Huh? Isn't this an adventure kingdom building game?!-Chapter 58: The Truth of the Offering?

"So that’s how it is, then..." Jiang Yuan couldn’t quite understand, "Why does Riverfront Village worship some Nüwa Empress, yet have to give large amounts of rice, flour, oil, and meat? Do immortals partake in mortal food?"

Ji Xiuxiang scoffed, a hint of disdain appearing on her pale face, "Them? They didn’t know where they summoned a monster and served it as a True Immortal. They even boldly claim it’s Nüwa Empress, huh, since when do True Immortals eat mortal food? They only need good enough incense, even the little Daoist child beside a True Immortal wouldn’t touch that stuff.

So the Queen Mother of the West our family worships is the real deal.

We offer incense to the immortals, and in return, they reward us with mortal goods, that’s the correct way!"

Jiang Yuan frowned feeling puzzled. Isn’t this wrong either!

Immortals indeed need incense, but where do they provide the mortal goods from? They surely can’t just conjure them up, can they? Besides, the so-called Queen Mother of the West you worship might also be a fake, otherwise, how come there’s no liveliness at all? freёnovelkiss.com

He had always been cautious and dared not drink things offered by others, he didn’t even touch the cup of hot tea.

Seeing that the conversation couldn’t trigger any task, Jiang Yuan got up to bid farewell.

He needed to go to the market tonight to pack some food and stroll around, he couldn’t waste all his time here.

"Sir, there’s something..." the paper-made Tian Changgui scratched his paper-made head with rigid hands, looking somewhat embarrassed, "I have a reluctant request, if sir is willing to help again, it would be wonderful."

Previously, to express gratitude, Ji Xiuxiang had given a bunch of paper-made cows and horses that could be burnt and used for plowing and carrying goods, along with various handmade incense sticks of different effects, she even gifted a Teleportation Talisman.

Now, hearing another request, Jiang Yuan stopped and listened seriously, "As long as I can do it, I’ll certainly help."

The paper-made Tian Changgui sighed and explained, "As you’ve seen, we offer worship to the immortals without worrying about food or drink and are unwilling to leave home, but to make incense that satisfies the immortals, a lot of medicinal herbs are needed.

However, atop the wilderness is too dangerous for even the immortals to provide complete protection, every time we go to the wilderness to gather herbs, we risk our lives. I lost my life for this and don’t want my wife and kids to take risks again, luckily, we’ve been trying to cultivate herbs for years now and are nearly successful.

But we just need a bit more time, the Ningxin Grass we use as an incense base isn’t enough.

It will be two more months before the Ningxin Grass grown in the yard matures. One, it’s almost time for us to offer to the immortals; two, I want to stay in the mortal world and need the immortals’ help to hide from the heavens, so... sir, can you help gather three Ningxin Grass?"

[Task 3: Deliver three Ningxin Grass to Ji Xiuxiang. Reward: Incense Chart X1]

Isn’t this just perfect?

How could anyone pass up free things found in the meadow of Crescent Lake, Jiang Yuan even took care to gather all the herbs.

So he took out three complete Ningxin Grass from his Storage Bag and handed them over, "Picked from the meadow while collecting your body, since you urgently need them, take them."

Tian Changgui and his wife hurriedly bowed in thanks.

"No need to thank me now, I’m actually interested in how you cultivate herbs, once you successfully grow them, if you can guide me a bit, I wouldn’t have to go to the wilderness all the time."

"Definitely, definitely! Once the herbs mature, we’ll surely invite you to exchange insights over a small gathering!"

"This paper crane is still in good condition and can be used for a few more days, please use it as transport if you don’t mind."

This time there were truly no side quests left, Jiang Yuan bid farewell to the Tian couple and rode the paper crane home.

I must say the paper crane is really handy, a breath turns it back into a small paper crane ready to be stored. He clicked "Show Equipment" and was instantly wrapped in a Black Cloak, pushing open the door to the Floating Market, entering the bustling market.

"My apprentice is growing and craves meat, I need to pack some substantial dishes." This time he changed restaurants, immediately packing two servings of chopped braised pork hocks.

