Dou Qi Gauze Vitality Shield

Dou Qi Gauze—Vitality Shield

The Ironhide Rats had far less health than Savage Bulls, but without the Level-Surpassing Bonus, they actually gave more experience than Savage Bulls!

And rats were absurdly prolific.

That was why there were such an outrageous number of Ironhide Rats in this Ironwood Forest.

Otherwise, the opportunity requirement for "Alchemist Qin Wu" would not have been to kill one hundred of them.

Under normal circumstances, this opportunity should only have been triggered half a month after the server opened, once the first-tier Players had reached the Dou Shi level.

How could Tian Yao's designers have imagined that some freak would become a Dou Shi on the fifth day after the server opened—real-world time!

And damn it, his cultivation method, Dou Techniques, and equipment were all top-notch! Overall, Yang Shan's monster-grinding method was highly efficient: he first used "Thunder Cleaving Slash" to break the Ironhide Rat's defenses, forced it to use its Bloodline Secret Skill, then exploited its wounds with Weakness Strike.

From the initial clash to the end of the fight, it generally took no more than a minute.

Only two things slowed Yang Shan down. First, there were too many Ironhide Rats, and they often traveled in packs. With Yang Shan's current abilities, handling two Ironhide Rats at once was already his limit.

Second, each use of "Thunder Cleaving Slash" consumed 15 Dou Qi points.

Yang Shan only had 205 Dou Qi points in total. While meditating, his Dou Qi recovered at a rate of 3 points per minute. (Without meditation, it was 1 point per minute.) Yang Shan had also bought a bottle of Qi Return Pills at the Cloud Frost City Marketplace, which increased his Dou Qi recovery rate while meditating by another 2 points.

That was nowhere near enough for Yang Shan to use "Thunder Cleaving Slash" without restraint.

Despite all these difficulties, and the lack of bonus experience for fighting above his level—

Yang Shan's current experience gain rate was still by no means slow.

After all, Ironhide Rats had relatively little health, and there were plenty of them.

Still, no matter how careful Yang Shan was, he was discovered several times by patrolling groups of Ironhide Rats.

A dozen or twenty Ironhide Rats immediately began firing needles at Yang Shan.

Yang Shan had set his pain sensitivity rather high, and the pain made him howl miserably.

Fortunately, the Dou Qi Gauze protected him. Otherwise, he would have been instantly killed.

After all, he had invested relatively few points into Constitution, so his health was not very high.

"Dou Qi Gauze" was a new combat function Yang Shan had unlocked after reaching the Dou Shi level.

In the original story, every major realm in the cultivation system of the Dou Qi Continent had its own defining characteristic.

When Dou Qi broke through to Dou Zhe, one condensed a Dou Qi vortex. Only then could one learn cultivation methods to further strengthen oneself.

When a Dou Zhe broke through to Dou Shi, their Dou Qi became more solid, allowing them to cover their body in a relatively thin protective barrier made of Dou Qi.

This technique for utilizing Dou Qi was known as "Dou Qi Gauze."

If one later broke through to Da Dou Shi, their Dou Qi would be further strengthened, and "Dou Qi Gauze" would evolve into "Dou Qi Armor." Once activated, it greatly increased one's defense.

Tian Yao Company's design in this regard was exceptionally ingenious.

Strictly speaking, the Dou Shi level was a transitional stage between newcomers and veteran Players.

At this stage, Players would encounter a very important mechanic: "Vitality Shield."

Dou Qi Gauze, Dou Qi Armor, and a whole series of later defensive methods formed through Dou Qi were all represented through "Vitality Shield."

As long as one's Vitality Shield had not been depleted, a Player could avoid most damage.

Therefore, after a few more versions, when the average level of first-tier Players reached Da Dou Shi, how to deplete an opponent's Vitality Shield more quickly—and how to exploit their weaknesses to end the battle as soon as their shield broke—would basically become a required lesson for every Player.

However, the Dou Shi-level "Dou Qi Gauze" could basically only be used to save one's life.

Because its Dou Qi consumption was simply too severe.

Without a corresponding defensive Dou Technique, 1 point of Dou Qi could be converted into Vitality Shield equal to 20% of one's Dou Qi Intensity.

