I trekked westward through the Verdant Rift, the Beast Vein Continent's wild pulse thrumming beneath my boots. The morning sun filtered through towering ferns, but my mind was set on the Starlit Groves, a forested haven where bitter blood oranges grew, their qi-rich flesh a key to leveling my beast crystal.
My ember coil bond hummed within me, red scales flickering across my arms as I moved, my heightened sense of taste catching the faint tang of sap and distant smoke. The mental fire berries I had found and consumed along the way had strengthened my mental acuity, but to grow my meager puddle of mental energy further I would need something stronger.
My pack weighed heavy with my tent, sleeping canvas, and yew bow, the quiver of bone-tipped arrows rattling softly. The dragon tracks I'd found at dawn lingered in my thoughts—massive, three-clawed prints hinting at a Genome Dragon—but that was a hunt for another day. For now, the groves promised resources, and Dusk Bane Outpost, where traders bartered for furs and organs, offered a way to fund costly cultivation relics.
My plan was clear: gather bitter blood oranges for my qi, and farm creatures for trade to grow stronger. The terrain shifted as I neared the Starlit Groves, the air growing cooler, tinged with a citrusy bite that made my tongue tingle. The trees here glowed faintly, their leaves catching the light like scattered stars, giving the forest its name. My heightened senses guided me, the ember coil's predatory instincts sharpening my focus.
I tasted a sharp, tart flavor on the breeze—bitter blood oranges, close. Pushing through a curtain of vines, I found them: clusters of deep crimson fruit hanging from gnarled branches, their rinds pulsing with faint energy. I plucked one, its weight heavy in my hand. I peeled back the rind, the bitter scent flooding my senses, and bit into the flesh.
The juice was sharp, almost painful, but a surge of qi roared through me, and I felt my qi condense. My scales flared, spreading briefly across my chest, and I felt my muscles tighten, my blood coursing with newfound vigor. "This is power" I thought, pocketing six more oranges into my pack.
Some for later use, others to sell at Dusk bane Outpost. The qi boost was immediate, but leveling my beast crystal would take more than one fruit. As I moved deeper into the groves, my senses caught movement in the underbrush. A pack of Crested Vipers slithered across a clearing, their iridescent scales and venomous fangs marking them as farmable creatures.
Their skins—tough yet supple—fetched a good price at Dusk bane, and their venom sacs were prized for alchemical brews. I nocked an arrow, my qi flowing into my arms for power. I loosed two shots in quick succession, each arrow striking true, felling a pair of vipers before the pack scattered. Clean kills, I thought, tasting the acrid tang of their blood in the air.
I skinned them carefully, wrapping the skins and extracting the venom sacs, storing them in my pack for trade. Further along, I spotted a lone Iron hoof Elk, its antlers gleaming with mineral deposits. Its hide was valuable and could fetch a high price.
I hesitated—my qi was still recovering from the day's exertions. Then I reminded myself of Dusk Bane's markets. I stalked closer, using the groves' glowing trees for cover, and fired a qi-charged arrow. The elk fell, and I worked quickly, harvesting its hide and organs. My pack grew heavier, but so did my resolve.
Skins, hides and organs for coin, coin for cultivation resources, I thought, envisioning the relics that could amplify my beast crystal. The Starlit Groves shimmered around me, their beauty hiding countless dangers. I could travel to Dusk bane to trade, seek the Iron Spike Canyons to seep in its vital essence, or hunt more plants and beasts here.
Each choice brought me closer to the next level, but the continent's wilds never slept. With scales glinting and senses sharp, I pressed on, ready for whatever the Groves held next.