82: Source of pollution

As soon as Shen Xiaochuan's hand touched the bone spur, he immediately felt a sharp pain.

He quickly retracted his hand and discovered that many black fungal hyphae were emerging around the bone spur, crawling toward him.

His face turned pale and his ears were ringing, but he still restrained himself from stepping back.

He quickly took a sealed bag from his backpack and used tweezers to place the bone spur inside.

"This is not ordinary contamination," he said. "This thing is alive and can invade a person's nerves."

Green Tie stood nearby, her face pale with fear.

She watched as Shen Xiaochuan took out a square instrument and placed the sample inside.

The screen lit up, and a red warning popped up: 【High-activity parasitic hyphae detected, possesses consciousness interference capability】.

Elina walked over, her voice trembling slightly: "What did you say? It... can it also control people?"

"Not just that," Shen Xiaochuan said, putting away the instrument. "It is transmitting signals, like a relay station. The people you sent before didn't go crazy; they had their brains replaced."

Everyone stopped talking; the elves looked at each other, their eyes full of fear.

Elina gritted her teeth and asked: "What are you going to do?"

"Give me three hours, and I will go to the dense forest to find the source. It's faster than waiting for your six-hour ritual."

"Just you alone?"

"I have this." Shen Xiaochuan took out a purification rune stone and stuck it on a rock by the roadside. A flash of green light caused the black mist to recede for a distance.

Elina stared at him for a few seconds before finally nodding.

She turned and picked up the blade in the wooden box: "This is the demon-breaking blade; take it."

Green Tie whispered: "This blade was used by a hero three hundred years ago, but it has long been broken. The blade body is cracked, and the runes no longer glow."

"Whether it's broken or not, I'll only know once I use it." Shen Xiaochuan took the blade and ran his finger over the notch.

The System prompt sounded:

【Obtained damaged weapon: demon-breaking blade (excellent grade)】

【Residual skill: Fel Energy Perception (passive)】

He knew this skill would allow him to sense the presence and direction of fel energy, which was useful to him.

He tucked the blade into his belt and said to Green Tie: "You lead the way, take the shortest path."

"But ahead is already..." Green Tie hesitated.

"The current miasma concentration is 0.7, not yet at a lethal level." He glanced at the instrument. "We still have three hours of safety time. By the time you prepare your ritual, the village will already be gone."

Green Tie didn't say anything more and turned to lead the way.

The two left the village and walked forward along the withered path. The flowers by the roadside had turned gray, and the vines hung down like dead ropes.

Shen Xiaochuan looked at the instrument as he walked, the beeping sound constant.

"Twenty meters to the left, there is Moonshadow Grass." He stopped. "Dig up two plants, the roots must be intact."

Green Tie followed instructions. He put the grass into a freshness-keeping bag and continued walking. Less than ten minutes later, he stopped again.

The instrument suddenly beeped rapidly, as if there was danger ahead.

"Down the slope on the right, there are thirty-six mutated Night-Glowing Orchids." He said, "Take them all."

Green Tie was surprised: "How did you know there were some down there?"

"The instrument shows that the electrical conductivity in the soil is off." He squatted down and began to dig. "These plants are resistant to contamination and will be needed for reconstruction later."

Seeing his skilled movements, Green Tie's expression changed. She no longer doubted him and took the initiative to look for potential locations.

"I know a place," she said. "It used to be a Forbidden Ground that only the Clan Chief could enter. There is a valley of flowers inside that no one has ever seen."

"Take me there."

Half an hour later, they arrived at a depression. Stone walls formed a circle, and the center was filled with glowing blue-purple flowers. The toxins in the air were less than outside.

"This is the native species of the Night-Glowing Orchid," Green Tie said softly. "We call it 'Star Tears'."

Shen Xiaochuan immediately got to work. He carefully dug out the entire cluster and placed it into a special container. After collecting all thirty-six plants, he stood up.

"These are enough," he said. "We can build a cultivation base when we go back."

Green Tie nodded, and just as she was about to speak, the instrument suddenly wailed.

"The concentration of toxic gas is rising too fast!" He looked at the screen. "It will exceed 1.2 within a minute; we must leave."

The two retreated quickly. Just as they ran out of the depression, there was a "crack" sound behind them, and a large tree fell down. Its roots were entirely covered in black veins and were still moving.

"It's chasing us," Green Tie panted.

"It's not chasing," Shen Xiaochuan said, looking back. "It's recording our route. Wherever we walk, we leave a signal."

