Reincarnation of the Strongest Healer

Chapter 357: Sentient Being

When Xu Feng thought that there was a lurking sentient being overseeing their actions, he wasnʼt being paranoid.

After all, the symbols that involved the usage of Mana-Bane Thistle and Veilroot Essence essentially eliminated all those attempting to solve the puzzle without any prior knowledge or experience in Herbology.

Since Xu Feng had been exposed to both and was familiar with such herbs. Then naturally, its effect couldnʼt affect him in contrast to Carmen and Crimson Heart.

And this was what made Xu Feng suspicious.

Unless the puzzle somehow knew there was one experienced Herbalist here, then such a puzzle wouldnʼt have appeared as an obstacle to them.

As harsh and despicable as the Divine World was, it had always been fair to its players, ensuring that every obstacle was doable as long as the players gave their utmost effort.

”Whatʼs wrong, Guild Leader?” Concerned about his well-being, Carmen had been occasionally taking small glances at Xu Feng. When she noticed he seemed to be in a trance, she quickly rushed to him and shook his shoulder.

”Huh?” A bit startled, Xu Feng turned to Carmen. ”What do you mean?”

”You were in a daze earlier,” Carmen explained. ”I thought you got affected by the stones.”

Realization dawned upon Xu Feng and he smiled lightly. ”I see. Iʼm not affected by the symbols, but rather by the puzzle.”

”The puzzle?”

Nodding, Xu Feng proceeded to relay his deduction to Carmen.

By the time he finished, Carmen felt a cold chill running down her spine. ”If your deduction is true, then arenʼt we being watched from the start?” She uttered in shock.

Although Xu Feng didnʼt plan on alarming her, he couldnʼt help but have that thought.

After all, as he continuously recalled the encounter with the Chasm Stalker, followed by Crimson Heart ”accidentally” triggering the teleportation that was extremely rare, the coincidences were simply a bit overboard.

Once or twice, he could still excuse it. But the puzzle seemingly targeted at his Herbalist Profession was the third coincidence.

Everything seemed linear and planned from the start.

And there was only one possible culprit he could think of that could result in the lurking presence to understand them very well: Yaren.

All contestant information was legit relayed to the organizer of Paradise Plains, so naturally, Yaren who acted as the conductor could have access to his information.

Not to mention, her adamant determination to send him to the Abyssal Rift was somewhat out of her character.

”What are the two of you talking over there?” Meanwhile, Crimson Heart, who had been trying to figure out the symbols on the wall, realized the two had become idle. Confused, she asked to see if they had some enlightenment.

Just like that Xu Feng summarized it briefly regarding his doubts to her.

”Conductor Yaren was that shrewd?” Astonished, Crimson Heart found it baffling that this was all planned. But what made her feel better was that she could finally get rid of the jinx status.

If Xu Fengʼs deduction was true, then regardless if she touched the symbol earlier or not, they would still be teleported to the lowest level.

”Then what do we do?” Carmen questioned. ”We canʼt just be sitting ducks here and not solve the puzzle.”

”Actually, we can.” Xu Feng mused. ”Since we are being watched, then the spectator is naturally curious about our every move. Think of it like youʼre a viewer watching a drama or movie. Would you be bored if the scene showed the actors not doing anything?”

”Thatʼs obvious!” Carmen rolled her eyes.

Who would watch a movie or drama when the actors are not doing anything exciting to keep your retention?

Suddenly, realization struck upon Carmen. ”Wait, if we do nothing, then the sentient being will be forced to do something to make us entertain them.”

”But itʼs risky to do it.” Crimson Heart shook her head. So far, the deduction was merely based on Xu Feng without any concrete evidence. Without it, they could be completely wrong and merely waste more time.

”Letʼs say if the Guild Leaderʼs deduction is correct. Who are we to know whether the sentient being would be nice and release us?” She raised the question, equivalent to saying their action could potentially anger them, resulting in more terrible consequences to befall their current situation.

Not a bit surprised by Crimson Heartʼs doubts and worries, Xu Feng continued, ”The worst punishment possible is death. If we die, then weʼll be automatically transferred back to Paradise Plains. Itʼs not like there could be any more worse consequences.”

”The Guild Leader got a point.” Carmen agreed.

”Fine, but you will bear all the consequences.” Crimson Heart gave up and ensured Xu Feng would take up all the blame if he was horrendously wrong.

”Rest assured, the 300 GMP will be given to you regardless of success and failure.” Xu Feng calmly said and began to lay down on his back.

He loved to use other people to his advantage, but that didnʼt mean he enjoyed being used by others. Therefore, he was willing to waste time and determine whether his deduction was wrong or correct.

Either way, he highly doubted they could gather 100 Silver Glyph Fragments until the end of the competition. Thus, for Yaren to be so confident of his success, there must be something else underlying.

It was just that he hadnʼt thought about what it was until now.

Seeing Xu Feng lying down on his back, completely relaxed, Carmen decided to follow suit.

Crimson Heart pondered for a while before sighing softly. She decided to take a proper rest as well.

As the trio began resting and discussing some trivial topics to pass the time, an invisible orb that had been hovering in the air from the start trembled slightly.

Within a dark room, a figure could be seen glaring through the orbʼs transparent screen. Their rocky-like tail filled with similar symbols that Xu Feng inspected started slamming down the ground heavily.

”That Yaren tricked me! She promised me a good show, but they are just resting and ignoring the puzzle I set up!”