Entering the Gray Mist Zone

Ji Xinghe: ...

"Just as I thought." When she saw the Purple Raven Grass, she'd already wondered whether the Deep Gray Mist would increase Deformation. Now, it confirmed her suspicion.

She hadn't charged in recklessly.

There were still two stalks of Purple Raven Grass in her backpack—eating them raw could lower Deformation, her backup plan.

At the current rate of five Deformation points per minute, she could last eleven minutes. If she hadn't found the Dark Spirit Tree or more Purple Raven Grass by then, she'd pull out.

The Flying Broom had only thirty-six seconds left. Seeing that the Deformed Monsters weren't chasing, Ji Xinghe quickly steered it down.

She landed steadily on the ground.

[Ding, player has discovered the Gray Mist Zone of Orchard Island. Exploration +10%. Current exploration: 65%.]

She dismissed the panel that had just popped up, patted Xiao Xi on her shoulder, and scanned her surroundings warily.

The gray mist in the air was thicker than at the periphery, visibility barely fifty meters...

The withered trees around her bore not a single green leaf; their bare branches were tinged with a faint gray-black.

Beneath the dead trees, rings of rotting leaves festered in the mud. Every breath carried the damp smell of decay, laced with a faint, elusive stench of rot...

The gray soil underfoot was soft and sticky, as if a single misstep could suck her into this "abyss."

Just then, Xiao Xi's vine suddenly twitched, as if sniffing something.

"Master, there seems to be a fragrant herb up ahead."

Ji Xinghe tightened her grip on the Star Feather Repeating Crossbow, glancing left and right warily. "Where? Take me there."

Xiao Xi nodded its vine, then pointed northwest.

She looked at the Red Route, then at the direction Xiao Xi's vine indicated. The two paths mostly overlapped.

Seeing this, Ji Xinghe grew even more alert, her skill ready to trigger at any moment. She followed Xiao Xi's lead.

The journey was eerily quiet. Aside from the squelch of her footsteps on the muddy ground, there was no unusual sound.

If not for the steadily rising Deformation on her panel, she might have thought this was a relatively safe environment.

Three minutes later, Ji Xinghe's Deformation hit 20%.

That was when she spotted the blooming white flower ahead.

Her heart leaped, and she quickened her pace excitedly.

Carefully, she dug it up, roots and all.

[Ding, player has found White Ground Orchid. Exploration +5%. Current exploration: 70%.]

She swiped away the exploration panel and immediately checked the White Ground Orchid's details.

"White Ground Orchid (Herb type): Non-toxic. The sole main ingredient for crafting Deformation Treatment Potion."

"Effect: Eating White Ground Orchid raw restores 50% Deformation."

"Note: One of the Nine Yuan Continent's rare herbs. Due to its unique growing environment, it is extremely scarce."

Ji Xinghe couldn't stop the smile spreading across her lips. She hadn't expected to find such a precious herb.

This gave her an extra layer of security for exploring the Gray Mist Zone.

She rubbed Xiao Xi's vine. "Good Xiao Xi, can you sniff out any more of these?"

Xiao Xi sniffed, then shook its vine disappointedly. "Not for now."

Failing to help its master, Xiao Xi's vine shrank back.

Seeing this, Ji Xinghe knew she was being greedy. The White Ground Orchid was rare enough; one was plenty to be grateful for.

Noticing its drooping vine, she patted it gently. "Xiao Xi was amazing today. You helped me a lot."

"Really?"

"Of course." As she spoke, her eyes sharpened at the freshly risen mound of earth on the ground.

The next second, she activated her skill, striking the Deformed Monster that had just surfaced.

[Hit First-Order Gray Rat (Semi-Deformed). Enemy HP -130.4.]

An instant later, the Gray Rat's panel appeared before her.

[First-Order Gray Rat (Level 5) (Deforming)]

[Remaining HP: 124.6]

[Attack: 30]

[Physical Defense: 5, Magic Defense: 5]

[Speed: 50]

[Skill: Corrosive Spit—spits a glob of saliva, dealing corrosive damage to the enemy.]

Seeing this, Ji Xinghe fired two more arrows.

The Gray Rat, realizing its ambush had failed and it had been spotted, quickly leaped up and spat a glob of blood-colored saliva at Ji Xinghe with an "Ah-tui!"

Ji Xinghe sidestepped the attack, and the blood-colored saliva landed on a withered tree behind her. In an instant, a hole corroded into the dead branch.

A moment later, with a crack, the entire branch snapped off and fell to the ground.

"Hiss..."

"That's really venomous~"

The Gray Rat, seeing its strike miss, stealthily shrank back underground.

Then a faintly raised trail of earth appeared on the surface, covered by several layers of rotting leaves. If Ji Xinghe hadn't looked closely, she wouldn't have noticed it at all.

But as she followed, that slight bulge in the soil vanished completely.

Ji Xinghe stood still, watching the steadily rising distortion value on her panel, feeling a mix of reluctance and helplessness.

Generally speaking, after monsters undergo distortion, their intelligence drops.

A Deformed Monster this clever, if left unchecked, would inevitably cause a catastrophe sooner or later.

Rats hold grudges—that was one thing. But if it surfaced, how many people in District 66 would die at its jaws?

Ji Xinghe didn't want too many people in District 66 to die, because too many deaths would surely put them at a disadvantage in the district merger competition.

Yet she couldn't waste time digging three feet into the ground to find it. The distortion value was still rising—she had to find the Dark Spirit Wood and leave this place to be safe!

"Xiao Xi smells it, over there!" Just as Ji Xinghe was about to give up, Xiao Xi's nose caught the scent again.