Chapter 20: Long Time No See
North Continent, White Swamp, Central Area.
On this rocky habitat, golden sunlight scattered down. Anderson bathed in the sunlight, his burly figure striking a pose of embracing the sun.
Behind Anderson stood mushroom-men in the same pose, their expressions filled with heartfelt joy. They were clearly not being forced to worship the sun. As super-fungal creatures, their adaptability to solar power even surpassed that of mammals.
At this moment, after praising the sun, the mushroom-men were ecstatic.
It was evident from many aspects that mushroom-men struggled to survive on this continent. Their elite individuals, in pursuit of combat power, had developed into "One-Punch Shrooms." On the surface, they could settle everything with one punch, but in reality, this was a sign of unsuitability for battle. If that one punch missed, they'd die on the spot and be stewed into mushroom soup.
But now, the mushroom-men had a backer. Although their queen had passed away, Anderson's strength was no weaker than hers. Moreover, after worshipping the sun, the mushroom-men could gain solar power. Before long, they too would become a force to be reckoned with.
Compared to the joyful and content mushroom-men, two figures among the crowd praising the sun were less than willing. They had handsome features with naturally occurring eye shadow—these two were Ghost Clan members.
The Ghost Clan pair consisted of a male and a female. The slightly older male was just a teenager of sixteen or seventeen, and beside him was his sister, around fourteen or fifteen.
This Ghost Clan sibling pair also maintained the sun-embracing pose. However, the brother's face was full of defiance. Even though his face was bruised and swollen, he still refused to submit. His sister hadn't undergone physical correction, but she was so frightened that tears welled in her eyes as she kept the pose.
The brother was named Po·Pesluo, and the sister was Po·Miya.
The Ghost Clan youth, Pesluo, was filled with rage. He and his sister had set out from the "Dungeon City·Qiuli" in the Cold Graveyard, endured countless hardships, taken countless detours to avoid toxic miasma, and walked for over two months to reach this place. According to plan, if they didn't die on the road, they would reach the innermost part of the Black Forest—the entrance to the Great Tree Hollow—in another three months.
Pesluo and Miya were not ordinary Ghost Clan members. They were from the faction close to the queen and were candidates for this generation's "Inheritor."
According to the rules set by their family elders, for Pesluo and Miya to officially become "Inheritors," they first needed to complete a pilgrimage—starting from the Cold Graveyard and heading to the queen's resting chamber at the bottom of the Great Tree Hollow.
Pesluo didn't know the specific reason for the pilgrimage, but the two siblings were very willing to undertake it. From the time they could understand things, they had been the queen's little fanboy and fangirl. They had always wondered why the queen never returned to the Ghost Clan.
Thinking that they had already covered a third of the pilgrimage route, only to be caught here praising the sun, Pesluo's anger flared up.
At this rebellious age, a teenager like him believed he was the boss, with heaven second and earth third. The only reason Pesluo was willing to praise the sun here was simple: that burly clergyman was terrifying. Initially, he had treated the siblings kindly, but after hearing they were on a pilgrimage and its significance, he immediately detained them.
Of course, Pesluo refused to accept this. As the strongest among the new generation of Ghost Clan, how could he tolerate this? He immediately squared up, ready to duel Anderson.
The result was that he jumped up and punched Anderson's chest with all his strength, causing his own right arm to fracture. If it weren't for the wooden splint he was now wearing, even praising the sun would be difficult.
What truly infuriated Pesluo wasn't the fractured arm, but the other party's words: "Did you hurt your hand?"
Hearing this, Pesluo's self-esteem took a critical hit of true damage. Blinded by rage, he drew a dagger and, avoiding vital spots, stabbed at Anderson's abdomen.
This made Anderson's expression change. After ignoring the stab, he tied Pesluo up amidst the latter's shocked and angry shouts and asked, "Child, are you trying to kill me?"
Having lost his mind, Pesluo shouted "Yes." Upon hearing this, Anderson's gaze shifted for just a moment. In that instant, Pesluo seemed to see an executioner covered in black smoke standing behind him, with himself tied to a stake, waiting to be beheaded.
When Pesluo came to his senses, his pants were soaked. This nearly caused him to die of shame and anger.
