CHAPTER 44: CHAPTER 43: CHAOTIC STEW

With the speed limit of the tricycle, Cui Tianxiao and Ye Qingting took their time cruising along, and for the first time, they understood that operating a two-wheeled vehicle at low speed really tests one’s waist strength and driving skills.

At the forest’s edge, before Li Xing could say a word, Ye Qingting had already activated flight mode and sent her an invitation to join.

Looking at the flying device transforming into a small aircraft shape, Li Xing gladly accepted. She had never experienced such an advanced flying device before, and she didn’t want to miss the chance.

With Ye Qingting having set the flight direction, Li Xing sat in the co-pilot seat and watched him operate. When they were halfway through the journey, Li Xing suddenly said to Ye Qingting, "Can you let me have a go? I can knock off a thousand bucks from your fee."

"No need for that, you can drive as you wish," Ye Qingting said accommodatingly, and swapped seats with Li Xing.

Cui Tianxiao followed behind Ye Qingting and suddenly noticed the flying device ahead accelerate sharply, followed by various flips, hovering, and high-difficulty maneuvers. With flashy skills on display, he felt his blood boiling and quickly gunned the throttle.

Isn’t Qingting the kind of guy who usually doesn’t like extreme flight? What happened today? Could it be that having a pretty girl around has got him carried away?

No, this isn’t like his personality!

Cui Tianxiao had to push his throttle to the limit to keep up with the speed of the leading aircraft. Fortunately, the leading aircraft soon began to descend and landed smoothly. Because they were about to leave the outer forest and head deeper within.

The forest edge, close to the city, usually has low-level Star Beasts, and there’s not much danger from above. But deeper in the forest, using a flying device becomes very unsafe.

Because mid- to high-level Star Beasts can unleash various elemental attacks, even tearing through space for teleportation, the hover advantages of flying devices almost vanish.

Plus, the high-speed moving object overhead will agitate Star Beasts with sensitive and irritable natures, instinctively triggering retaliatory attacks, pursued relentlessly until death. So the safest approach for non-military organizations entering the Deep Forest is to trek through it.

Jumping out of the cockpit, Cui Tianxiao saw the two already pack up the flying device, standing there waiting for him. Ye Qingting’s face was unusually pale with water stains on his chest, while Li Xing was brimming with excitement.

"Didn’t expect this at all, Qingting, you sure keep a low profile. Let’s find time to race for real?"

Ye Qingting shot a fierce look at Cui Tianxiao and walked away first, while Li Xing followed cheerfully, leaving Cui Tianxiao stunned on the spot for a while.

What’s with the eerie atmosphere between Qingting and the little white flower, what happened?

From here to the Spirit Fruit growing area, barring any accidents, it’s a two and a half days’ journey, and they were fortunate enough to encounter a few level-five Star Beasts before setting up camp.

Cui Tianxiao and Ye Qingting kept Li Xing completely shielded behind them the whole way, showing no hint of arrogance, which increased Li Xing’s favorability towards them significantly.

Li Xing judged that these two were definitely not ordinary upper-city young masters, most likely noble family scions.

Their clothes bore talismans, with a defense effect better than the armor worn by the Datan Guard Team. What surprised Li Xing most was that these two were rare Mutated Elemental Spirits. Qingting is an Ice Element Spirit wielding an ancient Longsword, while Laughing What Laugh is a Thunder Element Spirit with a Longbow.

Judging by their elemental attack strength and Element Spirit reserve, they were definitely above Tang Dou, with Li Xing speculating they were nine out of ten Heavenly Armor level experts. Li Xing even secretly hoped to encounter high-level Star Beasts to glimpse Heavenly Armor level’s full-scale assault.

As night fell, the three stopped advancing, with Li Xing finding a place near a water source to set up a tent for overnight stay.

Cui Tianxiao pulled out a bunch of small flags and, together with Ye Qingting, carefully circled the temporary campsite and planted them.

While working, Cui Tianxiao took pains to explain to Li Xing, fearing his explanations would be lost on her, a country girl from the lower city:

"Flower, bro will teach you! This thing is called Array Flag, it’s expensive, with Defense Talisman Array on it. Planted on the campsite perimeter, it can withstand at least three waves of mid-level Star Beast attacks."

