Chapter 74: Chapter 74: The Shadow Protector's Probe, Can an Alliance Be Formed?

```After discussing the acquisition briefly, Su Xing fully delegated the matter to Jin Congxue.

Upon returning to school, Su Xing took advantage of the emptiness around him and entered the Spirit Field Blessed Land.

First, he exchanged the newly obtained three hundred thousand pieces of white-grade equipment for energy, and together with the previous leftover of over one million three hundred thousand energy points, Su Xing's simulation energy surged to an unprecedented level, reaching three million points!

As he watched the mountain of equipment swiftly vanishing before his eyes, Su Xing muttered to himself,

"At the current stage, the white-grade equipment provides the best cost-performance ratio for producing energy, but even white equipment is limited. As my need for energy increases, who knows if there will be enough white-grade equipment in the future!"

"Perhaps, when that time comes, I'll need to find other materials to replace the white-grade equipment."

Previously, Su Xing had also tried converting other things into energy. Ordinary elixirs could be transformed into a few hundred energy points, but the key issue was that they were too expensive and couldn't be purchased in bulk.

Not to mention skill scrolls, which contained even less energy than equipment.

Regarding the exchange of green and blue-grade equipment for energy, Su Xing had tried that as well but found that the white-grade equipment still offered the largest quantity of energy and had the best cost-performance ratio.

"Forget it, I won't think about this for now. There's always a way when it comes to it, just stick to simulating!"

Su Xing turned his gaze to the simulator and thought to himself,

"Start simulation!"

On February 11 of the New Era 2024, Su Xing began the twenty-third simulation.

[Ding! This simulation consumes 2,300 energy points, leaving a balance of 3,016,666 energy points, with unlimited remaining simulations.]

[Simulation has started!]

[Extracting a white-grade talent costs 100 energy points, a green-grade talent costs 1,000 energy points, and extracting a blue-grade talent costs 10,000 energy points. Would you like to extract?]

"Extract the blue-grade talent!"

[Ding, congratulations on acquiring the blue-grade talent, Plant Affinity!]

[Plant Affinity]: You are naturally good at farming. All kinds of plants thrive under your care, and those planted by you will grow significantly faster.

Seeing this talent, Su Xing's eyes brightened. Plant Affinity was a perfect match for his Spirit Field Blessed Land!

"This can make plants grow much faster. This is like being a druid, right? I just wonder if it'll work on Spirit Plants..."

Su Xing mused, stroking his chin.

In the Spirit Field Blessed Land, Su Xing had already planted thousands of Spirit Plants. Some that grew quickly could be used for alchemy after a year and a half under the nourishment of Spiritual Energy.

However, most Spirit Plants needed to grow for more than ten years before their medicinal properties could be utilized, and some even required a hundred years to fully manifest their effects.

Su Xing naturally couldn't wait that long, fortunate that he had a simulator, but even the simulator only allowed him to harvest a small portion of medicinal plants.

Now, with the Plant Affinity talent, Su Xing's planting speed of Spirit Plants would undoubtedly be much faster!

"This talent is simply too suitable for me. It looks like I have no choice but to select it during this simulation!"

Su Xing silently exclaimed in his heart, turning his attention to the simulation interface.

```

[In the Spirit Field Blessed Land, you realized you were in a simulation.]

[You decided to try out the newly acquired talent you had gained, planting a few spirit plants and carefully nurturing those you had previously planted.]

[A month had passed, and during that time, you spent an hour each day growing spirit plants, while the rest of the time was dedicated to alchemy.]

[To your surprise, the spirit plants you had sown grew rapidly, almost catching up with the growth of those from the previous three months in just one month's time. You were pleasantly surprised and subsequently cleared several more plots of wasteland.]

[One day, Jin Congxue found you and informed you that the preliminary acquisition of the Lingyun Commerce Guild had been completed, with the remaining payment required to be settled gradually over the next six months.]

[You nodded in agreement, providing Elixirs to Jin Congxue on a weekly schedule. Although the Tarot Commerce Association wasn't of much use to you in the simulation, you also wanted to see the subsequent development of the guild.]

[Before long, six months had flashed by, and one day, Wang Qingxuan found you.]

[She informed you about the mysterious organization, and through Wang Qingxuan, you successfully joined the Descending Sect.] Sёarᴄh the NôᴠeFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

[Upon joining the Descending Sect, you continued to act cautiously as before in order to gain the trust of the members within the sect.]

[In the second year, you revealed your talent for alchemy. The Shadow Protector took a strong interest in you and requested that you make Elixirs for the Descending Sect, indicating that you could be promoted to an Elder-member level within a year.]

[You accepted the task, and every day you concocted substandard Elixirs to fulfill the assignments, but secretly kept all the carefully crafted Elixirs to yourself for your own cultivation.]

[A few months later, you deliberately let the Shadow Protector catch glimpses of who you might be, leading her to vaguely guess your identity. After that, the Shadow Protector frequently tested you, but never proposed a plan for you to make Elixirs for her privately.]

[In the third year, thanks to your excellent performance over the past year, you were successfully promoted to the eighteenth Elder of the Descending Sect. What excited you even more was that the day after you became an Elder, the Shadow Protector approached you.]

[She expressed her wish for you to craft a batch of Elixirs for her, totaling around five thousand.]

[You frowned and feigned refusal, asking her why she needed to make such a large batch of Elixirs.]

[The Shadow Protector stated that it was her private affair; you just needed to complete the task on time, and that your efforts would be well rewarded.]

[From the tone of the Shadow Protector, you sensed displeasure. Knowing you can't hurry matters, you told her that you would deliver this batch of Elixirs to her within six months.]

[The Shadow Protector looked somewhat surprised since, based on your past alchemy speed, it would have taken at least a year or two to craft five thousand Elixirs. You smiled meaningfully but said nothing.]

[Thus, another six months passed. During this time, you made Elixirs for four hours every day. With an abundance of herbs in the Descending Sect, you had secretly stockpiled over ten thousand Elixirs.]

[In addition, you also ensured four hours of cultivation time daily, with your Cultivation Level improving day by day. You felt breaking through to the Nascent Soul Stage within a few years would not be difficult.]

[One day, the Shadow Protector found you, and you handed over the five thousand Elixirs you had prepared in advance. She was amazed by the effects after checking them, as the quality of this batch was several times higher than the Elixirs you had previously supplied to the sect.]

[Realizing the deep implications of your actions, the Shadow Protector initiated one last probe: She asked what your purpose was for joining the Descending Sect.]

Su Xing tensed up when he read this, muttering to himself:

"Here it comes! Finally, as a naturally cautious person, the Shadow Protector has only just come to somewhat trust me after three years and several slip-ups. Is she finally going to discuss the reasons for my joining the Descending Sect?"

Su Xing knew he couldn't rush this. In the simulation, offering the Shadow Protector five thousand Essence-Nourishing Pills within half a year was meant to demonstrate his value.

Only by showing the Shadow Protector hope would she reveal her true feelings to him.

Su Xing continued with the simulation.

[Facing the Shadow Protector's inquiry, you simply smiled faintly and said, "My purpose is the same as yours, to save this broken world!"]