Farming Games are All About Grinding

[Ice Stick gains new special effect - Meridians Severance: Wounds caused by the sword body will sever the enemy's meridians, interrupting their attack actions]

"It evolved again?" Han Qiwu temporarily ignored the loot that automatically flew into the storage grid, focusing entirely on observing the changes in the ice sword.

At this moment, the ice sword's shape had changed once again. Below the sword tip, a section about ten centimeters long had appeared. Unlike the outer ice stick's color, this segment of the sword body was milky white, resembling old ice, and exuding wisps of mist, giving off an ethereal vibe.

The connection between the remaining ice stick and the sword body was also sharp, with edges that even reflected a fiery glow.

Perhaps due to the missing chunk of ice, the ice stick's weight had lightened once again.

Han Qiwu picked up the ice stick and swung it a few times in the air, adapting to its new weight while inspecting its attributes.

[Ice Stick]

[Category: Stick/Sword]

[Current Form: Stick-Sword]

[Attributes: Movement Speed +5, Attack Speed -1]

[Attack Power: 100-350]

[Knockback Distance: 5m-10m]

[Special Effect - Chill: Every attack reduces the enemy's speed by 5%. This effect is stackable up to 8 layers.]

[Special Effect - Sword Nourishment: Inside the ice stick lies an extraordinary sword that requires battle nourishment to emerge.]

[Special Effect - Bleeding: Wounds inflicted by the sword tip cause continuous bleeding, dealing 0.5% of maximum health damage per second for ten seconds. This effect can stack up to four layers.]

[Special Effect - Meridians Severance: Damage from the sword body severs the enemy's meridians, interrupting their actions and immobilizing them for 2 seconds. This effect triggers every 30 seconds.]

[Special Effect - Form Switching: Once the sword form emerges, the weapon can switch between stick form and sword form.]

[Note: Perseverance pays off!]

The upgraded ice sword had all its attributes enhanced, with the penalty on attack speed reduced to -1. Unlike last time, both the upper and lower limits of attack power had been increased simultaneously.

Plus, it came with a powerful control effect—Meridians Severance.

All it took was a slash with the sword body, and the enemy would be immobilized for two seconds.

So useful!

Han Qiwu couldn't wait to see just how powerful the fully evolved ice sword would be.

Swish, swish, swish.

If only it could enable flight, that would look even cooler.

After examining the attributes of the ice stick, Han Qiwu checked out the loot dropped by the Lava Spider.

[Lava Spider Legs]×4

[Usage: Material]

[Note: Roughly hacked off Lava Spider legs, with reduced quality.]

Han Qiwu: "..."

Rough? I thought my movements were quite elegant.

Whatever, reduced quality is fine. The more I gather, the better.

I can make four more lightning rods now.

After reviewing the loot, Han Qiwu was pleasantly surprised to find that the Lava Spider had also dropped a staircase.

How considerate.

Time to get that scroll!

"Let's go, let's go." Han Qiwu summoned his pets and stepped onto the staircase.

[You have arrived at Level 88 of the mine.]

As visibility returned, Han Qiwu immediately looked toward the upper right corner of the map.

Unfortunately, the map indicated that the scroll was still some distance away.

"Little Electric goes first, Little Ice covers the rear—we're advancing." Han Qiwu stood at the center of the formation atop his wind-fire wheels, swiftly moving toward the scroll's location.

After traversing two alleys, a Lava Spider suddenly emerged from a nearby corner, accompanied by dozens of Cave Worms.

Han Qiwu was eager to test the power of Meridians Severance. Standing on his wind-fire wheels, he faced the Lava Spider head-on while leaving the Cave Worms to Little Electric and the others.

As he approached, Han Qiwu took advantage of his high movement speed, landing a slash on one of the Lava Spider's legs.

The enraged Lava Spider raised four of its legs, dramatically striking toward Han Qiwu.

[Meridians Severance]

At that moment, the words "Meridians Severance" appeared in ancient script above the Lava Spider's head, instantly halting its movement.

Disoriented by the sudden control effect, the Lava Spider lost its balance and toppled backward.

"Boom."

Before it fell, Han Qiwu had already dodged to the side.

What a practical skill.

Since the effect had a fixed cooldown, Han Qiwu planned to make the most of the next thirty seconds by trying to remove all eight of the spider's legs.

Unfortunately, by the time Han Qiwu had removed the fourth leg, the young Lava Spider couldn't tolerate the situation anymore—it tilted its head back, letting out a piercing screech, preparing to spit lava.

"No spitting in public!"

Han Qiwu smoothly rotated his wrist, slashing the Lava Spider with the sword body.

He had been waiting for the spider's attack—the Meridians Severance effect hadn't been used for two whole minutes!

[Meridians Severance]

The reactivated control struck, interrupting its lava-spitting action.

Unable to expel the lava, the molten substance flowed back into the spider's body, wildly spilling out in all directions and causing waves of burn damage.

Safely positioned to the side, Han Qiwu leisurely watched as the Lava Spider gradually dissolved into white light and disappeared.

[Lava Spider Legs]×3

Nice.

The remaining Cave Worms had already been taken care of by Little Electric.

Onward!

Half an hour later, Han Qiwu was still two alleys away from the scroll. As he continued walking, he began to feel that something was off.

The air had grown hotter, saturated with the smell of sulfur, and the sound of surging waves echoed through the rocky walls.

After rounding a corner, he understood the problem.

Within view, a Magma River over twenty meters wide flowed sluggishly, with occasional floating pieces of shattered rocks. At the center of the river stood a stone pillar, atop which lay the Scroll of Mystery 8 that Han Qiwu sought.

"Chirp chirp!"

Little Electric spotted the scroll from afar, glanced at the Magma River in terror, then hurriedly scampered over to Xiao Lai for safety.

So scary.

The master can't possibly want me to go there, right?

Sensing the rising surrounding temperature, Han Qiwu turned and said, "You all wait in the previous alley and don't follow me."

"Chirp chirp!"

Little Electric widened its eyes and flew over to grab Han Qiwu's clothes, desperately pulling him back.

Master! I, Little Electric, forbid you from doing this!

Beside him, Xiao Lai sighed helplessly and spoke up to reason. "Little Electric, Little Electric, do you think the master is foolish?"

"When have you ever seen the master throw his life away?"

"If he dared to go, he must have something good up his sleeve."

After hearing Xiao Lai's explanation, Little Electric slowly came to its senses and reluctantly let go of Han Qiwu's clothes.

Han Qiwu felt moved by Little Electric's gestures and reached out to pat its head.

Not bad—the affection for this little guy wasn't for nothing.

Once his pets had retreated to the alley, Han Qiwu continued studying the Magma River's flow. He noticed this section was relatively stable, though it was unlike the lifeless stretch he'd encountered earlier.

It didn't matter—the scroll had to be retrieved.

Taking a deep breath, Han Qiwu pulled a Lava Eel from his storage grid, skillfully slicing it into fillets and threading them on bamboo skewers. He held the skewers over the Magma River, slowly grilling them.

From time to time, he sprinkled cumin salt and chili powder over them.

Back in the alley, Little Electric scented the fragrance wafting from afar and reacted with indignation.

Hmph!