Chapter 125: The Grand Party’s Pure Incense Pill -1

“What? Models can be upgraded? Oh my God, friend. No, I mean, brother! We really need to have a good talk from now on!”
Yang Zicang watched speechlessly as Luo Bin, in just a few words, completely stunned that foreigner who had previously been indifferent to him.
Saying goodbye at Hub Town, they returned to the camp the next day.
Over the next entire day, Yang Zicang and a few others worked intensively on producing the Qing Shen Xiang Wan. Little Liu took the time to make several wooden plaques, writing in artistic script: “The Big Client’s Qing Shen Xiang Wan.”
“Time waits for no one, after all.”
“Yeah, this week is almost over. We gotta make the most of the last few days for promoting.”
Lyu Zhi poked his head over from the side:
“Bro, how much do you reckon we’ll make this time?”
“There you go again!” the professor shot the big guy a exasperated glare.
When Yang Zicang laid out the plan—to use the A-level Lapse Screen Scene to earn Shixu—everyone got excited.
“So the big bro’s aiming to rake in a ton of Shixu with this!”
They remembered the thrill they felt when they heard the news that morning. If it actually worked, scoring thousands of years of Shixu each wouldn’t be a pipe dream. And what’s more, it would be earned with their own hands, not handed out by the team leader.
Yang Zicang smiled helplessly, feeling the eager anticipation bubbling in the guys.
“Hard to say—it depends on how many people we can draw in.”
The camp was bustling, and Luo Bin stood with folded arms, looking over the rows of wooden signs.
On some signs, a line of small text appeared below the bigger words: “For those who’ve lost their way, one pill in hand helps you enter the Crimson Moon Illusion without losing your life—Dajiafang Qingshen Xiang Pill.”
Other signs bore: “An ancient inheritance from another world—explore uncharted territories and charge ahead fearlessly.”
Or: “Dajiafang Qingshen Xiang Pill—to help you see through illusions.”
These were all large-size wooden signs.
Xu Xiuchuan hammered a long pointed stake onto a book-sized square wooden board, jammed it firmly into the ground, and then stood hands on hips, admiring the text on it:
—Your small step toward sobriety is a giant leap toward acquiring Spiritual Abilities: just one Dajiafang Qingshen Xiang Pill is enough!
“Quite the bustle here—what is all this for?”
Zuo Feixian returned with Fan Xiuyun, pushing a cart of supplies from Ning Yang’s tent area, and leaned in to ask.
“Old Zuo, you’re back.”
Zuo Feixian let go of the cart handle, scratched the dirt on his face, picked up a sign from the ground, and muttered: “Your… be what?”
“Beacon.” Little Liu didn’t look up, continuing to write with charcoal.
“Bee-kon, In the mist of I, LL… US… O… Got it, yeah, NS…”
Hearing him stumble over each letter, Little Liu sighed and lifted his head.
“Illusions, as in hallucinations. The whole phrase means ‘A beacon in the fog of illusions,’ referring to our pills.”
“What sort of ‘doom and gloom’ talk? Shoo, shoo, kids shouldn’t jinx things like that.” Zuo Feixian waved his hands dismissively.
Angered, Little Liu threw a charcoal piece at his forehead.
Just then, several jagged lines flashed out from the void.
{I’m Lu Xiang. I’ve encountered a few monsters. Please, bosses, throw in some Chrono. I’ll repay you fifty percent of the profits.}
“Oho, this guy is still nearby?”
Yang Zicang connected the Mental Link and saw Lu Xiang in the footage, draped in animal hides, strapped with wooden planks, grasping a reinforced spear, looking like a prehistoric man.
He must have been traumatized after getting stepped on by a monster last time.
“Lucky break this time—seven of them!”
“Wow, monsters this big are over here too?” Liang Xi ran out of the small tent and casually transferred a thousand Chrono.
Lu Xiang’s legs turned weak from fright.
He was becoming increasingly convinced that there was a gathering place for experts nearby, just not yet sure where.
[Anonymous Investor Contribution: 200N]
[Three Anonymous Investors Contributed: 720N]
[Team Member of Construction-Goods Squad “Big Client” Contributed: 200N]
“Construction-Goods Squad ‘Big Client’?” Lu Xiang finally found a clue.
“You bosses, watch closely—I won’t let you down!”
He charged into the beast’s territory. The moment he stepped in, a Red-Horn Beast sparked lightning from its forehead and came straight at him.
“Oh no, it’s one with lightning!”
With a few crackles, Lu Xiang failed to dodge in time. He was knocked flying, and the wooden pieces strapped to him scattered into the air.
{Bro, your gear just exploded.}
Lu Xiang had no time to reply; he felt as if he’d been hit by a car, tumbling wildly across the ground.
“Ahhh—”
Bang! The monster stomped on his chest, nearly forcing out his breakfast. But seizing the chance, Lu Xiang swung his arm and shouted:
“Triple Amplification!”
A golden phantom-wreathed fist smashed into the beast’s leg. The creature fell with a miserable howl and crashed down on top of him with a thud.
[I neutralized 56N.]
Damn it—I’m going to be crushed!
Before Lu Xiang could recover, several other beasts charged at him.
Yang Zicang shook his head. This guy was just recklessly throwing himself into it, exchanging hits for counterattack opportunities, rolling around for ages before landing one punch.
But that was the real combat ability of an ordinary person—over ninety percent of those coming here weren’t even as good as him.
After a grueling struggle, Lu Xiang collapsed beside the monster corpse, gasping heavily.
“Th-Thank goodness for the temporal amplifier, or I’d have taken a huge loss.”
