Versatile Mage

“About thirty kilometers ahead is the Mingwu Ancient City. However, I didn’t expect this area to be almost submerged in seawater,” said Big Sister Ruan, pointing to the muddy ground in front.

On the ground, the tall and lush reeds, cattails, and lotus flowers all grew tall and sturdy. The tape grass and algae covered the whole pond, and the silt was almost invisible. Before they knew it, everyone was surrounded by the dampness and the plants. The mud beneath their feet made it difficult to move freely.The road ahead was covered by the numerous reeds and cattails. It looked like a sea of grass. They could not see anything even half a meter in front of them.

There were faint noises, and roars, all around which was followed by dense silence. It made them uncomfortable. Pushing the reeds aside every time was always followed by alert and bated breath. They were scared of what they might find there.

“This place should have only been abandoned for a year or two, how could it become so primitive all of a sudden?” Mo Fan also felt something was wrong.

The more complex and denser the ecology, the more dangerous it was. Even Mo Fan could not guarantee his group’s safety. It was a worrisome revelation that even his dragon sense could not see through the disguises of some of these hybrid monsters. Being blocked in this way was disadvantageous, especially if one of them fell behind.

“Can’t we just use magic to cut them all?” Big Sister Ying said impatiently.

“There are still so many kilometers to go. The plants are so thick, and their leaves and rhizomes seem to be stronger than before. It is impossible for us to cut all of them off even if we use up all our magic energy.” Big Sister Ruan shook her head.

It was indeed like a deep ocean of plants. Even if they had excellent magic skills, it wasn’t enough to cut all of the plants and dry the land to clear a path.

“You go to the front and trample on them to create a path.” Mo Fan let Copper-horned Yak venture ahead of them.

The reeds and rushes were covered with small thorns. They were no longer from the original species. The seeds had probably mixed with poisonous plants to make up these hybrids. Thorns grew everywhere on the rhizomes. Their toughness was equal to bamboo strips. If they were swept aside with too much force, they snapped back sharply.

When traveling, the Mages could not use magic endlessly. It was even more difficult for the girls to walk in this forest with dense aquatic grass. Several of them already had cuts and bruises on their skin.

Copper-horned Yak’s skin was rough and thick. Mo Fan sent it forward so that it could clear a way. It could withstand the cuts from the reeds. But that meant the girls won’t get to take tums and rest on it. Mo Fan had thought of summoning Copper-horned Yaks to flatten these reeds, but he gave up on the idea.

In the eyes of Viscera Hunters and other ferocious Ocean Demons, Copper-horned Yaks were also delicious food. It was better not to summon too many Copper-horned Yaks and attract these demons.

“We didn’t lose the way, did we?” Mo Fan said with concern.

The expanse of wetlands around the Mingwu Ancient City were surrounded by dense aquatic plants. Maybe the whole city was submerged in the sea of these aquatic plants. If they lost their way, Mo Fan was worried that they might get trapped here for months.

“This is the right direction,” assured Big Sister Yuan. “But it still seems too dangerous for us. If a monster suddenly appears out of the reeds, we will be caught off guard. It will be difficult to defend ourselves.”

She had not expected the journey this time to be far more difficult than before. This place wasn’t like this a year or two before.

“Can you hear that sound?” Mo Fan asked.

“I can hear it. When these giant reeds sway, they produce that sound. It’s a very strange rhythm, it almost sounds like a chime. It stops when there is no wind. Whenever a strong gust of wind blows, that sound interferes with my hearing.” Big Sister Ruan said to Mo Fan.

There was helplessness and hope in her eyes. She felt helpless in saving her girls if a stronger monster attacked but hoped Mo Fan would help them.

“You instruct them to walk hand in hand. No matter what we encounter, tell them not to panic and wander off. I will try all I can but if they lose their way in these reeds, there is nothing much I can do,” he said.

“Alright,” said Big Sister Ruan with a curt nod.

…

There were many other plants in the damp mud. Whenever they stepped on it, it wrapped around their ankles. The more they walked towards the Mingwu Ancient City, the denser the plants became.

“My feet are entangled again! Can someone help me?”

“Hey, Bing Tong, don’t walk so fast. We can’t keep up.”

“Big Sister, I want to pee… I can’t hold it back anymore.”

“Ah! Something is swimming around my feet! It is a water snake!”

Mo Fan frowned. This place was far from silent. His dragon sense had detected creatures with strong aura. They seemed to sense his aura too, so they kept their distance.

But these girls from Licheng Afterglow Island were too young. They were inexperienced. He wondered why their teacher would send them for practice in such a dangerous place full of monsters.

“I think it’s better for us to fly over directly. It’s not safe here anymore,” said Mo Fan to Big Sister Ruan. He felt like something bad was going to happen if they don’t leave fast enough.

“But what about their practice?” asked Big Sister Ruan.

“It’s too dangerous here for practice. The risk factor exceeds even some red zones. If we go a little further, we might be able to find other people heading that way,” said Mo Fan.

“Ah… it’s better to leave then. Is there a way you can transport us all at once?” asked Big Sister Ruan. She was not going to leave any of her girls behind.

“I can summon some flying beasts,” Mo Fan said.

“Okay. I, too, think this place is getting stranger by the minute.”

…

Mo Fan was searching the summoned beast plane for some flying beasts for the journey when he heard screaming. He stopped immediately and switched to Chaos Element.

The palm of his hand had a knife-print. A muddled dark aura exuded from the back of his hand. He narrowed his eyes and flicked his palm. The Chaos Element blade swept over the giant reeds and cut them off. A half-moon grass sinkhole appeared in the sea of giant reeds.

The girls of Licheng Afterglow Island exclaimed. They had never expected that Mo Fan’s wave could actually clear such a large area in one sweep.

“Moo… Moo…”

At the end of the grass sinkhole, the Copper-horned Yak lay in the muddy water. Its body was covered with blood, and its abdomen slashed. Its intestines spilled out. It was on the verge of death.

The predator which had struck the Copper-horned Yak fled into the dense reed startled by Mo Fan’s attack. Mo Fan only had time enough to apply a Darkness Seal to it, but he was unable to kill it at that instant!