Chapter 209: Dragon Frost Swamp
"If you have any issues with the new equipment, please don’t hesitate to call the official Feiyun hotline. We’re always available for on-site repairs and free replacements."
’This is even more like a scam.’
Dongfang Wanqiu, who was also Mu Qiu, thought to herself.
Realizing they wouldn’t answer her questions, she didn’t press the matter.
Inside the small house, her new home was still cluttered, with many things yet to be arranged since she had just moved in.
Her instant noodles were ready. She had been about to eat them just a moment ago.
Now soaked even softer, Mu Qiu picked up the small pot and began to eat, pointing toward her bedroom. "It’s in there."
The group said nothing and quietly got to work.
Out of the corner of her eye, Mu Qiu watched the group. They had a distinct air about them.
’The "motherland" clearly had no concept of its modern-day "flowers." Could someone meticulously cultivated have the same temperament as someone who grew up wild?’
’The difference was obvious at a glance!’
The woman glanced at Mu Qiu eating her instant noodles and said with concern, "Miss Dongfang, we don’t recommend eating too many instant noodles. It’s bad for your health."
Mu Qiu slurped up a large mouthful of noodles. "It’s fine. I eat takeout every day. My body’s already a cocktail of toxins, one more won’t hurt."
The woman was speechless.
The new equipment was installed quickly. After all, it was just a simple installation job.
The woman approached her. "The number is on the equipment. Feel free to contact us anytime if you have any problems."
Eating her noodles, Mu Qiu nodded.
It was just a simple equipment swap, nothing more.
After swapping the equipment, they left. On their way out, they even thoughtfully took the trash bags Mu Qiu had left by the door.
They took the packaging from the new equipment, as well as the old unit.
One of the bags was even from the kitchen, which she hadn’t gotten around to taking out yet.
’Such professionalism.’
’So considerate!’
Mu Qiu mused to herself as she called Han Tian.
As it happened, Han Tian had something to discuss with her as well. "Mu Qiu, are you out of the Secret Realm?"
"Yeah, I haven’t told you yet. I just logged off and made some instant noodles."
"Oh—"
"Let me ask you something," Mu Qiu said.
Han Tian: "Go ahead."
"Someone told me I won a prize today. I got a new set of equipment, from Feiyun. Did you get this message too?"
"...Ah, you won too? I got the message this morning. I thought it was a scam, so I ignored their call."
Mu Qiu was speechless.
’Great. This guy’s on another level.’
’It seems like basically every player got one.’
’Just a different coat of paint on the same old trick.’
Han Tian sounded a little puzzled. "How come you received it too?"
Mu Qiu couldn’t help but chuckle. "You should get yours replaced too. You’ll see why when they show up."
"..." Han Tian seemed to get it, but he had something more important to tell Mu Qiu first. "I’m on my way to Liu Xian City, but I heard some news from the Liuyun Sect. Apparently, there’s a place in Li Yun Sect territory called the Dragon Frost Swamp. Every year, they send a group of Cultivators to gather spirit materials there. Most of the spirit materials from that place are said to contain something called Dragon Breath Spirit. If you use them for Artifact Refining, there’s a chance your Magic Treasure will gain an effect that surpasses its Level."
"But the Dragon Frost Swamp is very dangerous. Plus, Dragon Breath Spirit can’t go through a Teleportation Array; it has to be carried back by hand. That’s why those spirit materials are so expensive."
Mu Qiu immediately understood what Han Tian was getting at. "You want me to go and see if I can use the system to exploit a bug and bring the materials back?"
Han Tian: "Exactly! Those spirit materials sell for exorbitant prices on the market. There are demon beasts there too. The main problem is that it’s very far, and the Teleportation Array fee is steep. Some Cultivators choose to go to the Dragon Frost Swamp, but they don’t return for decades, sometimes even longer."
Mu Qiu hadn’t planned on returning to the Sect anyway, so Han Tian’s news was a blessing.
Mu Qiu frowned slightly. "It’s not impossible, but it’s Li Yun Sect territory. Do we even have the right to go there?"
Han Tian had already looked into it. "There’s an expedition team in Liu Xian City. If you sign up and agree to their terms—handing over a portion of spirit materials with Dragon Breath Fragrance every year—you can take the Teleportation Array with the group. The requirements vary by Level. Those at the Qi Refinement Realm have to stay there for a full twenty years. Of course, if you reach Foundation Establishment, five years are knocked off, and so on. It’s basically like working off your travel fare."
"I’ve also consulted the system. It’s too far away. If you run into danger, it’ll cost at least twenty thousand points to pull you out. I’ll cover those twenty thousand points for you, a one-time guarantee. Of course, it’s up to you whether you go. If you’re willing, I’ll find a way to get those twenty thousand points together."
Twenty thousand points—that was 200,000 in cash at the current exchange rate.
Two hundred thousand for a single chance to save your life.
It was an astronomical price.
Of course, 200,000 wasn’t a huge issue for Han Tian these days, but gathering 20,000 points in-game was still a difficult task.
Everyone was a bit strapped for cash at the moment. The system would certainly have no objection if Han Tian were to exchange Spirit Stones for points, though.
The stronger the players became, the more the Sect’s Energy Pool would expand. This was the most straightforward way for it to grow.
Of course, Spirit Stones were equally important to the Sect.
’Points were just a virtual, quantified concept she had created for the players in the first place.’
Han Tian could only exchange a large amount of Spirit Stones for points, and it wasn’t as if Song Jiulai couldn’t be persuaded to take a one-time hit and expend energy to protect a player.
’Twenty thousand points. A distant, unknown place.’
Mu Qiu was intrigued.
’It was such a vast world; what a shame it would be not to explore it.’
200,000 was an astronomical sum for Mu Qiu as well, even with the decent salary Han Tian was already paying her.
Mu Qiu thought for a moment. "You’re not just asking me to go over there and dig up materials, are you?"
Han Tian: "I’ll find a way to get you a livestreaming spot."
Han Tian’s main job was still livestreaming. He knew he couldn’t compete with some of the monster-level players in terms of pure strength, so he wanted to keep a firm grip on his streaming business. That way, if he ever crashed and burned in-game, someone could take his place.
And his successor had to be both powerful and lucky.
So far, Mu Qiu was the best fit.
Mu Qiu hesitated. "But I really..."
"Just be a ’scenery streamer.’ All you have to do is stream the views from the Dragon Frost Swamp. You don’t even have to talk. As long as you’re willing to stream, you’ll get a lot of viewers."
"With the Broken Sect’s current popularity, even Lin Yuyu gets hundreds of thousands of daily viewers just by streaming the Illusion Realm."
"She isn’t as talkative as Han Tian and barely reads the live comments, but her popularity is still insane."
"That’s the kind of influence the Broken Sect has now."
Mu Qiu opened her mouth to speak, but Han Tian cut in, "Do you know how much I can charge for a single ad with my current popularity? Just running ads during my streams starts at six figures. A long-term endorsement deal would be seven figures."
Mu Qiu took a deep breath. "Brother Han, how do I start streaming?!"