Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Framed, Facing a Crisis?
Song Jiulai didn’t know if all the Cultivators on the Yunzhou Continent were this nice.
In any case, every senior sister she had met so far was beautiful and kind-hearted.
Song Jiulai asked reflexively, "If you give this to me, how will you get back?"
Lin Qian smiled. "I’ve been following you for seven or eight days; I have some ability to protect myself. Don’t worry, I have a special way to contact other disciples from the Sect, so I’ll just go back with them."
Song Jiulai still tried to be polite. "This is too valuable..."
Lin Qian said, "It’s really fine. The help you’ve given me during this time is more than enough. If we meet again, can I still follow you?"
Song Jiulai didn’t mind. "Of course."
Lin Qian left the Second-order Qi Replenishing Pill with Song Jiulai and departed.
Song Jiulai sighed with emotion. "System, there really are a lot of good people in this world."
The System chuckled but said nothing.
Then, the reality check came as fast as a tornado.
This reality check wasn’t because there was something wrong with Lin Qian, but rather...
The moment she left, Song Jiulai’s bad luck began!
After Lin Qian left, Song Jiulai discovered that her chances of encountering demon beasts had plummeted. Just when she was ready to go all out, the number of demon beasts couldn’t keep up.
She wandered around an area for a whole afternoon and only ran into three First-rank Demon Beasts.
It wasn’t even a proper snack.
However, with Lin Qian gone, she could now shamelessly gather wild Spirit Grass and other materials from the wild that might sell for a bit of money.
As long as they were mature, they weren’t difficult to harvest.
For example, there was a type of wild Spirit Wood that could also be used for Artifact Refining.
There were also plenty of materials that could be used for Alchemy.
She started creating tasks for the Sect’s players, such as having them help her sell Spirit Grass and Demon Beast Materials. Considering that the demon beasts were too disgusting and unsightly, she dissected them herself, keeping only the key material parts.
Selling one type of material, regardless of quantity, awarded only one point.
She only issued tasks for different types of materials.
The players gradually discovered that their supposed benefactor was a bit of a cheapskate...
But complaining was one thing; the players subscribed to the principle that "even a mosquito leg is meat" and were more than happy to be free errand runners.
Then they discovered that the Sect Master had temporarily enabled a currency exchange system. It wasn’t a pay-to-win system, but rather one where points could be exchanged for Spirit Stones.
However, it took 10 points to exchange for one low-grade spirit stone. Conversely, Spirit Stones could also be directly exchanged for points.
The players: ?
’Mom, aren’t you being a little outrageously stingy?’
’No matter how poor our family is, it can’t be this hopeless!’
But despite the players’ complaints, Song Jiulai knew that if she didn’t set the price a little higher, she might not have enough Spirit Stones to handle the exchanges once the players accumulated a lot of points later on.
’Spirit Stones are money that needs to be earned from the outside world, but players will definitely accumulate points as long as they keep doing tasks. It’s not a good deal for me!’
While some players were constantly trying to exploit bugs, Song Jiulai was rampaging through First Mountain, harvesting and hunting. Any First-rank Demon Beast she came across became another soul claimed by her hand. Where she passed, not even a blade of grass would grow; even a plague of locusts would have to call her master.
The Soul Cultivation Basic Heart Method given by the System was constantly circulating automatically within Song Jiulai’s body. She discovered that after each battle, the speed at which she replenished her Spiritual Energy was getting faster and faster.
She had a feeling that she was getting closer and closer to that mystical sensation of a breakthrough.
On the third day after Lin Qian left, Song Jiulai was finally sure.
—Lin Qian was her good luck charm.
’I really can’t find any demon beasts anymore!’
She had spent the entire morning searching, using up all her Spiritual Energy just to travel, and had only encountered two First-rank Demon Beasts.
First Mountain only had a world map, no minimap. She could only rely on her memory of the directions she’d taken, and she felt like she had already picked this area clean.
Just as she was scratching her head, wondering if she should venture deeper, she suddenly felt that something was wrong.
Before her was a dense forest, and she was beside a stream that ran through it. She had just finished harvesting a wild First Rank Water Spirit Mushroom, one of the materials needed by the Beast Taming Sect.
