Two more slots added to the Pet Inventory!

Learned Fourth Tier Symbiotic Combat Skill: "Floating Flower Layered Shadow"! Learned Fourth Tier Symbiotic Combat Skill: "Violet Illusion"! Learned Fourth Tier Symbiotic Combat Skill: "Shifting Flower Evasive Shadow"!

Learned Fourth Tier Symbiotic Combat Skill: "Elixir Spirit Armor Break"! Learned Fourth Tier Support Skill: "Heaven Mending Pharmacopoeia"! Learned Fourth Tier Support Skill: "Hidden Fragrance"!

"Pill Cauldron Phantom Body" has advanced to the Fourth Tier!

"Scent Recognition of Medicine" has advanced!

...

Following a crisp chime, streams of thought echoed within his mind. Nie Kong was struck by an overwhelming wave of joy; the little fellow had been dormant for nearly ten days and had finally awakened. When he wasn't cultivating, he had grown accustomed to the absence of the little one's little "A-ya-ya" chirps.

A moment later, the tender young sprout had completely unfurled.

After advancing, the little fellow had grown slightly taller, and the small flower bud atop the stem appeared fuller. The three leaves had increased to four, and most remarkably, the leaf blades were nearly doubled in width. As for the roots at the base, they were far denser, looking much prettier than before.

Only now did Xiang Xiang truly possess the nascent form of the "Violet Illusory Spirit Fragrance."

"A-ya-ya!"

The little one chirped quite proudly. The two middle leaves curled down to brace the stem, dangling a set of delicate roots back and forth over the dark green blood, occasionally bouncing up to tap the spiritual aperture with its small flower bud to catch Nie Kong’s attention—it looked just like a child waiting for parental praise after donning new clothes.

Noticing the little one’s showy movements, Nie Kong couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle, his focus gradually shifting to the skills it had just learned.

"Floating Flower Layered Shadow"—this was the Fourth Tier manifestation of the "Violet Illusory Spirit Fragrance's" Ninth Tier skill, "Sea of Blood Amidst Flower Mountains," and the advanced form of "Cloud Flower Four Layers."

From the initial "Flower Burst," to "Cloud Layered Flower Burst," then "Cloud Flower Four Layers," and now "Floating Flower Layered Shadow," this skill progressed tier by tier. After advancing to the Fourth Tier, its potency underwent a qualitative change.

When deploying this "Floating Flower Layered Shadow," it could induce sequential explosions of spiritual energy elements in the void. Furthermore, the number of spiritual energy explosion points reached sixteen, with an estimated range of one meter. If translated into the game "Monster Fiend," it would qualify as a small-area group attack.

"Violet Illusion"—this skill confirmed Nie Kong’s initial speculation; it was indeed the advanced form of "Violet Spirit Illusionary Heart," significantly enhanced in power. Although it currently still confused the opponent's mind through the eyes, this "Violet Illusion" could plunge the target into a brief illusory realm.

"Shifting Flower Evasive Shadow"—its appearance was somewhat surprising to Nie Kong; this skill turned out to be the advanced form of "Flying Flower Flowing Shadow." Both the movement speed and the sheer deceptiveness of the technique were far superior to the "Flying Flower Flowing Shadow" Xiang Xiang had mastered in its Second Tier.

"Elixir Spirit Armor Break"—this was the only Fourth Tier offensive skill available to the Pharmacist class in the game "Monster Fiend." Its raw attack power wasn't as high as "Mountain Crushing Strike," but it could ignore most of a monster's defense, and the attack was executed by detonating medicinal herbs.

In the game "Monster Fiend," as long as one carried medicinal herbs, this defense-piercing skill could be used at any time. However, this Tianling Continent was not the game; here, the attack was launched by detonating the little one's innate medicinal power. As for the strength of the effect, that remained to be seen for now.

"Heaven Mending Pharmacopoeia"—this was a Pharmacist skill in "Monster Fiend" capable of restoring HP to teammates and oneself. Each use could recover fifty percent of health, but it had a relatively long cooldown. When used in conjunction with another Fourth Tier skill that only restored self-HP, as long as the execution wasn't terrible and the opponent wasn't overwhelmingly powerful, a Pharmacist would rarely face death.

Upon arriving at the Tianling Continent, its exact effect was unknown, and it also consumed the little one's innate medicinal power. "Heaven Mending Pharmacopoeia" was somewhat similar to "Spring Breeze Turning Rain," but it should be significantly more potent, after all, one was Fourth Tier and the other Third Tier.

However, even if effective, Nie Kong would refrain from using it unless absolutely critical, and certainly would not use it on others. Because, like "Elixir Spirit Armor Break," it required Xiang Xiang's innate medicinal power, which was exceedingly precious and certainly could not be wasted carelessly.

As the thought crossed his mind, another Fourth Tier support skill, "Hidden Fragrance," flashed through Nie Kong’s thoughts.

"Hidden Fragrance?"

A flicker of confusion crossed Nie Kong’s eyes.

This Fourth Tier skill, "Hidden Fragrance," was an entirely new skill. It was neither a Pharmacist skill from "Monster Fiend" nor listed in the official "Violet Illusory Spirit Fragrance" data released by the Monster Fiend website. Most bizarrely, he couldn't find any method for using "Hidden Fragrance."

"Xiang Xiang!"

Nie Kong sent a questioning thought toward the little fellow. Just because the skill name contained the character for "Hidden" shouldn't mean its information was also "hidden"!

"A-ya-ya!"

