Immortal Dao Fruits, Cards to Help Me

Chapter 13 Goblins and Earthly Fiends

When Chen Xiuxian returned to the Yuelai Inn, the waiter, Kong Ergou, was quite surprised to see him.

His first reaction was, "Why are you back?" (in a low voice)

Chen Xiuxian smiled and said, "I went to do some small business."

However, when Kong Ergou saw his confident smile, his heart began to pound.

Although it's still that handsome face, now it looks full of confidence and radiance, unlike the frowning look it had when it was tricked by the bald rat.

Considering the two things that just happened in Wadang Fort... could it be?!

Can't you?
Forget it, forget it, I won't ask any more questions, inquire any more, or think any more.

Chen Xiuxian: Why don't you ask? I'd like to reply—it's just a little dust~
……

The saying goes, "On a rainy night, carry a sword but not an umbrella."
Now that the enemy is dead, everything is clear. Next, it's time to level up.

Originally, Chen Xiuxian planned to level up a few levels through "literary" means first, and then take risks to fight monsters and level up.

But things always change faster than planned.

Forced into taking risks, having killed enemies, and brought to this point, let's just fight monsters!

Speaking of which, killing that bald-haired rat Deng San and Master Zhou actually earns you experience points!

Deng Sanyou was also level 4, and was given 72 experience points.

Zhou Da Guanren is even at level 6, worth 95 experience points.

Killing those two bastards actually gave me 160+ experience points?
This guy's level is actually pretty high! And he has a lot of experience too!

Mainly, they're easy to deal with.
This is just too much!
Isn't this tempting me to go astray?
It's said that evil cultivators and demonic sects grow extremely fast in their early stages, and this is indeed extremely fast!

And these two even revealed something!
Deng San got a [Lock Picking (White)] skill card, which allows you to learn the skill immediately upon use.

Zhou Da Guanren revealed his old profession [Slaughter (White)], and after using it, he learned butcher skills such as bleeding, skinning, cutting meat, and deboning.

Why would I learn this stuff?!

……

Chen Xiuxian planned to leave the city to kill goblins and tree spirits.

There are many monsters formed from this kind of evil energy. They tend to cluster together, are not very intelligent, and are easy to fight.

During this time, Chen Xiuxian had become familiar with the Changhong True Qi and the Changhong Sword Technique, and was able to freely control the True Qi to amplify his entire body.

It's roughly like all attributes x1.5?

Moreover, it can also stimulate true energy to greatly amplify oneself, but the duration is short and the consumption is huge, often only lasting for a moment during an attack.

For example, if you infuse your true energy into the sword, its destructive power will increase exponentially!

With Chen Xiuxian's current level of the first layer of the Long Rainbow Heart Technique, he can maintain a normal buff for 40 minutes. Even with occasional bursts of power, supporting a battle for 30 minutes is not a problem!

It can be said that after acquiring internal energy and swordsmanship, the combat power will increase by more than tenfold!
Otherwise, how could he have so easily killed Bald Rat Deng San and Master Zhou on a rainy night?

After resting for a night and buying some food and water, Chen Xiuxian left Wadang Fort again, this time heading east.

Go to the foot of the Qianshan Mountains.

The terrain of Liaodong is a plain of the Liaohe River, which is sandwiched between the Yanshan Mountains in the west and the Qianshan Mountains in the east.

Several rivers flow across the plains and empty into the Liaodong Bay of the Bohai Sea.

The lingering influence of the Qianshan Mountains extends all the way to the Liaodong Peninsula, while the narrow Liaoxi Corridor lies between the Yanshan Mountains and Liaodong Bay.

In the past, the Liaoxi Corridor was a vast expanse of water, and the Bohai Sea was much larger back then than it is now.

It was formed when the sea receded and the soil was washed away by rivers, creating many coastal lands.

This narrow corridor did not gradually take shape until after the Qin and Han dynasties.