Starting tomorrow, he planned to dedicate most of his time to mining work in the Old Dragon Cave, with the Earth Mirror Book skills, he wouldn’t need to worry about finding ore deposits, but encountering mine ghosts was still quite troublesome.

Dealing with two at once was exhausting, what if he kept losing health when encountering multiple mine ghosts? Then having plenty of food that temporarily supplements Life Energy as medicine becomes vital.

After all, he could wrap them with Spiritual Power and store them in the Storage Bag to keep them warm, might as well prepare more food to be safe.

Stuffed green peppers, braised pork with preserved vegetables, boiled shrimp, dry-fried green beans, mapo tofu...

Jiang Yuan swept through the market, filling his Storage Bag to the brim, feeling much more secure. After finishing his business, he wandered leisurely among the shadows on the bluestone road, suddenly hearing a familiar voice from a nearby shop, "Boss Quan always claims his market has the most complete range of goods, how come there’s no pickaxe?"

He immediately stopped to look, and sure enough, in the shop jam-packed with goods, a large customer wrapped in a multicolored white cape and wearing a mask was present.

Yun Mo’s voice was unmistakable and easy to recognize.

"Esteemed guest, this place is the Cyan Fish Mountain Market, only Foundation Establishment demon beasts come here to shop. I sell daily miscellaneous goods to support my family, considering the target customers, right? What is a pickaxe, it’s something lower-class commoners use for manual labor, how could the market possibly have such a thing?"

The shopkeeper stroked the whiskers on the edge of his lips and explained, "If esteemed wishes to reward the believers, might as well trade for something else, pickaxes and shovels are tools for lower-class slaves; it’s not just my shop, the entire Cyan Fish Mountain Market wouldn’t have them!"

Jiang Yuan captured the keyword "believers", linking it to the Tian couple’s words about offering to the immortals, suddenly it dawned on him—Doesn’t that mean the Tian family and Riverfront Village sacrifice to some demon cultivator?

The divine statue in Riverfront Village could set up barriers and use the Blinding Technique, yet couldn’t forcefully stop demon beasts from breaking through, because their demon cultivator lacked greater powers;

the immortals the Tian family worshipped ate incense and rewarded them with necessities for living, requiring them to reside in hidden corners, rarely emerging.

Tian Changgui, evidently wearing the Ironwood Ring, tragically died near Crescent Lake because the demon cultivator they worshipped couldn’t control things from afar.

Demon cultivators can spew fire, release Ice Arrow, possessing immense power and mana, they can even move mountains and fill seas, for ordinary people they are indeed beings to admire, as long as they aren’t seen in their true form, mysterious enough not to be associated with the word monster, they could be revered as gods...

Who knows if the wilderness game’s setting allows incense worship to become gods.

"What should I do about this? I..." Yun Mo sighed, not wanting to leave traces that would reveal he had his own mine. Frustrated he said, "I’ve already promised the believers, this... who would have thought your store wouldn’t have it!"

The shopkeeper chuckled as he stroked his mustache, "Either choose some other items, after all, anything given to them is already generous, why stick strictly to pickaxes and shovels? The friends cooperating with my little shop have never agreed to such specifics; esteemed guest learns from mistakes, don’t let the believers dictate next time, can’t be too lenient or human beings are quickest to overstep!"

Seeing the guest in real distress, he pointed towards the auction house with a suggestion, "Look, if necessary, you could post a bounty order at the auction house. Not sure if it’ll work, but maybe a friend who slaughtered a village and is fond of collecting might have inventory.

The pickaxe you want is a tool humans use for labor, at night when the wilderness descends to the Mortal World, humans hide away with nowhere to get them; during the day the wilderness ascends, even less likely to find them, try your luck at the auction house."

Jiang Yuan mingled among street shadows, watching Yun Mo’s lonely departing figure, suddenly feeling an absurdity that the whole world was just a giant makeshift troupe.

[You have a new order, please check carefully!]

A minute later, just about ready to log off and rest, Jiang Yuan stared at the general store order offering to buy twenty pickaxes for three thousand gold coins, completely stunned.

The boss with a mine indeed has money, this job must be taken!