220: Chapter 220 News about Medicinal Herbs

Watching the shrimp swarm swim toward the deep sea, Nie Ning unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately after, a mouthful of blood sprayed from his mouth.

'Cough, cough～'

Nie Ning coughed twice, his face instantly turning deathly pale.

He had been forcing himself to hold on just a moment ago; if these marine exotic beasts hadn't retreated, he would have had no choice but to flee.

But once he did that, having killed so many shrimp-type exotic beasts, the subsequent retaliation from the shrimp clan would only be even more frantic and bloody.

Now that this shrimp swarm had been beaten into submission, at least for a short time, they shouldn't plague the coastal city again.

Nie Ning waved his hand, and the remaining limbs of the shrimp-type exotic beasts in the sea flew into his spatial ring.

Although he was heavily injured this time, fortunately, it was not for nothing.

These exotic beast limbs, combined with the blood of the Deep Sea Shrimp Emperor, should make the upcoming journey a bit smoother.

...

Nie Ning returned to the shore, where Heloise was still arguing with the Crimson Feather Fire Demon.

Seeing Nie Ning return, Heloise changed from her usual cold demeanor, offering a stiff, smiling face to welcome him.

But upon seeing Nie Ning's lost arm and the wounds on his body, Heloise's eyes immediately moistened, and she hurriedly flew forward to support him.

"How could this happen? Are you alright?"

Heloise's voice carried a sob.

With Nie Ning's strength, how could he have been so heavily injured by a group of tidal shrimp?

"Let's go back first."

Noticing some knights spying, Nie Ning weakly pulled Heloise and flew toward the city.

And the Crimson Feather Fire Demon following behind saw this scene; its heart was even more panicked than Heloise's.

After all, it was not a little girl like Heloise; naturally, it could see that Nie Ning must have encountered a powerhouse from the shrimp clan.

It concerned the Shrimp Clan Emperor, but it hadn't expected those shrimp clan members to arrive so quickly.

What a mess...

It felt that once Nie Ning recovered, he would truly roast it.

But its contract was still in the hands of this little girl; it couldn't even run away if it wanted to, and that was the most terrifying thing for it.

After returning to the inn in the city, Nie Ning began to seclude himself to heal his wounds.

The main issue was the depletion of energy within his body, which inhibited his self-healing ability from functioning at full capacity; it would likely take ten days or half a month to fully recover from his injuries.

...

Five days later.

Lianshui Lane Wizard Tower.

At this moment, Nie Ning and Heloise were sitting in the first-floor hall, while opposite them sat a charming woman around thirty years old.

The Guardian Wizard of Lianshui Lane, Second Ring Wizard Wizard Minian.

"Thanks to Mr. Bronk's help during the last tsunami, the entire city was spared from disaster. This is a small token of gratitude to express our appreciation."

Wizard Minian looked at the armless Nie Ning and smiled as she pushed a box toward him.

But upon hearing this, Nie Ning couldn't help but turn his head to glance at Heloise, who was sitting upright beside him.

If Wizard Minian knew that this whole thing was caused by Heloise, he wondered what she would think.

Heloise felt a bit guilty under Nie Ning's gaze and could only lower her head, pretending to be nonchalant while picking at her fingernails.

"Forget the gift; protecting the human race is something our generation should do."

Nie Ning pushed the gift box back and then continued, "I heard that you have an Ice Core Lotus Heart. I wonder if you would be willing to part with it; I am willing to exchange it for other items."

"Ice Core Lotus Heart?" Hearing this, a look of hesitation appeared on Wizard Minian's face.

She had previously heard from her apprentice that Nie Ning had come looking for her, and she presumed it must have been for the Ice Core Lotus Heart in her possession.

But the Ice Core Lotus Heart was extremely rare; not only was it needed for most potions and pills, but many alchemy tools also required it. It was a very precious and rare material.

And the reason why Sky Knights have been scarce for so many years is precisely because the Ice Core Lotus Heart is something you can only encounter by luck, not by seeking it out; it only grows in extremely cold places.

"Is there something wrong?" Nie Ning looked puzzled.

Although the Ice Core Lotus Heart is precious, the demand for such things among wizards is not high.

Moreover, not everyone is a pharmacist; such things are generally only used for trading with others.

Wizard Minian sighed, her expression quite helpless.

"It's not that I am unwilling to give it to you, but I have already promised to gift the Ice Core Lotus Heart to an Earth Knight. You should know what this item means to an Earth Knight, right?"

Hearing this, Nie Ning fell silent.

How many Earth Knights have fallen before the threshold of becoming a Sky Knight because they lacked an Ice Core Lotus Heart.

Now that there was only one Ice Core Lotus Heart, no matter what price he offered, others would likely not sell it to him easily.

"In that case, I will take my leave."

Nie Ning thought for a moment, but ultimately did not force the issue.

He was not some murderous maniac; the people he killed basically all had reasons, and most were people who bore malice toward him.

If one used slaughter as the standard for everything, one would just be a soulless walking corpse, no different from those Corruptors.

Nie Ning stood up and prepared to leave with Heloise.

Seeing this, a conflicted look appeared on Wizard Minian's face, and she finally called out to stop Nie Ning: "It's not that there is no chance to obtain an Ice Core Lotus Heart."

"What do you mean?" Nie Ning raised an eyebrow and asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Although I cannot give you this Ice Core Lotus Heart, I know of a place where an Ice Core Lotus Heart might grow. However, there are several rogue wizards there who do not follow the wizard code."

"Years ago, I killed one of those wizards and obtained this Ice Core Lotus Heart."

Wizard Minian said while reminiscing.

Subsequently, under Wizard Minian's explanation, Nie Ning roughly understood the course of events.

Seven years ago, when Wizard Minian went overseas, she found a place called Iron Forest Island.

There was an ice-type mineral vein there, but it was occupied by several rogue wizards.

Those rogue wizards acted as kings of the mountain, deceiving knights and wizards traveling overseas, then seizing the opportunity to plunder and steal resources.

The usual excuse they used was, naturally, the Ice Core Lotus Heart.

Originally, Wizard Minian also thought it was just a rumor, but due to an accident, she killed one of the wizards and found the Ice Core Lotus Heart in his spatial bag.

However, because there was a Third-Ring Wizard among those wizards, and she did not want anyone to go to that place and throw their lives away, Wizard Minian did not reveal the news about the Ice Core Lotus Heart.

And since the Ice Core Lotus Heart grows in extremely cold environments, Wizard Minian guessed that there must be an icy spring eye at that ice-type mineral vein, and perhaps the Ice Core Lotus Heart grows in that very place.

...

After obtaining this information, Nie Ning did not stay any longer; after expressing his thanks, he left the Wizard Tower.

He did not sense any malice from Wizard Minian, so this information was highly likely to be true.

Moreover, there was only one Third-Ring Wizard on Iron Forest Island; as long as they had not broken through to the fourth rank, it was not a major issue for Nie Ning.

Since that was the case, Nie Ning did not need to spend any more effort on Wizard Minian.

Therefore, the next day, Nie Ning took Heloise and left Lianshui Lane, setting off for the Iron Forest Island mentioned by Wizard Minian.