Jiang Yuan took Beiluoshimen and completed all the daily Golden Core quests and twenty rounds of sect errand tasks, only gaining about 5% of his cultivation progress. It had to be said that as his level increased, the cultivation provided by daily tasks was becoming somewhat insufficient. The battlefield, which used to grant at least a full level after ten runs, now only gave a little over half a level of experience. As a result, many players had turned their attention to the weekly dungeon runs.
"Hey everyone, got time tonight? Let's go clear the level 130 dungeon."
Jiang Yuan opened his friend list and contacted a few members of his fixed team, planning to use the evening to tackle the level 130 dungeon [True Martial Sword Pavilion]. After some discussion, they settled on meeting at Liuyun City at 7 PM sharp after dinner.
With some time to spare, Jiang Yuan took Beiluoshimen to the sect exchange officer to check the materials needed for level 140+ equipment. He was currently wearing a set of level 120 Kun gear. Although he had reached level 135 and could use Victory Stones to exchange for level 135 gear, Jiang Yuan thought about trying to push to level 140 that night. That way, he could skip the level 135 equipment and directly exchange for the better-statted level 140 gear.
Jiang Yuan took a look. The most material-intensive item for level 140+ gear was the weapon, requiring 3,600 Lian Tian Battle Jade plus 480 Qianhua Dragon Tendons to exchange, and it required level 148 to equip. The chest piece had a level requirement of 146, needing 2,400 Lian Tian Battle Jade and 360 Qianhua Dragon Tendons. The leg piece could be worn at level 144, requiring 1,800 Lian Tian Battle Jade and 240 Qianhua Dragon Tendons. The head and feet were the cheapest, needing only 900 Lian Tian Battle Jade and 900 Qianhua Dragon Tendons each, with level requirements of 143 and 142 respectively.
"Looks like it's no easy task to gather a full set of level 140+ gear anytime soon. I might as well just exchange for a level 135 weapon first."
Jiang Yuan muttered to himself, closed the level 140+ equipment page, and reopened the level 135 gear to check it out. Level 135 gear only had armor, no weapons. The four armor pieces required a total of 2,000 Victory Stones. Jiang Yuan opened his backpack to check his recent stash and found he was still missing a big chunk!
He opened the trading hall, searched for the price of Victory Stones, and found they were a bit cheaper than before, with each stone stabilizing at around 75 gold. Using 10 Immortal Crystals to exchange for 100,000 gold coins, Jiang Yuan bought 1,200 Victory Stones and swapped out a set of level 135 Kun armor, replacing his level 120 gear. His damage reduction stats were further enhanced.
After doing all this, Jiang Yuan checked the time—it was already 5:30 PM. He temporarily left the game, took off his helmet, put on his shoes, and headed out to the snack street near the school for dinner. He also bought a few bottles of drinks to bring back to the dorm, planning to wait for his fixed team members to start the dungeon.
With the end of the semester approaching and winter setting in, the snack street was much less crowded than before. Jiang Yuan, wearing a thick down jacket, found his usual go-to rice bowl place, walked in, ordered a plate of sizzling beef fillet, and sat down to play on his phone while waiting.
After eating his fill and grabbing a bag of drinks, he returned to the dorm about an hour later. Jiang Yuan let out a burp, took off his coat and hung it on the hook behind the door, changed into a thick dinosaur-themed pajama set, tossed the plastic bag of drinks onto his bed, picked up his helmet, and put it on. His consciousness spun for a moment before he re-entered the game.
"Yuanzi, look what I got!"
Suddenly, Ding Ye's avatar in the friend list started flashing wildly. Jiang Yuan opened it to find a message from Ding Ye, who seemed really excited based on his tone.
"Xiaoyao Fan, that's a magic artifact. Where'd you get it?"
Looking at the item image Ding Ye had privately sent him, Jiang Yuan saw it was a level 105 magic artifact and replied.
"I triggered a treasure-hunting adventure quest while doing sect tasks this afternoon. That quest was a pain—took me over an hour to finish. Then the system rewarded me with this artifact. Pretty good, huh? Hehe!"
Ding Ye hadn't had a magic artifact until now, so getting one from a quest naturally made him thrilled.
"This artifact's special effects are pretty decent. Tell you what, come to Liuyun City. I still have some [Taiyi Secret Pattern Stones] left over from refining artifact skills. You can use them."
Jiang Yuan checked the special effects on Ding Ye's artifact. There were three types: the first added 10% of the user's current HP as attack power, the second had an 18% chance on attack to prevent the target from eating for 4 seconds, and the third only activated when the second triggered—once the target was locked out of eating, their defense dropped by 25% for 12 seconds.
Soon, Ding Ye arrived at Liuyun City. After finding Jiang Yuan, Jiang Yuan traded him the remaining three [Taiyi Secret Pattern Stones] from his backpack.
Right after Ding Ye showed up, Wen Ding Cang Sheng and Cang Shu Bu Ding also finished their dinners and came to Liuyun City to meet up with Jiang Yuan and Ding Ye. The five-person fixed team was only missing Chuang Shi Xiao Yun.
"Bu Ding, where's Sister Xiao Yun?"
Jiang Yuan asked his in-game girlfriend.
"No idea, probably still eating. I'll send a message to check."
Cang Shu Bu Ding replied to Jiang Yuan and was about to open her friend list to message Chuang Shi Xiao Yun when Ding Ye stopped her.
"Sister Bu Ding, no need to trouble yourself with this little thing. I'll handle it, I'll handle it, hehe!"
Ding Ye blocked Cang Shu Bu Ding and sent a message to Chuang Shi Xiao Yun himself, his tone soft and sycophantic.
After chatting with Chuang Shi Xiao Yun for a bit, Ding Ye closed the chat window and said to Jiang Yuan, "Xiao Yun just finished eating outside and is heading home. She'll be back in about ten minutes or so. Let's wait for her!"
It was almost 7:10 PM when Chuang Shi Xiao Yun finally logged in slowly, two "ten minutes" past what Ding Ye had said.
"Xiao Yun, hurry up, we're only waiting for you."
Cang Shu Bu Ding, who had already formed the party, pulled Chuang Shi Xiao Yun in and said to her in the team channel.
"Sorry, I'll be right there!"
Chuang Shi Xiao Yun quickly sent a voice message in the team channel, then fast-traveled from Changsheng Hall Immortal Sect to Liuyun City, arriving in front of Jiang Yuan and the others, who were already waiting by the NPC "Three Officials Emperor."
"Alright, everyone get ready. Starting the dungeon!"
Team leader and commander Wen Ding Cang Sheng said, then finished the dialogue with the NPC and initiated the [True Martial Sword Pavilion] dungeon.