Chapter 154 – The Eight Treasures Flower

Chapter 154 – The Eight Treasures Flower

After leaving the main city, Cheng Yang headed straight for Dongshan Village. He wasn’t worried about Yuan Jianze daring to continue harassing Luofeng Village – the White Tiger’s deterrent power was absolutely formidable.

By the time Cheng Yang arrived at Dongshan Village, it was already late. He had someone fetch Yu Kai and arranged for a priest to accompany him. Without delay, Cheng Yang took the priest and rushed to the Black Tortoise Island dungeon portal, immediately teleporting inside upon arrival.

This battle wasn’t much different from their previous nightmare-level clearance of the Abandoned Castle. The only change was that after securing the first clear, Cheng Yang received a special class change item as a reward.

This was exactly what Cheng Yang needed. He stored the item in his spatial ring and exited the dungeon. Besides the class change slot, he also obtained four silver-tier equipment pieces, including a magic attack ring that he equipped immediately. Now, all of Cheng Yang’s attack equipment was at least silver-tier, with his weapon reaching gold-tier.

With this equipment set, Cheng Yang’s attack power surpassed that of ordinary early second-tier demon beasts. He gave the remaining three silver-tier equipment pieces to Yu Kai, knowing that Dongshan Village needed strong equipment to develop its forces.

After discussing recent events and the situation in Yicheng with Yu Kai, Cheng Yang inquired about his cultivation progress.

“Since advancing to high-level apprentice, I’ve been using sixfold cultivation speed,” Yu Kai reported. “With the 100,000 spirit energy points you transferred, I’m now at eightfold speed. My progress has reached about 50%, and I should advance to peak apprentice level in about ten days.”

Cheng Yang nodded in satisfaction. Their cultivation speed was exceptional, even compared to his previous life. Besides himself, no one in this life could match their progress. This was thanks to the high spirit energy values Cheng Yang provided, the Nirvana Divine Stone, and their own talents.

Cheng Yang’s own cultivation had just broken through 50%. If they maintained this pace, Yu Kai and others might reach peak apprentice level while Cheng Yang was still working towards it. However, with his superior skills and equipment, Cheng Yang’s combat power still surpassed theirs.

“Old Yu, you can’t slack off in your cultivation,” Cheng Yang warned. “We need to push our people’s progress too. This is a global apocalypse – no single person can handle it alone. If we could form a team entirely of peak apprentice level warriors, we might be able to sweep through the entire Xiangcheng region.”

Yu Kai was taken aback. “Haven’t we already swept through Xiangcheng? The main city factions pose little threat.”

“I mean the entire Xiangcheng area, including all counties and townships,” Cheng Yang clarified.

Yu Kai was stunned. He knew well the difficulty of advancing in the wilds. As they moved further from the village, they encountered increasingly powerful demon beasts. What were once rare high-tier beasts became common, and mid-tier beasts became more frequent the further they ventured.

After a long pause, Yu Kai said, “We’ll accelerate our progress.”

Cheng Yang nodded. “In this apocalypse, strength is everything. With enough power, we can ignore the main city entirely. As long as Yuan Jianze doesn’t dare attack us in the short term, he’ll never get the chance. For now, avoid direct conflict. Later, we can handle the main city without lifting a finger.”

Yu Kai understood Cheng Yang’s thinking. In this apocalypse, too many had already died. Unless absolutely necessary, Cheng Yang wanted to avoid conflict with other human factions – a sentiment Yu Kai shared.

After these discussions, Cheng Yang began his return to Luofeng Village. This time, he didn’t ride his White Tiger, instead having it hunt demon beasts while he gathered herbs. This way, he could collect spirit energy from his pet’s kills while gathering materials – killing two birds with one stone.

Cheng Yang had been diligently collecting herbs whenever possible, storing them in his spatial ring to ensure he always had enough materials for alchemy. While there was no limit to how much he could gather, the only variable was whether he gained skill proficiency.

After tonight, his alchemy skill would reach level 3, allowing him to finally use the True Demon Potion recipe.

Returning to Luofeng Village before midnight, Cheng Yang immediately began crafting potions. He now only sold 20% of his output to Zhao Yi as per their agreement, keeping the rest for future use. As he progressed, his focus would shift to more valuable potions, and these stored supplies would help bridge the gap.

Though their agreement allowed Cheng Yang to stop trading if he ceased producing life or mana potions, he believed maintaining good relations with these intelligent shopkeepers could prove beneficial in the long run.

After midnight, Cheng Yang finally leveled his alchemy skill to 3. Eagerly, he used the True Demon Potion recipe. The recipe vanished, and a new potion formula appeared in his alchemy panel.

However, the list of required ingredients gave him a headache. Of the thirteen herbs needed, twelve were common, but one – the Eight Treasures Flower – was relatively rare. While not exceptionally precious, it was much harder to find than life potion ingredients. A skilled gatherer might find one or two per day, but for a level 3 alchemist, this amount was insufficient.

Fortunately, Cheng Yang had a solution. As the Eight Treasures Flower was a level 1 herb requiring level 3 gathering skill, he could task his villagers with collecting it. While Luofeng Village had no level 3 alchemists, it had several level 3 gatherers. By posting a task at the Glory Hall offering 10 spirit energy points and 10 territory contribution points per flower, Cheng Yang could secure a steady supply.

After handling the potion recipe, Cheng Yang began his nightly cultivation.

PS: It’s New Year’s Eve. Heard this year’s Spring Festival Gala isn’t great, but I’ll check it out anyway. Seeking support – subscriptions, monthly tickets… (To be continued)