Strategy Guide

In the blink of an eye, Su Yu had already been at the Medicine Garden for half a month.

He had memorized the entire booklet his master Su Changyu had given him, and he had successfully cultivated the Spirit Infusion Art. Though his progress was slow, his proficiency had still reached 4.1% over the past half month.

His cultivation of the Wutong Greenwood Art and Body Refining Technique had improved as well, their proficiency rising a fraction faster than it had at the Su Family residence.

However, after the Body Refining Technique reached the third layer, raising its proficiency proved somewhat harder than Su Yu had anticipated.

Breaking through to the Body Refining Technique Fourth Layer in two or three months had been mere wishful thinking. He now expected to break through within half a year.

Of course, if he could obtain more Monster Beast Essence Blood to assist him, he could shorten that time somewhat.

Fortunately, after coming to the Medicine Fields as a medicine apprentice, Su Yu's monthly allowance had increased considerably. In addition, Earth Rock Rat monster beasts would occasionally attack the Medicine Fields and be killed, allowing him to trade for more Monster Beast Essence Blood here.

Once his half month of free time had ended, Su Yu began following Su Changyu to learn how to cultivate spirit herbs, while Su Changyu tested his knowledge and understanding of the herbs' habits.

A few days later, a trade fair was held within the Medicine Field Estate.

At the fair, Su Yu saw Su Qingyi, whom he had not seen in more than half a year. Only then did he discover that Su Qingyi's cultivation had unexpectedly reached the third layer of Qi Refining.

Breaking through from Qi Refining Stage One to the third layer of Qi Refining in just over a year left Su Yu somewhat astonished.

Although Su Qingyi possessed a Medium-grade Spirit Root, wasn't this rate of improvement a little too fast?

If Su Yu himself wanted to break through to the third layer of the Wutong Greenwood Art, he estimated that he would need at least another year and a half.

Su Qingyi had set up a stall. Much of the youthful immaturity he had possessed half a year ago had faded, and he no longer looked like a pampered young master of the Lineage. Monster Beast Essence Blood was also available for sale at his stall, precisely what Su Yu needed.

Su Qingyi was not surprised to see Su Yu. After asking what Su Yu needed, he smiled and said, "I have Early Rank 1 Monster Beast Essence Blood as well. Two Low-grade Spirit Stones for five drops."

"Alright." Su Yu naturally would not refuse. This price was already discounted.

Su Qingyi warmly said, "Monster beasts may still appear around the Medicine Fields during this time. If you run into any trouble you can't handle, come find me."

"If you discover any monster beast tracks, you can find me too. When the time comes, we'll split the gains."

From the look of it, Su Qingyi seemed to have already adapted to the environment of the cultivation world.

Su Yu even saw in him something of the template of those low-level cultivation-world stall-owner NPCs he had encountered in cultivation games before.

After chatting with him for a moment, Su Yu left the trade fair and returned to his room.

With his current third-layer Body Refining Technique cultivation, he could already refine one drop of Early Rank 1 Monster Beast Essence Blood at a time.

While cultivating the Body Refining Technique, Su Yu recalled something Su Qingyi had mentioned: perhaps he could find a way to hunt Earth Rock Rats himself, earn some pocket money, and obtain some essence blood to cultivate the Body Refining Technique.

With the power of the third layer of Crocodile Demon's 108 Forms Body Refining Technique, he would not fear even a mid-stage Rank 1 Earth Rock Rat comparable to the fourth layer of Qi Refining.

Besides, he knew a method to hunt Earth Rock Rats without even needing to fight them.

Among the quests often done during the early stages of cultivation games in his previous life were tasks to lure and kill Earth Rock Rats by gathering materials to make special Beast Luring Powder.

This Beast Luring Powder, made specifically for Earth Rock Rats, could draw them out. Once they ate it, the rats would fall unconscious and be left at the mercy of the knife.

Su Yu did not know whether other cultivation forces understood this method, but the Su Family, which had never come into contact with Spirit Veins or Earth Rock Rats, probably did not.

"Earth Indigo Flowers, rosemary, Cloudshadow Grass, and Wutong Oil are all ordinary materials. I can gather them all in the Medicine Fields," Su Yu quietly pondered.

He acted as soon as he thought of it.

After finishing his Body Refining Technique cultivation, Su Yu began gathering materials for the Beast Luring Powder.

