In the forest.
Li Xuan gripped a Vajra Talisman in his hand, his Flying Sword on his back, and advanced slowly. Along the way, he did encounter some spirit ginseng, but they were either less than ten years old, or they were old ginseng that had reached ten years but had exhausted their potential and could no longer be upgraded.
Those under ten years old, even if upgraded, would not reach a hundred years and could not be considered Spirit Medicine, so he did not touch them. Such ginseng were still in their growth phase, with room for potential development.
As for the old ginseng that had exhausted its potential after ten years, he dug it out, sealed it in a jade box, and planned to use it for making medicinal wine.
The forest was vast. Walking along, he unknowingly arrived at the spot where he had last discovered that spirit ginseng.
“Hmm?”
Li Xuan was somewhat surprised. He noticed that the pines and cypresses here had withered, especially the plants closer to the spirit ginseng, all showing signs of dying.
“Perhaps the spirit ginseng’s upgrade plundered a large amount of Earth’s vital energy from this area, causing the plants in this region to wither. No wonder a spirit ginseng’s upgrade must happen before it’s uprooted.”
Li Xuan analyzed the cause and effect of this phenomenon in his mind. This was also how he was gradually exploring the System.
Based on the items he had upgraded so far, Li Xuan summarized the following points:
One, this item upgrade System conforms to certain rules; not all items can be upgraded. A wild chicken cannot turn into a Phoenix.
Two, for plants, the System values potential. It can use Spirit Stones and Materials to rapidly shorten their growth time, but this can also lead to exhausted potential. As for animals, it cannot be used; he had also gazed at Spirit Fish, but no panel appeared.
For Magical Artifacts, the System values their original Materials’ Rank. How far they can be upgraded depends entirely on the Rank of the original Materials.
Three, this System is a Divine Artifact for finding treasures and picking up overlooked items. Its built-in item identification function can save Li Xuan a lot of time in distinguishing items.
The outer perimeter of the forest was quickly scoured under Li Xuan’s exploration. Two ten-year-old spirit ginseng were found; one had already been upgraded and put away, while the other was still upgrading, and he was still waiting.
There were shallow animal footprints on the snow. Judging by their size and depth, they did not seem to belong to a large animal, but Li Xuan remained vigilant, with Talismans hidden in his sleeves.
Just as half an hour was about to pass, a white shadow suddenly darted out from the depths of the forest, accompanied by angry squeaks, and approached Li Xuan.
A golden light appeared on Li Xuan’s body, and he curiously looked at it, gripping a Fireball Talisman in his hand.
A Cultivator’s spiritual sense is very keen. He did not feel any killing intent or threat from this white shadow, so he did not strike first, choosing to defend instead.
The white shadow paused after he took out the Fireball Talisman, its front paws landing, making an emergency stop that left a shallow ditch in the snow.
At this point, she was only about 10 meters away from Li Xuan.
Only then did Li Xuan get a clear look at her appearance.
It was a Snow Sable with a small satchel on her neck, completely white except for a pair of jet-black, bright eyes. At this moment, her fur was puffed up, making her look round and chubby. She let out threatening squeaks from her throat, slowly backing away while squeaking.
“Yao Beast?”
Li Xuan murmured. In this world, sentient beasts that ate people were called Yao Demons, while those that did not eat people were Yao Beasts. Those kept by humans had another name: Spirit Beasts.
The Snow Sable retreated a few steps, then suddenly darted up a nearby tree, squeaking and yelling at Li Xuan, her eyes filled with anger.
She seemed to be scolding Li Xuan as a petty thief who stole her radish ginseng.
Li Xuan was amused by her scolding and rather human-like expression. Mainly, her appearance—round and chubby, with a small satchel on her neck—made her seem not only harmless but also quite cute.
At this moment, the spirit ginseng’s upgrade countdown ended. Li Xuan smiled at the Snow Sable and began to harvest it. As he dug away the covering snow, a faint exotic fragrance spread out.
The Snow Sable sniffed with her small nose, a flicker of doubt in her eyes, but her anxiety grew.
