CHAPTER 237: CHAPTER 237: WILL MY HEALTH BAR GROW LONGER?

Jiang Yuan was frowning slightly as he checked his personal panel, feeling very puzzled by the data.

Both the health bar and physical strength bar had grown significantly longer compared to the initial state, yet they still didn’t display specific data, and he couldn’t investigate which skill upgrading had added exactly how many life points in the past.

However, whether it was the life points gained from upgrading the Cooking Skill or the data increased by the Elixir given in the Ice Cave, it’s impossible for these to add up to so many.

None of the equipped gear specifically increased life points, so why, when he was hit with a -300 data just now, did the health bar decrease by less than a quarter?

Based on the data estimate, his current health bar was around fourteen hundred or so, which didn’t add up!

Recalling his limited battle experience carefully, when he subdued Bai Yunqi, during their first encounter, after being attacked, his health dropped by single digits continuously for a while, and reaching a point where he had to eat health boosters while fighting.

The total life points at that time were at best about a hundred.

Of course, at that time Xiao Bai had just awakened, weak in power and attached to a corpse, plus the long-range attacks were mostly absorbed by a paper figure, so it was understandable that not much data was produced.

But just now, that one Ghost Roar real solidly reduced three hundred health, yet he was unharmed and lively, this defied logic!

"Could it be that my health bar secretly learned to grow all by itself?" Jiang Yuan was puzzled beyond comprehension, though it wasn’t a bad thing, not being able to figure out the specific data left him unsettled.

"Venerable Family, what are you thinking about?" Bai Yunqi called out several times, seeing no response, walked over to inquire.

He ignored the pile of items automatically picked up into the Storage Bag by the system prompt before, turned around and said to his contract pet in a deep voice, "Xiao Bai, hit me with fifty percent power."

"Hit?!" The contract pet was full of question marks, "I’m not the same as when I just woke up, now that I’ve advanced to the Body Forging Realm, I have more means and strength. Are you looking to spar with me?"

"Not sparring, just hit me with fifty percent power."

"Alright, you better stand still!" Bai Yunqi had never heard such a request before, assumed his original form and measured his strength, then swung a tail.

[Encountered Contract Pet’s Attack, Defense Not Broken]

Jiang Yuan calculated his defense value: the necklace could increase it by 20%; the Earth Spirit Pearl given by the old dragon +1000, viscera +1000, along with the initial data, totaling about two thousand five.

"Xiao Bai, how much damage do you think Li Ming’s sonic attack could cause?"

"Venerable Family reacted too fast before, but I think he must have used some kind of Secret Technique before roaring, very likely burning lifespan or sacrificing something. Otherwise, even at the Fourth Layer of Heart Refining Realm, it couldn’t have such destructive power."

Bai Yunqi reviewed and analyzed seriously, "Sound waves belong to Spiritual Strikes, seemingly wide-ranging but with primary and secondary attack targets. You bore the brunt, blocking most of the damage, while I neutralized part of the impact with Snake Coagulation, but the mental shock from the opponent still hasn’t completely faded."

His eyes were filled with admiration and doubt as he continued, "Venerable Family, did you really feel nothing from the direct impact?"

How could there be no feeling, it knocked off 300 health!

But it was limited to data loss. Jiang Yuan truly didn’t feel any discomfort.

"No special feeling, you go and rest well." He casually took out two bottles of Spirit Core Pills from the Storage Bag and handed them over, "Give one to Zhile, luckily she was thoughtful in protecting Mingchuan and the old man did quite a bit too."

More questions arose without getting answers, like why the Venerable Family was using a Fire Element Technique initially, and later suddenly released pure Earth Element Power, was it possible he has the legendary Dual Spirit Roots, able to manipulate two Attribute Energies simultaneously?

Bai Yunqi had gotten used to the Venerable Family’s mysteriousness, besides being a cultivator meant having some hidden secrets, he didn’t pry and took the Spirit Core Pills to prepare for solid cultivation.

While Jiang Yuan needed to complete orders, collect finished goods from the workshop, and add raw materials, among other tasks, as for the health bar not displaying specific data, all he could do is remember the current values and compare after some time to find suspicious points.

