Scourge Messenger

Chapter 250 Planning
"Black Wolf, what are your plans to do next to improve your health and vitality?"

Because there is no system, the people in this world do not have the concept of 'levels'. For them, the most direct change to become stronger is the improvement of their qi and blood.

Upon hearing Yan Qing inquire about serious matters, Yao Shiyuan replied earnestly, "I plan to cultivate several secret spear techniques to push my Qi and blood to the limit of the third stage, and also see if I can comprehend the master's spear techniques."

After advanced skills, the next level is master skills, a realm accessible only to a very few mortals besides Foundation Establishment Messengers. There are two paths to mastering master skills: one is to reach the maximum level of an advanced skill and comprehend it through comprehension; the other is the path the pharmacist chooses, which involves cultivating multiple spear techniques to increase one's hidden spear skill score, potentially leading to early master spear techniques.

For players, mastering multiple spear techniques isn't difficult; they can simply buy them from the Treasure Pavilion if they have the money. But in this world, that's not necessarily the case. Yan Qing asked, "Do you have a way to obtain spear techniques?"

The pharmacist shook his head with a wry smile: "It's a bit troublesome."

"Even if you are the Duke of Jin, it's not enough?" Shang Xinlei asked curiously.

The pharmacist said, "Secret Technique Books are only produced in third-tier secret realms, and not every third-tier secret realm produces spear secret technique books. The only spear secret technique book that Zhou Kingdom can reliably produce is the Spinning Lamp. As for secret technique books such as Pear Blossom, Coiled Serpent, and Unparalleled, they are either in secret realms that are difficult to develop or they are produced by chance. If I want them, I can only fight for them myself, which will take a lot of time."

In the Three Kingdoms of the Central Plains, only the first and second tier secret realms can be fully developed. As for the third tier secret realm, it basically depends on luck. For example, the place where the Spinning Lantern is produced is a fully developed third tier secret realm. The military town has a perfect strategy for conquering it. By using the terrain to block the way, it only requires one third tier and several second tiers to complete the conquest within ten days, with almost no casualties. Therefore, the Spinning Lantern is the easiest secret book to obtain.

As for the third-tier dungeons where a perfect strategy cannot be found, you have to risk your life to clear them, and even the third-tier messenger will encounter danger.

If the Pharmacist is willing to wait, everyone will be happy to give her face and leave the produce to her whenever it is available. However, if she wants to force the third-tier messengers to attack the secret realm for her, that is basically impossible. The Foundation Establishment Seeds don't have that much influence. Unless the Pharmacist is willing to get the Dragon Locking Bodhisattva to speak again, even if all the third-tier messengers in the country are gathered to attack the secret realm, they will still search for secret technique books for her.

But now even the Chain Dragon Immortal dares not see Yaoshiyuan, let alone beg her. Therefore, Yaoshiyuan can only take the second path and fight it herself.

The entire Zhou Kingdom's secret realms will be open to her, and the military towns will also help. It's just that she'll have to run around and waste a lot of time. Moreover, conquering a third-tier secret realm is not something that can be done in a day or two. The Corpse Forest is an exception among exceptions: three guardians + a bunny girl + a pharmacist, five top-tier third-tier combatants. No military town could have such a configuration!

Before the next mission, she'll be lucky to get two spear manuals; her level will only reach a maximum of 34.

“I can help you acquire the secret techniques for the spear,” Yan Qing said. “You only need to hone your skills in the secret realm these days, how about that?”

"Is this the trading board?" the pharmacist asked.

Shang Xinlei glared down at Yan Qing. Yan Qing wasn't surprised. He could hide his disposal of stolen goods from others, but he certainly couldn't hide it from the Pharmacist Yuan who fought alongside the Rabbit Girl. "I'll help you deal with Chu Luoyan's token. It should be able to get you two secret spear techniques."

"The Duke of Jin's mansion still has several hundred thousand spirit jades, which I can give you all of." The pharmacist pondered for a moment, "If you need more, I can also find a way."

"I have no shortage of spirit jade."

"What about internal channels? Zhou has many specialties that only nobles can afford to buy." The pharmacist smiled slightly: "Zhou's Vajra Indestructible Talisman is a unique treasure of the Central Plains."

Yan Qing's heart skipped a beat. He had heard of the Vajra Indestructible Talisman before. Unlike the repair kit, this item only worked on defensive tokens with full durability. It could break through the durability limit and add a layer of damage reduction to the defensive token.

“I’ll give you the money; buy as many Indestructible Talismans as you want,” Yan Qing said decisively.

"You'd better not get your hopes up too high. Although the Vajra Indestructible Talisman is indeed expensive, quite a few people are still willing to buy it for protection. There probably aren't many left in stock now," the Pharmacist said. "I'll give you a list tomorrow, and you can see what else you need then."

Shang Xinlei was a little sullen, but since they were discussing serious matters, she didn't dare to disturb them. She could only silently play with Yan Qing's hair, twirling it with her fingers.