And the most strategic pass in the world that guards the throat between Youyan and Liaodong is Shanhaiguan!

We can’t concern ourselves with matters inside the Great Wall for now; let’s just talk about Liaodong outside the Great Wall.

Because the Qianshan Mountains to the east are too treacherous and teeming with all sorts of high-level monsters, large armies cannot pass through them, so this area is relatively peaceful.

The real battles between the Wild Boar People and the Fushun Guard, located 200 li north of Wadang Fort, were fierce, with the Liaoxi Guangning Guard also engaged in intense fighting with the Xixia Quanrong.

The most tense situation in the entire Liaodong war was the 30,000 guards of Kaiyuan in the north!

That place is where the Boar People, Dogs, Tatars, and Liaodong peoples meet from all directions; it's incredibly lively!
There are quite a few warmongers in the game who practically treat the 30,000 guards as their home.

Friction occurs every three days, conflict every five days, and there are always several battles involving thousands of people every year.

Although the mortality rate was extremely high, the gains were also enormous.

Most importantly—it was so much fun!

Chen Xiuxian tacitly agreed to "one life to clear the game," but he couldn't indulge in that kind of addiction.

He should just stick to fighting monsters!

……

Speaking of which, there has been a lot of discussion about the background of "Da Qian Hong Meng" on gaming forums.

Is it an alternate history, roughly corresponding to the late Ming Dynasty?

However, the entire map has been expanded to 1.5 to 3 times its original size (in some areas) to accommodate more players and more monsters, and to provide more areas for exploration.

After all, it's a fantasy game; players will be flying on swords in the future! A small size definitely won't work.
Then there's history, which is often ambiguous and dubious.

That's normal, after all, this is a fantasy game, not a historical game. Making it too historically accurate wouldn't be good either.

Therefore, many players can see some similarities in the game, but they are not exactly the same.

Of course, in reality, by the time things have reached this point, there aren't many people interested in history anymore.

……

Chen Xiuxian walked for about an hour and a half after leaving the city and arrived at a place where there were basically no people.

He took out his simple map and compared it several times before finally finding the place more than an hour later. It was a dark and damp rift valley between two very close mountain peaks in the Thousand Mountains—the Yin Sha Rift Valley.

Due to the terrain, many ancient trees that are hundreds of years old have fallen and turned into petrified wood deposits in the swamp.

This is considered a low-tier material, but it's still quite valuable in the game.

In the game, players can list items on the auction house. Several low-level flying swords can be crafted using this item, so a considerable quantity is needed.

It's hard to say now.

Chen Xiuxian didn't come here for the ebony wood, but because this place was a gathering place of yin energy, which had given rise to many earth spirits.

These aren't ordinary goblins; they're Yin Sha goblins!

The Yin Sha Goblin's skin was even darker, its eyes were even blood red, its arms had grown much longer, and its mouth was full of sharp teeth!

They are more brutal and ferocious, with an average level of 3 to 6.

If these things aren't cleaned up in the game for a long time, their numbers will increase significantly.

Then, like raising a venomous insect, they fought each other to produce a leader, who then began to commit evil deeds everywhere, threatening passersby and farmers, and even raiding villages at night.

The game frequently issues missions to eliminate enemies.

However, according to the game's progression, that's two years from now—I wonder if anyone will still be issuing quests then.

Chen Xiuxian bought some ropes, nails, and animal traps, specifically to hunt Yin Sha Earth Spirits.

According to the forum's newbie guide, three kinds of wild herbs were collected along the way. After drying and crushing them, they were sprinkled on the body to shield one's "human scent" so that the sensitive nose of the evil spirits would not be able to smell them.

These evil goblins sometimes even ride on wolfhound-like mounts, which have an even more sensitive nose and run like the wind.

In the forest outside the Yin Sha Rift Valley, Chen Xiuxian used pig's blood and fresh meat as bait to set traps to kill goblins, and often made sounds similar to animal screams to attract them.

