Apocalypse Descent: Farming with My Harem

After chasing for about one or two kilometers, he once again caught sight of the black snake.

"Excellent, this time I'm definitely going to catch you!"

Just as Cao Xing was about to take out the [Ejection Hook] to reel it in—

The black snake's eyes showed a trace of fear.

"Hiss!!"

It let out a screeching hiss to the sky, the black mist on its body flaring up again, and its speed abruptly shot up even further!

"Damn! It's running that fast?"

Cao Xing was also quite surprised at this.

But he didn't get discouraged and kept following, relentlessly pursuing it!

However, this black snake seemed extremely familiar with this forest.

With a few agile movements, it widened the distance again.

It even took advantage of the towering hundred-meter trees to slow Cao Xing's footsteps.

But Cao Xing leveraged his speed advantage and kept up the chase from behind.

The black snake was truly driven to desperation.

It didn't dare stop even for a moment, dashing wildly as it crashed through countless giant trees,

After all, in their last encounter, it had already learned how formidable this group was—nearly getting brutalized to death by them!

And now, it could feel these people had grown even stronger!

If it got caught, there was absolutely no chance of escape!

At that thought, the black snake began a frenzied dash for its life!

Rumble—crash!

Who knows how many huge trees were toppled by its massive body.

Behind it, Da Bai—the giant beast—was also rampaging.

Along the way, they left near-total devastation in their wake.

After pursuing for a while, Cao Xing glanced behind him.

He noticed a problem.

The team was growing increasingly scattered.

After all, because his subordinates had different professions and races, their move speeds varied.

Now, only Wally, Assam, and Sarah and a few other leader-level creatures could keep up with Cao Xing's pace.

In the rear, the few archers and Blom's group had already fallen out of formation.

Watching the black snake's figure gradually disappear into the distance, a look of helplessness flashed across Cao Xing's eyes.

A moment later, he said directly, "Let's stop here."

The running team slowly came to a halt.

Behind them, Blom and Meng Ma stepped forward and said,

"Lord… it's Blom who slowed everyone down…"

The other four archers also had guilt reflected in their eyes.

Cao Xing waved his hand, "It's fine, don't blame yourselves."

"This black snake really is far too fast, and especially so in a place like this forest."

"Even if we kept chasing, I can't say for sure we'd have a one hundred percent chance to catch it."

Hearing this, Blom and the others still felt a little guilty, but also felt a bit better inside.

But Cao Xing also realized something else.

Chasing after the black snake, it seemed they had entered a brand new area of the forest.

He glanced at the map.

Their current location was already in around the forty-five kilometer region of the Witch Forest.

Pushing close to the very central area.

"Damn, we actually chased that black snake for three or four kilometers through the forest just now? Where has it brought me?"

Cao Xing looked around and found a lot of new plants in the vicinity that he didn't recognize.

He thought for a moment, then said directly, "In that case, let's keep exploring around here."

Upon hearing Cao Xing's order,

The group reorganized the team.

Blom and Assam, the two melee fighters, took point up front.

The two Dragon Blood Warriors were positioned on each side of the formation.

The archers and mages followed at the back.

"Thud! Thud thud!"

Led by Da Bai, the group began exploring through the dense forest.

Cao Xing sat atop Da Bai's back, eyes and ears alert in every direction.

Right then, he suddenly spotted some little grasses among the weeds, faintly glowing blue.

"Blue Glow Grass?"

Cao Xing blurted out.

But then he quickly shut his mouth.

Clearly, this grass probably wasn't that plant.

Getting closer for a look, a system prompt appeared.

[Cold Star Grass (Blue): Magic Plant]

[Effect: After consumption, slightly increases Frost Ice Element affinity, raises casting speed by 3%–8%, lasts for 30~120 seconds]

(A relatively rare magic plant, also a main ingredient in some magic potions.)

…

"Oh? Main material for magic potions?"

"That's a great find!"

Although Cao Xing still hadn't found a subject with the Alchemy Mastery skill, and the [Intermediate Alchemy Workshop] was sitting idle,

that was only temporary—he'd certainly find an Alchemist eventually.

So, this stuff would definitely come in handy later.

With that in mind, Cao Xing cheerfully gathered up all the blue little grasses from the ground.

[Obtained: Cold Star Grass (Blue) *27]

…

"Nice, nice, making money again."

"Let's keep moving."

With that, Cao Xing led the group to explore the very depths of the Witch Forest.

A few minutes later—

Cao Xing suddenly saw a dense patch of white shrubs ahead.

Nearby, Cao Xing sensed a strange aura.

When he pushed aside the shrubs and saw what was ahead, his pupils instantly contracted.

"Holy shit!"

"How can there be something like this here?"

Cao Xing was shocked.

The others also stopped in their tracks, dumbfounded.

Blom rubbed his bald head and exclaimed, "By all gods, there's actually an ancient castle in the middle of this forest!"

"And it's so massive, too."

Indeed, an enormous castle appeared before Cao Xing and the group.

Its area was truly vast—at a glance, at least a dozen square kilometers.

A tall, blue stone wall encircled the entire castle.

The wall was covered in mottled marks and moss, full of the aura of ages past.

Inside, Cao Xing saw numerous pointed spires, and in the center, a tower over a hundred meters tall.

At this moment, he remembered the sight he'd seen from the treetop before.

"So, this is what I saw back then."

Just then, a system prompt appeared.

[You have arrived at the deepest part of the Witch Forest and discovered a special area: Forest Witch's Castle. Reputation Value +50]

…