Chapter 62: Soul-Calming Fruit, Harvest!

Unconscious, the Flying Frenzied Lizard had zero intelligence left. Even though it had combat instincts, it definitely didn’t think about what Soul Skills to use.

Its thought for using a Soul Skill right then was really simple: squash this little pest fast.

Caught in its brief spellcasting delay, the Flying Frenzied Lizard couldn’t dodge this Blazing Charge.

Scorching flames, packed with intense power, smashed straight into its head.

Dizziness from the blow, mixed with the searing heat, made it hard to stay airborne. Its body wobbled unsteadily.

But it wasn’t falling down yet.

Instead, its eyes suddenly locked onto Wang Che.

“Huh?” Wang Che froze.

This wasn’t right. If this thing was unconscious and the Green Caterpillar attacked it, it should only be focused on the Green Caterpillar.

Why was it looking at him?

Unless its consciousness was actually clear?

“No, maybe a small part of its consciousness cleared up… That shouldn’t be… Could it be this place…”

Wang Che immediately looked around.

Sure enough, in the distance, he spotted a glow. A small, grapevine-like fruit tree grew there.

The tree had four or five crystal-clear fruits, each like a peeled lychee.

“That’s… Sky Net Fragrance… No wonder…”

Wang Che was slightly stunned.

Sky Net Fragrance, also called Soul-Calming Fruit, was a rare and unusual blossom. Resting near it could restore Spiritual Power and had a calming, focusing effect.

It was also a primary ingredient for making potions on the market that improved Spiritual Power.

Eating it could boost Spiritual Power a bit, but the side effects were not small.

Its growing conditions were harsh, and locations weren’t recorded.

“So this Flying Frenzied Lizard… settled here because of these two Soul-Calming Fruit trees… offering a small help to its already chaotic soul?”

In truth, through Wang Che’s perception, this place’s energy wasn’t quite as Deputy Officer Li had described earlier.

It wasn’t just turbulent Soul Power.

But mixed with a trace of something quite special.

The space here was unstable. Wang Che suspected this instability stemmed from the very top layers of the Floating Forest.

It meant this place held turbulent Soul Power and a mix of other special energy.

That special energy made the Soul Power here volatile, and it heavily damaged the souls of the Soul Beasts living within.

Staying here too long was naturally very dangerous.

Deputy Officer Li had said their exploration time was limited to one day.

Going beyond that day would have noticeable effects on the students and their Soul Pets.

Through the public channel, Wang Che already knew at least ten students had withdrawn.

Reasons unknown.

“For Soul-Calming Fruit to grow here… it’s likely because countless humans died in this place… nourishing them.”

Wang Che immediately looked back at the Flying Frenzied Lizard.

“Ssii ssii!” the Green Caterpillar also sensed something was wrong. It urgently yelled at the Flying Frenzied Lizard.

It seemed to be saying: Come at me! Try and hit me!

But the Flying Frenzied Lizard reacted fast. It didn’t bother with the Green Caterpillar anymore and shot straight towards Wang Che.

Instinctively, the Green Caterpillar shot its Silk Spitting Soul Skill, aiming at the Flying Frenzied Lizard’s wings.

This made Wang Che’s eyes light up. The kid was slowly developing true combat awareness.

Sadly, the thick, large wings of the Flying Frenzied Lizard meant the Green Caterpillar’s Silk Spitting Soul Skill couldn’t hinder it much.

It just made the lizard stagger.

Then, it swooped down toward Wang Che.

Seeing this, Wang Che didn’t panic. Calmly, his voice became clear as a bell; ancient sounding scripture spilled steadily from his mouth.

It was the same “Supreme Tranquil Soul Crossing Scripture” from before.

The ancient chant echoed with resonance. The Flying Frenzied Lizard shook violently. The blood-red in its eyes flickered and stalled.

Its body froze in mid-air…

Wang Che kept chanting while simultaneously gesturing to the Green Caterpillar.

He pointed towards the Soul-Calming Fruit tree and held up two fingers.

The Green Caterpillar understood instantly. It spit silk continuously, landing beside Wang Che. It coiled its silk around two Soul-Calming Fruits and yanked them free.

Then, the Green Caterpillar spat silk at a Floating Earth Clod to the left, anchoring itself to it.

