Chapter 38 – The Power of Potions (1)

Cheng Yang could still learn the formula for crafting Minor Life Potions, but his current lack of spiritual energy forced him to postpone this endeavor. For now, he didn’t have an urgent need for life potions, keeping just a few in reserve for emergencies.

Of course, alchemy required more than just knowledge of formulas. Essential tools like a medicine cauldron were necessary for potion-making, while more advanced elixirs would require a proper alchemy furnace.

Cheng Yang promptly purchased a medicine cauldron and a herb hoe from the shop, completing his basic toolkit. However, this set him back another 200 points of spiritual energy. *These life skill tools are ridiculously expensive,* he thought, glancing at his dwindling balance of just over 400 points. It seemed he’d be busy through the first half of the night.

The silver lining was that his expenditures contributed over 70 points to the territory’s spiritual energy reserves. As the lord of Phoenix Village, three of those points flowed back into his personal account. *After spending 1,400 points, getting three back feels like charity,* Cheng Yang mused wryly.

Emerging from the alchemy chamber late in the evening, Cheng Yang found Liu Hao and others gathered outside the carpentry workshop, looking utterly bewildered. He immediately understood their predicament – some had likely been unceremoniously ejected by the shopkeeper.

Cheng Yang knew these shopkeepers weren’t known for their politeness. A mere wave of their hand could send intruders flying. Even after a year in the apocalypse of his previous life, no one had ever determined the true strength of these shopkeepers. Attempts to rob the shops had always ended in the perpetrators’ swift and merciless deaths.

“Yang, why… why are there people inside?” Liu Hao asked desperately upon seeing Cheng Yang, as if grasping at a lifeline.

“Why wouldn’t there be people inside?” Cheng Yang countered.

“But…” Liu Hao started to protest, but Cheng Yang cut him off.

“Listen, Hao,” Cheng Yang explained, “I can’t fully explain these things myself. What I do know is that these beings probably aren’t from Earth. But they’re intelligent and emotional, so treat them like you would any other human. It’ll benefit you in the long run.”

“What benefit?” Liu Hao asked, still confused.

“You’ll understand when you can’t buy anything from the shops anymore,” Cheng Yang replied cryptically.

Liu Hao wasn’t stupid. He grasped the implication – offending these beings could result in being barred from purchasing essential supplies. *Some benefit,* he thought wryly.

“But those people earlier didn’t offend anyone,” Liu Hao protested. “Why were they all kicked out? It made me too scared to go in.”

Cheng Yang rolled his eyes. “You sent in people with zero spiritual energy. Of course they got kicked out. These shopkeepers are all about the money. If you go in with enough points, they’ll treat you like a king.”

“Really?” Liu Hao asked skeptically.

“Try it and see,” Cheng Yang challenged.

Taking the bait, Liu Hao entered the carpentry workshop and, true to Cheng Yang’s word, wasn’t ejected.

Cheng Yang then addressed the group: “Only combat class members can take up secondary professions. Also, you need to complete a transaction of at least 10 spiritual energy points with the shopkeeper first. So if you don’t have 10 points, don’t bother.”

He then let everyone choose between carpentry and alchemy based on their interests, while briefly explaining other available secondary professions to prevent people from choosing the wrong path for their talents.

After storing his new cauldron in his room, Cheng Yang ventured alone beyond the village’s borders, heading for the larger monster hordes. With his stock of magic energy potions, he no longer worried about sustained combat capability.

*If I could find some herbs for magic energy potions tonight, that would be perfect,* he thought, though he held little hope. Spotting large monsters in the dark was one thing, but finding small herbs in the undergrowth was quite another.

Within minutes, Cheng Yang had left Phoenix Village’s territory, entering the monster-infested wilderness. This area, over a kilometer from the village, hadn’t been cleared by any of the village’s combat teams during the day, making it particularly dangerous. Not only were there small groups of dozens of demonic beasts, but also large hordes numbering in the hundreds.

Originally, Cheng Yang had planned to leave the smaller groups for his subordinates to practice on. But to avoid potential disasters, he decided to eliminate them himself.

After easily dispatching two groups of about fifty demonic beasts each, Cheng Yang finally encountered a large horde of over three hundred green-skinned monkeys.

Earlier in the day, Cheng Yang had dealt with similar groups using hit-and-run tactics – attacking, retreating to recover energy, then attacking again. While effective, this method was painfully slow.

Now, armed with magic energy potions, Cheng Yang felt invincible. He charged into the horde, launching a magic missile that instantly killed an unsuspecting monkey. Without pause, he continued his assault while strategically retreating.

The monkey horde erupted into eerie, infant-like cries as they swarmed toward Cheng Yang. He increased his retreat speed slightly – though “slightly” by his standards still matched the monkeys’ pace.

After thirty attacks, the horde had lost a tenth of its numbers, but Cheng Yang’s energy was nearly depleted. He quickly downed a magic energy potion from his pouch. A refreshing coolness spread through his body, banishing his fatigue and rapidly replenishing his energy.

Thanks to his innate constitution that doubled the effects of any potion or elixir, the medium potion restored 220 points of energy instead of the usual 110. With his maximum energy at just over 160, the excess would have been wasted if not for his continuous spellcasting.

The battle continued, with Cheng Yang efficiently dispatching the monkeys. The enraged horde, unable to assess the situation, simply charged forward in greater numbers, only to be slaughtered in droves.

When the dust settled, Cheng Yang tallied his gains: 314 spiritual energy points earned, at a cost of seven medium magic energy potions (56 points). While this seemed like a net loss, the time saved was invaluable. What once took an hour of cautious fighting now took mere minutes, leaving plenty of time to hunt more hordes.

*If only I had a spatial ring to carry more potions,* Cheng Yang thought. He would have spent all his energy on potions and gone on a monster-slaying spree. This was the unique advantage of being a territory lord from the start – the ability to face large hordes without fear.

However, Cheng Yang wasn’t foolish enough to believe himself invincible. In his previous life, many self-proclaimed invincible experts had met their ends. In this apocalypse, one never knew when or where an overwhelmingly powerful monster might appear.

From his past life’s experience, Cheng Yang knew that while demonic beasts followed predictable strength patterns set by the gods, mutated beasts were far more dangerous and unpredictable. Some were weaker than early-stage demonic beasts, while others were terrifyingly powerful. The strongest mutated beast he’d seen in his previous life had been at the mid-third tier – powerful enough to annihilate a horde of over a million demonic beasts that had once destroyed a human settlement.

The existence of such powerful mutated beasts filled humans with dread. Fortunately, they were rare – if they weren’t, humanity would have no hope of survival.

PS: Seeking recommendations and collections…