Chapter 40：The Peculiar Parasitic Fibers

Allen wasted no time, quickly maneuvering the raft to the position directly above the submerged corpse.

Stripping off his clothes, he used a wooden paddle to anchor the raft by driving it deep into the soft, muddy riverbed.

The water here was less than three meters deep. Despite the murkiness, Allen could still make out the rough shape of the corpse.

With a splash, Allen dove into the water.

As the ripples on the water's surface slowly faded, it wasn't long before Allen surfaced, lifting the nearly waterlogged corpse.

The corpse was enveloped in a toxic mist generated by Allen, with his natural power creating a barrier between his hands and the corpse.

To be safe, Allen avoided direct contact with the corpse.

It was the body of a lean man, and from his attire, it was clear that he had been a rainforest hunter in life.

Throwing the corpse onto the raft, Allen began a thorough examination.

The man's chest and abdomen were shattered, ribs broken, and flesh torn apart.

The body had not been in the water for long, as the color of the remaining flesh on the chest and abdomen was still discernible.

"The chest and abdomen are filled with this strange plant fiber!"

Allen picked up a strand of fiber, his tone filled with astonishment. It was the same kind brought back by the green poison lizard.

There was no doubt; the evidence before Allen indicated that the man had been torn apart by these plant fibers.

After ensuring the corpse posed no danger, Allen directly retrieved the hunter's knife from the man's waist and drew the blade.

"The knife is sharp and has not been drawn, showing no signs of a struggle."

"This means the man was either killed instantly and then had these plant fibers planted in him, or he was unknowingly killed by these fibers."

Allen furrowed his brow, speculating. Given the bloodthirsty aura of the plant fibers, he leaned towards the latter.

"In other words, there exists some parasitic vine plant that killed this man without him realizing it!"

Far from being terrified, Allen was intrigued by this thought!

If such a bloodthirsty vine plant existed, wouldn't it be perfect for him?

With this in mind, Allen immediately activated his natural perception, searching for traces of this plant in the river.

...

After over an hour of intensive searching, aided by the green poison lizard, Allen finally discovered the presence of the plant fibers at the confluence of a rapid tributary.

"Great! If I can find it, I can tame it!" Allen was eager, immediately propelling the raft upstream along the trail.

However, as the raft moved forward, Allen felt the surroundings becoming increasingly familiar.

As the thunderous sound of water crashing against the surface reached his ears, Allen realized, "This is the Dorax Waterfall!"

Allen had visited this place once while selling redwood with the former rainforest district head.

It was a shortcut to Bacha, but due to the significant elevation drop, it was impossible to travel by boat. Only on the return trip, abandoning the raft and traveling by land, could save a lot of time.

Moreover, this area was frequented by various rainforest predators, such as river wolves, forest leopards, and jungle tigers, making it a dangerous place seldom traveled by people.

However, some fearless poaching gangs came here to hunt these predators for profit.

Strictly speaking, this was a no-man's land, so hunting here wasn't considered poaching.

But if you hunted a stack of predator pelts and were caught by a lord's forest ranger team on the river, they would show you what robbery meant!

Therefore, anyone hunting here was a desperate person willing to risk their life for money.

Revisiting the place, Allen, confident in his skills, didn't care about the stag's safety.

Jumping off the raft, he tied the stag in a dense bush and, with the green poison lizard, agilely entered the forest.

His steps were swift and steady, and he had a firm grasp of his surroundings.

To avoid alerting any potential threats, Allen didn't release his aura but moved stealthily, quickly following the rapid river upstream.

The terrain rose, and the tree roots became more rugged, with the accumulated, decaying plant matter underfoot absorbing the sound of his footsteps.

As the relatively flat path ended, the thunderous roar of water filled every corner.

Looking up, he saw a massive cliff over a hundred meters high, towering like a giant wall, splitting the rainforest in two.

The cliff, covered in lush vegetation, moss, and weeds, presented a rich, dark green color.

In the center of the cliff, at a smooth break, a rushing waterfall shot out like a giant python.

The massive water flow descended from the sky, crashing into the cold, deep pool below with a thunderous roar!

The magnificent scenery before him didn't move Allen, as the trail he was following ended here.

The trail abruptly stopped, disappearing underground, making it impossible to track.

Unwilling to return empty-handed, Allen followed the cliff, recalling the route, and climbed the hundred-meter cliff with the agility of an ape.

For an ordinary person, the cliff was an insurmountable barrier, but for Allen, an extraordinary plant mage, it was as easy as walking on flat ground.

After a thorough search, with the green poison lizard also released to help, he finally found a clue in a bush ten meters from the waterfall.

It was a piece of burlap, torn and caught by the bush.

"The material is identical to the belongings of the submerged corpse!"

Allen immediately rushed in that direction, soon finding a patch of land that had been artificially leveled.

It was a poacher's camp, surrounded by sharp wooden barriers, with a still-warm campfire in the center.

Allen observed everything from a distance, his keen natural perception taking in the camp's details.

Suddenly, his eyes caught a clear bloodstain!

It extended from a half-open tent towards the waterfall.

Allen confirmed through the aura that this was the blood of the submerged corpse.

"It seems this guy struggled and ran some distance..."

As he pondered, the green poison lizard, which had sneaked close to the camp, suddenly conveyed a sense of agitation.

Soon, the little creature returned with a small piece of the same plant fiber, jumping into Allen's hand.

"This is the place!"

Without hesitation, Allen decided to investigate. Even if the poachers were fully armed, they couldn't harm him.

Moreover, the camp was eerily silent, suggesting...

As expected, after eliminating traps, Allen entered the camp, finding a strong smell of blood in all five tents around the campfire.

Pulling back the tent flaps, he found mutilated corpses.

These bodies were filled with the same strange plant fibers.

These people had died in their sleep, parasitized by the plant, their flesh torn apart, their life force and energy absorbed.