Chapter 256.1: Ice and Fire Destroy the Poisonous Miasma
Wang Qiu’er naturally stayed with him. She followed him beside his all-terrain self-driving fort and said, “Are you going to use this toy to barge through the miasma? That’s entirely impossible! The toxic fog inside is too dense, and you can’t even determine the right direction to go. Even if you can do so, you’ll still need to breathe when you go inside! There won’t be much for us to breathe in the depths of the miasma, so what are you going to do? When that happens, will you even be able to escape? Furthermore, I am confident that certain toxic miasmas are extremely corrosive, so metal will gradually become dysfunctional, and could even melt. You think this thing of yours can fend off all the miasma? Stop dreaming!”
Huo Yuhao made no reply as he continued working on his all-terrain self-driving fort. It was just as Wang Qiu’er had said, he was attempting to make the self-driving fort more airtight.
Huo Yuhao was very familiar with this soul tool. The Starlight Sapphire ring’s immense space meant he could bring along a lot of materials, so he took less than an hour to complete the adjustments to make the all-terrain self-driving fort more airtight.
Huo Yuhao went inside to try it out, using Spiritual Detection to scan every single detail and component. He made sure that the internal regions were completely airtight before he came out, and began to work on something else on the outside. From Wang Qiu’er’s perspective, Huo Yuhao was incessantly stripping things off the self-driving fort before he added something else in their place in a manner that seemed overly complicated.
Another two hours passed before he finished refining his all-terrain self-driving fort, and the sky was started to turn dark.
He began to retrieve soul tool after soul tool from his Starlight Sapphire storage ring, and laid them all out neatly on the ground.
He took out sixteen Milk Bottles, and some stationary soul cannon shells. These shells were marked with various patterns and markings, forty-six of them altogether. Huo Yuhao picked out nine shells that had red markings and put the other shells away before he took out another normal storage-type ring and put it on his right hand’s middle finger. He placed those nine shells inside this ring.
It was clear that he was sorting his inventory and his equipment. He checked his sixteen Milk Bottles and discovered that some of them weren’t stored to the brim with soul power, so he immediately began to infuse soul power into these half-full Milk Bottles eventually completely filling every single one. Every single Milk Bottle would be imperative to the subsequent operation, and every single Class 6 Milk Bottle could completely restore his soul power over a period of time.
Wang Qiu’er looked on as Huo Yuhao completed his tasks seriously, and her expression changed continuously.
There was only one thought in her mind. She was still throwing around the statement that Huo Yuhao had just said to her before this.
“I’ve thought about losing her and what would become of me, and I realized that my entire world would turn gray, and I would no longer have any vitality. Perhaps, I might even lose the will to live. That was when I realized to my surprise that her life has become more important than my own.”
She was so important in his heart, and he would risk his own life to break through this miasmic world for her. A person could actually give so much for another person. Why? How is that possible?
She silently watched Huo Yuhao finish everything he was doing as she immersed herself within these complicated emotions. The sky had already turned dark when he finished up with his Milk Bottles.
Huo Yuhao only made some time to rest at this moment. He raised his head and glanced at Wang Qiu’er before he heaved a faint sigh and said, “Why haven’t you left?”
Wang Qiu’er grunted coldly and replied, “Why should I leave? I want to see how a fool is going to kill himself.”
Huo Yuhao smiled when he heard “fool”, as the images of Wang Dong’er and himself on the Sea God’s Lake surfaced in his mind.
“I’m not a fool. I should be an idiot,” Huo Yuhao chuckled in reply.
Wang Qiu’er was taken aback. “Is there something wrong with your brain?”
Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, “She was the one that said that. She told me before that I’m an idiot, and I’m her idiot. No matter what, this idiot has to be idiotic one more time. The sky is getting dark, you should leave at first light tomorrow. If you wish, you can wait for me outside the Setting Sun Forest, and you can go back without me if I’m not out within three days. However, please don’t tell anyone about what happened to me. Just let them believe that I’ve disappeared.”
Wang Qiu’er’s emotions erupted once more, and she began to shout at Huo Yuhao. “Idiot! You truly are an idiot, and there’s nothing that can save you from your idiocy. Is it worth it? Is it really worth it?”
Huo Yuhao didn’t mince words as he replied decisively, “Yes, it’s worth it. I have to try, no matter how much danger and peril I have to put myself through, so that Dong’er may continue to live. At the very least, I have to figure out the true mysteries contained within this place, and I will not give up even if there is but one sliver of hope. How can I look on with open eyes as Dong’er passes into the void from her hidden wound? How can I look on as my entire world turns gray? I can’t let that happen.”
Wang Qiu’er bit down on her lower lip. “Idiot, idiot! Idiot!”
