Chapter 221: Harvesting Poison Treasures

“The Jade Moon Lotus Flower is also grown in the mountaintop pools high in the mountains. You can exchange points for it there, but because of the special environment, it’s slightly inferior to the Jade Moon Lake lotuses.”

Mentor Yanshan explained to the group, “Harvesting Jade Moon Lotuses in the wild carries its own dangers and difficulties. Severe cases can even endanger your life.”

“Mentor, so the Jade Moon Lotus Seeds are the seeds of the lotus?” Kong Shijin asked, “Couldn’t we just take some seeds? We can plant them ourselves later.”

Mentor Yanshan shook his head.

“Jade Moon Lotus Seeds can be processed into seeds. But planting the seeds directly is incredibly difficult. The seeds you exchange for with points at the academy are usually specially processed to make planting easier. The seeds need special treatment to become viable. Simply planting a lotus seed has a very high difficulty level.”

“Soul Plant seeds aren’t just their raw fruits or kernels. Most Soul Plant seeds undergo special processing. Otherwise, they struggle to survive normally.”

“Otherwise, Soul Plant seeds wouldn’t be so rare.”

“The seeds you get from the academy—as long as your skill level is sufficient—guarantee you can grow them successfully.”

“If you just use the raw fruit or kernel of a Soul Plant as a seed, even if your skill is high, the effort you put in will likely end in failure most of the time. Plus, the growth rate is very slow.”

Everyone understood.

After all, Soul Plants weren’t ordinary crops.

Even with ordinary crop seeds, processed ones grow more stably and healthily.

Wang Che was thinking about gathering some Jade Moon Lotus later.

They would go well with the Water Orchid to make higher-quality main food.

“Alright, we’re here.”

As the Shanyu Eagle dove rapidly, everyone landed on open ground a few hundred meters from Jade Moon Lake.

The Shanyu Eagle shrank quickly, becoming about the size of a regular animal, and flew into the air, scouting the surroundings.

For the vast majority of the students, this was definitely their first true wilderness experience.

They hadn’t had the opportunity in high school.

For Wang Che though, the wilderness felt very familiar.

To be honest, the wilderness of North River Continent felt much safer than Xiyue Continent’s wilds.

This was related to the geography.

Xiyue Continent was a border region of the warzone. Its long border was hard to defend against beast tide, and it was adjacent to other warzones.

It was easy for Ghost Disciples or rogue beasts to infiltrate.

But North River Continent was located safely inland, slightly north. It was surrounded by neighboring continents, with the Central Continent to the north. For Ghost Disciples to get here was practically impossible, far too difficult.

The only real dangers here were wild Soul Pets and hazardous Soul Lands.

That’s why just one mentor was sufficient for the school trip.

University clubs for sophomores and juniors often organized wilderness explorations for resources without mentor supervision.

Some of the more capable clubs even dared to organize expeditions into Soul Lands usually reserved for Professional Soul Contractors.

The students looked around with great excitement.

The wild scenery fascinated them.

“Did any of you explore the real wilderness before this trip?” Mentor Yanshan scanned the group, then added, “Besides Wang Che here.”

The others looked at each other.

“I went once,” Yun Feimo said, “But I was just tagging along with the team, helping out, not involved in any core activities.”

“I went too…” Shui Qingling thought for a moment, “My family organized a trip once, but we didn’t go deep. Just stayed on the outskirts for a picnic and fed some wild Soul Pets.”

Besides these two, none of the others had gone.

True wilderness referred to the areas beyond the buffer zone surrounding city boundaries.

Cities usually had a ring of semi-wild suburban land similar to wilderness; many tourist attractions were developed there.

Mentor Yanshan smiled knowingly. He didn’t correct them, but these students’ experiences were likely in those controlled city outskirts, not truly wild areas.

He led the students further, explaining various aspects of the true wilderness.

Soon, they reached the vicinity of Jade Moon Lake.

As they approached, Wang Che could feel an incredibly dense concentration of water-element life energy.

‘The wilderness environment here in North River Continent is better than back in Xiyue.’

Wang Che mused.

Inland development meant peaceful growth, free from external threats.

No wonder it nurtured such excellent Soul Plants.

“Look! A koi!” a student shouted, pointing at a fish leaping high out of the water.

It was a white-gold fish, somewhat resembling a carp. It wasn’t very large, only about twenty or thirty centimeters.

It looked exceptionally beautiful…

But that was pretty much all it had.

It was a highly ornamental Soul Pet, with a Racial Potential barely over a hundred.

Only slightly higher than a Green Caterpillar’s.

