Farming Games are All About Grinding

Taking advantage of Xiao Dian distracting the Mist Caterpillars, the mask-wearing Han Qiwu strode forward to survey the surrounding area.

There's still half an hour until the hour mark, and the broken compass couldn't offer assistance for now.

"Splash, splash."

Han Qiwu heard some water noises near his ears. However, it wasn't loud enough to sound like rushing waves—rather, it felt more like something jumping and then falling back into the water.

After the splashing sound, bubble noises followed. While faint, they echoed clearly.

What could it be?

Han Qiwu's curiosity was sparked, and he decided to check out what's going on over there.

"Shhh, shhh."

A fog of Mist Caterpillars flew toward him again, layering themselves one after another to block his path.

"Xiao Lai, take care of them!"

Upon receiving the order, Xiao Lai puffed up his cheeks and forcefully exhaled a dense mist, instantly dizzifying the Mist Caterpillars to the point where they could neither fly nor move, eventually dropping to the ground with a splash.

Like Xiao Dian, Xiao Lai's mist coverage was boosted by the rainy weather, expanding its spread. However, the attacking power clearly diminished—it could only leave them dizzy, not outright kill them.

Seeing this, Han Qiwu put away his axe and pulled out an ice stick, gleefully and effortlessly finishing them off one by one.

As he went about dispatching them, his mind wandered to the environmental changes affecting Xiao Lai and Xiao Dian during rainy weather. Maybe these changes could be leveraged in large-scale tactical fights in the future.

If only I had a rain bomb! One strike and Xiao Dian could instantly transform into Thunder God.

After dealing with all the Mist Caterpillars, Han Qiwu collected them one by one and threw them into the Mist Flower Land he just discovered.

Clearing the surrounding view, he rushed swiftly to nearby birch forest, bent over, and began chopping trees again.

The fruit tree count in this grove was scarce. So far, he'd only come across one loquat tree. Most of the trees here were towering species like birches, willows, and aspens.

After felling a birch tree with a trunk as thick as two waists, Han Qiwu habitually bent down to gather timber and discovered, to his delight, a bottle of pale-green birch sap.

Just like any other tree sap, birch sap felt ice-cold to the touch. It had a faint pine fragrance and looked incredibly inviting.

[Frozen Birch Sap]

[Usage: Ingredient/Material]

[Special Effect - Anti-fatigue: Boosts muscle recovery when consumed]

[Note: Highly nutritious birch sap]

[Absorbable Special Water Source: Frozen Birch Sap]

"Anti-fatigue?" Han Qiwu skeptically took a sip.

The sap's taste was faint, distinctly different from the sugary sweetness of maple sap. Its texture was similar, giving it a tea-like drinking sensation.

After finishing off the entire bottle of Frozen Birch Sap in a few sips, Han Qiwu clearly felt a wave of chilling energy rise from his abdomen to his lower back and arms. Immediately after, the mild soreness and numb swelling from prolonged tree-chopping vanished completely.

This stuff works this well?

While Han Qiwu had long adapted to this kind of ache, he wasn't exactly a masochist. If he could avoid it, why endure?

"Looks like luck is on my side today!" Satisfied, Han Qiwu nodded to himself and resumed working with his axe.

After finishing up that birch grove, he managed to procure another [Frozen Birch Sap] and two pieces of [Lunar Meteor Iron].

"Looks like this axe's special drop rate is unusually high today," Han Qiwu mentally noted, before shouting out for Xiao Lai and Xiao Dian to hurry along to the next area while the Mist Flower hadn't started casting mist yet.

Two hours later.

A somewhat fatigued Han Qiwu sipped another bottle of [Frozen Birch Sap].

The sap might lack flavor, but it sure was addictive.

Luckily, today's axe special drop rate was high, allowing him to drink more without regret.

He'd accrued quite a decent amount of timber—266 pieces over two hours.

According to the minimap, the left-hand area had only one mist-covered spot remaining.

During his chopping spree earlier, he'd heard splashing water twice more. These sounds grew louder, indicating proximity.

Following the pebble-paved path, Han Qiwu squinted a little, looked around for a moment, and then excitedly shouted, "Xiao Dian, over there!"

At last, he spotted the final Mist Flower in the left-hand zone's first phase!

Feed it!

As he sprinted over, Han Qiwu dumped thirty Mist Caterpillars in one go for the Mist Flower.

Well-fed, the Mist Flower worked diligently and swiftly cleared away the surrounding haze.

Glancing at the scene, Han Qiwu gasped audibly in surprise.

There's a lake here?

Fifty meters to the left of the impassable section of the pebble path lay a large lake with a shoreline roughly sixty to seventy meters long. The water was slightly murky, littered with floating green algae. Above it, dense fog hovered above the lake's surface, obscuring visibility down to less than ten meters.

Han Qiwu jogged closer and was disheartened to find that, even from the shore, he couldn't see across to the other side of the lake.

This lake must span across two zones.

Standing by the shore, Han Qiwu peered downward. Through the water's murkiness, he could see three to four meters below. Gazing intently for several minutes, he identified at least two fish species: one with a tail resembling a carp, and another he couldn't quite recognize.

"Splash!"

As he focused on the fish, a gold-hued, massive fish leaped high into the air from the distance. It looked like it was chasing after something, soaring five to six meters before plunging powerlessly back into the water.

"Is this…the carp leaping Dragon Gate?" Han Qiwu muttered in brief astonishment.

But more than astonished, he was curious.

What's over at the far end of the shore that draws these giant carp to endlessly try jumping across?

Could they really transform into dragons?

Intrigued, Han Qiwu grabbed his fire bucket, climbed onto it, and after observing the surroundings, pulled out Red Sun, baited the hook, and cast his line into the lake.

Let's fish one up and see what's going on.

Even while fishing, Han Qiwu remained vigilant, ordering Xiao Lai and Xiao Dian to keep watch while attentively monitoring any changes in the surrounding mist hues.

His enhanced vision made discerning colors much easier now.

"Plop."

The baited hook sunk gently into the water, radiating subtle allure.

Come on, come on.

A young, impetuous Little Red Carp found itself unable to resist and blushed, swimming obediently toward the hook.

Fishing mini-game activated.

[Dragon Blood Carp: Movement trajectory - repetitive zig-zag; skill effect - hard drag]

Han Qiwu: "???"

Does this carp hail from Wuhu's famous zig-zag line dance? Hard drag, huh?

In the fishing mini-game interface, the Dragon Blood Carp gleamed in radiant red hues, its long whiskers waving gracefully. Its body was exceptionally agile, darting frenetically in all directions.

Han Qiwu wasn't in a rush. Maneuvering his spinning float nearby, he hit it with a mid-level Thunder spell.

Such an attractive fish—it's bound to taste divine!

After battling for several rounds, the fishing progress bar reached seventy to eighty percent. Victory was within grasp.