She suddenly darted towards Li Xuan’s location, aiming directly for the hundred-year-old spirit ginseng in Li Xuan’s hand. Li Xuan had already guarded against her snatching it. He crushed a Vajra Talisman, and in that instant, sealed the spirit ginseng into a jade box and put it into his Storage Pouch.
Then, gripping the Fireball Talisman, he smiled at the Little White Ferret, who was less than half a meter away from him.
After the spirit ginseng’s aura suddenly disappeared, the Little White Ferret made another emergency stop, but she misjudged the agility of her plump body. Unable to stop in time, she ended up right in front of Li Xuan.
Their eyes met. Li Xuan’s smile grew wider, while the Little White Ferret’s fur was fully puffed up, her eyes filled with terror.
Resisting the urge to pet her, Li Xuan smiled and retreated a few meters. Without any visible action, a Qi Recovery Pill appeared in his hand. He dangled the Medicinal Pill in front of the Snow Sable, then placed it on the snow, and turned to leave.
The Little White Ferret watched him walk away with caution and confusion. Only when he was far did she dart to the Medicinal Pill, pick it up with her front paws, and sniff it. Suddenly, she recalled what the old man in the mountains had told her: never eat or smell anything given by humans. She rolled her eyes and lay down in the snow.
“So spicy, I’m poisoned...”
Snow fell from the sky, covering her with a thin blanket of snow.
However, she lay there for a long time and found that nothing happened. So, she happily rolled on the ground, stood up, shook off the snow, tilted her head in thought, and then tucked the Medicinal Pill into the small satchel on her neck.
Rubbing her eyes, she reconfirmed that the spirit ginseng was gone. Yes, it was indeed gone. Her mood instantly plummeted. With her head drooping, she trudged into the forest, one deep step and one shallow step. At a small slope along the way, she accidentally missed her footing and just lay down, feeling hopeless about her ferret life.
“This year was another wasted effort.”
“That human just now was quite nice, giving me a Medicinal Pill.”
“Pah, he’s not nice at all. He stole my spirit ginseng, he’s a petty thief. Besides his good-looking, warm smile...”
“He’s also a fool! He doesn’t know that Heaven And Earth Treasure should be conserved, and no more than two can be collected each year, and young ones shouldn’t be picked... That way, future generations will be blessed... Ugh, why am I so sleepy...”
Li Xuan returned to the edge of the Heavenly Pond and found that the Spirit Pond had already been upgraded. At the outlet, a dense network woven like steel wire blocked external fish from entering and also prevented the fish in the pond from escaping.
Upon closer inspection, he realized that the net could be opened and closed. So, he opened the net and scattered a handful of spirit rice. The effect was quick; soon, fish swarmed in, not guarding against Li Xuan, and began to compete for the food.
Seeing that there were almost 3000 fish, Li Xuan closed the net at the outlet. Buying fish fry was impossible; he didn't know what kind of fish could survive here, nor did he have time to slowly experiment. Introducing them directly from the lake was the most efficient method.
Of course, this netted outlet couldn't stop fish fry from entering or exiting, so buying them would only make them food for the larger fish in the lake.
“Today I collected two spirit ginseng. After selling them, I will have 105 Spirit Stones. To be safe, I should accumulate a few more. I’ll go to the mountains again tomorrow.”
He cooked the spirit rice, planning in his mind.
“This Low Grade Five Spiritual Root Cultivation is too slow. I’ve Transmigrated, can’t you give me a deep blue stat-adder?”
Suddenly, he paused, concentrating on his right hand. A faint light screen floated up:
【Mortal Flesh Palm (Upgradable): The hand of a mortal body.】
【Can be upgraded to Copper Skin Iron Palm.】
【Upgrade Effect: Can smash gold and break stone, but upgrading alone may have harmful effects on other organs of the body. It is recommended to upgrade the Physique through the System.】
......
Li Xuan excitedly jumped up from the ground:
“Damn! It really works! According to the System, Physique can also be upgraded. What about Spiritual Root?”