absurd deduction game.

Yu Xing felt a powerful tearing force coming from all directions, not acting on his physical body, but directly on his very existence.

The surrounding scenery instantly distorted and stretched, the colors mixing into a chaotic vortex.

All I could hear was the sharp shriek of space being forcibly torn apart, and the endless echo of the deacons' prayers.

He steadied himself, relaxed his resistance to the space, and allowed the force to envelop and drag him. In his consciousness, he felt as if he had become a pebble thrown into a rushing river, rapidly traversing an extremely unstable passage forcibly opened by divine power.

Beyond the passage lies a dazzling array of colors and a chilling, turbulent void.

Occasionally, one could see blurry, enormous shadows flitting along the edge of the passageway, exuding an ominous aura.

I don't know how much time passed, maybe it was just a moment.

A faint point of light suddenly appeared in the chaos ahead. The light rapidly expanded and eventually transformed into an unsettling scene filled with a gray-green mist.

The traction under my feet suddenly disappeared, and I felt weightless.

The next moment, almost simultaneously, the three of them stumbled from mid-air and landed on solid ground.

Transmission completed.

The ground beneath my feet was no longer the smooth stone slabs of the church, but soft, damp soil covered with rotting leaves. A pungent, almost nauseating, stench of humus, mold, and some indescribable sweet-smelling odor assaulted my senses.

Yu Xing quickly steadied himself and scanned his surroundings.

They were in an extremely dense forest.

Towering ancient trees block out the sun, their gnarled canopies cutting the sky into fragments, allowing only a few pale, filtered gray-green rays of light to struggle through, creating a sense of eternal twilight.

A thick fog filled the air, its viscous texture obstructing vision and seemingly absorbing most of the sound, creating an eerily silent atmosphere.

Huge, twisted ferns and vines, like the tentacles of monsters, entwine around the thick tree trunks. Some fungi emitting a faint blue or pale green glow are scattered on the tree roots and rock surfaces, providing the only light source for this eerie forest.

The trees here also grow in strange shapes. Some trunks are covered with burls that resemble human faces, while others have twisted branches that look like struggling arms. Tiny, luminous dust particles, like spores, float in the air.

“This is the depths of the ‘Forgotten Forest’…” Qu Xianqing said in a low voice, her hand already on the hilt of her sword at her waist, her eyes sharply scanning her surroundings.

The surrounding desolation and distorted ecosystem clearly indicate the danger of this place. Far from Yolikev Town, they can regard the dense forest as an independent miniature.

The performer gently brushed away a faintly glowing spore that had fallen onto his shoulder, and looked around with great interest: "The energy field is indeed chaotic, even the air has a... stale, sweet, and fishy smell, as if something has rotted and fermented for decades."

He took a deep breath, a strange smile appearing on his face: "It's... a nostalgic scent."

Qu Xianqing: ?

Is it out of nostalgia? She turned to look at Yu Xing, suspecting that people of the Ghostly Tree lineage had a particular fondness for environments with abundant decaying plants.

Yu Xing did not show the leisure of an entertainer, nor did he pay attention to the entertainer's sentiments. He closed his eyes slightly and spread his senses out like a spider web.

However, unexpectedly, there seemed to be some kind of suppression in this forest, and his perception range was greatly compressed, only extending to about a hundred meters around him.

Within this limited area, he "saw" the faint polluting energy flowing through the intricate network of roots underground, and sensed some small, malicious life forms lurking beneath the layer of decaying leaves and in tree cavities.

More importantly, he sensed an omnipresent, low hum, as if the entire forest itself were a living, slowly breathing, enormous monster, a madness and repression from ancient times seeping from the soil, the air, and every leaf, trying to erode the mind of the intruder.

The activity is too high.

This is probably why the Ghost Tree's perception is reduced—it prefers environments where death and curses are rampant, and the branches it manipulates are actually "withered branches," rather than vibrant forests.

“My senses are being suppressed,” Yu Xing said, opening his eyes. “This forest itself is strange.”

He raised his hand and glanced at the silver beacon, its wheat pattern emitting a faint but steady glow, indicating that its connection to the distant church remained intact.

