Interstellar Farming: I Make Potions and Climb to the Top

No one else had any objections to Ning Xuan’s arrangements.

On the second day, at Fang Qian’s invitation, the two female Spirit Controllers, Ning Xuan and Tang Xue, performed a basic spiritual power soothing for the soldiers at Supply Point No.7 who were suffering from abnormalities in their spiritual power and Mutated Values.

Tang Xue’s Talent Skill was Purifying Light. Although her Spiritual Power Level was only A-level, she was highly efficient at cleansing Mutated Values. Ning Xuan, with her S-Class Spiritual Power Level, released her spiritual power to soothe the soldiers’ restless spiritual power. They completed the task in just half a day. In exchange, both Ning Xuan and Tang Xue received special Merit Points registered by the supply point. Accumulating a certain amount would earn them a special reward.

On the third day, when it was time for Ning Xuan’s group to leave, Fang Qian was very reluctant to see them go. He had spent the past few days trying to get friendly with Lin Mo, hoping to convince him to stay a while longer. Unfortunately, it seemed that the Federation’s youngest Vice Admiral Level Officer wasn’t exactly favored by Miss Ning and appeared to have no say in the matter.

However, Fang Qian was extremely busy at the moment. He had already sent his men to retrieve all the wolf carcasses—over 50 wolves would yield a good amount of meat. He was planning to bypass the area previously occupied by the wolf pack and, following the map Ning Xuan had provided, open up new resource points.

Hearing that Ning Xuan was heading east, Fang Qian took out a map and pointed to a location in that direction. "Miss Ning, you can go in any other direction, but not east. There’s an extremely wide canyon there. It’s bottomless, with high, steep cliffs on both sides. Dangerous Exotic Beasts roam the canyon floor, and a thick fog rolls in every night. I’ve sent teams to investigate before, but I lost three of them and was ultimately forced to give up. If you head east, you definitely won’t be able to cross."

Ning Xuan followed his finger and saw that the location Fang Qian was pointing to was directly on her planned route. "Commander Fang, thank you for the warning. We’ll go take a look. If we really can’t cross, we’ll find a way around," Ning Xuan said casually.

After leaving Supply Point No.7, Ning Xuan’s group rode in the mechanical car Wang Yue had assembled and headed east as planned. Along the way, Ning Xuan told everyone about the great canyon and asked them to brainstorm ways to cross it.

"Little Five’s Talent Skill is Positional Flash within a ten-kilometer range. As long as someone crosses the canyon first, he can use Positional Flash to bring people over. He can take a maximum of two people at a time and can only teleport three times a day right now. By that math, he can only get six people across at most."

"Master, I can fly you across," Di Youlin said to Ning Xuan. Di Youlin had wings, but only Ning Xuan was allowed to ride on his back.

"I brought some highly elastic, high-pressure materials. I can build a hot air balloon," Wang Yue said.

This area was a frequent patrol zone for the soldiers of Supply Point No.7, so they didn’t encounter any dangerous Exotic Beasts or valuable Exotic Plants along the way. After about an hour’s drive, they saw it in the distance: a Great Rift Valley stretching across the land like a terrifying, gaping wound.

"This... can you fly across?" Ning Xuan turned and asked Di Youlin.

Di Youlin stared at the Great Rift Valley, which looked as if the earth had been suddenly split open. The cliffs on both sides were thousands of feet high, their exposed, ochre-red rocks resembling peeling Dragon Scales that gleamed like rust in the light of the setting sun.

He shook his head. "Master, if it were just a matter of flying across, it wouldn’t be a problem. But there’s a fog deep in the canyon, and I have a bad feeling about it. I dare not take the risk with you on my back."

"What about you, Wang Yue? Can the hot air balloon make it across?" Ning Xuan turned and asked him.

"This canyon is really wide, Miss Ning. The distance is a bit far; I might not have enough fuel. Also, if we’re carrying people, the balloon can’t fly very high. But with a canyon this wide and deep, I’m worried we’ll run into other interference once we reach the middle," Wang Yue replied.

Ning Xuan then looked at Min Wu. "I-I can Flash across. I just need someone to get there ahead of me so I have a location to lock on to," Min Wu stammered.

"It’s morning now. According to Commander Fang’s intel, the morning is the calmest time in the canyon, and when the fog is at its thinnest. Wang Yue, get the hot air balloon ready. Light the fuel and launch," Ning Xuan ordered.

"Lan Xin, Lin Mo, Qinghe, and Wang Yue, you four will ride in the hot air balloon. Di Youlin and I will fly alongside you underneath it."

"Once we’re across, Min Wu will use me as the anchor point to bring the rest of the group over. Yun Han, you stay here and protect everyone." Ning Xuan was keeping Yun Han, a powerful combatant, with the second group as a precaution against any unforeseen dangers.

Facing the deep, dark canyon, no one felt confident. But Ning Xuan’s decisive plan helped calm everyone’s nerves. Min Wu’s ability was reliable; the key to crossing the Great Rift Valley lay in whether or not Ning Xuan’s first trip would succeed.

The hot air balloon was soon airborne. Lan Xin, Lin Mo, Qinghe, and Wang Yue sat in the basket beneath it, feeling the balloon climb higher and higher as it slowly drifted toward the other side of the Great Rift Valley.

The first part of the journey went smoothly. Lin Mo and Wang Yue worked together, steering the hot air balloon. Soon, they reached the center of the Great Rift Valley. The previously stable balloon suddenly began to lurch. With a WHOOSH, the fuel in the burner flickered, and half of it went out. The hot air balloon immediately plummeted, and everyone’s hearts leaped into their throats.

The balloon had already dropped several dozen meters below its intended altitude. The cold, damp updrafts from the canyon caused the basket to shake violently.

Riding on Di Youlin’s back, Ning Xuan flew up near the fuel burner. She reached out a hand, and a golden-red flame ignited at her fingertip. This was the Vermilion Bird Fire. Empowered by the Vermilion Bird Fire, the extinguished fuel blazed back to life.

With the fire burning strong again, the hot air balloon slowly began to rise, gradually regaining its stability.

Just then, a hair-raising buzz echoed from the depths of the canyon. Countless phosphorescent insects rose like a dark cloud and flew toward them. The airflow from their vibrating wings sent the hot air balloon spinning.

Di Youlin, Qinghe, and Ning Xuan attacked simultaneously. Qinghe used his Lifebound Dragon Scale as a weapon; the scale could freely form any shape. This time, Qinghe’s weapon took the form of a bug net. Any of the dark cloud of insects that crashed into the net were instantly torn to pieces.

Ning Xuan used her refined Flying Elephant Ant Wings, which could also transform into various shapes and were incredibly sharp.

As for Di Youlin, his hands had transformed into a pair of sharp claws, which he swiped at the swarm of insects.

The three of them working together quickly dealt with the insect swarm. However, Di Youlin began to grow agitated and restless; his spiritual power seemed to have been affected.