White clouds float in the blue sky, and the waves rise high below the clouds.
The wind continued to blow, carrying a faint, salty smell.
A wave surged onto the rocky beach, bursting into large swathes of white foam.
Deng Qing stood on a rock overlooking the water and looked into the distance. The sea was a deep blue, with several low islands and reefs visible on the surface. Further on, the sea and sky merged into one.
If he hadn't read the information beforehand, Deng Qing would hardly have been able to tell the difference between the Spirit Abyss Sea and the sea he had seen during his trip to Sanya.
If I had to find a difference, it would be in one's state of mind.
Back then, he was in a hurry to find a cheap guesthouse; now, he's in a hurry to find Variant Clam.
Deng Qing walked along the seaside for more than half an hour, sometimes rummaging through the pebbles, sometimes leaping onto the rocks near the water to examine them.
Data shows that these Variant Clam either lie among the sand and gravel or are half-buried on the seabed. Once their shells are covered with mud and sand, they are really not easy to find.
Deng Qing walked to a shallow bay and stopped.
There are reefs on both sides, and the water in the middle is relatively calm.
He was looking underwater when suddenly a string of tiny bubbles emerged from among the seaweed.
Deng Qing immediately took a deep breath and plunged into the water. After searching for a few breaths, he soon spotted a clam shell the size of a millstone, half-buried among the sand and stones.
The clam shell is grayish-brown with an uneven surface. The two shells are open, revealing dark red soft flesh.
This giant clam shell is virtually identical to the image in the records.
It was Variant Clam.
Deng Qing steadied himself and approached it.
Having swum only a few feet, the clam shell, which had been slightly open, suddenly opened to both sides.
Several dark red tentacles suddenly shot out, heading straight for Deng Qing.
Deng Qing's gaze sharpened. The tentacles stretched out extremely quickly, their surfaces covered with numerous tiny suckers.
The information specifically warned of the dangers of this thing.
Once a creature is touched by the tentacles, it will be firmly attached to them, and then as the tentacles retract, it will be sucked into the shell of the Variant Clam.
At that moment, several tentacles spread out to both sides, heading straight for Deng Qing.
With a thought, Deng Qing unleashed the Mystic Wasteland Baleful Blood into his palm, instantly condensing it into a thin and sharp blood blade.
He swung his sword fiercely, a flash of blood streaked across the surface, and several tentacles that were coming at him snapped off, oozing out trickles of blood.
The Variant Clam suddenly contracted, its shell snapping shut, spewing out a torrent that churned up the seabed mud and sand, and its enormous body retreated hastily.
Deng Qing sheathed his blood-stained blade and gave chase.
The Variant Clam was moving very slowly, and Deng Qing quickly caught up. He reached under the clam's shell with both hands, clenched his fingers, and immediately lifted the Variant Clam from the seabed.
Then, Deng Qing flipped the Variant Clam over, and it floated motionless on the sea surface.
Deng Qing thought to himself, "The information was indeed correct."
This Variant Clam has a peculiar habit: once it is flipped over, it loses its ability to resist.
Deng Qing focused his mind on the bracelet, found the word "Collect" below the task, and selected it.
A short while later, a long cry came from the horizon.
A Gray-Feathered Spirit Vulture flew down from above, its wingspan reaching over ten feet. A giant bamboo basket was tied to its back, with a piece of red jade inlaid on the side of the basket.
The vulture circled above Deng Qing's head once, then extended its claws and lifted the Variant Clam out of the water. With a flick of its claws, it tossed the heavy Variant Clam into the basket.
A flash of light appeared on the ruby on the giant basket!
Then, the vulture flapped its wings a few times and flew away into the distance, carrying the giant basket.
Ignoring Lingjiu's departing figure, Deng Qing focused his mind on his bracelet, where a new transaction record had been added.
He pulled himself out of his thoughts and continued searching along the coast.
He changed locations several times, diving underwater repeatedly, and it took him more than half an hour before he finally found a Variant Clam next to a reef.
What followed went smoothly.
Before long, the second Variant Clam also floated on its back on the sea surface.
Deng Qing straightened up, looked around, and saw the sea breeze blowing and waves surging towards the shore.
However, on this vast coastline, he was the only one busy at work.
Deng Qing had anticipated this outcome.
The difficulty in collecting the Variant Clam lies not in anything else, but in the extremely low efficiency.
Take him for example, it took him more than half an hour to find the second one.
How long would it take to find ten? And ten Variant Clam are only worth one Merit Points.
If I keep doing this, even if I'm busy from morning till night, how many Merit Points will I earn?
