My monster cards can evolve infinitely.

Chapter 45 Girl

Xiuqi's gaze slowly swept over the ancient inscriptions on the sculpture's base.

The ancient elven inscriptions were like vines with intertwined branches and leaves, and even he, who had taken "Classical Elven Literature" as an elective at the academy, could not recognize them.

Moreover, the elven script before him was older and more complex, quite different from the script he had learned from books.

"Eternal...guardian...trial..." Xiu Qi managed to utter a few barely recognizable characters.

However, that's all; the other characters are completely unrecognizable.

Standing in front of the pool, he could feel the flow of arcane elements in the air becoming exceptionally regular, seemingly forming an invisible vortex centered on the sculpture.

The monster card "Bird Poet" on his chest was slightly warm, as if giving him a hint.

Xiuqi took a few steps back and began to look around the huge plaza.

Eight stone paths extend from the edge of the square, winding endlessly across the vast meadow.

"Eight paths... eight arms?" Xiuqi stared ahead thoughtfully. "A coincidence, or..."

He took out a compass from his bag, and as expected, the needle was still spinning wildly, and even faster than in the gray forest, so the interference here was probably even more severe.

"Damn it!"

"This compass has never worked properly since we bought it!"

Xiu Qi inwardly scoffed, considering this guide item, priced at 10 silver, to be a major failed transaction.

Not only did it further shrink his already depleted wallet, but it also served no purpose whatsoever.

"You can only rely on yourself!"

As someone with a terrible sense of direction, he decided to walk along each road for a while first, and then make a judgment based on his intuition.

As he walked toward the nearest path, the warmth emanating from the [Bird Poet] card in his arms began to gradually dissipate.

"No, then it seems this isn't the right direction!"

He stopped and began walking toward the second path.

However, after walking for a while, the blue card remained cold, without a trace of warmth.

"That doesn't seem right either, let's try a different direction!"

Xiuqi stopped again and hurried toward the third path.

"Still not right, let's try again..."

......

"No, this isn't the right way either..."

......

"Still not right..."

......

Until the last path, the one furthest from him, the [Bird Poet] card in Xiu Qi's arms began to emit warmth again.

As he walked further and further away, the temperature emanating from the cards in his arms grew increasingly intense.

The trees on the grassy sides of the path are extremely tall, as if they have been growing for hundreds or even thousands of years, with many vines hanging down from their branches that emit a faint light.

The forest floor is covered with a layer of soft, carpet-like moss, which makes no sound when you step on it.

The concentration of arcane elements in the air was extremely high, and Xiu Qi could feel his magic power recovering at several times the normal rate, while his previously depleted mental energy was gradually becoming full again.

Ahead was a towering rocky mountain, with a silver stream flowing beneath its cliff face.

The stream flows through a narrow crevice beneath the rock face. The crevice is only wide enough for one person to pass sideways, and the interior is dark and deep, making it impossible to see anything.

Xiuqi hesitated for a moment by the stream, just as he was about to probe into the crevice to investigate—

A very faint sound, like the tinkling of a wind chime, came from the bushes on the right.

It wasn't the wind.

There's no wind now.

He immediately turned around, his gaze fixed on the direction of the sound.

It was a patch of grass growing beside a stream, the leaves a rare indigo blue, with tiny, visible glimmers of light flowing through the veins.

Deep within this patch of grass, several strange plants were swaying gently.

Xiuqi carefully parted the grass.

What comes into view are three flowers that are extremely beautiful in their own right.

It has a bell-shaped corolla similar to that of a lily of the valley, but is twice the size of a regular lily of the valley.

The petals are as transparent as if they were carved from crystal, and tiny specks of light, the size of rice grains, float inside the corolla.

The flower crown rotates slowly in a certain rhythm, producing a delicate and melodious wind chime sound.

Each point of light has a different color: pale gold, light purple, moon white, aqua blue...

The colorful lights flashed alternately, as if playing a silent symphony.

Xiuqi's breath hitched.

Such a magnificent flower, created by such wondrous creation, is actually not difficult to distinguish.

He had seen similar descriptions in the "Illustrated Compendium of Rare Magical Plants" in the library.

