35: Chapter 35 Deep into the Jungle, Frenzied Looting

The two of them advanced together for another ten minutes, but this peripheral area had clearly been mostly cleared out; aside from a few unweaned little green-skins, there wasn't even a decent threat to be found.

"The efficiency is too low." Li Taiping stopped and glanced at the countdown. "Old Li, let's split up. There are likely good things deep in this forest. If we stick together, there won't be enough to go around."

Li Jun nodded; he wasn't one to be fussy either.

He tightened his grip on the revolver, scanned the surroundings with a fiery gaze, and finally fixed his eyes on Li Taiping, saying in a deep voice, "Alright. Take care of yourself, and don't capsize in the gutter."

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Li Taiping waved his hand casually, looking relaxed and at ease.

Li Jun's figure soon disappeared into the woods on the other side.

Once the surroundings were completely quiet, with only the rustling of wind through the leaves remaining, Li Taiping could no longer contain the smile on his face.

"Hehe... hehehe..." Standing alone in the middle of the clearing, he chuckled like a fool.

I'm rich!

This wave was an absolute killing!

Using a pile of ordinary supplies he didn't care about at all to trade for the most important good grade energy stone needed to upgrade to a tier three ship, while also incidentally reaping a pile of flattery and awe.

Where else can you find a deal like this?

"These people, they're all good people!" Li Taiping wiped away the tears of laughter, feeling deeply moved.

Now, he looked at everyone as if they were walking resource packs; they were just adorable.

In high spirits, Li Taiping didn't delay any further.

There wasn't much time left in the dungeon, and he couldn't afford to waste it.

He plunged into the deeper, unexplored primeval jungle.

His goal was clear.

"It's mine, it's mine, it's all mine!"

At this moment, Li Taiping was like a badger that had broken into a melon patch, his eyes shining as he wanted to stuff everything he saw into his storage.

"Whoa! A wild cinnamon tree? This thing is amazing for stewing meat!"

[Cinnamon Bark (Ordinary) x36]

"Huh? This is... ginger? It looks quite fresh!"

[Ginger (Ordinary) x36]

"Holy crap! Garlic! This island even has garlic? The system is too considerate!"

[Garlic (Ordinary) x36]

"Star anise, bay leaves... Sichuan peppercorns?! Even Sichuan peppercorns?!"

Li Taiping looked at the handful of red, numbing, and fragrant little grains in his hand, completely stunned.

This was a rare item that you absolutely wouldn't see on an average island; it was the soul of Sichuan cuisine, stewed meats, and barbecue!

[Sichuan Peppercorns (Ordinary) x36]

Like a diligent little bee, he scurried around the forest. Wherever he went, as long as it was something he liked, could eat, or was useful, it could not escape the fate of being collected in quantities of thirty-six.

Soon, the condiments section of his personal storage became dazzling.

After finishing all this, Li Taiping clapped his hands in satisfaction.

What's the point of just having seasonings? He had to get the main course arranged too!

Following the tracks left by animals in the forest, he soon discovered a herd of wild oxen leisurely grazing.

"Beef brisket, beef shank, steak... here I come!"

Li Taiping chuckled, drew his cold iron sword, and drifted over like a wisp of smoke.

A few minutes later.

[Ordinary Quality Beef Brisket x36]

[Ordinary Quality Beef Shank x36]

...

Next in line for misfortune was a group of grunting wild boars.

"Pork belly, tenderloin, pork ribs... not a single one can be missing!"

[Ordinary Quality Pork Belly x36]

[Ordinary Quality Pork Ribs x36]

...

Finally, not even a group of bleating sheep were spared.

[Ordinary Quality Lamb Leg x36]

...

Looking at the mountain of various top-tier ingredients and seasonings piled up in his storage, Li Taiping was so happy he was about to faint.

He even started fantasizing about the good life after returning to the ship.

"Tonight, I'll start with braised pork belly, tomorrow I'll make a pot of spicy beef brisket, and the day after I'll roast a whole lamb..."

While drooling, he continued looting in the forest.

This is what you call survival!

Thinking about the poor wretches in the regional chat channel still fighting tooth and nail over a piece of compressed biscuit or a bottle of water, Li Taiping felt like he was living in heaven.

Others were surviving, while he was on vacation.

Others were starving, while he was already considering what flavor of midnight snack to eat.

This gap was even bigger than the Great Rift Valley.

[Dungeon countdown remaining: 1.5 hours.]