Wang Che mentally timed the chant. As the scripture neared its end, he grabbed the Green Caterpillar and whooshed away.

The Flying Frenzied Lizard: “…”

A moment later, its eyes turned fully blood-red again. It roared in pure rage!

Wang Che had no interest in lingering. This Flying Frenzied Lizard was way too powerful.

For him, successfully acquiring the treasure here and escaping safely was victory enough.

The Green Caterpillar’s Blazing Charge had weakened it significantly.

So combined with the scripture chant, he only managed to immobilize it for a short while.

Fully restoring its consciousness was impossible.

It had absorbed way too much toxic Soul Power; its soul was almost completely corrupted.

He only took two Soul-Calming Fruits because two was enough.

No need to take them all.

For rare flora like this requiring such strict conditions, leaving some was common practice.

Taking all meant risking the plant dying completely. Regrowing another would be even tougher.

“The Green Caterpillar’s strength is still a big gap below this Flying Frenzied Lizard’s… But coming out of this fight unharmed, while also landing a solid Blazing Charge? That’s also a kind of win.”

“If we really went all out, taking off the Mecha Fall Armor, it might be possible to tire it down and actually beat it in an hour or so. That would require absolutely zero mistakes though.”

It just wasn’t necessary.

Because such a big fight would likely attract others.

Getting played by someone else waiting would be disastrous.

“With these two Soul-Calming Fruits… plus tracking down some more common herbs and mixing them with that Climbing Vine’s potency… Maybe I can make some rudimentary Marrow Cleansing Ointment… Using it internally and externally on the Green Caterpillar, it shouldn’t just boost speed; other attributes should also rise somewhat… and its Spiritual Intelligence too…”

“The remaining Soul-Calming Fruit? I can use that myself to enhance my cultivation…”

This fight had also helped him clearly gauge the Green Caterpillar’s current strength.

“Soul enhancement really made a difference…”

Wang Che sighed. Earlier, during several close calls, if his perception hadn’t improved, he wouldn’t have been able to quickly predict the Flying Frenzied Lizard’s attacks.

Basically, one solid hit would have meant game over for the Green Caterpillar.

Next, Wang Che quickly changed locations.He used the Soul Sacrificial Tree again with the same method, finding out the locations of several other special spots.

He avoided the notably stronger Soul Beasts.

He gathered quite a few herbs and also found two unusual stones.

The biggest prize was a Spirit Stone about the size of a quail’s egg, dug up from beneath a small mound.

Lastly, he found a rather ancient Soul Guiding Device.

A very fruitful haul.

By now, dawn had long broken. Only two to three hours remained of the exploration time.

Wang Che found a safe spot and stretched.

Time to process the loot.

Suddenly, he remembered something.

He looked at the Communicator.

There were many message logs.

“Guys, ran into this murderous Poisonleaf Flower. Barely managed to grab three Heart-Splitting Flowers. I’m pulling out. See you at the Launch Cup!”

“I’m out too. Dang, this place is insane… Jumped onto some random Floating Earth Clod and got a Shadowblade Mantis with at least 500 years cultivation looking at me? Unreal. Later!”

“Hey, found this little graveyard spot. Did some digging. Uncovered a gem… uh… also dug up a snoozing Itchy Rat… Smart me pressed the alarm, fast.”

“Got ten Heart-Splitting Flowers! Total effort… First place must be mine, right?”

“The Heart-Splitting Ants are nasty… Only found three flowers… Didn’t find anything else… Had way too many close shaves…”

“The higher we go, the tougher it gets. Wonder what’s actually at the top of this Floating Forest…”

“Seems like no one’s finding anything really good…”

…

Wang Che scanned them. Most hadn’t found much of value.

This place was truly hazardous.

A handful had gotten something worthwhile.

Of course, they might not be telling the whole truth.

Still…

Hmm… Wang Che looked at the huge pile of good stuff beside him…

He pondered and found it quite amusing.

So, Wang Che decided to be perfectly truthful. He spoke for the first time, typing:

“Rough trip. Almost got taken out by a 400-plus year Flying Frenzied Lizard… Now just lying low in a safe spot, waiting for this to end.”

“Total bust. Nothing picked up.”

His simple words immediately made everyone still exploring perk up…