But a Green Caterpillar could evolve into a Green Phantom Butterfly.

Evolving the Koi was like scaling a sheer cliff.

Similar to the near-impossible evolution condition of a Green-Spotted Bird into a Glazed Azure Luan. They were incredibly hard to achieve.

“That’s actually a juvenile White Jade Dragon, not just any koi,” Wang Che said with a smile.

Everyone burst out laughing.

Throughout the Federation’s warzones, everyone knew Koi could theoretically evolve into White Jade Dragons.

But the specific evolutionary conditions remained notoriously vague.

Perhaps research into its requirements was underway at the forefront of Soul Pet studies in some continents.

But the knowledge wasn’t likely to be made public.

Leaping from an ornamental koi directly to a Monarch Rank Dragon-type Soul Pet was too extreme a transformation.

The potential value was enormous. If a reliable evolution method were truly discovered, it would be very dangerous.

“It’s fun to see. You might even want to raise one,” Mentor Yanshan chuckled. “Maybe it’ll evolve someday?”

The group laughed along with him.

“Alright, now we’ll attempt to harvest the Toxic Treasures on the lotus leaves. Be careful—don’t get close to the Melon Toxic Frogs. Those crystals aren’t particularly useful to them, but since they are discharged substances, the frogs collect them and dislike when others take them.”

“So, it’s best to retrieve the Toxic Treasures as silently as possible. If discovered, the Melon Toxic Frogs will attack immediately, causing trouble.”

“Harvesting this material is quite tricky. The assignment today is simple: each of you just needs to collect one Toxic Treasure. If that proves impossible, gather nearby vegetation instead. You can also attempt harvesting a Jade Moon Lotus itself if you feel confident, but that’s far harder. Taking the lotus will provoke an attack from the frogs.”

Everyone understood this.

Melon Toxic Frogs usually rested on the broad leaves of the Jade Moon Lotus.

If you took its bed away, of course the frog would lash out.

“The Water Spirit Soul Pets in the water are mostly gentle by nature.”

Mentor Yanshan continued, “Generally, as long as you don’t make too much noise, they won’t randomly attack humans.”

Everyone understood that.

Activity classes had a strong sense of freedom.

Jade Moon Lake was also very large.

The Shanyu Eagle circled in the sky, watching every student’s movements.

So they were not afraid of students going astray.

“Need to collect one? That feels so hard!”

Kong Shijin looked at the nearest Jade Moon Lotus leaf, where two Melon Toxic Frogs were taking a nap. Behind them sat a round, palm-sized, light green crystal—the Toxic Treasure.

Even the closest one was at least seventy or eighty meters away.

“Don’t you have a Sky Element Soul Pet?”

Yun Feimo said, “And the Exquisite Owl isn’t afraid of water. Just fly over and give it a try.”

“Not afraid of water, but afraid of poison!”

Kong Shijin spread his hands, “Plant-Type Soul Pets are very afraid of poison, and those two Melon Toxic Frogs are probably quite strong. Their Soul Power Cultivation, I guess, is around five or six hundred years.”

“It should be pretty hard to avoid disturbing the Melon Toxic Frogs.”

“Then isn’t my Rock Spear Crab even more difficult?” Yun Feimo said helplessly, “Rock Spear Crab is most afraid of water.”

“? Why would a crab be afraid of water?” a student laughed, “Maybe it’s a fake crab.”

“Rock Spear Crab doesn’t live in water; it lives in the mountains… hilarious.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier with a Water Spirit Soul Pet?”

There were quite a few Water Spirit Soul Pets in the class.

Shui Qingling decided to give it a try.

She released her Water Fairy. As a Water Spirit Soul Pet, it felt right at home in this environment.

“Water Fairy, get close and bring back the crystal on the lotus leaf…”

Shui Qingling said.

The Water Fairy gave a light leap and dove into the lake water, not even splashing a drop.

It seemed to blend right into the water.

Then it slowly approached…

But at a distance of twenty meters, the two Melon Toxic Frogs suddenly woke up.

They stared warily at the Water Fairy in the water.

“Ribbit!”

They let out a warning cry.

“I was careless,” Shui Qingling sighed. “Melon Toxic Frogs are also Water-type Soul Pets. They’re very aware of movements in the water.”

“So that means Water-type Soul Pets are even less suitable?”

“Seems like it…”

“Then how do we do it?”

The students were stumped.

Mentor Yanshan, who had finished his introduction, stood by watching leisurely.

The mentor leads you to the door; the rest is up to you.

