"Achoo!" Jiang Yuan, who was listening in all directions and watching everything, was threading his way through the jungle when he suddenly sneezed. He thought, in the wilderness, who would be thinking about me?
Could it be that the spring night breeze was a bit chilly, and he got blown by the wind?
Thinking of this, he looked down at his clothes, pondering that he should quickly establish a Floating Market where he could buy and sell goods, so money could flow, and he could get some decent clothes, shoes, and socks. The coarse clothes and simple straw sandals were really uncomfortable.
Fortunately, he didn't have to walk the night path for too long. Following the map's directions, after walking out of the jungle, a meadow lay before him, with a Crescent Lake not far away. Just as he emerged from the bush, a cloud drifted past, revealing the star-studded sky and a radiant moon, illuminating the meadow and Crescent Lake dotted with unknown wildflowers, presenting an idyllic and serene Immortal Realm.
Fireflies danced over the meadow as the clear, crisp chirping of insects was soothing and melodious. The snowcaps on the distant treacherous peaks shimmered under the brilliant moon and stars.
Jiang Yuan searched again but found no screenshot function, feeling rather regrettable. What a beautiful scene!
If only he could take a picture for memento. Once spring passed and the wilderness arrived, the environment would change, and he might never see this dreamlike Crescent Lake again.
"Coo, coo~"
As he was marveling at the scenery, suddenly a sound like a dove's call came from ahead. Following the sound, Jiang Yuan was delighted—a Moon Pearl Bird!
No wonder it's the small creature needed for a newbie task, it showed itself clearly.
About three meters away from him, two Moon Pearl Birds were nestled together. Their patterns blended with the grass in the night, making them hard to spot if not for their cooing.
Jiang Yuan instinctively held his breath and moved forward lightly.
He wanted to try out his newly learned skill, Heaven-Burning Flame. Having seen the Mouse King's fire-spitting power, he was curious how effective it would be for himself.
Stealthily, he closed the distance, feeling that the Moon Pearl Birds were within his attack range, and activated his skill with a thought.
"Boom!"
A bright flame shot out from his right hand, feeling as if something inside his body had been directly drawn out. Where his palm pointed, the two Moon Pearl Birds were burned by the sudden fire, cooing as they flapped their wings and fled in haste.
"Oh, so the fire doesn't come from the mouth, huh? Flicking the flame out feels a bit less impressive." Jiang Yuan thought he could cosplay as a fire-spitting superhero, but it wasn't what he imagined.
The skill was now on cooldown. He sighed, picked up his jujube wood stick, and hurriedly chased after them, dealing with the small creatures with two swings each as they hadn't run far.
[Moonlight Pearl +1]
"Sigh, a Level 0 skill that can only last half a second, it has no killing power." Looking at the barely noticeable progress on his skill experience bar, Jiang Yuan pouted helplessly, "A skill with a ten-minute cooldown, how long will it take to level up?"
Oh well, take it slow.
First, use the stick to fight the creatures, and as soon as the cooldown is over, release the skill, aiming to level up sooner and learn the cool, high-damage move that the Mouse King used to escape.
The number of Moon Pearl Birds inhabiting the meadow was quite large. After acquiring his first loot, Jiang Yuan was filled with confidence and picked a new target, approaching another small creature nearby.
"Coo!"
Perhaps the disturbance from casting the flame earlier was too loud, this particular Moon Pearl Bird was highly vigilant, issuing a warning call and twisting its neck to spread its wings. Jiang Yuan only saw the bird open its beak, and then he was completely dumbfounded.
An even brighter light than lightning dazzled him to the point of dizziness. Even with his jujube wood stick for support, it was useless, and with a thud, he fell to the ground. Jiang Yuan was instantly reminded of spinning around in circles senselessly as a child, feeling so dizzy afterward he couldn't even vomit, with his head buzzing and stars swimming before his eyes.
Though stunned and controlled, his mind wasn't muddled, fearing a sneak attack from the Moon Pearl Bird. Even though he was too dizzy to figure out up from down, he swung his right hand holding the stick around, flailing his left hand aimlessly, ensuring at least to protect his face.