Seeming to sense that Pesluo's character had more good than bad—even in his fury, he hadn't aimed the dagger at the head or chest, but at the less fatal abdomen and thigh—Anderson said kindly to Pesluo, "Child, there is evil in your heart, but don't be afraid. The sun will purify the evil within you."
After that, Pesluo and his sister were brought here to praise the sun. He didn't want to, but he had no choice. He had personally witnessed that terrifying clergyman slap a charging "Maw of Death"—a super-crocodile—into a rapidly spinning top with one palm strike.
Under the "reformation" of that terrifying clergyman, the Maw of Death, nearly killed by that slap, stood upright using its tail and raised its short, thick crocodile forelimbs to praise the sun. Pesluo saw with his own eyes that the Maw of Death was actually crying—it was crying from grievance!
The scattered golden light particles stopped. Anderson, standing at the front, lowered his arms. The mushroom-men behind him reluctantly dispersed. After a long while, only Anderson and the two Ghost Clan siblings remained.
"Child, have you felt the sun?"
Anderson spoke. The Ghost Clan sister, Miya, nodded repeatedly. Beside her, Pesluo turned his head away and seemed to snort.
"Pesluo, there is evil in your heart."
"There's no evil in my heart!"
"I say there is, so there is."
Anderson's tone remained kind as he casually picked up a wooden stick.
Seeing this, Pesluo recalled a previous experience of being hung up and spanked for some offense, and a hint of fear appeared in his eyes.
"Evidence? You say there's evil in my heart—where's the evidence?"
"This is the evidence."
Anderson raised the hand holding the stick. Seeing this, Pesluo took half a step back. This "evidence" was too forceful; he didn't dare refute it. He blustered loudly:
"You're trying to make me submit! My soul won't yield! And there are people far more evil than me—they commit crimes, kill, and steal others' food."
"Oh? People like that exist?" Anderson's interest was piqued. He pressed, "Where are they?"
"They're all in 'Dungeon City·Qiuli.' Go find them there."
Pesluo was overjoyed inside. He felt he was so clever—since he couldn't win, he'd lure the enemy away. This was called using strategy.
In Pesluo's view, Anderson was indeed powerful, but "Dungeon City·Qiuli" housed over 300,000 Ghost Clan members. How could they fear one person?
If the Ghost Clan high-ups in "Dungeon City·Qiuli" knew what Pesluo was thinking, they would beat him to death.
"More people with evil in their hearts, hmm. Lead the way."
"Huh?"
Pesluo stood frozen. He had struggled through countless hardships, traveling for over two months to get here, and this guy named Anderson wanted him to go back?
Pesluo steadied himself and explained, "The journey back to the Cold Graveyard is long—at least two months. My sister and I still need to go on the pilgrimage..."
"Two months?" Anderson shook his head and said, "This journey should take about a day."
"How can it be a day? There are toxic miasmas along the way, and all kinds of..."
Before the Ghost Clan youth Pesluo could finish, Anderson had already stood up, holding an executioner's axe that seemed to come from nowhere. He lowered his stance, his clergyman's robes stretching taut over his muscles, the axe hanging down as he prepared to deliver a charged strike forward.
Boom, boom, boom.
As his momentum rose, the ground began to tremble slightly. Nearby gravel and withered grass floated up on their own. Anderson swung the axe.
Thud!!
After a deafening roar, Pesluo and Miya supported each other, shaking off the dizziness from the shock. They looked toward the source of the sound.
A black scar a hundred meters high and over ten meters wide appeared before them. Inside it, the world's colors turned dark—this was a space torn open by brute force.
Witnessing this, Pesluo and Miya's mouths hung open in shock. They were dumbfounded.
"Compared to Bai Ye, Baha, and the others, my method of opening alternate space is much cruder, but it still works. I didn't expect the coordinates they left behind to be used so soon. Let's set off."
Anderson weighed the executioner's axe in his hand. He hadn't acted in a long time, and his technique was rusty—the gap in the alternate space was jagged and uneven.
Pesluo and Miya stood frozen, their faces pale with fear. As the strongest of the new Ghost Clan generation, they now seemed weak, pitiful, and helpless.
...
