Chapter 152: High-Grade Sandalwood Attracts Monsters

“I have a rare treasure, the Soul Attracting Incense, which can draw monsters below Level 50 from within a ten-mile radius to gather here. Why don’t we cooperate? I only need to kill the Inkfish Spirit, and you can handle all the other Aquatic Demonic Creatures.”

Feng Qing Yundan took out a stick of sandalwood incense as thick as a finger. Even before it was lit, a refreshing, unusual fragrance spread through the air.

Soul Attracting Incense, a high-grade sandalwood incense—once lit, it holds an endless attraction for monsters below Level 50. They rush over in droves, effective within a ten-mile radius and lasts for ten minutes.

“There’s actually such a good thing!”

Ye Rong exclaimed in surprise. If used well, this Soul Attracting Incense wasn’t just an excellent aid for grinding monsters regularly; it could also play an unexpected role in certain situations. For instance, if you wanted to deal with a boss, but it had a large number of minions guarding it, getting close enough to attack it would come at a great cost. At such a time, a single stick of Soul Attracting Incense could easily draw away a large number of annoying lesser monsters, allowing a smooth execution of a decapitation plan.

It was just a pity that the Soul Attracting Incense only worked on monsters below Level 50. If its effect were a bit stronger, its range of use would be much broader.

If it were effective for creatures just 10 levels higher, Ye Rong would definitely swallow his pride and ask Feng Qing Yundan for a couple of sticks—the utility would be enormous.

He supposed that such incense had gradually become somewhat useless for players at their level, which was why Feng Qing Yundan was willing to use it to quickly gather monsters, just to finish his task a bit faster.

“You probably haven’t been to the Mountain God Temple in the main city. Unlike the one in the Starter Village, these mountain gods possess greater magical power. After offering incense money, you can receive a task. Completing it rewards you with one stick of high-grade sandalwood incense, though the type varies.”

Feng Qing Yundan had a whole handful of Soul Attracting Incense, at least a dozen sticks in total—it seemed he had accumulated them by doing such quests for a long time.

“Soul Attracting Incense is relatively rare. More common types include the Disorienting Incense, which, when lit, can cause monsters below Level 50 to faint, but they wake up immediately if attacked; and the Soul Suppressing Incense, which, when lit, intimidates monsters below Level 50, reducing their strength by ten percent…”

There turned out to be seven or eight types of such high-grade sandalwood incense, each with its own clever use. However, the Mountain God Temple tasks weren’t easy—the difficulty wasn’t high, but they were extremely tedious, so not many players were willing to take them on.

“Good. With a rare treasure like the Soul Attracting Incense, I imagine your task won’t take long to complete, and I’ll benefit from some Experience Points as well.”

Ye Rong happily agreed. This matter benefited both sides: he could quickly gain Experience Points, and Feng Qing Yundan needed someone strong enough to clear out all the monsters except the Inkfish Spirit, so he could focus entirely on his target.

He had to whittle the Inkfish Spirit down to a sliver of health without letting it die, then finish it off with a final strike from the Dry Flame Sword Embryo.

This job was quite challenging, placing high demands on the player’s skills, mainly because the Dry Flame Sword Embryo’s attack power was extremely low—so low that even with just a sliver of health left, it would take three to five strikes to finish the creature off.

If a regular attack missed even one hit, switching to the Dry Flame Sword Embryo might require dozens more strikes to achieve the same effect.

The two charged into the Black Water River, choosing a quiet, uninhabited stretch of waterway. Feng Qing Yundan lit a stick of Soul Attracting Incense, and tendrils of white smoke rose, forming shapes of fierce beasts like dragons, lions, tigers, and leopards in the air—one cloud-like beast after another.

Within just two or three minutes, countless Aquatic Demonic Creatures could be seen charging toward them from all directions as if pumped with adrenaline.

This scene was truly like standing at a Water Eye in the Tuo River, where the number of monsters spawning every moment was massive.

“Great!”

Instead of being alarmed, Ye Rong was delighted. His previously interrupted monster-grinding leveling plan could now continue.

He fully activated the Hundred Poison Cold Light Barrier, and a mass of Xuan Cai Yunxia rapidly expanded, covering dozens of yards of water. The first wave of Aquatic Demonic Creatures, caught in his barrier, instantly froze in place. A frosty glint flashed over their bodies, and they all turned into frozen chunks of bloody ice.

It was only when more Aquatic Demonic Creatures charged in, their numbers doubling, that Ye Rong felt the Hundred Poison Cold Light Barrier was beginning to struggle, so he retracted it.

Just from that brief encounter, he gained sixty to seventy thousand Experience Points, and a white light flashed over him—he had finally leveled up.

While Ye Rong was using the Hundred Poison Cold Light Barrier, he spotted Inkfish Spirities. He deliberately contracted the Xuan Cai Yunxia to let them through, so Feng Qing Yundan could take them down.

“It’s a pity this Hundred Poison Cold Light Barrier is only a Fifth-Rank Magical Treasure. If it were Seventh-Rank, it could probably withstand killing all these Aquatic Demonic Creatures without any pressure.”

Muttering to himself softly, Ye Rong felt his desire to upgrade the Hundred Poison Cold Light Barrier grow stronger. Regardless of the difficulty, this Magic Treasure at least indicated a clear path for advancement.

