Flying Broom

Deep within the gray mist.

A monster wreathed in black qi was yelping as branches whipped it. "Ow! I'm sorry, sis, stop hitting me!"

The branches kept thrashing. "Hmph. A newborn dark spawn, thinking you can corrupt me by absorbing some energy from a young Dark Spirit Tree? I'll teach you that there are trees beyond trees!"

Only when the monster was beaten to the brink of death did the branches stop. They turned toward Ji Xinghe.

"Blue Star cub—well, now you're a Nine Yuan cub too. I was planning to bring you along. But since you jumped down, you'll have to collect it yourself."

"You should like this welcome gift. Looking forward to next time."

With that, she pulled out a Teleportation Stone. A black vortex appeared before her.

She coiled her roots and stepped inside, vanishing.

After she left, the dark creature lying on the ground sneered at Ji Xinghe.

"Typical fool of the Nine Yuan Continent. If she'd brought you in, I'd have gotten another high-Talent puppet."

It touched the crystal core at its chest and added, "Unless I die, no one can stop the Mist Heart's mutation speed at this stage."

It looked up at the gray sky. "Two more days. Two days and I'll be free. No more being trapped on this island."

···

East side of the island.

Ji Xinghe was examining a Water Spirit Fruit. Xiao Xi, perched on her shoulder, drooled uncontrollably.

Even so, the little one stayed put.

"Water Spirit Fruit: Edible"

"Effect: Unlocks/increases Water element attribute upon consumption."

"Note: A legendary attribute fruit of the Nine Yuan Continent, extremely rare! The fruit itself is a legend—but you found one today."

Both Water Spirit Fruits had identical panels.

Ji Xinghe handed the smaller fruit to Xiao Xi. One each.

No hesitation, even though Xiao Xi had just been hurt for her.

She had to maximize combat power. Element attributes were a huge boost for players.

Each additional element meant three more skills per Order.

The higher the element attribute, the faster skills could be learned. All skills were gated by attribute values—too low, and you couldn't learn them.

Skills were hidden combat power, invisible normally, but indispensable when needed.

Xiao Xi got her Water Spirit Fruit and started munching eagerly.

Ji Xinghe did the same.

[Player 001 has consumed a Water Spirit Fruit. Water element attribute unlocked. Current Water attribute: 5]

[Pet Xiao Xi has consumed a Water Spirit Fruit. Water element attribute unlocked. Current Water attribute: 3]

She checked her personal panel.

Element attributes: Metal 60, Light 99, Dark 61, Water 5.

Four element attributes now. Even without advancing, she could learn twelve skills.

Other players with only one element attribute would have at most three skills before Second Order.

When their skills were on cooldown, she'd still have moves left. The thought was amusing...

Ji Xinghe opened the exploration map.

[Current exploration island: Orchard Island]

[Exploration progress: 32%]

[Remaining exploration time: 08:05:26]

Eight hours left, and only 32% explored. Collecting the Mist Heart Fruit had cost time, but she didn't regret it.

Mist Heart Fruit was a crucial strategic reserve.

If exploration progress wasn't enough, she'd come back next time with a designated exploration scroll.

Exploring islands was for resources, wasn't it?

Ji Xinghe stood up and set off with Xiao Xi to scout the surroundings.

Half an hour later, she found a ruin.

A vast expanse of broken stones covered the island, roughly ten thousand square meters.

Ji Xinghe tried storing them in her backpack. Some worked, some didn't.

She tossed the unusable stones into the trash bin and told Xiao Xi to throw any stones she could carry into it too.

With so many stones here, she'd never finish collecting them even by nightfall, so there was no point worrying.

The trash bin could level up by consuming 100 kg. Maybe it'd bring another surprise.

As for these useful stones, she stored them in her backpack—whether for personal use or selling on the trading platform, they'd make a decent income.

When the backpack slot showed 999 stones, she finally remembered the slot's limit.

She put those 999 units of stone on the trading platform, setting the exchange rate at 4 units of stone for 1 Wow Coin.

If someone traded, it'd be a pleasant surprise; if not, it'd serve as a temporary storage spot, at least freeing up backpack space.

Then, Ji Xinghe started another round of stone collecting, the smile on her lips growing wider.

Suddenly, amid the rubble after gathering stones, she spotted a familiar object.

A broom.

The bottom of the broom was lined with yellowish-brown items resembling sorghum stalks, while the handle was made of brown wood.

It was 90% similar to the brooms Ji Xinghe had used in the countryside back in the day.

Thinking of this, Ji Xinghe recalled the happy times when Grandma was alive. Back then, the villagers called her a lone star of doom, and she'd always argued back.

Her parents had died in a car accident right after she was born—since she had no bond with them, it didn't hit her hard.

But Grandma's death left her utterly heartbroken.

How young Grandma had been back then.

Only 68, and she'd been "cursed" to death by Ji Xinghe.

After that, she became withdrawn, never making friends at school, and even more so after starting work.