Chapter 39：Submerged Corpse in the River
In the Insect Valley, the most thriving species were insects.
To be more precise, they were mutated insects!
The insects in this valley were not only numerous and diverse, but each type had unique characteristics that far surpassed those of insects found elsewhere.
Moreover, due to the valley's unique geographical conditions and some special energies that greatly promoted insect growth, the insects here were often much larger than those outside!
Take, for example, the wings of the Blue Flash Butterfly that Allen had purchased.
This species of butterfly also existed in the Bakken and Bata rainforests, but they were not as large!
A typical rainforest butterfly would be impressive if it had a wingspan of ten centimeters.
However, in this Insect Valley, butterflies with wingspans exceeding thirty centimeters were common!
There were even giant Blue Flash Butterflies with wingspans reaching up to one meter, revered as totems by certain tribes.
Logically, in such a resource-rich Insect Valley, there should be no shortage of food and clothing.
But mysticism doesn't follow logic!
In the entire Insect Valley, ninety-nine percent of the insects were poisonous!
The insect meat was inedible and couldn't be used as food for the hunting tribes.
Therefore, these tribes had to rely on the few fruits available in the valley as their main food source.
At the same time, they hunted insects, collected shells and pincers, and made various products to sell in the black market in exchange for food and supplies.
But these products often didn't attract black market merchants.
In the humid and rainy rainforest environment, mold easily grew.
If not carefully maintained, insect shells could easily rot and deteriorate.
Ordinary insect products, whether in terms of strength or durability, couldn't compare to iron tools.
Thus, people were more willing to spend extra money on iron products.
Allen had Peter keep an eye on this guy mainly to purchase various insect materials for making various potions.
Among the three potions recorded in the parchment "Dark Rituals," besides the curse of the plant mage, the other two required some rare insects.
Allen received Peter's message this time because the tribal hunter from the Insect Valley was selling a peculiar insect called the Star-Spotted Beetle.
Ordinary people didn't know the peculiarity of the Star-Spotted Beetle, but as a plant mage, Allen knew very well that this insect's shell, as beautiful as the starry sky, contained a unique energy besides its beauty.
The shell of an adult Star-Spotted Beetle contained a faint star power.
This not-so-hot star power was a key ingredient in making the Plant Mage's Hymn!
The Plant Mage's Hymn, as the name suggests, was a potion with positive effects.
It could be used to quickly promote the reproduction and growth of plants. The refined, high-concentration Plant Mage's Hymn could also serve as a special medicine for treating external injuries.
Although Allen could achieve similar effects with his natural power, doing so was too consuming and unsustainable, as Allen's strength hadn't reached the level of a perpetual motion machine.
Therefore, making the Plant Mage's Hymn was essential, whether to assist in controlling oath plants or as a reserve special medicine.
To reach the black market city of Bacha quickly, Allen couldn't travel by land on his large stag.
In the rainforest, the fastest way to travel was by water.
Allen jumped off the stag and, with his extraordinary physical strength, soon cut down enough tree trunks and vines with his hunting knife.
In no time, Allen had woven a large raft.
"Plop—!" The raft was pushed into the water by Allen, who then pulled the stag onto it and began rowing upstream.
Although Allen could use his natural power to propel the raft, he chose to row with two simple wooden paddles to avoid drawing attention.
His natural perception spread along the river, sensing the surrounding environment.
However, due to the water's obstruction, Allen's natural perception couldn't penetrate the riverbed.
But after releasing a trace of his extraordinary aura, no crocodile dared to attack the raft.
Of course, Allen had already scouted the area and confirmed that the swamp dragon, a dominant extraordinary creature, wasn't around.
The long and wide Bakken River had many tributaries, and encountering a swamp dragon was as likely as winning the lottery.
"Quiet down!" Allen raised his hand and slapped the restless stag's rump.
The creature was extremely uneasy and resistant to traveling by raft.
Unlike the forcibly subdued stag, the green poison lizard was eager to plunge into the water.
As they approached the river, the green poison lizard kept making hissing sounds, eager to dive in and swim.
"Alright, alright, little guy, you can go out for a little while!" Allen placed the green poison lizard on the raft.
The lizard, impatient, shot out like a flash.
With its speed and poisonous nature, few creatures in the river could threaten it, but Allen decided to be cautious.
Before long, the green poison lizard, having swum several laps around the raft, still felt unsatisfied.
Taking advantage of Allen's inattention, it dove into the greenish, murky river water.
Allen smiled wryly, realizing how disobedient it had become.
But the little creature was smart, maintaining contact through natural perception and staying within Allen's detection range.
The raft moved quickly, and within a quarter-hour, it left the rapid currents and entered a calm, shallow area.
At this point, Allen's natural perception could reach the riverbed, teeming with aquatic plants.
Suddenly, the green poison lizard ahead conveyed a sense of curiosity and surprise, as if it had discovered something.
The distance was just beyond Allen's natural perception range.
So Allen activated his natural power and quickly paddled towards the lizard's location.
Moments later, a vague object appeared in Allen's natural perception.
At the riverbed, covered in mud and sand, lay a submerged corpse!
Due to the murky water, Allen couldn't see the corpse clearly.
His natural perception could only detect its rough outline, so he ordered the green poison lizard to investigate.
The little creature, following the order, quickly circled the submerged corpse and soon extracted something from the battered, swollen body, swiftly swimming back to Allen.
It was a piece of dark red plant fiber, about the length of a pinky finger and five millimeters in diameter.
Allen took the fiber from the lizard's mouth and examined it closely.
To his surprise, he discovered something remarkable!
The entire fiber resembled an immature vine of some plant, with fine, tender barbs on the surface.
Moreover, the fiber gave Allen a peculiar feeling, possessing plant vitality and a certain bloodthirsty aura.
"Was this found inside the corpse?"
The green poison lizard nodded obediently. "No, I must retrieve this corpse!" Allen thought to himself.