booktalesy Chapter 21 Frost Vein Condensing Essence Grass
Chapter 21 Frost Vein Condensing Essence Grass
The deeper you go, the thicker the gloomy, dark gray fog becomes.
The surrounding sunlight was swallowed up by layers of fog, and visibility became lower and lower.
Even a few steps away, my vision began to blur.
The crowd looked on warily, glancing around cautiously with every step.
The hazy stone shadows appeared and disappeared in the mist, their outlines twisted and eerie, like ghosts lurking in the shadows.
The wind whistled through the cracks in the rocks, stirring up a gray mist that sounded like a sob.
The ground was covered with pebbles, which made a rustling sound when stepped on.
It was eerily quiet all around; not a sound of birds, beasts, or insects could be heard.
Only a thick, gray fog gurgled and flowed, creating a desolate and eerie atmosphere.
Li Wei, controlling the [Mountain Dodder] to scout ahead, couldn't help but whisper, "The Yin energy here is more than twice as dense as before. If we go any further, we'll probably be approaching the inner boundary. The vice-dean specifically instructed us not to cross the line. Are we really going to continue?"
"What are you afraid of?"
Zhang Chi patted his chest, his face full of confidence, "They're just not Gluttonous, we can take them down easily!"
Although he spoke loudly, his body betrayed him by moving half a step closer to Zhou Jia.
Li Wei rolled her eyes, too lazy to expose his hypocrisy.
Su Xiaoran walked beside Lin Mo, the Frost Moon Silver Bell on her wrist trembling slightly.
She scanned the surroundings warily and said softly, "Explore two more kilometers ahead. If we don't find anything, we'll leave immediately. The secret realm is only open for six hours, and I reckon that time is almost up."
Lin Mo nodded slightly, a thought stirring in his mind.
The mountain spirit beside him immediately understood, its emerald eyes flashing...
An invisible ripple spread out, encompassing all movement within a radius of tens of meters.
After the battle with the Wraith Leader, his mental strength, which was already close to [Upper Black Iron], showed signs of a potential breakthrough.
At this moment, the mountain spirit's detection ability was activated, and the coverage area was several meters wider than before.
"As expected, combat is not only effective against card spirits, but also greatly helpful to card makers!"
A sense of understanding gradually appeared in Lin Mo's eyes.
At the same time, the scene captured by the Mountain Spirit's [Yokuhana: Perception] also clearly appeared in his mind.
"There seems to be fighting going on a few dozen meters ahead. Other students must have encountered the mutants. But the distance is too far, beyond the Mountain Spirit's perception range, so we can only pinpoint a vague location."
"Shall we go take a look?"
Su Xiaoran's eyes narrowed, and she said softly, "We are both students in the secret realm, so it's no problem to lend a hand. But you must be careful not to fall into someone else's trap."
After all, it's not uncommon for people to turn against each other and set traps for each other in secret realms over materials.
The four exchanged a glance, and then simultaneously slowed their pace and crept towards the direction Lin Mo had pointed.
About ten minutes later, the four arrived at a place with strangely shaped rocks.
In the rocky hollow ahead, several students dressed in the uniforms of the Silver Key Card Making Academy were surrounded by five mutants, already at their last gasp.
Those deformed creatures are about 1.2 meters tall and nearly 2 meters long.
Its entire body was covered in short, grayish-black fur, with a row of backward-growing bony thorns along its spine. It had a triangular head, and its scarlet vertical pupils were filled with a ferocious glint.
There were cracks on both sides of his mouth that extended to his ears, revealing three rows of inward-growing serrated teeth, and foul-smelling, greenish saliva dripping from his mouth.
It was indeed the [Yin Sha Hyena].
A notorious gregarious mutant species in the Yinluo Mountain Secret Realm.
Although these five Yin Sha Hyenas are only newly hatched species, they are of a high level, possessing the strength of a four-star Black Iron level hyena.
They are also very good at group combat, and ordinary Black Iron Five-Stars are no match for them.
The five hyenas attacked in a coordinated attack, and if it weren't for the natural cover of the rocky hollow and the presence of a guard card skilled in defense, they wouldn't have been able to hold out until now.
Even so, their spirits were already dim and scarred, and could dissipate at any moment.
The boy in the lead, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, was deathly pale.
Yet he still gritted his teeth and commanded the wounded rock-armored bear to stand at the forefront.
Beneath the stone wall on the inner side of the rocky hollow, there grew about a dozen silver-white plants with leaves shaped like deer antlers and veins that shimmered with an icy blue light, resembling magical herbs formed from frost and snow.
