Doghouse Village

"Not even as good as a corpse collection crew."

The moment Bai Zhu finished complaining, he felt the Black Soil beneath his feet soften.

He stopped immediately.

Milluki nearly bumped into him from behind. Hugging the box, he cursed under his breath, "Could you at least turn on a brake light when you stop?"

Bai Zhu lowered his head and looked beside his feet.

Several thin roots retracted into the mud. They moved quickly and vanished in the blink of an eye.

"This place is testing us," Bai Zhu said in a lowered voice. "Don't step on any raised patches."

Ging crouched down and tapped the edge of the Black Soil with his knuckles.

The Black Soil did not react.

He raised a hand, signaling them to continue.

The group headed deeper into the forest belt.

Outside was desert, yet the interior was absurdly damp. Their clothes quickly clung to their bodies, and every breath carried the smell of plants and mud. The leaves overhead were broad enough to block out huge swaths of light. Faint blue light flowed through their veins, traveling down the branches before sinking into the earth.

Satotz wrote as he walked, his pen barely stopping.

When they reached a plant with three tiers of spiraling leaves, he crouched down completely.

"This thing shouldn't still be alive."

Bai Zhu crouched beside him and stared at it for a long time.

Grass was still grass.

It had not grown gold coins.

He was a little disappointed.

Satotz held a small scanner close to the leaves, a trace of excitement in his voice. "Three-Whorl Ancient Leaf. It appeared in murals at some ancient ruins in western Mingbo. And that Blue-Veined Broadleaf Tree from earlier—existing records contain only fragments about it. Its fossil age is at least thirty thousand