After getting a new identity, the first thing Riyue did was immediately rent an inn room for two months in a different place called Silver Pearl Inn. It was a middle-class inn that was quite popular as one of the most bang-for-your-buck inns in the Jin Long Empire.
‘Not bad.’
Riyue looked at his room with a smile etched on his face. In the room, a white bed was located in the corner, with a table in the middle of the room, a few chairs, and even a private bathroom with a wash basin and a pit toilet.
‘I prefer showers and actual seated toilets, but… Well, at least I can have some semblance of hygiene here.’
If he remembered correctly, there were seated toilets, showers, and even bathtubs in this world; however, they were reserved only for the luxurious and honorable families.
‘Well, if I make it inside the Golden Dragon House, I will also get one for myself.’
Riyue then checked his status screen again after the three days of waiting for the new identity.
Name: Zhang Riyue
Age: 20
Constitution: Sun and Moon Qi Attribute
Qi Stage: 1
Qi Purity: 76%
Qi Amount: 912/912 (recovery 3/minute), (Qilin’s Horn +300 Qi), (Next Stage requires 2000).
Martial Arts and Mastery Gauge:
* Mountain Tiger Martial Technique 24%
* Sun and Moon Breathing Method 10%
‘Only a slight increase, but that’s fine.’ Riyue then changed into a comfortable martial artist attire, with a sword by his side, the Qilin’s Horn kept safe inside the layers of clothing, alongside two empty pouches, and a bottle for him to put the ingredients in. As it would be quite a long journey to the top of the mountains, Riyue had also brought various survival necessities that he wrapped with a bundle, slung over his shoulder, and secured to his body, making him akin to a true traveler.
Riyue then exited the inn and walked to the western side of the Jin Long Empire to head to the Qian Yang Mountain Range and the Yong Bing Cave. Prior to this, Riyue hadn’t bought any ingredients yet due to fearing that it might be wasted if he failed in getting the Golden Lotus and the Ice Spirit Grass.
As for the Mountain Spring Water, it was relatively easy to get as long as one was diligent enough to go up the mountain. As long as he got the Mountain Spring Water, he would be able to create the Pure Essence Pill, which would also be used for the Golden Lotus Pill.
After a long time of walking, Riyue finally arrived at the mountain range. What Riyue noticed upon arrival was that it was extremely hot. Despite still being at the bottom of the mountain, he was already sweating as if he had run a marathon. He began to worry about things such as getting heatstroke.
‘Shit, maybe I should get the Ice Spirit Grass first.’
Riyue had expected the heat to be extreme but not this much when he hadn’t even climbed up yet. So, he decided to change his approach and go get the Ice Spirit Grass first. With the Ice Spirit Grass, he could compensate for the extremely hot weather at the top of the mountain. Riyue walked around the Qian Yang Mountain Range, following the path he memorized, until he finally encountered a cave of ice. The cave was like a beast opening its gaping mouth, with its inside filled with layers of ice. After entering, It felt as if the temperature had suddenly dropped several degrees causing Riyue's body to shiver.
‘This is why people seldom come here, damn it. It’s either you die by freezing or by heatstroke.’
However, Riyue had prepared well, at least for the Yong Bing Cave. As he unwrapped the cloth he slung over his shoulder, he put on four layers of clothes, wrapped his face with a scarf, and donned gloves, feeling his body warm up. He also circulated Sun Qi in his body to help maintain warmth.
‘Sigh, if I was a Stage 2, I could just cover myself in Sun or Moon Qi to help regulate my body temperature, but alas, it is an inconvenience for the weak, so I just have to accept it.’
At least he could somewhat warm and cool down his body using Sun Qi at his current stage. He also grabbed a certain pouch for future use as he carefully walked forward, taking the time to ensure he didn’t make any footsteps noises.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
According to his research and knowledge, the Ice Spirit Grass was located in the earlier levels of the cave, and they were relatively common. However, they were guarded by powerful monsters and Mythical Creatures such as the Blizzard Wraith, a ghostlike monster able to create and control blizzards even inside a cave at will, equivalent to a Stage 5 practitioner; the Icefrost Stalker, a Mythical Creature shaped like a big lizard that could breathe frost, equivalent to a Stage 4 practitioner; and many more.
‘There’s a reason why not many would want to collect Ice Spirit Grass and why they are considered rare ingredients.’
