Bai Qiu, having entered a state of enlightenment, abandoned all perception of the outside world.
He devoted his full attention to controlling the flow of magic power through the magical circuits within his body—countless branching streams intertwining as intricately as blood vessels.
He was observing—how exactly magic power flowed, how it recovered.
How it was consumed, stored, and, beyond the release of Noble Phantasms, in what other ways it could be utilized…
With all external senses sealed off—including the system notifications—Bai Qiu failed to notice the virtual message window before him continuously flashing with alerts:
"Mana Manipulation (Rank D), Proficiency +300."
"Mana Manipulation (Rank D), Proficiency +500."
"Mana…"
After a long period of enlightenment—
"Mana Manipulation (Rank D) → Mana Manipulation (Rank D+), Proficiency (120 / 100,000)."
…
Zhang Shiyao walked up beside Bai Qiu and said, "Brother Bai Qiu, the Crimson Feather Chicken King is dead. Should we finish gathering all the Redstem Grass before leaving?"
Bai Qiu gave no response.
He simply stood there, expressionless, eyes closed, the shaft of his heavy Darksteel Heavy Spear thrust more than thirty centimeters into the ground.
His posture was straight and firm like a pine tree.
Since his armor concealed his body, Zhang Shiyao couldn't tell whether he was injured.
She called out to him several times, but he remained motionless.
The petite girl, even when standing on tiptoe, couldn't reach his face.
All she could do was wave her hand in front of his chestplate—but there was no reaction.
"Is he asleep?" Zhang Shiyao didn't panic.
She noticed Bai Qiu's steady breathing and the gentle rise and fall of his chest.
Then, recalling how he had stood guard over her after she fainted the previous night, she suddenly understood.
"Brother Bai Qiu must've stayed up all night watching over me. Now he's completely exhausted and fell asleep!
I'd better hurry and gather all those herbs while he's resting. When he wakes up, he'll definitely praise me!" she muttered to herself, clenching her fists.
She took a bottle of milk from her storage card, drank it in one gulp, and transformed into a gathering master, furiously harvesting the remaining Redstem Grass.
"Ding! High-Grade Redstem Grass (Rank E+) ×1!"
…
Time passed second by second.
Bai Qiu stood motionless within the secret realm for nearly two hours.
Even after Zhang Shiyao had gathered every last herb, he still hadn't awakened.
"I see… I see… So magic power can even be used in this way. What an all-encompassing force!" Bai Qiu murmured excitedly.
He greedily absorbed every bit of knowledge about magic, completely unaware of how much time had slipped by in the outside world.
Now, simply by standing with both feet upon the earth, he could draw faint traces of magical elements from the ground, converting them into magic power to replenish his body.
It was slow and scarce—but real.
Just as he was peeling back yet another layer of the veil surrounding magic, soft sobs drew his attention.
Opening his eyes, he saw Zhang Shiyao sitting across from him.
She had placed some grass beneath her to sit on, hugging her knees tightly, her head buried between them as she wept.
"What's wrong, Shiyao? Are you hurt somewhere?" Bai Qiu asked, alarmed.
He had no idea how much time had passed—only that there was no danger nearby, and Shiyao bore no injuries.
"N-no, I'm fine." Seeing Bai Qiu awake, Zhang Shiyao hastily wiped her tears and stood up.
"Brother Bai Qiu, I've already dug up all the Redstem Grass! My Gathering Skill even leveled up to Rank D!" she said happily.
"I see, that's impressive. But if that's the case, why were you crying just now?" Bai Qiu asked.
Zhang Shiyao instantly grew flustered, fidgeting with the hem of her clothes before stammering out, "A-after you used your Noble Phantasm, you just stopped moving. No matter how much I called, you wouldn't wake up. Even after I finished collecting all the herbs, you still didn't respond.
I thought… I thought Brother…"
Her voice grew softer and softer, until it faded completely.
Bai Qiu finally understood—she had been worried about him.
"I'm sorry," he said gently.
"After using the Noble Phantasm, I came to understand many things. I'll explain it to you later. Since there's nothing left here, let's head back to the safe zone…"
He leaned down slightly and patted Zhang Shiyao's head apologetically—but before he could finish his sentence, she grabbed his hand and pulled him along.
She raised both hands above her head, holding onto Bai Qiu's hand excitedly.
"There's still something good we haven't taken! Come on, Brother, follow me!" she said, her tone like that of a child eager to show off a new toy.
Bai Qiu felt curious—just what good news did she have this time?
When he followed her at a leisurely pace, he soon saw a wooden-colored chest quietly resting on the ground.
Wooden Treasure Chest (Common)
Description: Contains items of lesser value, but beware of the thorns wrapped around it.
A few thorny vines coiled around the wooden chest.
It didn't seem like much.
Bai Qiu casually tore the vines apart; his armor covered him completely from head to toe, leaving the thorns no chance of even scratching him.
Just as he was about to place his hand on the chest, he slowly drew it back and said to Zhang Shiyao,
"You should open it. I wonder if the items inside are affected by luck."
"Oh, right! You're super unlucky, Brother!" Zhang Shiyao exclaimed as if she had just realized something.
She already had a deep understanding of Bai Qiu's abnormally low luck.
She hopped toward the chest like a rabbit, crouched down, and opened it.
To prevent any potential danger, Bai Qiu kept his eyes fixed intently on the chest.
Even if something dangerous did appear inside, in his fully alert state, he was confident he could deal with it within half a second.
Zhang Shiyao opened the chest safely and without incident.
Two blueprints and fifty Sanctum Coins dropped out.
Flaming Arrow Blueprint (Rank E)
Description: Allows the user to craft Flaming Arrows.
Required Materials: Iron ×1, Wood ×1, Crimson Feather ×10, Concentrated Redstem Stalk Juice ×1.
Can be crafted in batches of at least one set.
One set = 10 arrows.
Flaming Arrow (Rank E)
Description: Arrows crafted with Crimson Feathers and Concentrated Redstem Stalk Juice.
Slightly increases arrow flight speed and range, and inflicts minor fire-element magic damage.
Fiery Plume Hunter Set Blueprint (Rank D)
Description: Allows the user to craft the Fiery Plume Hunter Set.
Required Materials: Cloth ×10, Thread ×10, Silk ×1, Crimson Feather ×100.
Fiery Plume Hunter Set (Rank D)
Description: A hunter outfit made from common materials and one hundred Crimson Feathers.
Slightly enhances movement speed, perception range, and attack speed.