South Continent, Hot Jungle.
The heat combined with high humidity created a unique scene in the hot jungle. Traveling here required not only caution against poisonous insects and leeches but also dodging the water vapor masses slowly rising into the air.
These water vapor masses ranged from the size of basketballs to marbles. Their danger lay in the fact that you never knew how many micro-parasites were inside them.
These parasites, as small as cellular level, would initiate cell invasion upon touching a creature's skin, causing cell hydration.
Sometimes, while walking through the hot jungle, you'd suddenly find your arm hydrated to the point of being semi-transparent. If decisive enough, you could immediately cut off that arm and maybe survive. But if the head, torso, or other areas showed "cell hydration," death was certain.
Of course, it depended on the person. Su Xiao looked at Zuiyasi, who was clearing the path ahead. The guy had already cut off 19 arms, 8 legs, and 6 heads.
Zuiyasi's method of dealing with "cell hydration" was simple and brutal: cut off whatever was wrong and grow new ones.
Su Xiao had been deep in the hot jungle for several hours. The journey had been relatively smooth, with no enemy ambushes. Apart from watching out for water vapor masses that could be blown by the wind, other aspects weren't a big problem.
The smooth journey was something Su Xiao had anticipated. Over a thousand participants had entered this world. Excluding those violators with other schemes, there were still many regular participants.
Initially, there weren't many exploration routes to choose from: either go north or go south. Compared to the Cold Graveyard in the north, the hot jungle in the south was a low-threshold area. The Cold Graveyard was too demanding on soul strength.
This had led many participants to enter the hot jungle for exploration. Wherever contractors passed, not a blade of grass was left—all wild monsters that could yield kill rewards were wiped clean.
Contractors were the most patient group. As long as there were kill rewards, even if wild monsters gathered in groups, they would find ways to lure them away bit by bit and slowly devour them. Kill rewards equaled resources, which equaled increased strength. No one was indifferent.
Su Xiao estimated that the front half of the hot jungle had probably been cleared out. The latter half of the journey would likely not be difficult either.
Walking on the path eroded by Zuiyasi's aura ahead, Su Xiao took out a soul crystal (small), tossed it into his mouth, and crunched it like a candy.
A faint explosion came from behind. Hearing this sound, Su Xiao paused. On the way here, he had deployed tiger wasps. From the sound of the explosion, it was likely caused by one.
The so-called tiger wasps originated from the Tiger Wasp Clan of the Primordial Continent. After defeating the Tiger Wasp Lord·Taimisa, Su Xiao had collected some of her cells and preserved them.
Later, using these cells, he cultivated more atavistic tiger wasps. These tiger wasps were about the size of killer bees, roughly the length of a pinky finger.
What Su Xiao valued was the tiger wasps' endurance, flight speed, and keen sensing and tracking abilities. He had bred six generations of tiger wasps in the laboratory's warm room, finally cultivating the ideal type: a wasp with no venom, low attack power, but strong adaptability, extremely fast flight speed, and medium-high survivability.
How to use these tiger wasps to kill enemies? The answer was to inject liquid Apollo into their semi-transparent abdominal sacs.
These tiger wasps had a lifespan of about 23 to 25 hours. If placed in low-temperature hibernation, they could maintain their vitality for over 40 natural days. When needed, opening the metal column-shaped hive and raising the temperature above 3° would cause them to awaken quickly.
Due to the tiger wasps' territorial instincts, their movement range after awakening wasn't large. However, if a high-heat source—like a human or large beast—approached, it would provoke them. They would charge at these intruders. Once they got too close to the biological heat source, boom~
The power of liquid Apollo was lower than normal Apollo, and each tiger wasp's abdominal sac could only hold a limited amount. But the power wasn't weak. Zuiyasi had just tested it personally—the guy had taken a liking to this tiger wasp technology and tried to pocket one, not realizing it was triggered by "biological heat sensing."
In the past half hour, over a dozen tiger wasps had been detonated one after another. This suggested that there might be dozens of people following behind. Of course, it couldn't be ruled out that there was one particularly unlucky guy doing S-shaped maneuvers and triggering all the tiger wasps along the way.