He spent only one Low-grade Spirit Stone to collect enough materials for five portions of Beast Luring Powder.

After simply grinding the five portions of materials into powder and storing it in Jade Bottles, Su Yu thought, I'll try it tonight.

There was still time, so he followed Su Changyu to the Medicine Fields to complete the day's tasks.

He nurtured the spirit herbs with the Spirit Nurturing Art, sensed their growth with the Spirit Infusion Art, and integrated practice with the knowledge he had previously memorized until everything came together naturally.

Seeing Su Yu master the Spirit Infusion Art in such a short time, Su Changyu sighed with feeling. "Xiaoyu, you are the most talented one I've seen in all these years. Not one of your three senior brothers has managed to comprehend the Spirit Infusion Art even now."

Su Yu hurriedly said, "I was just lucky. Last year, I followed the Family Head to the Cloud Sword Sect to take the entrance disciple examination, and my score in comprehension on the second test was only low."

"Besides, I have a Low-grade Spirit Root. It took me more than a year of cultivation to break through from Qi Refining Stage One to the second layer."

"Master, please don't praise me anymore. Otherwise, I'll lose my motivation to cultivate."

"You..." Su Changyu's honest face froze at those words. Then he chuckled, and from then on, he never again said that Su Yu was the most talented.

However, he paid even more attention to Su Yu, having him follow him every day to learn.

That night.

Su Yu arrived at a relatively remote Medicine Field and placed some Spirit Rice mixed with Beast Luring Powder in five locations. He then moved far away and waited quietly.

After more than two hours, when it was deep into the night, Su Yu went over to take a look and discovered that the five portions of Beast Luring Powder had successfully lured in two Earth Rock Rats.

One was less than a foot long, likely a minor monster beast at the first or second layer of Qi Refining. The other was nearly two feet long, a mid-stage Rank 1 monster beast.

"Profit." The moment Su Yu saw that large monster beast, joy surged through him.

He walked over, seized its head, and twisted hard. Relying on the terrifying brute strength of the third layer of Crocodile Demon's 108 Forms Body Refining Technique, he directly twisted its head around a full circle, only stopping once its aura had completely vanished.

After dealing with the large rat monster, Su Yu slapped the smaller rat monster. With a muffled bang, its skull burst, splattering out its brains.

He destroyed the remaining three portions of Spirit Rice mixed with Beast Luring Powder, then quietly returned carrying the two Earth Rock Rats.

Because Beast Luring Powder had a time limit of three hours and became ineffective afterward, the remaining three portions were useless. Destroying them ensured that no one would discover anything.

After returning to his room, Su Yu skinned the two Earth Rock Rat monster beasts and drained their blood.

Monster Beast Essence Blood referred to the blood around a monster beast's heart. It was the essence of its entire strength, the condensed origin of its power, and there was not much of it.

From the smaller rat monster, Su Yu obtained only twenty-three drops of Early Rank 1 Monster Beast Essence Blood.

The larger rat monster yielded more: forty-one drops of mid-stage Rank 1 Monster Beast Essence Blood.

For the cost of one Low-grade Spirit Stone, he had gained materials worth approximately thirty Low-grade Spirit Stones.

"With this Monster Beast Essence Blood assisting my cultivation, perhaps I'll only need two or three months to break through to the Body Refining Technique Fourth Layer." Su Yu was delighted.

What delighted him even more was that the game quest from his previous life for luring and killing Earth Rock Rats had actually allowed him to successfully hunt Earth Rock Rats.

Apart from the Proficiency Panel, he now had another cheat that would help him survive in this cultivation world.

Of course, the Beast Luring Powder formula could succeed because it was easy to prepare.

As for other miraculous formulas from the cultivation games of his previous life, such as alchemy and artifact refining recipes, he would probably still need to deduce and experiment with them.

But Su Yu was already very satisfied. Compared to others, he at least knew the ingredient list for the dish and the quantities needed; all that remained was the order and the heat.

And beyond formulas, even greater wealth lay in other knowledge and quest strategies.

"I need to save up some more money and buy a suitable magic artifact." Thinking of the Earth Rock Rats appearing and the possibility that a first-grade Spirit Vein lay beneath him, Su Yu felt a sense of urgency. A low-grade magic artifact was worth at least several dozen Low-grade Spirit Stones.

He did not have that much money on hand yet, so he could only save up slowly.