Collei touched her abdomen and fell into deep thought.
She was naturally aware of the demon god remnant inside her body; being tied to an experimental table, having this terrifying thing implanted, and the bloodstains left by many others who underwent the same experiment and died on the tables.
Even if Collei forgot her own name, she would never forget the suffering inflicted upon her by the Fatui.
Collei detested the demon god remnant because it brought her endless pain.
But sometimes, Collei felt fortunate; thanks to the demon god remnant, she possessed the power for revenge.
Collei had heard Arkz's words just now perfectly clearly: as long as she persisted in drinking the water of purity every day, the demon god remnant would be completely purged from her body.
But what about after the demon god remnant was gone?
How would she avenge her parents?
Even though Collei had been hiding across the Teyvat continent, she knew how powerful the Fatui's influence was, and how slim her hope for revenge was.
Collei did not want to involve her friends.
Without the power of the demon god remnant, she would just be an ordinary person.
No! She should be called a patient suffering from the withering sickness.
Without power, how could she take revenge!
Without power, could she still be friends with Amber and Xing?
Looking at the empty bottle of water of purity in Arkz's hand, Collei made a silent resolution.
...
...
Sansa.
Under Arkz's lead, Xing, Collei, Amu, Aqiu, and Siegfrieda traveled together through the jungle next to Springvale Farm.
"Has everyone clearly understood this mission?"
"Understood!"
"Very good, then I will repeat it once more!"
Everyone was instantly speechless.
Xing objected, "You've repeated it so many times my ears are about to grow calluses! Just stop rambling!"
Arkz didn't get angry either and asked, "Oh! Then tell me, what is this mission? If you answer correctly, I won't repeat it again."
Xing proudly raised her head and said:
"Collect oak seeds and cut down all trees except the oak trees."
"Am I correct?"
Arkz helplessly covered his forehead and said, "Since you know it so clearly, then let me ask you, what are you doing right now?"
Xing innocently put down the little squirrel in her hand and dropped the Pinecone she had snatched, saying, "Not doing anything."
The purpose of Arkz and the others' trip was precisely to collect oak seeds and plant oak trees in preparation for later using the sap collectors to gather oak resin to make brewing barrels.
Regarding the existing, fully grown oak trees in this forest, Arkz did not plan to transplant them, but instead directly hang sap collectors on them.
Every four days, the sap collector could harvest resin once.
When the sap collector was hung on an oak tree, it collected oak resin.
When hung on a maple tree, it collected sweet maple syrup.
And when the sap collector was hung on a pine tree, it collected pine tar.
Oak resin is a key material for making brewing barrels, and maple syrup goes without saying; it is a good option whether used for making delicacies or selling for money.
The uses for pine tar are much greater.
Pine tar is not only one of the necessary materials for making looms, but it can also be used to make Rain Totems and Growth Hormones!
Rain Totems can be used to pray for rain in arid areas, and they would surely sell for a high price if taken to the desert.
As for Growth Hormones, that goes without saying—they promote plant growth. However, this function is less important for Arkz, who possesses Dendro Elemental Power.
Because this forest was near the farm, the group quickly reached their destination and began their work.
Xing and Arkz bore the burden of felling trees, while Amu, Aqiu, and Siegfrieda were responsible for helping the wooden puppets move the timber. Collei was responsible for collecting the seeds that had fallen on the ground, primarily oak seeds.
Other types of seeds could also be collected as a precaution; who knew when they might be useful!
With everyone working together diligently, they quickly cleared an area in this forest composed entirely of oak trees.
At this time, Arkz also hung all twenty sap collectors he had made onto the oak trees.
"I hope these sap collectors won't be destroyed by any passing Hilichurls."
Arkz looked at the sap collectors already working on the trees and felt a bit worried. Given the level of hostility Hilichurls held toward humans—they would kick passing carriages twice—let alone these sap collectors, which were clearly human creations.
Although the raw materials for manufacturing sap collectors were not precious to Arkz, if the sap collectors were destroyed, it meant he would have to wait another four days to collect oak resin, and that was assuming the sap collectors weren't destroyed again by Hilichurls during those four days.
As for wild boars, Arkz was not worried at all.
Because wild boars cannot climb trees, and Arkz had deliberately hung the sap collectors quite high up, the boars simply couldn't reach them!
Aqiu, who was collecting seeds, heard Arkz's concern. After hesitating for a moment, she walked forward and said in a low voice:
"I have a way to prevent the Hilichurls from destroying the machines on these trees."
Arkz, who was considering whether to assign wooden puppets to patrol this area of the forest, was suddenly stunned when he heard this:
"What way do you have?"
To be honest, ever since he impulsively brought Aqiu back to the farm, Arkz and Aqiu hadn't communicated much.
Bringing Aqiu back to the farm was probably due to a collection compulsion; encountering special creatures always made him want to capture them, just like if the Great Snowboar in the allogene game could be captured, someone would definitely catch one and put it in the Serenitea Pot.
Aqiu said, "I can communicate with the nearby Hilichurls and ask them to stay away from this forest, but I need water of purity."
"water of purity?" Arkz asked curiously, "What do you need water of purity for?"
Aqiu hesitated for a moment, deciding to tell the truth.
"water of purity can purify Abyssal Power. I want to try and see if water of purity can purify the curse imposed on the Hilichurls by the Heavenly Principles."
Arkz thought for a moment and nodded under Aqiu's anxious gaze.
He agreed to Aqiu's condition.
Arkz was not overly fearful of the maintainers of the Heavenly Principles. He estimated that the Heavenly Principles were already in slumber by this time, and with the system's protection, even if he couldn't win, couldn't he still escape?
Moreover, Arkz felt the possibility of water of purity purifying the curse imposed by the Heavenly Principles was very low.
The reason water of purity could exert such a powerful purifying effect was mostly due to the system's power. Even using the same formula, the water of purity made by Arkz and that made by others had vastly different effects.
Furthermore, the higher the level of the power, the weaker the purifying effect of the water of purity.
Just like Collei's demon god remnant or Xiao's resentment of the demon god, the effect of water of purity was quite obvious. But when it involved the erode imposed by the Heavenly Principles, the effect of water of purity became very weak. This was also why Zhongli left all the water of purity for Xiao.
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