As it was getting dark, Xu Yi and Lu Ke finally headed back.

After all, this is a zone where level 3 Fierce Beasts roam.

They are a level 3 Divine Master and a level 4 Mage, respectively.

Even if they encountered five or six level 3 Fierce Beasts, they could handle them with ease.

So, moving at night was not a problem at all.

Moreover, they were riding an Erha, so they didn’t even need to watch the road, making it even less worrisome.

However, the audience was quite worried about them.

But by the time Xu Yi and Lu Ke returned to the camp, they hadn’t encountered any Fierce Beasts.

When they returned, it was already past 8 PM.

Since Xu Yi and Lu Ke had been continuously moving, Wang Jin and the others weren’t too worried about them.

After all, with one being a level 3 Divine Master and the other a level 4 Mage, even ten of them couldn’t handle Lu Ke alone, so with her and Xu Yi out, there was certainly no danger.

After returning, Xu Yi and Lu Ke ate some roasted sweet potatoes and the meat soup left by Liu Li and others, then continued their training.

Before they knew it, the night was over.

In the midst of training, time flies by quickly.

The next day, before dawn, Xu Yi exited the Supreme Profound Meditation Method.

"System, check-in." After Xu Yi completed the check-in on the 158th day, he got up to practice the Body Refining Technique.

Now it only takes Xu Yi 15 minutes to practice the Body Refining Technique. His long-term practice has made him very proficient, allowing him to achieve such speed naturally.

This speed is also the optimal speed for Body Refining Technique. Too long or too short will somewhat reduce the effectiveness.

In an hour, Xu Yi can complete it four times.

For Lu Ke, it takes 40 minutes to complete a full session of the Body Refining Technique, so she can only do it twice a day. Doing it more would take too much time.

After Xu Yi finished four rounds, he rested for a few minutes, and Lu Ke also completed her two rounds of the Body Refining Technique.

Then, the two of them stepped out of the tent.

In the camp, everyone was practicing the Qin Family Spear Technique.

Xu Yi and Lu Ke joined in, and after an hour of training, everyone finished their session.

After a short break, Xu Yi and Lu Ke took out the finger peppers.

Lu Ke then took out her sleeping and training bed, and after setting it up, placed the finger peppers on top.

These peppers need to be dried; fresh peppers aren’t as fragrant as the dried ones.

"Xu Yi, are these peppers?" Wang Jin picked up a finger pepper and asked Xu Yi.

The finger pepper emitted a peppery aroma, with a slightly pungent hint.

"Achoo."

Wang Jin sneezed and then excitedly said, "They must be peppers, definitely peppers."

"Great, we have peppers now. In the future, we can add some dried peppers or chili powder when cooking." Wang Jin put the finger pepper in her mouth; she’s always been a fan of spicy food.

Although she’s not obsessed with it, she does have a strong preference for spice.

Many foods become more flavorful and delicious with a bit of spice.

After eating a pepper, Wang Jin said somewhat unsatisfied, "This isn’t very spicy; I thought it would be really hot."

Wang Jin only felt a slight tingling on her tongue, but the taste was quite pleasant, with a fresh, fruity feeling.

After laying out the finger peppers, Xu Yi said, "Once dried, the spice level should increase a bit, but if you want it really hot, we’ll need to find other varieties. Since we have these finger peppers, there’s likely more out there."

"I think it’s pretty good, mildly spicy, good for enhancing flavor without overpowering the original taste of the food," Cheng Jie said while tasting a finger pepper.

Her grandfather was a very famous chef in their county. Unfortunately, no one inherited his skills, and Cheng Jie’s culinary aptitude is quite average, but she’s quite discerning. She understood some of her grandfather’s cooking methods and theories, with spices being one of the influences.

"I’m not complaining about it not being spicy, just that its aroma suggests it’s spicy, but it’s a different story eating it," Wang Jin quickly explained, worried Xu Yi might misunderstand her.

Xu Yi smiled slightly, tossed another one into his mouth, and said, "We’ll know when they’re dried. The sun here is intense, so they should dry in a day."

If they weren’t by the lakeside but in the jungle, drying anything would be quite challenging. After all, the sunlight in the jungle is quite limited.

Unless they could dry things on treetops. However, with their current skills, doing so is unrealistic.

After drying the peppers, everyone gathered to have breakfast.

Breakfast was simple, steamed Killing Melon with soup.

The supply of potatoes and sweet potatoes was dwindling, so Xu Yi didn’t take them out.

After all, they needed to plan for planting later. They couldn’t eat all the seeds or they’d have nothing to plant.

After breakfast, Xu Yi and Lu Ke set out again.

Having found peppers the previous day, Lu Ke was eager about the day’s outing.

She hoped they could discover more things.

After leaving the camp, Xu Yi and Lu Ke headed in a new direction.

Having explored the previous day’s area, Xu Yi didn’t want to cover old ground.

Even with Erha, who moves swiftly, Xu Yi didn’t want to waste time, hoping a new direction could lead to discovering useful plants.

Unfortunately, after half a day, Xu Yi identified over a dozen new plants, but none were what he needed or wanted.

At noon, Xu Yi and Lu Ke gnawed on some jerky they had brought.

"Xu Yi, there are so few level 3 Fierce Beasts. We’ve been out for so long and haven’t seen any signs of them," Lu Ke said, a bit disappointed while munching on jerky.

Xu Yi nodded and said, "Our activity range is too small, not that there are fewer Fierce Beasts. Just think, how large is Erha’s activity area compared to ours."

Lu Ke patted Erha’s head, agreeing with Xu Yi’s reasoning.

This forest was exceptionally large, likely several times bigger than the Desert.

After all, this planet has no creatures that destroy vegetation.

One might say this planet’s habitable areas are all verdant with plants, making it normal to have larger habitats for animals.

"Just said there weren’t any Fierce Beasts, and now one has shown up," Xu Yi glanced into the distance, where a giant tiger appeared about thirty meters away, also eyeing Xu Yi.