2284 Leaving The Base
With the undercurrents changing in the Rust Sky World, the people inside the trial grounds were unaware about it.
Lin Mu and the group had been waiting for the Death Qi to fade, so that they could finally go out and gather credits. In the five months they had, they strove to improve themselves. Some cultivated, some learned new skills, and some merely studied.
But everyone had progressed more than before.
Lin Mu had improved his understanding of the Sky with the help of Crown Prince Feng Shun who had used his wind and lightning elements to help him out. They ended up practicing for about four months before they stopped as Lin Mu had hit the limit of what could be done with the help of Crown Prince.
If he wished to improve his understanding of the sky furthermore, he would have to rely on his own. Or at the very least, it would improve on its own when he finally went out into the real world and felt the sky there.
Once that happened, the Cloud Dragon Stride skill would finally become usable and reach its true potential.
But for now, Lin Mu had only adapted the footwork into his fighting skills. Just the footwork alone could actually help distract the envies and outmaneuver them when needed. Having tested it with the Crown Prince, they had found that it allowed for better evasion than they had expected.
The Crown Prince was especially curious about who the skill would fare when Lin Mu had finally grasped more of the Sky Dao. Feng Shun also looked to learn the skill one day and had learned through helping Lin Mu too.
Crown Princess Shang had been busy at taking care of the Three Colored Dazzling Mud Lotus plants and had finally managed to nurture them to the point where the lone flower had transformed into a Seed Pod!
The other plant had grown a bit and adapted to its new environment too and was currently creating a bud that would later turn into a flower.
Monk Hushu had been in seclusion for most of the time and had improved after having achieved the Tune of The Buddhist Dao. He felt like he only needed the next part of the Scripture and he would be able to breakthrough to the next stage.
Daoist Chu had also improved in his cultivation as well as his skills with talismans and formations. He made additional talismans that will help them in their time here and hunt more Chimeric beasts.
Though he did focus more on defensive talismans, as he knew that they could be used quickly and held block dangerous blows. After all, with the presence of the Chimera Plant, there was no telling what would be happening.
Qiao De simply cultivated and occasionally helped out the Crown Prince when they were monitoring the maps. Though he did prepare additionally items for when they finally left the base.
Elder Hu and Min Ju learned some of the skills that Lady Kang had deemed would be needed in this place, and they had taken these eleven months in the base to learn them. Lady Kang herself had been focused on improving her cultivation along with her skills, knowing that things would likely not be easy. They didn't know what changes would have happened in this time, thus it was important for her to be prepared.
She was the second strongest individual here along with Crown Prince Feng Shun, thus it was likely that she would be contributing a considerable amount to their hunt.
With everyone working hard, time passed rather quickly and soon it was the day when they could head out.
~STEP~STEP~STEP~
Evey one walked out of the base and stood next to the barrier.
"It already looks a lot lighter than before." Qiao De was the first to speak.
"True, even without the Eyes of the Underdark, I can make out a few things." Ziran agreed.
Everyone could now see the area next to the barrier up to the ten meter mark. Granted, it was still a bit smoggy, it was much better than before. "Try your skill and see how it is now out there." Lin Mu asked.
"Alright." Ziran nodded his head and closed his eyes.
The next moment he opened them, the eyes had darked and a purple hue covered them. It was clear that the half elf had improved his proficiency with the skill further in these few months.
Ziran's vision peered through the darkness and scanned everything that could be seen.
"It's… Definitely a lot different." Ziran muttered, feeling a bit surprised. "How so?" Crown Prince Feng Shun asked.
"Not only has the Death Qi itself decreased… there are areas it's entirely gone. Even the fissures have been restored somehow." Ziran revealed.
"What? The fissures are gone?" Lin Mu was surprised, as there was no sign of it so far. With how much activity they made when opening up, there was no way they wouldn't have been able to sense it when the ground trembled. But somehow it had all happened without them getting so much so as a little notice.
The group waited as Ziran continued his observation of the entire area around the base, as well as beyond it. It took him quite some time, as he was able to see several hundred kilometer away. And covering all sections was a bit tiring too.
It was important for them to know how the things were or they could run into trouble, even last time they had surveyed the area well, before they had gone to properly hunt.
As such, it took Ziran about two hours to finish it all and even in this time the concentration of Death Qi was rapidly falling.
~HUU~
He took a deep breath upon finishing his work and rested his eyes.
"Looks like we're in luck." Ziran spoke. "The area till the four hundred kilometer mark is basically empty. While there are a few fissures left that far out, they don't seem to be spewing any Death Qi. I even managed to spot a few Chimeric Beasts after the four hundred kilometer mark." He revealed.
"That's great!" Crown Prince Feng Shun and the others were pleased.
This meant that they could go out to hunt, and that there were still Chimeric Beasts left in the area. "I feel like we won't have to wait much longer before the Death Qi fades." Lin Mu spoke as he glanced at the dark area. His Spatial Perception was active and he could sense the movement of energies in the air. Even the Death Qi seemed to be moving towards a specific direction, which was why it was rapidly decreasing.
The group watched the change without moving for about two more hours. During this, the speed of dissipation continued to increase until finally there was a massive gust.
~WHOOSH~
"Huh?" the group was surprised by the sudden shift.
"The death Qi's gathering?" Land Kang narrowed her eyes.
All the Death Qi moved towards a specific area and gathered in a longitudinal manner. About two minutes later, they saw a familiar construct form.
"A Death Qi boundary!" Daoist Chu spoke out loud.
"Looks like the arrays of the Spatial Plane are working normally again." Elder Hu spoke. "That's good. We'll now be able to follow our previous patterns." Monk Hushu nodded. is the owner.
They watched it for a few minutes more just to be sure of the change before finally deciding to move.
"Alright, here we go." Lin Mu said as he opened up a gate in the barrier.
~SHUA~
An opening appeared in the multiple layer of barriers, allowing the group to pass through it.
They quickly moved through it and arrived on the outside. "Still smells the same." Crown Princess Shang said, slightly wrinkling her nose at the faint stench that didn't seem to go away.
"Yeah… though I suppose we'll get used to it." Crown Prince Feng Shun stated.
"So where do we go first?" Daoist Chu asked.
"Let's go to the place that started it all." Lin Mu said, feeling determined. "We need to know if the Chimeric Plant is there or if not, where it went." He stated.
"Amithabha, it would indeed be wise to know what stands before us." Monk Hushu was in agreement.
"It's decided then." Crown Prince Feng Shun said before Lin Mu called out someone.
~Roar~
Little Shrubby's massive body manifested in front of them, ready to go for a hunt.
"He's been eager to go out for a while now," Lin Mu said, knowing how long he had been inside the Sleepscape.
A few of the people chuckled and smiled before they all got onto Little Shrubby's back.
"Time to hunt!" Little Shrubby said with a roar before bursting into a sprint.
~CRACK~
The ground shattered under the power of his claws as he used the force to get a jump start.
~WHOOSH~
In just a few seconds, his speed rose rapidly and soon only a red blur could be seen.
Chapter is fixed now
Grand_Void_Daoist
Creator's Thought