After resting well, Xilutaiya felt much more refreshed. Especially now that the dream had ended, she understood that this place was by no means entirely cut off from the normal world.
Since knights and witches of the past had been able to enter, it was clearly not wholly uncharted, and there had to be some way in and out.
Packing her belongings, she once again made her way up the slope. As she traversed the precipitous cliff, her field of view gradually widened until she reached the summit, where she could gaze out upon the vast, boundless realm in the distance.
Across her vision stretched a vast expanse of grey-white, though occasionally she could catch glimpses of color hidden within it—like a tiny blue blossom suddenly appearing in a black-and-white print, or red berries hanging from a shrub.
In this nearly static, grey-white world, she noticed faint contours breaking the misty silhouette of distant mountains.
In the heart of that forest seemed to stand ruined stone pillars, resembling the remnants of some ancient ruins.
Could people have once lived in a world like this? Xilutaiya was surprised. Yet if people had once resided here permanently, they must have had passages connecting this place with the normal world.
Perhaps she should go there to look for potential clues.
Her eyes shifted as she mapped out a route to reach the ruins, and then she turned back.
Returning to the colored bubble where the grey-iron stone sword stood, Xilutaiya took a short rest before stepping down into the grey-white world below.
This time, she journeyed for a long while, gradually leaving the sparsely vegetated slope and entering a dense, distorted forest.
The trees here had long since mutated and warped under the Distortion attribute. Seeing how still they stood in the grey-white world, they might have stopped growing long ago, turning into withered, lifeless husks.
Passing through this small forest, Xilutaiya arrived at a node where a tall, moss-covered boulder loomed.
She treated anything abnormal with suspicion and caution—a lesson she had taken to heart after witnessing Knight Huolin's experience in her dream.
Facing the boulder, Xilutaiya focused her senses and peered intently, trying to see if anything was hidden within.
Yet there was nothing out of the ordinary; every sense told her it was merely an ordinary rock.
Could it be some kind of trick? Xilutaiya remained skeptical and decided to detour around it anyway.
She skirted the boulder, quickly slipped into the grey-white world, and left the colored bubble behind. Nothing untoward occurred throughout the process, so she put it out of her mind and continued forward.
The next node lay beside a body of water in the forest.
The moment she stepped into this colored bubble, she came under attack.
A venomous snake in the woods ambushed her, leaping straight down from the branches. It glided briefly through the air, writhing its head as it lunged at her.
The young girl sprang backward in an instant and drew her short sword.
Empowered by the Breathing Method, her blade slashed with blinding speed, slicing the venomous serpent into three segments midair. Black blood and thick mist poured from the wounds along its body.
Before long, the strangely patterned snake perished.
Standing aside, Xilutaiya observed it closely for a good while. She then prodded the severed head with her dagger, carefully extracted its venomous fangs, and stowed them away.
[Serpent Poison Fang] (Distortion): Fangs imbued with distorted venom, usable for brewing potions and harming enemies.
She moved forward again to the edge of the small river and peered into the water.
Xilutaiya's reflection appeared on the surface, her snow-silver hair drifting gracefully, her dreamlike features rippling with the current.
"I envy you."
A raspy voice suddenly rose from the girl in the water. Then she opened her mouth, and a blood-red tongue shot forth, snapping toward the girl on the bank.
Faced with this sudden strike, Xilutaiya's heart hammered. She evaded it by a hair's breadth; the crimson tongue whipped past her eyes and instantly retreated beneath the surface.
She scrambled backward, pulling away from the riverbank, and drew her short sword.
This time, however, the reflection in the water had vanished, leaving behind no sign of anything unusual.
*This... this place is truly uncanny,* she thought to herself.
She picked up pebbles and tossed them into the water, but nothing responded, leaving Xilutaiya at a loss.
If she wanted to proceed, she had to cross the river, but the current situation made it clear that the water was unsafe.
What other means did she possess? The Breathing Method? The Dew Prayer Method? Neither could harm such a bizarre creature.
Would she have to rely on the black cat to resolve this? But that was single-use, and Xilutaiya was reluctant to waste it.
Come to think of it, ever since she transformed into an Alien Star, she had not utilized this power.
Xilutaiya considered it, blinked, and lifted her wrist to carefully examine her own status.
