Chapter 361: Dangerous Forest II (1/2)
Chapter 361: Dangerous Forest II
Translator: EndlessFantasy TranslationEditor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Ye Chong spent the third day in the forest without moving beyond 100 meters of his proximity. His face was smudged with mud, barely recognizable, though his vision was still clear.
The night was long as he slept not more than 5 hours a day, just enough to recover his stamina. His wounds had healed themselves completely within the three days, justifying the effect of that super potion, probably even those premium hospitals in 5 major galaxies could be defeated by the pill.
Too bad he had none of those magical pills left. Night Enchantment was also already a goner during his run.
The three days lapsed with him scouting, observing every single plant around him. He dared not show negligence even to the tiniest sprout of weed on ground, hell knows if the weed was carnivorous as he tried recalling the few lines he captured when he studied the encyclopedia back then. As Lunatic Guan had once taught, the study of alchemy originated from the study of botanic, the study of plants. So the more ancient the branch of alchemy, the more likely it would have vast information on botanical studies.
And Ye Chong actually remembered the few details on each plant there, which meant all these plants were part of the entries in the encyclopedia, also proving that the branch in which Lunatic Guan studied was truly something from the ancient. That was something shocking, although Lunatic Guan had never mentioned anything about the origin of her studies, not even in her chip or from her words.
And regarding what exactly the branch he was learning, it did not seem to matter, even though what he had learned this far was beyond complication while he had literally zero foundation on the study itself. Well, as long as they were useful, they deserved to remain existed.
He distinguished each plant he perceived, whether they were dangerous, how could they be dangerous, of what kind of danger they impose - all for preparation. He did not have tools to perform experiment to test these plants out, he could only try to reminisce that part of the plant in the encyclopedia. What he needed to do was to grasp as much as he could in his he'd at the moment, to a point where the characteristics of these plants felt like at the back of his hand, so his security would be maximized, the likelihood of his survival would increase.
Ninetails, Borneo's Heart, Layered Lavender...
Names of the plants flashed in his mind quickly along with a massive amount of data refreshed constantly. His main focus would be those with high hazard levels and he would spend an extra few minutes on them whenever encountered.
Well, luckily plants as hazardous as the Pines of Spider Web were not that common, while having an easily discerned size. Those smaller plants with lower hazardous level could be potentially more dangerous however, like Dartelion for example, they could hide within the grasses effortlessly. One careless step and you would already be wounded.
Well Ye Chong was cautious enough to live the next few days without any casualty.
After the accumulation period, he finally started to hasten his journey, although he still could not tell where he was and to where he was heading. These plants were hindering his sights everywhere, to a point where they felt suffocating sometimes without seeing an opening.
On the seventh day Ye Chong started to feel at better ease moving within the forest. Certainly, at a presupposition that he was careful enough, since one mistake could cost his life.
His appearance was bizarre. His body was hung with quite a number of Vinesacks, like a Christmas tree. Any part of his body which would not hinder his movement could be a nice hanger for Vinesacks. He did maximize the use of his fleshy hangers with additional vines, but his vining skill sucks, making him look like a package to be delivered from the fish market. He would not mind as long as those vines would not break.
The Vinesacks contained the loots of his foraging daily.
Growl...
That meant mealtime. The stomach reminded him so, as he stopped walking and took a look around. Okay, the plants were not as dense as the last spot he stayed, there should not be a problem. Perfect for taking a break. He took out his dagger and cleared an opening on the ground.
He got himself seated and withdrew a yellowish fruit. It was known as the Pomegold. It had a high nutritious value and was a pretty rare material for alchemy. Ye Chong made a chomp and chewed slowly. He would not end his only mealtime in seconds before the next few hours of journey. The forest bore lots of edibles but that did not mean he could let every food go to waste.
To be honest, the taste of Pomegold did not live up to its name. It was rather plain... but sufficient to provide Ye Chong the energy to travel. Well, if Lunatic Guan ever knew her apprentice ate some precious food as his daily course, she might be tossing the flasks at him now. Wait, not only Lunatic Guan, probably every professional alchemist would capture such preposterous sight, with their heart aching. What a waste!
After he finished the fruit, he took out Water Bamboo at his waist. As its name suggested, the bamboo could absorb the moisture from the earth and stored within its cavity. The water was pure and perfectly drinkable. To be frank, the fluid inside the bamboo was also a precious material for alchemy reagents since it only grew in tedious environment, which caused harvesting to be more difficult, thus the rarity. Nevertheless, there seemed to be quite a number of Water Bamboos in the forest.
The bamboo he got had 5 levels and each level was like a tiny cup that Ye Chong would use his dagger to slice open, revealing that juicy heavenly green which he would fail to resist after a sip and gargle everything.
It tasted way better than those sugary drinks of the known branches. It had that faint scent while being refreshing at his tongue. The liquid of Water Bamboo was exceptional to the taste of Ye Chong. He kept the remaining stand however, that would be his source of water.
He then closed his eyes and had forty winks. Well at least the dangerous forest ensured no wild animal raiding him when he was asleep.
2 hours passed, well it felt like two hours. He opened his eyes. He stretched his body, which felt replenished at that moment.
It was the 15th day and he started to get used of the place, as he could already tell if the plant was dangerous at one glance. And the Vinesacks were full, of all kinds of things he believed to be useful for his journey. He did not keep those precious plants he saw on his way however.
Preciousness could aid him nothing in survival. Those plants could be wasting a slot in his limited inventory.
The biggest loot he got was on the 18th day.
He forwarded with the more caution. And he flinched, as he felt something hard underneath his feet. The path of the forest before this had always been at soft and fluffy due to the additional layer of the withered leaves. Nothing this hard was felt before, not even a piece of rock.
He squatted after taking a glance at the surrounding. He withdrew his dagger and swept the leaves away.