"There's a powerful beast in the late stage of the Spirit Vein Realm…"
"There are also groups of monsters living in clusters…"
"And a spirit spring here? Then there must be a rich amount of Spirit Grass nearby!"
He Yiming flew swiftly through the skies on his sword, scanning the terrain below. As he travelled, he pulled out a scroll and began making rough sketches and notes to mark down everything he saw.
From time to time, flying monsters spotted He Yiming and attacked.
"Heavenly Thunder Technique!" He Yiming raised his hand, and thunder roared forth to kill.
After all, this was still the outermost area of the Hundred Thousand Mountains. The strongest monster He Yiming had seen so far was only at the late stage of the Spirit Vein Realm and was acting alone.
He Yiming, who had already killed Ronal at the Foundation Establishment Realm, naturally wasn't afraid of these monsters.
In just one afternoon, He Yiming flew about fifty miles, mapping all the major areas and noting the monster habitats he came across.
From the sky, there may have been some things he missed. But that didn't matter. He Yiming believed the players would never leave anything valuable behind. They were thorough to the extreme.
When He Yiming returned, several players quickly noticed him.
"Brother Ming is back!" someone shouted. A dozen players suddenly gathered.
"Brother Ming, we've killed tons of monsters again!"
"Brother Ming, we dug up a ton of spirit stones. The boxes are almost full!"
"Brother Ming, do you want five-spice skewers? Five types of monster meat, all mixed together. It's delicious!"
The players excitedly surrounded him, and a few even handed him skewers.
"These players are really something…" He Yiming took a bite of the five-spice skewer and looked around.
He'd only been gone half a day, but a massive camp had already formed around the chariot.
To the west, a food street had sprung up. Five or six shops were running at once—hot pot, spicy hot pot, skewers, and more. New food stalls lined the area.
"Brother Tongue, ten Black Panther meat buns, please!"
"Coming right up!"
"Can you still eat those skewers?"
"Wait a few minutes. We ran out of meat."
"Damn it! I wanted a bun. Did you eat all the meat?"
"Quick, let's go hunt some more!"
At least twenty players were crowded around, stuffing their faces. He Yiming even suspected that some of them hadn't moved at all since logging in.
He Yiming wanted to ask, "Are you here to cultivate… or just to eat?"
On the east side, rows of shelves and a makeshift workshop had been set up.
Several craftsmen polished weapons and assembled armor with practiced hands. Each time a piece was finished, it was hung on the shelf.
Other players would swing by, grab new gear, and leave behind their damaged equipment.
To the south, on a flat stretch of land:
"Wrong! That's not how you open the Eight Gates. Do it again with me!"
"Eight Gates, release!"
"Uh, Lufei, do we really have to pose like this? It feels so cringe…"
"You don't get it. If you can't withstand even half the power, you need to pose. It's common sense!"
"What??"
"You just don't understand Brother Luffy. The reversal technique takes time. The pose is a distraction to lure the enemy! My Brother Luffy is brilliant!"
Wang Lufei was leading seven or eight players, training them in how to open the Eight Gates over and over.
In the chariot's dormitory, over twenty players lay on beds, completely motionless.
Of course, they weren't sleeping they were offline. Other than Beef Noodles, who could play for sixteen hours straight, most players could only be online for eight hours a day.
"Being a player really has its perks…" He Yiming watched the scene and couldn't help thinking.
If this were a real cultivator's expedition, no matter how many went in, they'd face life and death every day.
Returning to camp would mean losing companions. And the fear and grief from combat would weigh them down over time.
With cultivators, the atmosphere would be heavy. But players? Completely different.
Death? They could just revive.
Injuries? He saw a player with a flattened head still bragging and laughing with his friends.
Depression? Maybe in the real world, but here? They fought monsters, ate good food, died together and laughed.
There was real joy on their faces. He Yiming felt the warmth and excitement and couldn't help glancing at the distant mountains.
Yeah. This wasn't a dream. He was really at the edge of the Hundred Thousand Mountains. The distant roars of beasts echoed faintly.
Only these players could be so arrogant and relaxed at the edge of these mountains.
Only they could treat the Northern Expedition like a day trip.
He Yiming shook his head, smiled, and released a system notification. Soon, all the players gathered.
Those who were out fighting returned. Those offline logged in quickly after receiving alerts.
"Disciples!" He Yiming began by praising their efforts. Then he pulled out a massive map.
"This is the map I created today. There are powerful monsters here. Over here are monster groups…"
He pointed to various sections of the map, explaining carefully.
Then, with a command, He Yiming used the system to send a digital version of the map to every player.
Now, they could check it anytime they needed.
"With this, things just got a lot easier!" Star's eyes lit up. He immediately pulled out a scroll and began writing out a battle plan with his homemade quill.
As night approached, the sky dimmed.
He Yiming knew that the players could easily get wiped out in the dark.
But time was limited. Although today was only the first day of the Northern Expedition, he couldn't let the night go to waste.
He Yiming made a decision.
They would battle throughout the night as well.