Chapter 610: Search! Encounter Eileen!

Rustle rustle rustle~~

A gale howled as a middle-aged man flew before Xu Jingming and blocked his path.

But when he saw Xu Jingming's face, his stern expression instantly relaxed.

"It's you. Go back. You talents aren't allowed past here."

"Do you know me?" Xu Jingming asked curiously.

From his aura, the man was at least an Eighth-Rank Grand Master.

And he spoke Great Xia's tongue—he must be from Great Xia.

"Xu Jingming, champion of this year's Talent Competition, you brought great honor to Great Xia. Of course I know you."

The middle-aged man smiled.

"I see," Xu Jingming realized at once.

Reputation works much like prestige in an online game.

The higher your prestige, the better the treatment you receive from powerful figures in your faction.

This is one of the hidden benefits of winning the Talent Competition.

"May I ask, sir, what is that area ahead? How large is the restricted zone?" Xu Jingming asked.

"Ahead is Qingfeng City. All psychics entering the Qingfeng Secret Realm reside there."

The man smiled and unfolded a holographic map, marking the entire northeastern region in red:

"You're not permitted to enter this area yet."

"Yet?" Xu Jingming seized on the word.

"Yes. Yet."

The man grinned. "You're here only because of your Talent Competition reward.

Only when you reach Seventh Rank will you officially gain entry to Qingfeng City."

"Oh?" Xu Jingming raised an eyebrow.

The man's tone suggested one could stay in the Qingfeng Secret Realm for extended periods.

Of course—

A small city had been built here; clearly, it supported long-term habitation.

"Thank you, sir. I'll leave now."

Xu Jingming didn't press for details, offered a slight apology, then turned and flew toward another direction.

I can ask Master Lingshuang about Qingfeng City later.

But one thing puzzled him: this secret realm lay within the EU's territory.

Yet the patrol psychic here was a Great Xia citizen.

Moreover, the name "Qingfeng Secret Realm" itself leaned heavily toward Great Xia usage.

"Could this relic space have been first discovered by our people?"

Shaking his head, Xu Jingming let it go and frowned inwardly, asking Eva:

"Northeast is off-limits. Where else can I find plant life?"

The forbidden zone the man specified was too vast—he couldn't enter at all.

"Given this, the Flower Goddess's plant sea must already be controlled by high-rank psychics," Eva said helplessly.

"We can only try our luck in the forest. Maybe some plant life left behind by the Flower Goddess remains."

"Alright." Xu Jingming nodded and swiftly flew toward the forest.

Good—he was heading there anyway to hunt beasts. He could search for plant life while hunting.

If he found nothing, it simply meant his luck was terrible.

He'd have to rely on finding plant life outside, or wait until Seventh Rank to enter Qingfeng Secret Realm.

We can only hope to find plant life in the outside world, or wait until we reach the seventh stage before entering this Qingfeng Secret Realm.

"Howl—"

In the dense forest, beast roars rose and fell in succession.

A wind terror wolf, as large as a small car, crept cautiously through the undergrowth.

Blue wind currents swirled around its body, slightly lifting it off the ground.

Thanks to its wind ability, its massive paws never touched the earth.

It moved like a ghost, making not a single sound.

Its amber eyes scanned the surroundings carefully, hunting for prey.

Soon, it entered a thicket.

The thicket grew extremely dense, taller than a man!

Around the trees, thick, deep green vines—some nearly black—twisted and coiled.

Here, the beast roars faded. Within the thick brush lay several massive, pale skeletons.

The wind terror wolf sensed something wrong and turned to flee.

But then—a sharp whistle pierced the air.

The vines Chanrao on the trees suddenly came alive, lashing out together to strangle the wolf!

The vines coiled around the trees seemed to come alive, simultaneously lashing out to strangle the Windfear Wolf!

The wolf, startled and enraged, hurled several wind blades.

The Windfear Wolf, startled and enraged, immediately hurled several wind blades.

The blue wind blades cleanly severed several vines, but more surged toward it!

In mere seconds, the wolf's body was pierced through by vines.

Blood gushed from its wounds, staining the ground crimson.

Yet the blood seemed absorbed by something, quickly returning to its normal color.

Only after fully draining the wolf did the vines slowly retreat, leaving silence once more.

"Eva, is this the plant life we're looking for?"

Hundreds of meters away, Xu Jingming, hidden among the branches of a giant tree, watched the entire scene and asked gravely.

"Plant life emits psychic energy fluctuations. As an S-rank, sense for them. If you detect any, it's the one." Eva replied.

Xu Jingming immediately spread his psychic energy.

But sadly, he detected no psychic fluctuations from the vines.

"This isn't the plant life we seek. Just an unusual rare herb," Xu Jingming shook his head.

It had been twelve days since entering Qingfeng Secret Realm.

During this time, besides hunting beasts and refining combat techniques, he'd been searching for plant life.

Yet so far, he'd found nothing.

"Forget it. Let's check somewhere else."

Shaking his head, Xu Jingming prepared to activate Lei Long Wings and fly elsewhere.

But his passive Mind Net sensed a familiar woman approaching from a kilometer away.

She wore a dark green combat suit, her figure slender, flanked by two ancient tree-men each over four meters tall!

"Eileen? Again?" Xu Jingming was surprised.

He knew this woman well—she possessed an S-rank "Plant Revival" psychic ability and had fought him before the semifinals.

More importantly, in these past ten days, he'd encountered Eileen more than once.

And each time, it was precisely when he'd discovered something resembling plant life.

"Eileen's psychic ability, like the Flower Goddess's, is plant-based. I suspect she's also searching for plant life.

S-rank, should we follow her? Maybe we'll uncover some clues."

S-rank—should we follow her and see? We might uncover some clues.

"I was thinking the same."

Xu Jingming grinned, suppressed all his aura, and remained hidden among the dense branches.

Xu Jingming grinned, suppressed all his aura, and continued hiding among the dense tree branches.