Fang Xiu stared expectantly at the glowing ox dung in front of him.
Since the system said it could be sacrificed, there was definitely no mistake.
Fang Xiu was simply curious: what kind of reward could a pile of ox dung possibly bring him?
As the light faded, Fang Xiu was utterly shocked.
(ΩДΩ)！！！
In the exact spot where the stone had been, a huge pit had unexpectedly appeared.
"What the heck, just how big is this piece of Sumeru Heavy Crystal Ox Dung? How did it sink so deep into the ground?"
Fang Xiu had originally thought the dung was only as large as the portion exposed on the surface.
He never expected this thing to be astonishingly massive.
The exposed part was merely a tiny fraction of it.
"Wait, where is my reward?"
Fang Xiu suddenly snapped back to reality.
The ox dung had been taken away, so shouldn't a reward be left behind?
"Hmm?"
Right at that moment, Fang Xiu noticed something in the spot where the ox dung had vanished.
Inside the pit,
there was a small, glowing bottle.
"No way, is that the reward? You've got to be kidding me!"
Fang Xiu was somewhat speechless.
The reward and the ox dung had simply swapped positions.
After Fang Xiu sacrificed the Sumeru Heavy Crystal Ox Dung, the reward naturally appeared right where the dung used to be.
However, Fang Xiu hadn't anticipated that the dung would be buried so deep; the pit left behind after its sacrifice was at least two meters deep.
Fang Xiu approached the pit.
He hesitated for a moment, wondering whether he should go down and get it.
As he got close, a pungent odor hit him.
It wasn't foul, but it was truly exceptionally sharp.
"Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!"
Fang Xiu sneezed several times in a row.
"I can do without this reward!"
Fang Xiu wore an indignant expression.
"Aha, smells amazing!"
The moment he got his hands on the small bottle, Fang Xiu wore an excited expression.
[Flower God Floral Water]
[Effect: Pour into water and soak the body in it to strengthen the physique.]
The effect wasn't described as anything extraordinary, but...
"That's a reward given by a deity! Even though it was traded for a pile of ox dung, could it possibly be bad?"
Perhaps the staff lowered by the Goddess of Life earlier had no value in the eyes of the Goddess of Life, and like the beast crystals Fang Xiu sacrificed, they were just... trash.
Yet she happened to lack a water-type beast crystal, and Fang Xiu happened to have one, so the Goddess of Life traded trash for trash.
It was just that what seemed like trash in the eyes of the Goddess of Life turned out to be a treasure in Fang Xiu's hands.
And the situation was the same now.
Even though what Fang Xiu sacrificed was ox dung, what he obtained was floral water—
even floral water without a detailed description of its effects.
But that was simply because, in the eyes of the Flower God, there was no need to waste time writing such a detailed description for a single bottle of floral water.
In Fang Xiu's hands, however, it was definitely a good thing.
He couldn't wait to use it right now.
However...
"Damn it, why is there dung all around this cesspit?!"
Fang Xiu looked at the surrounding ground, which was still stained with ox dung because that huge pile of Sumeru Heavy Crystal Ox Dung had been sacrificed away.
When Fang Xiu had climbed down just now, he hadn't paid attention.
Now, wanting to get back up, it was clearly impossible to climb out of this two-meter-deep spot without something to leverage.
After thinking for a moment, Fang Xiu wrapped his hands in his clothes,
then dug hard into the soil. Fortunately, the soil was soft, and he quickly carved out a foothold.
Luckily it was only a little over two meters, and he hoisted himself up in one go.
By this time, Fang Xiu felt as though his entire body was permeated with that pungent odor.
Unable to care about anything else, he grabbed the floral water and returned to the real world through the passage of the Gate World.
"Let's try the effect of this Flower God Floral Water!"
Fang Xiu was somewhat impatient.
As long as he soaked in it, his body would be strengthened.
He was very eager to find out just how strong he could become.
As a Sacrificer, apart from the staff in his hand and the sacrificial skill tied to his talent,
Fang Xiu currently possessed no other abilities.
In a situation like this, if he encountered an opponent, he would have no choice but to disregard his own life and trade blows through sacrifice.
Yet if his physique were a bit tougher, he might still be able to protect himself.
He came to the bathroom.
Fang Xiu filled the bathtub to the brim with water.
Then he opened the bottle of [Flower God Floral Water], and instantly, a refreshing fragrance rushed into his nose.
"Such a lovely scent."
The discomfort in his nose from the pungent ox dung earlier had now completely vanished.
Fang Xiu hurriedly prepared to pour it into the bathtub, when he suddenly realized something.
"Hmm... the instructions don't seem to say how much to pour?"
Fang Xiu looked at the Flower God Floral Water in his hand.
It only listed the effect.
"System, do you know?"
Fang Xiu asked the system.
But the system gave no response.
"You don't know, you don't know anything at all. Forget it, relying on others is worse than relying on oneself. Since that's the case... I'll just pour the whole thing in!"
Fang Xiu thought about it.
Since it was for strengthening the physique, naturally the more he used, the better the effect would be.
He poured the entire bottle directly into the bathtub.
Then, with the expression of an elderly person staring at their phone on the subway, he stared at the bathtub—
or rather, at the water inside.
The originally clear and clean tap water had now turned murky, resembling muddy sludge.
"Good thing the fragrance is still there!"
Hesitating for a moment, Fang Xiu stepped into the bathtub anyway,
immersing his entire body in that patch of "sludge."
"Ah, blissful!"
The moment he sat down, Fang Xiu suddenly felt an unprecedented wave of comfort spread through his entire body, somewhat resembling that shuddering sensation of ultimate relief.
Except right now, Fang Xiu's sensation felt like an endless series of shudders.
Those wisps of energy pouring into his body continuously washed over his limbs and bones.
It was a tingling, numb sensation, extremely comfortable.
"Huh? Wait!"
Fang Xiu, who had been on the verge of falling asleep from sheer comfort,
suddenly snapped his eyes open. He abruptly realized a problem.
"Didn't that place have no beasts? How could there be such a huge pile of Sumeru Heavy Crystal Ox Dung?"
Fang Xiu suddenly reacted.
Whether it was the grassland, the forest, or the vicinity of the lake, he had searched them all carefully.
He hadn't seen a single trace of beasts at all.
Yet that massive pile of crap existed!
Didn't that prove that there were beasts in that place, or that beasts had appeared there before?
"It looks like I need to be much more careful when I go to cultivate in the Gate World from now on!"
Fang Xiu had already made up his mind.
That place was far too dangerous. Although Fang Xiu wasn't clear on what kind of beast the Sumeru Heavy Crystal Ox was,
he knew that a creature capable of dropping a load that massive couldn't possibly be small in size.
Fang Xiu had no idea what their combat strength was like either.
If he encountered them, he would avoid them as much as possible.
"Hmm?"
Right at that moment, Fang Xiu suddenly felt a surge of heat moving within his body.
Starting from his lower abdomen, it slowly spread toward his entire limbs and torso.
Fang Xiu felt as though something was slowly being forced out of his body.
Gradually, that wave of heat rushed toward his limbs, and rushed toward his head!
*Splat!*
"What the heck!"
Fang Xiu only felt something spurt out.
He looked closely... his nose was bleeding.
And it even sprayed onto the wall.
Did he, by any chance, overdo it with the nourishment?