Chapter 143: Edible Spiritual Source Beasts

“Based on this prompt, advancing to Level 6 only provides a minor boost to basic abilities, and the Spiritual Source Technique only gets a small increase. So, the gap between Level 5 and Level 6 is not large. A strong Level 5 can even defeat a Level 6, but it seems Level 7 is different.”

According to the message, once the level advances to Level 7, the Spiritual Source Technique will enter its second form, marking a qualitative leap in power.

It was reasonable to imagine that a Level 7 Spiritual Source Wielder would have an astonishing jump in strength, making them incomparable to Level 5 or 6 Wielders.

This thought excited Su Li, and he looked forward to advancing to Level 7 soon. He was curious to see how powerful the second form of “Demon Muscles” would be.

From the shattered blood-red crystal below, in addition to the Spiritual Source, a blood-red sphere of light shot out and merged into Su Li’s chest.

“The Blood Crystal is the energy core of the Blood Crystal Beast and is considered a treasure. Fusion with Spiritual Source will grant… Insufficient Spiritual Source. Cannot fuse. Requires a Level 8 Spiritual Source Wielder for successful fusion.”

Su Li was initially delighted, unsure what fusion with the Blood Crystal would yield, but was immediately warned that his Spiritual Source was insufficient. It required a Level 8 Spiritual Source Wielder for successful fusion.

This made Su Li want to curse.

“The Spiritual Sources gained from killing the Blood Crystal Beast must be far more than nine. It’s a shame I was only nine short of leveling up. All the remaining effective Spiritual Sources were wasted and didn’t count.”

Once leveled up, no matter how many effective Spiritual Sources are gained beyond the required amount, they are reset to zero. He was now short a full 90 Spiritual Sources to reach Level 7, and the climb from Level 7 to Level 8 would likely require over a hundred Spiritual Sources. By his estimation, Su Li calculated he would need at least 200 effective Spiritual Sources to reach Level 8 and unlock the Blood Crystal’s power.

“Two hundred. That’s not a small number, but it doesn’t seem impossibly large either. With enough effort, it can be done.”

Su Li offered a slight smile. He climbed out of the giant pit. Ding Longyun and the others had been anxiously calling for him, seeing him standing motionless at the bottom of the pit, which was quickly filling with water.

Ding Longyun strongly suspected that the recoil from the “Dragon Rhino Slash” had rattled his brain.

Jiang Shuijue’s group of three had not left. Since Su Li killed the Silver-Armored Giant Beast, Jiang Shuijue had been curious about him and wanted to recruit him.

Although Su Li killing the Silver-Armored Giant Beast didn’t automatically mean his strength surpassed all three of them—as every battle involves many factors, including countering abilities—one thing was clear: Su Li was formidable and a rare talent.

Su Li climbed out of the pit. He immediately saw the looming Purple Wind Building less than 30 meters away from the fully mineralized corpse of the Blood Crystal Beast.

“That was a close call,” Su Li sighed, wiping the rain from his face. It was only now that he realized the rain was slowly easing up.

“Su Li, hello.” Jiang Shuijue smiled beautifully.

Su Li nodded to her, his face showing gratitude. “Thank you three for your righteous assistance. Without you, we wouldn’t have been able to stop the Blood Crystal Beast.”

Su Li felt favorably toward the three who had come to help, especially Jiang Shuijue, whose smile was genuinely kind.

“I told you, we are all human compatriots. The city has become like this, infested with monsters everywhere. At a time like this, we should be united and helping each other,” Jiang Shuijue said.

She paused before continuing, “You mentioned that Tao Bingjun had left. Who is currently in charge of the Purple Wind Building?”

She looked at the group. She realized none of the previous power figures of the Purple Wind Building were present. She had already guessed what had happened, but she didn’t object. She had no affection for Tao Bingjun’s group.

Su Li looked around and smiled. “We are the ones in charge of the Purple Wind Building now. And who is in charge of your Golden Convergence Center Building?”

Jiang Shuijue didn’t answer. Gu Mingfeng chuckled, “My Sister Jue is in charge of the Golden Convergence Center. She is the one who gives the orders, and we all obey her.”

Su Li looked surprised. “I see. Would the three of you like to come to the Purple Wind Building for a rest? Standing outside in the rain is miserable.”

Su Li extended the invitation. Jiang Shuijue’s beautiful eyes scanned the area. She saw many rafts around the Purple Wind Building, many laden with supplies, now docking again. People were moving the supplies back into the building.

“I think you must be very busy right now. I won’t trouble you for the moment. If the opportunity arises, I’ll visit you again. Of course, you are all welcome to visit us at the Golden Convergence Center when you have time.”