{“You’ve already done well. Are you interested in going somewhere? There are many mutated otherworldly beasts there, but it’s very dangerous.”}
Lu Xiang jerked upright with a start—it was the voice of his investor.
“Where?” he asked cautiously.
{“I’m from Jiazi Nei. The Jiafang Construction Trades Team is preparing to enter an A-level Frequency-Loss Screenland to set up a temporary market.”}
“Market?” Lu Xiang thought he misheard.
What market could there be in frequency-loss lands? Unless… this was the work of a major shed district! He felt his heartbeat quicken involuntarily.
{“We’re inviting you to come along. Don’t worry, there’s a guaranteed bottom-line investment, and the profits will be split according to the usual ratio.”}
“Really?” Lu Xiang was well aware he had nothing worth scheming for. His involvement likely meant they were short an obedient strongarm.
{“Trust me, cut off your funding and reach out to me privately. I’ll give you a map.”}
The moment Lu Xiang connected with Yang Zicang, he was instantly stunned by the vast stretch of dense vegetation and trees around him.
What a vibrant, spirited place.
If not for the unchanging sky, Lu Xiang would never have believed the other man was in a frequency-loss area.
All his doubts completely vanished.
{“Arrive here within a week.”}
The young man across from him pointed to the ground, where a map had just been drawn.
Map reading was the most basic skill. Lu Xiang quickly etched the same map onto the ground, planning to carve it onto animal hide later.
“Boss, that’s way too far—it’s nearly four hundred kilometers from here!”
{“No matter what method you use, get there within a week, or forget it.”}
[$Jiazi Nei wants to take full-time investment control over my [Future Value] for Term One month.”]
“Full-authority temporal sequence?” Before Lu Xiang could react, he received a thousand-year full-authority temporal sequence, and then the other party severed the connection.
“This, this…”
Lu Xiang stood dazed, feeling the extra thousand-year temporal sequence on his chest—temporal sequence he could freely allocate within a month.
He quickly scrambled to his feet. Four hundred kilometers in seven days, he had to get there no matter what.
This was one of the rare opportunities in his life!
……
There were still two days left until Saturday afternoon.
Yang Zicang brought a large cache of supplies and over twenty people near a few mountains. With incense pellets for protection, as long as they didn’t approach the third great peak on the left, the theoretical risk was low.
“Brother Zicang, the tent is set up,” Shed Master Song said, wiping his sweat as he approached.
On the other side, Ning Yang and Niuwa were still huffing and puffing, tamping the ground.
Although these mountains would eventually collapse, that was still seven or eight months away. So, this campsite needed to last at least half a year; Ning Yang planned to build a few log cabins here to prepare for the “business” ahead.
In his words, “Our Dajiafang Construction Transport Team should uphold the dignity of a major player and not lose our standing.”
Though Yang Zicang hadn’t formally agreed to let him join the team, Ning Yang had already regarded himself as a member; this shed master’s awareness was now quite advanced.
……
“That’s enough, let’s begin.”
In front of the tent, Yang Zicang looked toward Aya.
She nodded nervously, a folded-line model emerging before her chest as silk threads flickered and leaped onto her fingertips. The moment she touched the modulator, she felt her thoughts drift ethereally, as if resonating with heaven and earth.
[My communication range has expanded]
[I want to initiate an announcement]
Aya opened her eyes.
“Huh? Does this mean I can broadcast like financing without actually using financing?”
Everyone looked at her curiously.
Yang Zicang nodded: “Yes, but if you enable financing, people within two hundred kilometers can invest in you. Remember to be ready to return the timing sequence at any time; exceeding ten thousand will lead to a very dreadful place.”
“Mm.” Aya replied solemnly. This was her opportunity; no matter how dangerous, she didn’t want to give it up, especially since there was no risk at the moment.
She took a deep breath, silently chanting in her heart:
[Hello, friends. We are the Big Client Construction Team. We are in a lost-frequency area near the A-level gathering ground, roughly forty kilometers east-west and thirty-seven kilometers north-south. There are tens of thousands of mutated monsters inside, rich in minerals and timber resources.]
Instantly, people in various shack areas over two hundred kilometers away received this announcement in folded-line format.
“Who?”
In a certain shack area, the man directing the dismantling of wooden boards for fire was startled—this seemed like an investment request, yet was non-investable, like spam. Upon connecting, he saw several large mountains.
“What the hell is this?”
“Old Guang, this is a Crimson Moon-level lost-frequency region, an A-level area after landform aggregation!”
“Crimson Moon level? A level? Where? There must be good stuff inside!”
……
In another shack area, several people playing cards received the message simultaneously.
“Huh? What place is this?”
“Not in our area. Who knows where it is?”
{Don’t be fooled, everyone! This is a new terrain in our vicinity—entering it will cost you your life!}
The wider the scope of a funding call, the more principal is consumed for speaking. Yet someone is willing to burn through months of their schedule to expose the truth.
{That’s right, there’s an illusion inside that drives people mad—they end up attacking their teammates or even mutilating themselves!}
Another person bellowed. They were from the settlement that had the “Grand Fragrance Pill Formula,” anxious to undercut the scheme.
But as soon as these words were uttered, countless people grew even more tempted.
“What? An illusion?”
The faces of the card players changed instantly—they were no novices and knew that “illusion” meant at least a three percent chance of obtaining a spiritual item, perhaps even awakening a mental attack ability outright.
The declaration module erupted, everyone scrambling to verify whether the information was true.
Seeing this, those who had tried to discredit the announcement could have kicked themselves.