[Mutated Fierce Ghost Skull: The head discarded in a mass grave after being decapitated in life by Ghost Cultivator Li Ming, it self-formed a climate by absorbing a large amount of violent resentment, becoming a Ghost Fiend with numerous misdeeds. Retrieved and refined by Ghost Cultivator Li Ming, the indelible resentment remains, the longer one wears the skull the easier they are disturbed into madness by the resentment. Attack Power +2000; Critical Strike +75%]

[Skill of Mutated Fierce Ghost Skull: Ghost Roar. Upon activation can release sound waves to cause spiritual shock strikes, each usage consumes lifespan. The more lifespan sacrificed the stronger the attack, no upper limit]

[Storage Bag of Ghost Cultivator Li Ming: Can only be opened after twenty-four hours assessed as ownerless]

[Premium Ghost Bone: Essence remnants of Intermediate Ghost Cultivator’s corpse, usable in medicine or weapon crafting]

......

After finishing a pile of trivial matters in the small courtyard, Jiang Yuan finally had time to sit down and check through his spoils one by one.

The system-given Fortune and Misfortune intertwined buff seemed to solve unexpected disasters by gaining more loot.

Since both the skull and Li Ming’s weapons in the inventory were marked in red, with a "buff" notation specially at the top right, reminding him that without the system’s given perks, these two items were likely to turn to ashes along with Li Ming.

After all, one was a Magical Treasure made from his head forming a fiend in life; the other was a Lifebound Weapon, a legendary existence that shares damage with its owner.

Clicking on the skull to equip, a system prompt appeared: Equip the skull for combat use and there’s a chance of hearing the murmurs of resentment affecting the mind, do you wish to proceed?

"Murmurs of resentment? Similar to the whisper pollution effect of Cthulhu?" Jiang Yuan hesitated for a few seconds, but still tempted by the attack of 2000+, decided to try it on, "I got to hear what kind of stuff is being chanted, that could drive a person insane. Besides, the first couple of times shouldn’t be an issue, I’d just take it off if it feels off!"

With this attack power, I’m sure I can challenge the Snake Coagulation in the Ice Cave and open a new dungeon!

But before that, he decided to finish the main quest first, to set up the Textile Workshop, to see if he could upgrade to a Level Four home.

The system rewarded "Great Wilderness Heart Method" sounded like a great means to deal with poison, and the scroll displayed by the Snake Coagulation showed a valley full of poisonous creatures likely harboring poisonous miasma, currently, he had no particularly effective Antitoxic Elixirs or Cultivation Techniques, better prepared before exploring to ensure safety.

The only special material he was missing was a type of millennia-old spider silk, detailed hints indicate it could be found in Spiders Valley.

As for where Spiders Valley was, the system didn’t specify, nor were there any marks on the map, so Jiang Yuan decided to head to Cyan Fish Mountain Market before dawn to gather information.

If he remembered correctly, Hu Jiu’s Cloth Shop had a spider demon, maybe she knew something about Spiders Valley.

"The spider demon in my sister’s shop?" Hu Zhile said after hearing the Venerable Family’s inquiry, shaking his head, "That I truly have no idea.

When I sought ways for my sister to open a shop in the Market, I was only responsible for funding, everything else she managed herself, that girl named Xiao Ba was very clever and worked diligently, but I didn’t ask much about her background.

I had never heard of a place called Spiders Valley before, if Venerable Family needs, I’ll take you to ask them. Xiao Ba is very straightforward, if she knows, she certainly won’t hide it."

Hu Zhile thought it was also an opportunity to inspect if his sister was genuinely practicing cultivation well!

Meanwhile, Hu Jiu, who was deeply engrossed in gossip, had no idea, with her fair, tender hands resting her face and wide eyes blinking, she looked at Liu Wanhai with sympathy, "Shopkeeper Liu, you’re too honest and trusting, that’s why you couldn’t grasp the situation and were in the dark! Your Auction House’s Qing Wu has gone missing, hasn’t he?"