The book was written by a half-elf who had lived for over two hundred years, and he devoted three full pages and illustrations to describing this legendary plant.

Clearly, the illustrations and paintings cannot capture even a fraction of the extraordinary beauty and charm of this magnificent flower.

Fairy Lily of the Valley, a rare plant that has been heard of in legends for many years.

Unlike the common lily of the valley or the precious thin-leaved lily of the valley, its petals are the raw material for top-grade magic potions, and its roots are the core of top-grade healing potions.

Each fairy lily of the valley takes at least fifty years to mature, but these three in front of us—

Huge, magnificent petals, thick stems, and countless points of light in the corolla.

It has clearly matured over many years.

Xiuqi crouched down to observe carefully.

The fairy lily of the valley closest to him suddenly trembled, and the light spots in its corolla accelerated their rotation, accompanied by a series of crisper "ding-a-ling" sounds.

"That's amazing!"

Xiuqi exclaimed in admiration.

He did not start picking immediately.

From last night until now, the intense fighting and exploration have not only exhausted his spirit but also drained his body.

So his stomach protested against him.

"Never mind, let's fill our stomachs first." He gazed at the three fairy lilies of the valley. "I'll come back to pick them when I leave."

Xiuqi found a clean grassy spot and sat down next to a towering ancient tree with a huge canopy.

He took out a dwarf energy biscuit and some dried swamp lizard meat from his food bag, and then took out the half-pot of fairy red tea.

He broke the biscuit in half and chewed it along with the lizard jerky.

The rough texture of the dwarf biscuits combined with the salty and savory flavor of the jerky wasn't exactly delicious, but it was still quite palatable.

He then took out a gray forest candied fruit and a wine-infused flame candy, put them in his mouth, and sipped a small sip of fairy black tea. The sweet and soft taste...

Xiu Qi's tightly furrowed brows suddenly relaxed.

The fragrant aroma of the food spread slowly on the forest breeze.

After eating a few more bites, Xiuqi picked up the kettle, tilted his head back, and took a sip of black tea.

"Gurgle—"

He stopped chewing, as if he had heard a sound.

That wasn't the sound of wind, nor the rustling of leaves—it was an extremely faint sound, like swallowing saliva.

He slowly put down the kettle, his right hand already on the hilt of his sword, his eyes quickly scanning his surroundings.

There was nothing unusual about the bushes ahead.

The pile of stones on the left is silent.

There was one other direction he hadn't checked.

He looked up at the treetops above him, and with a rustling of branches and leaves, he found nothing suspicious.

But Xiuqi was certain that this was not a hallucination.

His senses had become exceptionally sharp thanks to the rare meditation stone, and the sound must have been coming from the treetop above.

"Who's there?" he asked calmly, his voice echoing through the empty valley.

Xiuqi squinted his eyes and continued eating slowly.

At this moment, he focused all his attention on hearing.

Ten seconds, twenty seconds...

Just when he thought the other person had left, a rustling sound came from the treetop above, accompanied by a few green leaves drifting down to his feet.

Immediately following was an even softer "gurgle".

Are you really that greedy?

Xiu Qi smiled smugly.

He then took out dried meat, preserved fruit, and wine-infused candy, held these exquisite foods high, and waved them towards the treetops above his head.

"Want some?"

A rapid rustling sound came from the treetop, as if something was urgently moving.

Xiuqi waited patiently.

Soon, a branch was gently parted.

A face peeked out from between the branches and leaves.

This is a young girl's delicate face.

She has exquisitely proportioned features and a pair of long, pointed ears like an elf.

Her long hair was a rare platinum blonde, flowing with a honey-like luster under the soft light of the secret realm, and adorned with a few tiny white flowers.

Her skin was so white it was almost transparent, and her eyes were the emerald green of the deep forest, with a very thin golden halo around the pupils.

She wore a long emerald green dress, giving off a sense of returning to nature and simplicity.

Most striking was her forehead—bound with a silver chain, with a teardrop-shaped moonstone hanging in the center.

The girl and Xiuqi stared at each other for three seconds, then the girl looked at the food in his hand.

"Gurgle!"

His throat bobbed again.