Clutching the Heavenly Fragrance Grass in his hand, Ling Xiao was exceptionally excited because the market price for this herb was not cheap at all. Just one of these would cost ten silver to buy.
And to refine a single Vessel-protecting Pill, a whopping twenty Heavenly Fragrance Grasses were needed!
There were plenty of Heavenly Fragrance Grasses nearby, so Ling Xiao simply decided to go all out, plucking all the fully grown Heavenly Fragrance Grasses and then dropping them on the ground.
He entered the Mountain and River Map.
He had not forgotten the purpose of this visit.
The medicinal effect of herbs like Heavenly Fragrance Grass could only be maximized if used within one shichen after being picked.
Although it could still be used after a longer time, its medicinal effect would be much reduced.
If the Mountain and River Map could truly cultivate it, that would be marvelous.
"Welcome back to the Mountain and River Map, Mountain and River Master. This is the world of the Mountain and River Martial Soul, inhabited by the residents of Mountain and River. These residents excel at various skills; some are good at farming, some at animal husbandry, some at alchemy..."
Just as Ling Xiao had entered the small village within the Mountain and River Map, he suddenly heard a voice echoing in his mind.
But when he looked for people, he saw no one speaking to him.
"In short, there is nothing they can't do, only what you can't imagine! As the Mountain and River Map is upgraded continuously, you will receive more and more help. Currently, at Level 2, you can only recruit Level 2 Farmers and Level 2 Herders!"
"Also, after the Mountain and River Map reaches Level 2, a store will appear. The Mountain and River Master can buy items needed from these stores, including weapons, pills, treasures, tools, and so on."
"All products are classified into five tiers: Common, Fine, Precious, Immortal, and Divine. The effects differ based on the tier!"
"Now that the Mountain and River Map has reached Level 2 and the store has been opened, for the first store opening, you are granted a free draw!"
"As the level of martial artists increases, the Mountain and River Martial Soul becomes stronger, and the level of the Mountain and River Map also increases! Generally, they correspond to each other! For example, if the Mountain and River Master is at the Martial Veins Second Layer of cultivation, then the Mountain and River Map is at Level 2!"
"The higher the level of the Mountain and River Map, the more varieties of products you can buy, the higher the tiers, and the more powerful Mountain and River residents you can recruit! Eventually, you might even recruit top-notch individuals from various fields—the Martial God, Alchemy God, God of Craftsmen, and so on!"
Overwhelmed by the barrage of notifications, it took Ling Xiao a moment to gather his wits before he hurriedly opened the Mountain and River Map store to take a look.
There were only twelve items in the store, but it refreshed every two shichen.
The products currently available were mainly agricultural tools.
For example, a Common hoe—increases weeding efficiency by 10%, increases lifespan by 10%!
Or a Fine sickle—doubles the efficiency of harvesting, doubles the lifespan, and cuts the effort required in half!
These must be for use within the Mountain and River Map. If given to the farmers here, they would certainly double the effectiveness of their work.
But there was yet more to come.
"Mountain and River Master's first use of the recruitment function; you may recruit Level 2 Farmers and Level 2 Herders, and purchase Common grade items!"
"The first recruitment will not consume anything, but you can only recruit two people. Please choose!"
As the voice rang out, Ling Xiao saw two cards appear on the Mountain and River Map. The cards, beautifully depicting farmers and herders in a landscape style, emerged.
The cards also displayed the special effects offered by the Level 2 Farmer and Level 2 Herder.
Level 2 Farmer—increases agricultural production efficiency by 10%, improves agricultural production quality by 10%.
Level 2 Herder—increases livestock production efficiency by 10%, improves livestock production quality by 10%.
This meant that cultivating medicinal herbs inside the Mountain and River Map would not only increase production efficiency but also enhance the quality of the herbs produced.
Likewise, breeding animals was no different.
Ling Xiao excitedly selected a Level 2 Farmer card and a Level 2 Herder card.
He planned to grow some herbs and breed a few animals to get familiar with the function slowly. If it turned out to be really useful, he would invest more in it later.
"Greetings, Mountain and River Master. Please assign us our tasks!"
After choosing to recruit, a puff of white smoke rose before his eyes, and soon two people appeared, one dressed as a farmer, about thirty years old, the other dressed as a herder, also in his thirties.
However, the farmer was human, while the herder did not look human but of the Minotaur Race, which Ling Xiao had already seen in the Mountain and River Map.
Of course, whether they were human or from the Minotaur Race, Ling Xiao could understand their language, but he didn't know if others could.
Ling Xiao told the Minotaur herder to rest for now since he hadn't caught any Monster Beast cubs yet.
Then he handed over the Heavenly Fragrance Grass he had gathered to the human farmer, instructing, "Plant these Heavenly Fragrance Grasses. Remember, don't damage them, these herbs are very precious."
"Understood, Mountain and River Master!"
After receiving the command, the farmer went to work.
Ling Xiao was somewhat worried at first, so he followed to watch.
After a short while, he was completely reassured.
Professionals indeed had their way. If he were to plant the Heavenly Fragrance Grass, probably less than half of this bunch would survive.
But the Level 2 Farmer managed to plant them all, and did so very quickly too.
Ling Xiao was now looking forward to the future even more. If this continued, he might be able to recruit Pharmacologists directly within the Mountain and River Map later on.
That way, he wouldn't have to rely on others for alchemy and medicine refinement.
He could even handle forging weapons and making tools. Everything could be done inside the Mountain and River Map.
He didn't rush to leave the Mountain and River Map because he had to understand some matters in detail.
To recruit people or purchase goods within the Mountain and River Map, one needed to spend Mountain and River Coins.
And Mountain and River Coins could be exchanged with real-world currency.
For instance, if Ling Xiao obtained a hundred Silver in reality, he could choose to use it himself or exchange it for Mountain and River Coins.
According to the exchange rate, ten Silver was roughly equivalent to one Mountain and River Coin, and recruiting a Level 2 Farmer or a Level 2 Herder required ten Mountain and River Coins, equivalent to a hundred Silver. That was indeed not cheap.
However, the effects were astonishing, and Ling Xiao did not feel at a loss.
Moreover, since the Mountain and River Map was of a low level, it only allowed the recruitment of two kinds of residents, and both were at Level 2.
If he continued to increase his cultivation and the level of the Mountain and River Map, not only would the variety of recruitable residents increase, but their levels would as well.
By then, the efficiency of their work would naturally be higher.
Thinking of this, Ling Xiao felt full of motivation, now having another reason to improve his strength.
"Oh right, I almost forgot that the first time I opened the store, I was given a free chance at the lucky draw. Let's see what good things I can draw. If I could get some pills, that would be fantastic, as they are what I need most right now!"
The lucky draw method was a common big spinning wheel, with various items on it, including farming tools, utensils, weapons, cultivation techniques, pills, and so on.
There were even consumable mystery rewards available.