CHAPTER 304: CHAPTER 304: WARRIOR NUMBER 1

"Vast Mountains and Rivers!"

"Instant Teleportation Technique!"

......

Apart from occasionally casting a Heaven-Burning Flame, Jiang Yuan didn’t even bother using his Blade to hack.

This thing barely sheds any blood when cut, and it leaves scars which are quite unsightly. Yu Hu looks so dignified and majestic; being full of scars would greatly diminish his impact.

After grinding for over two minutes, he finally reduced the opponent’s health to one-tenth and tried to capture him.

Failure after failure, until the last opportunity, when the system finally popped up the message he’d been hoping for.

[Yu Hu captured successfully, would you like to refine him into a Corpse Ghost?]

"Yes, yes, of course, refine it!" Jiang Yuan impatiently chose refinement, and watched as a white light floated over him, enveloping the now dumbfounded and motionless Yu Hu.

The progress bar moved a bit slowly, so he had to wait patiently.

[Corpse Ghost refined successfully, Corpse Ghost storage tab now open]

The Storage Bag interface had an additional icon with a black humanoid symbol. Clicking to open it revealed a row of six item slots.

With a thought, the freshly refined Corpse Ghost was stored into one of the slots, occupying a single block. Jiang Yuan curiously clicked on the gray block with a cross in the second row.

[Do you wish to spend 100,000 Spirit Stones to purchase a Corpse Ghost storage slot?]

Well, no surprise "wealth" tops the cultivation rankings of "wealth, allies, techniques, and land"; it seems wherever you go, money is indispensable. To build a mighty army of Yu Hu’s Corpse Ghosts, at least a few million Spirit Stones for expanding storage bags are necessary.

[Click to input a name for the Corpse Ghost]

Naming... this stumped Jiang Yuan. As someone who fails at naming, he had previously relied on suggestions for naming his Puppet, ultimately choosing the most reliable name proposed by Hu Zhile with Yun Mo’s surname.

And here he just ended a tense battle, now he has to think of a name?

He paused for two seconds then directly input "Warrior No.1", and checked that he could modify the name for free once a month, but any further changes would cost 10 Spirit Stones.

Not too expensive; once the Corpse Ghost obtains intelligence, he’ll see if it has opinions about its name, and then consider changing it.

Having wrapped up the subsequent work, Jiang Yuan impatiently released Warrior No.1.

"Crack!"

With a wooden expression, the opponent held a Long Spear, bringing its right hand to its chest. The wrist guard decoration touched the metal ornament on the beast skin at its chest, emitting a pleasing sound, signifying a salute to the superior.

"Can you speak?"

"..."

No response. Jiang Yuan figured they were of a different race, possibly unable to understand human language. After all, not everyone speaks Chinese worldwide. Though orders could be issued through willpower, feeling was less intelligent than a Puppet’s capabilities.

"*%&#@..."

After pausing for a few seconds, Warrior No.1 opened its mouth to speak a language he couldn’t understand.

[Do you wish to spend 100 Spirit Stones to install a language pack for the Corpse Ghost?]

[Alternatively, you can gradually unlock communication functions through upgrading to achieve rapport with the Corpse Ghost]

No need to ask; rapport is definitely built through fighting side by side. He currently opted for the former option.

Spending 100 Spirit Stones, he watched the progress bar for about ten seconds until the language pack was installed, and Warrior No.1, still expressionless, said: "Please, General, order us to continue fighting. We swear to annihilate all anomalies!"

Immersed in the excitement of possessing powerful Corpse Ghosts, Jiang Yuan suddenly froze with a slight nose sting.

Indeed, the bravest of warriors. Even after their death, upon regaining intelligence, they still desire to fight; even while emitting poisonous miasma from their polluted bodies, they wish to repel anomalies from their homeland.

"The anomalies have polluted this land. However, if we can clear away the contaminated objects, Misty Ridge can still rejuvenate. Are you willing to fight alongside me?"

