Interstellar Farming: I Make Potions and Climb to the Top

"In the initial phase, we need to feel out the patterns of the Dark Forest. Don’t get greedy or be reckless. If you discover anything abnormal, return immediately. Safety is the top priority. Have you all got that?" Though the New Star Body was certainly dangerous, Ning Xuan hoped everyone would return home safely.

"Min Wu, you’ll take the middle position. If there’s any danger, bring them back immediately," Ning Xuan instructed.

"Yes, Miss Ning," Min Wu answered dutifully. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Di Youlin, Zhang Nan, and Min Wu entered the forest region together. All three were wearing Night Vision Goggles. After entering the dark area, they found the goggles automatically adjusted, cycling through several modes before finally settling on one that allowed them to just barely see the scene inside the forest.

While they could make out some objects, their vision was still largely obscured by darkness.

Di Youlin stared at the unnaturally straight trees, feeling that something was not quite right. Every trunk was about the same thickness, and the trees grew with far too much uniformity. Even the direction of each branch seemed to conform to a specific pattern.

Di Youlin tapped his fingertip three times on the sensor on the side of his Night Vision Goggles. A pale blue energy map immediately materialized on the lens’s surface. According to the energy readings, the trees were real plants.

Di Youlin reached out and touched a trunk. It was indeed solid wood. The trees were incredibly tall. He spread his wings and flew upward. He could feel a counteracting force trying its best to suppress his flight, but Di Youlin’s strength was formidable, after all. He broke through the pressure and flew above the canopy.

Di Youlin attempted to uproot a tree, but he failed after several tries. In the end, he broke off a branch with leaves on it and descended.

"Mr. Di, are these trees... actually real?" Zhang Nan asked nervously, seeing Di Youlin return with the branch.

"They’re real. Let’s go. We keep moving forward," Di Youlin said to the other two.

The three of them continued onward. After about ten minutes, Zhang Nan’s Companion Spirit, the Golden Hamster, suddenly started squeaking frantically. The trunk of the tree closest to Zhang Nan split open, forming a slit like a vertical pupil, and sprayed out a cloud of purplish-blue mist.

Zhang Nan, completely unprepared, was hit square in the face by the purplish-blue mist. As the vapor enveloped him, his face rapidly turned the same color. The purplish-blue mist also began to appear around the squeaking Golden Hamster.

At the same time, the other trees also began to spray the same kind of mist.

"What’s wrong? Zhang Nan!" Min Wu asked nervously as he dodged away from the front of the trees.

Zhang Nan clutched his head and let out a silent scream. His face was twisted into a savage expression, as if he were enduring immense pain.

Di Youlin yanked Zhang Nan backward, pulling him out of the area in front of the tree trunk. He produced an Antidote from his clothing, pried open Zhang Nan’s mouth, and poured it down his throat.

"Mr. Di, it’s not safe here anymore. Now that Zhang Nan is poisoned, we should head back," Min Wu suggested nervously. He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but he was starting to feel a little dizzy himself.

"The site of the incident isn’t far. I’m going to press on a little further and check it out. You take him and go back first," Di Youlin said.

"No, that’s not happening. We leave together. What if you run into danger after I’m gone? Let’s go now," Min Wu said, disagreeing.

"I won’t be in any danger without you two holding me back," Di Youlin said arrogantly, glancing back at them.

"SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK!" The Golden Hamster’s cries grew more frantic. Min Wu felt his head spin. He could feel something invading his Spiritual Sea and his body. ’If this continues,’ he thought, ’I won’t be able to stay conscious.’

Seeing Di Youlin walk on without a moment’s hesitation, Min Wu had no choice. He grabbed the back of Zhang Nan’s collar, activated his Skill, and warped back outside the forest.

When Ning Xuan saw Zhang Nan and Min Wu suddenly appear, she knew Min Wu must have used his Skill. Noticing that their complexions were off, she immediately began to examine them.

Ning Xuan gave each of them an Antidote Potion and an Alienation Value Clearing Potion, then used Golden Needle Acupuncture to clear their turbulent Spiritual Seas. Min Wu, having inhaled a relatively small amount of the toxic gas, was the first to recover.

As for Zhang Nan, a distinct purplish-blue hue still clung to his entire body. Other than the color fading slightly, there was no other noticeable improvement.

"This poison is quite persistent," Ning Xuan said, checking Zhang Nan’s pulse.

"Why didn’t Di Youlin come back with you?" Ning Xuan asked Min Wu.

"Mr. Di said the incident site wasn’t far, and he wanted to press on to take a look," Min Wu answered.

"He’s acting on his own authority," Ning Xuan muttered, frowning. ’Even though Di Youlin’s strength is far greater than Zhang Nan’s and Min Wu’s, I sent them to explore as a team so they could watch out for each other. Now Min Wu and Zhang Nan have returned, but Di Youlin refuses to. He’s completely ignoring my instructions.’

"How did Zhang Nan get poisoned? Weren’t you wearing respirators?" Ning Xuan asked, glancing at the respirator hanging around Min Wu’s neck.

When Min Wu and Zhang Nan had first returned, they had indeed been wearing their respirators; they had just pulled them down.

"The toxic gas must be able to enter the body through the skin. Zhang Nan was standing right in front of a large tree and got sprayed all over," Min Wu explained, recounting what they had seen after entering the forest to Ning Xuan and the others.

After hearing his description, Ning Xuan and the others grew tense. Despite knowing how powerful Di Youlin was, she couldn’t help but worry about his safety.

Di Youlin stared at the black barrier in front of him, which was a full two meters high. His expression was grave. It was a black fault space. Once something entered a black fault space, any object, living or not, would immediately and automatically disintegrate.

Black fault spaces were a common phenomenon in the Star Domain, typically appearing frequently before the formation of a black hole. ’But they usually only exist in a Star Domain, not inside a celestial body!’

’So how could a black fault space appear on this New Star Body?’

Di Youlin couldn’t make sense of it. He began to walk to the right, following the edge of this spatial barrier. He wanted to see if it had an end. He walked on, and suddenly, the rope tied to his wrist pulled taut.

’Looks like the three-thousand-meter rope has run out.’

Di Youlin glanced ahead at the black fault space, which still seemed to stretch on infinitely. He turned and walked back the other way, to the left. After walking for some time, the rope pulled taut again. This time, as it tightened, he felt a distinct tugging force. Ning Xuan was urging him to hurry back.

’But I can’t see the end in either direction. Should I untie the rope and keep going to check it out?’

The thought flashed through Di Youlin’s mind, and he felt a restless urge to act on it. However, the tugging on the rope grew stronger and more insistent. In the end, Di Youlin decided it was best to head back first.