The little one emitted a delicate chirp, and a tiny slit suddenly opened on the small bud at its apex, faintly allowing a wisp of subtle purple energy to drift out. Immediately, a large expanse of green burst forth from the tender young sprout, enveloping the tiny speck of purple and rushing out of the Yaochi Acupoint together.

"There isn't any. A little more," Nie Kong quickly sniffed after noticing the little one had delivered that wisp of purple energy before him, but he detected no scent whatsoever.

"A-ya-ya?"

The little creature seemed somewhat disgruntled. The flower bud split open slightly again, and then it used its innate medicinal power to send the seeping purple energy before Nie Kong. After completing this action, the two leaves on top slapped the flower bud, making a crisp sound, looking extremely pained.

"Still nothing. A bit more!" Nie Kong felt utterly speechless. The little one had clearly sent the substance out, yet there was no trace of purple or any fragrance before him.

"A-ya-ya!" The little one grew even more dejected. As soon as it registered Nie Kong's mental query, it immediately curled up, its tender roots and leaves tightly wrapping around the flower bud, refusing to acknowledge Nie Kong any further. Evidently, to this little creature, that purple essence seemed more precious than its own life force.

"This little thing!"

Nie Kong was caught between laughter and tears, but if he couldn't ascertain the function of the "Hidden Fragrance" skill, he felt it would be like having his heart scratched by a cat’s paw.

A glint sparked in his eye, and Nie Kong called out with a smile, "Xiang Xiang?"

"A-ya-ya!"

The little fellow hummed contentedly, seemingly enjoying Nie Kong's doting call, and rolled twice on the dark green blood with its plump little body.

"Xiang Xiang."

"A-ya-ya..."

"Xiang Xiang."

"..."

After several repetitions, the little one's curled sprout completely unfurled, floating lazily on the dark green blood, humming contentedly.

"Xiang Xiang, perform 'Hidden Fragrance' again," Nie Kong seized the opportunity.

"A-ya-ya?"

The little creature hummed for a while, finally slowly twisting its stem to sit up like a person. The small flower bud once again split open a tiny fissure. However, this time, after wrapping the seeping purple energy, the little one did not send it outside Nie Kong’s body, but rather channeled it into the Pet Inventory.

The emerald green innate medicinal power flowed next to the "Silver Flower Tree of Fire," and then released that negligible speck of purple essence.

"Whoosh!"

The previously unnaturally quiet "Silver Flower Tree of Fire" suddenly began to shake violently, rapidly absorbing the wisp of purple energy. Afterward, it became energized as if it had taken a stimulant; its vermilion leaves burst forth with a magnificent glow resembling a rosy sunset, like a tiny sun.

The sudden activity inside the Pet Inventory startled Nie Kong.

The transformation of the "Silver Flower Tree of Fire" made Nie Kong vaguely understand. The purple essence seeping from the little one's flower bud seemed to have a magical effect on this plant. Nie Kong sensed that in just that short moment, the "Silver Flower Tree of Fire" had visibly grown a bit taller.

This change was hard to perceive visually, but the "Silver Flower Tree of Fire" was inside Nie Kong’s Pet Inventory, and he could feel it.

"I didn't expect this unfamiliar new skill to have such an effect!"

Nie Kong silently marveled. If the medicinal power of that poisonous herb was the necessary nourishment for the "Silver Flower Tree of Fire’s" growth, then "Hidden Fragrance" was its catalyst.

If it works for the "Silver Flower Tree of Fire," it should have the same effect on other medicinal herbs. Perhaps the function of "Hidden Fragrance" extends even further.

"A-ya-ya!"

The little one proudly retracted its innate medicinal power back into the Yaochi Acupoint.

"Xiang Xiang..."

However, as soon as it heard Nie Kong’s call, the little creature quickly curled up into a tight ball, seemingly afraid that Nie Kong would ask it to use "Hidden Fragrance" again. Seeing this reaction, Nie Kong chuckled wryly and refocused his attention on the "Silver Flower Tree of Fire" inside the Pet Inventory.

A moment later, four roots emerged from the round sprout within the Yaochi Acupoint, gently scratching Nie Kong’s four acupoints. Seeing no reaction from him, its curled body slightly relaxed, and the small flower bud peeked out halfway from under the leaves, twitching left and right inquisitively.

"A-ya-ya!"

The little one jumped up with relief and ambled a few laps on the dark green blood, its roots suddenly slapping the side wall of Nie Kong's acupoints, acting coquettishly.

"Hungry?"

Sensing the message conveyed by the little creature, Nie Kong was stunned for a moment, realizing that besides one thriving "Silver Flower Tree of Fire," the "Crimson Backed Heavenly Net," the "Serpent Coiled Blood Lotus," and a small amount of "Eight-Star Sea Conch" in the Pet Inventory, there were no other medicinal herbs for the little one to absorb.

Nie Kong immediately began to fret. Only that Medicine Hall in the Inner City sold medicinal herbs, but given the speed at which the little one consumed them, even if he worked himself to death, he couldn't earn enough points to exchange for the required herbs. He still needed to find a way to get some herbs from the Outer City.

"A-ya-ya!"

The little creature bounced a few times and chirped crisply again, the sound strongly conveying three words: "I'm hungry!" Seeing the little one’s self-righteous look, Nie Kong helplessly patted his forehead, then tapped his waist token and hurried out the door. Fortunately, he still had over twenty thousand points left, which could serve as an emergency measure. Otherwise, he didn't know how he would appease the little one today...

...

PS: The skill "Hidden Fragrance" is very, very, very... important. O(∩_∩)O~. .. ..

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