Chapter 351: The Squirrel and the Treasure

Hmm.

He really didn't want to take that bait.

But it's hard to coax an angry elf.

Rod could only quickly change the subject: "Why do you have time to come over so early today? Is the ceremony progressing well?"

"The setup for the ceremony is already in its final stages."

The elf before him, exquisite as if stepped out of a picture book, glared at him.

Then she sighed, reached out, and tucked her waterfall-like golden hair behind her long, perked ears.

"It should be within these two weeks; I'll find you then."

Finally.

Although he hadn't helped much, Rod strangely felt as if the storm had passed and the sky cleared.

One could only say that true to their nature as a long-lived race, elves have a somewhat poor sense of time when doing things.

Half a month ago, the ghoul Pan Ni and the zombie Selena both stepped into the Seventh Tier.

Selena was nothing to speak of, as she was already half-step Seventh Tier.

Because conditions in the monster cave were insufficient, her body suffered some hidden injuries, making further progress difficult; later, the Spirit Seed Rod gifted her gave her the chance to advance to the Seventh Tier.

When Pan Ni first met him, she was only mid-Sixth Tier; now, having come this far, she has already reached the Seventh Tier.

And when Rod first met Lady Kali, she was already at the peak of the Sixth Tier; one can imagine how slow an elf's advancement speed is.

Ahead.

The branch ritual of the giant squirrel Cui Qian has been fully arranged.

She began to raise her hands high, babbling a bunch of incomprehensible words.

Seeing Rod's puzzled expression, Lady Kali said:

"This is a psychic ability, a unique technique of the Lottatosk Gray Squirrels in the Tree Realm. By the way, lend me your female orc for a few days; Number Thirteen's spirit has recently loosened and might be able to advance to mid-Sixth Tier; she needs combat to stimulate the spirit within her body."

"Mid-Sixth Tier? That's fast."

Borrowing in this form definitely means around the clock.

Coincidentally, Pan Ni and Chris have returned to Claw Valley Mountain for duty; according to Dimia, the beast-men patients have been restless lately, and the section they are advancing is somewhat complex; the mushroom man Benn, with empty hands, lacks the strength and needs the help of two vanguard pioneers.

Regardless, the small team of 【Euphoria Party】 is temporarily disbanded.

Besides, Rod had intended this anyway.

Chris, Pan Ni, Vivian, and Tally were all finding it unbearable.

Over this past month, they had consumed massive amounts of 【Enchanting Fluid】; even during the day, they appeared somewhat drowsy and groggy.

Amy had the strongest constitution and excellent digestion.

That Tally couldn't take it was somewhat unexpected.

But she was the type who slept after eating; as the manager of 【Euphoria Party】, she naturally couldn't rest, so it was likely for this reason she had become even more sleepy lately.

Thinking thus.

Rod saw the giant squirrel Cui Qian begin to perform a comical dance, her fat trembling with her movements, and he couldn't help but laugh aloud.

"As for you, human, stuck at the peak of the Sixth Tier for so long, do you still have the face to laugh?"

"I'm about the same; it'll happen within these two weeks."

The construction of the Psychic War Soul is mostly complete; after adjusting some trifles, the formal solidification ritual can be performed.

The dull and wooden rat-girl Number Thirteen walked in front of him.

She slowly squatted down, curiously watching Cui Qian dancing.

Her butt happened to sit right on Rod's instep.

That metallic-glossed, cyan hard-skin tail, soft and yielding, curled up along Rod's calf, affectionately wrapping around his thigh a few times.

Due to the 【Daphne's Spirit Seed】.

Although Number Thirteen couldn't speak and seemed to have no soul or personality, she was very close to him.

Whenever they met, she would always get close and cuddle, especially loving to wrap him with her steel tail.

Rod stroked the steel tail on his thigh.

Oh—

Not only did it look like it had metallic patterns, but its hardness was actually quite good as well;

the tip was completely like a metal spearhead, with cyan steel and red interlaced.

Extremely cold.

Tally's succubus tail was far inferior; it was soft and much thinner, with absolutely no killing power.

Over here, Number Thirteen began to poke Cui Qian with her finger.

Unexpectedly, she used too much force and knocked the giant squirrel to the ground in one go.

This provoked a string of curses from Cui Qian, who, panting heavily, began the ritual process all over again.

One hour later.

The branch pattern on the ground began to glow.

Interweaving, merging, expanding.

Finally forming a white passage.

Then, a dozen or so excited Lottatosk Gray Squirrels came sprinting out from within.

The giant squirrels of various colors surrounded the equally excited Cui Qian, hopping and jumping.

They chattered, chaotic and shrill; even with 【Soul-Trembling Blade】 in hand, Rod couldn't make out what they were saying.

As they spoke, Cui Qian pointed at Rod and babbled a string of words.

The other squirrels turned to look at him in unison.

"Mr. Rod, they wish to give you a meeting gift. I wonder what you might like?"

Cui Qian explained.

Rod laughed and said, "I like women of other races."

"Hm?"

Lady Kali let out a cold, threatening muffled snort from the side, then glared at Cui Qian.

"Do not translate that sentence."

Why are you meddling in everything?

If someone didn't know better, they'd really think you were my chief wife.

Don't mess around, okay? We have a reputation to maintain.

Still, Rod couldn't truly let this group of Tree Realm squirrels send him women.

He jokingly mentioned some rare spells, treasures with fire poison resistance, and items containing spiritual energy, among other things.

Cui Qian was dumbfounded.

"Mr. Rod, not all gray squirrels are as smart as I am; they cannot recognize precious things."

"Hahaha—just kidding! Come on, come on, whatever gift you bring is fine."

Though he said that,

the big squirrels still presented their meeting gifts one by one.

Most were some kind of pinecone gem; seeing the squirrels' reluctant expressions, one might have thought they were something wonderful.

In the end, they were ordinary pinecones coated with fluorescent powder, with the insides specially hollowed out for storage; some wicked mage must have tricked them.

Rod didn't mind at all.

He accepted them with a happy expression and, in return, gave each squirrel a small gift package.

Inside was a combination of plenty of small snacks, small crystal jewelry, and a Yi Mei Mo Fa ring.

Of course, this was prepared by his personal secretary, the arachne elf Watching Yuna; he, a rough fellow, had no such delicate thoughts.

Originally, the small gift packages did not contain a Yi Mei Mo Fa ring.

But Rod, being a man of dignity, had to look presentable.

Watching the big squirrels chirp excitedly, he also felt happy.

"You are generous indeed, giving away more than ten Yi Mei Mo Fa rings like that."

Lady Kali frowned and said.

"They are all external possessions. I specially prepared quite a few for you, yet you refuse them all."

Rod laughed heartily.

Sales of Gao Fang Mo Fa rings are stable enough; with Selena's efficiency rising after reaching the seventh tier and Watching Yuna joining the production, output is also guaranteed.

From now on, Jin Along entering the bag will only increase; there is no worry over such small things.

The elf turned her head away unnaturally, refusing to look at him.

"I do not need external possessions."

"Fine, fine, fine, you elves are the strongest, hmm?"

Rod suddenly made an "Eh?" sound.

He saw that among the small pile of meeting gifts presented by the big squirrels, threads condensed from spiritual energy were fluttering.

It was the guiding threads of the 【Treasure Obsession】!

And there were two of them!

(End of this chapter)