Chapter 20: The World of Mountains and Rivers

"Done!"

Clutching the Heavenly Fragrance Grass in his hand, Ling Xiao was exceptionally excited. The market price for this herb was not cheap; a single stalk would cost ten taels of silver.

And it took a full twenty stalks of Heavenly Fragrance Grass to refine a single Pulse-Protecting Pill!

There were plenty of Heavenly Fragrance Grass plants nearby, so Ling Xiao decided to go all out. He uprooted every mature stalk he could find and dropped them onto the ground.

Then, he entered the Map of Mountains and Rivers.

He had not forgotten his purpose for this trip.

A medicinal herb like Heavenly Fragrance Grass must be used within one hour of collection to achieve its maximum medicinal potency. While it could still be used after a longer period, its effectiveness would diminish significantly.

If it truly could be cultivated within the Map of Mountains and Rivers, that would be marvelous.

"Welcome, Sovereign of Mountains and Rivers, back to the Map of Mountains and Rivers. This is the world of the Mountains and Rivers Martial Soul. It is inhabited by the residents of the Mountains and Rivers, who are skilled in various crafts—some are experts in farming, some in animal husbandry, and some in alchemy..."

Just as Ling Xiao entered the small village within the map, a voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

However, when he went looking for the source, he saw no one speaking to him.

"In short, there is nothing they cannot do! As the Map of Mountains and Rivers continues to level up, you will receive more assistance. Currently, the Map is Level 2, and you can only recruit Level 2 Farmers and Level 2 Herders!"

"Additionally, once the Map reaches Level 2, a Shop will appear. The Sovereign can purchase necessary items through these shops, including weapons, pills, treasures, tools, and more."

"All goods are categorized into five grades: Mortal, Fine, Exquisite, Immortal, and Divine. The effects vary according to the grade!"

"The Map of Mountains and Rivers is now Level 2, and the Shop is open. For the first opening of the Shop, a free lucky draw is provided!"

"As a martial artist's level increases, the Mountains and Rivers Martial Soul will grow stronger, and the level of the Map will rise accordingly! Generally, they correspond; for example, if the Sovereign is at the second stage of the Martial Vein realm, the Map will be Level 2!"

"The higher the level of the Map, the more varieties of goods available for purchase, the higher their grades, and the more powerful the residents you can recruit! Eventually, you may even recruit top-tier experts from all walks of life—Gods of War, Gods of Medicine, Gods of Craftsmanship, and so on!"

Ling Xiao, left somewhat dazed by this barrage of notifications, took a moment to recover before hurriedly clicking on the Map's shop to take a look.

There were only twelve items in total, and the stock refreshed every two hours. Currently, the items available were primarily farming tools.

For example, a Mortal Hoe—increases weeding efficiency by 10% and lifespan by 10%!

Or a Fine Sickle—doubles harvesting efficiency, doubles lifespan, and halves the physical exertion required!

These were likely intended for use within the Map. If given to the farmers here, they would certainly yield much greater results with less effort.

But that wasn't all.

"The Sovereign's first use of the Recruitment function allows for the recruitment of Level 2 Farmers and Level 2 Herders, and the purchase of Mortal-grade goods!"

"The first recruitment is free, but you may only recruit two people. Please select!"

As the voice spoke, Ling Xiao saw two cards appear on the map. The cards depicted a farmer and a herder in a beautiful landscape art style. The cards also displayed the special effects provided by Level 2 Farmers and Level 2 Herders.

Level 2 Farmer—increases agricultural production efficiency by 10% and quality by 10%.

Level 2 Herder—increases animal husbandry production efficiency by 10% and quality by 10%.

This meant that if he cultivated medicinal herbs within the map, not only would the output efficiency increase, but the quality of the herbs produced would also improve. The same applied to raising animals.

Excitedly, Ling Xiao selected one Level 2 Farmer card and one Level 2 Herder card.

He planned to plant some herbs and raise a few animals to familiarize himself with the function. If it proved truly useful, he would increase his investment later.

"Greetings, Sovereign of Mountains and Rivers! Please assign us our tasks!"

After selecting recruitment, a burst of white smoke rose before his eyes, and two people soon appeared. One was dressed as a farmer, roughly in his thirties, and the other was dressed as a herder, also appearing to be in his thirties.

However, while the farmer was human, the herder did not look human; he was a Minotaur, a race Ling Xiao had seen before in the map.

Of course, whether they were human or Minotaur, Ling Xiao could understand their speech, though he wasn't sure if others could understand him.

Ling Xiao told the Minotaur herder to go rest for now, as he hadn't captured any demon beast cubs yet.

He then handed the collected Heavenly Fragrance Grass to the human farmer and instructed, "Plant these Heavenly Fragrance Grass stalks. Remember, do not damage them; these herbs are very precious."

"Understood, Sovereign of Mountains and Rivers!"

The farmer accepted the command and went to work.

Ling Xiao was initially a bit worried, so he followed along to observe. After a moment, he was completely at ease.

Professionalism was indeed professional. If he had been the one planting the Heavenly Fragrance Grass, he estimated that no more than half would have survived. But this Level 2 Farmer managed to plant them all successfully, and at a very high speed.

Ling Xiao's anticipation for the future grew. If things continued like this, he might even be able to recruit alchemists directly within the map. If that happened, he wouldn't have to cater to anyone's whims when refining pills or medicine. He could even have weapons and tools forged; everything could be accomplished within the Map of Mountains and Rivers.

He did not rush to leave the map, as there were still things he needed to understand thoroughly.

Recruiting personnel or purchasing goods in the map required Mountains and Rivers Coins. These coins could be exchanged using real-world currency.

For instance, if Ling Xiao obtained one hundred taels of silver in reality, he could choose to use it himself or exchange it for Mountains and Rivers Coins. According to the ratio, ten taels of silver could be exchanged for approximately one Mountains and Rivers Coin. Recruiting a Level 2 Farmer or Herder cost ten coins, which was equivalent to one hundred taels of silver—certainly not cheap.

However, given the incredible results they brought, Ling Xiao did not feel it was a loss.

Furthermore, because the Map's level was low, there were only two types of residents available, and they were only Level 2. As his cultivation continued to rise and the Map's level increased, not only would the variety of residents increase, but their levels would also rise. At that point, their work efficiency would naturally be even higher.

Thinking of this, Ling Xiao felt a surge of motivation. Increasing his strength had gained him yet another reason.

"Right, I almost forgot. It said the first shop opening comes with a free lucky draw. Let's see what good things I can pull. It would be great if I could get some pills; those are what I need most right now!"

The lucky draw method was a common large spinning wheel. The wheel featured various items, including farming tools, implements, weapons, cultivation techniques, pills, and even consumable mysterious rewards.