Chapter 57: For Real, Joining the Party

Chen Mo was quite pleased with Nian Xikong joining the team.

After all, apart from consuming a fair amount of resources, she had no issues whatsoever regarding combat effectiveness and obedience. Even before entering the Main God's dimension, she possessed the peak Qi Refinement cultivation realm, which was roughly equivalent to a Tier 2 professional. Her baseline combat strength upon joining the team was thus guaranteed.

Moreover, speaking of her consuming resources, it wasn't actually all that exaggerated—at least far less so than Chu Hao in the original work. In any case, Chen Mo was not short on resources. Even if Nian Xikong insisted on painstakingly pursuing the Perfect Foundation Establishment just like in the original text, his reserves could entirely satisfy every single demand.

So why not welcome her? Newcomers would inevitably enter the team across various reincarnation worlds anyway. Rather than waiting for future newcomers who possessed no special potential and would require substantial resources just to pull their combat power up to standard, it was far better to recruit this female immortal cultivator in advance to boost the overall strength of Team North Ice.

"Items capable of bringing others into the Main God's dimension are indeed sold by the Main God," Chen Mo said, putting on a thoughtful expression as if recalling something.

"However, that seems to only bring in so-called 'plot characters,' and the price of that thing is not cheap either. It's called a Plot Character Invitation Bracelet, and it requires a B-class side quest. Whether Nian Xikong even counts as a plot character remains an unknown variable."

"Then what should we do?" Chu Hao asked, his brows slightly furrowed.

"Don't worry. Why don't you go back and ask Miss Nian to see if she has any ideas?" Chen Mo passed the answer to Chu Hao according to the script.

"Based on what you told me, although Nian Xikong has undergone hundreds of reincarnation cycles, she still relied on special methods to bring certain items with her through each reincarnation—such as the jade pendant that could sense the Main God's dimension and locate you. Who knows, perhaps she has an item in her possession right now that can solve this problem?"

"No way," Chu Hao laughed. "If she had an item like that, she should have already taken it out when she was talking with me. Why bother keeping it hidden?"

"Perhaps she simply forgot?"

"How could anyone forget something that important? Are you kidding me?"

"Ah, don't look down on jokes; that's actually... ahem, anyway, just go back and ask. There's no limit on the number of times you can return to the real world anyway."

"Returning doesn't cost money, huh... Fine, I might as well bring back a bit more military hardware and supplies while I'm at it."

Chu Hao dumped the supplies from the spatial storage item—valued at a C-class side quest—onto the Main God's Square. There were all kinds of firearms, bullets, and explosives, alongside "black tech" items from the Rebels organization such as drones, individual flight devices, and simplified powered exoskeletons.

Although relying on the reward points from that blonde married woman, Team North Ice's supply reserves were already extremely abundant, they still couldn't cover every single contingency. After all, items like standard pistols, grenades, and explosives still required reward points to purchase. While they weren't expensive, if things could be obtained for free in other worlds, why not do so?

Having emptied the storage bracelet, Chu Hao returned once again to the real plane.

The next instant, a poker-faced Chu Hao, accompanied by a small female child of around seven or eight years old carrying a wooden sword case taller than herself, appeared before them in the Main God's dimension.

Everyone was startled, and Jenny couldn't help but blurt out a remark immediately.

"You really did forget, didn't you?"

"Forget what?"

The little girl tilted her head, looking at Jenny with utter incomprehension.

"Your contract scroll, of course... How could you actually forget something so important?" Chu Hao let out a helpless sigh and introduced her.

"This is the Nian Xikong I mentioned. She will be the newest member of Team North Ice, and these are my teammates."

"Nian Xikong has formed a contract with me. She will contribute all the immortal cultivation knowledge she possesses to Team North Ice. Furthermore, she will risk her life to protect and preserve Team North Ice three times—this is the pact I settled with her before coming to the Main God's dimension."

"Greetings," Nian Xikong nodded toward the group, her gaze lingering on Chen Mo among them.

"You must be the captain and the strongest warrior of this team. Pleased to meet you, as well as the rest of the members of Team North Ice. I hope we can live and work together in harmony from now on."

As she spoke, Nian Xikong even performed a traditional fist-and-palm salute. Coupled with her serious expression—which appeared rather adorable due to her youthful, childish face—Chen Mo almost burst out laughing.

"Ah, let's hope we have a pleasant cooperation."

Chen Mo and J both returned the fist-and-palm salute, and seeing this, the others imitated Chen Mo and J's gestures, returning the greeting quite earnestly.

