"This isn't bone ash, is it?" said Xu Heti, laughing uncertainly .

No matter how he looked at it, the stuff in the urn just looked like a pile of bone ash .

"It's not just bone ash . It's ash derived from the bones of Ghoul-type monsters," said Lin Xinrui matter-of-factly . She then opened the urn and began powdering her combat uniform with the urn's contents . She even put some on the backs of her hands and her cheeks .

Xu Heti's face spasmed as he did the same thing on his own body . Even if the ash wasn't human, it still gave him gooseb.u.mps .

Still, he rubbed the Ghoul powder across his body all the same .

They then applied the bone ash to some of their familiars . In doing so, they used up the two urns of bone ash in Lin Xinrui's backpack .

"Let's pick up the pace . The bone ash only lasts for four hours . When those four hours are up, it loses its effectiveness . "

The three humans and five familiars began moving forward at top speed . The surrounding scenery grew more desolate . The vegetation on the ground became more spa.r.s.e, and the dark red earth beneath their feet seemed to be soaked with blood .

After a while, they came upon a clump of tall blood-red gra.s.s . Even their roots were the same shade of red . On the tips of the blades were tufts of black hair .

"Hemoblade Satintail Gra.s.s . They sell for around ten Alliance credits," said Lin Xinrui, as she bent forward to pick up a clump of gra.s.s and place it carefully in her backpack .

The other high-level combat officer who had followed them all the way there looked greedily at Lin Xinrui's haul . That's at least 100,000 Alliance dollars . This place is practically a gold mine .

Rather than rejoicing over her good fortune, Lin Xinrui looked at her surroundings warily . "There's much more to this place than meets the eye . "

"What makes you say that?" asked the high-level combat officer .

"There's treasure just sitting here untouched . Why hasn't anyone come to claim it? There's only one explanation: this place is much more dangerous than it seems," said Lin Xinrui, glancing back at him . Her gaze swept across her surroundings once more .

This was true . The people of Gao Ping city rarely came to Changping village . Only the desperate would be foolish enough to go that far for fame and fortune .

When Lin Xinrui became a World Hunter, she had trained herself to constantly be alert to her surroundings and never let her guard down for even a second . Danger could be lurking in any corner . Even a seemingly innocuous plant growing out of the sidewalk could be the appendage of a highly toxic Plant-type monster .

The place they were standing in just then wasn't exactly a boundless stretch of wasteland . All around them were hills and valleys undulating into the distance . Bunches of gnarly trees grew as they pleased, their branches twisted into the claws of ravenous beasts . Crows were perched atop the branches motionless like statues . Each of them had three legs and burning red eyes .

The branches waved about like ghostly limbs in the wind .

Squawk—

A s.h.i.+ver ran down all three of their spines . They turned around to see a crow take off into the air and fly circles above a withered tree .

After a while, it landed back on the tree branch, where it then remained, motionless .

Every now and then, they saw the same curious scene in their path .

A gentle downward slope came up before them . A stone tablet was planted in front of it . The words "Changping Village" had been carved onto it .

"We're almost there," said Xu Heti quietly, looking warily at his surroundings .

"This bone ash of yours is really effective . The previous two teams were attacked multiple times on this stretch of road . Who knew we would be able to reach here safely?" he added .

They began walking down the slope . Looking out from the high ground, they could vaguely see rows of houses concealed amid a forest of lush trees in front of them . Their dark green leaves were stacked on top of one another, making it hard to see what was beneath them .

Suddenly, a bony claw erupted from the ground and grabbed ahold of Xu Heti's ankle .

The Golden Dazzling Light Boxing Champion Kangaroo's eyes lit up . It raised its right foot and slammed it down on the claw .

Bam!

The bony claw instantly disintegrated .

The kangaroo stuck its foot deep into the ground until a dull boom sounded beneath them . All this happened in the blink of an eye . It was over before any of them could take a breath .

"Be careful now . We're only hiding our presence with the Ghoul powder . . . The monsters here can still sense us if we're too close . "

"Go back, go back…" From the distance came long, low wails that echoed across the empty wasteland .

Leaves rustled as a fierce wind howled across the ground .

The clang of steel and the clop of hooves could be heard in the fierce wind . A few moments later, a troop of ghostly blue soldiers in leather armor carrying dagger-axes in their hands pa.s.sed through the forest from the west to the east .

