Chapter 116: Farming Monsters in the Water Zone, Experience Soars

When creating a faction in Far Shore, there were various faction models to choose from, rather than the rigid setup found in ordinary games with only a faction leader and deputy leaders. Shushan Sword Alliance was formed by integrating multiple forces, so it was naturally impossible for one person to have complete control. They chose a faction model where the faction was co-governed by nine departments, with nine Core Members making decisions together.

As the leader of Nitian Division, the strongest among the nine departments of Shushan Sword Alliance, and also the undisputed strongest player in Far Shore, Ni Shui Han naturally became the First Core Member of Shushan Sword Alliance, implicitly recognized as the alliance leader.

However, even with Ni Shui Han’s great authority, he was far from being able to control everything or make decisions alone. He was significantly restricted by the other eight Core Members.

“Blue Chariot, that guy, is already a Core Member leading tens of thousands of people. Apart from his inherent advantage of being taken as a disciple by Drunken Taoist, the network and subordinates he accumulated from previous games were probably very important too. Otherwise, with so many second-generation elders on Emei, there were quite a few players lucky enough to be taken as disciples— certainly more than nine.”

Ye Rong muttered a couple of sentences. These matters were ultimately too far removed from him. Even though Shushan Sword Alliance would have a major and far-reaching impact on the entire Far Shore world, the more pressing matter before him now was leveling up.

After leaving Qingcheng Mountain Gate, Ye Rong flew using Sword Flight all the way, speeding like the wind straight toward Tuo River.

When he reached the bank of Tuo River, he leaped into the water without hesitation. Among the three Talisman Slots, one had to be reserved for the Water-repelling Pearl. It was also impossible to remove the leveling tool Shangqing Blessing Token, leaving only one Talisman Slot available. He had no choice but to unequip the Leigong Hammer.

After all, he rarely used a Magic Treasure like Leigong Hammer, which was like a small nuclear weapon, so equipping it or not made little difference.

Crushing a Diligence Jade Talisman in his hand, Ye Rong charged at the first monster he saw, sparing no one—be it black fish spirits or crab monsters. He slaughtered his way forward, rushing straight to a depth of over a hundred meters at the bottom of Tuo River, where large groups of Aquatic Demonic Creatures began to appear.

With Ye Rong’s current strength, as long as he didn’t provoke the most fearsome bosses in this section of the river, he could roam freely through Tuo River. He no longer needed to avoid and retreat upon encountering any powerful monsters, as he had before.

Although he lacked large-scale destructive Dao Spells, Ye Rong’s efficiency in killing monsters with dual swords was still quite fast. Fully immersing himself in the task, within half an hour, he had cleared out all the Aquatic Demonic Creatures within a radius of several hundred meters in the waters ahead.

This was the first time since becoming a Sect disciple and obtaining Dao Scrolls that Ye Rong truly set everything aside and focused solely on leveling up.

Even the Experience Distribution was set extremely firmly at 99:1, so the rate at which he gained character Level Experience was terrifyingly high. In just half an hour, he had gained nearly 100,000 Experience Points.

If it were other Players killing monsters on the river surface, even if they worked hard all afternoon, they might not even get 100,000 Experience Points.

Of course, this also included the significant boost from both the Diligence Jade Talisman and the Shangqing Blessing Token.

Especially the Shangqing Blessing Token—Ye Rong increasingly realized the unique role of this small Fourth-Rank Magic Treasure. It didn’t become useless as his Level increased; instead, it became even more important.

He estimated that the Player who had dropped the Shangqing Blessing Token was probably still crying over it.

“Should I keep farming monsters around here, or should I go closer to the Water Eye?”

The spawn rate of monsters in this section of the river could no longer keep up with Ye Rong’s killing speed, resulting in a shortage of monsters and leaving him somewhat undecided.

In every stretch of the river, there existed a Water Eye—the place where over 90% of the Aquatic Demonic Creatures in the entire area spawned. Hundreds of monsters appeared there every minute; it was simply an endless, inexhaustible supply.

Groups of Aquatic Demonic Creatures were born there and then dispersed throughout the surrounding waters. Therefore, the closer one got to the center of the Water Eye, the denser the monsters became, and the likelihood of encountering Elite Tier monsters increased at any moment.

“Kill! If I stay in a place like this killing monsters slowly, when will I ever reach Level 37 and equip the Cast Snow Sword!”

After glancing at the enticing attributes of the Cast Snow Sword lying in his Universe Pouch, Ye Rong’s heart was set ablaze, and his entire being grew excited.

He fought his way toward the Water Eye. On the way, he encountered a group of black carp spirits and casually slaughtered them, obtaining three black carp spirit bones. Checking their properties, he saw they were third-tier materials usable for forging Flying Swords.

Well, they could still be sold for a bit of money. After all, Ye Rong had recently obtained the Rainbow Waistband (Indigo), which contained 100 storage slots, providing ample space.

After advancing about three or four li into the river, Ye Rong finally encountered a group of troublesome monsters: three Tuo River lobsters.

Tuo River Lobster, common Aquatic Demonic Creature, Level 50.

These three Tuo River lobsters were hundreds of times larger than normal lobsters, covered in a thick, brown, hard shell. When Ye Rong struck them, it only produced sparks.

