Chapter 44: Heavenly Treasures Within the Valley

Because Lin Yi had a limited blood-qi value, currently standing at just over 36 points, which allowed him to unleash the Blazing Sun Saber Technique for three complete forms, he tried to avoid using the technique when encountering level-eight corpse monsters. He would only resort to it when facing level-nine corpse monsters.

Even so, Lin Yi always kept more than half of his blood-qi value in reserve just in case.

Thus, after about two or three hours passed, with Gu Chenghu not by his side, Lin Yi relied entirely on his own strength for the first time to hunt four corpse monsters, one of which was even a level-nine corpse monster.

These corpse monsters dropped a total of two white-quality corpse oil blocks and three green-quality materials.

The three green-quality materials were: [Corpse Monster Thigh Bone] * 2, and [Corpse Monster Arm] * 1.

Currently, inside Lin Yi's backpack, aside from the corpse monster skulls, the materials he had gathered could be pieced together to form two or three corpse monsters.

Of course, half of the materials in his backpack belonged to Gu Chenghu, so they were not entirely his.

Even so, he would still be able to claim more than twenty green bones and hundreds of white corpse oil blocks as his share.

Lin Yi did not know what the corpse monster bones could be used for, but since they were green-quality materials, exchanging these twenty-odd bones for a few spiritual artifacts should pose no problem.

Lin Yi had been eyeing the Dragon-Roaring Saber in Gu Chenghu's possession for a long time. He had tested that saber; its handling was far superior to the Silver-Radiance Longsaber, and simply holding it in hand increased his strength attribute by 10 points.

Once he equipped a full set of spiritual artifacts, he should be able to deal with level-ten corpse monsters without any pressure, and by then, he would also be a match for Gu Chenghu on equal footing.

Seeing that it was almost time, Lin Yi prepared to return to the small valley to rest and log off.

Since the daily online limit was six hours, he usually spent three hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon.

However, just as Lin Yi was heading back, he noticed that several corpse monsters, which were normally difficult to find, suddenly crawled out from the ground one after another.

These corpse monsters were at levels seven and eight. Even though they were very close to Lin Yi and smelled his presence, they did not attack him.

Instead, they hurried toward the east side of the valley, as if something there was attracting them.

At first, Lin Yi did not pay much attention to this phenomenon, but after seeing five or six corpse monsters act this way, he became quite curious and decided to approach for a closer look.

After all, with the white mist ability provided by the eerie stone, Lin Yi could advance to attack or retreat to escape.

Along the way, Lin Yi thought to himself: Could it be that a corpse monster king is summoning its underlings and gathering them? But I didn't hear any corpse monster roars? Could it be that corpse monsters communicate with each other through telepathy?

Just then, Lin Yi smelled a rotting stench lingering in the forest. This odor was different from the foul smell emitted by corpse monsters; it was more like the smell of certain withered and decaying trees.

Suddenly, Lin Yi stopped in his tracks.

On the small slope ahead of him, densely packed corpse monsters were surrounding the area—numbering around three hundred.

Judging by their sizes, these corpse monsters were basically above level seven, and quite a few were level-eight and level-nine corpse monsters. As for a corpse monster king, Lin Yi had yet to spot one.

Even so, the sight of over three hundred terrifying-looking corpse monsters was enough to frighten an ordinary person out of their wits.

Lin Yi discovered that right in the middle of the horde of corpse monsters, a solitary tree stood out prominently, reaching a height of over a dozen meters.

The branches and leaves of this tree were a brownish-green, and hidden among the dense foliage were numerous milky-white fruits resembling tiny dolls.

Moreover, the decaying odor in the forest was emanating from these milky-white fruits.

"Could it be that a heavenly treasure has ripened!"

Lin Yi suddenly recalled a situation Gu Chenghu had once mentioned.

He had said that there were many rare heavenly treasures in the wilderness, and as these treasures matured, they would attract nearby eerie spirits and bizarre entities.

For instance, the vermilion peony fruit Lin Yi had once found in the village was a type of heavenly treasure.

Of course, the vermilion peony fruit was of the most ordinary kind and held little appeal for living beings; otherwise, such fruit would never have been left for Lin Yi to pick, having long since been eaten by the village's cats and dogs.

However, being able to attract all the corpse monsters within a radius of several miles, the quality of this milky-white fruit must be quite high.

It should be a fruit of blue quality or higher!

Lin Yi felt an itch in his heart. A fruit of this quality, even if useless to him, could be exchanged for massive resources.

Now possessing the ability to manipulate white mist, Lin Yi felt he had a chance to take a calculated risk.

However, he could not rush; he had to wait until the milky-white fruits were nearly ripe before making a move.

...

Meanwhile, back in the small valley, Dugu Feng and the others were panting with exhaustion.

