Chapter 138: Reentry

Life in the forest always passes quickly, and before they knew it, November arrived.

Since the ritual of planting the labyrinth, the 【Dark Vortex Rift】 had calmed considerably; no more attacks from Gekae Beasts or Shadow Weavers, though the sandy monsters still appeared.

With the help of the 【Tree Walker】 and the tree spirit Vivian, forest patrols became vastly more efficient.

Thus, Luo De gained ample time to train, accumulate magical essence, and practice spells.

Also due to 【Elibert's Secret Tome of Quirks】.

Both primary trainees had improved: Vivian officially reached the peak of the sixth tier, not far from the seventh.

Tally, due to the emergence of her 【Duchess Bloodline】, had gained profound primal strength; though still at mid-sixth tier, she was far stronger than ordinary sixth-tier cultivators.

The half-deer boy Xiao Ke, after his last estrus cycle, had accumulated enough to smoothly reach high-fourth tier.

The orc Amy, the ghoul Pan Ni, the banshee Krist, and the mare-girl Bond had made little progress.

That's understandable.

Orcs are not a race that actively accumulates essence; they typically grow stronger through combat.

Amy guards the sand willow zone—either fighting low-tier third-rank monsters or playing in the mud by the river; for her to improve would be miraculous.

Every time Luo De trained her inner muscles, a pile of mud sculptures always surrounded her.

Bond, meanwhile, had been neglected lately; Kali Site had been busy remodeling the sand willows and researching 【Soulbinding Chains】, leaving no time to teach her, so the lazy mare-girl spent her days aimlessly wandering the forest.

As for Pan Ni and Krist:

Both were too busy managing the farm to have any spare time.

Speaking of the farm, several laughably tragic events had occurred.

The ghoul Pan Ni was at least a practical sort; she found some notes on cultivation and animal husbandry among Henry's estate leftovers.

She imitated them, planting organic vegetables, and bought a batch of dairy and beef cattle from the arch bridge town beside Coral Bay, aiming to develop dairy and beef products.

Every time Luo De passed by, she would boast endlessly about her future commercial empire.

Yet less than half a month later:

All the cattle had died, and the farmland's fertility was completely drained.

It turned out she refused to hire experienced hands, insisting her ghoul subordinates handle everything.

Yaozhidao ， Tashoulishizhishishigui ， Qizhishizidaibingjundeshuren ， Zaijiashangyuanbenshishiguidebingyiguanghuan ， Nengyangchengjiuyouguile 。

Thus, the farm suffered heavy financial losses.

The ghoul wept bitterly, though the tears might have been corpse fluid.

That same day, she stripped naked before Luo De, knelt with her buttocks raised, begging for punishment—apparently believing the rumor spread by the banshee Krist that "Master likes spanking."

Pan Ni's attitude toward admitting fault was decent enough; Luo De had no intention of actually whipping her.

He merely slapped her buttocks twice.

For some reason, Pan Ni felt a faint sense of disappointment.

Luo De issued a verbal warning: if she lost more money, she'd be locked in solitary confinement—with no food or water.

The ghoul wasn't so bad; at least she was still on the right path, enduring hardship.

The banshee Krist, however, had gone off-track.

She somehow learned the concept of "farm + haunted house + family day trip."

Before the farm's core operations were even established, she diverted half the startup capital: a small portion for setting up haunted house ambiance, the bulk spent on advertising across various newspapers.

Initially, this created the illusion of booming business—but when visitors discovered the reality didn't match the hype, they angrily demanded refunds.

Krist, unwilling to lose money, resorted to her old bullying tactics, attempting to intimidate and threaten tourists.

Then Luo De happened to return.

Luo De sought long-term, sustainable growth; he despised such fraudulent advertising.

All ticket fees had been refunded, travel expenses reimbursed.

The banshee Krist received twenty lashes and was locked in a dark underground cell built by the ghoul Pan Ni.

This creature had strayed too far from the righteous path; Luo De decided she'd wash clothes for a while.

As for Pan Ni's ghoul subordinates—their plagues and toxins:

He had entrusted the elf Kali Site to find a solution.

The elf herself was becoming a problem; he'd asked her for help too often lately.

Though she only complained verbally, perhaps repaying a debt for saving her life, Luo De could not remain ungrateful.

Kali Site was an elf of the restrained faction.

It was hard to tell her preferences; he could only give her a little of everything.

One night:

After giving Tally her dinner and organizing his gear, Luo De set out for the flawless crystal ground within the abandoned labyrinth of Double Finger Mountain.

"Mr. Luo De, Miss Tally, you're here!"

The winged crystal sprite Siti waved from afar.

Recently, the elf Falshad had written, fully prepared to launch a final assault on the demon nest here, inviting Luo De to assist.

Seeing how seriously he took it, Luo De arrived early.

The dazzling night sky of the flawless crystal ground made it as bright as day.

"Please wait a moment; Mr. Falshad and the others haven't arrived yet," Siti said.

He looked hesitant, as if wanting to speak but holding back.

"What's wrong?"

"Ah, this is it—didn't you two try to cure a diseased crystal tree before you left last time?"

"Ah, actually, didn't you, Mr. Luo De, try to treat a diseased crystal tree the last time you left?"

The sprite Siti continued: "Recently, it's changed a bit. Our stone spirits can't make sense of it, so we wanted to ask your tree spirit companion. But since she isn't here today, never mind."

The little fairy Xiti continued: "Recently, it has undergone some change; our Stone Spirits couldn't discern the cause, so we wanted to ask your tree spirit companion. But since she isn't here today, never mind."

On one hand, Luo De thought there were no real plants in the flawless crystal ground, so the tree spirit's power might be limited—he hadn't brought her along.

On the other hand, Vivian was a girl who never lied.

Just like Luo De's training euphemisms with the girls:

With the succubus Tally: dining.

With the estrus half-deer Xiao Ke: learning to cook.

With the orc Amy: training inner muscles.

But if anyone asked Vivian what she and Luo De were doing, she'd bluntly say two words: training.

Last time chatting with the elf Kali Site, she'd almost revealed meeting Falshad.

The three moved to the enhanced crystal tree.

Now, the humanoid form atop the tree had grown a full size larger, and human-like details had become increasingly clear.

Meanwhile, the surrounding crystal trees showed signs of decay and withering.

The other crystal trees surrounding it showed signs of decay and withering.

After all, this tree had spawned 【Cunning Exploitation】.

Yet Siti seemed delighted.

He flew to a withered tree.

"Look, Mr. Luo De! The mutation has weakened!"

"Indeed, but it's still decaying."

"No! The winged crystals can sense the crystal's condition—I can clearly feel the mutation rapidly fading. If it vanishes completely, we can save the tree, Mr. Luo De! This means the flawless crystal ground can be saved—if you're willing to help again."

"Different! The Winged Crystal Clan can sense what's inside the crystals—I can clearly feel the distortion rapidly receding. If it disappears completely, we can save the tree, Mr. Luo De! This means the Flawless Crystal Ground can be saved—if you're willing to lend your aid once more."

The randomness of 【Growth Essence】 was too great; it was hard to replicate the same skill.

But he'd accumulated quite a bit lately; trying wouldn't hurt.

He spent 16 points, excluding the initial stable 【Essence Potential】, enhancing eight trees total.

The results: 【Intermediate Dance】, 【Hardness】, 【Turn Red】, 【Self-Detonate】, and 【Mud Entanglement】.

Siti noticed these differed from the No. crystal tree, and could only reluctantly give up.

Xiti also noticed these differences from the No. 1 crystal tree, and reluctantly gave up.

(End of Chapter)