novelraw Chapter 607 - 606: Collapse
Chapter 607 - 606: Collapse
Gongxi Yanchang had prepared himself mentally based on the information he gathered, aware that the ingredients for refining the Soul Nourishing Pill would not only be numerous but also quite rare.
Indeed, when he saw the list, his heart sank a bit. This won’t be easy to find!
Alas! Who let him get stuck with such troubles? However hard it is to find, he must hurry to gather the materials; otherwise, his young daughter might suffer long-term effects, how heartbreaking would that be?
After sending off the City Lord, Bai Yunqi excitedly replied to the Venerable Family—everything was proceeding extremely smoothly!
"Luckily at least one side quest is going well; once we have six sets of ingredients, we only need to use one set, and the rest can be stored to replenish the warehouse," Jiang Yuan replied in praise after receiving the message, then put away the Communication Stone and couldn’t help but sigh while looking at the stone wall in front of him.
Although he knew the Life Stone must be precious, the drop rate on the third layer is absurdly low, isn’t it?
He hadn’t even dug up a single piece yet!
They have mined quite a bit of rare ore though, so the Melting Workshop didn’t have to worry about running out of work for the past few months; they encountered many wandering ghosts too, and the Soul Refining Banner was almost full, but not a glimpse of the Life Stone.
The Earth Mirror Book has also been silent; could the low drop rate be because they haven’t explored deeply enough in the mine?
[Detected that the believer, demon cultivator Du Yiyun, is conducting a sacrifice. Would you like to open the channel to respond?]
The system suddenly popped up a message, and the top supporter was here to give money again.
It seemed the faith value spent last time was not in vain; they were saved at a critical moment, so their reverence for the "Demon God" was growing ever more profound.
Anyway, since there were no Life Stones to be had, he thought he might as well see what gifts could be collected.
When he clicked to open it, Jiang Yuan sat down with a thud in the mine to take a rest, and the sacrificial scene unfolded in front of him like rippling water.
"Believer Du Yiyun, blessed by the protection of the Demon God to escape disaster, presents treasures found with utmost effort as a token of gratitude to the great Demon God!" Du Yiyun, the Head Shopkeeper of the Money Shop, knelt devoutly.
On the table in front of him were boxes of Spirit Stones and Earth Treasures obtained through various channels in a short time, along with two Jade Bottles at the edge containing the two Elixirs gifted by the Demon Envoy.
He had specially visited the Treasure Pavilion to have a senior Treasure Appraiser identify them; they were two Third Grade Clear Dew Pills known for removing impurities, nourishing meridians, treating minor internal injuries, beautifying, and providing substantial Spiritual Power storage, considered niche Elixirs.
However, the appraiser said that during the refining process, some other herbs were mixed without affecting the efficacy, so although the quality wasn’t pure, it wouldn’t hinder their consumption.
Du Yiyun didn’t initially intend to sacrifice the Elixirs, which were mixed with other herbs and deemed non-premium, to the Demon God. But given his current status, even though he was favored by the Demon Envoy and highly lauded, he still had no access to find Elixirs of equivalent quality for sacrifice.
After thinking it over, he reckoned that at least they were Third Grade Elixirs, rare to come by; surely, the ever-accommodating Demon God wouldn’t disdain the humble offerings of a minor Demon Cultivator, so he decided to include the two Elixirs.
Admittedly, his reasoning had some merit—the Demon God indeed did not despise ordinary offerings.
On the contrary, Jiang Yuan was very intrigued and immediately captivated!
[Third Grade Clear Dew Pill (Medium Quality): A Third Grade Elixir personally refined by the Sixth Grade Alchemist Yao Wuchen from the Otherworld, having healing, beautifying, and meridian nourishing effects, widely adored by Female Cultivators and beauty-loving cultivators.]
However, this Elixir was an innovative attempt by the Alchemist Yao Wuchen, made by substituting the rare main ingredient with a "new" product during refining, incorporating the extremely rare Lucky Red Cherry Blossoms, granting the Clear Dew Pill a luck bonus].
[Lucky Red Cherry Blossoms: A rare plant found across multiple Otherworlds, blooming like cherry blossoms, with stamens presenting a golden star shape. Of the countless flowers on a tree, only a few with golden star-shaped stamens possess the luck effect, suitable for medicinal use and refining disposable artifacts, all offering different durations of luck enhancements, unrecognized by those not well-versed in its history and origin.]
"Interesting!" Jiang Yuan immediately noticed the unique Elixir, thinking even if it was primarily for beautification, if it added a bit more luck, perhaps he could finally dig up a Life Stone.
Considering the destiny of the contract pet, this side quest was more imperative than any before; it must be completed as soon as possible!
[1. Accept the sacrifice]
[2. Ignore and do not reply]
[3. Request more offerings]
He clicked to collect the items first and then asked, "These two Clear Dew Pills are intriguing, where did you get them?"
"Intriguing?!" Du Yiyun watched as the offerings on the table were taken by the Demon God, expecting it to end like usual, but unexpectedly a solemn and mystical chant echoed in his consciousness, asking a question.
It actually caught the attention of the Demon God!
He was overjoyed and excitedly replied, "The believer is of low status and lacking in strength, unable to find more treasures to offer to the Demon God to express devotion and loyalty. These two Elixirs were a gift from the Demon Envoy sent by the Demon Realm Alliance during their hunt for Demon Cultivators.
Thanks to the Demon God’s protection, the Demon Envoy failed to detect that the believer was a Demon Cultivator; instead, due to the disguise as a Bat Demon, they favored the believer, gifting two Clear Dew Pills. The believer’s current fortune is entirely due to the Demon God’s protection, hence offering these cherished Third Grade Elixirs as treasures."
