Yaki Toto knelt, hugging Li Xiang’s leg. He touched his forehead to Li Xiang’s boot, clearly unwilling to part.
Li Xiang helped him up again and gave him some Spiritual Medicine, telling him not to forget his Cultivation. He promised to visit often when he had time.
All good things must come to an end. An earthy-yellow light enveloped Li Xiang, and he led the rest of the group underground, heading toward the Pacific Ocean.
When the group of eight reached the coast of Peru, they didn’t have to wait long before a helicopter flew over and lowered a rope ladder.
"Brother Xiang, are you really not coming back with us?" Luo Feifei, Yao Yao, and the others were also very reluctant to see him go.
Li Xiang smiled. "I still have things to do here. Besides, I’m so fast that it would only take me a few hours to get back if I wanted to."
Thinking of Li Xiang’s insane speed, the group stopped worrying about him. Once he was done having his fun, he would surely head home.
After all, Li Xiang’s top speed could now reach Mach 11, equivalent to 3,740 meters per second. Even at a cruising speed of Mach 6, that was 7,344 kilometers per hour. He could maintain this speed effortlessly, without even getting winded or his heart rate spiking. Since South America was less than 20,000 kilometers from China, three or four hours was more than enough time if he really needed to travel.
He could probably leave a day after them and still get home first.
Then, everyone came over one by one to hug Li Xiang and say goodbye before climbing the rope ladder into the helicopter in single file.
Li Xiang waved, watching them leave.
The helicopter flew out over the Pacific Ocean and landed on a 10,000-ton destroyer in international waters, where Luo Feifei and the others were naturally given a warm reception.
The military had arranged for them to take the destroyer to an airport in Tonga. From there, a Y-20 transport plane would fly them back to China.
Tonga, a small island nation in the Pacific Ocean, had once suffered a violent submarine volcanic eruption that triggered a tsunami, causing severe infrastructural damage. During the international relief effort, the aid supplies delivered by China’s ocean-going fishing vessels were the first to arrive. Afterward, Y-20s made multiple trips, establishing a good relationship.
As for the report on this operation, Li Xiang once again delegated the task to Xu Xuan and Zhang Youyou. The two were experts at writing reports. Xu Xuan said that once it was finished, he would email it to Li Xiang to look over first.
The remains of the Exotic Beast were also entrusted to Xu Xuan. Li Xiang used his "Crystal Vein Armor" ability to form a Stone Box, packed the remains inside, and had Xu Xuan carry it on his back.
He had originally intended for Luo Feifei to carry it, since her Space Gem Ring would have been more convenient.
However, Luo Feifei refused, finding the idea dirty and disgusting. Even sealed in a Stone Box, it was a no-go. Her Space Gem Ring, she explained, was filled with her daily necessities: clothes, Accessories, food, Spiritual Medicine, sanitary pads, and so on—including some of her personal underwear. How could she possibly store an Exotic Beast’s corpse in the same space?
Li Xiang considered that her Gemstone ring’s space was rather small—only three cubic meters—so he didn’t press the issue. It was understandable.
It was like a home refrigerator; you wouldn’t use it to store stool samples, sewage samples, rotting flesh, or virus samples, even if they were sealed.
Storing it in his system warehouse, however, had been no problem. For one, he was a guy and didn’t have such hang-ups. For another, his warehouse was massive—it could even fit an aircraft carrier, so what was a small Exotic Beast carcass? As long as he zoned it off and kept it far away from the food, it was fine.
Li Xiang did, in fact, manage his system warehouse with zones, sorting all his supplies by category. Something as disgusting as Exotic Beast remains was naturally stored alone in a remote corner.
Luo Feifei’s ring was a "home fridge," while his warehouse was a "super-sized factory depot." There was no comparison.
After watching the helicopter disappear from view, Li Xiang turned back to the vast South American Continent. It was rich in species and teeming with fierce beasts—the perfect place to harvest Achievement Points.
In the cloud forests of the Andes Mountains, Cold Ice Sword Qi sliced through a thousand-year-old vine, sending a Peruvian black bear tumbling from the canopy. This rare species, found only above 3,000 meters, had an extremely thick layer of fat, and its paws were rich in collagen when stewed.
Deep in the Pampas Grassland, a fierce Gale whipped up the golden grass as five American rheas spread their black-and-white wings and fled in panic. Li Xiang’s figure flashed, and under his Extreme Speed, the five rheas "vanished into thin air."
The meat of these birds, which Argentinians called the "South American Ostrich," was firm and rich in protein, making it ideal for jerky and long-term storage.
While Li Xiang was gathering Argentine red shrimp, a wolf pack surrounded him in the twilight. They were Patagonian silver wolves.
’They don’t know death when they see it.’ Li Xiang activated his Cold Ice Sword Qi. A Sword Map materialized, unleashing a Sharp Ice Crystal Storm that swept through the pack, beheading dozens of the vicious wolves. He obtained the Tier Ten Spiritual Medicine "Heart of the Wolf King" and the Tier Fourteen Extraordinary Weapon "Frost Moon Dual Blades"—their blades were engraved with lunar phase Runes, doubling their Sharpness during a full moon.
Another paired weapon. The Tier was rather low, however, and Li Xiang no longer had much use for it. He figured he would give them to Yao Yao and the others later.
In addition, Argentina was one of South America’s main beef producers, famous for its high-quality meat, with a cattle population of over fifty million.
Li Xiang mused, ’Argentina is relatively poor, so I’ll just take a few cows.’
The main breed of cattle here was Angus, accounting for about 70%, with others including Hereford, Bradford, and Brangus—all excellent quality beef cattle.
While in Argentina, Li Xiang collected over five million Angus cattle, plus several hundred thousand of the other breeds. Of course, he only targeted the ranches of the wealthy and left ordinary people alone.
This amount really wasn’t much, only about a tenth of the country’s total cattle population.
In Venezuela, the Orinoco River churned as if boiling, and the seven-meter-long Blood-Colored Crocodile King burst from the water. Li Xiang leaped into the air from the waves, his White Jade Golden Hook Rod striking precisely into a fissure in the crocodile’s skull. He received a surprise reward: the Tier Nine Spiritual Medicine "Blood Coral" and the Tier Sixteen Extraordinary Item "Raging Tide Battle Boots."
These boots could generate a ten-meter-high giant wave on the water’s surface that lasted for thirty seconds.
In Chile, within a lava cave at the edge of the Atacama Desert, a six-legged, six-eyed Lava Salamander spewed sulfurous flames. Li Xiang forged a Basalt Shield with his Earth Superpower to block the attack, and with a wave of his hand, a Stone Spear condensed from rock shot out and pierced its third eye.
He received another surprise reward: the Tier Seven Spiritual Medicine "Earth Core Fire Lotus," which was especially suitable for a Fire Element Transcendent. Additionally, he got a Tier Thirteen Extraordinary Item, a Pendant Accessory called the "Melting Core Pendant," which could store thermal energy equivalent to five tons of TNT. ’This would be a great gift for Lei Xiaohui,’ he thought. ’She’ll definitely love it.’
Li Xiang also collected several hundred South American Marsh Deer while he was there. This species was quite large, and he wondered if they tasted any good. Their numbers were also low, only a few tens of thousands in total, far fewer than the millions of sika deer in Japan.
Since he was in South America, Li Xiang felt he should experience the local culture and cuisine. He was, however, disappointed.
The food here... how to put it? Perhaps it was because the ingredients were too abundant, but the cooking techniques hadn’t kept pace. The locals also had "vivid imaginations," giving the cuisine a style somewhat reminiscent of India’s. It was hard to describe.