Chapter 96 - 90: "High Level!
Chapter 96: Chapter 90: "High Level!
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「Exotic Treasure Name」: Mountain Embryo.
「Exotic Treasure Level」: Yellow.
「Exotic Treasure Effect」: A special type of Heavenly and Earthly Treasure formed from the Essence of Heaven and Earth, absorbed by a great mountain over countless days and nights. It can be used for Alchemy, Artifact Refining, and Array Formation.
It is extremely fragile during its growth period. If it experiences violent tremors, such as from major earthquakes or great battles, it will perish prematurely and transform into a Mountain Remains Embryo.
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"..."
Chen Fan’s expression was complicated as he silently stared at the panel before him.
Hey Hey really hadn’t been wrong. This thing and the Mountain Remains Embryo were truly one and the same.
Except this one was of a higher level—a full-fledged Yellow Level, the same as his Vehicle Workshop. The mature form was a Mountain Embryo; the one that perished prematurely was a Mountain Remains Embryo.
But...
He felt like crying but had no tears. He admitted it was a good item. After the rainy season, it would definitely fetch a high price, especially if he found the right buyer.
The problem was, this wasn’t what he needed right now.
Right now, he just needed a premature Mountain Remains Embryo. A premature one would have been enough to unlock the Direction of Qualitative Upgrade for his Training Room.
Instead, he had found a better Mountain Embryo. Although it was more valuable, it was useless to him.
It was like an explorer in the wilderness, starving for three or four days, who finally stumbles upon an abandoned human settlement. But instead of finding any food or water, he finds a huge pile of Ghost Stones. What fucking use is that?
However...
’Maybe this thing will work too,’ Chen Fan hesitated. ’I’ll try it when I get back. If it doesn’t work, maybe I can smash it with a stick and force it to turn into a Mountain Remains Embryo.’
’It turns into a Mountain Remains Embryo if it perishes midway through its growth. I have no idea what it will turn into if I kill it after it has already matured.’
He then glanced around, preparing to head back.
In this cave—Hey Hey’s parents’ lair—he had obtained two Heavenly and Earthly Treasures.
Both of these Heavenly and Earthly Treasures were quite Rare, but neither had any inherent practical use, unlike the Mountain Remains Embryo, which could stabilize caves on its own.
"..."
Before leaving, he narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at the waterfall above the pool.
The waterfall wasn’t very wide, but its flow was substantial.
If he wasn’t mistaken, this water was likely rainwater that the mountain had absorbed, filtered through the earth, and then seeped out here.
This further confirmed his suspicion: the rain during the rainy season wasn’t just ordinary water. It was more like a kind of tonic, greatly aiding the growth of Heavenly and Earthly Treasures and the Cultivation of Ghost Objects.
But it didn’t seem to help humans at all.
The Snow Lotus growing above the pool had been constantly absorbing this rainwater until it matured.
"Is there anything else under the pool?"
Chen Fan looked at the alligator. It shook its head, as if to say there was nothing else underwater.
He didn’t linger any longer and started for home.
...
The journey back was a little faster than the journey there.
In less than half an hour, they climbed out of the deep underground cave.
"..."
Chen Fan dismounted from the alligator’s back and looked around. He breathed a small sigh of relief when he saw that the mountain was still absorbing the rain.
All the rain that fell on this mountain collected in the pool to nurture the Snow Lotus.
He had actually been a little worried that after he took the Snow Lotus, the mountain would stop absorbing the rain. If that happened, his main base in the Celestial Pit might face the risk of flooding.
Now he didn’t have to worry. However, he was even more curious. Since this rainwater could produce a Snow Lotus, then from a certain perspective, the pool itself was also a kind of treasure.
But without a panel to display it, he had no idea about the water’s specific composition. He also hadn’t noticed Hey Hey showing any particular fondness for the pool water. Perhaps he would find out the pool’s specific function later, when he had more information.
So, next...
He glanced around, didn’t linger, and climbed back onto the alligator’s back to head home.
The Snow Lotus had been picked and had to be placed in a suitable storage environment within an hour, or its medicinal properties would fade. After stowing the Snow Lotus safely, he planned to come back again.
He admitted that these two Heavenly and Earthly Treasures were indeed a very good haul.
But his foundation was too weak right now, his fundamentals too poor.