In other words, with 5 points of Dou Qi Intensity, 1 point of Dou Qi could only be converted into 1 point of Vitality Shield.

Yang Shan's "Thunderclap Skill" was a Yellow Rank High-Level Cultivation Method with a Golden Word Seal.

Unless it came from a special opportunity, there was no way ordinary cultivation methods available in the launch version could reach such a level.

Then, Yang Shan had triggered four Global Announcements in succession and received a large number of Meridians attributes, yet his Dou Qi Intensity was still only "41."

In other words, when Yang Shan used Dou Qi Gauze now, 1 point of Dou Qi could only be converted into 8 points of Vitality Shield.

And at the Dou Shi level, once Dou Qi Gauze was broken, it could not be condensed again until ten minutes had passed.

Even so, once Players reached the Dou Shi level, their margin for error in battle increased considerably.

For Yang Shan, the existence of Dou Qi Gauze was enough to let him kill monsters in Ironwood Forest without distraction.

He no longer had to worry about getting himself killed.

One hundred Ironhide Rats took Yang Shan a full three days of in-game time, even at his efficiency.

Nearly fourteen hours had passed in the real world.

However, those hundred Ironhide Rats also brought Yang Shan seven Second-Order Elite Gold Attribute Magic Cores, twenty Iron Rat Thorn Hides (Second-Order materials), and 12,000 experience points! Yang Shan's level leapt from a Three-Star Dou Shi to a Five-Star Dou Shi! Yang Shan could not help but sigh.

The launch version's benefits really were great. Leveling up was this easy!

After a few more versions, once Players reached Da Dou Shi or even Dou Ling, the intelligence of magical beasts would rise accordingly, while NPCs would become more ruthless than the last.

By then, ordinary Players might not even gain a few stars over an entire major version!

Ding! Player has met the opportunity requirements for "Alchemist Qin Wu." Please follow the map to the opportunity location.

Following the map's guidance, Yang Shan walked through Ironwood Forest for a while before arriving before a massive boulder taller than a person.

Rumble... Yang Shan's arrival seemed to trigger a mechanism. The boulder began moving aside, revealing a cave beneath it.

Ding! Player has found the "Alchemist Qin Wu" opportunity cave. Please make preparations before entering.

Having been online for too long, Yang Shan was starting to feel overwhelmed, so he decisively logged off.

After getting himself back into shape, Yang Shan returned to the game and jumped straight into the cave without another word.

The boulder slowly moved back into place, as though nothing had happened.

Inside the cave, candles suddenly flared to life one after another, dispelling the gloom.

The cave contained a ten-zhang passage. By the firelight, Yang Shan could see a fairly large room on the other side.

A line of words was also carved into the stone wall beside him:

Those with the aptitude of an alchemist may pass.

Yang Shan had two points in Fire Spirit Root and one point in Wood Spirit Root. His aptitude was not particularly high, but he definitely met the requirement.

Without the aptitude of an alchemist, he would likely have triggered some mechanisms along the way.

After reaching the other end of the passage without incident, Yang Shan found himself before a stone chamber covering roughly two hundred square meters.

Directly ahead hung a scroll painting.

The painting depicted an old man squatting before a pill furnace.

All around it were various medicinal herbs.

Some of the herbs had been dried, while others were cultivated in special soil, allowing them to remain alive even in this underground stone chamber.

Yang Shan gave them a rough look. None were particularly valuable, at most reaching the Second Grade.

Player, please note: the "Alchemist Qin Wu" opportunity trial has officially begun!

First stage of the opportunity assessment: Herb Identification. Please use the Medicinal Herb Atlas to select the medicinal herbs specified in the pill formulas.

The floor before Yang Shan sank down, revealing a book and two sheets of paper inside.

The Medicinal Herb Atlas, published by the Jia Ma Empire Alchemist Guild.

The other two sheets were pill formulas for the First-Grade Medicinal Pill "Qi Return Pill" and the Second-Grade Medicinal Pill "Blood Recovery Pill."

Yang Shan smiled. "Looks like this trial won't be difficult."