It's impossible to get a good ranking in the next results announcement by relying on this.
However, Deng Qing was mentally prepared for this when he first took on the task.
From finding the first Variant Clam to sending it away, he was merely testing the entire process.
Once the second Variant Clam was captured, Deng Qing decided to get into his own rhythm.
He stretched out his hand, Mystic Wasteland Baleful Blood seeped from his fingertips, transforming into a thin thread that pierced straight into the clam meat through the crack in the clam shell.
The previously quiet Variant Clam suddenly began to tremble.
Soon, a strand of dark red blood was drawn out along the blood vessel.
After that, Deng Qing focused his mind on the bracelet and selected "Receive" again.
Before long, another vulture flew in and took the Variant Clam away.
Deng Qing continued his search until the sun began to set.
Finally, after the last vulture left with the giant basket, he stepped onto the slippery rocks and walked ashore.
After a busy day, a total of seven Variant Clam were caught.
He extracted the blood from the remaining six Variant Clam, except for the first one.
Deng Qing couldn't help but shake his head; seven Variant Clam couldn't even earn a single Merit Points.
After a long day, he found a flat rock to sit on, his Qi-Blood and qi surging, and white steam rose from his body.
Suddenly, a huge commotion came from afar.
Deng Qing looked up and saw the Martial Dao Institute's dragon boat sailing towards the shore.
The bow cut through the waves, and many people stood on the deck. Most of them looked relaxed, and their laughter was carried far by the sea breeze.
Deng Qing stood up, brushed the fine sand off his clothes, and strode forward.
Before long, the dragon boat docked, and everyone disembarked.
Brother Deng!
Deng Qing turned his head, Chen Xiaotian strode over.
He was carrying a long, narrow wooden box, his face beaming with pride.
He walked closer and laughed loudly, "I saw him on the boat and thought I was mistaken, but it really is Brother Deng."
I heard you were assigned the task of collecting Variant Clam?
Deng Qing nodded.
Chen Xiaotian scoffed, "You're supposed to be at the Bone Tempering Fourth Layer, yet you're just sitting on the shore picking up clams. I really don't know what to say."
As he spoke, he lifted the wooden box in his hand, "Although I, Chen, did not enter the Great Furnace, I went to Red Reef Bay today to collect Jade Marrow Algae. I obtained ten plants, and after returning and handing them in, I will receive ten Merit Points."
As he spoke, he actually opened the wooden box, revealing several thick algae leaves.
Congratulations!
Deng Qing smiled slightly, then turned and left.
Having suppressed his anger for so long, Chen Xiaotian, who had finally managed to subdue Deng Qing, was not about to let him off easily. He shouted, "What's the use of a martial artist if they don't even have the courage to face danger? No matter how strong they are, they're useless!"
"You made it onto the Increase Ranking last time, do you really expect to do it again by picking up these clam shells on the shore?"
After dinner, Deng Qing spread out his book on Numerical Arts and continued studying the parts he had read the day before.
When encountering difficulties, he would take out paper and work out the calculations.
When he felt dizzy and lightheaded, he put down his pen and went into the Cultivation Room to continue practicing the Tiger-Subduing Fist.
After practicing his fist techniques more than thirty times, he sat down cross-legged and opened his right palm. Instantly, Mystic Wasteland Baleful Blood surged from his palm, splitting into six thin threads that unfurled.
Each thread was tinged with a layer of blood.
There were six spots of blood, some slightly brighter and some slightly darker.
Deng Qing silently activated his Blood Control Art, distinguishing the six blood samples one by one and comparing them back and forth.
As the cultivation technique was activated, wisps of chaotic energy were stripped away, and the blood on the threads gradually faded.
After a while, all six spots of blood disappeared, leaving only a faint glow where the blood vessels intersected.
After carefully sensing it, Deng Qing smiled.
He clenched his five fingers, merging the light into the Mystic Wasteland Baleful Blood, and then stored it away.
It turns out that each of these six blood streaks contains a portion of blood extracted from the Variant Clam.
The six pieces of blood came from different Variant Clam. Although their blood essences differed, they also had commonalities.
What Deng Qing did was to use Blood Control Art to gradually eliminate these differences, leaving behind their shared blood essence.
The next day, Deng Qing went to the seaside again.
He stepped onto a rock near the water, and once he stood still, he activated his Blood Control Art, and a thread of Blood Baleful Intent extended out.
The tip of this thread still carries the wisp of blood extracted yesterday.
The Blood Baleful Intent threads stretched far and wide, like a large probe, as they began to explore this sea area.
