Chapter 56
As Su Jing followed Qing He to the entrance of the Monster Valley, the gravel path under their feet gradually turned into a smooth dirt road. Not far ahead stood an old locust tree that would take two people to encircle, with emerald green vines wrapped around its trunk. Under the tree was a smooth bluestone slab—this was the safe zone at the valley entrance that Qing He had mentioned. He and his father often rested here when they returned from gathering herbs.
"Sister, this is for you." Qinghe suddenly stopped and took out a small, palm-sized coarse cloth bag from the bottom of the medicine basket. The bag was grayish-brown with a pattern sewn around the edge with hemp thread. It was bulging inside and felt grainy to the touch. "These are 'spiritual herb seeds.' My father collected them deep in the valley last year. They can grow if planted in a place with spiritual energy. The spiritual herbs that grow can release spiritual energy to help you cultivate the breathing techniques in the manual."
Su Jing took the cloth bag and gently squeezed it with her fingertips—the seeds inside were about the size of soybeans, hard and smooth, and she could feel a slight coolness even through the cloth. She opened a corner of the bag and saw that the seeds inside were dark brown with fine lines on the surface, like miniature walnut shells. She brought it closer to smell it; it had a faint, refreshing fragrance, different from the herbal scents she had smelled before. "How do I plant them? Do they need special soil?" she asked, thinking about the planting area in her space, which happened to have dark brown soil; perhaps they could survive.
“No need, ordinary soil is fine, just water it more often and avoid direct sunlight,” Qinghe scratched her head with a shy smile. “My dad said that spirit herbs grow slowly and take three months to mature, but they can grow back after being harvested and can be harvested several times. If you can’t grow them, I’ll get you new seeds next time you come to the valley.”
Su Jing carefully placed the cloth bag into the "seed area" of her space—where seeds of giant wheat and sweet grass roots had previously been stored, but now there were also spirit herb seeds. A notification automatically popped up on the system panel: [Detected "spiritual herb seeds" exclusive to the cultivation world. These can be planted in the space's planting area. The soil must be kept moist (60% humidity) and the temperature 20-25℃. Upon maturity, they will release trace amounts of spiritual energy to aid cultivation.] She looked up at Qing He and smiled: "Thank you, Qing He. I'll plant them carefully. If you come to the cultivation world again next time, I'll bring you dried honey fruit; it'll be even sweeter than the last time you ate it."
Qinghe's eyes lit up, and he nodded vigorously: "Okay! I'll wait for you! But you have to be careful of the people from the Qingyun Sect. They sometimes patrol the valley entrance and will question outsiders." He added a few more words of advice, such as "Don't rush your cultivation" and "Don't water the spiritual herbs too much," before walking into the valley, turning back every few steps. His small figure gradually disappeared on the other side of the old locust tree, the bamboo medicine basket at his waist swaying, occasionally emitting the soft sound of herbs colliding.
Su Jing sat down on the bluestone slab under the old locust tree. It was very quiet around her, with only the rustling of the locust leaves in the wind and the faint chirping of birds in the distance. There were no roars of demonic beasts or the footsteps of Qingyun Sect disciples. This was indeed a safe zone. The system panel also indicated that "Current area: safe zone, no danger warning, you can organize supplies and rest."
She closed her eyes, her consciousness sinking into the system space, first entering the "Cultivation Resource Area"—previously there were only three nanmu boxes here, containing Qi Gathering Pills, Healing Pills, and Body Strengthening Pills respectively; now there was also the "Cultivation Beginner's Manual," placed in the most conspicuous position. Su Jing first dealt with the Qi Gathering Pills: the pale green pills in the nanmu boxes were all plump and without a single broken one. She used her consciousness to divide the pills into small portions of 50 pills each, placing them in transparent jade bottles (empty bottles she had casually taken from the pill storage earlier). She labeled the jade bottles "Qi Gathering Pills (Low-grade), increases stamina after consumption," and then neatly stacked them on the upper shelf, a total of 60 bottles, exactly 3000 pills.
