Interstellar Farming: I Make Potions and Climb to the Top

Ning Xuan and the others slew the Two-headed Flood Dragon that had occupied the valley. They cleaned away the traces of the brutal battle, named the valley Spiritual Spring Valley, and established it as their temporary base.

The valley was conveniently located between two major safe zones established by the military. The operational range of either safe zone didn’t extend this far, so they wouldn’t run into military personnel while hunting Exotic Beasts or searching for resources.

"Lan Xin, how far around the valley can your Water Mirror Technique see?" Ning Xuan asked.

"Mistress, if I use my full power, I can see a distance of 1,000 to 3,000 meters," Lan Xin replied. Hearing Ning Xuan’s question, she immediately stepped forward. Channeling the energy within her, she drew a circle in midair with her hands, moving with a peculiar rhythm. Water rippled where she gestured, quickly forming a mirrored surface. The first thing Ning Xuan noticed in the Water Mirror was an old, three-forked locust tree, the kind that grew not far from the valley entrance.

The landscape outside Spiritual Spring Valley unfolded in the Water Mirror like an ink wash painting: dense thickets of thorns, squirrels hopping about in the woods. The view slowly expanded outward, inch by inch, each scene sharp and clear.

"The valley entrance is well-hidden, but to be safe, we still need to set up some traps and an early-warning system. Who can come up with a plan?" Ning Xuan asked.

The moment Ning Xuan finished speaking, Wang Teng took a roll of yellowed blueprints from his large backpack and slowly unrolled it on a bluestone slab. "I already looked into this before we came. The environment outside the valley is perfect for it," he said. "As for traps, I brought some thorny vine seeds. They were created by my sister’s Plant-type Companion Spirit. As long as they’re soaked in Exotic Beast blood, they’ll quickly take root and sprout. In three days, they can form a wall of vines with poisonous thorns that drain blood."

As he spoke, he took out a few small seeds from an inner pocket that looked like jet-black pellets. "Not only do they drain blood to grow stronger, but they also spray a sap at enemies. This sap has a hallucinogenic effect. If we set up pitfall traps behind the thorny vine wall, we can definitely trap any intruders."

Wang Teng handed the thorny vine seeds to Ning Xuan. He and Lin Mo were good friends, and it was Lin Mo who had recommended him for the team.

"These seeds are reusable," Wang Teng added. "You just need to drip the blood from this vial onto the thorny vine, and it will quickly revert to its seed form."

"Your sister’s Companion Spirit is amazing. Plant-type Companion Spirits are rare, aren’t they? I’ve never seen one before," Ning Xuan said. She had only read about them in books on Companion Spirit lore. ’I’ve never actually seen one. To think someone really has a Plant-type Companion Spirit.’

’When gene fusion first began, the failure rate for women was too high. So, someone proposed implanting the relatively gentle and more compatible genes of Exotic Plants into women to increase the success rate. In those early years, the success rate of gene fusion for women did indeed rise significantly. However, Plant-type Companion Spirits had very weak combat strength, so they were gradually phased out.’

"Yes, they’re rare," Wang Teng said with a smile. "Plant-type Companion Spirits are generally weak in combat, so very few people have them."

"Weak combat strength doesn’t mean they’re useless," Ning Xuan said. "Look, with these seeds, our perimeter defense will be much stronger, won’t it? When we get back safely, bring your sister to my home for a visit."

"Thank you, Miss Ning," Wang Teng said, both excited and grateful. He needed to ask a favor of Ning Xuan concerning his sister. Although he hadn’t stated it outright, it was clear Miss Ning had guessed his intentions and was willing to open the door to that conversation.

When Wang Teng finished, Lan Xin took three blue scales from her sleeve and arranged them in a triangle in midair. "Mistress, these are scales I shed when I came of age. They are linked to my life force. If we place them in fixed positions outside, I only need to channel a small amount of energy to keep this Water Mirror active indefinitely. Furthermore, I’ll immediately sense it if any powerful Exotic Beast enters the monitored area."

Lan Xin twirled a finger, and a misty barrier rose within the Water Mirror, shrouding the entrance and the surrounding landscape in a hazy veil. "Within the Water Mirror’s range," she said with confidence, "as long as an intruder’s spiritual power isn’t much higher than mine, I can pull them into an Illusion Realm."

Lan Xin’s Water Mirror Technique was also very useful.

By combining both plans, they established inner and outer defensive lines. The thorny vine would serve as the outer perimeter, and the Water Mirror Technique as the inner one. With that, the defenses outside the valley were essentially in place.

The valley itself was quite large, with complex terrain. Its undulating rock walls were dotted with natural caves of all sizes. Over countless years, wind and rain had eroded these caves into a myriad of shapes—some resembled the gaping maw of a great beast, others an inverted lotus. Some had narrow entrances that opened into surprisingly spacious interiors.

The central cave was the most expansive, with a vaulted ceiling over a hundred feet high. Its walls were covered with translucent, glittering quartz crystals.

The cave floor was uneven. A clear, natural spring pooled in one corner, its water eventually joining the Spiritual Spring in the center of the valley. Thirty paces to the east, inside a gourd-shaped cavern, stood a charming arrangement of naturally formed stone tables and stools.

The surface of the stone table was smooth as glass, its edges still showing the rippled patterns of water erosion. Best of all, a bowl-sized natural opening in the ceiling cast down a beam of sunlight during the day, perfectly illuminating the entire space.

The cluster of caves on the west side was divided into three tiers. Most were too narrow to live in, resembling a stacked honeycomb. The lowest caves were damp and cold, their stone walls covered in moss. The middle tier was relatively dry and suitable for storing supplies. The highest caves were well-ventilated and could be made habitable with a bit of tidying up.

The most peculiar cave was on the south side. A dense curtain of hanging plants veiled its entrance like a natural screen. Passing through this "curtain" revealed a long corridor. At the corridor’s end, a turn opened into a hidden chamber. The chamber’s interior was a hollow sphere, its walls perfectly smooth and even, without a single protrusion or uneven spot. It was as if it had been sculpted by some mysterious force into the eggshell-like room Ning Xuan recognized.

Ning Xuan chose the eggshell-shaped chamber as her bedroom and Alchemy Room. The others each picked a cave they liked and began to arrange it to their satisfaction. Lin Mo, Chen Nan, and Di Youlin nearly came to blows fighting over the cave closest to Ning Xuan’s. As for Yun Han, when asked which cave he had chosen, he stated directly that while traveling, he, as a Contracted Slave, must attend to his Contractor at all times. Therefore, he would be staying with Ning Xuan.