What? Is that true, system?

Liu Xun was surprised by the reply as he changed his line of thought.

[It is true, host. This is under the 157th clause of the contract, whereby the host's daily activities are privy to all subscribers as long as the host uses the system. The host can ask for some off-screen time, but that is also up to the discretion of the creators.]

Hmm, isn't this a bit too unfair for me, system?

He continued to question with slight indignance as he felt like he had the short end of the stick.

[Not really, host. In return, it is a subscriber's duty to provide gifts and help to the host for this privilege. Rewards like the Fireball talisman, memory jades, and sign-in rewards do not appear from thin air. They are directly donated from the creators and subscribers to provide a pool for you to draw from. This is a two-way transaction in a sense.]

It makes sense, there is really nothing free in this world.

Liu Xun shook his head lightly as he lifted his eyelids.

--

Light gently showered Liu Xun.

It was the first light of dawn.

The group slowly began to rise as they woke up from their deep meditation.

It was the beginning of a new day. The journey that was brought to a previous momentary halt would resume from its stopped tracks. The seniors could be seen grabbing their equipment and preparing to scour around. The juniors were mainly tasked with packing up the campsite as they gathered the remaining tools into the spatial bag.

"Hey~so what are we doing today?"

A soft yet alluring voice whispered into his ears.

Liu Xun slightly fumbled as he turned around.

Right by his face was the stunning Millie, whose face was barely 3 inches away from him.

Too close.

Liu Xun thought in his mind as he retreated away from the silver-haired lady.

“Nothing much, just gathering some of the resources that you mentioned before setting off northeast towards the Yin Frost Basin.”

He said out as his eye averted from Millie.

“By the way, is it really okay for us to take those ingredients? Wouldn’t your clan get mad or anything?”

He continued as he showed concern for her.

It could be said that there would be grave punishment for clan members who failed to achieve their mission. Millie could possibly be banished or face even harsher punishment for allowing the group to obtain resources like the scarlet fungus cap or the azure veined ginkgo root.

She was already gracious enough to allow their stay inside this heavenly paradise. The group could eat the fruits with minor spirituality as well as use the spirit water from the small basin.

Liu Xun thought to himself that he would feel bad if Millie suffered due to the group's current actions.

"No worries, they won't mind if we take some stuff here and there."

She replied lightly as she held upon the battered yellow cloth that was used to shelter the group as they fell asleep.

Millie then reached towards the spatial bag in Liu Xun's side.

She placed the large cloth which mysteriously got sucked into the tiny bag.

This spatial bag was a mystical item that most cultivators would know and dream to own. Of course, the spatial bag was an item that belongs to a senior. It was not something Liu Xun could casually afford as a newbie cultivator.

The silver-haired lady then gently followed beside Liu Xun as the group went around scavenging for several ingredients. They walked around the perimeter of the twenty-meter-wide basin as they collected a sparse amount of rare and treasure herbs and materials.

There were many more of these precious ingredients lying around. However, it was one of the conditions which Millie had stated to the group. If you see three, take one. If you see one, take none. Allow for nature to recover and not burn all the wood for a single fire. The group of cultivators themselves actually agree to such a mentality as it would allow for precious opportunities to existing in the future for others.

Moreso, this was not even their property to start with. They were basically picking off someone else's roses. The group of both seniors and juniors were most grateful for this rare chance to gain profit without any danger.

However, there are some disgruntled voices that lay in between. Senior Gan had a sour look hung on his face every time the group chose to pick only a small amount of herbs. His face scrunched in horror and dismay at all the wasted opportunities where he could create treasured pills and forged unique weapons and talismans. The underlying greed that lay in this man slowly started to fester as he looked at the plants lying around with shining eyes.

--

Walking by the serene blue basin, the grass and plants growing around were very well taken care of. The bushes were trimmed neatly, the grass carpet was devoid of any weeds, and had occasional flowers growing in every few patches. The pathway around the forest was also very clean and well maintained. The very impression while touring this secret basin was the very image of a carefully maintained immortal garden filled with herbs that were treated tenderly with great care.

Violet shade weed. Essence Shifting Fernleaf. Blood tear lily. Quaint Shining Cave Moss.

Many of such herbs were slowly being gathered as the group walked past the various regions of the surrounding forests. Some of these herbs grew out by the lake, others on trees, some were even located in deep crevices or dark caves that littered the mountain walls that surround this hidden basin area.

Liu Xun traversed the various areas as he scoured around for herbs. Behind his back, he could hear a sweet voice whistling about a merry tune.

"Huum~ Huuum~ Huuuum~"

Millie's pleasant voice washed across him as he looked between the grass.

By now, the group had mostly split up to look for individual herbs that suited their own needs. The silver-haired Millie was just tagging behind Liu Xun's back as she glanced at the nervous young man who was choosing between two herbs with deliberate caution. She let out a light smile as she looked warmly at his side profile, where his face was deep in contemplation.

"White Ruan Tulip  or the Crimson Jade Fire Root...one has immediate cultivation benefits while the other would be better for cultivating my ax skill."

He said while in deep thought.

"Hmm...you can pick both you know?"

A merry voice sound from his back.

"Both...really? Wouldn't that go against the oath we made to only pick a part of the harvests around?"

Liu Xun replied with visible confusion as he slowly recalled the exchange the day before.

"Don't worry, you have my permission. Both of them are not particularly valuable to the clan anyways compared to other things in here, just treat it as my gift!"

Millie said as she cutely tilted her head to the side before giving a small nod.

Liu Xun was slightly awestruck by her beautiful display of expression as he stared at her face for a few moments.

"A-ahem!"

Shortly after, he realized his rude behavior. Liu Xun then hastily turned back to pick the two herbs that were beside each other with a red face.

"Fufu~"

Soft laughter could be heard from behind.

Everything seemed to progress peacefully.

Mysticant

Hello there, I do realise I have not posted in a while. Luckily, the weekend has arrived and I will be posting at least two chapters today (including this). Furthermore, it is not even Saturday yet over here!