Name: Xilutaiya ※※※※
Race: Human (※※※)
Status: Healthy (No abnormalities)
Talent: Stars [Unknown Grade], Cornflower's Attachment [Rare Grade, upgradeable]
Destiny Card: [Maiden Beneath the Starry Sky] (First-order · Alien Star)
"The maiden who sleeps beneath the starry sky holds unimaginable potential. Now shooting stars gleam, dispelling the distorted mist."
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Effect [Appraisal Eye Lv. 3]: Stemming from unique talent and constitution, you can perceive colors undetectable to ordinary people, as well as portions of things' true natures. (When you increase the rank of your Destiny Card, this ability improves synchronously.)
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Effect [Alien Star Perception Lv. 2]: Steeping in the power of the Alien Star grants you sharper insight when observing all things. You can perceive five colors undetectable to ordinary people and uncover unknown secrets.
Ability Cards: [Breathing Method Lv. 3], [Monstrous Black Cat (Consumable)]
Skills: [Basic Swordsmanship Lv. 4], [Military Swordsmanship Lv. 4], [Basic Archery Lv. 4], [Basic Spearmanship Lv. 4], [Secret History Knowledge Lv. 5], [Gardening Skill Lv. 4], [Garden Swordsmanship Lv. 2]
——
What was the function of [Alien Star Perception Lv. 2]?
Xilutaiya concentrated her mind on that effect. Her original Appraisal Eye gained an additional, wondrous hue, allowing her vision to transcend ordinary limits and peer into a deeper core.
It was a field of vision balanced between reality, shadows, and dreams. She saw things that did not exist in reality—such as invisible monsters writhing in the heavy clouds, and dream creatures hiding in the corners of the forest. They resembled balls of flesh with tiny wings, lacking eyes and mouths, merely inhaling and exhaling.
As she drew closer, these fleshy creatures seemed somewhat frightened of her and scattered in all directions. That explained why she had never noticed them before.
Afraid of her? Why? Xilutaiya was puzzled, but she had no time to bother with the little things right now, turning her attention instead to locating the monster that had attacked her from the water.
Looking around, she found a few strange, invisible things beneath the surface, but they were all extremely feeble and entirely incapable of launching an attack. The real culprit remained nowhere to be seen.
Suddenly, an idea struck her. She shifted her gaze and examined the space above the riverbank. There, high in the crown of a tree, she spotted a concealed, translucent tree frog. Though called a tree frog, the creature possessed six legs, had no eyes on its head, and bore a twisted human face across its snow-white belly.
What a bizarre beast. Its method of attack was to strike through its reflection in the water, leading anyone to believe the threat lurked beneath the surface when it was actually overhead.
Unable to fathom such a weird creature, Xilutaiya verified once more that its physical body did not seem particularly strong. Gripping her sword, she surged forward, kicked off the tree trunk to leap into the air, and brought her keen blade down in a clean slash that cleaved it in two among the branches.
The slain, grotesque tree frog fell to the ground, allowing Xilutaiya to finally see its full form.
[Human-Faced Tree Frog] (Nightmare): A translucent tree frog concealed within dreams, capable of attacking through reflective surfaces with bizarre, elusive methods.
The Nightmare attribute—this was the first time Xilutaiya had encountered a creature of this kind.
Blue-purple blood seeped from the dead frog. Although contaminated with murky, distorted black mist, it made up only a small fraction, suggesting it had not yet been thoroughly corrupted.
She wondered how this creature had survived until now; it had to have other food sources. Xilutaiya suddenly remembered the ball-of-flesh creatures hiding in the woods on the other side.
[Dream Infant Beast] (Nightmare): A weak, aberrant dream creature capable of feeding on living beings' dreams; fears pure moonlight.
She had never known the names or abilities of such creatures before, yet now she analyzed and understood them instinctively.
It seemed the power of the Alien Star was exceptionally potent when it came to analyzing and uncovering the truth.
It feared moonlight—did that mean it feared the power of the Radiant Moon? Yet she had never practiced the Radiant Moon's attribute power, so why had they been afraid of her?
The girl shook her head slightly, deciding not to dwell on it any longer, or there would be no end to her questions.
She would simply chalk it up to lingering traces of the Radiant Moon remaining on her.
Chapter 78