As soon as he entered the portal, a strong scent of plants filled the air.
A dense forest appeared before his eyes.
In the distance, he could see enormous, bare spike plants, their tops bent downwards into circles, forming a uniquely elegant shape.
"Where is this?"
"I should find someone to ask!"
Zhang Chen muttered to himself.
At this moment, a prompt popped up:
[Current world ecological level: Level 2. No meteorite energy influence!]
Not bad, the flow rate difference isn't that significant!
"Guji!"
Xiao Ruan squirmed innocently in mid-air, as if indicating it didn't understand either.
"But looking at these plants... spike plants, it feels like ancient times!"
Zhang Chen reached out and patted the scaled, keratinous surface of a spike plant, saying with curiosity.
Rumble... rumble...
Zhang Chen's sensitive senses picked up the sound of massive footsteps rapidly approaching.
The puddles on the ground began to vibrate rhythmically.
"Hmm?"
Zhang Chen curiously looked in the direction of the sound.
The trees rustled, and soon, a massive head appeared in his sight.
Followed by short forelimbs and sturdy, heavy hind legs...
A Tyrannosaurus Rex?
Good heavens, I've actually transmigrated to an era where dinosaurs still exist?
"Roar!"
The Tyrannosaurus Rex let out an angry roar, looking at the strange creature blocking its path.
Five minutes later...
Thick meat aroma wafted into the air from the barbecue grill.
Beside it lay the massive carcass of the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Zhang Chen and Xiao Ruan were barbecuing by the campfire.
"Guji!"
Xiao Ruan only consumes energy and not meat, so it had no interest in these things.
Zhang Chen took a bite of the Tyrannosaurus Rex's foreleg...
The meat was incredibly tough, and the taste was not good at all.
Ah well, it was just for the novelty.
After all, he was someone who had eaten barbecued Tyrannosaurus Rex.
"Xiao Ruan, keep going. Find a world suitable for the New Year! Preferably a world with human civilization!"
Zhang Chen said.
"Guji guji!"
It was unclear if Xiao Ruan understood.
Then, another portal opened out of thin air.
Zhang Chen stepped through.
After Zhang Chen and Xiao Ruan completely disappeared, a group of primitive people rushed out with strange cries, scrambling to cut chunks of meat from the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Having meat to eat was good enough; there was no room for pickiness!
A shaman, whose face was smeared with various patterns, slowly took out a sharp stone knife and carved a series of stories onto it.
A god tore apart a Tyrannosaurus Rex with his bare hands, then tore through the void and left.
On the other side.
This time, Zhang Chen didn't enter a primeval forest but a brightly lit street.
Not a modern street, but an ancient one.
Zhang Chen could feel that a significant festival was about to begin. Red lanterns were hung on both sides of the shops along the street, and the city towers in the distance were also bathed in red, looking very festive.
However, the road was clean, and there wasn't a soul in sight.
Many shops had closed early.
Some residents peered out from between the cracks in their windows. When they saw Zhang Chen's peculiar appearance, they hastily shut their windows.
"This is... ancient?"
Zhang Chen was stunned.
At this moment, the prompt slowly appeared:
[Current world level: Level 4. Monsters and powerful individuals exist. Time flow: Main world 1 minute, current world 30 seconds.]
This world has powerful individuals?
Could it be that it's not quite like an ordinary ancient world?!
Xiao Ruan floated beside Zhang Chen, occasionally emitting a "guji," its meaning unclear.
"Big brother, are you an immortal?"
A little girl, about seven or eight years old, with big eyes and a dirty face, asked with curiosity.
On her shoulders, by her feet, and in her arms, were several young, similarly dirty small beasts.
Zhang Chen used the prompt to check. Although these small beasts all belonged to the energy beast classification, their levels were too low, F-class, H-class, it was truly pathetic.
"Little sister, why do you call me an immortal?"
Zhang Chen crouched down in front of the little girl and asked with a smile.
"Because the little baby next to you is asking you if you are satisfied with this world?"
"Only immortals possess the ability to travel between the divine realm and the mortal realm, right!"
The little girl blinked her large eyes and explained with a bewildered look.
It seemed that everyone in this world had the ability to communicate with energy beasts, which was why the little girl naturally assumed Zhang Chen could also communicate with Xiao Ruan.
"Then... can you repeat what Xiao Ruan just said?"
Zhang Chen asked.
"Yes!"
The little girl giggled and said:
"Master, are you satisfied with this world?"
The little girl spoke in a language understandable to normal humans.
At this moment, Xiao Ruan curiously floated over to the little girl and began to circle around her.
It seemed to be very surprised that the girl could communicate with it so smoothly.
"Say that again!"
Zhang Chen noticed a faint flow of energy when the little girl was speaking.
This meant that with simple energy construction, Zhang Chen could also communicate with energy beasts in this world!
This ability was incredibly important.
Although Xiao Ruan, Er Pang, and Ao Xue were all very understanding, and the simple commands Zhang Chen issued were executed perfectly.
However, they couldn't communicate verbally. It was like two people from different countries; while they could communicate using simple gestures, complex messages were difficult to convey.
If Zhang Chen could communicate with Xiao Ruan without any barriers, wouldn't that mean Xiao Ruan could take him to any world he wanted to go to?
Even if Xiao Ruan couldn't always open the portal accurately, as long as they could communicate, Zhang Chen could train Xiao Ruan.
Achieving zero-barrier communication, entering any world he desired, anytime, anywhere.
This was simply a perfect scenario!
"You talk more with Xiao Ruan, including your other little pets, I want to see!"
Zhang Chen said excitedly.
"Okay, big brother!"
The little girl, under Zhang Chen's gaze, felt as if she had acquired some amazing ability.
She cheerfully entered talkative mode.
Chatting about this, then about that, talking non-stop.
Zhang Chen remained still, learning.
After about twenty minutes, Zhang Chen took a deep breath.
He had basically mastered all the pronunciations and the knack for transforming them into languages that energy beasts could understand.
There were still a few more obscure pronunciations, which Zhang Chen had the little girl read out a few more times for each.
Only then did he firmly remember them all.
"Xiao Ruan! Back to the pocket!"
Zhang Chen said to Xiao Ruan.
"Okay, Master!"
Xiao Ruan was still making the "guji" sound, but Zhang Chen could understand it now!
"Immortal big brother, I helped you, so can you help us?"
The little girl asked, blinking her big eyes.
"Help you with what?"
Zhang Chen asked.
"The Xi is coming, can you help us get rid of them?"
The little girl asked.
"Xi? New Year's Eve?"
Zhang Chen exclaimed in surprise!
(I got sick on New Year's Day, just a fever, no cough or runny nose. I wonder what it was? I've been sick consecutively, I'm really at my limit... Once I recover, I'll definitely work out and sign up for a yoga class... definitely...)