The method to upgrade it to a Ninth-Rank Hundred Poison Cold Light Barrier was clearly marked and annotated.

After learning the Hundred Poison True Scripture, Ye Rong understood this thoroughly. Even if he wasn’t a disciple of Baiman, he could still accomplish it.

He guessed that Ghost-devouring Taoist, the Eldest Senior Brother of Baiman, was probably crying after returning home. Something like the Hundred Poison True Scripture wasn’t something just any Player could obtain; it was precious even for someone of his status.

Still, it was fortunate that his Seventh-Rank Hundred Venoms Asura Banner wasn’t dropped. Ye Rong was deeply impressed by its comprehensive effects and strong defensive power, and he coveted it greatly. If Long-Legged Lady hadn’t suddenly struck with a Divine Thunder at that time, he wouldn’t have been able to stop him from leaving.

He compressed the Xuan Cai Yunxia into a tight cluster, protecting himself closely all around. He didn’t need to worry about Feng Qing Yundan’s safety—the guy surely had ways to deal with being surrounded by these monsters. After all, these were just ordinary monsters below Level 50; posing a threat to true powerhouses like them was already quite difficult.

Feng Qing Yundan didn’t even use his Flying Sword to attack. With a sweep of his nine Great Kun Wind Banners, an Inkfish Spirit was killed inside, not even a bone fragment left—each Great Kun Wind Banner increased flying speed by 45; all nine combined added up to a 405 flying speed bonus.

After gaining some experience, he adjusted his strength, but this time he was too cautious. The Inkfish Spirit was only severely injured and could still struggle. The Dry Flame Sword Embryo had to strike over ten times before it finally killed the creature.

After several such failed attempts, Feng Qing Yundan finally got the hang of it, becoming more and more efficient, with significantly fewer mistakes.

“At this pace, I estimate it will take less than a day to meet the task requirement of 999 Inkfish Spirits.”

Feng Qing Yundan calculated silently in his heart. He was very satisfied with this efficiency, thanks largely to Ye Rong’s help. Otherwise, dealing with the other Aquatic Demonic Creatures alone would have given him a headache; he wouldn’t even be able to distinguish when to hold back to avoid killing Inkfish Spirits mixed in with the others.

“Yijian Kurong’s swordsmanship is terrifyingly good. He can still handle it with ease even in such an environment, without accidentally injuring a single Inkfish Spirit, letting each one pass through.”

In just a short while, Feng Qing Yundan was utterly shocked. He had seen masters with exceptional swordsmanship before, but none reached Yijian Kurong’s level. In the Ancient Tomb, he hadn’t observed it so closely, and the main focus had been on the spell Water Flows Ever Eastward. Only by observing closely this time did he notice the subtleties and extraordinary skill.

His own sword control was just average; he had little talent in the Flying Sword aspect, so he simply focused on Magic Treasures. For his personal Flying Sword, he only required that it be fast enough.

This kind of Player, who nearly abandons the Flying Sword to specialize in Magic Treasures, isn’t very common, mainly because there are many disadvantages early on, making it hard to gain an upper hand against regular Players’ Flying Swords.

Only later, when Levels were higher, Players gained more Talisman Slots, and had enough True Qi to activate these Magic Treasures, do Magic Treasure-focused Players really shine and stand out—of course, the prerequisite is that you have enough Magic Treasures, and they’re good enough.

“Such divine swordsmanship probably only a few of the most famous faction leaders in legends possess. Before Blood Colored Poppy introduced him, I’d never heard of Yijian Kurong. Could he be an alternate account of some big shot?”

Initially, Feng Qing Yundan had regarded Yijian Kurong differently because of his status as the Qingcheng Top Disciple and his outstanding strength.

But after witnessing his exceptional swordsmanship, he couldn’t help but have other thoughts.

“It seems my earlier estimation of this person was too low. It’s far more than just becoming a leader of a Qingcheng faction; he might even create a Faction and unify the Qingcheng Player forces, truly becoming a top-tier figure in the Far Shore, possessing both strength and power.

…

The Soul Attracting Incense lasted a full ten minutes. During the time it burned, the number of Aquatic Demonic Creatures drawn in was well over a thousand.

This was still because they were in the Black Water River. If they were in the Tuojiang River Basin, that number could easily multiply several times over.

After the Soul Attracting Incense burned out, some of the peripheral Aquatic Demonic Creatures gradually dispersed, but many more still encircled the two, launching frenzied attacks. The effect of the Soul Attracting Incense was truly terrifying.

“Ninety-four Inkfish Spirits in total. At this rate, doing this about ten more times will do it!”

After they killed all the attracted Aquatic Demonic Creatures, Feng Qing Yundan took out the Dry Flame Sword Embryo to check, and joy was evident on his face.

This progress clearly exceeded his expectations. Each step brought him closer to the Sixth-Rank Flying Sword, the Dry Flame Blazing Sword—how could he not be excited?

“Who’s there? How dare you steal monsters in the Great River Gang’s territory!”

Just as Ye Rong was about to say something, a fierce shout traveled from afar, accompanied by turbulent water, as a pair of savage-looking Players charged toward them.