Chapter 63: Entering the Isle of Mist!

At present, the only thing reminiscent of the Dark Plateau was the mist drifting all around. But this mist was thin—compared to the dense fog in the Forest of Clouds, where visibility was near zero, it was hardly worth mentioning. After summoning Rebel to investigate, Wang Chen could also confirm that the mist here had no debuff effects. By comparison, this place felt more like a family-friendly campsite.

And low risk usually meant low reward. Lame—utterly lame—he felt as if he’d wasted half a million. Wang Chen clicked his tongue in distaste.

Suddenly, a sharp, piercing screech rang out. Wang Chen turned toward the sound. A large cat was staring him down, its body arched, fur bristling like a wildcat ready to attack, its stripes a riot of color.

A flash of violet gleamed in Wang Chen’s eyes, and the beast’s information appeared in his mind.

[Brindled Cat, lv15]

“Now this is more like it. To run into a silver-tier beast the moment I arrive—truly worthy of a platinum-tier secret realm,” Wang Chen nodded in satisfaction.

To this intruder, who showed not a trace of tension, the Brindled Cat felt its authority gravely challenged.

“Meowr—!” it yowled, lunging at Wang Chen. Its previously crouched body sprang forth like a drawn bow suddenly released, propelling it with such force that it left blurred afterimages in its wake.

A spark flashed at Wang Chen’s fingertips, and the Forest Gale appeared in his palm. He made no move to attack, simply waiting for the Brindled Cat to come at him. The beast couldn’t fathom his behavior, assuming he was paralyzed with fear.

With a flick of its claws, it leapt high, aiming straight for Wang Chen.

That was when Wang Chen acted. He gripped the Forest Gale, and a heavy wave of light fell from the staff’s tip, sinking into the ground.

Instantly, the solid earth rippled as if a stone had been tossed into a lake. A massive rocky hand burst from below, seizing the Brindled Cat—each thick finger brimming with power.

By now, it was too late for the Brindled Cat to dodge. In fact, it was its own high leap that sealed its fate. If it hadn’t underestimated Wang Chen because of his stillness, it would have still been circling on the ground, able to change its movement. But now, suspended in midair, it could only flail with claws and fangs, eyes wide as it fell helplessly into the stony grip.

“Crack, crack, crack—” The Brindled Cat’s bones made a nauseating crunch as the stone hand squeezed tight.

[Brindled Cat slain. 300 experience gained.]

At the sound of the prompt, Wang Chen waved the Forest Gale, dismissing the stone hand.

“Felines are supposed to be highly agile beasts, but perhaps it was a bit too confident in its speed, so it attacked without reservation,” Wang Chen mused, shaking his head. “Still, compared to the Bone Serpent’s rapid strikes, its speed is sorely lacking.”

That thought brought him up short.

“This isn’t the first time I’ve felt that way—thinking a beast’s movements are too slow.” He furrowed his brow, trying to recall.

“That’s right, yesterday in the virtual realm, when I fought that black panther, I thought it was too slow as well.” Something felt off to him.

But on second thought, the Bone Serpent was a gold-tier beast; it was only natural that two silver-tier beasts couldn’t match its speed.

He set the issue aside for now and continued on alert, making his way deeper into the realm.

…

Along the way, Wang Chen advanced with frequent stops, searching for gold-tier beasts and dispatching any silver-tier obstacles he encountered. With each step, his level steadily rose—before he knew it, he had reached Transcendence Level 13.

“Looking at it this way, the admission ticket was worth it. Mist Island is crawling with silver-tier beasts, and they’re nowhere near as troublesome as the Dark Guardians—easy pickings for leveling up,” Wang Chen thought.

“I just wonder how long I’ll have to walk before I run into a gold-tier beast. It’s been half a day without a single sighting; I’d better not fail my mission because of this.”

Even so, Wang Chen knew he must be getting close to a gold-tier beast, as the number of silver-tier encounters was steadily decreasing.

His instructor had told them that beasts were highly territorial. The higher the beast’s level, the stronger its sense of territory, and the larger the area it claimed. With the exception of some pack beasts, a single gold-tier beast typically dominated an entire region. Fewer silver-tier beasts around meant he was drawing closer to gold-tier territory.

Of course, there was one exception: utterly barren zones, where going a whole day without meeting a single beast was perfectly normal.

Sure enough, just as Wang Chen approached a patch of forest, he heard a soft rustling.

He stopped at once, alert. The sound was faint—almost like the wind brushing over leaves—but it caught his attention.

He gripped the Forest Gale, emerald light glinting in his eyes.

“Leaf Veil (Reversed).”

A greenish-blue radiance swept through the forest ahead, then returned to merge into Wang Chen’s eyes.

A most peculiar vision unfolded in his mind: all colors were muted, outlines blurred, but every moving creature was marked vividly, glowing scarlet and standing out starkly against the dim background.

He instantly recognized the bright red outline as himself.

At the same time, his own normal vision persisted in his mind, allowing him to cross-reference and confirm the source of the vision.

A sound like rushing water emanated from the tip of the Forest Gale.

“Wave Dragon Strike!”

A bullet of water shot from the staff’s tip, moving so fast it stretched into the shape of a sinuous dragon.

“Bang!”

The Wave Dragon Strike slammed into the dense canopy of a large tree.

A furious, guttural hiss sounded, and a black shadow tumbled from the treetop, writhing in pain.

Wang Chen narrowed his eyes. It was a giant python, eight or nine meters long, its entire body a brilliant flame-red, its belly and tail thick enough to swallow three men stacked atop one another.

“Seriously, how did a beast this huge manage to hide up in a tree?” Wang Chen was speechless. If he hadn’t used a skill, he’d have had a hard time spotting this python.

If someone wandered into the woods unprepared, the python would probably drop down and swallow them whole.

The giant python showed no interest in conversation; coiling its body, it concealed the wound left by the Wave Dragon Strike and glared at Wang Chen, tongue flickering menacingly.

“Fine, let’s wrap this up quickly—I’m on a schedule,” Wang Chen muttered, violet light flashing in his eyes as the python’s information appeared.

[Canopy Flame Python, lv21]

[Skill One: Canopy Mimicry. As a python species that dwells long-term in treetops, it faces many natural enemies before reaching adulthood. Thus, it evolved a form of mimicry.]

[This mimicry does not rely on body shape or color, but on the release of a hallucinogenic compound that causes other creatures to “overlook” its existence, achieving the effect of camouflage.]

“Impressive—calling it mimicry when it’s clearly just an illusion,” Wang Chen snarked inwardly.

[Skill Two: Blazing Flame. This python has a cavity in its abdomen for storing combustible gases produced by digestion. By compressing its belly and expelling the gas to ignite it, it can unleash a devastating blast of flame.]