It only grew beside streams in deep forests.
She had just placed the Water Spirit Mushroom into her Jiezidai when the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.
From the forest on the opposite bank of the stream, an injured man suddenly burst out. The left side of his face was corroded by some kind of pus, making him look extremely horrifying.
The man wore a dark blue robe with no Sect emblem, so she couldn’t tell which Sect he belonged to.
Song Jiulai instantly became wary.
Although he was injured, the man before her still radiated an oppressive aura from a Realm higher than her own, though it wasn’t as strong as the Foundation Establishment Stage Senior Sister Qiao she had met the other day.
Song Jiulai deduced that he was either at the Qi Refining Middle Stage or the Late Stage.
And the moment the man saw her, his gaze swept over her, full of dangerous intent.
Suddenly, the man reached out and tossed something. A glowing Second Rank ’Earth Bell Mushroom’ landed in front of her.
The Earth Bell Mushroom could emit a strange sound at night, which was attractive to a certain type of demon beast. It was also one of the wild medicinal ingredients needed by the Beast Taming Sect.
It was also quite rare, selling for fifty low-grade spirit stones a stalk on the market.
Song Jiulai: ?
In the next second, Song Jiulai knew just how vicious the man was.
After throwing the Earth Bell Mushroom, the man used his Spiritual Energy to speed up and fled.
Then, a pungent, foul stench suddenly emerged from the direction he had come from, and a black, roughly ten-foot-tall Second-tier Demon Beast, a ’Demon Horned Snake’, appeared.
Song Jiulai now knew why the Earth Bell Mushroom was so rare.
’It was just as the files described.’
Demon Horned Snake: Forehead is slightly bald with a growing pustule. A highly venomous demon beast with a massive body. It spits pus that spawns smaller venomous snakes, making it difficult to guard against. Upon death, the pustule on its head will burst, corroding all living things nearby, requiring purification. Often found near the Second Rank spiritual medicine, the Earth Bell Mushroom. Due to its speed and splitting ability, it is considered a peak Second-tier Demon Beast.
Song Jiulai’s pupils contracted.
She and the System cursed at almost the same time: "Bastard!"
That man had actually used her as a diversion.
But the bastard had already fled far away, and Song Jiulai, currently at the Early Stage of Qi Refining, most likely couldn’t outrun the Demon Horned Snake.
The Demon Horned Snake’s cold, black, vertical pupils instantly locked onto Song Jiulai.
Song Jiulai: "..."
The next second, the Demon Horned Snake attacked.
Its speed was incredible, and in Song Jiulai’s eyes, its massive body was no smaller than a small mountain.
Song Jiulai let out a miserable shriek. "You son of a bitch, get the right person! Was I the one who picked it? Why are you coming after me?!"
But how could an unintelligent demon beast understand any of that?
While cursing, Song Jiulai didn’t slow down. Knowing she was in extreme danger, she instantly hurled the largest Fireball she could currently muster at the Demon Horned Snake.
BANG—
The Demon Horned Snake had launched a direct attack, not even swerving. Perhaps it hadn’t expected this seemingly weak Cultivator to be able to conjure such a large Fireball. After being hit, it swayed its head on the spot and let out a furious HISSSSS.
A large glob of pus spilled from its mouth, landing on the ground. It was a thick green paste, emitting black smoke with a strange odor. Tiny snake bodies writhed within it, quickly growing into thumb-sized snakes.
Song Jiulai now understood why the man’s face had been corroded like that.
This bought her a moment to breathe. She turned and fled into the dense forest.
The System, however, wasn’t very anxious. "I have enough energy to teleport you once. Want me to?"
"No!" Song Jiulai gritted her teeth. "I want to try. If I really can’t handle it, then we’ll run."
She had never suffered such a loss in her entire life, so her first thought wasn’t to immediately run for her life.
It was to find that man.
Even if she couldn’t beat him, she had to make him lose a layer of skin.
Even if she had to spend all the money she’d earned on popping pills, she would drag this out until she found that man!
Besides...
She thought of that Earth Bell Mushroom.
’A normal Cultivator couldn’t do it, but I can rely on the players to bombard it with medicine from afar. I have to try. What if there’s a chance?!’
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