Starting My Immortal Life by Upgrading Buildings

Chapter 120: Saving the Giant Toad

The murky waters near the shore churned violently, forming a whirlpool.

“Splash—”

With a loud splash, a massive snake head emerged from beneath the water. Ji Yuan finally saw the true form of this giant serpent.

Its entire body was covered in greenish-brown scales, with patches of moss growing on its back.

The portion of its body that rose above the water was over ten meters long, and considering the part still submerged, it was likely thirty to forty meters in total length!

The giant toad had suffered a severe bite from it, but the serpent was not unscathed either.

Its scales were in disarray, with several areas exposing bloody flesh.

Its head, in particular, was so battered that its mouth couldn't close properly, and the entire skull appeared deformed from the impact.

Despite this, the giant snake continued to flick its tongue, as thick as a grown man's waist.

The giant toad had nearly been killed.

But the giant snake was also on the brink of death.

They were evenly matched.

Now that Ji Yuan had arrived, the giant snake showed no intention of retreating.

It slightly raised its head, its cold eyes fixed intently on the figure hovering in mid-air.

Just one glance from it made Ji Yuan's hair stand on end.

Without hesitation, he moved. His flying boat shot forward like a teleporting shadow, and he summoned the Hundred Fish Shield to float around him for protection.

At that moment, over a dozen water arrows suddenly shot up from beneath the surface, striking the spot where he had just stood.

Ji Yuan looked back at the scene. Had he not moved, those arrows would have knocked him into the water.

Once submerged, he would have been at the mercy of the giant snake.

A chill ran down his spine.

Returning the favor was only polite.

Ji Yuan threw out five talismans.

“Boom—”

Dark clouds formed out of nowhere in the sky above, and amidst the surging purple lightning, bolts of lightning struck down one after another.

The entire shoreline transformed into a thunderous prison.

These were top-grade Thunderstorm Talismans!

And he used five in succession.

The giant snake was directly in the center of the storm. Lightning struck its body repeatedly, and the surrounding water conducted the electricity.

Within moments, the already wounded giant snake was further torn apart by the strikes.

Enduring the searing pain, it suddenly opened its massive mouth.

“Hiss hiss—” The hissing sounds were incessant.

Suddenly, dozens of water pillars rose around it, surging upward and dispersing the thunderclouds.

Ji Yuan ascended higher into the air, raised his hands, and released two black droplets. One of them accurately fell into the giant snake's gaping mouth.

Before the other could land, the snake had already closed its mouth.

Even so, one droplet exploded inside its mouth, and the other detonated on its head. The combined blasts left its head a bloody mess, and its massive body crashed heavily onto the water's surface.

“Boom—” A huge splash erupted.

Seeing this, Ji Yuan shouted,

“Now!”

The giant toad let out a “croak” and immediately extended its relatively intact tongue.

As soon as the tongue emerged, it wrapped around the giant snake's body.

In a tug-of-war, the severely injured giant snake was slowly dragged ashore.

The snake appeared incapable of resisting, its body trembling intermittently. Its head, the last part to emerge from the water, was so mangled that bones protruded from the flesh.

Yet Ji Yuan remained cautious.

Hovering in mid-air, he drew another sword talisman.

The talisman burned in the air, and the surrounding spiritual energy coalesced into a massive water-blue sword, which descended from the sky.

“Slash—”

The giant sword initially met some resistance upon contact with the snake's body, but then it sliced through effortlessly, embedding itself into the muddy shore.

The giant snake's corpse was split in two—its head and body now separate.

Ji Yuan finally relaxed upon seeing this.

Just as he was about to descend with his flying boat to collect the serpent's corpse and check on the giant toad's injuries, the severed snake head on the shore suddenly sprang to life, its eyes snapping open.

It leapt into the air, aiming to bite Ji Yuan mid-flight.

Startled, Ji Yuan swiftly maneuvered his flying boat, moving even faster than before. Having already integrated the essence of the Thunder Falcon, he darted out of the mist in an instant.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the giant toad's tongue lash out, intercepting the airborne snake head.

The toad caught the head mid-air, leaped up, and swallowed it whole before landing heavily on the ground.

Hovering above the mist, Ji Yuan's heart pounded.

He hadn't anticipated that even after decapitation, the snake could launch a final attack.

It seemed that in future life-and-death battles, even beheading an opponent might not guarantee safety.

Perhaps the best approach was to obliterate them instantly.

Ji Yuan waited mid-air for a moment.

After the giant toad croaked twice, he guided the Thunder Falcon Boat back to the island.

The toad remained in its spot, looking around with its head raised.

Upon seeing Ji Yuan, it croaked several times, its joy evident despite the language barrier.

