Chapter 90: Vital Harmony Spring
Under Ain's watchful gaze, Nox entered through the crack in the mountain wall.
The group discussed the prospects of this cave while awaiting Nox's return. Within a minute, Nox emerged from the crack and floated over to Ain's shoulder. It was absolute darkness inside the cave, but as a ghost pet, Nox possessed some advantages and managed to complete its task.
"Wooo..."
Ain listened to Nox's findings, nodding occasionally. Halfway through, he revealed a surprised expression, as if he'd heard something amazing. The others quickly noticed the change, and Hugo couldn't help but ask, "How’s the cave? Did it find something?"
Ain supported a smile and replied, "The cave is safe. Moreover, there seem to be hundreds of spirit plants growing within."
Hearing this, Frans and Paula were surprised at the unexpected discovery, while Hugo exhibited clear joy. Spirit plants directly translated to greater income!
"Let's go! Let's go inside and harvest them!" Hugo was the first to move, ready to enter. He had completely forgotten about their initial motive for investigating the cave.
Ain didn't stop him, as there was no danger within the cave. They were likely the first ones to discover it. The two-meter-high crack wasn't really an obstacle to spirit tamers. Hugo quickly latched onto the crack with a light jump before pulling himself up awkwardly.
"Let us know when you're through!" Paula lightly shouted behind him.
"Got it." Hugo responded before completely disappearing into the dark crack with excitement.
About thirty seconds later, an echoing voice appeared from the darkness, "Come on in!"
Ain, Frans, and Paula glanced at each other before Frans and Ain simultaneously gestured for Paula to enter next. Paula complied without standing on ceremony. As Paula was halfway through, Hugo's surprised voice sounded again, "Woah! What are these? There are so many of them!"
Hearing this, Paula instinctively paused. Outside, Frans was also alarmed as he prepared to send the Brilliant Fae into the cave. Ain turned to look at Nox, who was attached to his shoulder. Nox understood Ain's intentions and shook its eyes sideway, indicating that there was really no danger inside. Moreover, Ain felt that Hugo's voice didn't carry any fear.
"Hahahaha! We're rich!" As he expected, Hugo's laughing voice soon appeared, immediately causing Frans to halt. Paula also breathed out in relief as she said, "Hugo, what're you doing! You scared me!"
"Haha, my bad. I couldn't help it. There are too many Dark Iron Bamboos in here," Hugo apologized half-heartedly before informing the group of the reason.
"Dark Iron Bamboo?" Frans repeated, searching through his memory.
"It's a Rank-1 metal resource valued at around 15,000 star coins per stalk," Ain said, clearly aware of Dark Iron Bamboos. He'd seen a relevant mission a few months back.
"Not bad. It's a good find," Frans nodded. Soon, Paula reached the cave, followed by Frans and Ain.
The crack was ten meters deep, and Ain had to scrape against the narrow walls while moving side-to-side. It took him thirty seconds to enter the cave. Inside, Hugo, Paula, and Frans stood near the entrance, staring into the cave. They had already used Illumination to brighten this area.
After arriving beside them and following their gaze, Ain saw the sight that surprised Hugo. Across from him was a bamboo forest, comprised of hundreds of black bamboos shining with a metallic glint as they reflected the light from Illumination.
These were indeed Dark Iron Bamboos! And their quantity was mind-blowing! The visual impact was far greater than what they witnessed while clearing all those Thornwood Treants. Due to Sprout, numerous spirit plants were expected to grow in their vicinity. Moreover, these spirit plants varied in species and weren't as densely packed. But before them was a dense forest of Dark Iron Bamboos! They couldn't help but admire the sight. Tucked in this space, devoid of the sun, was a thriving batch of spirit plants.
"We can take all these, right?" Hugo asked expectantly, almost salivating. This seemed like a free gift compared to the painstaking effort they put into hunting the Thornwood Treants. It seemed unreal. Nobody answered him, as they were wondering the same thing.
After a while, Ain broke the silence. "Let's look around and decide whether or not to move the camp here first, then we can harvest the Dark Iron Bamboos." Although he was also eager to harvest the Dark Iron Bamboos, Ain decided to secure their camp first. After all, harvesting the hundreds of Dark Iron Bamboos would be time-consuming.
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The others were also aware of this fact and agreed to Ain’s suggestion. Soon, they split off and began exploring the cave.
The cave was five meters tall, providing a sufficiently high roof. The walls were rough and natural, prompting Ain to contemplate the cave's origin. As he followed along the walls, some spirit energy fluctuations suddenly attracted Ain's attention.
"What's this?" The traces were faint and would've gone unnoticed if not for his augmented perception due to consuming the Purple Cloud Fruit. Ain glanced around and didn't see anything unordinary. The Dark Iron Bamboo forest wasn’t near his current location.
"The wall?" After moving around a little, Ain realized that the spirit energy fluctuations pointed to a part of the cave wall. He leaned up against the wall, and his perception became clearer.