The successive detonations of tiger wasps behind made Su Xiao wonder if the Fairy Lady Team had regrouped and was tracking him from behind.
Su Xiao took out a black metal column about 10 centimeters thick and as long as a forearm. Gripping one end, he twisted it. With a puff, a burst of cold air sprayed out as the temperature inside the metal hive rapidly increased.
The black metal shell unfolded, and tiger wasps flew out, spreading to the surroundings—at least several hundred of them.
Su Xiao then took out a gold-black tissue sac and placed it on the ground. Golden-shelled scarab beetles crawled out of the tissue sac. These beetles also had liquid Apollo implanted inside them, making them like walking landmines.
These scarab beetles had a habit of burrowing into loose soil. They were naturally extremely timid, and at the slightest fright, they would spray a corrosive gas.
Through acquired cultivation, Su Xiao had pushed this trait to its limit. When the scarab beetles burrowed into the soil, if there was any vibration beyond a threshold within a 10-meter radius—even the sound of footsteps—it would be enough to startle them.
When startled, the scarab beetles would instinctively spray corrosive gas. Su Xiao used this as a trigger to activate the liquid Apollo inside them.
Perception-type contractors try to sense them? Of course they could, but the soil of the hot jungle was already full of various shelled insects.
Su Xiao took out a special test tube and inserted it into the mound-like tissue sac. This tissue sac was developed by Su Xiao using insect race characteristics.
Initially, it stored 10 scarab beetles. Subsequently, it consumed the biological energy inside the tissue sac and the liquid Apollo in the special test tube to cultivate scarab beetles at a rate of 6 to 7 per minute.
With the dose of liquid Apollo Su Xiao had left, cultivating 70 to 75 scarab beetles was feasible.
This was the benefit of liquefying ordinary Apollo. He had developed this for a long time, and it seemed his efforts weren't wasted.
Earlier in the White Swamp of the North Continent, Su Xiao had let the violators taste various potent toxins. Now those violators might be chasing again. Su Xiao wouldn't use poison this time—the scene matching wasn't high enough. The White Swamp itself had toxins, so using poison there was highly effective.
The current hot jungle was a paradise for insects and fungi, so naturally, one should adapt to local conditions. Using self-destructing tiger wasps and landmine scarab beetles to greet those violators behind was the way to go.
Meanwhile, at the edge of the hot jungle.
Having learned from their painful lesson last time, the Fairy Lady Team didn't take the path Su Xiao had traveled.
Even so, their progress wasn't smooth. Shortly after entering the hot jungle, a super-wasp flew near them. For some unknown reason, it suddenly exploded. Although the blast radius wasn't large, the power was considerable, and the golden flames produced by the explosion had high sustained burn damage.
This tropical jungle was filled with super-insects. Just the species alone numbered up to 370,000. Non-super insects were even more numerous—at least over 3 million.
Note: This wasn't the total number of insects, but the number of species.
Initially, Fairy Lady and the others thought it was a coincidence. That was until an unlucky assassination-type contractor was targeted by three tiger wasps simultaneously and died on the spot, unable to use any of his abilities.
Shenfu noticed that Su Xiao's kill merit on the kill leaderboard had increased by 2 points. Shenfu didn't think this was a coincidence.
A large mosquito flew near Fairy Lady. With a swish, it was cut in half. A skirt sash whipped out, smashing the mosquito to pieces.
"Fairy Lady, any countermeasures?"
Shenfu spoke. The current situation made it impossible to move forward. There were too many super-insects in the hot jungle.
"Yes."
Shenfu's expression remained calm.
"What method?"
Fairy Lady had been holding a belly full of anger since entering the Treeborn World. In her view, although Su Xiao was skilled in schemes and tricks, his raw strength was no match for hers.
During the first round of supply crate contention, Fairy Lady had sensed Su Xiao's strength increase. Though alarmed, she estimated after the battle that her strength was still a notch above his. In a one-on-one fight with all cards on the table, she would be the final victor.
With this mindset, Fairy Lady led her people north. Later, she encountered Crow Woman by chance and cooperated with her. At that time, Fairy Lady thought killing Su Xiao was basically a sure thing.
