Chapter 71

The low, muffled roar of an unknown ferocious beast still echoed in their ears, and the slight tremor coming from the ground pressed a huge stone onto everyone's heart.

Wang Shan knew very well that relying on just a few impassioned words could not dispel the deep-seated fear and despair in the tribespeople's hearts.

Injury, starvation, unknown terrifying demonic beasts, and that lingering Wan Tianjue—any one of them could utterly crush this ragged group.

Hope—what they need most right now is genuine hope!

Wang Shan drew a deep breath of the damp, cold miasma in the forest, forcing himself to stay calm.

His gaze finally settled on a point in the void—there lay his greatest reliance: the Spirit Plant System.

With a thought, Wang Shan's spiritual sense sank into the system space.

The sight before him lifted his spirits slightly.

Originally just one mu of spirit field, after the upgrade in Thunderstorm Canyon last time, it had expanded to a full ten mu.

The dark, fertile soil gave off a strange fragrance, with faint light flowing across it, brimming with vitality. This miraculous space, compared to the perilous, monster-infested wilderness outside, was practically two opposite worlds.

He took out the seven or eight first-order Spirit Cores he had obtained from slaying the Shadow Cats earlier and dumped them into the system.

According to past experience, these Spirit Cores could at least be exchanged for hundreds of Spirit Plant Points, enough to relieve the urgent need.

【Recycling first-order Shadow Cat Spirit Cores……Recycling complete. Obtained Spirit Plant Points: 50 points.】

The system's prompt was cold and merciless.

"What?!" Wang Shan felt as if struck by lightning, barely maintaining his spiritual sense's stability. "Just fifty points? Seven or eight first-order Spirit Cores, and that's all they're worth?"

【Unexpected Point 11: Low-order Spirit Cores have extremely low value for this system; please take note, host.】

Wang Shan's heart sank. He had thought these Spirit Cores could be a decent startup fund, but reality gave him a resounding slap. Fifty points was nothing but a drop in the bucket!

He suppressed his irritation and took stock of his remaining resources. Adding the points exchanged from some low-grade spirit herbs gathered at the edge of Thunderstorm Canyon earlier, plus the leftover point from before, altogether he could barely scrape together about seven hundred Spirit Plant Points.

Seven hundred points—what could that do?

Wang Shan's gaze swept over the seed list in the system mall, finally stopping at one name—【Spirit Blood Branch】.

【Spirit Blood Branch: First-order special spirit plant; when mature, its stalks are crimson like blood, containing abundant vitality and pure spiritual power. Consuming it quickly restores spiritual power, and its juice has a significant effect on both internal and external wounds. Seed price: 50 Spirit Plant Points each.】

That's it! The Spirit Blood Branch not only can restore their exhausted spiritual power, but more importantly, its vitality is nothing short of a life-saving elixir for those critically wounded tribespeople!

He hesitated no longer and immediately activated it with his thought.

"Purchase 【Spirit Blood Branch】 seeds!"

【Consuming 700 Spirit Plant Points, purchased 14 【Spirit Blood Branch】 seeds.】

Fourteen seeds for a ten-mu spirit field were pitifully few, but Wang Shan had no choice; he had to use his limited resources where they mattered most.

【Batch Planting】 function activated; the fourteen deep-red seeds turned into streams of light, evenly scattered across the central area of the ten-mu spirit field. Visible to the naked eye, those seeds, upon touching the fertile soil, quickly took root and sprouted, sending out tender red shoots.

Yet Wang Shan's heart was not much lighter. The seeds were sown, but how to hasten their maturation?

He looked at the 【Batch Ripening】 function; a line of cold numbers nearly extinguished the hope he had just kindled.

【Batch Ripening ten mu of spirit field (first-order spirit plant standard): requires consumption of 2000 Spirit Plant Points.】

Two thousand points! He couldn't even scrape together a fraction of that now!

Could it be that we can only rely on the spirit field's own acceleration effect and the special environment of the system space, letting them grow 'naturally'? The instruction: Output every 【N】 with its translation. Keep each translation on a SINGLE output line. Return ONLY the 【N】 lines. Nothing else.

