Ji Xinghe:... "Just as I thought." When she saw the Purple Raven Grass, she'd wondered whether the Deep Gray Mist would increase her deformation level. Now, she had confirmation.
Of course, she hadn't come in recklessly.
She still had two sprigs of Purple Raven Grass in her backpack. Eating them raw could also lower her deformation value, giving her a fallback.
At the current rate of five points per minute, she could last eleven minutes. If she hadn't found the Dark Spirit Tree or more Purple Raven Grass after eleven minutes, she'd leave.
The Flying Broom had only thirty-six seconds left. Seeing that the Deformed Monsters hadn't caught up, Ji Xinghe hurriedly steered it downward.
She landed smoothly.
[Ping! The player has discovered the Gray Mist Zone on Orchard Island. Exploration +10%. Current exploration: 65%.]
She closed the panel that had just popped up, patted Xiao Xi on her shoulder, and warily surveyed the area.
The gray mist was thicker than on the outskirts, and visibility was only about fifty meters...
Not a single green leaf could be seen on the dead trees around her. Their bare branches were tinged a faint gray-black.
Beneath the trees, layers of rotting leaves had decayed into the mud. The air smelled of damp rot, with a faint trace of something rank mixed in...
The gray earth beneath her feet was soft and sticky, as if one careless step might suck her into this "abyss."
Just then, Xiao Xi's vine suddenly twitched, as if it had caught a scent.
"Master, I think there's fragrant grass up ahead."
Ji Xinghe gripped the Star Feather Repeating Crossbow and warily glanced around. "Where? Take me there."
Xiao Xi bobbed its vine, then pointed northwest.
She checked the Red Route, then looked at the direction Xiao Xi's vine was pointing. The two paths almost completely overlapped.
That made Ji Xinghe even more cautious. She kept her skills ready to fire at a moment's notice, then followed the direction Xiao Xi had indicated.
The way was utterly quiet. Apart from the sound of her footsteps squelching in the mud, nothing stirred around her.
If not for the deformation value on her panel continuing to rise, she might have thought this was a relatively safe place.
Three minutes later, Ji Xinghe's deformation value reached 20%.
She also spotted a white flower in full bloom up ahead.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she hurried over, excited.
Carefully, she dug it up with its roots intact.
[Ping! The player has found a White Ground Orchid. Exploration +5%. Current exploration: 70%.]
She swiped away the exploration panel and hurriedly checked the White Ground Orchid's details.
"White Ground Orchid (Herb): Non-toxic. The sole primary ingredient used to make
Deformation Treatment Potion."
"Effect: Eating a White Ground Orchid raw restores 50% of your deformation value."
"Note: One of the rarest herbs on the Nine Yuan Continent. Its unusual growing conditions make it extremely scarce."
Ji Xinghe couldn't stop smiling. She hadn't expected to find such a precious herb.
This gave her an extra layer of security while exploring the Gray Mist Zone.
She rubbed Xiao Xi's vine. "Good Xiao Xi, sniff around and see if there are any more."
Xiao Xi sniffed, then shook its vine sadly. "I can't smell any for now."
Its vine curled in on itself. It hadn't been able to help its master.
Seeing this, Ji Xinghe realized she'd been greedy. White Ground Orchids were rare to begin with; finding one was already enough.
Noticing its drooping vine, she patted it gently. "You were amazing today, Xiao Xi. You helped me a lot."
"Really?"
"Of course." As she spoke, her gaze sharpened at the mound of earth that had just risen from the ground.
The next second, she activated her skill and hit the Deformed Monster as it poked its head out.
[Hit a First-Order Gray Rat (half-deformed). Enemy HP -130.4.]
The Gray Rat's status 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 out a mouthful of saliva, dealing a certain amount of corrosive damage to the enemy.]
Ji Xinghe fired two more arrows.
The Gray Rat realized its sneak attack had failed and it had been spotted. It leaped up and spat a bloody glob of saliva at Ji Xinghe. "Ah, ptui!"
Ji Xinghe dodged to the side. The bloody saliva splattered against the dead tree behind her, instantly corroding a hole through one of its already withered branches.
A moment later, there was a crack, and the whole branch snapped off and fell to the ground.
"Yikes..."
"That's nasty!"
Seeing its attack fail, the Gray Rat quickly ducked back underground.
A slightly raised trail then appeared across the ground. Several layers of dead leaves covered it; Ji Xinghe wouldn't have noticed it if she hadn't looked closely.
But as she followed it, even the faintly raised mound vanished.
Ji Xinghe stood still, watching the deformation value on her panel steadily climb. She felt frustrated and helpless.
In general, monsters' intelligence declined after they became deformed.
If a clever Deformed Monster like this wasn't dealt with, it would cause trouble sooner or later.
The Gray Rat would hold a grudge, for one thing. If it showed up, how many people in District 66 would die at its teeth?
Ji Xinghe didn't want too many people in District 66 to die. If too many people died, their district would inevitably be at a disadvantage in the joint-zone competition.
But she couldn't waste time digging all over the place to find it. Her deformation value was still rising. She had to find the Dark Spirit Wood and get out of here to be safe!
"Xiao Xi can smell it! It's over there!" Just as Ji Xinghe was about to give up, Xiao Xi caught its scent again.
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