The result was that she didn't even see Su Xiao's face and was nearly poisoned to death. Afterward, Fairy Lady was so angry she couldn't sleep. She clearly could beat him, but she just couldn't catch up—the enemy was too cunning.
What made Fairy Lady even more frustrated was that both Huishenshi and Shenfu opposed her attacking Su Xiao in the ancient capital. Their attitude was that once they left the ancient capital, she could do whatever she wanted to Su Xiao.
Now, the enemy was right ahead, but Fairy Lady just couldn't catch up—or rather, couldn't force the chase. This suffocating feeling made it hard for Fairy Lady to maintain her usual elegance and basic etiquette.
"My countermeasure is to return to the ancient capital now. As long as we don't go after the enemy, no matter how many traps he sets, he can't do anything to us."
Shenfu spoke.
"This plan..."
Crow Woman hesitated. Charging straight ahead like this was indeed too stubborn.
"Shenfu, are you telling us to give up?"
Fairy Lady clearly opposed. She had been chasing all the way, thinking that as long as she could catch up, everything would be resolved.
"You could put it that way."
Shenfu was as cunning as ever. He was indeed cooperating with Huishenshi, but he wouldn't risk his life for this.
"Fine then," Fairy Lady stepped back a few paces and continued, "Those who agree to return to the ancient capital, stand with Shenfu. Those who agree to continue the pursuit, stand with me. I actually have no right to command you, and neither does Huishenshi. It's all up to your own choice."
As soon as Fairy Lady said this, Shenfu felt a headache. No wonder Huishenshi had said earlier that Fairy Lady was a single-celled organism—she was starting an internal conflict.
An awkward scene ensued. Some violators whistled, others adjusted their hairstyles. No one stepped toward Fairy Lady.
Feng, who was chewing on a carrot like a hamster possessed, suddenly stopped chewing. She put on a look of sudden realization, as if she had just understood the meaning of Fairy Lady's words. Her reaction time was ridiculously long.
Feng walked out of the crowd toward Fairy Lady. Standing alone, Fairy Lady was quite surprised. She hadn't expected that the seemingly not-so-bright Feng would support her.
Feng hadn't taken more than a few steps before Shouhao forcibly pulled her back and asked, "Do you know what standing over there means?"
"Isn't it time to eat?"
Feng looked at Shouhao blankly.
"Hahahaha."
"As expected of you."
Most of the violators struggled to suppress their laughter. Offending Fairy Lady was a terrifying thing.
Shouhao pulled Feng back into the crowd, grabbed her by the back of the collar like a disobedient elementary school student, and kicked her. Feng calmly continued eating her carrot, her appetite unaffected.
Unlike the others' hidden mockery, seeing Feng's movement of stepping out of the crowd, the smile that Shenfu had been maintaining disappeared for a moment.
"Everyone, I support Fairy Lady's plan. Continue pursuing Bai Ye."
Shenfu's words left the violators confused. He had just been on the opposite side of Fairy Lady.
"At this stage, any one of us needs Fairy Lady's guidance. Although her IQ..."
Hearing this, Fairy Lady interrupted, "Cough! If you can speak, say more."
"Sorry, I misspoke. I accidentally told the truth. Everyone, although Fairy Lady is resourceful..."
"You motherf*cker!"
Fairy Lady couldn't hold back anymore. This was the first time in her life she had cursed.
"Just a joke to lighten the mood. Everyone, when we first landed, Bai Ye was 1 against 92, and he killed 51. Later, during our pursuit in the North Continent, we didn't even see him, yet 71 of us died. After those two battles, you're all scared."
Shenfu's words made the violators' eyes shift guiltily. Having reached their current strength, none of them wanted to admit they were scared, even though it was true.
"Fairy Lady has never been afraid, because she knows that if we succeed this time, everything will be different for us. Has any of you not been hunted by Hunters, Death Rangers, Battle Angels, Pioneers, Guardians, or Executioners before?"
Shenfu looked around at everyone. Feng raised her hand as if to speak, but was lightly kicked on the butt by Crow Woman and withdrew her hand.
"Remembering those past experiences of being hunted... now, are you still hesitating?"
"Then let's do it."
"That's right. Follow Fairy Lady and kill Kukulin Bai Ye."
