Discovering Mutated Plants and a Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Owl Spirit Beast

Today, Qian Renxue stayed on the beach while Ning Rongrong and Shui Bing'er entered the forest with Chu Xiu.

When Shui Bing'er heard that Chu Xiu wanted to go deeper, she grew nervous.

"Chu Xiu, are we really going deeper? We found a Netherworld Wolf skeleton yesterday. What if it's dangerous farther in?"

Ning Rongrong hadn't thought much of it before, but Shui Bing'er's words gave her pause.

"We haven't even finished exploring the forest. There's no need to rush up the mountain, is there?"

Chu Xiu's Deserted Island was vast. The outermost ring was beach, followed by a forest nearly a kilometer deep.

Over the past two days, Chu Xiu and the others had explored only the forest's outer reaches. They hadn't ventured far in because their instincts told them it would grow more dangerous the deeper they went.

Chu Xiu had considered that too.

But danger often came with opportunity.

The two Mutated Plants he had found on the forest's edge had both been ordinary grade.

If ordinary-grade plants existed, there had to be higher-grade spiritual plants on the Deserted Island, perhaps even immortal- or divine-grade ones.

If he didn't improve his physical strength with Mutated Plants soon, the next time they encountered a Lynx, they might not even have a chance to run.

"You're both right, but being afraid won't make danger disappear. We have to seek out more resources so we'll be strong enough to face it when it comes."

Qian Renxue agreed with Chu Xiu.

"I think Chu Xiu is right."

Her voice was cool and her tone calm as she said,

"If that Netherworld Wolf had been alive yesterday, the three of us would be dead now. Danger can reach us even at the forest's edge, so why not head for the more dangerous foot of the mountain? We might find resources that are more useful to us."

Chu Xiu nodded and picked up where Qian Renxue had left off.

"What we need most right now is firestone. The forest floor is covered in fallen leaves, so even if there are stones, we can't see them. We're much more likely to find firestone at the foot of the mountain."

After hearing Chu Xiu's explanation, Shui Bing'er and Ning Rongrong were still worried, but they understood that he was right.

Fear wouldn't solve anything.

The forest's edge wasn't necessarily safe, either.

The three of them made some quick preparations and set off.

Their destination was the foot of the mountain, only about a kilometer away. They reached it in less than an hour.

There were trees on the mountain too, but they were much shorter than those in the forest. Fallen leaves lay thinly across the ground, and black rocks rose everywhere.

"Chu Xiu, look! Spring water!"

Shui Bing'er pointed ahead excitedly. A little over ten meters away, a stream less than a meter wide wound down the mountainside.

"Be careful. Watch your surroundings. There might be Spirit Beasts," Chu Xiu warned.

Shui Bing'er and Ning Rongrong stopped smiling and scanned the area. Only after finding no sign of danger did the three of them approach the stream.

Downstream lay a small pool five or six meters across. Its spring water was so clear and free of sediment that they could see straight to the bottom.

"The mountain spring is so clean."

"There's so much water. Could we bathe here?"

Shui Bing'er and Ning Rongrong looked at each other and saw the same longing for a bath in each other's eyes.

They liked to keep clean, but they hadn't bathed in three days and two nights. Even if their sweat had smelled sweet at first, it was turning sour now.

Still, they knew the forest held plenty of dangers. Neither dared make the decision lightly, so they looked to Chu Xiu.

"Chu Xiu, what's wrong?" Shui Bing'er asked, her voice growing serious as she saw his furrowed brow.

"Did you spot something dangerous?" Ning Rongrong tensed too.

Chu Xiu shook his head slightly. "No. Something about this place just feels strange."

"What's strange about it?"

Ning Rongrong and Shui Bing'er were baffled.

Chu Xiu sighed. "I don't know. It's just a feeling. Maybe I'm overthinking it."

"Oh."

Only then did Ning Rongrong and Shui Bing'er relax.

"Then can we bathe here? We'll be quick. Just a little while," Ning Rongrong asked, unable to resist any longer.

Shui Bing'er felt the same.

If they hadn't found the pool, they might have managed a few more days.

But now that it was right in front of them, not bathing felt worse than death.

Seeing the longing in their eyes, Chu Xiu relented. "All right. Wash quickly, and fill some containers with spring water when you're done. I'll head upstream and see if I can find firestone."

Finding firestone was Chu Xiu's main goal on this trip.

Ning Rongrong and Shui Bing'er lit up when they heard they could bathe.

"Be careful, Chu Xiu. Don't go too far."

"We'll be done in ten minutes at most. Hurry back."

Ning Rongrong and Shui Bing'er stared at Chu Xiu, practically urging him to leave.

Chu Xiu knew they were too embarrassed to bathe while he was there. He turned and headed upstream. He had gone only twenty or thirty meters when he heard the two women enter the water behind him.

Chu Xiu lowered his head and sniffed. The rank smell of sweat rising from his own body made him frown.

Looks like I should wash up a little after they're done.

Chu Xiu continued upstream.

He had walked less than twenty meters when a patch of pale blue light appeared ahead.

His heart raced. He hurried forward a few steps and found a field of rice glowing blue not far ahead.

Not a single stalk, but a whole field.

It covered roughly two hundred square meters and held at least a thousand stalks of wild rice.

[Spirit Rice]

Grade: lower-grade Spirit Tier

Mutation: ghostly blue

Effect: Eating it heals injuries and restores stamina. Long-term consumption can also temper the body and increase physical endurance.

Chu Xiu thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

Every stalk in that entire field was a Mutated Plant.

And what was more,

they were Spirit Tier plants.

I've struck it rich. I've really struck it rich.

Chu Xiu could barely contain his excitement.

He was about to step forward and gather the Spirit Rice when he glanced around out of habit and stopped dead.

Beside the Spirit Rice field stood a withered tree.

An Owl half a meter tall perched on one of its branches, resting with its eyes closed.

Chu Xiu's heart sank. He instantly understood why the place had felt wrong earlier.

The ground beside the pool where Ning Rongrong and Shui Bing'er were bathing had been too clean. There hadn't been a single animal track.

A mountain spring this good should have attracted plenty of Spirit Beasts. How could there be no tracks?

Now Chu Xiu understood.

A powerful Owl Spirit Beast lived here. This was its territory, and weaker Spirit Beasts didn't dare set foot in it.

If it rules this whole area, that Owl Spirit Beast must be at least ten thousand years old. But it's daytime, when an owl is at its most vulnerable.

Chu Xiu gripped the Bone Dagger tightly in his right hand.

His gaze shifted between the Owl ahead and the Spirit Rice nearby.