There's a big problem with dreams in this world.

"strangeness."

After walking for about half a day, Lu Qing frowned, sensing that something was wrong.

Given such a long period of time, based on past experience, there should have been at least one or two mutated creatures attacking, but at this moment, the surroundings were completely quiet.

It wasn't that she felt there was anything wrong with not encountering monsters, but rather that things were a little strange because they weren't quite what she had imagined.

Of course, not encountering mutated creatures could also be due to luck, but do they really have that kind of good luck?

"Thud..."

Some water had appeared beneath her feet and was flowing downwards along the soles of her feet.

Lu Qing didn't know where these streams of water came from. Just a moment ago, she was walking through a swamp full of stagnant puddles, but suddenly a shallow river appeared under her feet.

This made her feel something was off.

After sharing his thoughts with the old man and the scientist and warning them to be careful, the three of them continued walking forward.

"........."

A dark, eerie wind arose from nowhere, sounding as if one were passing through a pitch-black tunnel. The scene in Lu Qing's eyes suddenly went black, then gradually returned to normal.

"here it is........"

She blinked, and in the blink of an eye, the scene before her eyes underwent a dramatic transformation.

The sound of flowing water filled her ears, while her vision was enveloped in a dark mist. She could only see things within five meters of her, and everything beyond that seemed to be swallowed by darkness. Looking at it for too long caused her psychological discomfort.

Looking around, the old man and the scientist had disappeared at some point, and all that could be seen were pale white stones and dark, linear river water.

Everything here looks like something a child has doodled with crayons; the river is divided into black and white, with black lines surging forward in waves.

Lu Qing stepped onto the "painted" river and took a deep breath.

"If I'm not crazy, then there's only one explanation."

Lu Qing bent down and used her hands to feel the flow of the river.

The icy river water flowed through her palms, bringing a chill. When Lu Qing took her hands out of the water, she could still see some dark river water clinging to her palms.

A strange feeling welled up inside her; she sensed the mark from the Thousand Jewels, as if they were in the same space.

Anyway, let's go take a look first.

Touching the dagger at her waist, Lu Qing stepped across the river and walked in the direction she sensed.

"call......."

A strange, cold wind swept through her body, making her shiver involuntarily. The temperature here seemed very low, and she could see white mist rising from the tip of her nose with each breath.

She had only walked a few steps when she heard voices that seemed to be far away. She could hear them, but she couldn't make out what the speakers were saying. She could only roughly sense the emotions in their tone.

"!!"

Suddenly, a whooshing sound came from above. Lu Qing reacted quickly and retreated, where she saw a split-headed creature hidden in the black mist.

The other party seemed unaffected by the black mist, able to move freely within it. In comparison, Lu Qing, who could only see within a five-meter radius, seemed rather anxious.

"Humph."

With a slight twitch of its ears, Lu Qing immediately determined the location of the head-splitting creature.

Since acquiring the Listener skill, her hearing has become extremely acute. The reason she didn't notice the Headbreaker just now was simply because it was crouching motionless above her head.

The sneak attack failed, and the head-splitter had to move, leaving it at Lu Qing's mercy.

After spending some time dealing with the split-headed creature, Lu Qing didn't take any materials from it, and continued moving in the direction the mark indicated.

She encountered several more Black Mist Split-Headed Beings along the way, but they appeared alone each time, so they didn't pose much of a threat to her. When she arrived at the location of the Thousand Jade Seal, she found that there was no movement around her.

She could only sense that the mark was nearby, but she didn't know its exact location.

Logically speaking, the mark was placed on the King of the Headbreakers. Given the habits of ordinary Headbreakers, there was no reason why the King of the Headbreakers wouldn't have attacked her after discovering her.

So, where exactly is it?

Her vision was limited to objects within five meters, and she couldn't detect any sound. After a moment's thought, Lu Qing closed her eyes and activated her skill, [Listener].

Almost instinctively controlling the nightmare energy within her body, Lu Qing suddenly had the illusion that her senses had been amplified countless times, but it only lasted for a moment before disappearing.

Then she heard a sound so faint it was almost imperceptible...

"Behind you!"

Lu Qing suddenly opened her eyes and turned around and backed away without hesitation.

A flash of light appeared, and a huge wound appeared on Lu Qing's abdomen.

"Roar!"

The highly corrosive blood splattered onto the attacker's body, causing him to roar uncontrollably. Upon discovering that the attacker was behind him, Lu Qing immediately used the skill [Acidic Blood].

However, judging from the other person's reaction, although it was quite painful, don't expect the injury to be serious.

"hiss........"

Despite the pain in her abdomen, Lu Qing resisted the urge to cover the wound with her hands and used the [Emergency Recovery] skill.

A feeling of being instantly drained of energy arose, and the huge wound that had appeared on his abdomen healed rapidly, returning to normal in the blink of an eye.