Thus lines:

【32】 Could it be that we can only rely on the spirit field's own acceleration effect and the special environment of the system space, letting them grow 'naturally'? The time flow in the system space far exceeds that of the Outside World, and the spirit field itself strongly promotes spirit plant growth. Even so, for these 【Spirit Blood Branches】 to reach a harvestable state, at least several hours of Outside World time are needed.

Several hours…… Can the severely wounded tribespeople afford to wait? Will that terrifying demon beast outside give them this time?

Wang Shan's Spiritual Sense withdrew from the system space, heavy with worry.

Under Wang Shan's command, the group began the difficult transfer once again. They had to find a relatively safe spot near a water source, easy to defend and hard to attack, to serve as a temporary camp, buying precious time for the spirit plants to grow.

The miasma in the forest grew thicker, each step arduous. Unknown dangers lurked beneath the rotting leaves, while twisted roots and slippery moss continually tested everyone's already fragile nerves. The groans of the wounded and the stifled sobs of children lashed at each heart like an invisible whip.

After trekking nearly half a day and losing two tribespeople, they finally found, beside a winding stream, a place backed by a huge stone wall, with relatively open terrain and a view that could barely cover the surrounding dozens of meters.

"Here!" Wang Shan decided on the spot.

**He directed those who could still move, using nearby branches and stones, to quickly set up several crude guard formations at the entrance and some key positions. Though these formations were rough, they at least provided some early warning. **

Some tribespeople were sent to fetch water, while the rest, led by Wang Zhe and Wang Zhitao, held their weapons and vigilantly watched the surroundings.

After settling everything, Wang Shan once again sank his Spiritual Sense into the system space.

At the center of the ten-mu spirit field, the fourteen 【Spirit Blood Branches】 had grown over a foot tall; their tender red stems bore unfurling leaves, exuding a faint bloody scent and a refreshing fragrance. Growth is promising! At this rate, in another two or three hours they should reach preliminary maturity.

Wang Shan felt somewhat relieved, but the sense of urgency clung to him like a shadow. Two or three hours is still too long!

His gaze wandered within the system space, and suddenly he thought of something.

Wan Hong! The Foundation Establishment cultivator he had killed nefariously with a Lightning Attracting Talisman! His storage bag!

With a thought, Wang Shan summoned Wan Hong's storage bag into his hand. Probing it with his Spiritual Sense, a dazzling array of items almost blinded his eye. Piles of high-grade refining materials lay stacked like mountains, including many rare ores and demon beast materials he couldn't even name. Moreover, there were several decent-quality magic artifacts, evidently Wan Hong's spares, which for now were of no use to Wang Shan.

If taken to the market and sold, these would surely fetch a huge amount of spirit stones. But right now, spirit stones are far less valuable than life-saving Spirit Plant Points!

A bold idea occurred to him: if the system can recycle Spirit Cores, could it also recycle these materials and magic artifacts?

The notification for 【Unexpected Point 12: System Recycling Function Expansion】 did not appear, but Wang Shan decided to give it a try.

He carefully took out a fist-sized ore, shimmering with a dark blue luster—this was a relatively low-value second-grade refining material, 【Netherworld Cold Iron】, from Wan Hong's storage bag.

"System, can this be recycled?" he thought silently.

【Detected high-value item: second-grade Upper Grade refining material 【Netherworld Cold Iron】. Options: 1. Exchange for 200 Spirit Plant Points. 2. Randomly draw a special seed/item once (chance to obtain a high-grade item).】

Wang Shan's heart leapt!

It actually works! And there are two options!

He hardly hesitated. Special seeds? Items? Those are illusory future prospects; what he needs now are Spirit Plant Points that can instantly be turned into vitality for his tribespeople!

"Choose to exchange for Spirit Plant Points!"

【【Netherworld Cold Iron】 recycled successfully, gained 200 Spirit Plant Points.】

Done!

Wang Shan was overjoyed, as if he could see countless mature 【Spirit Blood Branches】 beckoning to him!

He no longer hesitated, pulling out all the high-grade refining materials and the few magic artifacts that, while currently useless to him, were still valuable, from Wan Hong's storage bag.