“We only have twelve hours,” Qu Xianqing reminded them. She took out the props she had received before leaving and pointed in a direction. “The map given to us by the archbishop shows that ‘Wandering Spring’ should be in this direction, about three to five kilometers away from our landing point as the crow flies.”

But in this environment, straight-line distance is meaningless.

Dense fog, distorted terrain, potential traps, and monsters will all make this journey full of unknowns.

“Let’s go then.” Yu Xing took the lead and stepped onto the soft humus layer, making a soft “rustling” sound.

His figure appeared somewhat hazy in the thick fog and distorted light, as if he might be swallowed up by this forgotten land at any moment.

Qu Xianqing followed closely behind, her steps steady.

The actor chuckled and followed. His demeanor remained relaxed, as if he were not there to carry out a dangerous mission, but rather to enjoy an afternoon stroll. However, a subtle, almost imperceptible scrutiny appeared deep within his smiling eyes.

The three walked on in silence, their figures gradually swallowed by the thick gray-green fog, disappearing into the depths of this forgotten land filled with ancient secrets and unknown dangers.

Only the occasional crushed, fluorescent fungi on the ground serve as proof that outsiders once set foot in this forgotten corner of the world.

They walked through the dense forest in silence.

The humus layer beneath our feet was thick and soft, and each step caused us to sink deep, making an unsettling rustling sound.

The thick fog clung to my side like a living thing, not only obstructing my vision but also bringing a damp, sticky feeling, as if countless invisible hands were caressing my skin.

The surrounding trees became increasingly twisted and bizarre.

The tree trunks, covered in burls, sometimes resembled a painfully distorted human face, and sometimes a silent, watching eye, shrouded in mist. The eerie blue fluorescent fungi flickered in the shadows, like the breath of a lurking beast.

Fog is the dominant theme here, and even the wind seems unwilling to visit this forgotten land.

After walking for about half an hour, Qu Xianqing, who had been on high alert, suddenly stopped and whispered, "Something is coming."

Almost the instant she finished speaking, a very faint sound, like countless people whispering in low voices, seeped out from the mist all around.

The voice was indistinct, the specific words unclear, yet it carried a disturbing rhythm, like a demonic sound penetrating the ears and piercing the mind.

The surrounding mist seemed to begin to swirl slowly along with the whispers, and the distorted tree shadows swayed in the mist, as if they had come alive and were pointing at them. "It's just mental pollution," Yu Xing immediately judged.

These whispers were not a physical attack, but rather a direct attack on the mind, attempting to disrupt their thinking and incite deep-seated fear and madness. He felt as if the edges of his consciousness were being rubbed by fine sandpaper, causing waves of discomfort.

The performer frowned slightly, seemingly annoyed by the pervasive noise. His gaze swept over the scene casually, and he said softly:
"Be quiet."

In an instant, large patches of dark moss spread out from him, like a pebble thrown into water, creating ripples.

The irritating whispers seemed to be blocked by a barrier woven from moss, instantly weakening by more than half. Although they did not disappear completely, they no longer had the same intense corrosiveness as before.

"How annoying." The musician's gaze swept over the shadowy trees still swaying and twisting in the mist, a faint hint of sarcasm playing on his lips. "It seems this forest doesn't welcome us 'guests'."

Yu Xing glanced at the musician, then subconsciously glanced at the moss that had spread to the surrounding tree trunks. The moss was not at all out of place in the forest, as if it were a perfect blend with the environment, and it had energy fluctuations that were very similar to his own curse power.

Actors have many kinds of abilities.

Perhaps it was out of hatred, or for some other reason, but as far as Yu Xing knew, the actor didn't care much about the abilities given to Gui Chenshu. In the past hundred years, he had already found a more terrifying power.

The use of moss at this point is probably because it's suitable.

However, Yu Xing doesn't care much about that now; he cares more about the forest itself.

After the actor blocked out most of the mental interference, he tried to extend his perception again and carefully captured a trace of the remaining whispering pollution.

It was a cold, viscous energy, carrying despair, confusion, and a pure malice towards the "outsiders."

When he introduced this energy into his body and tried to devour and analyze it with the power of the curse, he "tasted" an extremely old, decaying aura that seemed to have been accumulating for decades, yet it was also teeming with another kind of inexhaustible life force.

