Chapter 352 - 322: Yellow Sand Ridge, Black Stone Forest, Wudi Ancient City
Chapter 352: Chapter 322: Yellow Sand Ridge, Black Stone Forest, Wudi Ancient City
Zhenxi Town seemed quite safe, but being in an unfamiliar place, none of them went out that night—not Li Qian, nor the trio of Ding Ganmao, Wang Guanjun, and Wang En Ci.
After getting a room, they dutifully stayed inside to rest. Li Qian didn’t do anything else either; he spent the night in his room meditating and cultivating.
After a week of cultivation, Li Qian found that his Cultivation had been consolidated, firmly establishing him at the Commander Level. However, this experience also made him realize a certain truth.
His own cultivation Talent was, at best, only above average. It couldn’t compare to those prodigies, and even at Shazhou Beast Taming University, there were likely many freshmen far superior to him.
Most importantly, from the current situation, it seemed his Golden Finger had a relatively limited effect on breaking through major realms.
Therefore, from now on, if he only entertained the idea of relying on mission rewards to raise his Cultivation, Li Qian estimated that he would soon hit a bottleneck.
With this newfound sense of urgency, Li Qian no longer just studied missions. In his spare time, he also made sure to seize every moment to cultivate.
After all, only by raising his Cultivation and receiving more evolutionary feedback could he gain a longer lifespan and conduct more research.
Of course, since they were set to enter the Central Circle Zone of the West Wusu Desert for training the next day, Li Qian didn’t stay up too late that night, closing his eyes to rest at around ten o’clock.
The next day, Li Qian woke up bright and early. After a quick wash-up and a simple breakfast at the motel, he headed straight for the parking lot.
When he arrived, three people were already there: Wang En Ci, Li Yuhu, and the "Invisible Captain," Dakoli.
About three minutes later, the other four arrived. Dakoli scanned the group and said, "Everyone’s here. Let’s get going."
"You’re calling this training, but we can’t just wander around aimlessly." Li Qian looked at Dakoli and voiced his question. "Dakoli, what’s your plan?"
Dakoli glanced at Li Qian but didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he started walking straight ahead. Without hesitating, Li Qian followed at a steady pace.
Dakoli spoke as he walked. "Actually, even if you hadn’t brought it up, I was going to tell you on the way."
"There are many places to train and explore in the Central Circle Zone of the West Wusu Desert, but not many of them are suitable for a small team like ours."
"In my opinion, there are three places that are relatively suitable. I’ll describe each one, and you all can deliberate on which one to go to..."
As he spoke, the eight of them left the motel. The car was left in the parking lot, its engine off. For the journey ahead, there were basically no roads in the conventional sense, so driving would be useless.
Dakoli continued without pause, "The first place is called ’Yellow Sand Ridge.’ As the name suggests, it’s a desert region."
"Unlike other desert areas, the sand here is a yellowish-orange, almost like gold. That’s why Yellow Sand Ridge is also called ’Golden Sand Ridge.’"
"It’s also said that there really is gold dust within the deeper layers of sand at Yellow Sand Ridge, and the Energy of the Gold Element is very rich there."
"This area abounds with two types of Extraordinary Creatures: the Earth Element Giant Jaws Ant and the Gold Element Sharp-toothed Rat."
"The combat power of the Giant Jaws Ant and the Sharp-toothed Rat is only average. Their Racial Potential just barely reaches the Elite Level. Even their Evolutionary Forms only manage to scrape by into the Commander Level, so they pose no real threat to us."
"Furthermore, there’s another benefit to choosing this place. The giant pincers of a Giant Jaws Ant are good materials for forging Extraordinary Weapons and are quite valuable. As for the Sharp-toothed Rat, it has an Evolutionary Form called the ’Burrowing Rat,’ which is an Earth-Gold Dual Attribute creature and has a high capture value."
Li Qian nodded slightly after hearing Dakoli’s explanation. ’This guy, I have to admit, really knows his way around the West Wusu Desert. The first place he mentioned is indeed suitable for us.’
He didn’t speak up, instead keeping quiet and maintaining a listening posture.
’I need to hear about the other two places before giving my comprehensive opinion. Of course, I’m sure Dakoli already has a preference in mind.’
"The second place is called ’Black Stone Forest.’ The terrain is relatively complex; it’s a strange stone forest rising up from the desert."
"There’s a wider variety of Extraordinary Creatures here, about seven or eight types. The most numerous, however, are the Earth Element Rock Monsters and the Wind Element Scavenging Pigeons. This place is more dangerous for us than Yellow Sand Ridge. Black Stone Forest is vast, and according to the information I have, there are Dominator Level Extraordinary Creatures in the depths of the forest."
’Dominator Level Extraordinary Creatures...’ Li Qian mulled over Dakoli’s words, already forming a preliminary judgment about Black Stone Forest.
’This place is definitely more dangerous than Yellow Sand Ridge, but I imagine the rewards would also be much greater.’
As it turned out, his guess was correct. Dakoli’s next words confirmed it. "Of course, the rewards in Black Stone Forest are also greater than in Yellow Sand Ridge. For starters, in Black Stone Forest, there’s a chance to capture a Pet Beast with Dominator Level Potential—the Earth and Curse Dual Attribute Clay Doll."
Upon hearing this, the look of interest on Li Qian’s face deepened. He knew about the Clay Doll; it was the second Pet Beast his father, Li Chengyang, had formed a contract with.
The Clay Doll has two attributes: Earth and Curse. The Curse Element is quite rare, making the Clay Doll exceptionally valuable. If they could capture one, its value would be no less than that of a Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon.
’If possible, I’d like to capture a Clay Doll to study it myself,’ Li Qian thought. He looked back at Dakoli, who didn’t beat around the bush and continued, "The last place is called Wudi Ancient City."
"Wudi Ancient City!" Li Yuhu exclaimed in surprise upon hearing Dakoli’s words.
Ding Ganmao looked over, his curiosity piqued. "Li Yuhu, you know about this Wudi Ancient City?"
Li Yuhu fell silent for a moment at the question, then nodded. "Wudi Ancient City is actually a ruin. Rumor has it that it was the royal capital of an ancient kingdom tens of thousands of years ago."
"Later, for some unknown reason, that ancient kingdom fell, and its capital was buried beneath the sand."
"Mhm," Dakoli nodded. "It’s a legend that basically all the kids around here have heard."
"Wudi Ancient City is an ancient ruin filled with numerous Extraordinary Creatures. However, the variety is extremely limited—they’re almost all Undead Pet Beasts!"