Chapter 459: Mystery of the Game

Chapter 459: Mystery of the Game
On the slope, there is a deep cave.

The moment Xie Ling stepped into the cave, a cold breath hit him. Thick moss hung on the cave wall, and the air was filled with a hint of sweet and fishy smell. He frowned slightly, and the magic wand spun between his fingers, and the faint light it emitted barely illuminated the darkness ahead.

Suddenly, a low and shrill hissing sound came from the top of the cave—a group of ghost-eyed bats swooped down from the darkness!

These creatures were a circle larger than ordinary bats, and were covered with dark gray membranes. The only color came from their red eyes, which looked like two burning will-o'-the-wisp in the darkness. Even more terrifying was that the corners of their mouths were longer than those of ordinary bats, revealing sharp fangs, like predators ready to bite their prey at any time.

Xie Lin's eyes darkened, and he quickly dodged to the side. Several ghost-eyed bats brushed past his shoulders, their claws almost tearing his sleeves. He clenched his wand and shot out a beam of white light -

The sonic boom spell was instantly activated, and an invisible shock wave exploded in the air. The echo reverberated wildly in the narrow cave, deafening. The ghost-eyed bats' most sensitive sense was hearing. They immediately let out painful screams, rolled back to the top of the cave, some hit the rock wall, twitched and fell to the ground, and some were directly stunned, their wings drooping weakly.

Xie Ling seized the opportunity, walked quickly forward, took the spleen and wings from the body of one of the ghost-eyed bats, then put away his wand, turned around and left without a fight, leaving the ghost-eyed bat on the top of the cave, which had not yet completely fainted, struggling and wailing in the dark.

He walked out of the cave and came to a low bush. There was a faint magical atmosphere between the dense branches and leaves. He squinted his eyes, stretched out his hand to lift a few large leaves, and found several toads in the dark and wet mud.

Xie Ling's eyes focused, and he quickly cast a spell to freeze a toad of the strongest body. Then, he accurately cut open the toad's abdomen, took out a dark green gallbladder, and carefully put it into the antiseptic potion bottle.

After doing all this, he looked around and his eyes fell on a nightshade. The branches and leaves were dotted with purple-black berries, plump and deadly. He waved his wand lightly, and several ripe fruits automatically broke away from the branches and fell steadily into his palm. He put the fruits in his pocket and broke off a few leaves at the same time, just in case.

Xie Ling walked forward a few steps, his eyes sank, and he noticed a winding mark on the ground. He half-knelt down and touched the soil with his fingers - it was moist and warm, with a faint fishy smell.

His gaze extended forward, and sure enough, in the corner where the tree roots intersected, a piece of African tree snake skin with a metallic luster was quietly curled up among the rotten leaves, like an abandoned ribbon. Xie Ling's lips curled slightly, and he reached out to pick it up, spread it in his palm, and after confirming that it was not damaged, he carefully put it away.

The subsequent collection process went very smoothly. Xie Ling didn't spend much effort to collect lacewings, leeches, sap grass, and two-ear grass along the route.

When he had picked all the fruits from a shrivelled fig tree, his harvesting in the surrounding area was complete.

After walking out of the jungle, Xie Ling came to a patch of dense grass, his brows slightly furrowed.

He has collected a large amount of materials in this magical garden, and the process has been surprisingly smooth. However, the smoother it is, the more he feels something is wrong - he has not even met a single fairy so far.

How can it be?

Fairies are extremely sensitive to magical energy, and they should be everywhere, especially in a carefully cultivated magical garden like this. But he walked for so long, and there was not even a glimmer of fairy wings around him.

Xie Ling glanced around cautiously, and then slowly withdrew his gaze. Something was wrong, but now was not the time to investigate further.

He looked ahead, where there was a colorful field of flowers. Various magical plants trembled slightly in the sunlight, and the air was filled with the sweet scent of roses, the elegant scent of lavender, and the unique fresh fragrance of daisies.

"... Let's collect these materials first."

He raised his wand and stepped into the flowers.

Schelling crouched among the flowers, plucking rose petals expertly, carefully avoiding the sharp thorns, then trimmed some lavender branches, the scent stained his fingertips, and finally, he picked up a shovel and began to dig up daisy roots.

Just then, he noticed something strange on the ground.

——Bloodstains.

He frowned, put down the shovel, and stood up. The sun shone on the flowers. The roses were gorgeous, but between the leaves, a few drops of bright red blood were shocking. Xie Ling slowly squatted down and touched the mark with his fingertips. The blood had not yet completely coagulated, indicating that the injured person had left here not long ago. He looked around vigilantly, and a sense of foreboding rose in his heart. Following the direction of the bloodstain, he pushed aside the flowers and finally found a piece of rag on the soft grass.

——Light blue, with a slightly shiny silk texture.

Xie Ling gently picked up the piece of cloth with his fingertips, his eyes sank slightly.

This is a scrap of cloth from Furong's clothes.

What was going on? This was a potion tournament among students, not a dueling competition or a wilderness survival competition. Logically, it shouldn't even be as dangerous as the Triwizard Tournament.

First, there was a vague aura of black magic, then the fairy disappeared, and now he discovered that Furong had been attacked - the rules clearly stated that contestants could not attack each other, and Xie Lin did not believe that with Furong's strength, there was no creature in this magic garden that could threaten her life.

Everything in the game seemed to be shrouded in mystery.

……

Seferis hid in the shadows, with a sneer on his lips and a hint of teasing in his eyes. He quietly raised his wand, waved it lightly, and whispered a spell. Suddenly, there was a rustling sound in the bushes in the distance - a large group of little demons and evil spirits were lured out, and rushed towards the target in front with a grin.

Igor Morozov still stood like a statue.

Seferis' eyes were slightly cold, and the sarcastic arc at the corner of his mouth deepened a bit. He thought, no matter how weird this guy was, he couldn't deal with so many magical creatures at the same time.

However, the next second, the development of the matter was completely beyond his expectations.

Igor slowly turned his head and a creepy smile appeared on his face - that smile was completely cold, like a mask, and it even made people doubt whether he still had any normal emotions.

A strong wind rose.

The leaves were swept up by invisible magic, spinning and dancing in the air like a green storm. The roots suddenly broke out of the ground, winding on the ground like a giant snake, and suddenly rushed towards the little demons and evil spirits.

Screams came one after another——

The sharp leaves cut the little devil's wings like blades, the sharp roots pierced the evil spirit's limbs, and the twisted vines entangled them madly and threw them to the ground.

The creatures that had originally rushed over with a grin on their faces were now only wailing and fleeing.

Seferis's expression changed completely.

He realized something was wrong and was about to withdraw when suddenly a sound of breaking air came from below.

A thick vine suddenly wrapped around his ankle, instantly hanging him upside down!

He struggled violently, trying to raise his wand to chant a spell, but before he could open his mouth, the vines lashed him like a whip. The strong impact made his consciousness fall into darkness in an instant.

Before he completely passed out, the last thing he had in his consciousness was Igor's still eerie smile - and the forest that seemed to have awakened.