Dark Mist Erosion Core

Watching the mutation value on the panel creep up bit by bit, Ji Xinghe's heart sank deeper and deeper.

The gray fog before her, thick enough to turn black, narrowed her field of vision even further.

Visibility ahead was only about five meters.

The one silver lining was that the group of Deformed Monsters had stopped outside the fog's core—they seemed afraid to enter.

They just fixed their blood-red eyeballs on Ji Xinghe, staring unblinkingly.

The moment she stepped out, they would pounce and devour her clean...

There was no turning back. She could only move forward!

The Red Route was very short now. She took out the Green Heart Grass and ate two stalks in one go.

Gently patting Xiao Xi, she gripped her weapon and strode quickly toward the end of the route map.

A minute later, Ji Xinghe reached the destination and saw the black fruit tree ahead.

She identified the short, black tree at a glance as a Dark Spirit Tree.

Because the surrounding gray fog was dense enough to turn black, yet within a three-meter radius around the tree, there was no fog at all. Above it hung a single fruit the size of a cherry, dark cyan in color.

[Ding, player has found the Dark Wood Spirit Tree. Exploration +15%. Current exploration: 95%.]

It really was.

Closing the panel, she looked beneath the tree...

There was a monster there, pitch-black all over. Unlike the Deformed Monsters' blood-red hue, this one was pure black.

When Ji Xinghe looked at it, it looked back at her.

Just one casual glance from it sent a chill down her spine.

This was definitely not a creature she could handle at her current level!

Her legs froze in place.

The next moment, Xiao Xi's cool vine tugged at the back of her neck: "Master! Master!"

Ji Xinghe yelped in pain, snapping back to reality, and shook her groggy head.

She couldn't meet its gaze!

Its mental strength was stronger than hers.

Beneath the Dark Spirit Tree, Mo Yi was also shocked. Its Mental Suggestion had only held her for a few seconds. This human was stronger than it had anticipated.

It seemed it would have to get serious!

Ji Xinghe had no time to stall with the enemy. She unleashed a skill, aiming straight at the black monster under the tree.

The monster drifted lightly, dodging Ji Xinghe's attack.

Ji Xinghe: "..."

What the hell was this thing?!

Survival Game, you give me this quest—are you trying to get me killed?

Even so, Ji Xinghe didn't stop firing her Star Feather Repeating Crossbow.

She specifically used wooden arrows coated in Mist Heart Fruit juice.

She'd tested it before against the Deformed Monsters—throwing one fruit at a time was too wasteful. Coating arrows with Mist Heart Fruit juice saved a lot and didn't lose the fruit's slowing effect.

If she landed just one hit, the monster would be slowed down!

Meanwhile, Xiao Xi on her shoulder was in charge of feeding her White Ground Orchid.

Every fifty seconds, she ate one. Including the ones she'd gathered earlier, she had eight in total.

That gave her 400 seconds of combat time. If she couldn't take down that pitch-black monster by then, she'd have no choice but to ride her Flying Broom out of the core zone.

Finally, after dozens of shots, she landed a hit.

Ji Xinghe, focused on observing the monster, didn't notice that the Dark Spirit Tree's branches in the fog's center had twitched slightly.

[Hit the monster. Enemy HP -0, -0. Triggered Bleeding. HP -1, -1...]

She finally hit it. A blessing in disguise—even if she hadn't broken its defense, at least the Bleed effect was triggered.

She quickly checked its panel details, and the next second, her eyes went wide.

[Second Order Dark Creature: Mo Yi (Level 3)]

[Remaining HP: 298]

[Magic Attack: 166]

[Magic Defense: 10]

[Speed: 150 (Mist Heart Fruit juice active. Current speed: 30. Countdown: 00:09:59)]

[Traits: Immune to normal physical attacks. Exceptions: Bleeding, Penetration, and similar damage.]

[Skill: Mental Suggestion, makes the opponent believe the skill user is a more powerful creature, and as long as the opponent thinks they cannot win, they will never be able to win!]

She had already witnessed this skill just now. Fortunately, it had no other tricks.

But... Immunity to Physical Attacks?

Then what was all that fighting for? Did it count as her being strong? Did it count as her having plenty of wooden arrows?

At least its Magic Defense and HP weren't high.

Two hits, and she could kill it!

Ji Xinghe stowed the Star Feather Repeating Crossbow back into her backpack, a skill materializing in her hand.

Just then, the Dark Spirit Tree behind Mo Yi stirred slightly, its branches hooking around its body.

Mo Yi froze for a second, black mist churning violently around it.

Right on cue, Ji Xinghe's skill fired and struck true!

Mo Yi let out a piercing shriek, something like blood or tears streaming from its eyes.

[Hit Second Order Level 3 Dark Creature Mo Yi, opponent HP -120.4]

One more shot to go!

While waiting for her skill to cooldown, Ji Xinghe munched on the White Ground Orchid Xiao Xi fed her, carefully tracking its flight path.

Even though it had slowed down, Ji Xinghe refused to let her guard down at a critical moment.

A lion uses its full strength even when hunting a rabbit, let alone when her opponent's methods were so sinister.

She noticed Mo Yi freezing for a second every time it flew near a branch fork, and a smirk tugged at Ji Xinghe's lips.

As soon as her skill was ready, she unleashed it immediately.

Boom!

[Over-level kill: Second Order Level 3 Dark Creature Mo Yi. Reward: Experience Points +1, Wow Coins +1, Dark Mist Erosion Core +1]

[Dark Mist Erosion Core: Equip it to freely traverse the Gray Mist Zone. Duration: 30 minutes. Usable once per day.]

With the Dark Mist Erosion Core in hand, Ji Xinghe equipped it at once.