Chapter 128: The Ancient Key

The individual strength of a Treeguard far surpasses that of the tentacle monsters. However, the sheer number of these tentacles eventually overwhelmed the Treeguard, leaving it struggling to defend itself against their coordinated assault. After three of the tentacle monsters perished, the sole survivor finally managed to strike the Treeguard down into the swamp.

Qin Fei’s injured right leg, now mostly healed thanks to the medicinal ointment provided by Xie Nainai, allowed him to limp toward the final tentacle. Staying safely outside its reach, he pulled his golden spear from his backpack and hurled it with all his might. The tentacle, already gravely wounded by the Treeguard, was hanging on by a thread; Qin Fei’s strike proved to be the final blow, snuffing out its remaining life.

Even after killing the monster, Qin Fei did not let his guard down. He retrieved his golden spear and proceeded to stab the corpses of every monster on the ground. Only after confirming they were truly dead did he begin to scavenge their remains. From time to time, he would try to pry or tear at the monsters to see if any useful parts could be salvaged. For reasons unknown, while these creatures were incredibly tough when alive, their resilience dropped significantly after death.

Qin Fei discovered that the tips of the tentacles could be twisted off by hand. Furthermore, the skin covering the entire length of the tentacle could also be peeled away with ease. After some effort, he stowed the tips, the skin, and the bodies of the tentacle monsters into his backpack. Next, he turned his attention to the Treeguard. Its body was also made of flesh and blood. From the Treeguard’s remains, Qin Fei obtained a large amount of meat, as well as a substance that existed somewhere between flesh and wood: Living Log.

In the world of Don't Starve, Living Logs have a wide variety of uses. Their only distinction from ordinary wood is that their surfaces bear features resembling human faces, which look remarkably sorrowful. When prodded with the golden spear, these logs emit faint, mournful cries. It is an exceedingly rare material.

Qin Fei collected these as well. After scavenging the materials, Qin Fei and his companions returned to the grassland and hauled the trees that Caesar Pig had previously knocked down back to the Pig Village. On the way, Qin Fei noticed that the four tentacle tips he had harvested had dried out completely, likely due to the passage of time. They had become dark and hard, covered in countless sharp barbs, resembling a spiked club. The item description in his inventory had changed accordingly:

【Tentacle Spike: Formed from the dried tip of a tentacle monster. The barbs on its surface inflict a paralyzing effect upon striking an enemy.】

The Tentacle Spike was not only incredibly durable but also possessed a paralyzing effect—a true divine weapon. Qin Fei kept two for himself and gave the others to Xie Nainai and Caesar Pig.

Once all the timber was back at the village, Qin Fei traded with the Pig Elder for a stone axe, a shovel, a pickaxe, a bucket, and a key. Upon receiving the bucket, Qin Fei learned that this item, crafted from bone fragments and wood, was actually a "Compost Bin" from the world of Don't Starve.

【Compost Bin: Placing manure inside allows it to be used to revive withered plants and accelerate their growth cycle by 80%.】

Reading the description provided by the rhombic crystal, Qin Fei was amazed. As expected of an item from the Don't Starve world, the function of the Compost Bin defied scientific logic, bordering on the magical. The stone tools—the axe, shovel, and pickaxe—were similarly extraordinary. Despite being made of flint and twigs, they were far sharper than ordinary iron blades.

As for the key Qin Fei received from the Elder, the rhombic crystal identified it as the "Ancient Key." It was quite large, and its surface was engraved with a pattern resembling a map.

【Ancient Key: A key imbued with magical power, used to unlock the Ancient Gate deep underground!】

The Ancient Key... As a veteran player of Don't Starve, Qin Fei knew exactly what this was. The world of Don't Starve is actually composed of various continents with different settings; "Gorge" was simply one of them. The only way to travel between these continents was to use this key to open and pass through the Ancient Gate located deep underground.

With this key, Qin Fei effectively possessed the ability to traverse these realms. If he found himself unable to defeat the "God of Biting" that was set to descend during the Eternal Night, he could simply use the key to open the Ancient Gate and flee the Gorge continent.

Of course, opening the gate would be no easy task. It lay deep underground and was difficult to locate. Even if found, one would have to defeat the "Ancient Fuelweaver," a shadow creature guarding the portal. It was a formidable opponent, not easily overcome. Thus, if he could kill the God of Biting when the Eternal Night arrived, that would be ideal. If not, he would resort to opening the gate and escaping.

Qin Fei planned to prepare for both scenarios. First, he would use the Pig Houses to shelter from the God of Biting and the plague it would spread during the Eternal Night. He had learned from the Pig Elder that these houses offered protection against both. Although Qin Fei didn't know how to build them and had no spare ones, Caesar Pig did! After bribing Caesar Pig with a large amount of tentacle meat, Qin Fei and Xie Nainai secured permanent residency in its home. There were still about 27 days until the Eternal Night.

His second plan was to descend underground in advance to locate the exact position of the Ancient Gate. However, the underground of the Don't Starve world was a separate realm, a vast space with its own complete ecosystem and dangerous creatures. Therefore, Qin Fei needed to gather sufficient supplies. Moreover, since the underground world was devoid of sunlight, he would also need to prepare tools for illumination.