The ferns by the roadside shimmered faintly, their surfaces covered in a sun-like glow. Their radial leaves were exceptionally sharp.
When he drew near, the ferns even seemed to sense the slight disturbance in the air, proactively unfurling their leaves toward him.
Su Chen tried blasting the shimmering ferns with a fiery attack, but after they were burned to ash, he couldn’t find a single trace of any essence.
The intense, violent power that erupted seemed to have startled some monsters lurking in the shadows.
At the very least, several unidentified birds suddenly took flight from the dense woods.
Further down the road, a herd of deer shot across the path at lightning speed, disappearing into another patch of forest.
The early morning was the most active time for many creatures.
All of nature was awakening, and flocks of birds soared by.
Besides foraging for food and water, they would also move to safer areas or even migrate as a group.
The herd of deer, which resembled sika deer, was being trailed by a predator. A massive wild boar with ferocious tusks found itself left in the dust. Having been thoroughly outrun, its eyes caught sight of a black shadow rushing toward it.
Without a moment’s hesitation.
The giant wild boar, its hide as thick as armor, charged.
Perhaps because it came from the swamp’s depths, its body was caked in mud as thick as Earth Armor. Combined with its coarse, stiff bristles, it looked like it was wearing a layer of spiked armor.
At that moment.
The Netherworld War Dog clone scouting ahead showed no fear. With no thought of dodging, it saw the monster, much larger than itself, charging and actually rushed forward to meet it head-on.
The giant boar was now furious, feeling utterly provoked. Its hind legs kicked powerfully against the ground, and it slammed into its prey with what felt like an unstoppable force.
A complete and utter steamroll!
Its opponent shattered on impact.
But the expected explosion of blood never came. The figure of the Netherworld War Dog simply vanished like thin air.
Without the "speed bump" to slow it down, the giant boar couldn’t stop its own momentum and, with immense inertia, slammed headfirst into a large tree.
BOOM!
The tree trunk shuddered violently, sending leaves fluttering down.
Its ferocious tusks pierced deep into the hard bark, sinking in half a foot.
Dazed and dizzy, the boar thrashed its head wildly, only to find it couldn’t pull its tusks free.
’The pig ran into a tree.’ Su Chen hadn’t expected such a dramatic scene to unfold.
Just then.
Xiaoye’s real body darted forward like a phantom. Its Shadow Claws flashed up and down, relentlessly striking the massive boar.
It had to be said.
The boar—at least two sizes larger than Xiaoye—was incredibly tough and well-armored. It took several claw strikes before it even started to squeal in pain.
Once its protective layer of mud was slashed away, the great boar was completely defenseless, able only to endure the repeated slashes. It finally met an ignominious end, its neck and spine severed. Bloody pulp began to ooze from its cracked skull.
Su Chen walked over unhurriedly, his eyes constantly scanning the surrounding trees for any potential ambushes.
After confirming the area was clear, he stepped forward to collect his spoils.
An earth-brown Rune had dropped from it.
’An old friend.’
It was a pure Three Earth Runes structure—clearly an ’Earth Armor’ Rune.
It was worth noting that when the system was officially released, to account for differences in how individuals might interpret the information—or to put it simply, different translations—it thoughtfully included the designation ’Stone Armor’ as well.
Some Rune names had aliases, but their meanings were generally close, so it wasn’t a major source of confusion.
’A Lv. 2 Earth Armor, no less. I’ll bottle it up.’
Su Chen reached behind him and pulled a bottle from a small compartment in his hiking pack. In a market where trades were possible, it could be exchanged for some much-needed Rune Essence.
At least, the members from the polytechnic university last night had been very proactive. They would probably be looking to trade for Rune Essence as well. He’d have to sort everything out back at the base camp.
After getting up, his gaze shifted to a strange, large black sunflower in the woods nearby.
While surveying the area from a distance earlier, he had unexpectedly noticed the bizarre flower.
Its head was enormous and shaped like a sunflower, yet it was rooted in a shaded crevice between tree roots.
It should have been facing the sun, but instead, it seemed to possess a light-devouring property, casting the immediate area into dimness.
What concerned Su Chen the most was that when he observed it closely with his binoculars, he could see numerous ghastly white bones scattered around its base. The soil there was also dark and viscous.
’There’s something very wrong with this plant.’
He casually picked up a perfectly smooth little pebble from the ground, slowly crept closer, and then stopped.
To test his theory, Su Chen flicked his wrist, sending the pebble in a high parabola aimed precisely at the edge of the flower’s head.
However, before the pebble could even get close, the dark sunflower instantly sensed the approaching object.
PFFT!!
The flower head abruptly opened a ring of vents, like built-in nozzles, and instantly sprayed a cloud of deadly black mist. The mist shot more than ten meters into the air and was so corrosive that it vaporized the pebble completely.
Not even dust remained.
If a person were to accidentally pass by, their flesh and blood would undoubtedly dissolve completely. Not even their bones could withstand such corrosive power.
And that wasn’t all.
While the ground looked scorched, it was unclear if the deadly mist was also spreading spores. Black sprouts were clearly visible pushing up from the earth.
’The plants are dangerous, too.’
Su Chen thought that the danger of certain plants in this Mysterious Forest couldn’t be overlooked.
He might as well see if he could get some essence to drop from it.
The thought crossed his mind, but he didn’t let Xiaoye risk getting close. Instead, he drew a Small Straight Knife from his tactical belt.
Hitting a stationary target like this was easy, even from a considerable distance.
Su Chen twisted at the waist, channeling his entire body’s strength into his wrist.
With a flick of his arm, the Flying Knife left his hand. The flash of fiery light it emitted didn’t follow a straight path; it spun through the air like a spiraling ring of fire, tracing a deadly arc before plunging precisely toward the large black sunflower.
In that instant.
The dark sunflower sensed the threat. The nozzles on its head flared open, venting another cloud of deadly black mist.
But it was useless. In fact, it acted as a catalyst, prematurely detonating the already unstable power of the Flame Burst within the Flying Knife.
BOOM!!
A blast of high-temperature compressed flame erupted outward. The flower’s head and stem disintegrated and were incinerated. Even its roots were torn from the ground and sent flying. Thirty seconds later, all that remained of the large black sunflower was a cluster of smoldering embers.
’It actually worked.’
After observing for a moment, Su Chen saw a Wood Element Rune, a Dark Element essence, and a Gold Element essence emerge from the ashes.
Interestingly, the Wood Element Rune had a pure three-wood structure. It was clearly a Healing Skill Rune, yet the brutal power of the Flame Burst that created it precluded any possibility of Recovery.
Furthermore.
The dropped Rune and essences couldn’t produce the death-spray effect on their own.
’It seems this is part of its natural physiology, not something that relies on Elemental Power.’
It was like how a giant bear, even without any Elemental Power, could be terrifying enough with its sheer weight, sharp claws, and bite force.
And this dark sunflower’s glandular system, which emitted odors and secreted substances, had clearly undergone a terrifying evolutionary mutation, giving it the ability to spray that deadly mist.
’This evolutionary path is completely different from Elemental Power,’ Su Chen mused. ’It’s actually consistent with the path my family’s Jade Pendant takes.’

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