Chapter 664 - 664: A New Wave of Harvest

It was a nice thought, but Zhao Ling didn't rush to act on it. She knew her brother's personality all too well. If she didn't have a meticulous plan, her brother would lecture her to death even if she did manage to successfully "give them a push."

This matter required careful planning.

Seeing her eyes darting about, Lin Xue asked curiously, "Ling'Er, what are you thinking about?"

How could Zhao Ling dare to tell the truth? She quickly changed the subject. "Nothing! Let's hurry back to our room. I'm so tired, I just want to sleep."

She even faked a few yawns, putting on a show of being exhausted and ready for bed.

Zhao Yuan had already finished checking in at the front desk. He handed them their ID cards and room keys one by one, saying, "We're all on the same floor, and our rooms are next to each other. If you need anything, just give a shout."

After that, the group went upstairs, said their goodnights, and entered their respective rooms.

Upon entering their room, the first thing Zhao Ling and Lin Xue did was take a shower. The Bone Woman, however, went into her room, sat cross-legged, and continued her Cultivation of the White Bone Life and Death Technique, digesting the Spiritual Qi she had absorbed.

Although this Spiritual Qi didn't raise her cultivation realm again, it did make the mysterious Runes on her bones become increasingly clear and intricate.

After entering his room, Zhao Yuan also took a shower, then lit a stick of Soul-Stabilizing Incense and began to examine the gains from his recent increase in strength.

He opened the Information Leaf and, in the Martial Skills section, saw three large words: Thunder Whip Skill. Below them was a line of smaller text: "As swift as lightning, as mighty as a thunderbolt, its power is endless!"

"A Whip Technique?" Zhao Yuan was overjoyed. He quickly opened the Martial Arts Manual to take a look, the smile on his face growing even wider. 'It really is a Hard Whip style Martial Skill. I finally have a Martial Skill that I can use with my Wind and Thunder Whip!'

Before this, all the Martial Skills Zhao Yuan knew were for unarmed combat. This was his very first weapon-related Martial Skill. Moreover, it was a Hard Whip style, emphasizing lashing, cracking, smashing, and striking—every move was a perfect match for the Wind and Thunder Whip!

Compared to before, when Zhao Yuan could only use techniques for fist-fighting to wield his whip, the Thunder Whip Skill would undoubtedly allow him to unleash the full power of the Wind and Thunder Whip!

Suppressing the urge to practice the Thunder Whip Skill right away, Zhao Yuan continued to check the Information Leaf to see if anything else new had appeared.

There was nothing new in the Magic section, just the same old ones as before.

He had more or less mastered the Fortune-Turning Technique he received last time, but he hadn't yet found an opportunity to use it.

There was also nothing new under the Medicine section, as he hadn't finished learning all the subjects listed there.

Zhao Yuan muttered to himself, a little embarrassed, 'I've been so busy with Cultivation these past few days that my medical studies have slowed. Starting today, I need to readjust my focus and prioritize medicine.'

Composing himself, he continued to examine the Information Leaf.

"Huh?"

As Zhao Yuan's gaze fell upon the Magical Artifacts section, his eyes suddenly lit up.

"What's this? Instructions for how to use Raccoon Power bone, blood, sinew, and hide?!"

Unlike before, what appeared under the Magical Artifacts section this time wasn't a crafting recipe for a single type of Magical Artifact, like the Exorcism Talismans or Storage Rings he'd seen previously. Instead, it was a comprehensive guide on how to use Raccoon Power bone, blood, sinew, and hide!

Only after he clicked on it did Zhao Yuan discover that this guide covered a multitude of Magical Artifacts with different effects.

Weapons, armor, items for warding off evil... it contained every type of Magical Artifact imaginable.

If he could craft everything recorded in this guide, he'd be guaranteed a full, complete set of gear!

This discovery brought Zhao Yuan an immense, pleasant surprise. 'I was just racking my brain over how to use these materials without being wasteful. I never expected the Information Leaf to give me a surprise like this!'

The various materials from the Raccoon Power were already incredibly tough on their own! For instance, the Bone Blade that Zhao Yuan had polished from a Raccoon Dog Bone and the Skin Armor he'd sewn from Raccoon Dog Hide couldn't even be considered Magical Artifacts, yet they were far superior to weapons and armor forged from high-quality steel!

Now, with the methods taught by the Information Leaf, if he crafted these Raccoon Power materials into proper Magical Artifacts, their power would surely be countless times greater than it was now.

Zhao Yuan mused, 'I was wondering why the Information Leaf didn't have any instructions for the Raccoon Power materials. It looks like it wasn't that they didn't exist, but that my strength wasn't high enough to reach the level required to craft them into Magical Artifacts.'

Amid his excitement, he continued to search. However, there were no more discoveries to be made on the Information Leaf.

Even so, Zhao Yuan was quite satisfied.

Never mind the Thunder Whip Skill; the guide for using the Raccoon Power materials alone was an incredible find. However, after carefully reading through the methods, Zhao Yuan realized that the Raccoon Power materials weren't enough. They were merely the primary ingredients; he also needed some supporting materials to craft them into Magical Artifacts.

Some of these materials could be found in antique markets, such as the Golden Sand Jade Marrow Copper Coin Gallbladder, but others could only be obtained through the Cultivator Forum.

At this thought, Zhao Yuan made a decision. 'No sleep tonight. I'll go grind on the Cultivator Forum and build up my account.'

But before spending time on the forum, Zhao Yuan had one more thing to do: make Storage Rings for Lin Xue and Zhao Ling.

Earlier today, when everyone had taken the Thousand-Day Wine out of their Storage Rings, he had noticed the looks of envy and anticipation on Lin Xue's and Zhao Ling's faces. Although he hadn't said anything at the time, he had already decided in his heart to give his girlfriend and his dear sister a surprise.

Zhao Yuan had crafted Storage Rings many times before, so he was quite proficient, and his failure rate had dropped to a very low level. In just a short while, he had produced five Storage Rings. Besides the two he would give to Lin Xue and Zhao Ling, he could keep the remaining three for himself, sell them for cash, or trade them for materials on the Cultivator Forum.

'I'm sure Lin Xue and Zhao Ling will be thrilled when I give them the Storage Rings tomorrow,' he thought.

Zhao Yuan chuckled as he put away the new Storage Rings. He then took a laptop out of his own Storage Ring, opened the Cultivator Forum, logged into his alternate account, and started posting in the "General Discussion" section to build up his post count.

This section was specifically for Cultivators to chat casually, so making lots of posts wouldn't be a problem.

While posting, Zhao Yuan also browsed the threads started by others. The most discussed topic by far was the matter of the Ant Thieves.

Ever since Zhao Yuan had used his alternate account to expose the Ant Thieves' locations multiple times, this once highly secretive organization in the Cultivation Realm had lost all its mystique. One by one, their strongholds were being destroyed by Cultivators—some taken down by groups, others cleared out by solo players. Now, they could only flee across the world, a truly miserable sight to behold.

Aside from posts showing off battle spoils and bragging about their exploits, most threads were inquiries about the Ant Thieves' new locations.