For this barrier, Brian Carter went from scoffing at it in the beginning to now relying on it as his only shield for survival—he truly understood its value. After Old Man flew away, Brian Carter took that rusty, broken knife, preparing to leave the forest and go home. He hadn’t walked even twenty meters before this white tiger appeared in front of him. Luckily, he reacted quickly, pushed his potential to the limit, and dashed back to the cave at a speed even faster than Liu Xiang. By a hair’s breadth, when the white tiger’s claws almost scratched Brian Carter’s back, it was as if it hit an invisible wall and bounced away.

Thinking back to that scene in the morning, Brian Carter still felt lingering fear, deeply unsettled—he had never seen such a monstrous tiger before. Its mouth could even shoot out a white ball of light, which, when it hit the transparent barrier, would ripple out beautiful waves.

Ever since that white ball of light came out of the white tiger’s mouth, Brian Carter had been secretly wondering if this was really Earth. By noon, when a second sun appeared in the sky, Brian Carter could be completely certain—this definitely wasn’t Earth. If it were an ordinary person, they’d be scared out of their wits. But who was Brian Carter? He was a veteran bookworm, steeped for years in countless YY novels from Qidian. Not to mention an alien planet—even if the Buddha himself appeared before him, he’d remain unruffled. After all, the Buddha had shown up so many times in those stories that Brian Carter’s nerves had grown numb. As the saying goes, after reading ten thousand volumes of YY novels on Qidian, who cares about otherworldly demon realms?

He silently calculated the time—from morning to nightfall. It was about the same as on Earth.

“The most urgent thing is to find something to eat.” Brian Carter finally put aside all distracting thoughts, gripping the rusty, broken knife in his hand, pondering to himself. But that damn white tiger was guarding the entrance, showing no intention of leaving. If he tried to fight it with this knife, the result would be even worse than an egg hitting a rock. And after searching the small cave, he couldn’t even find a single mouse.

He really felt the heavens were out to get him. Brian Carter gave a bitter smile. Damn Old Man, damn Old Man, you’ve really screwed me over. Suddenly, he remembered that before leaving, the dead Old Man had given him something besides the knife—a jade slip. Since it looked like the white tiger wasn’t going anywhere for a while, he had no choice but to try anything, even a desperate measure, and see if there was anything strange about the jade slip.

Forcing himself to ignore his hunger, Brian Carter took out the jade slip from his chest. It looked quite nice—about half a hand long, spindle-shaped, pure white, crystal clear. With its appearance, if he took it to a pawn shop, it would definitely fetch a good price. Of course, if someone offered him a bowl of steaming instant noodles right now, Brian Carter would trade it in a heartbeat.

Never mind what the dead Old Man had told him before leaving—even well-read Brian Carter himself knew how to activate a jade slip. Wasn’t it just holding it with both hands and focusing your mind?

“I’m focusing, I’m focusing.” Brian Carter stared intently at the jade slip, shouting in his mind. After more than half an hour, his mind suddenly went blank. In the next instant, when he came to, his consciousness was already in a void, surrounded by pitch darkness.

While Brian Carter was still puzzled, the immortal-looking dead Old Man suddenly appeared before him. The moment he saw that dead Old Man, Brian Carter felt as if he’d met a mortal enemy and lunged forward, wanting to bite him. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t move a finger.

“My dear disciple, you truly are the one I chose.” The dead Old Man stroked his long, white beard and laughed proudly. “It only took you half an hour to enter the jade slip for the first time. Your mental strength is impressive.”

“Damn Old Man, let me go home! I quit!” Brian Carter cursed loudly. “Damn it, leaving me here all alone—what the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Uh… to be honest, I’d like to send you back too.” Old Man shrugged helplessly. “Unfortunately, my real body is tens of thousands of light-years away. As soon as I finish my travels, I’ll send you home right away.”

“Then hurry back! I’m starving to death!” Brian Carter shouted with joy.

“Mm, mm, I won’t delay after I finish my business, I’ll be back right away.” Old Man nodded with a big smile. “Just wait a little while. I’ll definitely be back within a thousand years.”

“A thousand years?” Brian Carter nearly fainted, fuming. “By the time you get back, I’ll be a pile of bones from starvation. Forget bones—I’ll be dust by then.”

“My dear disciple, if you don’t have confidence in yourself, at least have confidence in your master’s judgment.” Old Man didn’t mind at all, smiling serenely. “If you’re hungry, the white tiger at the entrance can serve as food.”

“How do you know there’s a white tiger at the entrance?” Brian Carter asked, puzzled.

“Of course I know, because the cave you’re in,” Old Man chuckled slyly, “is the white tiger’s lair. Tell me, if someone took over your home, what would you do?”

“Damn Old Man, you set me up…” Brian Carter gnashed his teeth in anger, wanting to bite Old Man to death. But in his heart, he thought, I’m doomed—the white tiger is definitely not leaving.

“So what if your master set you up? You can’t bite me anyway.” Old Man quickly changed the subject before Brian Carter could explode. “Alright, alright, back to business. What you’re seeing now isn’t the real me. It’s just a remnant avatar I left in the jade slip. In half an hour, this avatar will dissipate into ashes. You’d better hurry up and learn something useful to save your life.”