The Medicine-Making Table Touched by the Mold God

Ji Xinghe gently touched the small Dark Spirit Fruit on Xiao Sha's head.

Her gaze, however, unconsciously drifted to the corner, where Xiao Xi clung to the wall, its three tender leaves drooping from the vine.

Seeing this, Ji Xinghe pressed her lips together. She disliked overly sentimental pets—she wasn't one to coax people, let alone pets.

Selfishly, she only wanted to train their abilities simply, for them to fight for her.

Sensing Xiao Xi's mood, Ji Xinghe felt an inexplicable irritation.

But she didn't realize that only when you care about a creature do you dwell on its emotional state.

If you don't care, you just resort to cold silence.

Watching the vine huddled in the corner, pitiful and wilted, Ji Xinghe's heart clenched.

Thinking back to their battles side by side while exploring the island and guarding it, her eyes gradually softened.

Before she could speak, Xiao Xi shuffled over, its vine carefully hooking onto Ji Xinghe's pinky: "Congratulations, Master, on gaining another fierce warrior!"

Sensing the turmoil in its master's heart, Xiao Xi forgot its own sulking and hurried over to curry favor, terrified of being abandoned...

Ji Xinghe's heart softened. It was still just a baby, after all. She gently tapped the vine.

"Silly Xiao Xi, have you forgotten that we can communicate without needing a Contract Stone? In my heart, you're all equally important."

Then, she took the vine and the branch together in her palm: "From now on, the three of us are a family."

She opened the pet panel and flipped to the right to find Xiao Sha's attribute details.

"West Tier Dark Spirit Tree. Xiao Sha (Plant Pet)" (Panel can be hidden)

"Owner: Ji Xinghe (Player 001)"

"Level: 1 (69/200)"

"Attack: 45"

"Defense: 35"

"(Talent) Skills:

1: Nirvana Rebirth (As long as a Dark Spirit Fruit core exists in the world, I will not die.)

2: Bear Fruit (At each stage, can produce a varying number of dark-attribute fruits: enhances a creature's dark element affinity.)"

"Attributes: Dark 100, Wood 99"

Closing the panel, Ji Xinghe took out the Deformed Monster corpse and used her Talent, Drain.

[Talent Drain successful, Physique +0.1]

[Talent Drain successful, Physique +0.1]

Her Physique attribute successfully reached 50.

Then she clicked to decompose the corpse, obtaining 50 units of Deformed Meat.

She casually handed a few pieces of Deformed Meat to Xiao Sha. Pretending not to notice that Xiao Xi's status bar read "Full," she also gave it three pieces of fresh beast meat.

Watching them eat happily, she continued organizing her backpack.

"Mobile Cabin: Contains 20 square meters of space, can be enlarged or shrunk. An essential item for travel."

"Gravity Room: One of the functional rooms in the Training Room. Contains 50 square meters of space. Can be placed inside a Shelter or Training Room for use."

"Feature: Training at full intensity in the Gravity Room for two hours grants +1 Strength. Duration is cumulative."

The Gravity Room worked similarly to the Treadmill—two hours of exercise added one point to the corresponding attribute.

But her Shelter couldn't accommodate it yet, so she had to reluctantly store it in her backpack.

Next, she looked at the designated Skill Book.

"Designated Skill Book: Allows you to freely designate a skill's attribute."

She opened her personal panel.

Element Attributes: Gold 60, Light 99, Dark 61, Water 5

Skill Slots: Small Light Ball Technique (Level 1), Purification Technique (Level 1), Golden Sword Technique (Level 1)

Remaining Skill Slots: 3/12

Ji Xinghe already had two Light-attribute skills and one Gold-element skill. The remaining two attributes were Dark and Water.

Her Water attribute value wasn't high enough to support learning a skill, so...

[Player's designated skill attribute: Dark]

[Dark-attribute skill being drawn...]

[Ding, congratulations, Player! You have drawn the skill: Dark Invisibility Technique]

"Dark... Dark Invisibility Technique?" Ji Xinghe's lips trembled as she murmured in disbelief.

Was this the invisibility she'd dreamed of as a kid—sneaking out of school? Or as an adult, robbing the rich to fund herself?

Ji Xinghe excitedly clicked on the Skill Book.

"Skill Book: Upon learning, you can acquire the skill 'Dark Invisibility Technique'."

"Learning Requirements: Spirit > 20, Physique > 15, Dark Attribute Affinity ≥ 80. Player's current attributes do not meet the requirements. Cannot learn."

Ji Xinghe: !!!

The smile at the corner of her mouth froze.

Aaaaaah!

Her heart screamed wildly!

This was the first time she wanted a skill this badly. Ji Xinghe jerked her head up and stared at Xiao Sha, eyes gleaming.

"Xiao Sha, Xiao Sha, pull yourself together and ripen those fruits faster..."

Sensing the scorching gaze behind it, Xiao Sha's trunk couldn't help but tremble.

The vines on its quivering branches swayed, then smack—a vine lashed out, and the branch steadied at once.

Inside the Shelter, Ji Xinghe held the last two blueprints.

Swift Boots Blueprint, Deformed Recovery Potion Blueprint.

"Swift Boots Blueprint"

"Required Materials (per pair): Wind Spirit Stone ×2, Cloth ×4, Beast Hide ×2"

She still had a pair of Swift Boots on her feet, so she decided not to make another for now.

She eagerly opened the next blueprint.

"Deformed Recovery Potion Blueprint"

"Required Materials: White Ground Orchid Leaf ×1, Purple Raven Grass Leaf ×1, Green Heart Grass Leaf ×1, Drinking Water 500ml ×1"

"Note: The potion must be crafted at a Medicine-Making Table."

Well, another item she didn't have.

Thinking this, she opened her system panel and searched the trading platform for [Medicine-Making Table].

[This item is currently unavailable. Please try again later.]

Ji Xinghe refused to give up and clicked twice more.

[This item is currently unavailable. Please try again later.]

[This item is currently unavailable. Please try again later.]

Fine...

She knew it would be like this. She hadn't really held out much hope anyway. Really.

She opened the chat channel.

Messages scrolled by in a blur.