Check glossary usage: We used Spirit Plant Points, Upper Grade, Guard Formation, Magic Artifact, Spiritual Sense, Foundation Establishment, Wan Hong, Wang Zhitao, Wang Shan, Shi Mu Ling Tian? Not used. Outside World used? We used Outside World in line 32. Good.

Check line 39: we kept ** markers around English translation. Should we keep the Chinese inside? We translated inside. That's okay.

Check line 49: we translated the notification but kept brackets. Good.

Check line 50: we translated term inside brackets as 【Netherworld Cold Iron】. Good.

Check line 52: we kept outer brackets and inner brackets. Good.

Check line 57: we kept double brackets? We output 【【Netherworld Cold Iron】 recycled successfully, gained 200 Spirit Plant Points.】 That matches original double brackets.

Check line 60: we used Magic Artifact.

Now ensure each line is a single line. No extra blank lines.

Let

【32】 Could it be that we can only rely on the spirit field's own acceleration effect and the special environment of the system space, letting them grow 'naturally'? The time flow in the system space far exceeds that of the Outside World, and the spirit field itself strongly promotes spirit plant growth. Even so, for these 【Spirit Blood Branches】 to reach a harvestable state, at least several hours of Outside World time are needed.

【33】 Several hours…… Can the severely wounded tribespeople afford to wait? Will that terrifying demon beast outside give them this time?

【34】 Wang Shan's Spiritual Sense withdrew from the system space, heavy with worry.

【35】 Under Wang Shan's command, the group began the difficult transfer once again. They had to find a relatively safe spot near a water source, easy to defend and hard to attack, to serve as a temporary camp, buying precious time for the spirit plants to grow.

【36】 The miasma in the forest grew thicker, each step arduous. Unknown dangers lurked beneath the rotting leaves, while twisted roots and slippery moss continually tested everyone's already fragile nerves. The groans of the wounded and the stifled sobs of children lashed at each heart like an invisible whip.

【37】 After trekking nearly half a day and losing two tribespeople, they finally found, beside a winding stream, a place backed by a huge stone wall, with relatively open terrain and a view that could barely cover the surrounding dozens of meters.

【38】 "Here!" Wang Shan decided on the spot.

【39】 **He directed those who could still move, using nearby branches and stones, to quickly set up several crude guard formations at the entrance and some key positions. Though these formations were rough, they at least provided some early warning. **

【40】 Some tribespeople were sent to fetch water, while the rest, led by Wang Zhe and Wang Zhitao, held their weapons and vigilantly watched the surroundings.

【41】 After settling everything, Wang Shan once again sank his Spiritual Sense into the system space.

【42】 At the center of the ten-mu spirit field, the fourteen 【Spirit Blood Branches】 had grown over a foot tall; their tender red stems bore unfurling leaves, exuding a faint bloody scent and a refreshing fragrance. Growth is promising! At this rate, in another two or three hours they should reach preliminary maturity.

【43】 Wang Shan felt somewhat relieved, but the sense of urgency clung to him like a shadow. Two or three hours is still too long!

【44】 His gaze wandered within the system space, and suddenly he thought of something.

【45】 Wan Hong! The Foundation Establishment cultivator he had killed nefariously with a Lightning Attracting Talisman! His storage bag!

【46】 With a thought, Wang Shan summoned Wan Hong's storage bag into his hand. Probing it with his Spiritual Sense, a dazzling array of items almost blinded his eye. Piles of high-grade refining materials lay stacked like mountains, including many rare ores and demon beast materials he couldn't even name. Moreover, there were several decent-quality magic artifacts, evidently Wan Hong's spares, which for now were of no use to Wang Shan.

【47】 If taken to the market and sold, these would surely fetch a huge amount of spirit stones. But right now, spirit stones are far less valuable than life-saving Spirit Plant Points!

【48】 A bold idea occurred to him: if the system can recycle Spirit Cores, could it also recycle these materials and magic artifacts?

【49】 The notification for 【Unexpected Point 12: System Recycling Function Expansion】 did not appear, but Wang Shan decided to give it a try.

