The green grass was hazy under the cover of the mist, and various colors of wild grass were dotted among them. If one ignored the disgusting cries in the distance, it looked like they were in a paradise.
Fifteen Apprentice Adepts, most of whom were wearing black robes, were passing through the forest on horseback. One of the Apprentice Adepts took out a water bottle from his back and took a sip.
"Disgusting beast-faced birds. Their cries are so disgusting."
The air temperature was a bit high, and the forest was very humid. Riding through the forest would quickly make one's clothes wet. It was very uncomfortable in this humid environment.
The team slowly accelerated here. According to the map, this was already the deepest part of the Ghost Fog Forest. It was not far from the ruins of the underground palace in the forest. The mentor had already brought his apprentices here before them.
"This place is very far from the ruins of the underground palace. Occasionally, some monsters will escape from the ruins. Be careful."
An experienced sorcerer-apprentice looked around and loudly reminded his companions.
Lin Xiao untied his black robe and shook off the dew condensed on his waterproof robe. Another sorcerer-apprentice who was also shaking off his black robe leaned over and whispered.
"I heard that the ruins of the underground palace have three floors, but it has not been completely explored. From time to time, I hear that people have found new sealed underground chambers and obtained great benefits. When the time comes, should we take some time to take a look?"
Lin Xiao raised his eyebrows. With his rich experience, he immediately understood what this man was thinking. He smiled and said, "No, I don't want to.
It's my first time out and I don't have enough experience. It's better to do some simple missions. "
This could be considered as a refusal. The man did not insist. He shrugged and retreated to the side, chatting with another sorcerer-apprentice that he did not know.
He sneered and did not say anything. This was obviously looking for cannon fodder. Only a newcomer would be fooled.
Although he was a newcomer among the sorcerers, he was not. He had been tested for a long time, and this little trick could be seen through at a glance.
The team stopped here for a moment, then slowed down and continued to move forward.
After walking for a while, Lin Xiao suddenly sniffed. In addition to the peculiar smell of the forest, there was also a trace of blood. It was not strong but was very fresh, indicating that there had been a massacre here not long ago. However, there were no traces of fighting nearby.
He was puzzled. Suddenly, a slight groan came from the back of the team. More than a dozen people reacted and quickly turned their heads. They saw … nothing unusual.
Everyone looked at the last person in the group, but he looked at everyone expressionlessly, as if nothing had happened.
A few seconds later, everyone withdrew their gazes one after another. Lin Xiao was about to do the same when he suddenly paused. His gaze immediately turned serious as he drew his sword with a clang. The others were so shocked that they reflexively turned around. He pointed at the last person and said,
"He's dead!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a white shadow flew out from behind the man. Everyone's eyesight was not weak. At a glance, they could see that it was a transparent ghost that grabbed a man's soul and flew out. The wizard apprentice who was riding on the horse immediately fell down from the horse after his soul was taken away.
"Kill!"
An invisible force bound it and made it unable to move. Two one-foot-long transparent wind blades, three fireballs, and several invisible forces flew out at the same time and hit the white shadow. Bang! Accompanied by an ear-piercing scream, the transparent spirit exploded into pieces. The soul of the other sorcerer-apprentice also exploded, but there was an invisible force binding it and it did not split apart. It fluttered down and merged with the body.
With a painful groan, the sorcerer-apprentice who had his soul captured woke up. With great difficulty, he thanked everyone.
Lin Xiao seriously accepted his bow. He had indeed saved his life. As for the injury to his soul, it was not his problem. In this situation, if he did not act decisively, once his soul was taken away, he would be dead for sure.
After this encounter with the enemy, everyone became especially vigilant.
Rank 3 wizard apprentices were still quite powerful. Even an official Magus would find it hard to deal with a dozen of them together. They safely arrived at the depths of the Ghostmist Forest. From afar, they saw a tall tower covered by countless vines and moss in the lush forest. The top of the tower was densely packed with gaps.
That was the location of the ruins of the underground palace. It was said that a long time ago, this was the encampment of a school. Later on, for some unknown reason, the school was destroyed overnight. The empire sent experts to investigate but did not find anything. They only declared this place to be abandoned and did not allow anyone to occupy this encampment. Over time, it was abandoned.
The surface of the underground palace was completely abandoned, covered by the lush forest. If it were not for the tower that had not collapsed, it would be very difficult for outsiders to find this place.
With the tower as the coordinates, they quickly arrived in front of the ruins. It should be the entrance of the original school. A small camp was built in front of the ruins of the entrance. A few wizard apprentices were cleaning up the surrounding vines and weeds.
Seeing their arrival, the few apprentices happily waved their hands. A charming, tall, and curvy female apprentice came in front of them. Everyone got off their horses and she said.
"I am the mentor's apprentice, Irene. You guys came at the right time. Clean up the surroundings of the camp and expand it."
His bossy attitude instantly left a bad impression on others.
However, she was the mentor's disciple. The mentor was in the camp tent, so they naturally did not dare to refuse. Everyone tied up their horses and divided up the work.
