Wang Xiu dried and solidified the Netherworld Leaves, shaping them. A stick of Sandalwood Incense, dark green and black all over and wreathed in runes, appeared before him, emanating a refreshing fragrance.

"Success!" Wang Xiu's eyes lit up as he snapped his fingers.

A small flame burst forth from his fingertip, and he lit the other end of the incense.

Immediately, wisps of smoke twirled out, carrying a rich and penetrating aroma that cleared the mind, sharpened the senses, and even made the flow of Mana throughout his body more fluid. The air here was filled with swirling mist and a faint, rosy glow.

"What a treasure!" Wang Xiu opened his eyes, inhaled the scent, and exclaimed in admiration.

Everyone says cultivation is wonderful, but what do mortals know of the pressure cultivators face? In fact, the pressure they face is far greater than anything mortals experience. For ordinary folks, it's just one lifetime. Death is the end of everything.

But cultivators, with lifespans stretching for hundreds or even thousands of years, spend every day scheming and fighting. A step forward might not ensure eternal life, but a step back could mean an irreversible downfall.

Isn't it exhausting?

Moreover, even if their physical bodies are destroyed, many cultivators turn to the Ghost Path. They have to continue to fight, continue the grind. To be honest, if cultivators didn't have special constitutions and Mana to nourish their bodies, nine out of ten would be bald!

Just imagine! You're fighting a life-or-death battle with an enemy, feeling utterly exhausted both mentally and physically. What if you could light a stick of this Sandalwood Incense? The instant mental clarity it brings—what kind of experience would that be? Or when you're deeply contemplating the profound principles of a technique, so hard that your scalp feels like it's about to peel off, imagine lighting one up. You'd instantly feel clear-headed, your thoughts becoming coherent. What kind of experience would that be? Imagine the long, endless nights when you're too restless to sleep and have no desire to cultivate. You fall into a daily EMO phase, feeling utterly lost about the future, even starting to doubt your own path and giving rise to a Heart Demon. If you had a stick of Sandalwood Incense in your hand, everything… might just change.

The tougher the times, the more people need a small trinket like this to offer a sliver of support. Therefore, Wang Xiu was confident that once his "Netherworld Incense" hit the market, it would be incredibly popular.

Afterward, Wang Xiu turned his attention to the Netherworld Fruits.

He raised the Mingxue Executioner Sword. With one swift movement, the sword fell, splitting a Netherworld Fruit in half. He held it in his hand and examined it.

The Netherworld Fruit could be eaten directly without any processing. However, all of its nutritional value was in the outer shell. A fruit fresh from the tree contained too much water, and that water was entirely useless. Not only was it useless, but consuming it would result in a strong, strange taste and an upset stomach. Although there was no real harm, the texture and flavor would clearly be terrible.

Wang Xiu pondered briefly. He produced a pill fire in his hand and quickly dried out the Netherworld Fruit, condensing it and extracting the medicinal essence within. He kept condensing it until it finally formed two pills the size of a fingernail.

As the saying goes, mastery of one technique leads to the mastery of all. For Wang Xiu, who had perfected his methods with the Supreme Soul-Nourishing Elixir, extracting and condensing the medicinal essence from two fruits was a completely basic technique. It was effortless.

He pinched one of the pills between his fingers, placed it in his mouth, and savored it.

Hmm... Sweet, brimming with energy, it provided an instant sensation of fullness as a rich fragrance blossomed from his taste buds.

The next moment—

BOOM!

Almost instantly, a massive warm current flowed from his mouth into his abdomen, then poured into his Dantian and limbs. His entire body felt as if it had been set alight, filled with strength. The power of his physical body was enhanced at that moment. Moreover, the Mana within him surged like boiling oil.

Wang Xiu narrowed his eyes slightly and, with a flick of his hand, unleashed a wave of sword energy. The sword light screamed past, illuminating the mountains and forest before vanishing into the mist in the blink of an eye. But everywhere it passed, countless plants and trees were snapped by the force of the sword's energy, breaking with a cacophony of CRACKS and SNAPS that littered the ground.

