Equivalent Exchange

"All right, all right, I get it, Little Yanzi. Just eat this Enchanted Golden Apple."

Dugu Yan looked at Li Chen's expression, which practically said, "I know, but I'm not changing," and felt both angry and helpless.

Li Chen hadn't forgotten the real business, though: eating some immortal herbs. "Old Poison, I'm picking a few more of your immortal herbs."

"Little Monster, well, could you please pick an immortal herb for Yanyan too?" Dugu Bo had witnessed their effects last time. He wanted to choose one himself, but he didn't recognize these immortal herbs.

"Sure." Li Chen agreed immediately. He wasn't the sort to take every immortal herb someone had without leaving them a single one.

Then he brought Wine Fox to the edge of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, pointed at the infernal delicate apricot and octagonal mysterious ice grass, and said, "Eat these two at the same time, then enter the center of the spring, where the ice and fire meet."

After choosing for Wine Fox, he began looking for a suitable immortal herb for Dugu Yan. With his probing, he discovered a promising one in a dark, damp corner.

It hadn't appeared in the original story; he had only discovered and located it through Analysis. It was dark purple all over, with leaves shaped like snake scales and nine black markings winding around its roots, and it gave off a faint, cold aura.

He plucked it with his bare hands and used his Mental Power to send it straight to Dugu Yan. "This is Nine Nether Molt Grass. Just chew it up and swallow it, then slowly refine its medicinal power."

"Little Monster, you aren't picking some random weed to fool this old man, are you?"

"This is Nine Nether Molt Grass, an extremely rare dark-attribute immortal herb. After you take it, some of your soul power will turn into nether soul power. If someone with a snake-type martial soul uses it, they'll undergo a 'nether molt' every time they break through a major realm, expelling impurities and hidden injuries from their body while making their meridians more resilient and converting even more nether soul power."

After eating three Enchanted Golden Apples and rising three levels in a row, Dugu Yan had developed some initial trust in Li Chen. Following his instructions, she put the Nine Nether Molt Grass into her mouth and chewed it up.

Once Li Chen saw that Dugu Yan was absorbing it without any problems, he returned to the spot where he had picked the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew last time. He took out bone meal and began accelerating the growth of its remaining roots. With every application, it grew a little at a speed visible to the naked eye.

But immortal herbs were clearly harder to ripen than ordinary crops, so he opened the system as he worked and selected the MOD unlocked after level 70.

[Player, please select one of the following three MODs to add.]

[Equipment Stacking]: Identical armor and weapons can be stacked, up to a maximum stack of 64;

Each additional piece of armor stacked grants a percentage health bonus based on its slot and material; each additional weapon stacked adds its attack power.

[Chest Cavity]: Start with a chest opener-get top-tier organs by taking them apart! Organs from special creatures grant special abilities.

[Equivalent Exchange]: Receive 1 bound Portable Transmutation Table. Any item can be placed into the table to convert it into EMC and learn it. Spend EMC to transmute any learned item.

--

None of the MODs this time were just there to make up the numbers. The first let him stack weapons and armor, which was pretty decent.

The second was a little outrageous. What was this, a northern Myanmar simulator? Going around harvesting organs everywhere.

Then he looked at the last one. The moment he saw its name, there was no need to hesitate-he selected it instantly. Right then, he wanted to burst out laughing.

Creative mode could produce items from the base game and those added by MODs, but it couldn't produce items native to the Douluo Continent.

With the transmutation table, he had essentially unlocked unlimited resources. Any item he obtained would be as good as having an infinite supply.

Obtaining one Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone would mean having infinitely many Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones. Obtaining one immortal herb would mean having an infinite supply of that herb.

After he selected the MOD, a Portable Transmutation Table appeared in his inventory, complete with built-in enchantments.

However, the Portable Transmutation Table's enchantments were the Curse of Binding and the Curse of Vanishing. The Curse of Binding meant he could only keep the table in his inventory or his hand; he couldn't discard it.

The Curse of Vanishing meant that once he died, it would disappear completely, even if he came back to life afterward.

Li Chen took the Portable Transmutation Table out with his left hand. He wanted to see exactly how it prevented him from discarding it, so he tossed it at his feet. The instant it left his hand, the table vanished and returned to his inventory.

After that brief test of the Curse of Binding, he sold all the ore blocks, Gold Soul Coins, and other items in his inventory. Then he sold one Enchanted Golden Apple and one Totem of Undying so the Transformation Table could learn them.

His gaze then returned to the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew he was ripening. After just sixteen stacks of bone meal, a brand-new Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew had finished growing.

This was mainly because bone meal's growth acceleration actually worked through probability checks. A successful check skipped the natural growth time and advanced the plant to its next growth stage.

Dugu Bo stood nearby, leisurely stroking his beard as he watched Li Chen tinker, wondering what the boy was up to this time.

But as he watched, he stopped stroking his beard. His hand dropped, and his mouth slowly fell open.

A brand-new, fresh and vibrant Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew had grown-right before his eyes.

"This..." Dugu Bo took two steps forward and crouched for a closer look, his eyes as wide as bronze bells. He looked back at the clump of white powder in Li Chen's hand, then at the tender, lush immortal herb on the ground. After looking back and forth seven or eight times, he finally managed to squeeze out, "What did you sprinkle into the soil? A divine treasure like this should take at least ten thousand years to grow back, shouldn't it?"

"That's right. Even in a blessed place like the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, these immortal herbs need at least ten thousand years. But this stuff is called bone meal. It can directly add a year to a plant's growth cycle, and plants in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well grow ten times faster than they do outside."

After that simple explanation, he took out the transmutation table and sold the freshly picked Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew on it, then bought it back. Nothing had changed.

It was a shame he hadn't selected the MOD first, but that wasn't a big problem. Bone meal wasn't worth much anyway. At worst, he could simply ripen everything again.

However, when Li Chen used the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew for the second time, it felt little different from drinking a drop of water. The increase in his Mental Power was negligible.

Perhaps it was because his Mental Power was already too strong. Otherwise, repeated consumption of the same immortal herb might have diminishing effects.

"You really do have quite a few strange treasures on you, boy."

By now, Li Chen had decided to sell every immortal herb in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well once, starting with those he hadn't picked before.

The aromatic silk beauty granted immunity to all poisons within the range of its floral fragrance. He could use it to win over the Breaking Clan.

The eight-petal immortal orchid had gentle medicinal properties and strengthened one's foundations and vital essence. He could give one to every member of the team for this Soul Master Tournament.

The narcissus jade muscle bone nourished sinews and bones and let energy flow through the seven meridians and eight channels. He could give it to Wine Fox, and perhaps give Dugu Yan one too.

As for the cockscomb phoenix sunflower, singular velvet sky chrysanthemum, nine-grade purple ganoderma, and Blood Swan Kiss, he didn't know whom to give them to yet. He might as well give them all to Wu Yi for potion brewing.