White mist swirled below, and standing at the top of the canyon cliff, one couldn't see a thing at the bottom.
Lin Lei stood at the edge of the Misty Valley, holding his Flat Knife and peering downward. He'd spent three thousand gold coins to forge this blade, and its sharpness and durability far surpassed that old black short knife. For Lin Lei, the Flat Knife simply felt more natural in his hand.
It had been a month and a half since Lin Lei entered the
Dense Earth System elements gathered around him in response to his magic incantation, eventually forming what appeared to be an ancient, unassuming suit of armor. On closer inspection, the material resembled jade—except this armor radiated the aura of Earth System elements.
Earth System, seventh-tier magic—Earth Guardian Holy Armor (Jade Rank) A seventh-tier mage was incomparably stronger than a sixth-tier one. Defense alone had increased nearly tenfold.
"If I run into a Wingdrake now, this jade holy armor alone can handle their attacks with ease." Lin Lei felt a surge of confidence. He then began chanting the incantation for Levitation, air currents swirling around his body before he gracefully drifted into the Misty Valley.
Lin Lei was quite confident about exploring the Misty Valley.
"I've got the jade armor for defense, Levitation, and I'm essentially a fourth-tier warrior myself. Combined with seventh-tier 'Rapid,' self-preservation won't be an issue." This exploration wasn't some reckless impulse.
It was because of— Blueheart Herb!
Blueheart Herb was far too important to Lin Lei. Beyond that, he was deeply curious about what drew so many magical beasts to gather in this particular valley—beasts of completely different species, no less.
"Boss, be careful. Don't forget how badly we were chased last time,"
"Don't worry."
The deeper he flew, the wider the canyon walls spread apart. The valley's bottom was astonishingly vast. Lin Lei navigated the white mist with utmost caution, scanning every direction carefully. Bei Bei was equally vigilant, and they were both searching for Blueheart Herb along the way.
Lin Lei's first destination was, naturally, the spot where that unharvested Blueheart Herb had been last time.
Hugging the cliff wall, he pressed forward cautiously.
"Boss, I see Blueheart Herb—it's right up ahead." Bei Bei's eyes were remarkably sharp. Lin Lei looked carefully and his own eyes lit up.
The leaves were a deep emerald green, with a faint blue luminescence drifting within them.
"Please don't let there be a Greenstriped Python." Lin Lei didn't dare let his guard down. He wasn't afraid of a Greenstriped Python in a straight fight, but if he got tangled up in battle with one, it would easily draw other beasts—and he had no confidence in handling an entire army of them.
Greenstriped Pythons were green, and against the cliff walls thick with green vines, one could easily overlook them. So Lin Lei demanded absolute vigilance from himself.
After watching carefully for a while, confirming there was no Greenstriped Python among those vines, he finally flew over.
He harvested the Blueheart Herb. It was cold to the touch—a smile crossed Lin Lei's face, as that distinctive coolness was a hallmark of the real thing. He carefully placed it into his pack, then resumed his slow exploration.
"ROAR~~~"
"SQUAWK~~~"
All manner of magical beast cries echoed from below. The chaotic chorus sent a shiver through Lin Lei's heart. The roars came from every direction at the bottom—just from the sounds alone, he could tell there was an enormous number of beasts down there.
Through the white mist, Lin Lei could already make out the blurry outline of a lush grassland.
"Boss, be careful. I really don't feel like being chased all over the place again," Bei Bei warned.
"I know." Lin Lei raised his alertness to the maximum, his eyes carefully scanning his surroundings—especially those vines clinging to the cliff walls. He dreaded the thought of a Greenstriped Python hiding among them. Being spotted by a single beast meant being spotted by a whole pack.
"Those are Wingdrakes." Lin Lei spotted a large, blurry flying beast drifting aimlessly in the distance and quickly veered away.
Fortunately, the white mist filling the canyon meant anything at a distance appeared only as a vague silhouette. Wingdrakes were massive and hard to miss, but Lin Lei's comparatively tiny frame gave him a slight edge.
"Ka, ka~~~" A strange cry suddenly rang out, heading straight toward him.
"Not good." Lin Lei's expression darkened.
Having been up close with Wingdrakes before, he recognized the call instantly. He looked toward the source and saw roughly twenty or thirty enormous Wingdrake silhouettes bearing down in his direction.
Wingdrakes were simply too large. With twenty or thirty of them flying together, they practically blotted out the sky.
With this many Wingdrakes, there was almost nowhere to hide.
Lin Lei had three options: fight them head-on, fly straight up to escape, or plunge downward at full speed into the valley below.
"Whoosh!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Lin Lei dove straight down. White mist rushed toward his face, and within a few breaths he shot like an arrow into a dense patch of tall grass, then lay perfectly still.
He crept forward carefully until he reached the edge of the grass, peering through the gaps in the blades at the valley below.
It was an enormously wide valley, complete with a river and thick grass—a picture-perfect hidden paradise. Yet within this "paradise," herds of enormous reptilian creatures roamed freely.