After luring and killing monsters seven or eight times in a row, even though their physiques far exceeded those of ordinary people, they still found it somewhat overwhelming.

Fortunately, their harvest today was quite good. Aside from each of them sharing seventy or eighty experience points, they also divided a considerable number of white corpse oil blocks.

Only the green materials they dropped had to be uniformly handed over to Old Fourth Gu, who would then exchange them from the village treasury for growth resources suitable for them. In any case, they wouldn't lose out in the exchanges.

However, seeing that Lin Yi had not yet returned, Dugu Feng and the others felt a tinge of regret because they really wanted to witness Lin Yi's strength.

They simply could not fathom how Lin Yi alone dared to venture deep into the valley. Could he truly possess combat power close to level ten?

After resting and waiting for a while longer, seeing that Lin Yi still had not appeared, they successively logged off.

Seeing that Lin Yi had not returned within the stipulated time, Gu Chenghu knew that he must have encountered a special situation, but he was not worried about Lin Yi's safety.

After all, even if he encountered swarms of corpse monsters, Lin Yi's ability to manipulate white mist was enough for him to escape safely.

Still, after waiting for a while, Gu Chenghu remained somewhat uneasy, so he set off in the direction Lin Yi had taken.

...

Lin Yi, of course, had no idea that Gu Chenghu had come looking for him.

As time slowly ticked away, he lay flat in the bushes near the brownish-green strange tree for over an hour. During this period, he watched as more corpse monsters continuously swarmed in from all directions.

By now, more than five hundred corpse monsters had gathered at the base of the tree, packed tightly together like a scene of zombies gathering among the walking dead.

Judging by the sizes of the corpse monsters, there was no level-ten corpse monster king; the highest-level ones were merely level-nine corpse monsters.

At this moment, the decaying odor in the air grew increasingly intense, and the milky-white fruits on the brownish tree gained a deeper luster.

It seemed the milky-white fruits were about to ripen!

Perhaps stimulated by the scent of the fruit, the crowd of corpse monsters beneath the tree began to grow restless, and some even started clawing and fighting each other to vie for positions closer to the front.

This scene actually left Lin Yi marveling. It seemed that as long as the temptation was great enough, even mindless monsters that acted purely on instinct like corpse monsters would resort to infighting.

He could not wait any longer; Lin Yi feared that if he delayed, he truly wouldn't get a share, and he prepared to make his move.

Immediately afterward, Lin Yi communicated with the eerie stone residing in his chest. A mass of white mist emerged from the stone, enveloping his entire body.

Then, this mass of white mist began to move slowly, approaching the horde of corpse monsters.

To the corpse monsters, as long as something was not a living creature possessing blood-qi, everything else appeared as lifeless objects in their eyes.

And Lin Yi, shrouded within the white mist, looked merely like a moving cloud in their eyes, posing no threat whatsoever.

However, the chilling aura emitted by the white mist made them feel faintly uncomfortable, so as Lin Yi drew closer, the corpse monster horde began to part, clearing a gap and moving away from the mass of white mist.

Lin Yi moved forward slowly along the gaps, though he dared not walk too quickly.

If he accidentally exposed his living blood-qi, he feared he would be instantly torn to shreds by this horde of charging corpse monsters.

Viewed from a high vantage point at this moment, amidst a crowd packed entirely with human-like heads, a white misty object was dodging left and right, moving slowly.

Within a mere few minutes, Lin Yi walked several hundred meters, arriving at the very center of the corpse monster horde.

Here, the corpse monsters were even more densely packed, leaving very few pathways between them.

At that moment, a level-seven corpse monster right in front blocked Lin Yi's path entirely. Lin Yi waited for a moment, seeing that this corpse monster lacked any self-awareness and was still shaking and swaying its head.

Lin Yi lost his patience. He immediately expanded the coverage area of the white mist slightly and then delivered a kick.

Thud!

This kick directly sent the level-seven corpse monster flying like a crawling dog, causing it to tumble heavily more than three meters away.

The next moment, the level-seven corpse monster scrambled up angrily. It glanced at the mass of white mist and paused in a daze.

Scanning the surroundings again, it noticed that the nearby corpse monsters were all larger than it, and it couldn't beat any of them.

With no other choice, it finally fixed its gaze on a level-seven corpse monster in the distance and charged toward it.

"Roar, so you're the one who kicked me..."

The other level-seven corpse monster was rather bewildered: *What the hell, I was standing so far away from you...*

The two level-seven corpse monsters quickly began fighting, and their actions stirred up a commotion among the nearby corpse monsters, giving Lin Yi the opportunity to advance frantically.

After all, the ability to manipulate white mist consumed a great deal of mental energy, and he had to harvest the milky-white fruits as quickly as possible within a limited timeframe.