In his panic, the stick seemed to hit something, and amidst the chaotic coos, the noise soon ceased.
Over a minute later, he finally recovered from the stunned state, breathing heavily as he opened his eyes, discovering his stick had served him well, scaring the Moon Pearl Birds, whose combat power wasn't high, out of his attack range. Seeing him wake up, they again cooed disorderly, preparing to spread their wings.
He knew this move quite well!
Jiang Yuan closed his eyes, turned around, and backhanded the stick towards the last known location of the Moon Pearl Birds.
"Underestimating it! These creatures are evidently stronger and smarter than wooden bats." After a burst of birds flew and Jiang Yuan jumped, in the ensuing chaos, he killed a few more Moon Pearl Birds and gained another Moonlight Pearl. The smart birds, realizing they were no match, retreated in groups of threes and fives into the dense forest, disappearing without a trace.
Only then did he have time to rub his eyes to adapt to the light, relieved to find his eyesight wasn't damaged.
The moment he was blinded, the world seemed all white, and coupled with dizziness, he was genuinely worried about becoming truly blind—a huge potential headache!
The system had warned that little creatures could emit intense light causing dizziness; clearly, his vigilance hadn't been high enough, nearly capsizing his little boat in the gutter.
Luckily, the Moon Pearl Birds were low-level small creatures meant for newbies, with low attack power; if they had gathered to attack while he was stunned, clawing and pecking for over a minute without full self-protection, he would've been in real trouble.
Learning from mistakes, exercise utmost caution in all endeavors to ensure personal safety.
After a chaotic battle, both sides were somewhat on edge, maintaining a safe distance. Jiang Yuan sat on the grass to catch his breath, thinking about how to efficiently fight the creatures, when his gaze landed on a distinctly different plant amid the flowering grasses, instantly capturing his attention.
[Star Spirit Flower +1]
[Common Spirit Plant, prefers growing near water. It has mild medicinal properties for detoxification, can be used in the Alchemy Room for Elixir crafting]
Casually pulling out this star-shaped white-flowered plant, the system immediately provided a hint.
"A herb for Alchemy? This is valuable!" He hurriedly stored it in the Storage Bag, while also plucking various other flowers and plants around, hoping to find more Spirit Plants.
[Ningxin Grass +1]
[Purple Gold Lotus +2]
...
Taking advantage of the sporadic bright moonlight and momentary safety, he found three types of Spirit Plants suitable for Elixir crafting in the grass.
Being a seasoned player in farming games, Jiang Yuan was well aware of the typical grind: gather low-level items in large quantities in the early stages to make later tasks more convenient and efficient, instead of spending time later running around for a few herbs.
Having discovered new maps and materials, he planned to utilize the slack in early tasks to gather as much as he could!
Carrying his jujube wood stick, constantly on guard for Moon Pearl Bird ambushes, Jiang Yuan looked for opportunities to stealthily attack creatures while picking herbs.
In reality, he had always been the obedient good student who never fought, but with theoretical battle experience from gaming, he figured out, after being dazzled a few times, that before a Moon Pearl Bird used its skill, it would spread its wings to make itself appear larger, then stretch its neck and open its beak to release the intense light.
As long as he interrupted the cast when it spread its wings, he could dodge it. If not, quickly closing his eyes and turning away would prevent dizziness from the light.
After mastering creature fighting techniques, the Moonlight Pearls in his Storage Bag quickly accumulated up to 21 pieces, and many plump Moon Pearl Birds across the vast meadow mostly glided into the forest to hide.
"Let's try fishing, maybe camp for a while." Jiang Yuan checked the time and saw it was half past eleven at night. After about five hours of creature fighting and Spirit Plant gathering fueled by novelty, with no small creatures to fight and none found, the excitement waned, making him realize he was quite exhausted.
The frequent use of Heaven-Burning Flame every ten minutes, initially with little effect, gradually left him drained after repeated usage, necessitating rest to recover Physical Strength after each activation.
Approaching Crescent Lake for a closer look, gazing at the lake reflecting the distant snowy mountains, a glance was all it took for his pupils to contract sharply—a water monster!