Filth Root

'Wolf King' lunged forward.

'Wolf King' was beaten into wolf pulp.

Soon, Deathbone slew two more Gray Wolves that were howling "awoo, awoo." Before the other three Little Skeletons even reached the battlefield, he had already achieved a beautiful triple kill.

Perhaps Deathbone had been too fierce. This time, the Gray Wolves did not fight to the bitter end. Before the bloodthirsty crimson in their eyes could even flare up, it was replaced by fear.

They howled in terror and scattered in all directions.

One unlucky wolf was caught by Deathbone and cut down after several slashes.

"Notification: Obtained 2.3 g of Soul Sand."

"Notification: Obtained 0.9 g of Soul Sand."

"Notification: Obtained Troop Remnant Soul (Random)."

"Notification: ..."

Something dropped!

This was all thanks to the Wolf King.

Ah~ Wolf King, my friend.

Compared to the last battle, this one had suffered no losses at all. It had been pure profit!

Oh, that wasn't entirely true. Deathbone had suffered some losses.

His armor had been scratched in several places by wolf claws, and he had even used Cleave once. One had to know that with Deathbone's current energy reserves, he could only unleash two consecutive slashes at most while in peak condition.

The 'Wolf King' had consumed one of them.

The 'Wolf King' was truly terrifying.

After routing the wolf pack, Mu Yuan gathered the spoils and quickly left, lest the smell of blood attract other monsters.

After walking some distance away, he checked his status. His Evolution Points had already risen to 0.33. Sure enough, battles could squeeze out a few more Evolution Points.

His Soul Sand harvest was also quite decent. He had 4.2 g, enough to evolve another Level 2 Skeleton.

He took out the Remnant Soul and examined it again.

It was a roughly basketball-sized ball of light, semi-transparent in appearance. A blurry figure was projected within it. It seemed human but not human, beast but not beast, and its identity was impossible to make out.

If its appearance could not be seen clearly, it was a Random Remnant Soul.

If its appearance could be seen clearly, it would specifically correspond to a certain troop type.

"However, Remnant Souls must be used at the Lord Altar. By consuming Soul Sand to communicate with the heavens and earth, they can be revived and completed into troops."

"I'll deal with it after I return."

Mu Yuan continued onward, controlling his game character as he struggled through the rugged mountain forest. The three Little Skeletons swayed and staggered after him.

He walked very carefully, constantly scanning his surroundings and occasionally switching his view back to the territory.

He currently possessed two views: the character's view and the territory's view.

Therefore, he wasn't worried about getting lost. As long as the territory existed, it would provide clear coordinate guidance.

"This seems to be some kind of berry."

Among the bushes not far away grew some fruits he did not recognize. Even clicking them lightly with the mouse did not reveal any definite information.

Mu Yuan thus understood that these were merely ordinary fruits.

Like wolf meat, ordinary fruits were ungraded items and could not be manifested into the real world. Even if they could, no player would do so. Their value was far less than the Soul Sand consumed during the manifestation process.

"But this orchard can provide quite a lot of food."

"All my subordinates are Skeleton Soldiers right now, so not needing food doesn't mean it will always be that way. No matter what, being able to find food near the territory is a wonderful thing."

Mu Yuan marked the location on the map, then continued deeper into the orchard.

He maintained his tortoise-like... steady pace, his gaze sweeping over his surroundings from time to time. Soon, he really did discover something.

It was a small tree. He could not tell what species it was, but the several vermilion fruits hanging from its branches were smooth, round, and translucent. At a glance, they clearly weren't ordinary.

"Crimson Blood Fruit (Common Grade)"

"Description: A wondrous fruit with the effects of invigorating the blood and strengthening the body."

This was the treasure the players on the forum had mentioned—something that could be manifested into reality and benefit the player personally!

He could gradually rid himself of his weak body.

The Eternal Continent truly was overflowing with treasures.

Mu Yuan was excited, but he forcibly suppressed that excitement. He stopped Deathbone, who wanted to step forward and pluck the fruit, then backed away more than a dozen steps.