Next came the Healing Pills: In the middle layer of the nanmu box, the light red pills gleamed faintly, slightly smaller than the Qi Gathering Pills, with cross-shaped patterns engraved on their surface. Su Jing remembered the system's instructions that the Healing Pills needed to be stored away from light, so she found some black velvet cloth, lined the bottom of the jade bottle, and then filled it with the Healing Pills, 30 pills per pack, labeled "Healing Pills (Low-grade), can be used externally or internally, accelerates wound healing," and stacked them on the middle shelf. There were 67 bottles in total, 2000 pills. The remaining 10 pills were placed in a small bottle in the "Easy-to-Retrieve" shelf for easy access in emergencies.
Finally, there were the Body Strengthening Pills: in the lower layer of the nanmu box, the largest pale yellow pills were engraved with spiral patterns and had the strongest medicinal fragrance. Su Jing used the silver box she had previously used to store energy crystals to store the Body Strengthening Pills, because the silver box had good sealing properties and could isolate external moisture. Each serving contained 20 pills, labeled "Body Strengthening Pill (Low-Tier), increases physical strength after consumption, maximum 1 pill per day," and stacked them on the lower shelf. There were a total of 50 bottles, 1000 pills, and she also left one in the "Easy Access" shelf—she wanted to try the effects after taking it to see if it could improve her physique and prepare for the apocalypse.
After organizing the pills, Su Jing's consciousness swept across the entire cultivation resource area: the shelves were neat, the labels were clear, and each type of pill was categorized by quantity for easy retrieval later; the manual was placed on the top shelf, next to a cloth bag containing spirit herb seeds, making everything clear at a glance. A notification popped up on the system panel: [Cultivation resource area organized. Pills are in good condition, with no risk of moisture or damage].
She exited the space, and when she opened her eyes, the sunlight on the old locust tree fell warmly on the bluestone slabs. Su Jing took out the separately stored Body Strengthening Pill from the "Easy Access Layer" of the space—the pale yellow pill was warm in her palm, the spiral patterns on its surface shimmering in the sunlight, and a slightly bitter medicinal aroma lingered at the tip of her nose. Without hesitation, she put the pill in her mouth and chewed it gently—the texture was somewhat like dried sweet potato chips, slightly bitter with a hint of sweetness, and after swallowing, a faint warmth spread through her throat.
In less than half a minute, warmth traveled down her throat, gradually spreading to her limbs and bones. Her fingertips felt warm first, then her arms and legs, and finally even her abdomen felt warm, like holding a small stove, but not hot, very comfortable. Su Jing tried to clench her fist—she could clearly feel that her strength was greater than before. Before, she could lift a 10-kilogram stone with one hand, but now she tried to lift a blue stone weighing about 15 kilograms next to her, and it was effortless, without any soreness in her arm.
The system panel pops up a timely notification: [Successfully consumed a low-level "Body Strengthening Pill". Physical strength increased by 20% and endurance increased by 15%. Current constitution level: 15 (average for an average adult is 10). You can continue to consume Body Strengthening Pills to improve, but you need to wait 24 hours between each consumption to avoid spiritual energy overload].
Su Jing put down the blue stone, a surge of joy welling up inside her—after her physique improved, she would not only be more confident in dealing with demonic beasts, but also be able to cope more easily with the extreme cold and physical labor in the apocalypse. Leaning against the old locust tree, she opened the system panel and checked the messages on the global channel—the message from Ivan, the "Black Bear (Russian Bear Country)" in deep blue, had just been posted, visibly exhausted: "Our team has given up. We searched all day and only found 12 Qi Gathering Pills. We didn't find a single Healing Pill or Body Strengthening Pill. We definitely won't be in the top 10. Staying any longer is a waste of time. We're going to wait for the teleportation."
Immediately, someone chimed in: "I gave up too. I just ran into an elder from the Qingyun Sect and almost got burned by their 'Fireball Technique.' I'm hiding in the safe zone now, too scared to move. I'm lucky to even get out alive." "Just how many pills has 'I Am the God of Wealth' hoarded? He's consistently ranked number one, and his mission completion rate is marked 'exceeding expectations'—it's outrageous!" "I envy the participants from the Flower Country. 'I Am the God of Wealth' must have left some pills for them, right?"
Su Jing didn't reply, but simply turned off the channel and looked up at the sky—sunlight filtered through the gaps in the locust tree leaves, casting dappled patterns of light that landed warmly on the back of her hand.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com