Huo Yuhao didn’t bother with her any longer, and he collected some relatively drier branches from around him and began to make a campfire.
Huo Yuhao had no qualms about starting a fire here, as there weren’t many soul beasts left in this area of the Setting Sun Forest. He was quietly observing how the faint miasma in the air reacted to his campfire at the same time.
Heated rations were still tastier than cold ones. Huo Yuhao didn’t dare to cook food from the things around him, as the plants and vegetation around him had been immersed in this miasma for an incredibly long time, and they probably contained all contained toxins to some degree. He made some thick soup from the rations and food that he had brought along with him and began to eat.
Wang Qiu’er’s emotions had exploded for a moment, but she swiftly returned to normal. She came over to his side and began to eat as well.
Night inside the Setting Sun Forest was a lot colder than inside the Great Star Dou Forest. There wasn’t much wind, but the environment’s eerie cold and humidity was still exceedingly uncomfortable.
Fortunately, they had this campfire. The two of them sat around the campfire and sipped on their warm soup, and this helped them dispel the chill.
Gulp… Huo Yuhao finished the soup in his bowl and stretched out comfortably. He got to his feet and surveyed the area with Spiritual Detection to make sure there were no dangers or threats around them before sitting back on the ground.
Wang Qiu’er sipped her soup in small mouthfuls. She was very serious in this endeavor, as if she was holding some precious treasure in her hands.
“Qiu’er, at which time of day is this miasma the thickest? When is it the thinnest?”
Wang Qiu’er answered coldly, “It’s thickest in the morning, and it’s thinnest at midday.”
Huo Yuhao’s eyes closed into a squint. “Since that’s the case, it’s probably because the morning is a lot more humid than the rest of the day. The accumulated moisture throughout the night probably makes it easier for this miasma to travel. Sunlight is strongest at midday, and the moisture within all this miasma will partially evaporate under direct sunlight. It will thin without the help of voluminous water vapor. Is that correct?”
Wang Qiu’er nodded.
“That’s good, then.” Huo Yuhao closed his eyes, and he seemed like he was starting to meditate beside the campfire.
“Hey! What are you going on and on about?” Wang Qiu’er sounded a little upset.
Huo Yuhao opened his eyes once more. He heaved a faint sigh and said, “I’m serious, Qiu’er. You should leave at first light tomorrow.”
Wang Qiu’er grunted coldly and said, “What makes you think you can tell me what to do? Do you think you are the only one that is allowed to do idiotic things?”
Huo Yuhao shook his head. “But there’s no need for that. It’s too dangerous, and I am not even ten percent confident in succeeding. I’ll have to rely on guesswork, trial, and error for many things.”
“Stop beating around the bush. Say it, what’s your plan, exactly? Since I have already followed you this far, do you think I can just look on while you venture into danger and peril all by yourself? Who do you think I am?” Wang Qiu’er’s voice was ice-cold. Even though her tone was cold, her words were warmer than even the campfire before him when they fell into his ears.
Helpings hands in one’s direst moment were usually the most precious things one could ever have.
“Thank you.” Huo Yuhao took a deep breath and said, “If you’re willing to help, then I think our chances of success will be raised to thirty percent. If this toxic miasma is the only threat in this place, then I have an eighty percent chance of escaping with my life at least. The only thing I’m worried about right now is if there are other dangers besides this toxic miasma.”
Wang Qiu’er was astounded when she heard his words. “Are you being blindly optimistic? Why do you think you have an eighty percent chance of escaping with your life?”
Huo Yuhao answered, “Perhaps I’m not as familiar with forests inhabited by soul beasts or with miasma as you are, but my judgment and decision-making skills are still quite reliable. The person that imparted this map to me is a senior, and I am positive that he harbors no malicious intent. This is the reason why he added a seal on the map when he gave it to me, so that I would only come here to find the Yearning Heartbroken Grass to save Dong’er’s life when I was strong enough. I opened this seal by chance, and before I have obtained the necessary strength.
However, the records suggest that not every area on the way to my destination is covered by this toxic miasma. Otherwise, I may not even have the confidence of retrieving what I’m looking for even if I were a Titled Douluo. This miasma greatly hinders my Spiritual Detection, so how else could I find what I need to find? I trust that this task that this senior has given to me isn’t that difficult to accomplish.”
Wang Qiu’er grunted and said, “These are but your conjectures.”
Huo Yuhao chortled and replied, “We have to hypothesize boldly, but we have to prove it conscientiously and carefully. Furthermore, I have other safeguards. You’ve already said that this miasma is strongest during the early morning, and it will weaken at midday. That means there is no doubt that we should move forward at midday. Furthermore, since the warmth from sunlight impedes the miasma, why don’t we create something hot so that we can weaken the miasma around us?”