"These must be the ghost soldiers," said Lin Xinrui, furrowing her brows . She then ordered the others to hide . Even though this was her second encounter with these ghostly ent.i.ties, she still had no idea what their abilities were .

Better safe than sorry, she thought . There were too many of these ghost soldiers . Lin Xinrui estimated that there had to be more than a thousand of them at the very least .

"Thousand-Year Heart of Darkness, Commander Bone, Flames of Darkness . " Lin Xinrui silently repeated to herself the names and characteristics of the items that they had been ordered to find .

She had no idea how Gao Peng had come across such information . She had never heard of these items, let alone the strange ways to collect them .

"The Commander Bone and the Thousand-Year Heart of Darkness can be found at the center of the village . However, the Flames of Darkness sp.a.w.n randomly . We may even find them outside the village . Let's start searching the vicinity . If we don't find anything in an hour, we'll just have to move our search to the center of the village . "

Forty minutes later, the three saw the Flames of Darkness floating in a pit not too far away . The blue flames bobbed in the air like fog .

The flames were a dark blue in the middle and a shade of light blue at the periphery .

Around the flames stood three withered trees in a triangle . In order to get to the flames, one would have to break through the three gnarled trees .

"Let's finish this quickly," said Xu Heti to his kangaroo . As a gentleman, there was no way he would let Lin Xinrui's familiar put itself in harm's way first .

The Golden Dazzling Light Boxing Champion Kangaroo narrowed its eyes at the three withered trees around the Flames of Darkness and the crows perched atop their branches .

Reluctantly, it hopped forward .

It began to move faster and faster as it bounced up and down on the b.a.l.l.s of its feet . Then it propelled itself forward in a flash of golden light!

Its long, thick tail swayed about behind it, keeping it stabilized as it sprinted forward . Its feet and tail now formed the three points of a triangle beneath it .

The kangaroo took a great step forward with its left foot . Its tail drooped to the ground while its right foot aligned itself behind the kangaroo . Dirt sprayed up into the air as it stamped its left foot on the ground .

With its left foot firmly planted on the ground, it powerfully swung its right foot around .

Boom!

One of the withered trees exploded upon impact . Shards of its bark were sent flying into the air .

