In reality, Pei Guang wasn't suspicious of Tingyun because of that particular thing.
He was simply following his years of game experience, where guides almost always had a big mysterious identity, so he was keeping some cards up his sleeve.
Meanwhile, as Stelle was deep in thought, Master Gongshu, who had been listening to their conversation, felt his head buzzing. However, he still reminded Pei Guang's group, "Fellow Trailblazers, please help us resolve the crisis at the Artisanship Commission!"
Pei Guang replied, "Since my companions have accepted your reward, we'll naturally help you resolve the crisis at the Artisanship Commission. It's just the Ambrosial Arbor roots, right? This tree is the grandson of wood, and I have the grandfather of wood. When the grandson sees the grandfather, it must bow down."
March 7th couldn't help but joke, "What if the grandson is a rebellious one?"
Pei Guang responded, "Then we'll show him why grandfathers are grandfathers! Besides, I have this."
Pei Guang pulled out the wooden sword and took out the cauldron. The moment these two treasures appeared, the Ambrosial Arbor's roots seemed to sense something. The entire Artisanship Commission began trembling, and the roots started absorbing energy from all over the area.
As the Artisanship Commission trembled, Pei Guang's face lit up with a somewhat comical smile. He glanced at Stelle, and Stelle looked back at him. Both of them shared a knowing smile.
March 7th also seemed to sense something. She pointed ahead and said, "Look, those trees and flower buds up ahead... they must be part of the Ambrosial Arbor, right?"
Afterward, March 7th winked at Pei Guang and Stelle. Sometimes, words weren't needed; just a look between them said it all.
The three of them shared a smile and started running toward the location.
Watching their retreating figures, Welt smiled at Master Gongshu. "Please take us to the location of the Creation Furnace."
Master Gongshu replied, "Aren't you going to worry about them? The roots are spreading everywhere. This place is extremely dangerous!!!"
Welt calmly responded, "No need to worry. Trust me, they'll be there when we need them."
And so, Welt and Tingyun, under Master Gongshu's guidance, made their way to the Ambrosial Furnace.
Meanwhile, Pei Guang, March 7th, and Stelle had already arrived at a location where the Ambrosial Arbor's roots were rampant.
The roots of the Ambrosial Arbor had a flower bud as big as a human head. As they got closer, the bud began releasing pollen, which drifted in the air. When it encountered something that could move, it would attach itself and transform it into life.
In front of the Ambrosial Arbor's roots, Stelle looked at the strange phenomenon and thoughtfully said, "Ah Guang, this is part of the Ambrosial Arbor, huh? Look, it's shaking!"
March 7th joked, "It seems like it's scared of your wooden sword, Ah Guang. What exactly is that sword?"
Pei Guang: "I don't know, the setting is just that it's the best in the whole village!"
Pei Guang brought the wooden sword close to the Ambrosial Arbor root's flower bud. The flower bud trembled, almost as if begging for mercy. Pei Guang patted and struck it thoughtfully. "Do you think this flower bud can bear fruit?"
Stelle: "I don't know."
March 7th: "You want to eat it?"
Unfortunately, the Ambrosial Arbor's root system couldn't understand human language. It could only tremble in response, unable to answer Pei Guang's question.
Even though it didn't respond with words, it tried to satisfy Pei Guang's curiosity through its actions. Pei Guang pulled out the cauldron and its lid, while Stelle retrieved the flaming lance and placed it under the cauldron to heat it. Then, Pei Guang swung his sword down, and March 7th positioned the cauldron. The massive flower bud fell into the cauldron, and March 7th placed it over the lance.
Afterward, Pei Guang poured in a cup of coffee and quickly covered the cauldron. As the two items mixed inside, it began to make an even more intense crackling sound than before.
Watching the lid about to fly off, Pei Guang pressed his hand on top of it. After some time, the crackling subsided. Pei Guang lifted the lid, and when it was opened, a soft purple light appeared. Upon closer inspection, a dark brown liquid quietly rested inside.
Pei Guang examined it, and Stelle, curious, asked, "Ah Guang! Ah Guang, what's the effect of this?"
Pei Guang looked at the… long and foul-smelling? description text, and summarizing the key points, he said:
"When consumed in a certain quantity, it forces a 10-minute sleep and restores full HP... But I looked at the unlocked details, and only this flower bud can be used to make this full restoration coffee. Also, this item has a clear drawback — it can't be consumed during battle. But still, this is good enough! This is basically a life-saving miracle drug! With Bailu for protection and this to heal, as long as we don't get instantly killed, it'll be really hard for us to die. But I have a feeling..."
Stelle: "What feeling?"
Pei Guang: "With such an amazing consumable, I wouldn't be surprised if we end up finishing the game without needing to use it."
Stelle frowned: "No way? This is so powerful..."
March 7th also looked at Pei Guang: "Yeah, from that description, it sounds like a life-saving item."
March 7th's words triggered Bailu's attention, who was watching cartoons in the bucket. She peeked her head out: "Who needs saving?"
Pei Guang: "No one needs saving. We just crafted an awesome consumable. Want to see?"
Pei Guang handed the crafted consumable to Bailu, and when she saw it, her expression grew serious. "How did you make this?"
Pei Guang: "I made it with the cauldron! It's actually amazing, like a crafting table. With the right recipe and materials, you can craft the corresponding item. Want to show off your skills?"
Bailu: "Of course! But this coffee… this strong vitality… it has many uses."
Pei Guang countered: "No! Because it's so useful, it has very few uses."
Bailu: "Huh?"
Pei Guang sighed: "You don't play many games, so you don't understand. In fact... the more powerful a consumable is, the less likely you are to use it if it isn't available in unlimited quantities..."
Thinking about this, Pei Guang felt a bit down, even to the point where tears were welling up. After playing games for so many years, he knew that limited powerful consumables were the ones you'd use the least.
The logic was simple: If it's a small monster, it doesn't deserve me using such high-level consumables.
If it's an elite monster, it's very strong! Level up, improve your skills, build your team, and use lower-tier, unlimited alternatives... Oh, done!
If it's an elite monster, very strong, max out levels, perfect team composition, with healing, buffs, output, and taunting all ready... finally, you can use all your powerful consumables. And then when the final boss is done, you still have a whole inventory of top-tier consumables that you barely touched from the start of the game.
It's not that you hoard them on purpose; it's just that every time you think, "I'll save these powerful items for when I'm in danger," but the danger you face is either that you get instantly killed and can't use them, or you're never in real danger and can just use something else to easily defeat the enemies.
Pei Guang sighed deeply, feeling frustrated.