[NO Dragon!]

Half-Dragon: Little Ren Ren, there's a strange smell here!

[Grass Stick!]

Grassman: Summoner, there's a very fragrant smell here!

[Yummy~]

Bubu: Sweetness~

"Ah, just bear with it for now, it's not time to leave yet."

Long Ren felt helpless, having no choice but to console the Half-Dragon.

You should know the worst off is still the Fire Tongs Scorpion, killed by that Ram-Horn Elephant several times already.

[Chirp chirp chirp~]

While they were talking, a sparrow flew over the valley.

After spotting the two, it turned around and hovered, its clear and loud calls catching their attention.

Li Pu: "Is this a magic creature."

Long Ren: "I don't know, where did this little bird come from?"

But as the sparrow got closer, they realized something was off.

Li Pu: "Are you sure this is a little bird?"

Long Ren: "Holy crap! Even a helicopter's not as big as this thing."

Despite speaking, neither of them planned to avoid it.

Having been pursued the whole way, they were already fuming, so if some foolish creature shows up, why not vent some anger?

Yet, before it fully descended, the giant sparrow suddenly opened its mouth.

[Chirp roar!]

A green energy beam shot straight toward them.

Boom!

The moment the beam hit the top of the valley, it inexplicably exploded.

At close range, the giant sparrow magic creature was caught in its own attack's explosion, immediately becoming dazed.

Plop!

Its eyes dillied out, it crashed into the air, landing on its back with legs up.

"... there's even a barrier on top?"

For some reason, Li Pu suddenly felt uneasy.

Just two or three seconds later, another loud noise came from the top of the valley.

[Baaa! Baaa!!]

Boom!!!

The two looked in the direction of the sound, discovering that the Ram-Horn Elephant, whether by jumping or flying, had reached the top of the valley.

However, it was equally blocked by the barrier at the top of the valley.

"This lunatic hasn't left yet!"

This place is not suitable for a long stay, Long Ren pulled Li Pu and headed deeper into the valley.

This valley seems to differ from the outside world, offering a sense of vibrant and fragrant scenery.

While exploring, the two also saw some bizarre creatures from another world.

But they were just ordinary animals, not magic creatures, very weak and not aggressive.

As they walked, they came to a fork in the road and finally noticed something was wrong.

"Uh, could it really be an Illusion Technique this time?"

Long Ren surveyed the surroundings.

The fork looked almost identical to the one they had passed 10 minutes ago.

"It shouldn't be an Illusion Technique; it seems like... a maze."

Li Pu remained confident in his [Willpower], a powerful passive skill that can break and resist even A+ level guardian beast's Illusion Techniques.

If it's not an Illusion Technique, then the only explanation is that they haven't returned to the original path but have arrived at a location similar to the previous environment.

One setup for a maze is to arrange identical environments that make it seem like you're stuck in place.

Yet if this really is a maze, then it clearly isn't naturally formed.

Who or what kind of existence created this maze?

"A maze? But it wasn't marked on the map..."

After everything that had happened, Long Ren was quite inclined to trust Li Pu's judgment now.

Hence, he pulled out the map.

"Something's definitely off with this place."

After closely studying the map for a while, Long Ren's expression grew serious.

According to the map's general scale, the valley should only be a bit over a kilometer long.

But judging by the distance they've walked, it's clearly longer.

"We have to be careful now."

Upon realizing this, Li Pu grasped the safety talisman light ball in his hand.

If anything seems amiss, he'd crush it instantly to leave.

This place indeed exudes eeriness.

Seeing this, Long Ren did the same, cautiously holding the light ball.

At this moment, the attitude of the Half-Dragon and Grassman gave them a new clue.

[Dragon oh Dragon!]

Half-Dragon: The stench is getting closer!

[Grass and more Grass!]

Grassman: The fragrance is getting closer!

"Uh, should we keep going or not?"

Long Ren was uncertain.

"Let's continue and see."

Li Pu directed the Grassman to pick a path.

Because he recalled the last time the Grassman mentioned "Xiangxiang," it was during their first encounter with the little treant.

The so-called fragrant aroma specifically referred to the small treant's tea scent.

Which means it is sensitive to good plant-related things.

Now, it's hard not to be curious about what is exciting the Grassman.

Most crucially, the Half-Dragon seems to detest it.

After choosing a path, they walked for about another 30 minutes.

Then they encountered another fork choice; in many ways, it was similar to the former forks, whether in environmental terrain or plant location.

Nevertheless, due to their extra attention, they noticed many subtle differences, finally confirming that it's a maze, not an Illusion Technique scene.

After all, this is a place rich in flora and fauna; no matter how one tries to move or trim plants, it's impossible to perfectly control their growth as there are no two identical leaves in the world.

Once again chosen by the Grassman, they walked another 10 minutes or so.

Finally, they reached a wide, circular dead-end valley.

This place, like the path leading to the valley, was lush with flowers and plants, brimming with vitality.

However, what caught Li Pu's eye was the object in the center of this circle.

"Golden Tree!"

He was quite familiar with this.

This was a small tree no thicker than an arm, standing no more than a meter high.

Judging from the tree's total volume, it should be enough for the Grassman's rebirth once.

A rare treasure, no doubt.

Li Pu knew he'd have to discard parts of the lava fish python meat in his storage space.

"So this is a Golden Tree?"

Long Ren was curious, examining the bare gold-colored plant.

He'd heard of Golden Trees before but never seen one.

It's said that Golden Trees themselves don't have strong vitality and rarely grow lush or majestic.

But they're cherished by plants as fertile tree-shaped soil.

"But I heard Golden Trees have leaves, also gold in color."

"Only when its nutrients have been highly depleted does it become leafless."

Long Ren, with hand on chin, reminisced.

It's times like these that the difference between attending and skipping class becomes apparent.

This knowledge was gleaned from Imperial University's lessons.

Occasionally, in a burst of interest, professors would introduce fascinating trivia about alternate realities.

[NONO Dragon!]

As for the Half-Dragon, it was already blocking its large nostrils with two fingers, wearing an extremely disgusted look.

[Grass!]

Grassman pointed at the Golden Tree, indicating it was the source of the aroma.

Bubu, in contrast, showed little reaction, proving it wasn't something it liked to eat.

"Let me take a closer look."

Long Ren approached for a closer inspection.

And he discovered the tree wasn't completely bare.

At the very top of the tree, there was a white fruit about the size of a thumb.

Due to the angle, it wasn't noticeable from a distance.

"Haha, so that's what's going on."

"I finally understand why Long Long was so repulsed from the start."

After recognizing the fruit, he clapped his hands in amusement.

This thing, he was acquainted with.

However, the knowledge came not from teachers but from books.

"So, what exactly is this?"

Li Pu, intrigued, came over.

...

...

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