musical instruments as weapons, capable of playing "Heavenly Demonic Allure" to induce confusion and mental disorientation in targets with lower cultivation or intelligence.

Additionally, she possessed the "Fox's Charm" talent, allowing her to temporarily control opposite-gender targets with lower cultivation. Even if she encountered those with higher cultivation, they would be so stunned by her beauty that they couldn't bring themselves to strike hard.

She could also summon a nine-tailed fox to fight. As her cultivation level increased, the fox's tails would transform into flames. When all nine tails were wreathed in fire, the nine-tailed fox's combat power would reach its peak.

After reading this information in his mind, Zu An was astonished. "Which world's Daji is this? She's incredibly powerful!"

He couldn't help but lean closer and say, "Greetings, Miss... hero. I'm Zu An, you can call me Ah Zu from now on. Of course, I wouldn't mind if you called me 'Master' either."

There was no response. The stunning woman before him simply gazed at him silently, her eyes devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

Zu An paused. Her eyes were indeed beautiful, but they seemed to lack something vital, as if she were an inanimate object.

He moved slightly to the side and noticed that her eyes didn't follow his movement.

He suddenly recalled the Valkyrie system's description: summoned Valkyries apparently lost their past memories and souls, retaining only combat instincts.

"So they're just human-shaped dolls?" Zu An fell into thought. It seemed they probably couldn't even speak.

Having seen so many films and TV shows in his past life, he wasn't entirely unfamiliar with such concepts. He presumed this Valkyrie was similar to automatons, battle puppets, or mechs.

Of course, the Valkyries were far more aesthetically pleasing.

"Are they robots?" Zu An couldn't resist poking Daji's arm. The astonishingly elastic sensation under his fingertip shocked him. Could she be real?

He was certain her skin was no different from a normal person's; the only distinction was that it was even better than most.

"I wonder if other parts are also like a real person..." Zu An's expression became strange. In his past life, many people online spent fortunes ordering realistic dolls, but no matter how well made, they were clearly artificial. Yet, this one, apart from lacking a soul, was indistinguishable from a real human.

He couldn't help but grumble. If this system fell into the hands of villainous individuals, wouldn't these Valkyries simply be turned into bedmates?

No, that's not right. There shouldn't be such a loophole.

He considered it for a moment, then decided to test her, slowly reaching towards Daji's chest.

Sensing his approaching hand, Daji's previously vacant eyes seemed to gain an inexplicable flicker. She instantly flashed backward, followed by a sharp smack.

Zu An felt extremely lucky. If he hadn't retreated quickly enough, that slap wouldn't have landed on his hand, but his face.

It was then that he noticed a section on Daji's page displaying: Affection: 0.

That made sense. How could there be any affection when they had just met?

But how could this affection level be increased?

If the affection level was maxed out later, would he be able to do whatever he...

Cough, cough!

Zu An's old face flushed at the thought. "Ptooey, ptooey! I'm just researching the system, I don't harbor any ill intentions!"

Knowing that nothing could happen with this Valkyrie, his somewhat chaotic mind gradually calmed.

He then directly commanded Daji through his soul: "Attack me!"

Daji, who had been somewhat vacant-eyed, suddenly lifted her head, and a hint of demonic light flickered in her eyes before she charged at him.

After a brief exchange, Zu An told her to stop. Daji settled back into place, the light in her eyes gradually faded, and she returned to her previous lifeless state.

Zu An mused to himself. From their brief skirmish, Daji's combat skills were quite exceptional, often leaving him flustered.

However, the biggest problem was her extremely weak strength and speed, no different from an ordinary person. She barely resembled a cultivator, and there was a significant gap between her and the formidable warrior goddesses of legend. Summoning her wouldn't be much help.

He re-examined her skill descriptions and suddenly had an idea. Many parts mentioned their correlation with her own cultivation level.

Her current cultivation level was clearly that of an ordinary person. What if she leveled up?

He noticed that Daji also had some formation patterns on her body, very similar to his own.

So, she could probably be upgraded using vitality fruits?

At Zu An's current cultivation level, advancing even a small stage required an enormous number of vitality fruits, so he had already abandoned the idea of relying on them for his own advancement.

However, vitality fruits were often drawn from the rage value lottery, and not using them would be a waste. Now, this Valkyrie system provided a perfect use for these otherwise mediocre fruits.

Zu An secretly prayed, wondering how many vitality fruits it would take to fill Daji's formation. If it was an astronomical number like what he needed, then there would be no way.

With a thought, he decided to try it out.

He hadn't used the rage value lottery in a long time. Checking his backend, he saw he had accumulated a good amount of rage, so he spent it all.

A total of 3508 draws. Fortunately, the system now offered a bulk drawing feature; otherwise, his hand would probably break from repeatedly pressing.