University mentors are not like high school teachers, who force-feed knowledge into your mouth.

Instead, they let you freely develop, think and try, or work in teams to gain experience. They only step in when there’s danger.

He had said all he needed to say.

“Student Wang, what do you think?” Shui Qingling looked at Wang Che.

“Not hard,” Wang Che said. “Just make good use of Soul Skills and Martial Souls.”

“Brother Wang, teach me!” Kong Shijin clasped his fists.

“Kong Shijin, you’re not good at Soul Pet battles, but you can use Martial Souls and Soul Pets,” Wang Che said. “Materialize an Iron Vine Grass. Tie one end to the Exquisite Owl’s foot and make a special knot at the other end. Have the Exquisite Owl fly over and loop the knot around the Toxic Treasure.”

“Even if the Melon Toxic Frogs wake up, your Exquisite Owl won’t be affected at all.”

This was simply combining Martial Souls and Soul Pets.

Hearing this, Kong Shijin’s eyes lit up.

He wasn’t good at Soul Pet battles and had no idea how to use Martial Souls and Soul Pets.

Moreover, he had only awakened his Martial Soul a little over a month ago.

University learning, besides one’s major, researching and developing the uses of Martial Souls was also a top priority.

Otherwise, there wouldn’t be a Martial Soul discipline.

In fact, Wang Che guessed that the purpose of this activity was to teach students how to use Martial Souls and Soul Pets for survival in the wild.

Kong Shijin immediately went to try it.

After about four or five attempts, taking over half an hour, and under everyone’s watchful eyes, he actually retrieved a Toxic Treasure.

“Wow! It really works!” Kong Shijin laughed heartily, looking at the Toxic Treasure in his hand.

In its crystalline form, the Toxic Treasure wasn’t poisonous; it only became toxic when shattered and used.

Everyone understood.

Inspired by this, they began thinking about how to combine their own Martial Souls and Soul Pets, and soon they were excitedly trying out their ideas.

In less than an hour, several students successfully obtained a Toxic Treasure.

Wang Che wasn’t in a hurry; getting a Toxic Treasure was too easy for him.

He first wandered around, picking up many water-grown crops.

During this, a Koi almost jumped onto Wang Che’s face… but he flicked it away with a finger.

Wang Che didn’t want to raise a White Jade Dragon.

One Little Caterpillar was enough.

“Student Wang, my Martial Soul is a shield and my Soul Pet is Rock Spear Crab. I’ve been thinking for a long time and can’t figure out how to get a Toxic Treasure…”

Yun Feimo came over to humbly seek advice.

Wang Che asked, “Can Rock Spear Crab use the Spear Toss Soul Skill?”

“Yes.”

The Spear Toss Soul Skill was a basic Soul Skill; any Soul Pet with a weapon could learn it.

Soul Pets with weapons had great potential.

Because these weapons would grow with them, becoming stronger as they evolved.

After a thousand years, they could learn various powerful spear technique Soul Skills.

Spear Toss was a basic move, but with limitless potential.

After a thousand years, this move could advance to “Spear Thrust Like a Dragon.”

It was a spear technique Soul Skill with high damage against Dragon-type Soul Pets.

“After materializing your shield, aim at those lotus leaves and throw the shield out,” Wang Che said. “Then have Rock Spear Crab jump onto it. When it’s above the lotus leaf, use the Spear Toss Soul Skill to flip the Toxic Treasure with the spear tip. You just need to catch it here.”

“Then have Rock Spear Crab jump back from the shield, and cancel the Martial Soul.”

Yun Feimo thought it over and suddenly understood.

This move was actually quite difficult; the process was crucial.

But the act of collecting itself was also a form of training for both Soul Pets and Martial Souls.

It required the Soul Pact Master and the Soul Pet to be very coordinated; otherwise, mistakes would happen.

Yun Feimo immediately went to try.

For his classmates’ questions, Wang Che gave advice whenever he could.

With his knowledge, any Martial Soul and Soul Pet could be combined and used effectively.

So, collecting Toxic Treasures seemed difficult, but in reality, it relied on combining Martial Souls and Soul Pets. Once you got the hang of it, it wasn’t hard at all.

This earned Wang Che genuine admiration from many students.

Not long after.

With Wang Che’s guidance, on Yun Feimo’s sixteenth attempt, Rock Spear Crab successfully used the Spear Toss Soul Skill to quietly flip back a Toxic Treasure.

The water-blue Toxic Treasure followed a parabolic path, about to fall beside Yun Feimo.

But just then, a Life-Gambling Bee shot over and snatched the Toxic Treasure away…