He took out the purification rune stone and stuck it on a rock. A flash of green light caused the black mist to recede slightly.

"It will block it for a while," he said. "Keep moving."

They changed paths to bypass the withered forest. The ground was as soft as flesh, and black spores fell down, stinging when they touched the skin.

"We can't go forward," Green Tie said, pointing ahead. "The trees are all broken; there's no path."

Shen Xiaochuan looked up and saw a giant tree in the distance, twice as tall as the others. He pointed toward it: "Climb to the top of the tree and see the situation first."

Climbing the tree was slow. The trunk was wet and slippery, entangled with black vines. Shen Xiaochuan used the demon-breaking blade to cut through the obstacles, climbing up step by step. Green Tie followed behind, her hands shaking.

They finally climbed onto the main branch. They hid among the leaves and looked into the distance.

The valley appeared before their eyes.

In the center, there was a fortress built of white bones and black stones, shaped like a curved horn. Red-eyed monsters walked around it, their bodies entirely crimson, with twisted long horns on their heads, holding foul bone blades and roaring from time to time. Black clouds floated in the sky, which were swarms of corrupted spores; where they flew, the air was smoking.

"Are those... demons?" Green Tie's voice trembled.

Shen Xiaochuan narrowed his eyes and sneered: "Not just demons; they are guarding something."

He took out binoculars and scanned the perimeter of the fortress, suddenly stopping.

In the shadows, there was a faint blue light on the ground, flashing once every thirty seconds, like a heartbeat.

"A blue crystal core," he whispered. "The spawn point is at the center of the contamination source."

Green Tie couldn't believe it: "You still intend to go down there?"

"If I don't go down, I can't see the structure clearly," he said. "But I won't fight now; I'll figure out the route first."

He took out paper and began to draw a map. He marked the demons' patrol times, the movement routes of the black clouds, and the locations of the ground cracks. Every stroke was precise.

Green Tie watched him draw and couldn't help asking: "Have you done this kind of thing before?"

"My university internship was at a construction site," he said. "Every day I drew construction blueprints and looked at how the pipelines ran. War is the same as construction; you must figure out the layout first."

Green Tie didn't speak. For the first time, she felt that this man in work clothes didn't seem like a god who only knew how to fight.

Halfway through drawing the map, the demon-breaking blade suddenly vibrated.

Shen Xiaochuan stuck the blade into the tree trunk. The cracks on the blade glowed, pointing toward the northeast.

"The fel energy is flowing that way," he said. "The contamination is coming from underground. Those demons are just gatekeepers."

He put away the map and said to Green Tie: "You need to go back for a trip."

"Why?"

"Take these plants back to the village and build a temporary cultivation garden," he said. "Then tell Elina to prepare for battle. I am not coming back alone."

Green Tie hesitated: "Then what about you?"

"I'll stay here," he said, pointing to the tree canopy. "Keep an eye on them. When reinforcements arrive, we'll take action."

"But you alone..."

"I won't fight," he said. "I'll only watch."

Green Tie bit her lip and finally nodded. She took off the leaf pendant from her neck and stuffed it into Shen Xiaochuan's hand.

"A Spirit-Protecting Leaf," she said. "It can block one fatal blow. Don't die here."

Shen Xiaochuan squeezed the pendant and said nothing.

Green Tie went down the tree trunk and left quickly. Shen Xiaochuan lay back on the branch, his eyes fixed on the fortress.

Time passed. The demons changed guard, the black clouds rotated, and the blue light kept flashing.

He opened the Faith Mall interface to calculate resources.

"Summoning Dian Wei requires 5,000 points; currently it's +1 per second, so it will take another eight minutes," he whispered. "No rush. I'll figure out the enemy situation before taking action."

He placed the demon-breaking blade beside him, his hand resting on the hilt.

The wind blew over, carrying a foul smell, and the leaves swayed.

He didn't even blink.

At the fortress entrance, a demon suddenly looked up and looked toward this side.

Shen Xiaochuan remained motionless.

A few seconds later, the demon walked away.

He breathed a sigh of relief and continued to watch.

The blue light flashed again.

Just at this moment, a demon suddenly charged toward the tree canopy where he was hiding.

A fierce battle was about to begin.

He took out his notebook and wrote on the last page:

"Contamination source confirmed, demon stronghold, underground structure unknown, crystal core inside. A greater crisis is brewing; awaiting reinforcements. I will let everyone who looked down on me know that I can resolve the crisis and uncover the secrets."