Seeing Deathbone's bewildered expression, Mu Yuan earnestly taught him, "Treasures are often accompanied by danger. Around a Crimson Blood Fruit tree like this, there may very well be a guardian monster. It might wait for us to approach and lower our guard before shamelessly leaping out to ambush us."

"So... Skeleton first ambush...?"

Deathbone fell into thought.

Mu Yuan was both gratified and troubled by his curious-baby spirit. If asked to explain the specific principles and detailed procedures of the cautious path, he really couldn't say much.

That would damage his radiant image in Deathbone's heart.

Should he order a few relevant books online and let Deathbone study by himself?

It was true that ordinary items could not be brought into the game world, but he could summon Deathbone into the real world to study. That might even help Deathbone train and improve his intelligence.

He was truly thinking of Deathbone in every possible way.

Perfect plan~

At present, the main task was still harvesting the Crimson Blood Fruits.

Mu Yuan ordered one dull and foolish Little Skeleton forward to probe around the edge of the Crimson Blood Fruit tree. He also had Deathbone crouch guard nearby, ready to act. If necessary, Deathbone could use the Cleave skill to kill the enemy in one strike.

Two seconds, three seconds, ten seconds...

The woods were utterly silent. It was as though Mu Yuan could hear the cawing of a crow flying past in his mind.

Could it be that the Crimson Blood Fruit tree was too ordinary, and there simply... simply weren't any guardian monsters around it?

Mu Yuan fell silent. Silence was today's embarrassment.

Deathbone did not notice his embarrassment. He understood now: in order to teach him the way of lying low, the lord had given him practical training even though he knew there were no enemies.

He understood. He completely understood. He had experienced the lord's painstaking intentions.

Next time, he definitely had to apply it in actual combat and give the lord a surprise.

The process of harvesting the Crimson Blood Fruits went smoothly.

Naturally, Deathbone did the work. Only Deathbone, who had awakened self-awareness, knew what harvesting meant. Any other Skeleton would only crush the fruits to pieces.

After placing the six Crimson Blood Fruits in his arms, Mu Yuan continued forward cautiously.

He encountered no danger along the way. Instead, he caught two isolated monsters twice: a one-star porcupine and a one-star Cave Dweller.

Deathbone chopped both of them down with two swift slashes.

The entire exploration process seemed easy, but neither Mu Yuan nor Deathbone relaxed their guard in the slightest.

Mu Yuan had seen too many miserable accounts from the players on the forum. He deeply understood that he could not afford to fool around. Otherwise, let alone ordinary Three-Star Troops—even rare Three-Star Troops would not be enough to die.

Deathbone had grasped the essence of the cautious path and also understood that carefulness and prudence were necessities for survival.

One human and one skeleton cat crouched in the grass, warily watching their surroundings.

Suddenly, Mu Yuan's brow furrowed.

"This land..."

After leaving the orchard, the land before him became considerably more barren. The trees had withered, with only a few lonely leaves hanging from them. The earth had also dried out completely, splitting into countless cracks. Wisps of yellowish or reddish mist filled the air, making the whole place seem extremely ominous.

"With signs like these, could it be..."

He looked ahead.

Without the dense trees blocking his view, Mu Yuan could see far into the distance. Deep within the area filled with drifting, uncanny mist, several figures were wandering about.

Green skin, fangs, short stature.

They were Goblins, who, together with the Little Skeletons, were known as the Wolong and Phoenix Chick of the game.

These Goblins surrounded a tree root about half a meter long. It looked like a tree root, yet red liquid flowed across its surface.

It was the Filth Root!

"Filth Root—a disaster-born object rooted in the earth of the Eternal World. It continuously pollutes the surrounding environment, gathers monsters, and corrupts all normal things."

"And players—the Heaven Chosen selected by the Eternal Continent—have the core mission of cleansing filth and saving the world."

"Saving the world is too absurd. It doesn't suit an ordinary person like me, but if I remember correctly..."

Those who cleansed filth could receive gifts from the world will of the Eternal Continent.

The drop rate was far higher than killing monsters!

Thanks to Zhu Jiu Ming Yue, Wo Bu Shi Fei Ge, and Jun Lian Yan for the rewards. Thanks to everyone for the votes and for following the story~