Chapter 37: The Strategy Guide

These spiders moved with incredible speed, closing a distance of several meters in the blink of an eye. Qin Yuan was certain of one thing: on his own two legs, he could never outrun them!

After a brief moment of shock, he reacted quickly. With the greatest speed he could muster, he pulled out his teleportation crystal and frantically poured his mana into it. At the same time, he subconsciously tucked Feather away. His movements did not go unnoticed by the Abyssal Broodmothers, who immediately quickened their pace.

The gap narrowed at an alarming rate. One hundred meters, seventy, fifty... This stretch was covered in mere seconds. Qin Yuan could see their sharp forelegs glinting with a cold light, growing rapidly in his field of vision. His heart hammered in his chest.

Finally, the agonizingly long charging process of the teleportation crystal—which felt like a century—was complete. A flash of light erupted, and his body vanished from the spot. Seconds later, the Abyssal Broodmothers lunged at empty air.

...

Back in the Pine Tavern.

"Hah... hah... hah..."

Having survived the ordeal, Qin Yuan collapsed onto his bed, gasping for air. "That scared the life out of me."

Recalling the scene, he couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. If that crystal had taken just a few seconds longer to charge, he would have been done for. "That area is just too dangerous..."

Once he caught his breath, Qin Yuan sat in his chair and sighed. "It's my fault, too... I didn't expect the Abyssal Pustules to react so violently."

The Grimoire of Whispers sounded full of self-reproach. Qin Yuan shook his head to comfort it. "You're not to blame. You only knew what was written in other books, and it’s natural not to know the fine details without practical experience. In fact, your warning during the critical moment of the fight against the Abyssal Worm was a huge help."

He frowned in thought. Judging by this incident, the risk of farming in the Abyssal Pustule zone was simply too high. For safety’s sake, he would have to wait several hours before teleporting back to the floating island. The arrival point depended on where he had logged out, and if he returned too early while the monsters were still lingering, he would be staring them straight in the eye. Furthermore, even with Purifying Powder, he would need to reach the deepest part of that zone to actually cleanse the pustules.

The situation there would likely be even more perilous. He suddenly remembered a potion he had seen and asked the Grimoire of Whispers about it: How effective would an Invisibility Potion be against those monsters?

The Grimoire of Whispers pondered and noted that the primary enemies were the Abyssal Broodmothers. While they were fast and could ensnare prey with webs, they primarily relied on their vision to hunt.

Hearing this, an idea sparked in Qin Yuan’s mind. He decided that the next time he went out, he would gather materials for Invisibility Potions. As for now, he would avoid farming in that area.

"I wonder when someone will be trading Purifying Powder..."

He considered another location: the depths of the Peaceful Forest. During his last conversation with Dagang, he had learned that there were no creatures in the forest above level ten, save for the Cyclops.

Before that, however, he planned to clear out the remaining Abyssal Spiders on the outskirts of his floating island, then see if he could find Purifying Powder upon his next return. If he couldn't, he would head to the forest to farm and look for a suitable mount using his Beast Taming Collar.

After waiting two hours, Qin Yuan pulled out the teleportation crystal and returned to the floating island. The worst-case scenario had not come to pass; the monsters had dispersed. He immediately hurried away from that zone.

And so, it was another day of misery for the Abyssal Spiders. As he continued his sweep, these monsters—which were highly adaptable and could be found throughout the forest—became increasingly rare. Between the intense cleaning and his accumulated experience, his experience bar had just crossed the halfway mark. Having grown accustomed to high-efficiency experience gains, he suddenly felt things were moving too slowly.

Still, it was nearly enough, as he could hardly see any Abyssal Spiders left. He kept this good news to himself for now, as the Slimes in the village wouldn't be able to handle any stragglers if he missed one. The best approach was to awaken the Sacred Pattern Tree; as a creature that had been rooted there for years, it could sense every corner of the floating island. Once it had conducted a thorough search and confirmed the area was clear, it would be safe to share the news.

Another day ended. That night, after the Slimes finished devouring the Nightmare, Qin Yuan put them back into his player inventory, ready to bring them back to reality the next day.

...

The next day, the familiar chime sounded.

His vision shifted, and he was back in reality. It was still 8:00 AM. Checking his rest period, he saw he had two more days. Qin Yuan washed his face, ordered takeout on his phone—arranging a meal for Feather as well—and then opened his computer to check the forums.

During the Pumpkin Festival, he had harvested a total of 100 Pumpkin Candles and three Pumpkin Essences. To his surprise, the players on the forum were very active today, with a high volume of replies on the posts.

Qin Yuan glanced at the trending list and realized why. Another update!

[Official Announcement: Beta Version V1.3 Update (New Strategy Guide Activity)]

[Dear players, to ensure the forum maintains a more positive operating state, we are granting special permissions to players at level 3 and above: the eligibility to publish strategy guides.]

[There are no restrictions on the topics; they can cover various content, but the premise must be that they are helpful to other players. Once published, our developers will conduct manual reviews and ratings. Please note that only high-quality content will pass the review.]

[Once approved, players will receive Pumpkin Candles and Pumpkin Essences as rewards. The specific amount will depend on the quality of the content. The general rating scale is as follows:]

[S-Rank: 100 Pumpkin Candles, 3 Pumpkin Essences.]

[A-Rank: 60 Pumpkin Candles, 1 Pumpkin Essence.]

[B-Rank: 50 Pumpkin Candles.]

[C-Rank: 20 Pumpkin Candles.]

[Note: To reduce the pressure on manual reviews, each qualified player has three opportunities to publish a strategy guide. Regardless of whether the post is approved, there must be a three-day interval between consecutive posts.]

[Finally, thank you once again for the support of all our players.]

[Sender: Soul Land Development Team.]

Qin Yuan rubbed his chin, contemplating. The rewards looked quite good... and if he could secure an S-rank, he would get a significant amount of Pumpkin Essence. Perhaps he could find a way to post a few guides; it would be worth more than several days of farming.

Suddenly, Qin Yuan grasped the key to the problem, and his eyes slowly lit up. That’s it! He could use the knowledge recorded in the Grimoire of Whispers to milk this for all it was worth!