Demon Envoy?
Did Qu Luming give them?
In Jiang Yuan’s mind, it stood to reason that someone who fit in both realms like a "high official" could have them; the original self was the Vice Alliance Hierarch of the Demon Realm Alliance on this Wilderness side, with a duplicate identity as Leopard Tail in the Netherworld Fengdu. Were these Elixirs given by Du Li’s main form, or did Qu Luming acquire them through some other means?
The system only mentioned their presence in multiple Otherworlds but not the specific locations.
To obtain some Lucky Red Cherry Blossoms to boost luck, the lead would be the Alchemist Yao Wuchen; finding out which Otherworld he belonged to would have to begin with Qu Luming...
"Very well, your intentions are commendable." Jiang Yuan replied theatrically, "I see the Wilderness World you reside in is fraught with open battles and hidden strife, chaotic and complex. Remember to cultivate with a calm mind, practice virtue and accumulate goodness; do not act as an accomplice to evil, bringing upon yourself heavy sins and losing protection."
Du Yiyun’s heart bloomed with joy upon hearing the words "very well," and he quickly bowed low and promised earnestly.
After confirming the end of the sacrificial ceremony, he didn’t rise for a long time, overwhelmed with excitement he couldn’t share with others, feeling intensely uncomfortable.
The Demon God actually cares about my cultivation, wah wah wah... Truly worthy of being a deity!
So good to a humble little demon cultivator like me!
He is indeed kind!
The "kind Demon God" had no idea that a few polite words could move his believer to the verge of tears. He was holding a Clear Dew Pill, looking at it from every angle.
A water-blue Elixir emitting a swirl of spiritual energy, with a special fragrance reminiscent of a refreshing early autumn meadow with a touch of dew.
Even though Jiang Yuan’s alchemy room produces many fine Elixirs, he actually hasn’t consumed this stuff much since entering the Wilderness.
Mainly because he doesn’t have a mana bar nor does he need to absorb spiritual energy. Consuming Elixirs either restores health or physical strength, both of which can be replenished with tasty and not too expensive food and spirit tea, which are both delicious and thirst-quenching, so there’s no need to waste Elixirs.
Furthermore, his mom’s saying from childhood—medicine has three parts poison—was ingrained in him, making him instinctively think it’s wise to eat Elixirs sparingly.
"Gulp!"
The Elixir, the size of a dragon eye, melted the moment it entered his mouth, leaving a refreshing taste and a slight sweetness, followed by... nothing else—it turns out this stuff doesn’t have to be forcibly swallowed, as it dissolves once it enters the mouth!
Originally, he was a bit conflicted, worried about choking if swallowed whole, or ruining the effect if chewed; turns out he was overthinking it.
[Appearance +5]
[Luck increased by 50%, duration: three hours]
[Achievement: Unlock Appearance Enhancement. Reward: Shaping Card +1]
[Shaping Card: Special item. Can be used to modify appearance within a certain range, including but not limited to changing in-game gender, height, re-sculpting face, altering proportions, etc. Note: After using a Shaping Card for gender or face reshaping, the same action cannot be repeated for a certain period...]
Jiang Yuan looked at the pretty card description in his storage bag, rubbed his face vigorously to make sure he wasn’t seeing things wrong—this thing can change one’s gender?
System, don’t be too outrageous! You’re really treating the Wilderness World as a game to fool me into playing?
He then clicked for more details and couldn’t help but twitch his mouth—it takes 100 Shaping Cards to change gender.
Currently, with just this one Shaping Card, projects possible are minor tweaks like slimming the face, or gaining two centimeters in height; any substantial change requires at least five cards.
Fine, let it gather dust in the warehouse!
After tucking away what seemed like the most useless reward item, Jiang Yuan got up with his Mining Pickaxe, charged forward, knowing Clear Dew Pill boosts health and physical strength; with everything maxed out, why not take advantage of the luck boost for a push?
Besides, the system’s fifteen-minute version of the Lucky Talisman only boosts luck by 30%, yet the Clear Dew Pill mixed with Lucky Red Cherry Blossoms boosts it straight to 50%, maybe he’ll...
With these thoughts fueling his vigor, he continued mining with great enthusiasm, unaware which lucky hit it was when suddenly, with a "crack," the stone wall before him cracked like a spider web.
Before Jiang Yuan could react, a chain reaction started, sending stones tumbling down.
Fortunately, the system had an auto-pickup function, so it didn’t hit him; the falling stones transformed into light spots and entered his backpack before reaching his feet.
[Stone +100]
[Stone +300]
[Stone +200]
......
"A landslide?" He looked incredulously at the increasing number of stones falling down, while the data in his storage bag rapidly rose.
Jiang Yuan had nothing to do but shoulder his Mining Pickaxe and stride forward as the landslide stone wall moved, staying close so as not to miss the auto-pickup feature, avoiding having to bend down to pick things up himself.
Lucky indeed!
Even though no Life Stone was found, the landslide stone and Crystal Stone didn’t need to be arduously mined, just directly harvested.
He followed it nearly four hundred meters deep, past several bends before the landslide fully stopped, and then he saw the long-lost golden light sparkle on the stone wall to his right.
[30 meters ahead, 80% chance contains a Life Origin Stone]
"The Earth Mirror Book skill, finally kicking in!" Jiang Yuan was delighted.
Although after entering the World Tree’s Third Layer mining cave, he could clearly feel the Earth Mirror Book skill being severely restricted, struggling to find treasures beyond fifty meters, but better than nothing; thirty meters? Let’s go for it!