Chapter 21: Island in the Sky

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The scene shifted, and he found himself back in the small cottage of Ironstone Village. Once again, his feet touched the worn wooden floorboards of the tavern, and he took in the somewhat familiar interior. Habitually, he opened the interface first.

[Time remaining until this return: 47:59:50.]

[Main quest “Feast of the Twisted Forest” will commence on the night of the 5th. At that time, you may choose whether to enter the dream world “Twisted Forest.”]

Qin Yuan took out a teleportation crystal from his backpack. Having soaked and charged for a full day in the Spring of Magic, it glowed with a sparkling magical aura, resembling a radiant star sphere.

Following the method taught by the Whispering Grimoire, Qin Yuan gently infused a small amount of mana into it. Instantly, a prompt appeared.

[Please select your teleportation node…]

There were three nodes in total. Qin Yuan immediately selected the first—the Sky Island.

In a flash, the familiar dizziness engulfed him once more.

Seconds later, a burst of light flashed.

The room was now empty, devoid of any human presence.

…

When solid ground touched beneath his feet, Qin Yuan opened his eyes.

The sky stretched endlessly in a brilliant azure blue.

Beside him, the forest thrived lush and vibrant, radiating a scene full of vitality.

Before him lay a clear lake, sparkling under the sunlight.

He tilted his head slightly upward.

At the very center of the island stood a colossal tree, its trunk soaring into the clouds. Its sheer size was astonishing—roughly estimated to be hundreds of meters tall.

The one-eyed giant he had seen in the forest would be no larger than a child standing before it.

The breathtaking sight before him stirred a deep sense of awe within.

Such a natural wonder far surpassed any skyscraper he had ever seen.

Yet, the Eye of Revelation displayed new text.

…

[Sanctified Glyph Tree: A high-level organism of the natural realm, famed for producing the rare Sanctified Fruit. It is said to inherit part of the World Tree’s lineage. Now extremely rare, existing only in regions like the Tree Spirit Realm and the Elven Realm.]

[Current status: Self-protective closed state.]

…

“Gurgle…”

A sound came from nearby, breaking his reverie. Qin Yuan turned his head.

Only then did he notice a large group of slimes gathered at the lake’s edge.

They appeared to be working together swiftly and harmoniously, gathering wild fruits from the tree.

The collected food was stored in their portable backpacks.

…

[Slime (LV1): A low-tier creature resembling jelly, possessing intelligence and generally friendly toward humans.]

…

While Qin Yuan observed, a slime standing guard nearby also noticed the human.

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Its expression changed instantly, and it began chattering rapidly to its companions.

This blue slime, the largest among the group, seemed to be their leader.

Its words quickly took effect; the slimes around immediately stopped their actions, casting wary and frightened glances in his direction.

Then, the group leapt and bounded away in one direction, as if fleeing from some terrible catastrophe.

In the blink of an eye, they vanished without a trace.

Qin Yuan was somewhat bewildered.

Am I really that terrifying to look at...?

“Never mind… Probably just because they’ve never seen a human before,” he thought silently. The Whispering Grimoire had already informed him of the basic situation here.

A batch of slimes lived on the Sky Island, relocated here with the help of the previous owner of the Whispering Grimoire.

So, Qin Yuan wasn’t particularly surprised—just intrigued by the novelty of seeing such creatures for the first time.

“By the way, didn’t you say this island is caught inside some void turbulence? It feels completely different from what I imagined.”

He glanced at the bright blue sky, then at the birdsong-filled, blooming scenery nearby, curiously asking.

This was vastly different from the chaotic, distorted image he had pictured.

Instead, it was a serene paradise, a beautiful and peaceful retreat.

“That’s how these fragmented zones are. There’s no night, but why it is like this—I’m not entirely sure,” the Whispering Grimoire admitted.

“The air’s pretty good too…”

Breathing in the fresh air, the pleasing environment lifted Qin Yuan’s spirits considerably. Gazing at the towering Sanctified Glyph Tree in the distance, he summoned his feather companion.

“Oh, I just noticed a new prompt…”

Qin Yuan told the Whispering Grimoire about the message that appeared when he saw the Sanctified Glyph Tree entering a closed state: “What does this mean?”

“Ah?” The Whispering Grimoire sounded puzzled and hesitant.

“Why would it do that… It shouldn’t.”