"Everyone, don't forget, our target isn't just Kukulin Bai Ye. Solomon is the second target. They say he's a former Hunter of Reincarnation Paradise. As long as they're Hunters from Reincarnation Paradise, they all have to die."
The violators' morale had somewhat recovered, and some even felt the urge to go fight Su Xiao right now.
"Excellent. Everyone, return to the ancient capital. The seven of us will handle the rest."
Shenfu's words left the violators dumbfounded. From what Shenfu meant, he didn't need them at all. So all that morale-boosting earlier was just messing with them?
Would Shenfu be that bored? Of course not. This deep incursion into the South Continent was to secure insurance for himself. Shenfu's strongest ability was very secretive and cunning. After that pre-battle mobilization, it would be hard for him to die on this deep incursion.
In the end, Shenfu only kept Fairy Lady, Crow Woman, Minglang, Tieshan, Shouhao, and Feng. He took out a scroll from his bosom—a long-range teleportation scroll that could teleport up to eight units. Teleporting seven would make the performance more stable.
"You had this thing, why didn't you bring it out earlier? We could have gone straight to the southernmost part of the continent to investigate what the Law Destroyer needs."
Fairy Lady spoke with anger in her eyes.
"No need to investigate. Bai Ye is looking for the talent awakening device. Huishenshi and I knew that long ago."
Shenfu smiled as he spoke. Hearing this, Fairy Lady felt like hitting someone.
"Bai Ye is strong, but... this time, I've resonated with 142 strands of life souls. I don't believe he can kill me 143 times."
Shenfu's words made Minglang, Tieshan, and the others look grim. This old man seemed kind and benevolent on the surface, but his heart was the blackest. Those violators who had just left had all been schemed against by this old guy.
...
The next day, 8:00 AM.
A few red-feathered birds circled overhead, attracted by the scent of blood.
The journey deep into the hot jungle was much as Su Xiao had imagined. Contractors adhered to the principle of scraping the ground clean. Tree spirits that dropped soul coins upon death had been cleaned out so thoroughly it was cleaner than a dog's lick.
This place had been sealed for years. Saying it was rich beyond measure was no exaggeration. From the current situation, after this wave, it would take a few years for the tree spirit tribes to recover.
Enemies that dropped soul coins upon death—once encountered by contractors, their fate was like some animal said to be good for kidney health: shelled ones got cracked open, spiky ones got de-spined, and even if inedible, they'd be soaked in wine. It was an absolute disaster.
On this journey, Su Xiao hadn't seen a single tree spirit, not even slightly larger super-insects. They had all been cleaned out by the contractors.
A few seconds ago, Zuiyasi, who was clearing the path ahead, found a severely injured person lying in the bushes.
Su Xiao stepped forward and saw that the injured person was wearing exquisite but old leather armor. He had pointed ears, pale skin, and brown hair. There was an open wound on his chest that had become infected and festered.
This person was likely a tree elf from this world, also known as wood elf, high elf, or arcane elf.
This was a male elf. He didn't have the typical elven beauty. His face was long, a classic mix of horse face and shoehorn face.
"Is this an elf? Aren't elves supposed to be all beautiful? This guy's uglier than my brother."
Zuiyasi kicked the male elf's head as he spoke, then asked, "What do we do with him?"
Hearing this, Aduo'er silently mourned for the wood elf lying on the ground. His luck was terrible—he had run into the boss team of the evil faction. The probability of being rescued was -100%.
"Is that even a question?"
"Of course we save him."
Hearing Wude and Baha's words, Aduo'er found it unbelievable. This wasn't the boss team she knew.
In reality, Aduo'er was still too naive. The villain boss team's philosophy was: encountering a severely injured person in the wild like this—of course, you treat them. If they held a high position in the elf clan, they'd be very useful. Even if they had no status, you could use the identity of a lifesaver to make them do things.
What if they did nothing after being saved and just walked away? No problem—they could just die again.
Saving people was naturally Su Xiao's responsibility. Although Wude also had methods in this area, whoever he saved might end up being something else entirely, definitely not the original injured person.
Treat the wound, inject high-compatibility life force solution, sew up the wound with spirit shadow threads, inject recovery potion, inject mental stimulant, inject cell stimulant, and finally, a big slap—the person woke up.
