Watching the various tools move before Zhang Deming, Li Shifan said with a rare trace of envy, "Senior Brother, your Vine Technique is becoming more and more refined. It’s growing stronger in every aspect, whether it’s combat, healing, or even processing materials like you are now."
As he manipulated the vines, Zhang Deming said, "What’s the matter? Feeling envious?"
Li Shifan nodded. "I am a little envious, actually. When I go into the mountains by myself, a skill like your Vine Technique would make things a lot more convenient."
Hearing this, Zhang Deming looked at him and asked, "You’re looking for Sword Spirit Ore this time, so you’re planning to follow the path of the Artifact Sword?
If you’re really that envious, you could always complicate things and take the ultimate comprehensive path of Ten Thousand Swords Cultivation. Then you’d be able to use your swords in all sorts of creative ways, too."
Li Shifan shook his head. "Forget it. My aptitude is far too limited. The Sword Dao is the only thing I’m even remotely decent at.
If I don’t stick to the minimalist path of ’Treasure Sword Hidden on the Body’—one man, one sword, our fates intertwined—I don’t think I’ll ever amount to much."
At this, Zhang Deming spread his hands. "Well, that settles it, doesn’t it? You’re envious but unwilling to put in the work. You can’t have your cake and eat it too.
Just stick to your path of the Extreme Sword Dao. ’One Sword Breaks Ten Thousand Techniques’—how cool is that?
Everyone knows who the top masters in Hongmeng are right now. Who hasn’t heard of Jian Cheng’s legendary reputation?
Why are you envying me? If you succeed on your path, I’ll probably be the one envying you in the future."
Li Shifan chuckled. "Let’s be realistic. If I ever became a master of that caliber, with your current accomplishments, you’d probably have already ascended to godhood by then, Senior Brother."
As Zhang Deming processed the Demon Beast and Li Shifan restored his Spiritual Power, the two chatted idly... well, they were mostly just trading compliments.
Feng Mingyou, who had vanished earlier, now emerged from the forest and watched them quietly. When it came to being a freeloader, he was the master, the one who slacked off the most.
’Cast a buff at the start, then vanish for the entire fight. What a perfectly competent support player!
At least he didn’t run in and give the enemy a free kill, and he didn’t pop up at the end to steal the final blow, right?
So, a qualified support. What more could you ask for from a support like that?
The guy’s only at the Tai Chi realm, after all!’
Everyone sat in meditation, quickly restoring their Spiritual Power.
By the time Tong Hou had mostly recovered, Zhang Deming had already finished processing the materials. The group gathered in front of him.
Zhang Deming began, "This meat isn’t worth many Spirit Stones and it takes up too much space. I only took the two leg haunches. I’ve heard that Dog Demon flesh is quite tasty, so I kept a bit to try. As for the rest, anyone who wants it can just take it."
Li Shifan, who didn’t have a storage bag, immediately shook his head. "I’ll pass. I always end up having to toss any meat I get in the mountains anyway."
Feng Mingyou also shook his head but didn’t bother to say anything.
The remaining two, Tong Hou and Nangong Cheng, both had storage bags, but they also shook their heads.
Zhang Deming continued, "This Scale Armor is decent—it’s essentially the Leather Armor of a Mountain-Piercing Mastiff—but it got pretty damaged in the fight, so it’s probably not worth many Spirit Stones.
Right now, the most valuable item is this vial of Bloodline. Since the Demon Pill is intact and we didn’t waste any of the Bone Marrow, this vial should be enough to completely refine one full portion of the Duality Dog Demon Bloodline.
Aside from that, only the skull is worth a few Spirit Stones. So, I’ll hold on to these three things for now—the skull, the Bloodline, and the armor. We can divide them after we leave. How does that sound?"
The others exchanged glances, then all nodded in agreement.
Seeing this, Zhang Deming put the three items away. He looked at what was left and said, "If you’re sure you don’t want any of this, I’m going to get rid of it!"
They all nodded. With a flicker of intent from Zhang Deming, blood-red vines began to sprout from the piles of meat and organs.
The vines swayed as they grew, and in moments, they transformed into a thicket of ruby-like vines. As the vines dissolved into Spiritual Light, all the Demon Beast Flesh on the ground dissipated into the air.
The group exchanged another glance before turning their attention to the nearby cave. They proceeded cautiously inside.
Just as Zhang Deming had described, the cave wasn’t very deep, only about a dozen meters or so.
When they reached the back of the cave, they found a Spiritual Spring. Beside the spring grew a foot-long Spirit Grass.
The Spirit Grass was a pale, sky-blue color, but its leaves were laced with a network of blood-red veins. It swayed gently, drawing Spiritual Power from the Spiritual Spring to sustain itself.
"A foot long... it’s already fully mature. Looks like our luck is good," Li Shifan commented.
Zhang Deming nodded. "Which of you wants to harvest it? I’m no expert when it comes to Medicinal Herbs, so I can’t guarantee I won’t damage it."
Li Shifan smiled. "I’ll do it. I’ve spent enough time in the back mountains to have picked up a few things about this."
Feng Mingyou, who had been about to speak, closed his mouth. Tong Hou and Nangong Cheng had no objections either.
Li Shifan began the delicate process of harvesting it. After all, this was one of the primary ingredients for a Two-Star advancement. Even if it wasn’t a top-tier, universal material, it was still exceptionally precious. There was no harm in being cautious.
While Li Shifan worked on extracting the grass, the others carefully inspected the rest of the cave.
The cave wasn’t large to begin with, and a quick scan was all it took to survey the entire area.
By the time Li Shifan had extracted the Medicinal Herb and sealed it in a Jade Box, the group still hadn’t found anything else of note.
Li Shifan handed the box to Zhang Deming. "Since we’re splitting everything when we get out, you should hold onto this too."
Zhang Deming shook his head. "That’s too risky. I see that Fellow Daoist Speaking Lotus and Fellow Daoist Sacrificial Chess also have storage bags. Let’s split the items among us."
’The risk was one thing, but I have no desire to become the target of resentment for this fledgling team.’
Nangong Cheng and Tong Hou paused for a moment before nodding. "That works too," they agreed.
As Zhang Deming held out the Jade Box, Tong Hou didn’t reach for it. Instead, he turned to look at Nangong Cheng.
...