“What’s wrong?” Qin Yuan noticed the change in tone.

“The closed state is unique to this kind of creature. It induces a deep sleep to greatly enhance its defense,” the Grimoire explained quickly. “But normally, nothing on the Sky Island should pose a threat to it. This is very unusual.”

“Could it be… that other creatures or humans have discovered this place?”

Qin Yuan’s mind stirred with the possibility.

“That’s unlikely…”

Now, the Grimoire’s tone was less certain.

After some thought, it rejected the idea: “Theoretically, the chance is negligible. This place is hidden enough, and the old man sealed it further with a magic array. Even high-level archmages passing through this area rarely notice it.”

“Feather, fly up and check if there’s anything abnormal here.”

Upon hearing this, Qin Yuan asked his feather companion to scout the skies.

The owl made no sound, swiftly soaring upward and circling high above.

After a while, it returned.

Meeting Qin Yuan’s inquisitive gaze, Feather frowned and said, “Something’s not quite right… Most of the island seems normal, but one area has a problem. The trees there have their leaves dyed dark red, and the environment has changed drastically. Just looking at it makes me feel uneasy. Something seems to be moving inside, but since I can’t stray too far from you, that’s all I can observe.”

“Dark red? Something moving?” The Whispering Grimoire mulled over the words and after a pause said, “I might have an idea…”

“What?” Qin Yuan asked.

“…Let’s go see for ourselves. I’m not certain.”

The Whispering Grimoire did not elaborate further.

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“Alright.” Qin Yuan did not press further. He set off with his companions, walking through the forest under the bright sunshine.

After a short distance, Feather, who had been on alert in midair, suddenly descended hurriedly.

“There’s trouble ahead… A creepy-looking spider is hunting slimes over there. It doesn’t look good.”

“Hm?” Upon hearing this, Qin Yuan quickened his pace, following the owl’s directions toward the scene.

From afar, he saw a nearly two-meter-long spider covered in black and red bristles, gnawing on the remains of a slime.

With each chew, a brightly colored liquid dripped onto the ground.

[Notification: You have encountered an Abyssal Spider (LV 4).]

Surrounding the area was a circle of slimes, all opening their mouths and spitting out blobs of condensed liquid, repeatedly striking the spider.

But their attacks merely struck the spider’s tough exoskeleton.

The effect was minimal.

It appeared to be the same group of slimes he had encountered earlier.

Qin Yuan noticed the leader—the large blue slime—its face filled with tension and helplessness.

The slime levels before him came into view.

Except for the leader at level two, all others were level one.

Their strength was on a completely different scale, making their attacks ineffective.

The Abyssal Spider, indifferent to the slimes’ attacks, continued chewing its prey without concern.

At its feet, a yellow slime struggled desperately, wrapped in a cocoon of black silk, but it could not break free.

One slime, seeing the futility of their attacks, chattered anxiously to the blue leader in a language Qin Yuan could not understand.

The blue slime shook its head grimly, murmuring a reply.

“It said Dongdong was killed by the monster. Hurry back to the village and get the warriors to come rescue him.”

“The blue slime responded that there are no warriors left in the village; they are either severely injured or poisoned, barely clinging to life,” the Whispering Grimoire suddenly interjected.

Hidden in the forest, Qin Yuan nodded slightly. He signaled Feather and summoned a surge of mana into his palm, quickly condensing a purple magic missile.

Thanks to the advantages gained from leveling up, the magic missile was several times larger than the first time he had cast it.

Once charged, Qin Yuan willed the missile forward.

It shot swiftly through the trees and struck the Abyssal Spider with precision.

This was the result of his training these past days—his accuracy had greatly improved, far surpassing before.

A muffled thud stirred dust in the air.

The sudden strike caused the spider to stagger, nearly losing balance and falling, but it quickly regained its stance and turned toward the source of the attack.

It seemed largely unaffected.

This was as Qin Yuan expected; his level was still one below the spider’s, and the magic missile’s raw damage was near the lower end of one-star spells.

Its main function was to apply negative effects.

At that moment, the spider’s status bar changed in his vision.

…

[Abyssal Spider (LV 4): A primary abyssal creature capable of adapting to various complex environments. Its back shell provides strong defense, but its abdomen is relatively fragile. Beware of the highly corrosive venom it sprays from its abdomen.]

[Status: Vulnerable (receives 20% increased damage).]

…