The night sky was extraordinarily clear in the wild. The moonlight shone upon the woods as the willows danced to the breeze, causing the shadows to sway slightly. The water of the river flickered like diamonds as its surface reflected the bright radiance of the moon.
Clothing releasing a faint fragrance had been placed beside the river, consisting of various colors and elegant styles. Some were made of muslin, or lace, and were either close-fitting, or loose…
In the river under the moonlight, maidens who looked like night elves were splashing the water onto their bare and flawless skin, resulting in quite a spectacular view. The occasional giggle embellished the silent woods.
The clear water of the river flowed steadily by. It felt great despite being quite cold.
“Are you tired of your life!” Suddenly, an icy voice echoed in the woods, before a shadow moved aside rapidly.
“AH! AH!”
Zhao Mingyue, Bai Tingting, Mu Nujiao, Qingqing, and the rest of the women immediately dropped into the water while scanning the surroundings with sharp looks.
“What’s going on?” Song Xia, who was helping the girls keep an eye out, hurried her way over with a confused expression.
“Someone’s there.”
“It’s the energy of the Shadow Element!”
“Who has the Shadow Element?”
“Peng Liang, it must be him!”
——
The guys were still chatting around the campfire, telling each other what they had encountered in the past. In simpler words, they were boasting.
A moment later, the girls appeared with long faces, as if their eyes could penetrate one’s heart.
“Who was that just then?” Song Xia cut straight to the point. She pointed at the men and snapped furiously.
“Who could it be? There’s only one person with the Shadow Element in our group…” Qingqing glared at Peng Liang.
Peng Liang’s face turned pale. He immediately rose to his feet and explained, “I didn’t. I was only at the woods. I didn’t even have the chance to get close to the river. I didn’t see anything.”
“Oh Peng Liang, I never thought you were that kind of a person. I’m embarrassed to call you a teammate!” Zhao Manting uttered a cough and said with a stern look.
“Zhao Manting, you…” Peng Liang suddenly felt like he had been betrayed.
Just a moment ago, every guy was jealous that he had the chance to enjoy a spectacular view. Who knew that they would all turn their backs and act like they were gentlemen when the girls found out!
Peng Liang had no choice, but to admit it.
He admitted that he did have the intention, but he swore that he did not manage to take a peek, as he did not even get to see the river.
“Forget it, Song Xia was looking out for us, too. He was probably just running around in the woods.”
“Humph, what a scum!”
“Pervert!”
“Hypocrite!”
The ladies furiously returned to their tents. The men surrounding the campfire nodded their heads quickly, totally hanging Peng Liang out to dry right until the end.
Peng Liang suddenly felt his life was over. He felt like crying, but there were no tears.
—
The dispute was soon settled. The young men took turns as watchmen for the group as everyone began to go to bed.
“Mo Fan, where were you just then?” Mo Fan and Zhao Manting were the first up on duty. Zhao Manting suddenly recalled that Mo Fan did leave for a moment during the previous dispute.
“I am used to being on alert all the time, so I was just patrolling nearby,” Mo Fan said with a stern look.
“Oh, is that so… If I’m not mistaken, I remember that you do have a Shadow Element equipment.” Zhao Manting raised his brows and blurted out in an indifferent manner.
Mo Fan coughed awkwardly, as he initially thought his plan was executed perfectly. Unfortunately, the pervert Zhao Manting had already read his mind.
“How was it? Who had the best physique?” Zhao Manting’s eyes flickered. Even though he did not have the chance to witness it with his own eyes, he could still imagine it in his mind through Mo Fan’s description.
“I can now tell you that, Mu Nujiao is indeed a D.”
“Holy crap, are you for real? I mean, look at her, it’s already unbelievable if she had C. If you’re telling me she’s a D, tsk tsk tsk!”
“There’s something you won’t even think of,” Mo Fan said with a mysterious tone.
“What is it? Hurry up and say it!” Zhao Manting was utterly excited.
“The biggest ones are Bai Tingting’s.”
“Oh my, that chick has been hiding them well. It does suit her Element!”
“How about Mu Ningxue, she must be hot? I can tell she’s a beauty among all just by looking at her skin and her collar bones.”
“I didn’t get to see it. Her perception was stronger than I thought. Luckily, I had Peng Liang to be the scapegoat.”
——
Outside the tents, a figure moved rapidly in the woods in a seemingly anxious manner.
When the person went into the woods, the sound of water dripping to the ground was heard. Zhao Manting who was patrolling around went up and asked, and it turned out to be someone getting up from sleep to take a leak.
The person did not return to his tent straight away after finishing his business. His hidden eyes glanced carefully in Zhao Manting’s direction before hiding behind a tree.
The figure slowly took out a glowing pen-shaped object and buried it in the ground.
The figure then pretended to be half-asleep while returning to the tent with a yawn.
——
As the night grew late, the campfire had already died. Six tents, each having the capacity of three people stood quietly on the grass. The place fell into a dead silence as the chirps of the birds and bugs disappeared.
Zhao Manting was in charge of patrolling, while Mo Fan kept an eye from high up.
Mo Fan slouched above a tree branch among the woods. Since he could capture any strange movement with his Shadow Element, he did not need to rely on his eyes.
“I wonder if I can refine a Soul Essence from the Soul Remnants I’ve collected…” Mo Fan murmured.
He had come out from the tunnel last because he was looting the Soul Remnants from the dead Cavern Slaves!
Over a hundred of green glowing dots were floating above the Spiritual River inside the Little Loach Pendant. They remained at their own spots without budging, so it was hard to tell if they were condensing.
“Is it because there aren’t enough of them? More than a hundred Soul Remnants were not enough to refine a Soul Essence?”
“Oh? They’re condensing!”
Mo Fan was overjoyed when he saw the Soul Remnants he had collected finally showed some reaction. A white gaseous substance seemed to be clumping them together.
They began to collide into each other within the white mist.
Each collision would cause two glowing dots to merge into one, with a brighter glow.
Over a hundred of glowing dots suddenly turned into just a tad over fifty, which began to collide with one another once again…
The same process repeated continuously. Just as Mo Fan was trying to imagine what would happen if they were an odd number of Soul Remnants, a relatively bright Soul Remnant began to devour the Soul Remnants nearby. It ended up consuming all the remaining seven or eight Soul Remnants!
Following that, the initial cloudy-looking glow of the Soul Remnant began to peel open, revealing a bright firefly-like glow under the layer!
It’s a Soul Essence! I managed to refine a Soul Essence!, Mo Fan burst out screaming in silent joy in his heart.
Mo Fan immediately directed the Servant-class Soul Essence to the second star of his Lightning Nebula, instantly upgrading it.
“Five more to go, and my Lightning Strike will rank up to the fourth tier! I wonder what it’s going to look like… I suppose only a few magicians would actually try to upgrade it to the fourth tier. Tsk tsk, how exciting!”