Just as Li Taiping was immersed in endless daydreams about future delicacies, looting to his heart's content, joy turned to sorrow. His foot slipped, and he stepped on a patch of loose soil.

"Fuck!" Li Taiping only had time to utter a classic profanity before losing his balance, stepping into the void, and falling down into a bottomless black hole below.

A sense of weightlessness instantly enveloped his entire body.

The sound of whistling wind rushed past his ears.

"Thud!" A muffled sound rang out.

The excruciating pain of being smashed to pieces that he had anticipated did not come; instead, a violent jolt to his butt left him seeing stars.

"Hiss... ow, ow, ow..." Li Taiping grimaced as he climbed up from the ground, rubbing his bruised butt, feeling like his bones were about to fall apart.

He looked up.

Above him was a hole the size of a washbasin, with sunlight shining down through it to form a beam of light, but it was at least ten meters above the ground.

The cave walls were smooth and damp, covered in moss, with absolutely no place to climb.

"Luckily, I'm thick-skinned and fleshy, otherwise I would have definitely died from that fall." Li Taiping patted his chest with lingering fear.

The physical body of a Good-Grade Late Stage, its defensive power was truly not for show; falling from such a height, and yet only his butt hurt, without even a single scrape.

If it were an ordinary person, they would probably be a puddle of meat paste by now.

"Forget it, anyway, I'll be kicked out when the countdown ends, so it doesn't matter if I can get out or not." Li Taiping quickly adjusted his mindset.

Since he couldn't get out, he might as well settle in.

He began to examine the mysterious cave he was in.

It wasn't pitch black as he had imagined, where you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

On the stone walls of the cave grew a strange type of stone that emitted a soft blue light, illuminating the entire space like a dreamlike world.

The air was filled with a faint, refreshing fragrance.

"A hidden world..." Li Taiping clicked his tongue in wonder; he hadn't expected such a place to be hidden beneath this island.

He walked a few steps forward following the light, and the scene before his eyes instantly left him stunned.

A boundless sea of pink flowers appeared before him.

Those flowers had a very peculiar shape, with layers upon layers of petals like delicate roses, but the color was that very girlish pink.

Even more bizarrely, these pink flowers were constantly releasing pink spores, visible to the naked eye, like dandelions, into the air.

Countless pink specks of light floated and swirled in the air, rendering the entire cave like a fairy-tale wonderland.

It was beautiful, yes.

But Li Taiping's brows instantly furrowed.

Because the moment he stepped into the range of the flower sea, a familiar system prompt rang in his mind.

[Passive Talent: Immunity to All Poisons (Triggered)]

Again?

Li Taiping's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously held his breath.

Could it be that this beautiful sea of flowers hid some kind of deadly poison?

But soon, when he saw the detailed introduction of these spores on the system panel, his furrowed brows relaxed, replaced by a strange expression.

[Dreamy Infatuation Flower (Ordinary)]

[Effect: The spore powder it releases has a strong aphrodisiac effect; anyone who inhales it will develop an uncontrollable primal urge in a short time. This effect is also effective against good grade life forms.]

"Aphro... aphrodisiac?" The corner of Li Taiping's eye twitched, and his expression was as colorful as it could get.

After all that, it wasn't some deadly poison, but this kind of stuff?

He carefully sensed his own body.

After the pink spores were inhaled into his nasal cavity, there was indeed a vague, restless heat rising from deep within his body, but it was quickly suppressed by a cool sensation.

The [Immunity to All Poisons] Talent clearly classified this aphrodisiac effect as a type of "poison" and directly immunized him against it.

"This thing... it's practically a blessing for animal husbandry!" Li Taiping rubbed his chin; the first thought that popped into his mind was actually this.

With this thing, in the future when raising pigs and cattle, would he still have to worry about them not breeding? Wouldn't productivity just skyrocket?

Unfortunately...

Li Taiping quickly dismissed this thought.

He had the [treasure basin]; if he wanted meat, he could just copy it. Was it worth the effort to go through the trouble of animal husbandry?

Wouldn't that be like taking off your pants to fart—completely unnecessary?

However...

Adhering to the great principle of "since I'm already here, I can't leave empty-handed," Li Taiping still walked forward and carefully dug up thirty-six of the most vibrant [Dreamy Infatuation Flowers], along with the soil under their roots, and collected them all into his storage.

"Heh, another thirty-six, satisfying!" His collector's habit was greatly satisfied.

After finishing all this, Li Taiping looked around.

Since he was already here and couldn't get up for a while, he might as well use the remaining time to explore the depths of this cave.