Chapter 16: Dense Wood Forest

Dense Wood Forest was a forest covering an area of 1,000 acres, and it was one of the Magical Regions closest to District 12.

It was scattered with all kinds of magical plants and magical beasts, creating hidden dangers. A moment of carelessness could result in death. Hence, it was also known as the Death Forest.

Dense Wood Forest was divided into the outer and inner regions. The outer regions were less dangerous, and most C-rank missions could be completed in the outer regions. However, the danger level in the inner regions would increase by several levels. If one did not have the strength of tier 4 or above, entering the inner regions was akin to committing suicide.

This was also the place where the Blood Luminescent Beasts were most commonly seen.

“Brother, look!” Mo Chu and Mo Chu had just stepped into Dense Wood Forest when they encountered a brutal battle.

Right in front of them, a towering tree suddenly erupted into movement. The vines wrapped around the thick tree trunk seemed to have smelled the taste of flesh and blood and instantly launched an attack. The several-meter-long vines suddenly stretched out, attacking their prey!

The entire process seemed to have happened in the blink of an eye. The man had his back to the vines, and he did not even have the time to react before he was entangled!

However, his reaction was not slow either. Even though he was entangled by the vines, he continued to send fireballs toward the vines one after another, making ‘Chi! Chi!’ sounds. A faint burning smell spread in the air.

The vines seemed to have been provoked. More roots surged up, like a malicious ghost that was trying to strangle the man to death.

“Oh!” the man grunted. He began to panic. His eyes rolled around, and his body struggled more and more violently.

The fireballs in his hands also lost their rhythm. They hit the vines randomly. However, perhaps he was lucky and hit the crucial point of the vines. The vines retreated with a hissing sound. The vines did not even care about their prey anymore.

After escaping from the tiger’s mouth, the man who fell to the ground had a panicked look on his face. He stumbled and stood up. He did not care about the injuries on his body and hurriedly ran out.

“This is a Parasitic Vine.” Mo Yang softly explained in Mo Chu’s ear, “It and the Barrier Tree complement each other. After the Parasitic Vine catches its prey, it will drag it to the Barrier Tree. The Barrier Tree will rely on the protruding suction on its bark to swallow the prey whole, and then transfer a portion of the energy it obtains to the Parasitic Vine.”

“Without the Parasitic Vine to catch food, the Barrier Tree can not survive. The Parasitic Vine can not absorb its own energy, so it can only rely on the Barrier Tree.”

“Therefore, once you discover a Barrier Tree, it is necessary to be careful of the existence of the Parasitic Vine.”

“Then, that man was able to escape by a fluke was because he hit the place where the Parasitic Vine and the Barrier Tree were connected?” Mo Chu recalled the process just now and voiced her own doubts.

Upon careful observation, one would discover that the Parasitic Vine was not simply wrapped around the Barrier Tree. Instead, it was connected to the Barrier Tree’s suction through a special structure. When the Parasitic Vine extended, this structure would be separated from the Barrier Tree’s suction. It was because that man hit this structure that he managed to obtain a slim chance of survival.

Upon hearing this, Mo Yang could not help but be filled with admiration towards Mo Chu. To be able to discover the crux of the matter so quickly, she was indeed worthy of being his sister!

“That’s right. Although the Parasitic Vine is very difficult to deal with, as long as you find its weak point, the part that is connected to the Barrier Tree, you will be able to escape easily.”

“Once its weak point is destroyed, even if it successfully brings its prey back to the Barrier Tree, the Parasitic Vine will not be able to obtain energy. Naturally, it is unwilling to do useless work.” Mo Chu followed this train of thought, and very quickly, she cleared up the crux of the matter.

“That’s right, that’s the reason!” Mo Yang was extremely proud of his sister’s intelligence. Although Little Chu had never come into contact with such things, she was able to understand by analogy. It was truly a rare intelligence!

Whew–

However, Mo Chu could not help but let out a long breath.

Seeing is believing. No matter how much She knew about the information, it was not as shocking as seeing it with his own eyes! The gentle and harmless trees and vines in her memories had actually turned into bloodthirsty demons, wanting to devour the flesh and blood of humans at any moment!

However, looking at the calm expression in Mo Yang’s eyes, the nervousness in Mo Chu’s heart gradually calmed down.

The two of them continued walking in.

The Blood Luminescent Beast had always come and gone without a trace. It was not certain if they would even be able to meet one.

After entering the inner region, Mo Chu keenly discovered that the surroundings seemed to have quieted down all of a sudden. Other than the slight sound of the wind, there was no other sound.

Needless to say, just this tense atmosphere was enough to make the two of them even more cautious. Even their breathing had become a little lighter.

Suddenly, Mo Chu’s nose twitched a few times, and her eyes suddenly revealed a bright light!

What did she smell?

It was actually the smell of garlic, ginger, and green onions!

Mo Chu already had quite a number of main ingredients, but she did not have these aromatic ingredients. The taste of the dishes was always a few points off. If she could find these things, it would be amazing!

“Brother, let’s go quickly!” Mo Chu was pleasantly surprised. She quickly grabbed Mo Yang’s hand and followed the smell.

“What’s wrong?” Mo Yang quickly followed and asked in confusion.

“I smell food.” Mo Chu’s face was full of joy, and her dark eyes were shining.

Seeing Little Chu licking her lips repeatedly, Mo Yang could not help but smile. After spending so much time together, he had long understood the truth that his sister was a foodie.

When the two of them stopped, there was a small stream in front of them. Through the clear and transparent stream, they could see the light green aquatic plants below — the smell came from this thing.

They had finally found it!

To Mo Yang’s surprise, Mo Chu immediately squatted down and reached her hand into the stream. She wanted to confirm whether this aquatic plant was the supplementary ingredient that she had always dreamed of. However, she did not expect that just as her finger reached into the water, a slight and piercing pain spread out from her fingertip!

“Little Chu, be careful!” Mo Yang followed behind her. He was a few steps slower and did not have the time to stop her.

“Ow! It hurts!” Mo Chu immediately took her hand out of the stream. When she looked again, she saw a 20-centimeter silver fish opening its mouth wide and biting her hand firmly! No wonder it hurt so much!

“Little Chu, don’t worry.” Looking at Mo Chu’s palm that was halfway into the fish’s mouth, cold sweat broke out on Mo Yang’s head. “Wait for me, I’ll be back soon.”

After saying this, Mo Yang immediately turned around and left. It took him a long time to come back, with two or three silver-gray fruits in his hands.

Mo Yang stood beside Mo Chu and carefully tore off the skin of the fruit. He squeezed it hard, and the pale yellow juice gathered on the ground, forming a small pool in a short while.

As if smelling something delicious, the silver fish in Mo Chu’s hand immediately let go and jumped towards the juice on the ground. It opened its mouth and started to eat. The juice on the ground was quickly swept clean, and it even managed to chew away a large piece of the ground that was stained with the juice.

The silver fish was eating happily and did not notice the danger at all. Beside it, Mo Yang shot a lightning ball and instantly killed it on the spot.