There were ten cards in total: four green [Vitality Pill] cards, four blue [Three-Treasure Vitality Pill] cards, and two others-the "Mountain Lord Ghost Servant Art" and that purple card!
"Mountain Lord Thunder Herb!"
Wu Yu immediately looked at the purple card, his brow furrowing slightly.
"It's actually a material card... what a shame!"
This was the first purple card Wu Yu had seen in the [Newcomer Secret Realm], and it might well be the only one.
Had it been a pill or a Technique Card, it would have immediately granted Wu Yu tremendous power. It might even have opened the Transcendent Gate for him, turning him into a transcendent lifeform!
But it was only a Spirit Grass...
Wu Yu pondered for a moment, then checked his Inventory.
Large quantities of "Exquisite Food" sat together inside, completely unchanged even after a day.
That included their temperature, shape, and so on.
There was even soup. It went in steaming hot and came out steaming hot too!
"The Inventory must be able to preserve freshness... no, freeze time would be more accurate!"
After a moment's thought, he decisively used the card in his hand.
A Spirit Grass appeared in his hand. It was purple throughout, with nine leaves.
Each leaf bore winding golden patterns that resembled lightning. Crack!
Suddenly, lightning flashed across the nine-leaf Spirit Grass.
The shock left Wu Yu numb, and he nearly dropped it.
Fortunately, mastering the basics of "Heaven-and-Earth Toss" had made his body much more agile. He hastily caught it and sent it into his Inventory.
The "Mountain Lord Thunder Herb" also occupied one slot. Like the Exquisite Food, the nine-leaf Spirit Grass remained frozen in the state it had entered in.
Lightning coiled around its nine leaves as though it could breathe. Strands of lightning intertwined, forming a web.
Wu Yu's face twitched at the sight.
Had his hands been a little slower, the lightning web around the Spirit Grass would have treated him to some "free electrotherapy."
"Purple quality, all right. Even a spirit herb is this fierce."
"It's hard to estimate what this is worth, but it must be incredibly expensive. I can't let anyone find out about it!"
Wu Yu gave it some thought.
After the Great Cataclysm, psionic technology had developed rapidly, and supercities as brilliant as stars had risen across the shattered land.
But because of the Great Cataclysm, psionic technology had focused on military applications, leaving civilian technology many generations behind.
Even with psionic technology that could accelerate growth, spirit herbs remained something one could only find through luck!
They were nowhere to be found in River City's markets, or even somewhere like the Black Crow Merchant Guild.
Coming back to his senses, Wu Yu looked at the remaining cards.
The [Vitality Pill] cards needed no further consideration. He tossed them into his Inventory.
The [Three-Treasure Vitality Pill] cards should be higher-grade pills, though still intended for mortals. Presumably, they were upgraded versions of the [Vitality Pill], so he tossed them into his Inventory too.
As for the "Mountain Lord Ghost Servant Art"...
Having already experienced using "Tiger Roar Eight-Slash Saber" and "Heaven-and-Earth Toss," Wu Yu naturally longed for a new technique.
The "Mountain Lord Ghost Servant Art" was green quality, making it quite respectable.
But mastering its basics would turn him into a tiger wraith, enslaved by the Mountain Lord!
"Could it be similar to the Mountain Lord Rite the locals mentioned?"
At that thought, Wu Yu decisively abandoned the idea of using the technique and tossed it into his Inventory.
Wu Yu searched the room but found nothing else.
He strode out, checked the [Map], and estimated the time.
"About an hour until noon."
Wu Yu closed the Map and looked toward the Evil Tiger Stronghold.
Apart from its main gate and guardhouse, the Evil Tiger Stronghold had three remaining areas.
On the left stood a cluster of crude wooden huts piled with large crates, along with bamboo poles used for drying things. Some bandits inside were moving goods, while others rested.
On the right was a large stretch of level ground with many bamboo-and-tile houses. Over a hundred people were active there, practicing martial arts, sparring, chatting, making a racket, or even crawling along the ground.
The uppermost area held only a single finely built brick house!
"The Warehouse and Kitchen? Then the Training Ground and Living Quarters! That place at the very top should be where the Chief lives."
After observing for quite a while, Wu Yu breathed a sigh of relief.
Just as he had learned, these bandits had become tiger wraiths through the "Mountain Lord Rite," but they were still human in the end.
They needed food and water!
With the dozens of pebbles stored in his Inventory, Wu Yu could easily kill those hundreds of bandits if he fought his way through using the [Bi Fang Sigil].
But he certainly could not stop the archers and transcendent martial artists from escaping.
Not to mention that the enemy could attack him from afar with arrows, while the transcendent martial artists launched surprise attacks.
The Chief was no weakling. He could punch through iron armor. Taking him on with Wu Yu's frail little body would be suicide!
So... Wu Yu looked at the [Lifeless Evil Pill] in his Inventory and smiled.
On the left side of the stronghold, several bandits also dressed in Beastskin Garments were cooking, and steam rose inside the Kitchen.
Beside the Kitchen stood a massive Warehouse, with chunks of meat drying outside and bones and assorted objects piled within.
Two bandits were fast asleep at the Warehouse entrance.
Wu Yu crept up from behind the building. Finding that no one had noticed him, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Heaven-and-Earth Toss really lives up to its blue quality!"
All it took was a thought to turn him from a fragile student into an agile assassin.
What an incredible thing!
Just then, he spotted some familiar clothes.
"Those belong to that older woman!"
Wu Yu recognized them at a glance.
He did not know the Middle-Aged Woman's name, but her clothes were nothing ordinary. A single piece might have cost one or two thousand.
The modern clothes looked completely out of place in this ancient-style bandit stronghold, making them especially conspicuous!
"Could she have been captured and brought here to become the Stronghold Wife?"
The thought sprang into Wu Yu's mind, but reason told him there was another possibility, sending a chill through his heart.
So many [Unpleasant Meat Chunk] cards had dropped earlier...
Holding his breath, he carefully approached the corner and peered into the Warehouse.
Besides all sorts of animal hides, bones, and dried meat, the Warehouse held vegetables, fruit, and various objects he did not recognize.
But some of the large crates contained all manner of unpleasant chunks of meat!
The Middle-Aged Woman's head had already been processed and lay piled in a crate of bloody bones.
Wu Yu's expression changed. He hurriedly covered his mouth and leaned against the corner!
Only after suppressing his body's instinctive reaction did he lower his hand, his eyes filled with icy anger.
"Tiger wraiths aren't human."
Wu Yu sighed inwardly, calmed himself, and continued scouting.
Before long, he had figured out the situation here.
There were fourteen people in total. Several were cooks, while the rest were laborers who had come to move things.
But all of them were tiger wraiths, their Beastskin Garments unmistakable.
The cooks had already prepared the food, along with some wine.
Activating the [Heaven-Earth State] made Wu Yu even more agile. He slipped quietly into the Warehouse and approached the large wine jars.
Lifting their lids, he discovered that only three jars contained wine.
"Not all these bandits necessarily get to drink wine!"
"The best approach is to poison the water too!"
Wu Yu took out the [Lifeless Evil Pill]...
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