Li Xing exaggerated an "Wow," eyes full of envy, yet internally dismissive. This shabby stuff is worthy of the name Array Flag? Not even good enough for polishing shoes.

Seizing the moment when they weren’t paying attention, Li Xing swiftly set up a Shielding Array on the perimeter, finding safety better entrusted to classic array techniques from the Cultivation World rather than these useless array flags. After all, in the deep forest, an invisible and unscented campsite is the safest.

Ye Qingting and Cui Tianxiao crawled into the Thousand-Faceted Tent, casually consumed some nutrient solution for dinner, and took out their weapons for maintenance. Suddenly, Cui Tianxiao sniffed and asked in puzzlement, "Qingting, did you smell that?"

Ye Qingting nodded, and the two lifted the tent curtain one after the other, only to be greeted by the sight of a large black pot cooking bub-bub over a fire. Li Xing sat beside it, slurping soup.

Cui Tianxiao was irate, this little white flower, does she have any experience as a forest guide at all? Who boils food in the deep forest, what if it lures Star Beasts?

"You!... What’s that you’re cooking that smells so good?"

Cui Tianxiao originally intended to scold Li Xing, but the aroma of what she was cooking was just too enticing, and somehow his words changed upon exiting his mouth.

Ye Qingting wasn’t as dim-witted as Cui Tianxiao; he first used spiritual power to probe the surroundings and finding no Star Beasts lurking nearby, he relaxed and quietly watched Li Xing.

Aware of Ye Qingting’s gaze, Li Xing lifted her head, "Don’t worry, if it attracts Star Beasts I’ll be responsible for handling them." Li Xing felt confident in her Shielding Array, having never failed over the years.

Ye Qingting glanced at Li Xing’s slender frame, his mouth twitched, but he said nothing.

Cui Tianxiao squatted by the pot, his drool almost dripping in; Li Xing couldn’t help but ask. "Want a bowl?"

"Sure, sure!"

Cui Tianxiao felt he floated over by the scent without touching ground, taking the bowl only realizing the impropriety.

"Did you use the purification plate?"

Star Beast meat is okay, with sparse Chaotic Power, even if unpurified it hardly matters. It’s mainly the complexity and ferocity of the Chaotic Power within plants, especially wild ones, that risks causing an internal element upheaval if mishandled.

So when surviving in the wild, either consume nutrient solution or process ingredients with a purification plate. Yet portable purification plates are extremely expensive, few civilians afford them, prompting him to ask.

Li Xing: "Of course! So many questions, do you want it or not?"

With the Eternal Green Technique, she’s practically a live purification plate; were it not for fearing to be detained for research as an oddity, she’d have long gone to work in a food factory.

However, clearly Cui Tianxiao didn’t trust her; he brought out a small instrument dedicated to detecting Chaotic Power, pressing it on the bowl several times, satisfied only when the instrument lit up with green fluorescence.

Watching the familiar small instrument, Li Xing sneered, thinking she might have made one for Yang Dawei in the past.

"What’s this you’re cooking? Smells amazing."

This bowl neither looks like soup nor like a dish, its presentation quite bad, not appetizing by sight at all, yet its aroma enticing.

"Random mix stew, abbreviated to Mix Stew."

...What a crude name.

"What’s in it?"

"Level-five Predatory Sheep meat, Deep Blue Mushroom, Sweet Potato, Firefly Bean, rotten skin, and some spices."

"Where’d you get the veggies? Did you bring them from home?" What are Deep Blue Mushrooms or Sweet Potatoes anyway? He’s never heard of them.

"No, collected from the forest."

To be honest, home-grown veggies don’t match the wild ones’ fresh taste. Besides, there’s only a few kinds of home-grown veggies, tired of them after so many years.

Cui Tianxiao suddenly felt unease, his face darkening as well, "Are you a Wood Element Spirit?"

"No."

Cui Tianxiao turned indignant, "If you’re not a Wood Element Spirit, why the hell are you tossing wild greens into the pot! Don’t you know most wild plants are poisonous?"

Cui Tianxiao really felt a fright, grateful he asked that extra question, otherwise, who knows how he’d have ended up dead.