Chapter 95 Chapter 95 Icecore Grass

Out in the open grasslands, and with darkness inbound, Nexus decided to set up camp right there.

[PLEASE STANDBY. USEFUL INFORMATION INBOUND.]

Nexus tensed. He had completely forgotten about the system!

[BE ADVISED, SEVENTEEN YARDS DUE NORTH OF YOUR LOCATION AS THE CROW FLIES, THERE IS A LARGE AMOUNT OF PRECIOUS RAW MATERIAL.]

Nexus stiffened instinctively. He felt like a brace had been placed around his neck;

"Raw material?" his eyes flashed with ambition; "You mean like gold, or sil–"

The system cut him short- deflating his swelling hopes

[NEGATIVE.]

Nexus swallowed with irritation and spat out; "Then what the fuck are you talking about? It better not be fossil fuel! Cos' this world is still light years away from utilizing that tech. . .and besides. . ."

To any stranger passing, Nexus would have probably looked like a mad man. Yelling at no one in particular, out in the wild, arms flapping, and eyes bulging with the passionate anger of one having a hot argument- Nexus looked very much like a lunatic.

". . .I don't have time for any side distractions right now, I'm in the midst of trying to build up a solid business."

The system blatantly disregarded his outburst, and continued;

[UP AHEAD, YOU WILL COME UPON AN OPEN STRETCH OF GRASS. THERE, YOU WILL FIND A PATCH OF ARABLE LAND THAT GROWS A SPECIAL KIND OF GRASS THAT GROWS WITH A DEEP BLUISH GREEN.]

Nexus' right eyebrow shot up- leaving the other one on a lower elevation. He looked like an auntie rebuking a child with just one look;

"Is this some kind of joke?" he whispered with a harsh quietness;

"Are you fuckin' kidding me? Grass? What the hell kind of cultivation system are you?" he wailed dramatically;

"I'm supposed to be working my way towards my peak stage- I should be an immortal already! A soulless cultivator! Instead, you're pushing me to peddle grass? Honestly, be glad you don't have a physical body. . ."

He rasped threateningly;

". . .cos' I would so kick your ass right now."

Fuming, he turned his back like a petulant child, facing the opposite direction of north, taking his first step into the fog gray that was dusk.

[ICECORE GRASS.]

Those two words were more than enough to get Nexus to stop dead in his tracks. His head rose up slowly on his shoulders, his long, raven black hair swayed as he turned around carefully- his calculating eyes shimmering, and his lips slightly upturned in an overly critical manner.

"Icecore grass?"

He mumbled into the steadily diminishing daylight. The open air over the grasslands carried his words softly into the wind- echoing his unbelief and encroaching doubt.

[AFFIRMATIVE.]

The system dove straight into informative mode;

[AS YOU MAY ALREADY SUSPECT, ICECORE GRASS, LIKE MANY OTHER SPECIES, IS A NATURALLY OCCURRING STIMULANT THAT GROWS IN THE WILD.]

[HOWEVER, UNLIKE COFFEE BEANS, AND COCA LEAF THE PRODUCES COCAINE, ICECORE GRASS IS A STIMULANT THAT RAMPS UP THE CULITVATOR'S SKILLS-

[WITH THE ICE ELEMENT.]

Nexus remained as focused as a eight year old watching youtube. His breathing slowed, his heart rate steadied, and his ears and mind remained wide open.

[IN ITS RAW FORM, ICECORE GRASS IS UNSTABLE BUT VERY MUCH STILL POTENT.

[HOWEVER WITH THE RIGHT TECHNIQUE, ICECORE GRASS CAN BE REFINED INTO ICECORE ELIXIR.

Nexus swallowed eagerly. His eyes gleamed with expectation.

This was it.

This was his key to advancing faster.

Of course, he thoroughly enjoyed fucking different women and advancing through dual cultivation. But his ultimately, the goal was to become unsouled, and of course- to make a shit ton of money.

[BASICALLY, THE ICECORE ELIXIR WILL ENHANCE THE CONSUMER'S ABILITIES TO MANIPULATE THE ICE SYSTEM.]

Nexus' brain turned itself inside out, searching for any tweaks, or any gotcha-loopholes;

"Hold on, doesn't a person have to be a water mage, or at least someone whose innate element is ice or water?"

[NEGATIVE.]

[THE HIGHER A CULTIVATOR'S RANK AND PROGRESS, THE EASIER IT WILL BE FOR THEM TO SWITCH LANES AND GAIN MASTERY OVER ANOTHER ELEMENT.]

That was all Nexus needed to hear.

With his long, dark trench coat flapping incessantly in the wind, the outline of Nexus' face began to slowly disappear in the face of the encroaching darkness.

He was way too excited to run.

So, he deployed his new favorite move- he redirected a surge of qi to the soles of his feet, and unleashed a fresh burst of red flames.

The fire blazed out with an implacable rage- red, cackling with a smokeless fury, scorching the ground under his feet, and shooting him forward like a rocket. As he traveled through the air like a comet, wind rushing in his hair, and hovering three feet above the ground, the red flames lit up the open meadow in a blood-red glare.

With the finesse of a god, and with the unbridled excitement of a groom on his wedding night, Nexus rushed towards the IceCore Grass up head.

It was already within a walkable distance.

So Nexus bridged the gap in a matter of seconds.

His blazing form hovering above, and with his two legs blazing flames like twin pillars of fire,Nexus located the treasure trove. Using the light of his flames as a beacon, he circled the length of the land, taking in the sight with satisfaction. Just as the system had said, the blades of grass were blueish-green- like the color of algae. Like timeless plants, the twelve inched grasses flourished from season to season- not giving a damn about rain or sun.

Up in the air, still looming like a bird of prey, Nexus circled the length and breadth of the entire patch of land- noting the dimensions, the landmarks, and the soil topography.

His eyes twinkled with glee.

As he looked upon the field- he didn't see a blue and green- Nexus saw a sea of gold coins rolling in the deep.

"Well, I'm definitely not going to run out of raw material anytime soon. That's for certain."

Using his conscious mind as a buffer, Nexus reached deep into his soul and cut off the flow of qi to his feet. The flames went out- plunging the whole terrain into darkness.

Immediately, with the fury of an all encompassing invisible hand, gravity reached out to him in the dark. Its invisible hand rose out of the womb of the earth, curled its hands around his entire body, and hurled him down to the face of the earth.

Unfazed, Nexus dropped four feet to the ground, landing on the soft lush grass.

His eyes quickly darted around- searching to see if there was anyone present.

The silence in the background echoed back into his ears. Overhead, a bunch of black bats glided lazily in the night sky. Crickets chirped mindlessly. The cloudy skies above loomed like a black blanket.

There was no one. Even if there was, no one would even steal a second glance at the mad man harvesting useless grass in the dark. So, with the paranoia and excitement of a soul that had literally found a gold mine, Nexus' entire muscle mass hardened as he lowered himself to the earth.

He began to excavate.

His open hands tore into the low vegetations below, shimmying down the stalks of the blades of grass, and gripping the roots in a handful.