Chapter Twenty-Four: The Boundless Prairie

All the way back to the Alchemist Guild, Ye Chen sought out President Kynos and took a look at his price list for pill recipes. As expected, there were several instant recovery pills listed, and among those that could be crafted with a first-level alchemy skill, the instant recovery pill was called Blood Replenishing Pill, with a recipe price also set at fifty gold coins.

Blood Replenishing Pill: Instantly restores 100 HP, cooldown time sixty seconds. Required materials: five Scarlet Leaf herbs, one refining flask.

Scarlet Leaf herb was much cheaper compared to Blood Herb, which was a rare herb, whereas Scarlet Leaf was so common it flooded the market—cheap as could be. Refining flasks could be bought for just one silver coin apiece. The cost was much lower than that damned Strength Pill. With this recipe, it would be much easier to level up alchemy. Ye Chen couldn’t help but feel a burst of secret joy at the thought.

He asked Kynos to purchase the Blood Replenishing Pill recipe, but the old man was not pleased. “Young man, as a noble alchemist, how could you be interested in such low-grade products that any alchemist can craft? I’m truly disappointed in you. Are you sure you really want to buy this recipe?”

Low-grade products...

Ye Chen looked at the disappointed expression on Kynos’s face and was almost speechless. What was a prized item outside, fought over by guilds, was considered low-grade in this old man’s eyes. He stepped forward respectfully and nodded, “Yes, esteemed President Kynos, I am certain I wish to purchase this recipe.”

“Well then, suit yourself. But don’t say I didn’t warn you—crafting these low-grade products won’t improve your alchemy skill level. If you want to level up, you still need to craft Strength Pills,” Kynos said, taking the money and handing Ye Chen the recipe, offering a casual reminder as he did.

Ye Chen was momentarily stunned. He had hoped to lower his costs and rely on crafting Blood Replenishing Pills to upgrade his alchemy skill, but clearly he had been dreaming—there really were no shortcuts in this world. To level up, he would have to honestly craft Strength Pills.

Still, the Blood Replenishing Pill was worth making—it was a lucrative business opportunity, not one to be abandoned lightly.

Exiting the southern gate of Lie Mountain City, Ye Chen passed through several small groves and arrived at a vast grassland that stretched as far as the eye could see. The Lili Prairie—this was the name of the land, and it was a paradise for novice alchemists and cooks. Herbs and ingredients grew everywhere across the prairie.

All around, players who had learned gathering skills were busy, carefully searching the grass for materials they could collect. Herbs and ingredients on the Lili Prairie refreshed randomly, so many players wandered about hoping for luck, while others simply waited in place for things to appear.

Ye Chen’s arrival did not attract much attention, but quite a few hostile gazes were cast his way. Truly, rivals in the same trade are enemies.

After wandering for a while, Ye Chen finally stopped near the lakeshore—not for any particular reason, but because the refresh rate and density of herbs were highest here. Several other players stood nearby, waiting for herbs to refresh. Seeing Ye Chen settle in, they immediately glared at him with anger.

Ye Chen ignored them, found a stone to sit on, and quietly brought up his mini-map. He began to study the little green dots closely—these marked the refresh points for herbs, with a time noted beneath each dot indicating when the system would refresh them.

With this herb refresh map, Ye Chen had no intention of running around aimlessly. He intended to plan the most efficient route for gathering according to the refresh locations and times.

He sat there for quite some time, unmoving, prompting the idle players nearby to mock him.

“Look at that idiot, sitting there motionless for ages. Is he sick or something?”

“I bet he’s just a fool, probably having some kind of episode.”

“I think he’s doing performance art. Why doesn’t he go to the bathroom?”

Their mouths were truly foul. Having mapped out his route, Ye Chen stood up, glanced at them, and let out a cold chuckle before suddenly sprinting toward one of the players.

That player was a level thirteen mage, who, thinking Ye Chen was about to attack him, screamed in panic, “What are you doing? Gentlemen settle things with words, not violence!”

Ye Chen ignored him, darted forward, crouched down, and thrust his small shovel into the ground. At that very moment, a scarlet herb appeared from the spot.

“Ding! Congratulations, you have gathered a Scarlet Leaf herb. Gathering skill proficiency +1.”

Scarlet Leaf herb, acquired with ease.

The little mage stared at Ye Chen blankly until he saw the herb safely tucked away, then suddenly shrieked like a wronged maiden, “Ah! My herb! My herb! You dug up my herb!”

Ye Chen glanced at him. This guy had mocked him the most earlier—Ye Chen felt no qualms about striking back. He chuckled softly, “Your herb? Why not carve your name on it, or plant it on your bed at home? Don’t be ridiculous.”

“You, you…” The mage opened his mouth to protest, but Ye Chen had already darted to his left and dug up a freshly spawned Blood Herb with another thrust.

The mage grew frantic—Blood Herb was a rare plant, even at the basic level, and each one was worth several silver coins. No wonder he was upset. He shouted, “Stop! Stop! Don’t dig up my herbs! Leave my herbs alone!”

No matter how loudly he protested, Ye Chen ignored him. The area wasn’t his property, so why should Ye Chen leave the herbs untouched? According to his planned route, Ye Chen dug up herb after herb from the territory the mage had been guarding.

As one herb after another was collected, the mage was nearly in tears. The other players nearby grew nervous as Ye Chen moved ever closer to their areas. They were truly afraid—Ye Chen’s precision in timing and location was uncanny. Each time he swung his shovel, a herb would refresh, leaving them no chance to snatch it. Now, every time Ye Chen raised his shovel, their hearts raced in fear.

Ye Chen was completely absorbed in his own world of gathering, indifferent to the players’ panic. He had no time for them anyway; every moment and location had been calculated. Any delay would disrupt his rhythm and ruin his efficiency.

After over an hour of intense labor, Ye Chen finally stopped, watched by the players with pleading expressions. In truth, his pause had nothing to do with them—he was simply exhausted.

Checking his bag, he found three hundred Scarlet Leaf herbs and seventy Blood Herbs—a remarkably high yield. Most players wouldn’t achieve that in a whole day. The surrounding players were stunned, some even resigned themselves to bad luck and moved elsewhere.

This was possible only on the Lili Prairie; elsewhere, Ye Chen would be attacked for such behavior. But no one dared to fight here, because attacking would mark them as criminals. Killing criminals was not only legal, but also eliminated a competitor—why wouldn’t everyone welcome that? So Ye Chen was perfectly safe.