Chapter 377 - 375: The Eyes on the Trees Opened

The stream of iridescent flying insects grew longer and thicker, looking like a beautiful fairy’s multicolored sash weaving through the forest.

’This isn’t working,’ Faye Yardley thought. She pulled a fishing net from her backpack. "Ethan, grab this end. You head that way."

She tossed one end of the net to her brother and sprinted to the right. The unfurled net intercepted the stream of light. The tiny insects didn’t pass through the mesh; instead, they clung to the net, packed so densely they transformed it into a shimmering barrier.

"Sister, hurry! The eyes on the trees are about to open all the way!"

Lucy White’s warning startled them, and they all looked at the surrounding trees. Strangely, they couldn’t see a thing.

But they knew Lucy White wouldn’t have said it for no reason. Faye Yardley and the others quickly evacuated the area. The tiny flying insects, however, were truly everywhere in the forest, and they soon formed another thick stream of light.

"This can’t go on," Master Veridian said. "Besides, I’ve spotted quite a few medicinal herbs in this forest. I’d like to stop and gather some."

This was understandable; the drop rate for herbs from chests was very low. Even if the herbs could be cultivated, some required a certain age to become effective.

And time was the one thing they lacked most on the raft.

Zachary Pierce immediately agreed. "I’ll stay behind with the Master and pick herbs."

"Alright then," Faye said. "We’ll gather while we move. Ethan, set up another net. Master, you all need to speed up. If there are eyes on the trees, I expect something terrible will happen when they open."

"Okay."

The new net was stretched out about three or four hundred meters from the last one. While it provided them with light, they all felt an instinctual sense of vigilance.

For Master Veridian and his disciple, this place was simply paradise. Aged medicinal herbs were everywhere.

They couldn’t stop gathering.

Faye Yardley had Lucy White keep a constant watch on the eyes on the trees that only she could see.

"Sister, you all need to hurry! The eyes on the nearby trees are about to open again."

Faye Yardley nodded and shouted to the others, "Move."

The group wasn’t unreasonable; they wouldn’t hold everyone back for a single herb. When the call came to go, they went. Even if they were in the middle of digging up an entire plant, they would just give it a final tug, stuff it in their backpack, and quickly follow.

And so they moved on, gathering herbs as they went.

As they set up the seventh fishing net, Faye Yardley’s heart skipped a beat. She felt that once this net lit up, the entire island was likely to awaken.

"Go, go, go! We’re not stopping this time. Run straight for the edge!"

Master Veridian looked at the giant ginseng he had half-dug up. Steeling himself, he gave it a mighty yank. A large piece broke off, which he stuffed into his backpack before hurrying to catch up.

Zephyr Sterling spoke up, "The little glowing insects are starting to stick to us. I guess the scent of that weird bug we killed earlier has worn off."

Because Faye Yardley was wearing her Self-cleaning Robe, the small insects couldn’t stick to her, so she hadn’t actually noticed.

She shouted as she ran, "All of you, speed up! If it gets too bad, just end the session and go back first!"

Among the group, only she, Lucy White, and Kingston needed to return to the raft before time ran out. The others could actually leave earlier if they encountered danger.

But then she remembered the Isle of Damnation, where they couldn’t return to their sea rafts without reaching the pier first. Faye Yardley quickly added, "Try and see if you can leave now. If you can, it gives you an extra layer of protection."

Zachary Pierce’s voice rang out: "We can now."

This made Faye Yardley breathe a huge sigh of relief. She didn’t want any of them to get into an accident while they were here adventuring with her.

In a place they couldn’t see, in the area of one of the fishing nets, the nearby trees opened countless, densely packed eyes, one after another. Each eye shot out a thin beam of light, scanning back and forth.

Every tiny insect caught in a beam was instantly immobilized, then petrified, and fell to the ground.

After landing, they were swallowed by small cracks that suddenly opened in the ground. Occasionally, a lucky one would land on a wide blade of grass and escape this fate.

The fishing net, too, was hit by those faint beams of light. It petrified, turned to dust, and crumbled to the ground.

As the net disintegrated, the insects vanished, and the light faded, returning the area to darkness. The eyes on the trees slowly closed, and the trees became silent once more.

With no new insects flying in from elsewhere, the area became deathly still, and wisps of gray smoke began to rise.

The destruction of one net was the signal for the process to begin at the next. However, the eyes were now opening faster, and the light was being extinguished more quickly.

While Faye Yardley and the others were struggling to swat away the insects and run, the places they had passed through were already filled with curling smoke.

More and more insects in the forest were being devoured, and a large area fell into darkness.

Cole Kensington’s voice suddenly rang in everyone’s ears: "Pick up the pace and get out. This forest is becoming very abnormal and dangerous. Where we were before, there isn’t a single insect left, just a lot of smoke. Wherever that smoke passes, everything dies except the plants."

He didn’t mention that he himself had almost not made it out.

He had finally escaped by climbing trees and moving through the shadows between the treetops.

No one would ignore a warning from a teammate. They immediately pushed themselves to run even faster, completely abandoning any thought of stopping for herbs.

As for the annoying little insects, as long as they didn’t stick directly to their skin, they completely ignored them.

Finally, they burst out of the forest and onto a red sand beach. They immediately started stabbing the mutated sand worms with their weapons. As they expected, the foul stench from the dead worms drove the glowing insects away.

"Yardley, Master, look! A gray, smoke-like substance is drifting out of the forest!"

Ethan Yardley grabbed his sister and ran toward the sea. "Holy shit, the red on the sand is starting to fade where the smoke passes."

"You’re right! It’s turning white," Lucy White said. She even ran back a few steps to get a better look before sprinting to catch up.

But the speed at which the red was fading from the sand was a little too fast.

The group now had only one word in their minds: Run.

Run, run, run!

A frantic escape.

Faye Yardley looked at the sea ahead, let out a sharp whistle, and soon saw Bella speeding towards them from the left across the water’s surface.

"Bella, quickly take Lucy White and Kingston back." Faye Yardley then said to the others beside her, "You guys should leave now while you still can."

They had already been on the island for over six hours.

Zephyr Sterling grabbed his master. "Yardley, my master and I will head back first. See you later."

Zachary Pierce didn’t dawdle, leaving with a single sentence: "Yardley, take care. Don’t you stay too long either."

"Yardley, this island isn’t normal. Don’t take any more risks." After saying this, Master Veridian left with his eldest disciple.

Faye Yardley looked at her brother, who was still pulling her along as they ran. "Ethan, you have to go!"