Following.
The Fengmen Zombie did not beat around the bush, recounting how it was saved by Avatar and how Avatar ignored the Corpse Tide Mist. It then looked at the Old Corpse Herder and asked, "Do you think any zombie can resist the Corpse Tide Mist?"
The Old Corpse Herder did not answer, but instead asked, "Fengmen Zombie, were you affected by the Corpse Tide Mist?"
"Yes, if I had stayed a few more minutes, I would have lost my mind."
"As far as I know, the type of zombie that can resist the Corpse Tide Mist should be the Iron Coffin Zombie, which is you. The physical strength of the Iron Coffin Zombie is the strongest I know. Unless it's a Han Ba, Iron Coffins are unmatched. But you said you were affected."
At this point, the Old Corpse Herder paused, looked at the Fengmen Zombie, and his meaning was clear: "Then no other zombie should be unaffected, unless that is not a zombie..."
As he spoke, everyone was stunned, and the Lin Gu Master was also taken aback, unable to help but say, "Mr. Old Corpse Herder? You mean... Avatar is not a zombie? It's a creature?"
The Old Corpse Herder did not commit, saying, "The Corpse Tide Mist can cause any creature that inhales it to become corpse-like. Zombies are the most easily affected because, theoretically, Han Ba itself is a zombie, and the highest-ranking type. It can suppress its own kind to a certain extent, but even the Iron Coffin was affected. Unless Avatar is a more powerful zombie than the Iron Coffin Zombie."
For a moment, everyone was dumbfounded and looked at the Fengmen Zombie in unison.
In response, the Fengmen Zombie saw what everyone was thinking and said leisurely, "I don't know if Avatar is a zombie. To be honest, its behavior is indeed different from other zombies. We all seemed to assume that the 'people' appearing in the Yunnan Worm Valley were all zombies, and we subconsciously assumed Avatar was a zombie. It might not be a zombie."
As he spoke, everyone's expressions were strange, and they all had a peculiar thought. Huang Xiaodan also couldn't help but say, "This Yunnan Worm Valley is so strange, it can even breed an Avatar. Damn, a world-class discovery! We've found a new species."
Seeing that everyone's interest had been piqued by Avatar, and even the Lin Gu Master had rekindled the idea of capturing Avatar, with the Old Corpse Herder rubbing his hands by the side, Zhang Wei's mouth twitched. Fearing that they would actually try to capture Avatar, he raised his hand and said, "Stop discussing it. Let's treat the Fengmen Zombie's injuries first. We are still some distance from the depths of Yunnan, and now is not the time to talk about these things."
Mentioning the depths of Yunnan, everyone's attention was drawn: "We were so focused on waiting for the Fengmen Zombie that we almost forgot about this. Where are we now?"
"We've been walking in the Corpse Tide Mist, and we don't even know where we are."
"Let's send a drone up to see where we are. Hopefully, we haven't gone off course."
Soon, the drone was sent into the sky. Through the high-altitude view captured by the drone, Zhang Wei and the others identified their position based on the distant mountain peaks and the clear markers left along the way, confirming they had not gone off course.
Moreover, due to the corpse-like transformation of the Gu insects and the frenzied state of the zombies in the Corpse Tide Mist, as well as the distraction provided by the Fengmen Zombie, they had accelerated their journey and escaped. Unbeknownst to them, they had arrived much earlier than originally planned, and were now less than a third of the way to the depths of Yunnan.
Upon learning of the situation, everyone was happy. Zhang Wei immediately gave instructions: "Find a place to treat the Fengmen Zombie. The Corpse Tide Mist has not yet dissipated, and we can take advantage of the outer edge of the Corpse Tide Mist, so we don't have to fear the Gu insects. Let's regroup and then continue our journey."
...
Time flew by.
It was night.
At the entrance of a large valley in the depths of the Yunnan Worm Valley.
At this time, Zhang Wei and the others, after a day of travel, had arrived at the valley entrance ahead of schedule, a blessing in disguise.
"More mist. Could it be the Corpse Tide Mist?" Huang Xiaodan's mouth twitched, looking at the valley entrance shrouded in mist with lingering fear.
Zhang Wei gently patted his head: "This isn't the Corpse Tide Mist. It's mist formed by the low atmospheric pressure of the valley. Right, Mr. Old Corpse Herder?"
Mr. Old Corpse Herder nodded: "Yes, this is not the Corpse Tide Mist, just ordinary mist. Should we enter now, Captain Zhang Wei, or set up camp here for the night?"
"Let's rest. It's already dark, and we've arrived in the depths of Yunnan, a day earlier than planned. There's no need to rush. I think everyone is tired. Let's rest for a night, as the real tough challenges lie ahead." Zhang Wei said, his gaze falling on the valley entrance before him.
According to the previous batches of personnel from the Wei Dao Division and the foreign鎮國級 (Zhen Guo Ji - roughly translated as 'State-Guarding Level'), the danger level in the depths of the Yunnan Worm Valley increased exponentially compared to the outer areas.
Just then, "Amitabha, Zhang Wei, what are you thinking about?" Wu Nian walked over with one hand clasped in prayer and the other offering Zhang Wei a bottle of Nongfu Spring mineral water.
Zhang Wei took the mineral water and grinned, "I'm thinking, after we find the Ten Thousand Year Old Tai Sui, should I take a piece of its skin? This thing is valuable, and if I get injured in the future, a lick might just heal me."
...
On the other side.
In the depths of a Yunnan valley, by a lake.
At this time, it was nighttime. A caterpillar Gu insect king crawled towards the lake, seeming to want to drink some water. However, as soon as its head emerged,
Splash!
The lake water struck like a water cannon, sending up a spray of water. A venomous python shot out from the lake like an arrow, opening its fangs and piercing the caterpillar Gu insect. Everything happened too quickly. The caterpillar Gu insect king was killed by the venomous python, swallowed in one gulp, and then it潜伏 (qianfu - lurked) back into the lake. The lake water returned to its mirror-like calm, waiting for the next prey.
Not long after, the sparse grass by the lake rustled, and a figure emerged from it.
Under the refracted night light from the crystal in the sky, the figure's appearance could be vaguely seen. It was a small figure, only about the size of a newborn infant, less than a meter tall. It wore a large mushroom-cap-like object on its head, and its lower body was humanoid. Upon closer inspection, it looked like a ginseng with a hat, the ginseng shaped like the character '大' (da - big), with its hands and feet being ginseng tendrils.
It was not a person. It was actually a plant, a moving plant. Its two ginseng tendrils acted like two small feet, hopping towards the lake. Then, it extended its hands, which were ginseng tendrils, and inserted them into the lake, seemingly drinking water by sucking it up with its tendrils.
Unlike before, the venomous python, which had cruelly hunted earlier, did not hunt again, even though it had seen the 'little person' by the lake through the water. However, precisely because it saw the 'little person,' the venomous python stopped its attack. It slowly extended its large python head out of the lake and looked at the 'little person.' Its cold snake eyes no longer held their usual bloodlust; instead, it looked around, its demeanor not like a predator, but more like it was guarding against any danger for the 'little person.'
This scene was bizarre and peculiar. The little person showed no reaction to this, as if accustomed to it. After drinking some lake water, it walked on its two small feet, leaving behind tendril footprints on the ground, and disappeared into the grass.
At this moment, under the night light reflected by the sky's crystal, the lake's light also refracted the night glow. It could be seen that the little person had a small scar on its back. Upon closer inspection, it was not a scratch from a wild beast, but rather a scratch that looked like it was made by human fingernails.
...