"My Mana has increased by roughly twenty percent! And the Mana I just expended has also recovered quite a bit!" Wang Xiu's eyes flashed with surprise.

The effect of the Netherworld Fruit was somewhat beyond his expectations. It could not only enhance his combat power but also restore Mana. If that was the case, this stuff could absolutely be used as a combat resource.

Although the enhancement to his strength was short-lived and the effect was far from rivaling secret techniques or ultimate arts like Same Life as Heaven and Earth, those required too great a price. They often required paying with your own life force or sacrificing your future potential. They couldn't be used frequently. But with this, it was like having a small power burst you could suddenly unleash during a fight.

Hungry for a power-up? Grab a Soldier's Ration Pill!

The effect was also quite good. Plus, there was a large supply. Carrying eight or ten of them on you would last half a month. The only downside was the short duration, lasting only for about one hundred breaths. Moreover, it wouldn't work again if taken too soon. But no matter what, the advantages far outweighed the flaws. Its value was still quite substantial.

"I've struck gold!" Wang Xiu looked at the two items in his hands.

If handled properly, just these two items could bring him considerable profits—even more than what the Spirit Stone Veins brought him. Moreover, these items were also very appropriate for giving as gifts.

After all, the Immortal Sect took a fifty percent cut from the Spirit Stone Mine! But these items in front of him belonged entirely to his Divination Sect.

Thinking of this, Wang Xiu stared at the incense in his left hand and said, "From now on, you'll be called 'Netherworld Incense'!"

Then he glanced at the pill in his right hand. "Since you can be used in combat to replenish Mana and stamina, I'll name you—the Demon-Slaying Soldier's Ration Pill!"

Having named them, Wang Xiu followed the same method and made several dozen more Netherworld Incense sticks and over a hundred Soldier's Ration Pills. He couldn't help but frown. Working on them alone was too inefficient.

Do I have to find someone else to do the labor? Hmmm... No, that won't work.

These items were different from Spirit Stones. Xiao Qingyu was overseeing the Spirit Stone Mine. Whenever disciples came out from the mine to submit Spirit Stones, they would be scanned by specialized Magic Artifacts to prevent anyone from secretly pocketing a few. Although the Sect Leader seemed reluctant about Xiao Qingyu working for the Divination Sect, the Spirit Stone Mine concerned the interests of the entire Immortal Sect. No-slip-ups could be allowed in any part of the process, so the support provided was substantial.

But the Netherworld Tree was different.

In the future, once the reputation of the incense and the Soldier's Ration Pills spread, some people would inevitably get greedy and try to discreetly skim some of the profits.

I need to think of another way… Wang Xiu stroked his chin in contemplation, but suddenly, a soft whimper came from not far away.

"Senior brother... hug..."

"!!!" Wang Xiu's mouth twitched slightly. He'd almost forgotten about her.

Don't tell me she's turned into an idiot?

He quickly returned to Jiang Ling'er's side and checked her condition before letting out a breath of relief. Thankfully, she was protected by the Four Symbols Evil Suppressing Protective Formation and hadn't been continuously eroded by the Netherworld Pollen. Her condition had improved a lot. Right now... she was just talking in her sleep.

I should get this girl back first… Wang Xiu looked at the sleeping Jiang Ling'er, who was pouting her lips and kissing the air, and couldn't help but shake his head with a bitter smile.

He scooped Jiang Ling'er up in a princess carry, packed up the array flags, and stepped onto the Black Tortoise Mirror, ready to leave.

But after a moment's thought, he turned back. He steered the Black Tortoise Mirror in a circle around the dense Netherworld Forest, planting the array flags one by one. A massive Great Four Symbols Formation slowly rose, completely enclosing the entire forest.

Watching this scene, Wang Xiu finally nodded contentedly.

Treasures! They're all treasures! I'd better be careful!

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