Originally, for a Stage 1 like Riyue, it would be considered suicide. However, he had heard stories of one of the Zhang Family elder’s tactics of procuring the Ice Spirit Grass without fighting or encountering them. Even if he did encounter them, he was confident he could run away, as long as he secured an escape route.
‘That’s why scouting first is important.’
Riyue thought as he walked deeper into the cave, careful to hide between the glaciers and the walls. He had also masked his scent, ensuring monsters sensitive to human smell couldn’t detect him.
But in life, where unexpected things often happen, it’s no wonder that a plan that looks perfect could fail in execution. In the first place, Riyue wasn’t an assassin, nor was he good enough at hiding in an open cave.
The result of that was the three Glacier Stalkers in front of him. They were lizard-shaped monsters with a tail tip emitting frost and scales that covered their whole bodies like suits of armor. However, they were a lot smaller than the Glacier Stalkers he had heard of, and therefore he deduced that they must be children.
‘However, each one of them is still around Stage 2.’
Normal people would’ve run immediately in his situation. After all, Stage 2 monsters were still stronger than a Stage 1. However, Riyue simply brought his hand to his clothing before he took out the Qilin’s Horn. He then flowed his Sun and Moon Qi into the horn to activate it, as it glowed with a white radiance, and an immense pressure of the Qilin emanated from it, threatening to crush the surroundings with its might.
The three Glacier Stalkers immediately froze up as if they had seen the Qilin itself before they hurriedly ran away without even looking back. Riyue heaved a sigh of relief as he smiled.
In truth, despite the overwhelming pressure emanating from the Qilin’s horn, nothing about Riyue had actually changed. During his three days of waiting, he tested out a couple of things with the Qilin’s Horn, such as whether he would be able to momentarily intake a bigger amount of Qi from the Qilin’s Horn, and the answer was yes.
But it was only for another +300, making it a +600 that he got from the Qilin’s Horn, even that would only last for 3 minutes at most when he hasn’t practiced it yet. It was far from getting him to Stage 2. However, during the process, he discovered that whenever he resonated more and more of his Qi with the Qilin’s Horn, the presence of the Qilin also became mixed with Riyue’s own, and if he emanated it, it was equivalent to having a Stage 7 or even Stage 8’s presence, and only presence.
‘It’s basically a great bluffing ability, it wouldn’t work on intelligent monsters, but for the brainless monsters like them, it will work like a charm.’
However, he still had to be careful, as some monsters have extremely refined instincts that could see through his bluff. Riyue then put the horn back into his clothes and moved on. He didn’t have to travel far from the outside as the Ice Spirit Grass was located in the earlier layers of the Yong Bing Cave. To be exact, it already appeared on the second floor.
Proof of that is the patch of shining ice-blue grass in front of him, swaying around near a river that somehow didn’t freeze in this temperature. However, Riyue didn’t immediately go into it as he scouted the surroundings. The advice from the elder to get the Ice Spirit Grass was to be wary of the powerful Wraith that liked hanging around the second floor. It is a sneaky monster, but one could sense its immense presence by the ever-increasing chill. Riyue closed his eyes and focused on his Qi senses, and his own body temperature. Seeing how there were no signs of increasing chill or an immense presence, Riyue walked forward but did not immediately pounce on the patch of grass.
Instead, Riyue reached into his layers of clothes and took out a slipper. He then threw it straight at the patches of grass. As the rustling of the grass created sounds, Riyue immediately plugged his ears with earplugs he had prepared, then he also covered his ears as he crouched while looking at the grass patch.
Immediately after that, screams, which even Riyue could hear after doubly covering his ears, resonated throughout the cave. Riyue winced as he saw bats starting to appear near the vicinity above the grass, flying around and screaming straight at the slipper.
Riyue smiled, seeing that. The Hellscreamer Bats were notorious in many caves for being the weakest yet one of the deadliest monsters. Their strength was in their hearing and screams, which could stun and even kill Stage 3 monsters at point blank. However, as long as one properly used a special earplug, they would only get a slight bleeding at worst. After a few seconds, and as his ears adapted to the screams, Riyue stopped covering his ears and grinned.
‘As for their weaknesses—’
Riyue leisurely grabbed one of the pouches in his pockets. It was the pouch he took out of the bundle earlier. As he unwrapped the pouch, it revealed small, but sharp pieces of rocks that he had carefully collected.
The weakness of the bats is the fact that they are blind, which made them unable to move fast even if they are capable of doing so, and the fact that they are insanely weak.
Riyue grabbed a piece of rock, twisted his body, and threw the rock at one of the Hellscreamer Bats.