Those cruel little monsters especially love to hear screams, even those of their own kind; they get excited as soon as they hear them.

This trick always works and can often attract three to five goblins.

Chen Xiuxian used traps, ropes, and lime, combined with his swordsmanship, to kill quite smoothly.

However, there were risks involved; he encountered danger twice in three days.

One time, too many goblins came, and a strange-looking black-skinned bloodhound was also tracking them. Chen Xiuxian used fire talismans to enhance his fire blade, killed six goblins, and forcefully killed the bloodhound that could only track them. He only managed to break through the encirclement after suffering some minor injuries.

If we don't kill that hyena, it might lead the goblins to keep chasing us.

The second time was when there were still two and a half Yin Sha goblins left from the first wave—one of them had a broken arm, and a group of five Yin Sha goblins came from the side and behind.

That time, Chen Xiuxian used a [Diamond Talisman (Green)] and a [Great Strength Talisman (Green)], and afterwards he also ate a [Qi and Blood Pill (White)].

In just three days, he had transformed into a wild man; his clothes were torn to shreds, his hair was disheveled, and his face was covered in mud and ash.

During the day, they set traps, lured monsters, fought, and fled; at night, they slept in trees.

If you want something hot to eat, you have to stay at least ten miles away to light a fire, otherwise you'll attract goblins.

Especially the two injuries, they were terrible... These three days have really worn him out.

"I can't take it anymore! Let's go back and rest. I can't hold on any longer."

He told himself to pack up and leave quickly.

Going it alone is too difficult.

Not only is combat difficult, but wilderness survival is also difficult, and the psychological pressure is immense, with no one to talk to.

If this goes on for a few more days, won't it cause psychological problems?
However, the gains over these three days were also enormous.

I killed nearly 30 monsters. Thanks to the sharpness of the Rainbow Sword, the monster-slaying was incredibly smooth!

His experience points alone are over 1800!

Including the previous experience points, it's already over 2300, and the level has increased to level 5!
Acquired attributes have also increased!

The "Changhong Heart Method" has also been upgraded to level 2, and it is only one-third of the cultivation progress away from level 3.

I also got six cards, five white and one green.

【Yin Bone (White)】x3, 【Human Face Mushroom (White)】, 【Yin Iron Belt (White)】, 【Dark Marsh Rift Aura (Green)】.

The Yin Bone and Human-Faced Mushroom are insignificant; they are just basic materials that I can't use or sell now.

That [Dark Iron Belt (White)] is a leather belt from Black Iron Head, with +1 defense, which is better than nothing.

That [Dark Swamp Rift Aura (Green)] is quite interesting.

To talk about this, we must first talk about the cultivation realm/level settings in "The Great Thousand Primordial Chaos".

Roughly speaking: Mortal Realm, Foundation Establishment, Qi Refining, Divine Fiend, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Earth Immortal

(Different lineages and schools have different interpretations, but they are generally corresponding.)

对应的：10——20——30——40——50——60——70级

Basically, you need to complete a "breakthrough quest" every 10 levels to advance.

The first 30 levels are fine, but to advance from level 40 to 41, you must complete the step of "Condensing the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends".

That is to say, for a person, reaching this stage of "Qi Refining Peak" is the end.

To further improve, one cannot rely solely on oneself; one needs to combine the power of "Heaven, Earth, and Man".

This [Dark Marsh Rift Aura (Green)] is a type of Earthly Fiend.

Of course, that alone is definitely not enough.

This card shows 1 qian of evil energy, but to truly condense earthly evil energy, at least 3 liang are needed! It must reach the red quality level!
Furthermore, there are many types of Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends, and they generally need to be matched with one's own cultivation method. The attributes need to be considered, otherwise there will be problems.

If you just muddle through, you may enter the Gang Sha realm, but it will be extremely difficult to form a core later.

Or rather, it's impossible!

(End of this chapter)