Each plant has three to six leaves, grows to one to three inches tall, and bears a single, silvery-white fruit the size of a grain of rice at its top. The fruit has fine, frosty markings on its surface.
It was none other than the rather rare [Frosty Vein Essence Grass].
This spiritual herb grows only in sheltered rock crevices where yin energy is abundant and moonlight can be absorbed. It can be ingested directly to increase the body's spiritual energy level.
Its growth is extremely slow, taking sixty years from germination to maturity.
Furthermore, it must be consumed within seven days of harvesting, hence its relatively high price.
A single plant can fetch over 80,000 Star Coins on the market, so it's no wonder these students are determined to fight tooth and nail to avoid giving up.
"Bang!"
With a loud bang, the rock-armored bear was swatted away by the lead hyena with a powerful claw, crashing into the stone wall and dissipating into specks of spiritual light, instantly creating a large hole in the defensive barrier.
The remaining four hyenas suddenly became ferocious, howling as they pounced on the students inside.
The girls turned pale instantly and instinctively reached for the teleportation cards in their pockets.
Just then, a clear, melodious bell sound suddenly pierced through the gray mist.
Like a clear spring entering a muddy stream, it instantly caused the two hyenas that were pouncing at the front to freeze in their tracks.
Immediately afterwards, two dazzling golden lights tore through the thick fog.
Shen Tu and Yu Lei crashed to the ground like two iron towers, standing on either side of the students of the Silver Key Card Making Academy.
"Who?"
The boy, who wore gold-rimmed glasses and looked somewhat refined, was taken aback.
Upon seeing Lin Mo and his group of four approaching slowly, their eyes lit up with hope, and they hurriedly cried out for help: "Classmates, please help us!"
A girl with a round face and a bun hairstyle quickly chimed in, her voice tinged with urgency, "We've found over a dozen Frost Vein Condensing Essence Grasses. If you help us resolve these mutant cases, we're willing to give you most of them!"
Su Xiaoran turned her head to look at Lin Mo, asking for his opinion.
Unbeknownst to him, Lin Mo had become the core of the team.
He glanced at the five Yin Sha Hyenas, then his gaze fell on the dozen or so Frost Vein Condensing Essence Grasses. After a moment of contemplation, he nodded slightly.
This spiritual herb will be extremely useful to him. After consuming it, he should be able to successfully break through to the mid-level Black Iron rank.
Moreover, these five Black Iron IV variants are not a threat to them at all.
With a roar, Shen Tu unleashed a burst of golden light from his trident, sweeping it across the hyena at the front.
The hyena had just recovered from the shock of the silver bell and hadn't even had time to dodge when it was struck squarely in the waist and abdomen by the halberd blade.
Before he could even let out a scream, he was cut in half at the waist, black blood splattering all over the ground.
On the other side, Yu Lei's peach wood sword, like a butterfly flitting among flowers, precisely pierced the eye socket of another hyena.
It was instantly shredded, and the hyena let out a mournful howl before crashing heavily to the ground. It struggled for a moment and then fell silent.
With a gentle wave of her jade hand, the mountain spirit sent several emerald vines bursting from the ground, which, like serpentine snakes, entangled the two hyenas that were trying to flank and ambush them.
No matter how much they roared and struggled, they couldn't move.
The red leopard and the civet pounced from the left and right, their sharp claws and teeth instantly tearing open their throats.
In the blink of an eye, all four Black Iron Four-Star Yin Sha Hyenas were dead.
The remaining hyena, seeing its companions wiped out in an instant, was terrified and turned to flee into the gray mist.
"Trying to run away?"
Zhang Chi gave a low shout and commanded Zhou Jia to step forward with his shield held high. A shield bash slammed into the hyena's cheek, knocking it dizzy and disoriented.
[Chi Zhaoping] moved with lightning speed, catching up in an instant.
With a flash of cold light, the short blade in his hand pierced its head precisely, ending its life.
From the moment the attack began until all five Black Iron Four-Star Aberrations were wiped out, the entire process took less than ten breaths.
The students from the Silver Key Card Making Academy were all dumbfounded.
They stood there dumbfounded, their mouths agape, as if they could fit an egg in them, and it took them a long time to recover.
They fought desperately and barely managed to stop the attacks of these mutants.
In the hands of these four people, it was as easy as chopping melons and vegetables; they cleaned it up in just a few moments.
The difference is truly enormous!