Chapter 346: Planting the Shadow Seed

The instance ended smoothly.

Cheng Shuili checked the loot from this run in the vehicle.

【This self‑run instance granted attributes: Strength +3, Agility +1, Stamina +1 (Hell‑level instance total of five points)】

It gave mostly Strength.

Cheng Shuili stared at the panel for a while, then shook her head, closed it, and opened her own personal panel.

【Player: Cheng Shuili

ID: AAAJCCJ8888

Username: Wu Ya Zuo Fei Ji

Vehicle: Shopping Cart (off‑road appearance) (Current power 1000%) (Solar panels active)

Health: 83 (Title bonus active! Very healthy value, keep it up!)

Strength: 74 (Frequent gym‑goer, the biceps wave hello)】

Cheng Shuili: "……"

The biceps waving hello is an exaggeration.

She was idle, kept scrolling down, and then realized she had complained too early.

【Stamina: 75 (Marathon? That's just a warm‑up)】

Agility: 70 (Fast as lightning, never lost a supermarket rush purchase)

Overall Combat Power: 83 (Shopping Cart War God, unstoppable)

Game Coin:

Special items: Store Employee Badge x1, Universal Key x1, Abyssal Ring x1, Billionaire's Daily Goods x1, Great Prophet's Blessing x1, Undead Totem x1, Guardian Totem x1, Clown's Trick Cloak x1, Schrödinger's Canned Food x1, Orsting's Wolf Fang x1, Feather Pen and Parchment Scroll x1, Fire Wax Seal x1, Crown of Friendship x1, Rat King's Gift (single) x1, Dual‑ended Eternal Life Bottle x1, Glutton's Portable Decomposer, Thermostatic Ring, Bountiful Monument, Eclipse Light Shield (cards omitted)

Blueprints: Primary Condensed Water Device Blueprint, Advanced Condensed Water Device Blueprint, Simple Hunting Trap Blueprint, Premium Automatic Hunting Device Blueprint, Energy‑Saving Air‑Conditioner Blueprint, Fully Automatic Smart Washing Machine Blueprint, Simple Sunroom Blueprint (includes Flowerpot Blueprint), Fuel Evolution Device Blueprint, Primary Vehicle Rain‑proof Cloth Blueprint, Emergency Oxygen Circulation Device Blueprint, Ground Anchor Fixing Device Blueprint, Acid‑Erosion‑Resistant Polymer Rain‑proof Cloth Blueprint, High‑Quality Leather Armor Set Blueprint, Multifunctional Artisan Workshop Blueprint.

Territory: Underground Storage Room (11 days remaining), Abandoned Manor (permanent ownership, currently Black Feather's domain!), Public Restroom (182 days)

Servants: Su Rui (servant), Zhou Zhuxing (human, territory servant), Yu Bing (human, territory servant), Lao Li (orc, territory servant), Dan Zong (monster, territory servant), Fire Lizard (unnamed) (monster, territory servant)...

Faction: Black Feather, you are Black Feather's leader!

Common supplies: omitted.】

The faction also appears on the panel; besides that, Cheng Shuili's gaze fell on the Game Coin.

Some of the money came from selling bread at the small shop these days, some from the frail cream puff and the iron scrap contributions, and the bulk, of course, came from 001's processing of emergency oxygen circulation devices over the past few days.

001 has really worked hard.

Cheng Shuili sighed, then carefully reviewed the panel again, and finally discovered she had an extra blueprint — the High‑Quality Leather Armor Set Blueprint.

The iron scrap somehow also yielded this blueprint.

First, craft one for each territory member; this task naturally fell to 001.

Meanwhile, Cheng Shuili took the treasure chest obtained from the instance.

The chest contained not only Abyssal Stone; the small stones only fell a few times on top, and inside was densely packed, unusually solid black soil.

It happened that no Shadow Essence was seen in the instance, if I'm not mistaken...

It was given directly as soil, expecting the player to plant it themselves, right?

Cheng Shuili thought, and gently pinched a bit of the black soil with her finger.

【Miasmic Rot Soil】

【Description: Formed by the corrosion of shadow energy accumulated over years in the deepest darkness together with the remnants of ancient extinct beings. It feels cold, damp, and sticky—a perfect bed for cultivating Abyssal plants, but it continuously erodes the life force of surrounding creatures!】

Cheng Shuili paused, then checked her health again; it had dropped from 83 to 82.

Cheng Shuili: "……"

Why does this place only contain things that threaten lives?

Cheng Shuili withdrew her hand, gazing thoughtfully at the handful of pitch‑black soil, "Looks like you can't just plant anywhere."

The best spot… is inside the underground storage room.

The manor sees too many people coming and going, and many crops are planted; this thing must not contaminate them.

Since the location is chosen, the next step is to deal with the Abyssal Stone.

According to the monster merchant, the Abyssal Stone must be cracked open to obtain the seed.

She weighed the irregular chunk of stone and took a sleek, multifunctional demolition hammer from the vehicle's full set of repair tools.

"Ka—Chak!"

Unexpectedly crisp, the hammerhead struck, and the Abyssal Stone cracked into several shards, as if its outer hardness were merely an illusion.

At the center of the fragments, a seed about the size of a fingernail, entirely jet‑black, lay quietly.

It resembled no known plant seed; rather, it looked like a sleeping eyeball.

【Unidentified Shadow Seed】

【Description: A seed imbued with dense Abyssal power, its growth conditions and final form remain a mystery. Professional assessment (or special means) is required to learn the exact cultivation method.】

Cheng Shuili: "……"

It's really too complicated; the hassle makes her not want to upgrade the Abyssal Ring anymore.

She was thinking when the text before her suddenly blurred, as if invaded by something, turning into abstract mosaic, then slowly re‑rendering under Cheng Shuili's vague hopeful gaze.

【Shadow Seed】

【Description: Identified! A living seed from the crevice of the Abyss, it does not grow on sunlight and water but feeds on dissipating negative emotions and trace life energy. Initial cultivation requires awakening its activity with blood immersion; growth cycle is two hours! Upon maturity it yields an extremely rare material "Shadow Essence," but its roots continuously siphon surrounding vitality—choose planting sites carefully!】

Cheng Shuili stared at the "Identified!" line for two seconds, unable to suppress a snide thought: the appraisal really is…

Concise.

Fortunately, the key information wasn't lost.

Fresh blood awakens, matures in two hours, yields shadow essence.

"Using blood will do, it's actually simpler than imagined."

Cheng Shuili let out a sigh of relief, finally no need to bother with complicated rituals or rare materials. As for the vampiric vitality, anyway it's planted in the vacant underground storage, it won't affect the people and other crops in the manor.

She got up neatly, went to ask Qi Wan Yi for some freshly poured cow blood.

The amount is small, just a small half-bowl; the dark red liquid slightly sways in the container.

The underground storage's lighting remains as before, the air carries a dusty taste.

Cheng Shuili found a corner, took out the treasure chest containing gloomy rot soil from the Abyssal Ring, then loosened the soil inside the chest, intending to use this as a container.

The pitch-black soil felt cold and clammy; she didn't touch it further, directly dipped her finger in cow blood, drew a simple circle on the soil surface, then placed that sleeping-eye-like 【Shadow Seed】 into the center of the blood circle.