As the morning mist veiled the Mist Swamp like a thin veil, the Youth Guardian Camp ' footsteps trod upon the soft peat. A Mu carried his New Sprout Sword, its scabbard adorned with Ice-Fire Entwining Pattern, glistening with fine mist droplets— Loran had specifically reminded him beforehand that the swamp was humid, requiring the use of a patterned "temperature-controlling talisman" to prevent the blade from getting damp. In A Ya's bag, besides the usual purifying plant seeds, there were also " Swamp-Clearing Fern " cultivated by Liya overnight—this fern secreted a sap that inhibited moss decay, and its leaves could absorb Evil Energy particles from the swamp. On A Shi's patrol log, two new columns, "Peat Humidity" and "Aquatic Life Status," had been added. A dried Mistlight Grass was tucked beside the log—a "guide marker" sent by the Swamp Dwellers after Loran's prior communication.
"Follow the Mistlight Grass and you won't get lost!" Loran rode ahead on his Cloudhorn Beast, the golden figure of the Icefield Wolf standing out vividly in the mist. It sniffed the moisture in the air, and whenever it encountered a hidden puddle, it would lightly tap the ground with its paws as a warning. From the depths of the swamp came the occasional "croaking" sounds of the swamp's unique " Water-Purifying Frog," but their calls were much sparser than the swamp dwellers had described. Even the Mistlight Grass, which should have been glowing with a pale blue light, had a few clumps that looked grayish-brown.
Having just crossed a Mistlight Grass, we saw the yurts of the swamp dwellers ahead—the yurts were woven from reeds, and Swamp-Clearing Fern hung from the roof. An old woman from the swamp, wrapped in a burlap sack, was squatting in front of the yurt, holding a long pole and sighing at something in the waterway. Hearing footsteps, the old woman looked up, her cloudy eyes brightening. "Lord Loran, you've finally arrived! These past few days, the ' Heart-Rot Moss ' has grown wildly, blocking most of our waterway, and even the Water-Purifying Frog dare not approach. If this continues, we won't even have enough water to drink!"
A Mu immediately followed his grandmother to the waterway—the murky water was covered with a layer of dark green, Heart-Rot Moss. The moss strands intertwined, like an impenetrable net, blocking the flow of water. Faint black lines clung to the edges of the strands, traces of the aftershocks of Evil Energy. " Evil Energy is accelerating the growth of the decaying moss!" A Mu's fingertips lightly touched the moss strands, immediately feeling the familiar coolness. "I learned in the bay that Evil Energy disrupts the growth rhythm of plants. This Heart-Rot Moss must have absorbed the aftershocks of Evil Energy that drifted in with the ocean currents!"
Granny Swamp nodded, using a long pole to part the decaying moss, revealing the slowly flowing spring water beneath. "We tried using Swamp-Clearing Fern to suppress it, but the moss grows too fast, covering the ferns as soon as they sprout. The elders say that the 'Spring Stone' in the center of the swamp can stabilize the waterway, but recently the Mistlight Grass around the spring has withered, probably also affected by Evil Energy."
Loran looked into the depths of the swamp, where the mist was thicker, and a faint blue light could be seen—it was emanating from the Mistlight Grass around the springstone. " A Mu, try using the power of ice and fire to control the temperature!" Loran reminded him, "The swamp water temperature is low, and the decaying moss reproduces faster in low temperatures. Use the power of fire to slightly heat the water surface, then use the ice mist to lock in the moisture. This will suppress the decaying moss without harming other aquatic creatures."
A Mu took a deep breath, held the New Sprout Sword horizontally above the waterway, and gathered a wisp of gentle flame power at his fingertips. The flame did not directly touch the water surface, but instead condensed into a thin film of fire in mid-air. The water vapor turned into white mist upon encountering the fire film, and was then gently enveloped by the icy mist he subsequently released, forming a "warm and moist film" above the water surface. Miraculously, the Heart-Rot Moss in the waterway stopped spreading, and the originally entwined moss even began to curl slightly.
" A Ya! It's time to Swamp-Clearing Fern!" A Mu called out to those behind him. A Ya immediately picked up the Swamp-Clearing Fern seeds and followed A He, the granddaughter of Granny Swamp, into the shallows beside the waterway. A He expertly used reeds to make small holes in the peat moss, while A Ya followed the "tiered planting method" taught by Liya, first laying a layer of chopped Mistlight Grass at the bottom of the hole (to attract Water-Purifying Frog ), and then Swamp-Clearing Fern seeds. " The Swamp-Clearing Fern suppress moss decay, the Mistlight Grass attracts Water-Purifying Frog, and the frogs' excrement nourishes the ferns. This creates a cycle that can control moss decay for a long time!"
The two worked together to plant half of the waterway. A Ya then watered it with spring water drawn from the spring. As soon as she finished watering, Swamp-Clearing Fern broke through the soil, their pale green leaves unfurling and secreting a clear sap. The sap dripped onto the Heart-Rot Moss, instantly causing the moss to turn white and wither at a visible speed. Several Water-Purifying Frog hiding in the crevices of the rocks, smelling the fragrance of the Mistlight Grass, slowly jumped out, squatted on the fern leaves, and occasionally stuck out their tongues to eat the plankton on the water's surface.
A Shi squatted by the waterway, writing rapidly on his record board. "At 4:40 AM, the ice-fire-warm-humidity membrane covers the waterway, and the Heart-Rot Moss has stopped multiplying; at 1:15 AM, the tiered zone of Swamp-Clearing Fern' and 'Mistlight Grass' has formed, and 30% of the decaying moss has withered; at 3:40 AM, the number of returning Water-Purifying Frog has reached 15!" He also specifically asked A He to help measure the humidity of the peatland and draw a distribution map of the waterway and planting zone on the record board, marking "more ' Swamp-Clearing Fern ' needs to be planted downstream"—that was what A He said, because the water flow is slow downstream, and decaying moss is most likely to accumulate there.