Chu Hao stood nearby watching, a slight smile playing on the corners of his mouth while his eyes drifted off somewhere into the distance, seeming to reminisce about something.

Nian Xikong appeared far more polite than her depiction in the original work, and quite cute as well... Though this should be the last time she would be this polite. Once healed by the Main God, she would probably transform into that cold, ruthless, combat-obsessed glutton who stubbornly pursued the Perfect Foundation Establishment.

Chen Mo thought with a hint of regret.

Nian Xikong surveyed her surroundings, finally focusing her attention on the Main God sphere. A look of confusion crossed her face as she asked, "In my memories, I seem to have heard that this space possesses a technique capable of healing all injuries. I currently wish to restore my physical body; how exactly can I accomplish that?"

Chen Mo explained, "Underneath the Main God—meaning this sphere of light—you just need to silently or verbally recite the areas you wish to restore in your mind. However, restoration requires reward points, and as a newcomer, you don't have any yet."

"I see. Entering the Main God's dimension in this manner leaves one without the relevant memories provided by the Main God, is that it? Never mind, let me explain the basics to you..."

After a brief tutorial on the conventional knowledge of the Main God's dimension, Nian Xikong nodded, looked at the Main God, then at herself, and finally back at Chen Mo.

"In other words, I need to wait until after the next reincarnation world and earn enough reward points before I can restore my physical body?"

Whether due to her young age or the soft, milky tone of her voice, it gave her a pitifully endearing cuteness.

Jenny immediately fell for it and couldn't help saying, "Then deduct it from my share. Use my reward points..."

Chen Mo stopped her, saying, "Don't. You're the last person who should be lending out reward points right now, given that you need time to train your Pokémon. The others also need to spend time cultivating, and their remaining reward points aren't very plentiful either... Let me handle it."

"You're going to pay the reward points to restore my physical body for me?" Nian Xikong appeared somewhat hesitant. "However, if I do this, I will incur a karmic debt to you..."

"Even if I don't pay these reward points for you right now, since we share a team, karmic ties will inevitably form between us in the future anyway. Why bother fussing over such a small matter now?"

Chen Mo shook his head, looking completely unconcerned.

"Besides, the cost of repairing a physical body in the Main God's dimension isn't high, and your strength is not weak either. Trading some reward points for a member who can bring powerful combat capability to the team is a complete bargain... If you still feel there's a problem even after hearing this, you can just repay this karma whenever you are able in the future. The choice is entirely yours anyway; I won't force you."

Hearing this, Nian Xikong tilted her head and stared fixedly at Chen Mo. After pondering for so long that Chen Mo even began to wonder if the child's brain needed fixing first, she straightened her head, her face turning serious.

"Then I shall follow your words. Very well."

Chen Mo said no more. His previous words were true—the others didn't have many reward points left, but he still had plenty. Currently, he still possessed two B-class side quests and over 44,000 reward points.

Even though Nian Xikong required a staggering 1,700 reward points to restore her physical body, it didn't matter; wealth made one willful.

Moreover, given Nian Xikong's personality—which placed extreme importance on karmic connections—helping her out now meant she would definitely repay it in the future, eliminating the need to worry about other issues.

"Main God, restore Nian Xikong's physical body!"

Instantly, a pillar of light descended from the sky, enveloping Nian Xikong within it. Nian Xikong floated upward into the beam of light, her physical form becoming invisible to the naked eye as if she had turned into a body of light, yet her silhouette gradually expanded, growing from the size of an eight- or nine-year-old child into the physique of a young maiden.

The people present widened their eyes. Jenny let out a gasp and glared fiercely at the male members present.

"Turn your backs around! No looking!"

"Nobody cares about that anyway... It's not like we've never seen a woman..."

J muttered under his breath, but obediently turned around nonetheless. The others did the same. However, right at that moment, the entire pillar of light abruptly vanished, and immediately afterward, a crisp and radiant young maiden appeared before everyone's eyes.

The maiden was dressed in an ancient, ethereal green court gown, with the massive wooden sword case still strapped to her back. Her long hair drifted freely alongside her flowing garments, giving her the ethereal appearance of an elf. Her facial features were exceptionally exquisite, featuring phoenix eyes and an oval face with a hint of seductive charm, yet her expression was ice-cold—a contradictory combination that merged surprisingly well.

"..."

"Thank you."

A hint of a smile flickered across Nian Xikong's cold face, and she once again performed a fist-and-palm salute toward Chen Mo.