"Is it inside the wall or behind it?" Ain pondered as he touched the cave wall, failing to find anything special. In the end, he called Nox to his side, "Nox, check inside this wall."
Nox's eyes moved up and down before it dove into the wall. Its natural phasing ability as a ghost finally came in handy. A few seconds later, Nox returned and excitedly recounted what it saw.
When it was finished, Ain turned to stare at the wall intently. It was one surprise after the other. Behind the cave wall was an enclosed space, housing a small pool filled with a mysterious liquid. The dense spirit energy there excited Nox, as it instinctively believed the liquid to be extremely beneficial.
As he stared at the wall, Ain called the others over. "What's wrong? Did you discover something again?" Hugo was the first to arrive. Ain nodded and pointed at the wall. "Try sensing it."
Hugo followed Ain's finger and walked closer to the wall. After a while, he also asserted, "Spirit energy fluctuations! There's something behind this wall." Hugo's Sensory Enhancement was indeed impressive. He sensed the spirit energy fluctuations from farther away than Ain did.
Frans and Paula also arrived nearby and heard their conversation. "There's a small space behind the wall with a pool of liquid emitting dense spirit energy," Ain explained Nox's discovery.
Frans' and Paula's curiosity was also piqued. In such a hidden location, any discoveries couldn’t be ordinary.
"Let's break the wall and check it out," Hugo said excitedly. Discovering the unknown was always fun, evoking a sense of adventure.
"That's the only way," Ain agreed and asked Nox to use Possession.
The others retreated a little, letting him take charge of the task. It was unnecessary for them all to bombard the wall indiscriminately.
Ain's body flashed briefly before his hands quickly morphed into large white claws, displaying the results of Invigoration and Phantom Claws. What followed was some forceful excavation work. Dirt and debris flew as Ain's claws continuously dug out parts of the wall. A pile of rocks and dirt soon appeared beside him as the hole grew larger.
Ten minutes later, when his claw struck once more, part of the wall collapsed the other way, connecting the hole to the enclosed space.
Dense spirit energy flowed through the passage and assaulted their senses, making their eyes light up. Ain also quickened his pace and soon cleared out a traversable passage.
As the first one to enter, Ain saw a small pool of clear liquid. The liquid glowed softly with a golden luster, making it look enchanting. In this otherwise dark cave, the liquid pool added a hint of vitality, chasing away the gloominess.
Except for the pool of liquid, there was nothing else here. Ain glanced around before approaching the pool. Hugo, Frans, and Paula entered behind him as well.
Hugo breathed in deeply, letting the refreshing sensation bathe his body and mind. Frans walked over and leaned closer to the pool of liquid, trying to identify it.
Ain similarly crouched down to observe. Various pieces of information appeared in his mind, but he couldn't pinpoint anything specific. A glowing clear liquid with dense spirit energy wasn't a unique description, after all. Furthermore, with the lack of a divine sense, their investigative abilities were limited.
As his last resort, Ain dipped his finger into the pool and used Scan. Immediately, a large amount of his spirit energy was instantly drained as his expression shifted at the sudden occurrence. Even the Rank-2 resources he scanned for Green Water didn’t require so much spirit energy!
Although surprised, Ain quickly recovered and regained his focus. If he were unfocused while using Scan, he would only receive incomprehensible bits of information he called noise.
[Name: Vital Harmony Spring]
[Attribute: None]
[Rank: Advanced Rank-3]
[Attribute Traces: Fire 8.129%, Water 8.111%, Earth 8.120%, ...]
When the results of Scan appeared in his mind, Ain's eyes widened as his heart raced. An advanced Rank-3 resource! Moreover, it was the extremely rare Vital Harmony Spring! The inheritance book only mentioned Vital Harmony Spring in passing while explaining another topic. But because of that small remark, Ain was completely aware of its value.
To put it simply, the Vital Harmony Spring was a sacred treasure. Sacred treasures were resources that displayed some kind of extraordinary effect, surpassing regular resources. Even the Purple Cloud Fruit couldn't be categorized as a sacred treasure.
Consuming the Vital Harmony Spring could vastly improve one's physique. It also possessed cleansing, healing, and various other subtle properties. Moreover, it was equally effective for all spirit tamers below Rank-4.
The combination of all these factors crowned it as a sacred treasure. Ain was speechless at their luck. First was hundreds of Dark Iron Bamboos, and now there was a pool of Vital Harmony Spring.
"What is this liquid?" Paula asked, curiously observing alongside Ain and Frans.
Frans frowned as he pondered. His predicament was similar to Ain’s. There were too many resources that matched the description.
After confirming the results of Scan once more, Ain revealed with hints of joy, "We're in luck. This is the Vital Harmony Spring."
Immediately, Frans and Paula widened their eyes in shock and surprise. "Vital Harmony Spring!? Are you sure?" Paula stared at Ain with disbelief.
"Yes. It's the Vital Harmony Spring," Ain repeated confidently. Even Frans’ breathing grew rapid as he stared at Ain with wide eyes.