"I pledge to follow the General!" Warrior No.1 raised the Long Spear high, firmly declaring, "We must eradicate the anomalies, restore the majestic mountains!"

"What’s your name?" He thought, it’s just 10 Spirit Stones; he could rename him back to his original name.

However, after a moment of silence, the other responded, "I don’t remember. Please, General, grant me a name."

Oh! Forget it then, let’s keep you as Warrior No.1 for now.

"Let’s go, we’re going to clear the contaminated objects!" Jiang Yuan led the obedient Yu Hu, like he had a bodyguard, to find other similar beings. The urgent task was to fill all six slots, then gang up and gain the upper hand, accelerating their progress through the new quest.

Like that, three busy days rapidly passed.

When the first batch of Moonlight Grass planted in Level Two farmland was harvested, the neighboring shop at Golden Carp Lake Market had already crafted finished Magic Incense Burners.

"Look, didn’t I tell you?" Hou Ze presented two big beautifully packed boxes with smug delight, inviting him to look closely, "The artifact refiner at our shop is most reliable! Come, compare them with the blueprints; isn’t the actual product more imposing?"

Nearby, a tiny golden monkey eagerly clutched his hands, waiting expectantly to admire them.

The moment the two wooden boxes were opened, streaks of light flashed before the eyes.

Jiang Yuan focused his gaze and was instantly convinced.

It truly looks splendid!

The real product indeed looks far better than the flat blueprint, particularly the coiled White Dragon, which seems ready to soar out of the burner, ascend to the skies with an imposing look, as though a True Dragon had been placed atop the burner.

The other, however, exhibited a much more mysterious aura, with the White Fox’s eyes slightly narrowed, its expression laid-back yet carrying a trace of enticing charm. Gazing at such exquisite and somewhat seductive White Fox, he suddenly understood King Zhou’s joy.

"It indeed was excellently refined!" Jiang Yuan generously praised it. Since the price had already been agreed upon, no matter the satisfaction of praise, there was no way he’d raise the price last-minute.

Listening to his satisfied neighbor, Hou Ze beamed with joy. After Jiang Yuan completed the payment, he rubbed his hands and chuckled: "I know you’re an Alchemist. Look, I only know artifact refiners but have no Alchemist friends. By chance, we’re neighbors, you placed a satisfactory custom order here... My request is... could you perhaps help craft a pill?"

After such a long overture, the request was revealed.

He hesitated slightly, explaining, "While I can indeed craft elixirs, I don’t have many Pill Formulas. Beyond Foundation Establishment Pills and Spirit Core Pills, there’s not much else I can make..."

Antitoxic Pills and Spirit Gathering Pills have relatively specific effects, so he didn’t mention them.

However, Hou Ze was thrilled, rubbing his hands eagerly, "If you can craft Second Grade Spirit Core Pills, that’s already impressive and sufficient! Here’s the story: my artifact refiner friend suffered an attack a few years back and barely survived, but was left with lingering symptoms that even famous doctors couldn’t heal. Over time, it harmed his cultivation foundation and may impede future advancement.

Luckily, I have a vast network and found a Pill Formula said to cure his cold symptoms. Unfortunately, finding skilled Alchemists is hard, leading to this lengthy delay... You see, I’ve rambled on so long, speaking incoherently with excitement.

I found the Pill Formula and gathered two sets of Spirit Medicines needed for crafting. According to the etiquette of requesting Alchemy, the formula is offered, and for whatever number of pills crafted, I only request one piece. How about it... are you willing?"

[Side Quest triggered: Genius Refiner]

[Hou Ze’s friend Leng Yutang is an exceptionally rare genius artifact refiner, but struggles against what’s known as Cold Poison. Please craft a simplified version of the Nine-Flavor Red Flame Pill to temporarily relieve cold poison. Reward: Spirit Stone X10000]