Before long, Deng Qing noticed a similar fluctuation coming from the southwest.
The Blood Baleful Intent threads immediately traveled in that direction, with Deng Qing following closely behind. They soon found a Variant Clam.
The Blood Baleful Intent threads suddenly taut, piercing through the cracks in the clam shell.
The Variant Clam trembled violently, its tentacles retracted swiftly, and its two thick shells closed tightly.
Deng Qing lifted his wrist, and the Blood Baleful Intent threads immediately tightened.
The Variant Clam, which had sunk to the bottom of the sea, was pulled up in the water and turned over, revealing its white shell.
The Variant Clam was immediately rendered powerless and slowly rose to the surface.
Deng Qing continued to release Blood Baleful Intent threads, and before he had gone far, he caught sight of the familiar blood aura again.
Deng Qing rushed over and found that the Variant Clam was hiding even deeper, with half of its body buried under a rock and its shell covered with a thick layer of mud and sand.
Deng Qing followed suit, and soon the Variant Clam also floated to the surface.
Deng Qing now seems to have a well-established production line; as long as she follows the steps, she can produce a continuous stream of products.
Several Gray-Feathered Spirit Vulture began to frequently fly over here, carrying away the Variant Clam.
At the same time, the collection records in Deng Qing's bracelet were also being added one after another.
By noon, Deng Qing had collected seventy-one Variant Clam and earned seven Merit Points.
After resting for a while, Deng Qing continued walking along the coast.
My luck was better in the afternoon than in the morning.
He found a shallow bay where there were an unusual number of Variant Clam.
By the time the sun was setting, Deng Qing had collected another 131 Variant Clam that afternoon.
Thirteen Merit Points were credited to the account.
Deng Qing was in a great mood as she watched the data on her bracelet steadily increase.
Nothing is more rewarding than this rapid accumulation of achievements.
In the following days, Deng Qing expanded the search area.
As his experience increased, he collected more and more Variant Clam each day.
That evening, Deng Qing was standing on a reef, peering into the water to Blood Baleful Intent threads, when his bracelet suddenly began to vibrate repeatedly.
He focused his mind and immediately saw a warning message stating that the miasma in the sea was about to rise again, and all personnel on missions abroad should return immediately.
Deng Qing immediately returned.
After returning to his cave, Deng Qing washed away the fishy smell from his clothes and began to check the collection records of the past few days.
The total amount obtained was more than 340 Merit Points.
Deng Qing breathed a sigh of relief, a smile spreading across his handsome face.
The Merit Points he had accumulated from shuttling between several research groups were far less than what he had gained in the past few days.
He couldn't help but think to himself that whether it's being clever or selling one's body, it's ultimately not as profitable as building an industry chain.
After sighing, he took out a book on Numerical Arts and started reading. When he got tired of reading, he continued practicing the Tiger-Subduing Fist.
Just as Deng Qing was diligently working on his practice, the aroma of medicine filled Shao Yong's cave.
On a stone table were several medicine bottles, and on the ground were piles of used rags, one of which was soaked in blood.
Shao Yong sat at the table, his left arm wrapped in thick bandages, with only half of the sleeve showing.
Huang Xie had a long, narrow wound on his cheek, which was still somewhat red and swollen despite the application of medicine.
Dai Xiaolou and Feng Lin also sustained injuries, though none were serious.
Shao Yong picked up his teacup, took a sip, and sighed, " The Desolate Soil is indeed fraught with danger. These past few days, we've really been risking our lives. It's a blessing to be able to sit here and have a cup of hot tea."
Dai Xiaolou shifted his body, causing a sharp pain in his shoulders and back. He frowned and said, "That's right. Several times, if it weren't for everyone looking out for each other, I probably wouldn't have been able to come back."
However, it wasn't a wasted effort; I earned quite a few Merit Points.
Huang Xie nodded, "That's the way to do it. Nobody gets rich without a windfall. Isn't this ten times better than joining a research group? Once the miasma dissipates, we'll have to work even harder."
Listening to the three of them chatting animatedly, only Feng Lin's face turned pale.
Dai Xiaolou looked at Feng Lin, "Brother Feng, why aren't you saying anything?"
Feng Lin said coldly, "The three of you have all had a great harvest, what do I have to say?"
My cultivation level is low; the good tasks you can handle, I cannot.
I've wasted so many days, and the little Merit Points I've gained is utterly insignificant.
Earlier, Feng Lin, like them, was at the Bone Tempering Fourth Layer.
But if you're slow on one step, you'll be slow on every step. Feng Lin had already felt the oppression of his class, and naturally he was extremely unhappy.