Interstellar Farming: I Make Potions and Climb to the Top

Everyone unanimously agreed with the proposal. Since they planned to use this place as a base, they would have to clear the surrounding area anyway.

"Alright, let’s start clearing the area outward from the great tree. We’ll split into groups and come up with a plan," Ning Xuan said to the others.

"Lan Xin’s Water Mirror Technique can be our main reconnaissance tool for the first sweep," Yun Han suggested first.

"Then let’s have Lan Xin scout the perimeter first. If she finds any unusual areas, we’ll send a two-person team to investigate," Ning Xuan decided.

Lan Xin had no objections, and the others agreed. Her fingertips traced a pattern in the air, and a curtain of water shimmering with a faint blue light slowly unfurled before them. Tiny droplets swirled across the mirror’s surface, reflecting everything within a hundred-meter radius.

The area around the great tree was a dense forest stretching for dozens of miles. Countless different species of trees stood packed together, their leaves of varying colors and shapes weaving into a vast ocean of foliage.

"There’s an abnormal energy fluctuation about three kilometers to the southeast." After quietly sensing her surroundings, Lan Xin suddenly froze. The surface of the mirror rippled, revealing a patch of low-lying, dark purple jungle.

The plants seemed to squirm, their surfaces oozing a viscous-looking black liquid. The Water Mirror zoomed in, confirming that the black fluid was covered in small insects.

Qinghe’s hand rested on the longsword at his waist, the cloud patterns on its scabbard glowing faintly. "This must be some kind of insectivorous plant, not a Red-eyed Spider’s nest."

"Make a note of it. Keep searching for other anomalies," Yun Han said, nodding in agreement after carefully examining the black liquid.

Subsequently, Lan Xin detected three or four more areas with unusual energy fluctuations. After examining them closely with the Water Mirror, she found a large tree laden with red fruit, a den of tree apes, and a completely black, smooth trunk with no branches or leaves.

Besides these places with energy fluctuations, they saw all sorts of creatures in the Water Mirror: giant wild boars, furry tree bears, bizarre-looking monkeys, large-tailed squirrels, and brightly feathered birds. They could clearly see them running or leaping through the forest and between the branches.

And yet, they didn’t spot a single Red-eyed Spider.

"Master, I haven’t found any spider nests," Lan Xin reported to Ning Xuan.

"The Water Mirror must have blind spots. Since we’ve done one sweep, we’ll form two-person teams later and sweep the area again. For now, let’s split into four groups and check out the places with the abnormal energy fluctuations we just found."

"I’ll go check out that completely black piece of wood." Ning Xuan felt it resembled the Thunderstruck Wood from inside the tree hollow. Di Youlin stood beside her, making it clear he would go with her.

"I’ll investigate the tree ape den," Qinghe said. Nine-tailed would go with him.

"I’ll go pick some of those red fruits," Lin Mo said, teaming up with Chen Nan.

Tang Xue and Min Wu went to investigate the patch of mucus-secreting plants.

The teams set off, while the rest of the group waited nearby with Lan Xin.

Lan Xin looked up at the great tree behind her, which blotted out the sun. Some of its gnarled roots were exposed on the surface, resembling coiled dragons. A jade-like halo flowed between its leaves, radiating a vibrant life force.

’Looking at it from the outside, you would never imagine there was such a massive space inside.’

’So, there are countless large trees in this forest. Could other trees also have hollows? Could the Red-eyed Spiders we can’t find be hiding inside them?’

With this in mind, Lan Xin continued her search with the Water Mirror, focusing on the thicker trees.

Di Youlin carried Ning Xuan and quickly flew to the completely black trunk. As Ning Xuan reached out and touched the wood, a surge of Thunder Energy flowed from it into her palm. "This really is Thunderstruck Wood," she said happily.

"What’s Thunderstruck Wood? What is it used for?" Di Youlin couldn’t help but ask, seeing how happy she was.

Ning Xuan then remembered that when she had audited classes at the Artifact Refining Department, she had studied all sorts of common and precious materials used in Artifact Refining. It seemed that Thunderstruck Wood was not among them.

The materials used for Artifact Refining in the Federation Star System were all various types of ores, natural plants, materials obtained from Exotic Beasts, and high-tech products. A material like Thunderstruck Wood, which had been tempered by chance through special natural energy, was not used in the Federation Star System’s Artifact Refining system.

"It’s wood that’s been tempered by Heavenly Thunder. It’s very useful. I’ll tell you about it later. For now, help me chop it down," Ning Xuan said to Di Youlin.

In this area, Ning Xuan not only discovered the Thunderstruck Wood but also found a tree about three meters tall behind it. The tree looked ordinary, but a dark red resin was slowly seeping down its trunk. This substance was called Blood Extinguishing, a medicinal ingredient used to invigorate blood and disperse stasis. Blood Extinguishing solidified upon contact with the air, shimmering with an agate-like luster, making it an extremely high-quality medicinal material.

By the time Ning Xuan’s group and the others had completed their explorations and returned to the great tree, Lan Xin had just made a new discovery.

So, Ning Xuan and the others once again split into two-person teams to investigate the areas Lan Xin had marked.

This time, both Yun Han’s team and Ning Xuan’s team found Red-eyed Spiders.

During their exploration, Chen Nan accidentally got stuck in a web spun by a Red-eyed Spider. Even though Yun Han rescued him promptly, Chen Nan was still poisoned.

Seeing Chen Nan lying unconscious, Yun Han didn’t have time to kill the spider and immediately brought him to Ning Xuan. Ning Xuan activated her Bloodline Energy. Emerald patterns appeared in her pupils, and the moment she placed her palm on Chen Nan’s chest, countless strands of Vine Silk pierced his body.

After entering Chen Nan’s body, the Vine Silk strands drew out the toxins bit by bit. The Vine Silk absorbed the black poison, and Chen Nan quickly regained consciousness. Once Ning Xuan confirmed the poison in his body was neutralized, she retracted the Vine Silk.

Although there was a small mishap with Chen Nan, it was a close call without any real danger. They successfully cleared out the spider nests and even found two large webs, each over three meters in diameter, hidden between some concealed trees.

They had already witnessed the web’s toxicity. In addition to being poisonous, the web was also incredibly sticky. Once caught, it was very difficult to escape.

They took these two webs back to their tree hollow base and hung them outside the entrance. With these webs in place, they no longer had to worry about birds, beasts, or poisonous insects sneaking into the hollow at night.

It took them about two days to completely clear the surrounding area. During this task, they also found many useful things.

For example, the rare, chance-find Thunderstruck Wood; the Blood Extinguishing, a top-tier medicinal ingredient in both texture and purity; and the red Spirit Fruits that Lin Mo and Chen Nan had picked.