Chapter 167: Shang Chuan: I Didn't Expect You to Value Money Over Your Life Even More Than Me

'Is there some kind of treasure inside?'

Lan Qingyou felt slightly puzzled, but since Little Spoon was acting this way, it wouldn't be without reason.

So she released a Rolling Blade Beast and directed it to start sawing into the treant.

Because the treant was already dead and had been scorched by fire, it was much easier to saw through than before.

At the very least, the Rolling Blade Beast's saw blades wouldn't snap anymore.

Vrrrm— Vrrrm—

As the chainsaws spun, the blades gradually cut deeper.

"Squeak!"

Just as the Rolling Blade Beast's chainsaws were about to slice into the center, Little Spoon immediately cried out.

So the Rolling Blade Beast lowered its blades once more.

Except this time, instead of cutting vertically, it sliced horizontally, as if shaving noodles off a block of dough.

After completely removing the charred exterior and the midsection of the trunk, Lan Qingyou uncovered a verdant little branch with a few leaves still attached.

[War Treant Sapling (?)]

[Effect: ???]

[Description: ???]

'Oh ho!'

Lan Qingyou's eyes lit up.

Although the rest of the information was still just question marks, it didn't matter. From the name alone, Lan Qingyou could roughly guess what this was.

A sapling meant it was something that could be planted.

'If I take these back and plant them, wouldn't that be the equivalent of growing a bunch of war treants around my Shelter?'

Even though she didn't know if these treants would eventually be tamed and put to her use like her two little familiars, if she could kill them once, she could kill them twice. It wouldn't be an issue.

'A person needs to have dreams. What if it actually works out?'

Licking her lips, Lan Qingyou cast aside her previous caution. She released nine Rolling Blade Beasts and began logging, slicing the war treants open one by one.

Originally, Lan Qingyou had thought the drop rate for these saplings would be quite low, but to her surprise, every single one of the dozens of treants had one inside them.

Some even contained two saplings, much like a double-yolked egg.

'Could this be a method of inheritance for these treants?'

'If I hadn't found them, would these saplings take root after I left and eventually grow back into new war treants?'

'If that's the case, then no matter how many times this place is breached, these war treants would endlessly cycle and continuously be reborn.'

'Tsk, tsk, you really have to hand it to them.'

'In terms of continuing their species, a model where every death brings forth new life is incredibly perfect.'

'With the small probability of a double-yolk dropping, their population could even expand.'

'But now, these solid seventy or eighty saplings are all mine!'

As for the treants' Monster Crystal Cores and other materials, Lan Qingyou naturally did not let them go either, sending them all over to Shang Chuan.

Except this time, she gave him a heads-up, requesting that he temporarily store them since she might need them after returning to her Shelter.

Shang Chuan didn't ask why. After all, he had plenty of warehouse space on his end.

However...

Moon: "Are you still outside?"

Tower: "Yeah, I just happened to stumble upon a great place and scored quite a few nice things. I'm still exploring it right now."

Seeing Shang Chuan's seemingly out-of-nowhere message, the bewildered Lan Qingyou answered truthfully.

Moon: "Impressive. I originally thought you were a cautious person. I didn't expect you to value money over your life even more than I do."

Tower: "Huh?"

Sun: "Isn't it the time of the Mana Tide right now? If you aren't in your Shelter, then where are you?"

Tower: "Wait, what do you mean Mana Tide?"

Seeing Ingrid's message, Lan Qingyou froze.

Counting the days on her fingers, there was still a full twenty-four hours until the Mana Tide. She had more than enough time to rush back, right?

How could the Mana Tide have already started?

'Could there be a mistake in my calculations?'

"..."

After seeing Lan Qingyou's reply, the people in the group chat all sent ellipses one by one.

Tower: "Really, it doesn't feel like the Mana Tide at all over here. [Image] [Image] [Image]"

Saying this, Lan Qingyou snapped several photos and sent them to the group chat.

High Priestess: "How can that be?"

Pope: "That shouldn't be right."

Judgment: "Where exactly are you right now?"

Chu Yuan asked the question everyone wanted to know the answer to.

Tower: "I'm inside a karst cave up in the Abandoned Mountains."

Justice: "This is the first time I've ever heard of someone being able to face the Mana Tide head-on while outside."

Sun: "No, she isn't facing it head-on. Didn't the Witch say there is no Mana Tide where she is?"

Chariot: "Looking at the photos, aside from the areas with battle marks, the rest of the place really doesn't look like it's been affected by the Mana Tide."

Magician: "There isn't even any snow?"

Fool: "Forget about snow, it looks like spring is blooming there. It doesn't even look like the Kalim Continent."

High Priestess: "Haha, didn't Tower say she was inside a cave?"

High Priestess: "Wait a minute, why is there light inside a cave?"

Emperor: "It feels just like she's running a dungeon."

'Hmm? Running a dungeon?'

Now that she mentioned it, Gu Xiaobei's quip instantly made Lan Qingyou, the person actually involved, feel like it really was the case.

'Except a dungeon has a boss, while this place only has some elite monsters.'

Death: "Not long after I first transmigrated here, I encountered a similar situation."

Death: "Not long after I first transmigrated here, I encountered a similar situation."

High Priestess: "Wow, it's rare for Death to share his opinion."

Because Li Huai rarely participated in these kinds of discussions, Vivian reacted in a very exaggerated manner.

But in reality, it wasn't just her; the others in the group chat felt the same way.

Magician: "Stop messing around. Death, keep going."

Death: "That time, I was commissioned by Tower to gather herbs at the volcano in the Abandoned Mountains. Inside the volcano, I encountered a pack of herd-living monsters. My mind was completely focused on the battle, and I ultimately missed the time to head back..."

'...Why is this suddenly about me?'

But it seemed like this incident had indeed happened.

Lan Qingyou jogged her memory for a moment and recalled the event, but...

Tower: "I remember you only stayed the night. What does that have to do with the Mana Tide?"

Death: "That is exactly the point I want to make. That night, aside from those specific monsters, there were no other creatures where I was, not even at the entrance leading into the volcano. The other monsters only roamed outside and absolutely would not step foot inside. So, I came up with a hypothesis."

Magician: "A hypothesis?"

High Priestess: "Wasn't it just because the volcano is an extreme environment, so monsters of different elemental affinities were unwilling to enter?"

Death: "Yes, that was exactly the reason. An extreme environment—or, to put it in terms easier for everyone to understand, the mana concentration was higher than the outside area. That was why those monsters wouldn't and didn't want to come in."

Sun: "Are you saying that Tower's current environment is very likely the way it is because its mana concentration is higher than the external Mana Tide?"

Star: "It sounds more like we're talking about the natural laws of the Kalim Continent."

Tower: "I'm not sure about that, but the Witch Set you made doesn't seem to work in here. The constant-temperature enchantment is the most obvious—it feels like it isn't even there."