Lin Xiao received the task of cleaning up the weeds. He took out a sharp shovel from his bag and used it as a knife. He cut and swept the weeds that spread from the edge to the side.
The roots of these weeds were as thick as chopsticks and were extremely tough. When cut with the shovel, not only did the weeds flow out like blood, but they also twisted back and forth a few times like snakes. It felt like they were alive.
However, they were indeed not alive. This kind of weeds could be found everywhere in this world. Or rather, many plants in this world were just this strange.
With more than ten times the strength of an ordinary person, they cleaned up the weeds in the area they were responsible for, clearing out a large area. Then, someone took a type of spray and sprayed it into the soil to kill the insects and weeds hiding in the weeds. In the next few months, this area would not grow any more grass, and there would not be any insects passing by.
The more people there were, the easier it was to do things. The camp was quickly set up with a few bonfires scattered around. After a few days of work, the tent flap opened, and a figure walked out.
The camp instantly quieted down. Everyone looked over with a trace of respect on their faces and called out in unison, "Mentor Julian."
This was a senior official wizard. It was said that he had crystallized his power of the will long ago and was about to become a rank 2 wizard. Once he became a rank 2 wizard, he would immediately become one of the strongest people in the academy.
Mentor Julian was tall and handsome. On the surface, he looked like a nobleman. Regardless of whether it was his appearance or his habits, he was very different from the image of a wizard.
Lin Xiao did not know if it was an illusion, but he felt that this style was very familiar, as if he had seen it before.
When the female apprentice called Zhu Lian saw her mentor come out, she quickly went up and called out in a sweet voice. She did not care about the gazes of others and leaned into the man's embrace. Julian hugged her snake-like waist and squeezed it a few times.
Everyone's expression did not change at all. This kind of situation was quite common in this world.
Many women and men of average birth would rely on the strong. During the day, they would be mentors and disciples, and at night, they would sleep together as lovers.
Julian squeezed his disciple a few times and raised his head to speak to the new apprentices.
"You are all clear about the mission. After this trip, each of you will get five magic stones. For every ancient moss you collect, you will get one magic stone. In addition, if the total amount of ancient moss collected exceeds a hundred, each of you will get an additional three magic stones after this trip."
"Thank you for your generosity, mentor!"
Everyone immediately became excited. They seemed to be full of energy.
Julian smiled satisfactorily and returned to the tent with the female apprentice in his arms. Soon, the candlelight flickered inside, and there were slight groans and bumps. As time passed, the sounds became louder and louder.
Many of the apprentices were envious and distanced themselves from the tent. Again, they were not surprised.
Early the next morning, a few apprentices who did not seem to have slept well gathered them and announced the departure. As for the mentors, they did not appear.
Most of the ancient moss grew in the underground palace, but it was occasionally found in the ruins on the surface. Compared to the dangerous underground palace, the surface was safer, so they would definitely search this area first.
Everyone spread out to search their own areas. After all, they were all Level-3 apprentices and had a certain level of strength. If they were in danger, they could survive until the mentors came to rescue them.
There were very few people in the ruins, and the vegetation was quite lush. There were vines wrapped around the ruins like snakes everywhere. Occasionally, there were real snakes hanging from the vines and biting them when they passed by.
Before leaving, Lin Xiao had applied some insect and snake repellent medicine on himself. With his strong agility and senses, he could usually find hidden snakes and insects in advance.
However, the most dangerous thing here was not snakes and insects, but all kinds of monsters hidden in the ruins.
When he passed by a big tree, countless vines hanging on the tree suddenly moved on their own without any wind. Vines as thick as a finger suddenly burst out like snakes and wrapped him up and dragged him under the tree.
"Bang bang bang …"
A series of snapping sounds were heard. Lin Xiao used brute force to break more than ten vines and rushed out. With a backhand slash, he cut off a few vines. He raised his sword and slashed continuously. Large pieces of broken stems and leaves flew. Soon, the vines and the tree were cut down. At the bottom of the tree that was full of bones, he found the roots of the vines and continued to dig. Soon, he dug out a meat knot that was the size of a head and full of roots. He cut off the thick roots and carried it out.
This thing was the core root of this huge vine. It could be used to make magic potions, or it could be sold to a Plant Wizard to cultivate a combat-type Plant Magic Pet. It was worth six magic stones.
He wrapped the thing in layers of cloth and stuffed it into his backpack. Just this alone was worth the price of the ticket. This trip was not a loss.
Next, he continued to search. However, his luck might have come to an end. He searched the entire surface of the underground palace until night, but he did not find a single piece of ancient moss.
If someone did not find it, he would have thought that there was nothing on the surface.
Back at the camp, everyone sold the ancient moss to the mentors. Lin Xiao also sold the root for six magic stones.
After a night's rest, they washed up early the next morning. Everyone waited at the entrance of the underground palace. After a while, Wizard Julian came with a few disciples. He would also enter the underground palace with everyone.
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