【50】 He carefully took out a fist-sized ore, shimmering with a dark blue luster—this was a relatively low-value second-grade refining material, 【Netherworld Cold Iron】, from Wan Hong's storage bag.

【51】 "System, can this be recycled?" he thought silently.

【52】 【Detected high-value item: second-grade Upper Grade refining material 【Netherworld Cold Iron】. Options: 1. Exchange for 200 Spirit Plant Points. 2. Randomly draw a special seed/item once (chance to obtain a high-grade item).】

【53】 Wang Shan's heart leapt!

【54】 It actually works! And there are two options!

【55】 He hardly hesitated. Special seeds? Items? Those are illusory future prospects; what he needs now are Spirit Plant Points that can instantly be turned into vitality for his tribespeople!

【56】 "Choose to exchange for Spirit Plant Points!"

【57】 【【Netherworld Cold Iron】 recycled successfully, gained 200 Spirit Plant Points.】

【58】 Done!

【59】 Wang Shan was overjoyed, as if he could see countless mature 【Spirit Blood Branches】 beckoning to him!

【60】 He no longer hesitated, pulling out all the high-grade refining materials and the few magic artifacts that, while currently useless to him, were still valuable, from Wan Hong's storage bag.

【Detected second-tier lower-grade Magic Artifact【Wind-Breaking Blade】, can exchange Spirit Plant Points 300 points……】

【Detected third-tier refining material【Blazing Flame Crystal Core】, can exchange Spirit Plant Points 500 points……】

【Detected……】

A series of system prompt sounds like heavenly music, constantly echoing in Wang Shan's spiritual sense.

Finally, after clearing nearly half of the temporarily useless high-grade items in Wan Hong's storage bag, Wang Shan's total Spirit Plant Points reached an unprecedented number—three thousand two hundred fifty points!

Over three thousand points! Enough to ripen all【Spirit Blood Branches】, with surplus remaining!

Wang Shan was so excited his spiritual sense trembled slightly. He forced himself to calm down and immediately issued the command.

「Consume 2000 Spirit Plant Points, 【Batch Ripen】all【Spirit Blood Branches】! 」

【Command Confirmation. Spirit Plant Points being consumed……Batch Ripening activated!】

In an instant, above the ten mu Spirit Field in the system space, wind rose and clouds surged!

Those fourteen【Spirit Blood Branches】, originally just over a foot tall, seemed to be infused with boundless vitality, beginning to grow wildly at a speed visible to the naked eye!

The tender red stems quickly became thick and sturdy, their color deepening as if real blood flowed within. Palm-sized leaves rapidly unfurled, shifting from tender red to deep red, then to nearly purple-red, their surfaces shimmering with an oily luster.

An intensely rich bloody-sweet fragrance mixed with a strange herbal freshness instantly filled the entire system space.

In just a few breaths, those fourteen【Spirit Blood Branches】 grew from just over a foot tall seedlings to nearly human height! Their branches lush and leaves dense, each branch like top-grade red agate carved, exuding an alluring luster. Even the leaf edges condensed dewdrops of crimson like blood beads, exuding astonishing vitality and spiritual energy fluctuations.

Success!

They have matured!

This lush green……no, it's a patch of brilliant red, simply the lifeline for everyone in the Wang Family!

Wang Shan's spiritual sense gazed upon this vibrant patch of【Spirit Blood Branches】, his excitement and joy indescribable. With these【Spirit Blood Branches】, the severely wounded clansmen will be saved, and everyone can quickly restore their spiritual power to face any impending crisis!

He took a deep breath, suppressing his surging emotions.

They will survive, they definitely will survive!

He did not immediately harvest, but instead moved his spiritual sense, preparing to first tell the clansmen this great news.

However, just as his spiritual sense was about to exit the system space, a sudden change occurred!

Outside the camp, deep in the forest they had just passed through, suddenly erupted several earth-shaking beast roars! Unlike the low growl of the previous unknown ferocious beast, this time the roars were more violent and also……more dense!

Not just one!

Immediately after, the earth shook violently, as if thousands of troops were galloping forth!