Farming Games are All About Grinding

The damage from the porcupine spikes wasn't originally that high.

But after returning last time, Han Qiwu had Xiao Lai fill the hollow cavities of the porcupine spikes with venom.

And thus, the Golden Butterfly dissipated into white light and vanished.

What a pity, what a pity.

The vanished Golden Butterfly left behind a pile of glittering loot on the ground.

As Han Qiwu walked closer, the magnetic ring he had exchanged from Egger automatically activated.

The pile of loot slowly floated into Han Qiwu's storage compartment.

"This is exactly the feeling I was looking for," Han Qiwu nodded in satisfaction, reaching into the storage compartment to retrieve the shimmering loot.

[Golden Butterfly Powder]

[Use: Tracking]

[Note: Golden Butterfly Powder will lead you to the source of golden light]

"Butterfly Powder? I thought it would be gold dust," Han Qiwu thought, a little disappointed.

After scanning the surroundings and finding no other Golden Butterflies, he decided to try out the tracking use of the Golden Butterfly Powder.

Wonder what this stuff is supposed to track.

Could it be its dad?

Han Qiwu took out the Golden Butterfly Powder, raised his hand flat, and slowly released it.

Threads of golden light slipped through his fingertips, scattering on the ground, naturally forming an arrow pointing west under some strange force.

Seeing the shape of the arrow, Han Qiwu quickly followed its direction while there was still some powder left in his hand.

Xiao Dian and Xiao Lai promptly followed suit.

After running for more than fifty meters, the powder was used up. Han Qiwu glanced around; nothing particularly special seemed to be there.

Just the same Golden Light Worms and Golden Butterflies.

Forget it, keep killing.

Kill and kill, and eventually, you'll find it.

Twenty minutes later, Han Qiwu pinched a fourth handful of powder and followed the arrow deeper into the forest.

This time felt distinctly different from before.

The farther he went, the more he could hear the rustling sounds coming from the surrounding woods.

Moments later, hundreds of Golden Light Worms surged out like a tide, frantically trying to block Han Qiwu's path.

Han Qiwu grinned.

The places you don't want me to go must have the best stuff.

"Xiao Dian, Xiao Lai, close your eyes, one o'clock direction, maximum power."

After issuing the command, Han Qiwu aimed at the swarm of Golden Light Worms and unleashed enhanced blue fireballs using his Fire Crystal.

High-voltage electric field + stunning fog + rapid-fire blue projectiles.

"Boom!"

The three area-attack skills instantly blasted the Golden Light Worms back into the woods, releasing waves of deathly white flashes.

After finishing the fireball attack, Han Qiwu quickly switched to his ice staff and violently struck at three Golden Butterflies that had flown out amidst the chaos.

"Take this, take this, take THIS!"

His swinging speed was so fast that ghostly afterimages appeared around the ice staff.

Two minutes later, the battle ended, and the trio, including Han Qiwu and his two pets, slumped tiredly by the trees to rest.

"Nice work." Han Qiwu tossed two fruits to his pets. "Eat up, and later collect the Golden Light Worms."

After assigning the task, Han Qiwu grabbed his powder and ventured deeper into the woods. Dozens of steps later, he heard the sound of splashing water.

Rounding a few large trees, he stumbled upon a small pool entirely golden in color.

In the golden pool, a golden carp lazily broke through the water's surface.

Unlike the frenzied behavior of the carp Han Qiwu had seen in another area, this one didn't seem desperate at all.

A complete freeloader.

Han Qiwu frowned and quietly continued observing intently.

Minutes passed, and he noticed a golden scale fall off the carp, gently drifting to the bottom of the pool where it gradually disintegrated.

Meanwhile, a nearby sapling to his left seemed to get a shot of adrenaline, soaring three meters higher and thickening its radius by ten centimeters.

"That powerful? Could the mutating Golden Light Worms and trees all be caused by this thing?" Han Qiwu checked his map and found that this was the last unexplored spot in Area 1.

Nothing left to say then.

Might as well fish it up and see.

Given the apparent rarity of this fish, Han Qiwu hooked on a universal bait.

Time to take a gamble.

Bait entered the water.

To his surprise, the golden carp didn't even look at the bait after it sank.

Not so much as a reaction.

And with no other fish in the pool, if the carp wouldn't approach, everything remained utterly still and uneventful.

"What's going on?" Han Qiwu reeled back the float and tried to aim precisely, casting the bait nearer to the golden carp's mouth.

But the carp was positioned exactly at the edge of his casting range under the golden sun.

Couldn't reach.

"This doesn't make sense," Han Qiwu frowned, pondering.

Could it need special bait?

Han Qiwu took out some Golden Light Worm meat obtained earlier and crafted it into bait.

Not bad—the color turned out quite lovely, a shimmering golden hue.

He hooked on the Golden Light Worm bait and flung it closer to the golden carp.

There was a change.

As soon as the bait hit the water, the golden carp was drawn to it, and when it swallowed the bait, the fishing mechanics activated.

[Golden Carp: Movement pattern is mixed, skill effect: Alchemy]

"Bold name, huh? Golden Carp?"

The golden carp icon in the fishing interface was adorable, entirely golden with puffed-out gills, slightly larger than other fish icons.

Unlike other fish, as soon as it entered the game, it sped directly toward the float.

Han Qiwu wasn't intimidated, steering the float closer to the carp. Right before it collided with the float, he cast a mid-level lightning spell.

"Zzzzap zap!"

The golden carp was stunned.

The progress bar started to skyrocket.

Halfway to the top, Han Qiwu used Gold Edge and Golden Sun to speed up the fishing process.

The golden carp seemed bitterly aggrieved—why not let me use my skill?!

Just as the progress bar was about to max out, the carp finally broke free of the stun and angrily used its own skill: Alchemy. It spat out a golden bubble that struck the float, instantly turning it into solid gold.

[Your float has been affected by Alchemy, rendered immobile for the remainder of the fishing game]

"Knew it—it was up to no good as soon as it actively charged at me." Han Qiwu chuckled, entirely unconcerned.

If it couldn't move, so what? The carp couldn't escape the float's range anyway.

Two seconds later, the golden carp was hooked!

[Congratulations on successfully fishing the rare species reward for Area 1 in Mist Forest: Golden Carp. Phase 2 has been unlocked]

[Golden Carp]

[Not edible]

[Effect - Gold Essence: The Golden Carp sheds two golden scales daily, which promote tree growth and strengthen Mist Forest Worms]

[Effect - Golden Mine: The Golden Carp has a chance to grant you 1,000 to 3,000 gold coins daily]

[Note: This is a magical fish]