“Good, we will,” Su Li smiled. Ding Longyun interjected, “That’s a definite. The Golden Convergence Center is only about five kilometers from here. It’s only a short trip.”

“That reminds me, the raft we used to come here must have drifted far away. I’ll have to borrow a raft from you, Brother Su.”

“That’s no problem.” Su Li winked at Xu Haishui. Xu Haishui immediately ran off toward the Purple Wind Building.

Su Li and the others accompanied Jiang Shuijue’s group to the edge of the mineral island. Xu Haishui returned, personally holding a paddle and steering a raft, waiting for them.

On the other side, Bai Wenwei paddled a raft over, coming to pick up Su Li’s group.

“I heard Miss Jiang mention Tao Bingjun. Did you know him?” Su Li asked curiously.

“Yes, we had a brief acquaintance,” Jiang Shuijue responded faintly, seeming unwilling to elaborate.

Gu Mingfeng interjected, “We met two groups when we were out searching for the Sea Cow Beast’s nest. One was Gao Shupeng’s group from Golden Eagle, and the other was Tao Bingjun’s group. There was a small skirmish between the three groups, but no one had an absolute advantage, so it was eventually abandoned. Those guys in Tao Bingjun’s group were foul-mouthed and completely rude, so we strongly disliked him.”

Su Li subtly nodded. He wasn’t interested in the conflict between the three groups but was curious about their search for the Sea Cow Beast’s nest. He felt awkward asking for the reason, as it might be private, but Ding Longyun directly asked the question: “What is this Sea Cow Beast? Why are you looking for its nest?”

Jiang Shuijue and the two men were visibly surprised. Jiang Shuijue smiled faintly and said, “The Sea Cow Beast’s meat is tender and highly nutritious. Most importantly, it has no side effects when eaten. Food is scarce now. Finding the Sea Cow Beast’s nest would temporarily solve the problem of food supply. This news has already spread. Didn’t you know?”

Su Li and the others shook their heads. Ding Longyun laughed, “We know now.”

The group chatted as they walked to the island’s edge. Jiang Shuijue’s group boarded the raft.

“Then we will take our leave.” Jiang Shuijue bid farewell to Su Li’s group. Although she was interested in recruiting them, she decided the timing was inappropriate. She had established good relations with them, and that was enough for now.

The three boarded the raft and departed. The pouring rain had subsided into a light drizzle.

Su Li’s group returned to the Purple Wind Building. Bai Wenwei was directing the others to move the supplies from the rafts back to the 37th floor.

The panic was over. Everyone felt a sense of relief at having survived.

Su Li took a shower and changed into a clean set of clothes. When he walked out, he saw that almost all the supplies had been moved back into the Purple Wind Building, and the rain had finally stopped.

Looking down from his elevated position, Su Li could see the mineral island less than 30 meters away from the Purple Wind Building. He wondered if they could kill several more Blood Crystal Beasts and join the islands together, turning the whole area into dry land.

The island seemed popular. Many monsters were climbing onto it now, resting. There were Advanced Corpse Beasts and other types of Spiritual Source Beasts.

Su Li also thought of the Sea Cow Beast Jiang Shuijue had mentioned—a Spiritual Source Beast that was edible and had no side effects.

“Maybe it’s not the only one. Maybe there are other edible species, and they just haven’t been discovered yet. It’s a shame we haven’t encountered any yet.”

Su Li mused. The Purple Wind Building had over thirty residents. Spiritual Source Wielders had huge appetites. The daily food consumption was astonishing. Although they had collected many supplies initially, if they couldn’t find a stable source of food, they would soon face severe problems.

“The drinking water issue is temporarily resolved. Yan Fang is building more purifiers, and once they are operational, the problem will be completely solved. The main problem now is food, and fuel/energy.”

Tao Bingjun’s group had scoured the area for supplies. Almost everything collectible in this vicinity was now in the Purple Wind Building, including a few cans of LPG. They had enough fuel for now, but it wouldn’t last long. They needed to find an alternative. Food was the most pressing issue and needed to be solved immediately.

Jiang Shuijue’s words had given Su Li a new direction for thought.

“A catastrophe like the flood, which cannot be explained by ordinary logic, has appeared in this world. It has created the mysterious Spiritual Source, enabling human evolution, and countless different Spiritual Source Beasts. There must be some principle behind all this. If some of these Spiritual Source Beasts are similar to the livestock we used to raise—pigs, cattle, and sheep—then the food supply problem would be solved. This is an area that needs thorough research.”

Just then, a voice called out, “What are you thinking about so intensely? Are you thinking about that Miss Jiang Shuijue?”

(End of Chapter)