Seeing the results, Zu An couldn't help but curse, "What terrible luck!"

He had accumulated more rage value than ever before, hoping to draw some useful skills.

In the end, he didn't draw a single skill!

Strictly speaking, his luck wasn't entirely bad. Although he didn't get any skills, the number of vitality fruits he drew far exceeded the usual.

Based on his previous experience, he usually drew around 350-400 vitality fruits, but this time he got a whopping 700!

He also drew five Tiger Talismans. When he saw the lottery cursor land on the Shift key, his heart almost leaped out of his chest. The cursor had never landed on these special keys before, and he thought he might draw something incredibly powerful.

Who knew it would just be five Tiger Talismans.

Zu An initially planned to use these five Tiger Talismans to see if he could resonate with new Valkyries and summon a few more.

However, he reconsidered. Drawing Daji probably used up all his good luck for the day, and further draws would likely yield nothing.

Moreover, even if he did draw them, newly summoned Valkyries were no different from ordinary people; they required resources to enhance their cultivation. He didn't have enough resources currently, so drawing them would be a waste.

So he put the five Tiger Talismans away, planning to use them later.

Then, holding the vitality fruits, he hesitated. Should he strengthen himself or Daji?

He inwardly examined his own condition. He was already rank five, and the first four formations were lit up. "Huh, how did the fifth formation light up too?"

He reviewed his recent experiences and realized that it must have been the continuous injuries and recoveries during a series of life-and-death battles with the likes of Master Jia Qian and Daoist Mosquito that lit up the fifth formation. Even the *Grandmist Genesis Scripture* seemed to have advanced significantly due to constant healing, feeling a step closer to the third layer.

It seemed the *Phoenix Nirvana Scripture* indeed improved faster through getting beaten; relying on vitality fruits would take forever.

He calculated that the sixth formation would require an astronomical number of vitality fruits to light up, and the number he drew this time wasn't even enough for a fraction of that. This completely extinguished his desire to eat the vitality fruits himself.

So he approached Daji, gazed at her stunning face that combined both purity and foxy charm, and commanded, "Open your mouth."

Daji was obedient to his commands, her cherry lips parting slightly.

"Wider," Zu An instructed. He couldn't help but marvel that a beauty remained a beauty; even without a soul, her movements were instinctively ladylike.

Daji dutifully opened her mouth, and Zu An slowly put the vitality fruits into her. Fortunately, the fruits melted upon contact, requiring no swallowing.

"Am I feeding her?" Zu An chuckled to himself as he popped the vitality fruits one by one into her lush, red lips. He wondered what would happen if he fed her some "Spring Breeze Eighteen Degrees" right now...

But he quickly reined in his thoughts, dismissing those distracting ideas.

He didn't feed her all 700 fruits at once. Instead, he did it in batches, observing her cultivation changes simultaneously.

He noticed that as she ate more vitality fruits, the flow of vital energy within Daji accelerated, and her cultivation rapidly increased.

Zu An calculated silently: 60 fruits brought Daji to the peak of Rank 1, 120 to the peak of Rank 2. However, the speed slowed down afterward; 700 fruits brought Daji to the peak of Rank 4, just a hair's breadth from Rank 5.

Zu An watched with envy and resentment. He had endured so much hardship to reach Rank 5, and it was impossible to achieve merely by eating vitality fruits. Yet, this woman reached the peak of Rank 4 with such ease.

Although he hadn't found the exact conversion rate between her rank advancement and vitality fruits, judging from her breakthrough to Rank 4, the demand for vitality fruits seemed to increase linearly. While the required amount would increase with higher levels, it would never reach the astronomical figures he needed.

He roughly estimated that about 1000 rage value yielded one vitality fruit, meaning a few million rage value would likely be enough to raise Daji to Rank 9.

While a few million rage value was a significant amount, it was something he could accumulate over time.

Zu An felt a touch of self-contempt. Why was it so easy for these beautiful girls to level up, yet for him, the required amount of vitality fruits for cultivation advancement was utterly unattainable?

Suddenly, he felt a change. He seemed to sense that the vital energy around them was different.

He felt traces of the fire element.

With a casual wave, a layer of flames ignited on his palm. Startled, he quickly waved his hand, and the fire immediately extinguished.

He pondered for a moment, then continued to communicate with the surrounding fire element, and another ball of flame ignited in his hand.

This time, prepared, he patiently sensed the flame. It felt not at all threatening, but remarkably familiar. He experimented casually and found he could control the flame as he wished.

"Huh, why have you suddenly awakened fire elemental abilities?" Mi Li's voice echoed in his soul.

