Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures in the Inner Valley

Because Lin Yi's Qi-Blood was limited—currently only a little over 36 points—he could only fully execute three forms of the Blazing Sun Saber Technique. Therefore, when facing Eighth Rank Corpse Fiends, he tried not to use it. Only when he encountered Ninth Rank Corpse Fiends would he use the Blazing Sun Saber Technique.

From beginning to end, however, Lin Yi kept more than half of his Qi-Blood in reserve in case of emergencies.

Just like that, after roughly two or three hours, with Gu Chenghu absent, Lin Yi completely relied on his own strength for the first time to hunt four Corpse Fiends, one of which was a Ninth Rank Corpse Fiend.

In total, these Corpse Fiends dropped two White Quality Corpse Oil Blocks and three Green Materials.

The three Green Materials were two Corpse Fiend Leg Bones and one Corpse Fiend Arm.

At present, aside from Corpse Fiend heads, the materials Lin Yi had obtained in his backpack were enough to piece together two or three Corpse Fiends.

Of course, half the materials in his backpack belonged to Gu Chenghu, so they were not entirely his.

Even so, he would still receive more than twenty Green Quality bones and several hundred White Corpse Oil Blocks.

Lin Yi did not know what Corpse Fiend bones could be used for, but they were Green Quality materials. Exchanging these twenty-odd bones for a few Spirit Artifacts should not be a problem, right?

Lin Yi had long had his eye on the Dragon Roar Saber in Gu Chenghu's hands. He had tried that saber before, and it felt far better than the Gleaming Silver Saber. Moreover, simply holding it increased his Strength attribute by 10 points.

Once he replaced all his equipment with a full set of Spirit Artifact equipment, dealing with Level 10 Corpse Fiends should no longer be difficult. At that point, he would be evenly matched against Gu Chenghu in battle.

Seeing that it was about time, Lin Yi prepared to return to the small mountain valley to rest and log off.

Since daily online time was limited to six hours, he usually played for three hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon.

However, just as Lin Yi turned back, he discovered that several Corpse Fiends, which had originally been difficult to find, suddenly crawled out from underground one after another.

These Corpse Fiends were all Level 7 or Level 8. Even when they were close to Lin Yi and caught his scent, they did not attack him.

Instead, they hurried toward the eastern side of the valley, as though something there was drawing them in.

Lin Yi initially paid this no mind, but after seeing five or six Corpse Fiends in a row behave this way, his curiosity was piqued, and he decided to move closer for a look.

After all, with the Strange Stone's White Mist ability, Lin Yi could attack if he advanced and flee if he retreated.

As he walked, Lin Yi thought, Could the Corpse Monster King be calling its underlings together? But I didn't hear any Corpse Fiend roars. Could Corpse Fiends communicate through telepathy?

At that moment, Lin Yi smelled a rotten odor permeating the woods. It differed from the stench emitted by Corpse Fiends, smelling more like the decay of some withered tree.

Suddenly, Lin Yi stopped.

On the small hill ahead of him, Corpse Fiends were packed densely together, numbering more than three hundred.

Judging by their sizes, the Corpse Fiends here were basically all above Level 7, with quite a few Level 8 and Ninth Rank Corpse Fiends among them. As for the Corpse Monster King, Lin Yi had yet to see it.

Even so, the sight of over three hundred horrifying Corpse Fiends was enough to scare an ordinary person senseless.

Lin Yi noticed that in the middle of the Corpse Fiend horde stood a lone tree, extremely conspicuous, about ten-odd meters tall.

Its branches and leaves were brownish green, and hidden amid the dense foliage were many milky white fruits shaped like tiny babies.

The rotten smell in the woods was emitted by these Milky White Fruits.

"Could it be that some Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures have matured?"

Lin Yi suddenly recalled what Gu Chenghu had mentioned before.

He had said that there were many rare Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures in the Wilderness. Once they matured, they would attract nearby Ghost Spirits and Monsters.

For example, the Shaohong Fruit Lin Yi had once discovered in the village was one kind of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.

Of course, Shaohong Fruits were among the most common kinds and were not particularly attractive to living creatures. Otherwise, Lin Yi would never have had the chance to pick them; the cats and dogs in the village would have eaten them long ago.

But these Milky White Fruits had drawn every Corpse Fiend within several miles. Their quality could not be low, could it?

They were probably Blue Quality fruits or even higher!

Lin Yi's heart itched at the thought. Even if fruits of this quality were useless to him, they could still be traded for enormous resources.

Now that he had the ability to control White Mist, Lin Yi felt that he should have a chance to take the risk and give it a try.

But he could not rush. He had to wait until the Milky White Fruits were close to ripening before making his move.

