Using his senses, Xu Mu detected someone lying weakly on the ground several dozen meters away.
The man's legs were twitching uncontrollably—usually a sign that death was near.
Xu Mu hurried over and saw the man's lips were cracked, his face flushed purple-red.
He was suffering from extreme dehydration.
Xu Mu pulled a bottle of mineral water from his backpack, twisted it open, and poured a little into the man's mouth.
"Cough! Cough!"
The man suddenly coughed and slowly opened his eyes again.
"Water! Please… give me water!" he begged desperately.
Without hesitation, Xu Mu handed him the bottle.
The man immediately sat up and tilted his head back, gulping it down greedily.
In just ten seconds, the entire bottle was empty.
"Is there more?" he asked, panting.
"There is," Xu Mu replied calmly, "but I won't give it to you yet. From your condition, this place must be severely lacking in water."
He pulled out another bottle. "Tell me what happened. Then I'll share half with you."
"All right! I'll tell you everything."
The man picked up the empty bottle and licked out the last few drops before explaining.
He was one of the herb gatherers hired by Xu Ningbing to search for rare medicinal ingredients.
It was a niche but lucrative trade—employers would provide photos of herbs, and gatherers would seek them out.
Sometimes, finding just one plant could earn tens of thousands of yuan.
This time, they had discovered this mysterious area.
There had been three of them. They entered the mist together—but became separated inside.
The forest was vast and there was no signal; even the markings he made didn't help him find the others.
Inside, the heat was unbearable. The air was so dry that every breath felt like swallowing fire.
Even though he carried a large container of water and rationed it carefully, it had long run out.
Strangely, despite being a forest, not a drop of water could be found anywhere.
He had tried chewing on fresh leaves to get moisture, but it was nowhere near enough.
When he was about to die of thirst, he remembered the herbs in his bag.
He ate one that looked juicy—then immediately fainted.
When he awoke, he didn't know how many days had passed. If not for Xu Mu's water, he would have died there.
"Let me see your bag," Xu Mu said, holding out his hand.
"Here."
The man handed it over. Xu Mu opened it and instantly spotted a small blue flower—no bigger than half a fist, shaped like a sunflower, radiating a faint spiritual aura.
A Seventh-Grade Blue Sunflower!
One of the main ingredients for refining Qi Sea Pills—and unexpectedly, it was right here.
Aside from the Blue Sunflower, the bag contained several low-grade spiritual herbs, including some Xu Mu had asked Xu Ningbing to collect earlier.
"Where did you find this?" Xu Mu asked, holding up the Blue Sunflower.
"Deeper in the forest," the man replied weakly. "I don't remember exactly. I just thought it looked pretty, so I picked it."
He lifted a trembling hand and pointed. "I came from that direction."
"Good. Then rest here."
Xu Mu kept the Blue Sunflower and placed another bottle of water in front of him. "One bottle of water for your flower—deal?"
"Of course!"
The man grabbed the water instantly. At this point, he'd have traded even a bottle cap full of water.
Xu Mu nodded and turned toward the forest. If there was one Blue Sunflower, there might be more.
Blue Sunflower made up the largest portion of ingredients needed to craft Qi Sea Pills, and its blue hue came directly from the flower itself.
He stored the Blue Sunflower in his spatial pouch, then took two more bottles of water from his pack before heading deeper into the forest.
The air was thick with the scent of decay. Fallen leaves formed a dense, spongy carpet beneath his feet.
The towering trees intertwined above, their branches blocking out the sun—yet the temperature still felt like standing in an oven.
After some time, Xu Mu wiped his forehead and found it damp with sweat.
"My body's constitution is already this strong, yet I'm sweating. How could ordinary people endure this?" he muttered, worry flashing in his eyes. "Xu Ningbing, you troublesome woman—when I find you, I'll beat some sense into you."
Just then, he spotted a cave in the distance.
Using his perception, he confirmed it was empty before approaching.
The entrance was circular, about a meter and a half wide—he had to stoop to get inside.
The interior was bare, but just as he was about to leave, he noticed a corpse in the corner.
"No wonder people keep dying in a place like this," he murmured, stepping back outside and continuing uphill.
He needed a vantage point to observe the terrain—wandering aimlessly here would only waste energy.
Suddenly, movement in the treetops caught his attention.
Two people were approaching—a man and a woman.
The man was muscular, tattooed, wearing only a vest. His lips were cracked.
The woman had dyed golden hair, a round face, and a slightly plump figure.
"Kid! You got water in that bag?" the man rasped.
"No," Xu Mu replied evenly.
"Let me see your bag!" The man strode forward, hand outstretched.
"Why should I?"
"Because I can kill you!" the man sneered. He stomped hard—cracking the ground beneath his foot.
Xu Mu's eyes turned cold.
Swish!
In an instant, the man lunged forward, his fist—big as a sandbag—flying toward Xu Mu's face.
Xu Mu merely tilted his head aside.
Slap!
A sharp crack sounded as Xu Mu's hand clamped onto the man's face and, with a flick of his arm, lifted him clean off the ground.
Boom!
He slammed the man's head into a nearby tree. The impact shook the trunk violently, scattering leaves everywhere.
Xu Mu released his grip. The man crumpled lifelessly to the ground, blood smeared across the bark.
The blonde woman froze, eyes wide with horror. She raised her hands and fell to her knees. "Please! Don't kill me!"
Xu Mu walked toward her calmly. "Have you seen a woman—alone, long hair, big build?"
Xu Ningbing had disguised herself with ugly makeup, so Xu Mu could only describe her figure.
"I haven't…" the woman stammered. Then she swallowed hard and looked up. "Brother, please… give me some water. I'll trade my body for it."
"Sorry," Xu Mu said lightly. "My standards are too high."
He turned to leave.
"Brother, please!"
The woman suddenly clung to his leg, slowly standing up. "I'll make sure you're… satisfied!"
Boom!
The moment her hand touched his chest, a surge of Hidden Force exploded from her palm.
"Hahaha! Got you now, fool!" she sneered.