Zu An jumped, then couldn't help but retort, "Empress Sister, I have reason to believe you've been secretly spying on me, which is why you always appear so 'opportunely'."

Mi Li snorted, "Don't flatter yourself. Who would want to spy on you?"

She then materialized, marveling at the ball of flame in his hand.

Meanwhile, Pei Mianman sat nearby, eyes closed, completely focused on refining the Fu Hao Owl Zun, oblivious to what was happening around them.

"What exactly happened? Did you have another fortuitous encounter?" Mi Li asked curiously.

Zu An had a thought and summoned Daji. Anyway, she would often be out fighting in the future, and Mi Li would definitely see her, so he might as well bring her out now for everyone to examine.

Seeing the stunning woman suddenly appear beside them, even the well-traveled Mi Li was startled. "What's going on? Is someone else residing within you?"

"No, not exactly, uh..." Zu An pondered for a long time, unsure how to explain Daji's existence. "You can think of her as my summoned creature."

"A summoned creature?" Mi Li's expression was strange. She had heard of summoning fierce beasts, undead, or even dragons, but never a delicate, beautiful woman.

Suddenly, Mi Li's face flushed slightly, and she spat, "You old pervert, indeed!"

Zu An: "..."

"Damn it, I'm being wronged! What does this have to do with me? Blame the one who created this system!"

"She has no consciousness?" After a closer look, Mi Li immediately noticed the problem.

Zu An nodded. "She's lost her soul and memories, retaining only her combat instincts."

"From your tone, it sounds like you know her former identity?" Mi Li asked curiously.

Zu An replied, "She is Daji."

"Daji?" Mi Li was startled. "The one from the Shang Dynasty?"

"How many Dajis are there in the world?" Zu An said with a wry smile.

"No wonder she's called the Millennium Fox Spirit. She truly is a femme fatale; even I, as a woman, am captivated," Mi Li marveled. "But can such a delicate body fight? I've never heard of Daji being proficient in martial arts."

Zu An retorted, "You, the Great Qin Empress, possess such high cultivation, so why can't others?"

Mi Li's pretty face flushed. What he said seemed to make some sense.

After a moment's thought, she asked, "Is she a fire elemental cultivator?"

Zu An paused, then nodded. "She should be."

Daji could summon a nine-tailed fox, and all nine of its tails were transformed from flames. What else could she be if not fire-elemental?

Mi Li wore an "I knew it" expression. "That explains it. According to my knowledge, summoners and their summoned creatures often share certain abilities. It's likely through her that you can communicate with the fire element in heaven and earth."

She couldn't help but laugh. "I always found it strange why you, at Rank 5, hadn't awakened any elemental abilities. So, this was the reason. If you can summon a few more beings like her in the future, and they awaken different elemental abilities, you might just become the first person in the world to master all elements."

She paused, her expression turning very peculiar. "I heard your parents died when you were young, and you were raised by your uncle?"

Zu An was taken aback, wondering why she had changed the subject.

Still, he replied, "Actually, I'm still not sure if my parents truly died or just disappeared. I don't even know who they were."

Mi Li took a deep breath. "You don't need to be confused anymore. I know who your father is."

"Who?" Zu An was stunned.

Mi Li looked at him with a strange expression. "The Heavenly Dao is your father."

Zu An looked completely bewildered. "???"

Mi Li gritted her teeth and said, "If the Heavenly Dao weren't your father, why would you have so many uniquely favored fortuitous encounters? Mastering all elemental abilities—do you even grasp what that means?"

Zu An: "..."

He remembered asking about this before. Most people in the world could only awaken one elemental ability. A very few might cultivate two, which was already a once-in-a-millennium talent. If someone like him could use all elemental abilities...

Uh, it did seem a bit like cheating.

Mi Li's chest heaved erratically, clearly agitated. "We cultivate diligently our entire lives often only to master one elemental ability, yet you, this anomaly, can effortlessly use all of them. If I had encountered a strange person like you before, I would certainly have chosen to nip you in the bud."

Zu An chuckled awkwardly. "It's not that exaggerated. Look, my leveling up is quite slow, much harder than for normal people. And summoning a being like Daji requires a huge price; I won't be able to summon another one anytime soon. It's not that easy to master all elements."

Mi Li let out a comfortable hum. "Hearing you say that, I feel much more balanced. But then again, I'd prefer you to be as powerful as possible; that way, my safety is assured, and you can also reconstruct my body sooner..."

Mid-sentence, she suddenly froze, turning to look at Daji. "Did you just mention that her soul is missing?"

"Ah." Zu An subconsciously nodded, but then immediately reacted. "She's my..."

Before he could finish, Mi Li had already pounced on Daji with a smile. "Don't be so stingy. I'll just borrow her body for a while; I'll give her back to you later."