Free Web NovelChapter 234: Chapter 234: Encountering the Assessment Graduates Again
"It wasn’t that you dragged me down, exactly. It was more like I lost control for a moment," Yun Han said, walking over to Ning Xuan to describe what he had just felt.
He held out his arm. The Vermilion Bird Mark from earlier had already vanished. Still, he had to tell Ning Xuan about it. After all, this had never happened before.
All four individuals connected to Ning Xuan through the Spiritual Link Channel had been affected by her. Lan Xin had been hit the hardest and still hadn’t recovered.
Ning Xuan couldn’t just stand by and watch Lan Xin suffer, so she quickly soothed him with her spiritual power. Once comforted, Lan Xin quickly returned to normal.
「A few days later.」
Ning Xuan and her group remained in the area. The two herb fields they’d previously discovered were now fully harvested, so it was time to find new resource spots.
As it happened, Ning Xuan’s group discovered Guo Jia was also active in the region. They nearly ran into him several times, and Ning Xuan had a gut feeling he was looking for her.
Guo Jia had too many people with him, and Ning Xuan was unwilling to make contact. After discussing it with the others, they decided to leave and find a new place to settle.
"Contractor, let’s find another tree hollow to live in," Chen Nan suggested. "Caves and caverns are too damp. A tree hollow would be the most comfortable."
"That won’t be easy to find," Ning Xuan replied casually. ’A massive tree hollowed out by lightning that still managed to survive... if not completely unique, it’ll be nearly impossible to find another one.’
"A natural hollow might be hard to find, but can’t we just carve one out ourselves? Wouldn’t that be simple?" Chen Nan countered.
"I just checked the Water Mirror. It’s all Red Pine Forest for miles around. There are no trees suitable for carving," Di Youlin scoffed.
"Oh! Well, let’s look somewhere else, then. We’re bound to find a tree that’s big enough," Chen Nan insisted, not ready to give up.
While they were talking, the Little Fox returned from outside. It leaped straight into Ning Xuan’s arms and held up its two pink paws, offering her a fist-sized, orange-yellow fruit.
Ning Xuan took the fruit, rinsed it with water, and was just about to take a bite when Di Youlin snatched it from her hand.
"Master, how can you eat something from an unknown source? If you wish to eat, you need only say the word. I will test it first."
With that, Di Youlin took a large bite. The fruit’s flesh was tender and its juices plentiful—it was surprisingly delicious.
Di Youlin took a bite and handed it back to Ning Xuan.
After finishing the fruit, Ning Xuan smiled and thanked the Little Fox. She had been willing to eat it because the Little Fox often brought back fruit, pine nuts, and other things shortly after leaving the group. They were always good and never poisonous; Ning Xuan had grown accustomed to being fed by the little creature.
A short while later, Zhang Nan’s Golden Hamster returned as well. The little rodent was squeaking, as if reporting some news.
After listening intently for a few minutes, Zhang Nan immediately went to Ning Xuan. He told her the Golden Hamster had discovered a field of medicinal herbs.
Led by the Golden Hamster, the group quickly found the herb field. It was situated next to a stream with an ample water supply, and the plants were thriving. Ning Xuan recognized most of the herbs, including a few that were extremely rare.
These herbs, which were nearly extinct in the Federation Star Domain, were still abundant on this planet.
As an Alchemist, Ning Xuan was captivated by medicinal ingredients. She harvested every herb in the field, leaving only the seedlings that were too young.
They didn’t find a suitable base that day, so they pitched some tents to spend the night.
An Exotic Beast launched a surprise attack during the night, so no one slept well. The next day, Ning Xuan decided they should first focus on finding a proper shelter.
This time, Ning Xuan and Di Youlin went out together again.
Di Youlin had Ning Xuan sit on his back. Once she was settled, he spread his wings and launched into the air.
Looking down from high above, the topography of the land was the first thing that caught her eye.
Below them was a landscape of rolling hills—not mountainous or treacherous, but not flat plains either.
"Huh. It looks like a few unlucky souls have fallen into an Exotic Beast nest," Ning Xuan said in surprise as she looked down below.
The three trapped individuals were panting with their backs against a huge boulder. Blood was still dripping from the sword of the red-clothed man in the lead. ’The official requirement is a minimum of ten people per group, yet this small team of three dares to operate on a New Star Body. They’re quite bold.’
Seeing that they were about to be torn to shreds by the Exotic Beasts, Ning Xuan decided to intervene. ’They’re fellow humans, after all,’ she thought, unable to bear the sight.
"Thank you for saving our lives, Miss," the man in red said politely.
"You’re welcome. Be more careful next time." After dealing with the Exotic Beasts, Ning Xuan turned to find Di Youlin standing right behind her.
"Miss, you’re incredibly powerful. Could we join your team?" the red-clothed man asked.
"No. The danger has passed, so we’ll be on our way." With that, Ning Xuan and Di Youlin left.
Helping them escape danger was as far as Ning Xuan was willing to go. She certainly wasn’t going to bring strangers of unknown origin into her group.
「Two days later.」
They finally left the hills and returned to a forest region.
Ning Xuan looked down at the diverse array of trees below. The forest definitely had more resources.
While flying, Ning Xuan and Di Youlin had encountered their share of airborne Exotic Beasts. However, Di Youlin’s skill and agility in the air were excellent, and with Ning Xuan watching his back, their journey was relatively smooth.
One day during their flight, Ning Xuan spotted several large banyan trees.
Nine enormous banyan trees twisted together as they soared up from the ground, their branches thick with leaves and their roots weaving a dense, impenetrable web.
The thickest trunk would take twenty people to encircle. Its bark was covered in barnacle-like bumps, their hollows filled with rainwater.
Ning Xuan stared at the massive trees. ’For them to have grown this large, they must be ancient. Carving a hollow into the trunk would probably injure them.’ There was another reason, of course. She felt that a man-made hollow would be too obvious and not concealed enough, leaving clear traces of their presence.
’Forget it,’ she thought. ’We should find another spot.’
However, Di Youlin had a different idea.
"Master, we carefully selected this location for its rich resources. If you don’t want to carve a hollow to live in, we could build treehouses in these branches," Di Youlin suggested, looking up at the high boughs and the layered canopy.
The canopy was layered like a nine-tiered imperial carriage roof, keeping out the rain and providing shade from the summer heat. As long as they fortified its defenses, it would be a perfect base. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
Ning Xuan thought Di Youlin had a point, so she led Yun Han and the others to the location. As expected, upon seeing the place, everyone agreed to make it their new base.
The next step was to build their defenses.