At this time, in the small mountain valley, Dugu Feng and the others were already panting from exhaustion.

After luring monsters, killing monsters, luring monsters, and killing monsters seven or eight times in a row, even though their Constitutions now far surpassed those of ordinary people, they could barely endure it.

Fortunately, they had done well today. Aside from each receiving seventy or eighty experience points, they had also divided up quite a few White Corpse Oil Blocks.

Only the Green Materials they obtained had to be handed over to Old Fourth Gu. Old Fourth Gu would then exchange them at the village Treasure Vault for growth resources suitable for them. In any case, they would not lose out in the exchange.

However, seeing that Lin Yi had not returned yet, Dugu Feng and the others felt somewhat disappointed, because they wanted to see Lin Yi's strength.

They truly could not understand how Lin Yi dared to venture so deep into the valley alone. Could he really possess combat strength close to Level 10?

But after resting and waiting for a while without seeing Lin Yi, they logged off one after another.

When Gu Chenghu saw that Lin Yi had not returned at the agreed time, he knew Lin Yi had probably encountered some special situation. Still, he was not worried about Lin Yi's safety.

After all, even if he ran into a group of Corpse Fiends, Lin Yi could safely escape by controlling White Mist.

Yet after waiting for a while, Gu Chenghu still felt uneasy and headed in the direction Lin Yi had gone.

Lin Yi had no idea Gu Chenghu was coming to look for him.

As time slowly passed, he lay hidden in the bushes near the brownish-green strange tree for more than an hour. During that time, he continuously saw Corpse Fiends pouring in from all directions.

There were now more than five hundred Corpse Fiends gathered beneath the tree, packed together like a scene of zombies converging among the living dead.

But judging by their sizes, there was no Level 10 Corpse Monster King among them. The highest-ranking ones were only Ninth Rank Corpse Fiends.

At this moment, the rotten smell in the air grew increasingly intense, while the Milky White Fruits on the brown tree became more and more lustrous.

It seemed the Milky White Fruits were about to ripen!

Perhaps stirred by the fruits' scent, the Corpse Fiend horde beneath the tree began to grow restless. Some Corpse Fiends even bit and fought each other to seize positions closer to the front.

The sight left Lin Yi amazed. It seemed that as long as the temptation was great enough, even mindless monsters like Corpse Fiends, which acted solely on instinct, would fight among themselves.

He could not wait any longer. Lin Yi feared that if he delayed, he truly would not get a share. He prepared to make his move.

Lin Yi then connected with the Strange Stone near his heart. A mass of White Mist surged from the Strange Stone and enveloped his entire body.

Next, the White Mist slowly began to move toward the Corpse Fiend horde.

To Corpse Fiends, anything without the Qi-Blood of a living creature was merely a dead object.

Thus, in their eyes, Lin Yi, shrouded in White Mist, was simply a moving cloud with no threat whatsoever.

However, the cold aura emitted by the White Mist made them faintly uncomfortable. As Lin Yi approached, gaps began to open in the Corpse Fiend horde, and they moved away from the mass of mist.

Lin Yi slowly advanced through the gaps, but he did not dare move too quickly.

If he accidentally revealed the Qi-Blood of a living person, he feared the Corpse Fiends would rush him and tear him to pieces in an instant.

From a bird's-eye view, amid the Corpse Fiend horde filled with heads, a white, mist-like object weaved from side to side as it slowly moved forward.

In just a few minutes, Lin Yi covered several hundred meters and reached the middle of the Corpse Fiend horde.

The Corpse Fiends here were even more densely packed, leaving few gaps between one another to pass through.

At that moment, a Level 7 Corpse Fiend directly blocked Lin Yi's path. Lin Yi waited for a while, but seeing that the Corpse Fiend remained oblivious and kept swaying its head around, he lost patience.

He immediately expanded the range of the White Mist slightly, then kicked out.

Thud!

That kick sent the Level 7 Corpse Fiend flying in a dog-paddling pose before it crashed heavily more than three meters away.

The next moment, the Level 7 Corpse Fiend angrily climbed to its feet. It glanced at the mass of White Mist and froze.

Then it swept its gaze around and found that every nearby Corpse Fiend was bigger than it was. It could not beat a single one of them.

With no other choice, it finally fixed its gaze on a distant Level 7 Corpse Fiend and charged at it.

"Roar! So you were the one who kicked me..."

The other Level 7 Corpse Fiend was completely baffled. What the hell? I'm so far away from you...

The two Level 7 Corpse Fiends quickly began fighting. Their actions stirred up the nearby horde, and Lin Yi took the opportunity to advance rapidly.

After all, controlling White Mist consumed a great deal of Spirit Power. Within the limited time he had, he needed to pick the Milky White Fruits as quickly as possible.