“Red Serpent,” Yan Qing suddenly asked, “Do you have any plans for the next twenty days?”

“Let’s continue training in the secret realm,” Shang Xinlei shrugged. “I haven’t mastered my secret technique, the Wheel of Control, yet.”

Is it possible for your family to prepare the Heavenly and Earthly Fiends for you?

"How could that be? Even my father doesn't have one, and my ancestors have been dead for countless years. How could we possibly obtain the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends?" Shang Xinlei pouted. "However, I did hear that a few years ago, the eldest daughter of the Qun family married into the Chen family, and the Chen family offered an Earthly Fiend as a betrothal gift. If I were willing to reveal my third-stage cultivation level, perhaps someone would be willing to offer an Earthly Fiend as a betrothal gift?" "Alright, I'll prepare the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends for you."

“…Huh?” Shang Xinlei was taken aback.

"There are still twenty days left. I can only guarantee that I can prepare a pair of Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends that can be used to create a superior Dao Foundation for you. As for a perfect Dao Foundation, that depends on luck," Yan Qing said to himself. "But in any case, you must absorb all the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends before the next mission."

Yan Qing waited for a while but heard no response. He looked up to see what was wrong with Shang Xinlei, only to find her staring down at him, her head nestled in his soft, round breasts. Just as he was about to pull away, Shang Xinlei reached out and hugged his neck, preventing him from moving.

Yan Qing froze, because if Shang Xinlei were to spit in this position, he wouldn't be able to dodge it at all.

“I only have a few tens of thousands of spirit jades in my private savings. Although that's enough to buy rare items from Liang Kingdom, you know my identity. If I could come up with that much money, it would quickly arouse suspicion, so I can't help you.” Shang Xinlei stared straight at him and said softly, “The Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends are far more valuable than myself. Why are you helping me like this?”

She gripped Yan Qing's neck tightly. "I felt something was off when you gave me the book on secret techniques last time. What are you up to? Tell me now!"

The pharmacist raised an eyebrow. "The secret technique research book I gave you last time... was it the one I gave you? He gave it to Red Serpent? So, he was also buying the secret technique research book on the trading board to give to Red Serpent? And now he's giving it to the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends?"
However, even the pharmacist couldn't say anything, because the bunny girl was practically giving her the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends, which could also be combined to form the perfect Dao Foundation - Greedy Wolf Breaking Army Dao Foundation.

But Bunny Girl gave it to me because I'm her sworn sister. Why are you so nice to Red Snake too? Do you lack maternal love and want to find a mother who can cook?

Although the pharmacist was inwardly grumbling, she still asked, "I also want to know why you suddenly care about my path of cultivation and even helped me buy secret manuals."

Yan Qing was also stumped for a moment.

He hadn't really thought about this beforehand; he just happened to have everyone here today, so he mentioned it casually. When Yan Qing had extra Heavenly and Earthly Fiends in hand, he subconsciously saved them for Shang Xinlei without giving it much thought.

However, Yan Qing wasn't too flustered. He had plenty of reasons to give, such as his current investment being used to exchange for future rewards from the Thieves' Family, or his desire to gain more influence within the Thieves' Family, or...

But when Yan Qing met Shang Xinlei's gaze, she realized she had miscalculated. Shang Xinlei was no ordinary person; she knew Yan Qing's rhetoric all too well. She could see through any of Yan Qing's attempts to deceive people at a glance, and might even get her spat on.

Although Shang Xinlei's posture and tone seemed like a joke, her eyes were serious. If the secret technique study book was something she could repay with a little effort, then the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends were to her the opportunity to achieve enlightenment, the seed for foundation building, a turning point in her life, a second reincarnation—so precious that she dared not accept it.

If I don't express my true feelings, she probably won't accept me.

However, there was nothing to hide. From the first day she arrived at the Thieves' House, from the moment she saw the three of them, Yan Qing had the same thought lingering in her mind. Now, she was just trying to turn it into reality step by step.

Yan Qing took a deep breath:

"I--"

The pharmacist clenched his fist.

"I hope you—"

Shang Xinlei pursed her lips tightly.

"I can complete the Thieves' House mission without you!"

The Thieves' Hall fell silent. Yan Qing paused, then added, "To be precise, it's you who complete the mission. Even if I do nothing, I'll still receive the Thieves' House reward."

Shang Xinlei released her grip, and Yan Qing twisted her neck; although it was a comfortable pillow, her neck was still a little sore from holding it up for so long. They remained silent, probably seriously considering the suggestion.

Hey!
The pharmacist swept his arm across Yan Qing's neck from the front. Yan Qing instinctively raised his hand to block, but at the same time, a tremendous force struck the back of his neck. At that moment, the pharmacist and Shang Xinlei were of one mind, attacking Yan Qing, this lazy bastard who only wanted to reap the benefits without effort, from both sides!
(End of this chapter)