Purple Raven Grass

The woods were deathly quiet. Even the birdsong from earlier had vanished.

The only sound in the whole place was the crunch, crunch of footsteps crushing dry leaves.

The sharp noises drifted through the empty woods, echoing again and again...

She had no idea how far she'd walked. Along the way, she'd eaten another piece of bread, and even Xiao Xi had eaten ten jin of White Wolf King Meat.

Suddenly, Ji Xinghe stopped.

Xiao Xi swayed its vines in confusion.

Ji Xinghe, meanwhile, stared delightedly at the purple herbs growing by the path.

She hurried over and crouched down, keeping a wary eye on her surroundings as she took out her pickaxe and began to dig.

The herb's roots and stem were gray, with only three purple leaves.

Carefully, she dug up the whole plant along with the gray-brown soil around it.

As soon as she'd dug it up, the system's mechanical voice sounded: [Player found Purple Raven Grass. Exploration progress +10%]

Ji Xinghe's face lit up with delight, then she warily looked around.

When no monsters appeared, her shoulders relaxed slightly. She looked at the herb's information panel.

"Purple Raven Grass (herb): Nontoxic. One of the secondary ingredients for making

Deformation Treatment Potions."

"Effect: Eating Purple Raven leaves raw restores 10% of your deformation value."

"Note: One of the rare herbs on the Nine Yuan Continent. Its special growing conditions make it relatively scarce."

"So it really is Purple Raven Grass." As she spoke, she quickly put the herb in her backpack.

Ji Xinghe had dug up Purple Raven Grass in her previous life, too. Her legs hadn't been working properly then, and she'd accidentally torn off one of its leaves.

She hadn't thought much of it, but a minute later, the Purple Raven leaf had turned gray, and its effect had disappeared completely.

Only then had she learned that after picking a Purple Raven leaf, it had to be used within a minute. Otherwise, it would become a useless scrap of a leaf.

Purple Raven Grass was already rare, and after finally finding a plant, she'd wasted one of its leaves. Back then, she'd been so furious that she'd pounded her paralyzed legs with her fists.

Perhaps sensing Ji Xinghe's tangled feelings, Xiao Xi hooked one of its vines around her little finger.

"Master, you... should be happy."

"Xiao Xi is always here!"

Ji Xinghe came back to herself and looked at the vine beside her hand, smiling with her eyes. "All right. Let's keep looking for those fragrant fruits."

"The smell... is closer," Xiao Xi murmured, then clung tightly to Ji Xinghe's shoulder.

A quarter of an hour later, Ji Xinghe found another three-leafed Purple Raven Grass by the path.

After putting it in her backpack, she looked up at the towering tree ahead and to the right.

Xiao Xi's vines danced on her shoulder, and it looked thrilled. "Master, it's... the Fragrant Fruit!"

The way had been clear all along, and not a single monster had appeared. Standing a short distance from the tree, Ji Xinghe warily studied her surroundings.

It was too quiet. She couldn't help wondering whether the Deformed Monsters were hiding under the tree again...

But the area around the tree wasn't shrouded in gray fog. The fog surrounded the area five meters from the tree, and it almost seemed as though the gray fog was avoiding it.

When Ji Xinghe didn't move, Xiao Xi's vines gradually settled down, too.

Two minutes passed, and the surroundings remained as quiet as ever.

Ji Xinghe's gaze shifted, then settled on the tree opposite her.

The whole tree was lush and green. It looked perfectly ordinary, but staying green in a gray-fog environment was strange.

Ji Xinghe's gaze lingered on its thick, verdant branches, and she didn't notice the patterns beneath the trunk quietly shifting.

Her fingers tightened around the Star Feather Repeating Crossbow.

Then her gaze fixed on the leaves, and she let out a soft laugh.

She looked at Xiao Xi's two tender leaves swaying in the breeze, then at the green leaves fixed rigidly to the tree, unmoving.

She said nothing. She suspected the tree before her was a spirit.

Now that she knew what it was, things would be easier. After all, the unknown was the scariest thing of all.

Ji Xinghe hadn't encountered spirits in her previous life, but players who had said they were generally mild-tempered. As long as you didn't hurt them, they usually left you alone.

The next second, she asked Xiao Xi, "Can you hold on to that tree trunk?"

The trunk was too high for her to jump up to.

Xiao Xi's vines nodded. "I can."

As it spoke, its vines reached toward the tree's branches. Ji Xinghe didn't stop it.

Once it had a firm grip on the trunk, Ji Xinghe took hold of its vine. "Take me up."

As soon as she spoke, her whole body rose until she was standing steadily on a branch.

After repeating this a few more times, Ji Xinghe finally saw the fragrant fruit Xiao Xi had mentioned.

She sniffed. The scent that reached her nose was sweet and refreshing, like mountain spring water.

In this oppressive environment, Ji Xinghe couldn't help taking a couple of extra breaths.

She looked up. The whole tree bore only two fruits at its very top, one large and one small, both a pale blue like crystal.

They looked like decorations, not very edible.

But Xiao Xi looked so eager for one that they were probably something good.

Ji Xinghe looked up and reached for the larger crystal-like fruit.

It felt springy and soft.

Boing...

There was no resistance, and she plucked the fruit with ease.

As soon as she picked it, the system's mechanical voice sounded: [Player found Water Spirit Fruit. Exploration progress +10%]

Ji Xinghe froze. A Water Spirit Fruit?

She hadn't expected the fruit to increase her exploration progress by so much. She quickly put it in her backpack.