Deep Into the Mist

Zheng Lei also agreed with Zhou Haichao's proposal regarding the redistribution of the spoils and began to consider it seriously.

A companion with the combat power of a Junior War God was qualified to receive a larger share.

"Regarding the distribution of the spoils, the Spirit of Vegetation I found is definitely off-limits," Zheng Lei stated, his tone firm and unquestionable.

Zhou Haichao and Chu He both had no objections to this.

For Zhou Haichao, this was information that the other party had paid a high price to purchase from him. If he couldn't even secure a single Spirit of Vegetation in the end, it would mean he, Zhou Haichao, didn't know how to conduct himself.

As for Chu He...

To put it simply, Chu He had no qualification to share in the spoils from the very beginning.

If it weren't for his breakthrough over the past few days, where his Spiritual Force reached the Elementary War God Level, prompting Zhou Haichao and Zheng Lei to want to befriend him, this trip would likely have been nothing more than a simple formality for an assessment.

Chu He also knew that he had only been cultivating for a short time. Being granted the qualification to receive a share was already enough to satisfy him.

He spoke up immediately: "Thank you, Supervisor Zhou and Senior Brother Zheng, for your generosity. If there is only one Spirit of Vegetation, it naturally belongs to Senior Brother Zheng. I will just discuss the distribution of the other items with Supervisor Zhou."

"Haha, you underestimate yourself too much," Zhou Haichao laughed heartily. "The previous talk about assessments and such was all just a joke."

"How about this: I won't take a single cent of the spoils this time. I will leave it all for you two brothers to distribute amongst yourselves."

"Supervisor Zhou, this..." Chu He began, wanting to dissuade him.

"Hey!" Zhou Haichao interrupted him immediately, feigning anger. "I already sold the proceeds from this place; it would be too greedy of me to participate in the distribution as well."

"Besides, the matter we agreed upon—introducing you, Chu He, into the War God Training Camp of my Thunder Dojo—is already a huge benefit for me. If you want to repay me, just do as your Senior Brother Zheng does: help me out when you have some free time in the future."

"I've said all that needs to be said. If you refuse again, Chu He, you're looking down on me!"

Watching Zhou Haichao's huffing and puffing, Chu He sighed inwardly: It's true! Once you become powerful, everyone you meet tends to be a good person.

He stopped refusing and agreed immediately.

Seeing that Chu He had accepted, Zhou Haichao nodded in satisfaction.

He looked as if he were the one who had gained a great advantage.

Of course, all of this was based on the premise that there was only one Spirit of Vegetation.

If there were more, they would naturally follow the old rules of martial artist squads and distribute them based on the level of contribution.

The three of them were well aware of this and did not discuss it further.

They chatted along the way.

Two days later, the three of them arrived at County 0316.

Chu He led the team to the entrance of the Mist Residential District, familiar with the route.

The hazy mist before them hung like an invisible curtain, isolating the entire residential district from the outside world.

Looking at the bright sun in the sky and then at the district where light could not penetrate, Zhou Haichao looked at the two of them and asked, "What do you think? Should we rest for a while to recover our stamina and mental energy, or head straight in?"

"Let's go straight in!" Zheng Lei unslung his Cold Iron Giant Axe from his back and spun it lightly in his hand. "The sooner we finish this, the sooner we can be done."

The Giant Axe sliced through the air, emitting a low, whistling sound.

"We just rested this morning, and it's currently noon, the time when the sunlight is at its most intense. There's really no need to wait any longer." Chu He gripped his battle blade in one hand and lifted his shield with the other, having already adjusted the clips for the nine Flying Daggers on his legs.

Seeing that both men were in agreement, Zhou Haichao nodded. "Alright. It's rare for the Northeast to have such a clear day in winter anyway. There's no time like the present; let's do it today."

The outline of the residential district loomed faintly within the mist; its former glory was now reduced to broken walls and ruins.

The three of them exchanged glances, nodded in silent understanding, and stepped over the alloy lift gate that had long since vanished.

In the mist, visibility was limited, so it was naturally up to the Spirit Reader, Chu He, to scout the path.

Chu He walked at the very front, gripping his Jueying Battle Blade tightly. The blade reflected a cold, chilling light in the dim surroundings.

The other two scanned left and right, simultaneously keeping watch to prevent any Monsters from circling around to ambush them from behind.

Chu He's gaze scanned the mist vigilantly, each step he took seemingly testing the depth of the fog.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

The sound of the three men's footsteps echoed through the mist.

"Watch your step; the ground here might be unstable," Zhou Haichao whispered a reminder.

In the absolute silence, even a low whisper sounded exceptionally clear.

The three of them moved forward along the main road of the district, but there were no signs of anything unusual in the surroundings.

It felt as if this were just an ordinary abandoned residential district shrouded in mist.

The streetlights were crooked and leaning; some had even collapsed entirely, leaving only a few broken poles slanted into the ground.

Weathered by wind and rain, the road signs on both sides were covered in rust, their lettering blurred and difficult to recognize.

These signs had once guided residents toward their homes, but now they could only point toward desolation.

The surrounding buildings, once luxurious villas, now had mottled walls and shattered windows.

Between these structures, the once-manicured lawns were now overgrown with weeds and vines.

Some of the vines had even completely blanketed the broken walls and ruins.

Despite the ruins, their vitality was remarkably vigorous.

After walking for several dozen minutes, the three of them felt as if they had been worrying for nothing; they hadn't encountered a single issue.

"That's enough!" Zheng Lei frowned. "Stop taking these safe paths. Head straight toward the deepest part of the fog—walk in a straight line!"

"Chu He, your Spiritual Force can sense which direction the fog is thickest, right?" Zhou Haichao also looked toward Chu He.

"The direction where the fog is thickest? No problem." Chu He nodded.

In reality, over the past few dozen minutes, combined with the view from the rooftop earlier, the general layout of the entire residential complex had already been sketched out in his mind.

The place where the fog was thickest was at a small park within the complex.

Soon, led by Chu He, the group arrived at this small park.

Not to mention the various fitness equipment, children's play facilities like slides, swings, trampolines, and climbing walls were also common sights.

At this moment, these play facilities were all in a state of ruin.

As the surrounding fog grew thicker and the light dimmed, the three of them could finally catch glimpses of some strange medicinal herbs.

Within the mist, these peculiar herbs emitted a faint glow.

However, in the eyes of Zheng Lei and Zhou Haichao, these herbs that had not yet developed sentience could not be considered Spirits of Vegetation; they were merely expensive cultivation resources.

Yet, in Chu He's eyes, the richness of the spiritual energy on these herbs was something he had rarely seen in his life!

Furthermore, under Chu He's sensing, most of them were spiritual energies of a mental nature.

With just a simple sweep of his Spiritual Force, Chu He discovered quite a few Spirit Materials among them that could be paired with those Crystal Antlers.

And the most precious among them was the massive fruit tree deep within the mist, which Chu He's Spiritual Force had just detected!