These two Heavenly and Earthly Treasures weren’t particularly useful to him. He would have actually preferred a more mundane haul, like a direct reward of 30,000 or 50,000 Ghost Stones.
With those Ghost Stones, he could push his Meat Grinder plan a little further.
Hey Hey had been here for years and produced two dung pits. Wouldn’t its parents have produced many more? If he could find all those dung pits, wouldn’t he strike it rich?
After securing the Snow Lotus, he would come back to search for the dung pits.
...
Soon, Chen Fan hurried back to the camp. Without a moment’s delay, he jumped off the alligator’s back, handed the Snow Lotus to Wang Kui, and gave a quick instruction.
"Store it in a low-temperature environment. Keep it safe in the Warehouse."
He then strode toward the depths of the cave.
After consuming 32 Ghost Stones, the faint image of a building made of white lines slowly materialized before him and quickly solidified.
A Level 3 Stone House rose out of thin air.
Now was the moment to witness a miracle.
Chen Fan took a deep breath. With some trepidation, he took the brownish-yellow earthen embryo from his robes, placed it carefully in a corner of the room, and then prepared to continue the upgrade.
’A Mountain Embryo is still an embryo.’
’I hope this works. The main thing is, I’m really not sure if it will turn into a Mountain Remains Embryo after I kill it.’
’It might just become a dead embryo.’
After consuming another 50 Ghost Stones, the Level 3 Wooden House before him upgraded to Level 4, and a panel appeared.
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「Wooden House upgraded to Level 4, becoming a Stone House. It is now more sturdy.」
「Please select an Upgrade Direction.」
「1: Artifact Refining Workshop. Can forge Ghost Materials to create Spirit Treasures. Requires an Artifact Refiner to operate.」
「2: Alchemy Workshop. Can refine Ghost Materials to create Elixirs. Requires an Alchemy Master to operate.」
「3: Qualitative Upgrade achieved (Yunling Pavilion): Allows Cultivators to practice Cultivation and learn Martial Arts at an accelerated rate here. (Rare)」
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Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Fan instantly chose the third Upgrade Direction. He could read the panel details later; the important thing was to choose it first.
"Hoooo..."
Chen Fan took another deep breath and looked at the upgraded 「Yunling Pavilion」. He couldn’t help but break into a wide grin. If he weren’t a little concerned about his image, he would have burst into a hearty laugh right then and there!
Without the Mountain Remains Embryo, he indeed couldn’t get the Upgrade Direction for the 「Training Room」.
But—
he could get the Upgrade Direction for the 「Yunling Pavilion」!
Although both were 「Rare」 level qualitative upgrades.
However, there were also differences between one Rare and another. Setting aside everything else, just the names alone showed they weren’t in the same league. Yunling Pavilion sounded much more powerful than some mere Training Room.
Moreover...
It was worth mentioning that.
This Stone House was built right against the far wall of the cave. After upgrading to the 「Yunling Pavilion」, it clearly became too large for the space. However, the white lines of the construction process automatically carved out a recess in the cave wall, fitting the enlarged Yunling Pavilion inside. This was different from other buildings; if there wasn’t enough space for them, they simply couldn’t be placed. They wouldn’t dig out space for themselves.
The upgraded Yunling Pavilion had a much larger footprint than the old Wooden House.
The entire structure was almost perfectly embedded into the mountain’s interior, leaving only a single door exposed on the cave wall.
He pushed the door open and entered.
What greeted him was a floor paved entirely with extremely smooth Moyu Stone tiles.
"High Level!"
Chen Fan gave his assessment with a sigh of admiration. A floor... what a novel concept. His main base was still just packed earth, trampled solid by the alligator running back and forth. His own base didn’t have a floor, but the Yunling Pavilion did.
He reached out and touched the floor. It was cool to the touch. It was probably a type of Jade Material. If he dug it up and sold it, he could probably make some money.
There were no rooms inside.
It was a single, vast, empty space.
It was dozens of meters high, with an area of several thousand square meters.
It was clearly a space that was bigger on the inside. The building’s projection hadn’t been nearly this large. It was somewhat similar to the effect of a 「Jiezimai Room」, where the interior was much larger than it appeared from the outside.
The air was somewhat misty, as the pavilion had not yet been activated.
He connected the Yunling Pavilion to the Ghost Fire with a Copper Pipe and activated it.
The next moment—
The entire Yunling Pavilion suddenly lit up!