This isnt bone ash, is it? said Xu Heti, laughing uncertainly . No matter how he looked at it, the stuff in the urn just looked like a pile of bone ash . Its not just bone ash . Its ash derived from the bones of Ghoul-type monsters, said Lin Xinrui matter-of-factly . She then opened the urn and began powdering her combat uniform with the urns contents . She even put some on the backs of her hands and her cheeks . Xu Hetis face spasmed as he did the same thing on his own body . Even if the ash wasnt human, it still gave him gooseb.u.mps . Still, he rubbed the Ghoul powder across his body all the same . They then applied the bone ash to some of their familiars . In doing so, they used up the two urns of bone ash in Lin Xinruis backpack . Lets pick up the pace . The bone ash only lasts for four hours . When those four hours are up, it loses its effectiveness . The three humans and five familiars began moving forward at top speed . The surrounding scenery grew more desolate . The vegetation on the ground became more spa.r.s.e, and the dark red earth beneath their feet seemed to be soaked with blood . After a while, they came upon a clump of tall blood-red gra.s.s . Even their roots were the same shade of red . On the tips of the blades were tufts of black hair . Hemoblade Satintail Gra.s.s . They sell for around ten Alliance credits, said Lin Xinrui, as she bent forward to pick up a clump of gra.s.s and place it carefully in her backpack . The other high-level combat officer who had followed them all the way there looked greedily at Lin Xinruis haul . Thats at least 100,000 Alliance dollars . This place is practically a gold mine . Rather than rejoicing over her good fortune, Lin Xinrui looked at her surroundings warily . Theres much more to this place than meets the eye . What makes you say that? asked the high-level combat officer . Theres treasure just sitting here untouched . Why hasnt anyone come to claim it? Theres only one explanation: this place is much more dangerous than it seems, said Lin Xinrui, glancing back at him . Her gaze swept across her surroundings once more . This was true . The people of Gao Ping city rarely came to Changping village . Only the desperate would be foolish enough to go that far for fame and fortune . When Lin Xinrui became a World Hunter, she had trained herself to constantly be alert to her surroundings and never let her guard down for even a second . Danger could be lurking in any corner . Even a seemingly innocuous plant growing out of the sidewalk could be the appendage of a highly toxic Plant-type monster . The place they were standing in just then wasnt exactly a boundless stretch of wasteland . All around them were hills and valleys undulating into the distance . Bunches of gnarly trees grew as they pleased, their branches twisted into the claws of ravenous beasts . Crows were perched atop the branches motionless like statues . Each of them had three legs and burning red eyes The branches waved about like ghostly limbs in the wind . Squawk— A s.h.i.+ver ran down all three of their spines . They turned around to see a crow take off into the air and fly circles above a withered tree . After a while, it landed back on the tree branch, where it then remained, motionless . Every now and then, they saw the same curious scene in their path . A gentle downward slope came up before them . A stone tablet was planted in front of it . The words Changping Village had been carved onto it . Were almost there, said Xu Heti quietly, looking warily at his surroundings . This bone ash of yours is really effective . The previous two teams were attacked multiple times on this stretch of road . Who knew we would be able to reach here safely? he added . They began walking down the slope . Looking out from the high ground, they could vaguely see rows of houses concealed amid a forest of lush trees in front of them . Their dark green leaves were stacked on top of one another, making it hard to see what was beneath them . Suddenly, a bony claw erupted from the ground and grabbed ahold of Xu Hetis ankle . The Golden Dazzling Light Boxing Champion Kangaroos eyes lit up . It raised its right foot and slammed it down on the claw . Bam! The bony claw instantly disintegrated . The kangaroo stuck its foot deep into the ground until a dull boom sounded beneath them . All this happened in the blink of an eye . It was over before any of them could take a breath . Be careful now . Were only hiding our presence with the Ghoul powder . The monsters here can still sense us if were too close . Go back, go back… From the distance came long, low wails that echoed across the empty wasteland . Leaves rustled as a fierce wind howled across the ground . The clang of steel and the clop of hooves could be heard in the fierce wind . A few moments later, a troop of ghostly blue soldiers in leather armor carrying dagger-axes in their hands pa.s.sed through the forest from the west to the east . These must be the ghost soldiers, said Lin Xinrui, furrowing her brows . She then ordered the others to hide . Even though this was her second encounter with these ghostly ent.i.ties, she still had no idea what their abilities were . Better safe than sorry, she thought . There were too many of these ghost soldiers . Lin Xinrui estimated that there had to be more than a thousand of them at the very least . Thousand-Year Heart of Darkness, Commander Bone, Flames of Darkness . Lin Xinrui silently repeated to herself the names and characteristics of the items that they had been ordered to find . She had no idea how Gao Peng had come across such information . She had never heard of these items, let alone the strange ways to collect them . The Commander Bone and the Thousand-Year Heart of Darkness can be found at the center of the village . However, the Flames of Darkness sp.a.w.n randomly . We may even find them outside the village . Lets start searching the vicinity . If we dont find anything in an hour, well just have to move our search to the center of the village . Forty minutes later, the three saw the Flames of Darkness floating in a pit not too far away . The blue flames bobbed in the air like fog . The flames were a dark blue in the middle and a shade of light blue at the periphery . Around the flames stood three withered trees in a triangle . In order to get to the flames, one would have to break through the three gnarled trees . Lets finish this quickly, said Xu Heti to his kangaroo . As a gentleman, there was no way he would let Lin Xinruis familiar put itself in harms way first . The Golden Dazzling Light Boxing Champion Kangaroo narrowed its eyes at the three withered trees around the Flames of Darkness and the crows perched atop their branches . Reluctantly, it hopped forward . It began to move faster and faster as it bounced up and down on the b.a.l.l.s of its feet . Then it propelled itself forward in a flash of golden light! Its long, thick tail swayed about behind it, keeping it stabilized as it sprinted forward . Its feet and tail now formed the three points of a triangle beneath it . The kangaroo took a great step forward with its left foot . Its tail drooped to the ground while its right foot aligned itself behind the kangaroo . Dirt sprayed up into the air as it stamped its left foot on the ground . With its left foot firmly planted on the ground, it powerfully swung its right foot around . Boom! One of the withered trees exploded upon impact . Shards of its bark were sent flying into the air .