Even if it felt indifferent, as long as the benefits weren't taken away, that was fine. The system was still reasonable.
Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu arrived at the area outside Banshang City where they had previously captured various demonic beasts.
If these beasts regularly lived in these regions, then their food sources must be around here too.
Because each time they captured five of a specific type of demonic beast, the system would reward them with seeds of the beast's favorite plants or insect eggs, Lin Xiao's goal was clear—he just needed to find those items the system had given him.
What seemed like a straightforward task, however, turned out to be problematic.
They searched high and low, following the system's guidance, but after half a day, they found only a meager amount of the beasts' favorite food.
Lin Xiao double-checked several times to make sure they hadn't missed anything or gone to the wrong place, but finally, they had to stop searching for the rations.
The efficiency was too low—half a day's effort yielded so little that it wouldn't even be enough for one bite per beast.
Why was this happening?
Logically, areas where these demonic beasts lived should be places where food was abundant.
Lin Xiao opened his storage space and examined the rations provided by the system once more.
Nearby, Jiang Youfu, noticing Lin Xiao deep in thought, didn't disturb him. Instead, he wandered around, collecting various exotic flowers and plants, intending to ask Liao Pantao and Lin Xiao later if they were edible.
After thoroughly examining the rations, Lin Xiao's gaze finally fell on the label "Favorite Food."
Could it be that although these beasts lived in this area, they weren't necessarily eating their favorite food all the time? Were they surviving on other, less preferred foods?
Hmm, that made sense. After all, even humans don't always get to eat their favorite foods every day—it was perfectly normal. He had been overthinking it.
So it seemed that the system-provided rations were indeed valuable…
Given how rare they were, and how even the beasts that loved them couldn't find enough to eat, these must be premium items.
It looked like he'd need to carefully cultivate these seeds when they returned. Who knew? They might have uses beyond just feeding the beasts.
But for now, he still needed to find some common food substitutes for the beasts, and it would be best to dig up some plants to take back, to tide them over until the system-provided rations grew.
With that in mind, Lin Xiao pulled a Golden Mane Boar from the storage space, tied a thread of spiritual energy around its neck, and then let go.
They were currently in an area that the Golden Mane Boar called home.
The boar, which had been growing increasingly desperate with hunger, paid no mind to Lin Xiao, the one who had captured it. As soon as it was released into familiar surroundings, it immediately bolted towards its food source.
Lin Xiao followed effortlessly, keeping hold of the spiritual thread.
Seeing Lin Xiao move forward, Jiang Youfu stopped collecting flowers and plants and quickly caught up.
Watching the boar run, Jiang Youfu asked, "Brother Xiao, are we letting it lead us to its food?"
Lin Xiao nodded. "I should have thought of this sooner. We wasted so much time for nothing."
Jiang Youfu shook his head, slapping his own cheeks. "Not at all, Brother Xiao! I picked a lot of things today. When we get back, I'll show them to you! If they're not poisonous, I'll see if I can make something edible out of them. Oh, and I also collected seeds from each plant."
"Alright, when we get back, I'll help you check them out."
The two of them followed the Golden Mane Boar, which was running desperately in search of food, chatting as they went.
Before long, they arrived at a large thicket of bushes bearing blue berries the size of a baby's fist. The boar stopped and began eating voraciously, grunting with satisfaction.
Seeing this, Lin Xiao sighed softly. As expected.
They had seen plenty of these blue berries in the area earlier, but since they looked nothing like the Crimson Jade Flower, the Golden Mane Boar's favorite food as indicated by the system, they hadn't given them much thought.
But now that they'd discovered this, it was time to take advantage of it.
Watching the boar devour its meal, Lin Xiao didn't rush to put it back in the storage space. Instead, he and Jiang Youfu started harvesting the blue berries and digging up many of the bushes to store in the private storage space.
They worked quickly, and before long, they had stripped the area clean, except for the bushes immediately around the boar.
The boar, now half-full and ready to move to a new location, looked up and realized the once plentiful bushes were now bare.
Stunned, the boar let out a belch, and while it was still in shock, Lin Xiao quickly retracted it into the storage space.
"Let's move on to the next area."
——
Although Yuan Qing didn't have much backing, he did have a few close friends in Tianxuan Sect.
While not all of them were willing to help, those whom he considered friends at least wouldn't harm him.
Among these friends, his closest were Xu Juan and the group of people whom Lin Xiao had rescued from the Green Wild Secret Realm.
Since Lin Xiao had called Yuan Qing to help carry those people out of the secret realm, they all assumed that he and Lin Xiao were acquainted.
Because of this, though they were most grateful to Lin Xiao, they also held Yuan Qing in high regard.
The despair they had felt while trapped was unimaginable to most.
When they were finally rescued, they didn't even want to expend the energy to hate the person who had trapped them in that sealed space. They just wanted to live well, to cherish life.
Because their bodies had suffered so much over the years, they couldn't take on sect missions anymore. They were all still in the Qi Refining stage, not particularly talented, and were never highly valued by the sect. When they failed to return, the sect had assumed they had died in the secret realm and had already moved on without them.
Even though they had survived, the years spent trapped had taken their toll. Some of the older ones had aged significantly, and after years of not cultivating properly, their cultivation levels hadn't improved. The sect's attitude towards them was predictably indifferent, offering little in the way of support.
After all, resources were limited. These physically weakened disciples couldn't contribute much to the sect, and in fact, were just another burden.
There was also uncertainty about their mental state—whether they could recover enough to progress in cultivation. It was likely many would never reach the Foundation Establishment stage.