P.S.: Just to clarify, the silver-gray evening windbreaker is a trench coat, so it doesn't block out some areas.

------------

Chapter 392: Patience

"So tired..."

The rapid healing of her wounds had drained most of Lu Qing's strength. At this moment, she couldn't help but wonder if things would have turned out better if she had lunged forward.

But this kind of hindsight is meaningless, since she can't possibly travel back a few seconds to tell herself to lunge forward when she sensed a creature approaching from behind.

When a person senses a creature approaching, their first thought is to check what it is behind them, which is only natural, especially when they only hear some faint movement.

"Did you act hastily after seeing me make a move?" Lu Qing touched the healed wound on her abdomen and analyzed.

She didn't hear the sound of the attack before she turned around, but only the instant she turned. That's why she immediately jumped backward after turning around, but even so, she couldn't dodge the slash.

Judging from the fleeting glimpse of her turning around, the cleavage-like creature that attacked her was about the same size as a normal cleavage-like creature, and the wound that left a slash on her abdomen appeared to be from its arm.

Two sharp bone-like structures, resembling bone, formed above the arms, appearing far more threatening than the claws of a typical Split-Head.

That's probably why her acidic blood didn't cause her much damage; after all, it's bone tissue, which is much more resistant to corrosion than ordinary flesh and blood.

After the attack, the head-splitter disappeared back into the mist, and Lu Qing could not find anything within her sight.

[Hawkeye] [Golden Vertical Pupils]

A pale golden vertical pupil opened on Lu Qing's forehead. Even with Eagle Eye activated, it was useless. The mist still shrouded the area within five meters in front of her, but after the golden vertical pupil opened, the mist retreated a few meters.

Even so, she still couldn't find the location of the head-splitter.

"This is terrible..."

Beads of sweat streamed down Lu Qing's cheeks as she focused intently on her surroundings, wary of the King of the Headbreaker lurking in the darkness.

This King of Split-Heads is far superior to the Black Mist Split-Heads in both speed and strength. Yet, this powerful creature is far more cunning than the ordinary Split-Heads.

Knowing that Lu Qing couldn't see clearly in the mist, it deliberately hid in the mist, relying on its superb concealment skills to hide its form.

This is an unfair match. Lu Qing needs to be fully focused on guarding against the King of Split-Heads' attacks, while the King of Split-Heads can hide in the shadows and watch Lu Qing with ease.

A person's energy is limited, and coupled with the stamina consumed by using [Emergency Recovery], the current situation is very unfavorable for Lu Qing!

"I must keep the rhythm in my own hands!" Lu Qing thought anxiously.

If this stalemate continues, she will be the one to collapse in the end. Before she becomes mentally exhausted, she must think of a way to deal with the King of the Headbreakers!

.........

Time ticked by, and the King of the Headbreakers remained hidden in the mist, waiting for his prey to show signs of fatigue.

A direct confrontation was impossible. It could sense the aura emanating from the human in front of it, an aura that was far more powerful and mysterious than its own. If it weren't for the support of the black mist, its physical attributes wouldn't have been able to overwhelm the opponent.

In other words, the opponent is very strong, and a direct confrontation cannot guarantee a victory. Rather than taking the risk, it's better to wait a while longer, since patience is something it has no shortage of.

After an unknown amount of time, Lu Qing turned off her golden vertical pupils because she could no longer maintain her mental strength. However, her vigilance and wariness did not decrease at all; on the contrary, they seemed to intensify.

The King of the Split-Heads continued to wait, his patience undiminished by the passage of time.

After an unknown amount of time, Lu Qing, standing on the river, gradually lost her strength, and her tense spirit finally showed signs of fatigue.

The King of the Head-Splitters remained motionless, observing whether its prey was putting on an act to lure it out, while also preventing the prey from conserving its last bit of strength for a burst of power.

"........."

"Still not here?"

Lu Qing looked around weakly, never expecting that this King of the Head-Splitters could be so patient.

"In a little while, I really won't be able to hold on any longer..." she thought, her face pale, as she squinted.

.........

After a long time, the King of the Head-Splitters, after confirming that the creature before him was truly exhausted, slowly moved toward its back.

It's safest to use a sneak attack to deliver the final blow.

However, it did not forget that the other party had discovered its sneak attack before, so while being even more cautious than before, the King of the Headbreaker was also on guard against the possibility of the enemy launching a sudden attack.

As for Lu Qing, she really didn't have much strength left. She could only close her eyes, maximize her hearing, and sense the danger around her.

[Danger perception skill proficiency increased by 20%!]

Current skill: Danger Perception 80%

[Information processing skills proficiency increased by 20%!]

Current skill level: Information processing 80%

[Leadership Qualities skill proficiency increased by 20%!]

[Current skill: Leadership Qualities 40%]

Suddenly, the notice board displayed information about three skill proficiency upgrades, with [Information Processing] and [Leadership Aura] being upgraded without Lu Qing understanding the situation at all.