Witnessing the whole process, Aduo'er had a "what the f*ck" expression. That final slap was something she really hadn't expected.
The male elf who had been slapped frowned, his eyelids fluttering open. Before he could figure out what was happening, Zuiyasi said, "We saved your life. No need to thank us specifically. If you're on the run with treasure, we wouldn't mind you repaying us with that treasure."
"Huh? Ah?"
The male elf was completely confused. After coming to his senses, he still felt pain from his wounds and mental fatigue, but compared to before, his condition had improved dramatically.
After his confusion, the male elf introduced himself. His name was Laige, and he originally lived in the southern "Elf Capital·Pandalan."
A moment later, Laige, looking somewhat frightened and holding a large leaf to cover his lower body, stood in front of a tree. He said sincerely, "I really didn't escape with any treasure. I couldn't make it in the Elf Capital anymore, so I left. I was ambushed on the way."
Zuiyasi searched his clothes and leather armor and found nothing valuable except a chipped elven curved blade.
"A loss."
Zuiyasi tossed the clothes and leather armor back to Laige. After Laige dressed, Baha asked, "As an elf, how did you end up so miserable?"
"Well..."
Laige hesitated before explaining. He had originally been a guard for a wealthy merchant. The entire elf population was at least 50 million or more. The Yada civilization's inheritance depended entirely on them.
With such a population, class divisions naturally emerged. Laige had been lucky—he could work as a guard for a wealthy merchant and didn't lack money.
According to Laige, one time, the wealthy merchant was attacked. Laige bravely threw himself forward, taking a dagger for the merchant, getting stabbed in the abdomen. Afterward, he was fired.
"Damn, you took a knife for him, and he fired you?"
"Well... you see, after I blocked that one, it hurt too much, so I didn't block the next few."
Laige said this with a somewhat melancholic expression.
"Let's put that aside for now. Laige, have you heard of the Mushroom Prophet?"
"Of course. He's a famous figure in 'Sunlight Wetland.'"
"Oh, is that so? Lead the way."
Baha landed on Laige's shoulder to prevent him from running away.
With Laige as a local guide and Su Xiao and the others' auras, the journey became even smoother.
It was normal not to encounter enemies along the way. With the auras of Su Xiao, Zuiyasi, and Wude combined together, how desperate would an enemy have to be to attack them? As they traveled, super-beasts along the way either detoured or simply fled.
Under Laige's guidance, Su Xiao arrived at a wetland overgrown with fungi. As far as the eye could see, there were many dead giant trees, covered in mushrooms, moss, and vines. Vines were blooming everywhere.
After reaching "Sunlight Wetland," Laige took a detour for half a day. By around 1:00 PM that day, Su Xiao and the others arrived at a fungal village.
This place was surrounded by trees and vines, enclosing an area about the size of a football field. The vines above were so tangled that only one large hole remained for normal sunlight.
There was a dirt path here, flanked by short, exquisite wooden houses. These houses, about two meters tall, all looked somewhat round.
Laige pointed to the innermost structure—a delicate treehouse built by hollowing out a large tree stump. The treehouse was less than two meters tall with an arched roof.
Su Xiao stopped in front of the treehouse door and knocked.
Dong, dong, dong.
The knocking sound entered the treehouse. Inside, various decorations hung everywhere. An old mushroom-man sat at a low round table. He had green whiskers, and his face was more expressive and older than other mushroom-men. This was the Mushroom Prophet.
Hearing the knock, the Mushroom Prophet yawned, reluctantly stood up, and leaned on a wooden staff nearly as tall as himself. He slowly walked to the door, opening it while asking, "Who is it?"
Creak~
The door gradually opened. The slightly farsighted Mushroom Prophet squinted. He didn't first see Su Xiao's face but rather the blade at Su Xiao's waist—the unique blade of a Law Destroyer.
Seeing the Law Destruction engraving on the blade's pommel, the Mushroom Prophet immediately recalled a name: Mawen Hua'erzi. And a campfire, and a pot lid set over the fire. This made the Mushroom Prophet's mind buzz. His eyes rolled back, and he nearly fainted.