Still wary, Ji Yuan eyed the snake's body. The toad noticed his concern, leaped over to the serpent's body, and stomped on it with both feet.

The snake remained motionless, easing Ji Yuan's worries.

He approached the body, gauged its length, and upon locating the snake's vital point, drew his Qingfu Flying Sword.

After a few precise cuts, he removed a large chunk of flesh, revealing a deep blue demon core inside.

The toad's eyes widened at the sight.

Ji Yuan tossed a half-pound piece of blood essence into its mouth.

As for the demon core, Ji Yuan accepted it with a reluctant smile.

Not only was it essential for crafting Foundation Establishment Pills, but even if unused, a mid-tier level 2 demon core could fetch a good price in spirit stones.

Given the toad's injuries, blood essence was a more cost-effective remedy.

The toad croaked, seemingly unsatisfied. Ji Yuan glanced at it and threw over a pig's head.

Seeing this familiar treat, the toad's discontent vanished. It swallowed the head in one gulp and hopped aside, sitting quietly without further noise, leaving Ji Yuan to process the snake's body.

Ji Yuan proceeded to butcher the giant snake into several segments.

The snake's body was too massive to fit into his storage pouch without being cut down.

He also dove into the water to retrieve all the snake's fallen scales, recognizing them as valuable materials, along with its gallbladder and venom glands.

The venom glands had ended up in the toad's stomach.

Judging by the toad's gradually returning normal coloration, the venom glands not only weren't toxic to it but might have had detoxifying properties.

After collecting the snake's remains, Ji Yuan summoned the Thunder Falcon Boat once more.

"Big Toad, let's go home!"

With a grand gesture, Ji Yuan activated the flying boat and took the lead.

"Croak!" The toad leaped after him, jumping from one small island to another within the mist, as if they were stepping stones.

After a while, back on Misty Island, the toad found a pit on the ground, lay down, and remained still.

Ji Yuan wasn't concerned.

The toad had sustained severe injuries and consumed blood essence.

It would need time to heal.

He surveyed the surroundings, noting the overgrown weeds around the [Chicken Coop] and [Pigsty], and released Tu Yue.

This environment was perfect for her to shine.

He then checked the [Cave Dwelling], still blocked by stones, which looked much the same as when he left, save for some moss growth.

Finally, he approached the [Fish Pond].

Before his departure, he had left twenty to thirty early-stage spiritual fish in the pond.

A month had passed, and with the building's effects toggled on and off, he tossed a small piece of bloody spiritual pig meat into the still water.

Instantly, the surface erupted with splashes.

Over a dozen spiritual fish thrashed about, vying for the meat.

Most were now mid-stage spiritual fish, with even two reaching the late stage—a profitable outcome!

The missing ones had likely fallen prey to the larger fish.

Satisfied that everything on Misty Island was in order, Ji Yuan spent the next few days harvesting the spiritual fish, crafting top-grade talismans and Gathering Spirit Pills.

Once done, he disguised himself and visited nearby markets to sell his goods.

He also purchased several spiritual piglets and reed-water chickens.

With Misty Island back in operation, the long-neglected [Chicken Coop] and [Pigsty] needed to be functional again.

After a few days of work, Tu Yue had restored the island to its former state.

Ji Yuan inspected the [Spiritual Field].

Though he'd been away for over a month, for herbs that grew over years, this was negligible.

The herbs remained unchanged.

He instructed Tu Yue to cultivate a larger [Spiritual Field] nearby.

As his only level 3 building, its effects shouldn't go to waste.

He had Tu Yue plant the field with spiritual wheat.

Given the field's automatic pest-repelling feature, once sown, it was just a matter of waiting for the harvest.

A few days later, looking at the expansive, leveled field, Ji Yuan decided to have Tu Yue continue clearing more land. After all, once prepared, planting was straightforward.

Eventually, the [Chicken Coop] and [Pigsty] were significantly expanded.

Tu Yue managed these tasks, while Ji Yuan focused solely on cultivation and pill refining.

He aimed to quickly reach the peak of the Qi Refining stage, then upgrade the [Pill Refining Room] to level 2, paving the way for Foundation Establishment.

Over a month passed peacefully.

The giant toad hadn't awakened yet, but its external injuries were no longer visible. It would likely recover soon.

However, over the past month, Ji Yuan noticed that both his cultivation and pill refining progress had slowed considerably, highlighting the prolonged nature of cultivation.

During a break, he glanced at his panel.

An idea suddenly struck him.

With everything stable now, perhaps it was time to explore other buildings on the panel, like the [Kitchen] or [Formation Room].

They might offer additional benefits.