Xu Qing understood. After thanking Luan Tooth, he put away the item.
Thereafter, everyone stayed vigilant. They observed their surroundings closely as they traveled swiftly forward.
Compared to before, their journey this time around was a lot quieter.
Perhaps because of the appearance of the black-scaled wolves yesterday, most of the other ferocious beasts in this area had dispersed.
As such, the Thunder Team didn't encounter any danger on their way there. Just like that, they arrived at the boundary between the depths and the outer edges of the forbidden zone.
The landform of this area wasn't just a jungle. There were a few hills and streams as well. However, the stream was black and non-potable.
And at a part of the dense forest, there was a small hidden alley, and at the end of it was the beautiful scenery of a small canyon.
When Xu Qing and the others stepped into the canyon, the sight that greeted him was like another world.
The top of this place was covered with thick rattan, akin to a roof, so sunlight couldn't penetrate it at all. Also, there were no large trees, but plants and flowers were everywhere.
Fist-sized flowers with a variety of different colors filled the whole canyon. They were accompanied by grass that was emitting blue shimmery light.
Every stalk had seven pieces of leaves.
They emitted lights that were like the constellations as if transforming the quiet canyon into a peaceful, starry sky. There was a kind of unique beauty to it.
This was the harvest point that the Thunder Team had discovered, and each of such harvest points was top secret. It was the foundation of the team's survival.
When they arrived at the place, seeing that harvesting required a special technique, they didn't allow Xu Qing to participate. Instead, they spread out and began their own picking. This way, they would be quicker and more efficient.
Xu Qing took note of their technique but didn't forcibly participate. Instead, he sat cross-legged and quietly practiced his breathing technique.
After the experience of yesterday's battle, he realized that his cultivation base seemed to have increased by much from the ceaseless training. Now, it had reached the boundary point where he could try for a breakthrough.
To prepare himself for even better survivability during the next crisis, Xu Qing didn't waste his time. Even if he was in the forbidden zone, he still circulated the Mountains and Seas Art in his body, absorbing the spirit energy from his surroundings.
With the emergence of spirit energy, the wind within the canyon picked up.
Captain Lei looked at Xu Qing, but he didn't stop him. He was well aware that the possibility of being ambushed on the way back was high. At such a time, any increase in strength was an additional chance of survival.
It wasn't long before Xu Qing's body gradually emitted thumping sounds while they were picking.
As a result, bursts of filth spilled out from the pores of his body and melted the blood on the outer layer. When combined with the expulsion of filth, the flesh and blood of his entire body absorbed the spirit energy rapidly, and they were growing increasingly tenacious by the nourishment.
The sound became stronger and stronger, but it suddenly stopped after reaching the limit. At this moment, there was a roar in Xu Qing's mind.
The blood vessels in his entire body suddenly swelled beneath his skin. At the same time, his flesh and blood were full of spirit energy as though it held even more astonishing strength and speed than before.
All of it turned into a penetrating breath, pervading his body. After that, the spirit energy outside his body fluctuated and spread in all directions as well.
The third level of Mountains and Seas Art.
Xu Qing slowly lowered his head and opened his eyes.
No one could see the fleeting purple light, but there was no joy of breakthrough in his eyes. Rather, it was replaced by profound doubt.
What he saw when he looked down was the mottled shadow of himself under the scattered sunlight.
He had felt something off when he had been cultivating just now. After the process of separation from the Mountains and Seas Art, the purified part of the spirit energy nourished his body.
But unexpectedly, the anomalous substances… didn't flow into the mutation point on his arm. Instead… It had flowed into his shadow.
It was as if the shadow had swallowed the part with the anomalous substances.
It was only after a long while did Xu Qing lift his head and suppress all his doubts to the bottom of his heart.
He looked at Captain Lei and the others who were done picking and then gazed into the distance, along the end of the canyon and into the depths of the jungle.
Vaguely, he could see a building somewhere in the far distance ahead. It was like there was a group of several temples linked together into one, sitting silently during this time and emanating an ancient air.
"That's a building left from an unknown era and the farthest boundary we scavengers can go. You can't go past the building, but if you encounter any danger nearby, you can still choose to take shelter there for a while."
After harvesting his portion, Captain Lei came to Xu Qing's side and followed his gaze toward the cluster of temples, speaking slowly.
"Boundary?" Xu Qing nodded his head.
"That's right. Someone said during that era, the reason this forbidden zone was formed was because the god looked at these temples. Some scavengers searched the place too, but there was nothing there except for a special kind of stone which appeared at times."
Captain Lei extracted a portion of the seven-leaf grass he picked and kept it in another leather bag.
"How are the stones special?" Xu Qing asked curiously.
"Grind it into powder and sprinkle it on top of a scar that isn't formed too long ago, and it can remove the scar. It will not leave the slightest mark. However, that's useless to scavengers like us. However, some important figures will want it occasionally." After Captain Lei said this, he looked toward Cross and the others.
p At that moment, Cross, Barbaric Ghost, and Luan Tooth were done picking as well. Under Captain Lei's arrangement, each of them extracted a portion and placed it in the leather bag that Captain Lei was holding.
In the end, the seven-leaf grass was portioned out into five. Captain Lei then passed the fifth bag to Xu Qing.
"This is yours. From now on, everyone will leave separately. By breaking up the team into individuals, there's a greater chance for some of us to make it out." Once Captain Lei was done, he looked at Xu Qing and gave him a map.
"Kid, the target on me is too big and I'm bound to be the focus that Bloodshadow is paying attention to. Also, with my role as the captain, I have to protect you all as well. You should get out as quickly as possible and wait for me at the campsite."