Moreover, these three Tuo River lobsters actually positioned themselves in a triangular formation, their large pincers nearly clamping onto Ye Rong’s Flying Sword several times, making it hard to break free.

“Damn it! After I kill these annoying Tuo River lobsters, I’m definitely going to order a bowl of spicy crayfish tonight!”

Steeling his heart, Ye Rong merged his physical body with his Flying Sword, entering the Body-Sword Unity state, and charged into the midst of the three Tuo River lobsters.

The three large lobsters that had previously left Ye Rong helpless had their pincers chopped off in just a few strikes. After a brief struggle, a black Sword Light shot through, slicing one of the Tuo River lobsters in half.

In the Body-Sword Unity state, both attack power and speed were greatly enhanced, but Ye Rong rarely used it.

Firstly, with dual swords in hand, he could usually handle ordinary situations. Secondly, the controls in the Body-Sword Unity state were completely different from normal, and the perspective seen through the Sword Light was extremely unfamiliar. It was entirely possible to make a majestic Sword Light charge only to end up clumsily striking empty air.

And the most important point was the consumption of True Qi—it was over five times that of normal Sword Flight.

“Ding! Body-Sword Unity state deactivated!”

Ye Rong exited the Body-Sword Unity state and glanced at his Qi Value. Alarmed, he quickly swallowed two pills that restored True Qi; it had almost dropped to the bottom.

Although these three Tuo River lobsters were tough to deal with, they generously dropped a Flying Sword, greatly exciting Ye Rong.

A Flying Sword—it was a Flying Sword!

Regardless of its tier, this was the first Flying Sword Ye Rong had ever obtained as a drop from ordinary monster hunting!

This pale red Flying Sword lay in the water, swaying and swimming like a lovely carp.

Red Carp Sword, third-tier Divine Weapon, attributes unappraised.

“Not bad, a third-tier Divine Weapon!”

Ye Rong stored the Red Carp Sword safely in his Universe Pouch. Although the prices of third-tier Flying Swords and Magic Treasures were still declining, the rate had slowed considerably. As for third-tier Divine Weapons like this, which could be used by both righteous and evil paths, as long as their attributes weren’t too poor, they could still fetch around five hundred each. For Ye Rong, that meant his living expenses for the better part of a month were covered.

Being blocked by these three Tuo River lobsters forced Ye Rong to halt his fierce advance. Feeling that the monsters ahead were becoming increasingly difficult to handle, he calmed down a bit and decided to stop and farm monsters right there.

Transparent Sea Snake, only as thick as a thumb, spat venomous saliva that was highly toxic, emitting a rich, sweet, and dizzying scent;

Five-colored Koi, appearing in groups of over a hundred, somehow managed to link their Strength together, forming a multicolored glow. When Flying Swords struck it, it felt like hitting chewy candy—no force was felt, and it even rebounded;

Black Carp spirits, in the deeper river waters, were a few levels higher, and the size of their groups had multiplied several times. The Elixir Qi spat out by each individual was insignificant, but when several dozen masses of Elixir Qi linked together, they actually formed a fierce and menacing giant black carp. It moved forward and backward nimbly, no different from a real large black carp monster.

…

These various Aquatic Demonic Creatures, which Ye Rong had never encountered in the shallower river waters, broadened his horizons. As his Experience Points soared, he also collected a large pile of miscellaneous equipment and materials.

Among the slightly more valuable items were three second-tier Divine Weapons—Black Carp Flying Forks—and one third-tier Divine Weapon—Black Carp Sword. This left Ye Rong wondering whether to marvel at the high drop rate of Aquatic Demonic Creatures or lament his previously poor luck.

Being able to gain such harvests while farming monsters to level up made Ye Rong even more unwilling to leave.

Checking his Universe Pouch, he saw that the remaining pills were enough for several more hours, so there was no urgent need to return for supplies.

This was one advantage of equipping the Rainbow Waistband (Indigo): he could buy all sorts of pills before setting out until he ran out of money, and just toss all the materials he obtained into it without worrying about running out of space.

Moreover, Ye Rong’s pill consumption while killing monsters was originally much lower than that of ordinary Players, so each leveling session could last longer.

“Someone? There’s actually someone else leveling in the waters over a hundred meters deep in Tuo River, just like me!”

Just as Ye Rong picked up a fish bone in front of him, he faintly saw a Sword Light pass overhead, stirring a thought in his heart.

This person clearly hadn’t noticed him and continued forward on their own, heading exactly toward the Water Eye.

“Who could this person be? Which Qingcheng Disciple is it?”

Because of the Golden Cabinet Water Manor, Ye Rong subconsciously considered Tuojiang River Basin his own territory. He paid close attention to any outsiders intruding, especially since there weren’t many Players among Qingcheng Disciples who could level freely in such a place. This piqued his great curiosity.

Stepping onto the Black Phoenix Sword, he tried to slow down as much as possible to avoid the Sword Light being too conspicuous and alerting the Player ahead.

Ye Rong quietly followed, wanting to find out who this person was and what they were doing here.

“As the Chief of Tianshu Hall, to protect Qingcheng Disciples from meeting misfortune in such a dangerous environment, I must follow and investigate. Yes, that’s exactly it, no doubt…”