Two completely contradictory feelings were intertwined, as if the land itself had been completely permeated and transformed.

"A discovery?" Qu Xianqing noticed his expression.

“The pollution here is ancient, and there might be some tough monsters to deal with,” Yu Xing said succinctly. “But that’s not important. We’re just here to find clues left behind by Edgar. What’s in the dense forest is not within the scope of our mission.”

The pollution in the dense forest is completely different from that in the starry sky; they are not from the same source.

He had reason to suspect that Edgar hid the clues here after realizing something was wrong, in order to use the pollution of the dense forest to block the view of the stars, and in addition to the "forgotten" power that might exist in the Forgotten Forest, the clues were able to be preserved to this day.

In other words, they should just avoid what's in the dense forest. There's no need to be as meticulous as when exploring the monsters in Yolikef Town. After all, even if they kill the monsters in the forest, they won't get any extra contribution points.

So, as long as the monster doesn't come to them on its own initiative, and it's just some minor probing, let it be.

After a while, seeing that they were unaffected, the restless whispers finally subsided.

After this little incident, the three realized the activity level of the strange creatures in the dense forest, and no longer just focused on what was in front of them, but extended their senses to every corner around them that might be hiding danger.

They walked a little further, but the thick fog persisted. Twisted tree shadows swayed in the mist, like countless peeping ghosts. The fog in the dense forest itself had a disorienting power, which slowed their progress to some extent.

But none of the three were in a hurry.

Because they could sense that they were moving in the right direction and had not lost their way, it was just that the gap in space and time was widening, and what was a short distance of a few thousand meters to them took much longer.

After trekking for nearly an hour through the increasingly thick gray-green fog, Yu Xing, who was at the front, raised his hand and signaled the two people behind him to stop.

His gaze pierced through the layers of fog, locking onto a relatively open area ahead.

The trees there were sparser, and the piles of decaying leaves on the ground seemed to have been cleared away, forming an irregular circular clearing.

In the center of the open space, a low mound covered with vines and moss can be vaguely seen.

"It seems we've arrived," Yu Xing said softly, and took the lead in walking towards the open space.

Qu Xianqing and the actors immediately followed.

As the distance closed, the raised outline gradually became clear—it was a dilapidated canvas tent.

The tent's fabric had rotted into a dark brown color and was torn to shreds by various climbing plants, barely maintaining its frame.

Scattered around the tent entrance were some rusty metal cans and a cracked leather water bottle, silently telling the story of someone who had once stayed there briefly.

“Someone once set up a camp here? It must have been Edgar!” Qu Xianqing looked around, his hand still on the hilt of his sword.

The open space gave off an ominous feeling, as if something was lurking in the shadows.

Instead of approaching the tent, the performer turned his gaze to the edge of the open space, to an inconspicuous gray stone half-buried in the ground.

He strolled over and gently kicked away the slippery moss covering it with his toes.

More of the stone was exposed, and it appeared to have some blurry patterns carved on it.

"Come and take a look," the performer instructed.

Yu Xing and Qu Xianqing walked to the stone, which was about half a person's height, with a rough surface and covered with the marks of time.

The cleared-out section clearly bears a symbol—a distorted, bizarre pattern that appears to be formed by three overlapping eyes, with the pupils deliberately deepened, like three bottomless black holes.

Below this symbol are several scribbles, resembling some kind of arrow pointing.

“This symbol…” Qu Xianqing frowned, and she quickly pulled out a rubbing paper from the materials provided by the archbishop that she carried with her.

The paper contained one of the ancient symbols that the church had provided to the three men after finding relevant clues in "Red Star Over China," and it was almost identical to the pattern on the stone tablet.

“That’s right, it’s this symbol. It represents ‘warning’ and ‘concealment,’ and it’s commonly used by cultists,” Qu Xianqing confirmed. “Did Edgar get this usage from Riel?”

Yu Xing's gaze fell on the arrow mark below the symbol, which pointed to a darker area behind the tent, dominated by huge tree roots.

"Not necessarily. It's also possible that he came into contact with esoteric Buddhism himself." Yu Xing pointed in the direction the arrow indicated. "He hid something over there." (End of Chapter)