Chapter 364: Demonic Beast Raid Guide

“You’re certain that the demonic beast is nearby?” Zhu Yao nudged the muscular man that looked like a mountain next to her.

“Why would I lie to you!?” Zhonggu Lu glanced at her with narrow eyes. “The place ahead is shrouded by poisonous mist, there’s definitely a venomous creature within. If it isn’t the demonic beast, what else can it be?”

“But we have squatted here for three whole hours, yet we haven’t seen that demonic beast. Why don’t we enter and look for it?”

“No.” Zhonggu Lu immediately shook his head.

“Why?” It’s definitely better than growing grass here, right?

“It’s rumoured that the poisonous creature is extremely powerful. What if we’re discovered? Putting aside you being injured, if someone who is as beautiful and flowery like me is injured, are you going to take responsibility?”

“…” Zhu Yao felt like her spirit was tainted. You’re already like a flower, why the hell do you want to be beautiful too!?

“Haah, you must understand that for a beautiful man that possesses such style and peerless beauty, there’s a need for more caution. You don’t understand.”

“…” Please swallow back the words ‘style’ and ‘peerless beauty’, hey! Just where the hell does his confidence come from?

“There’s movements!” His expression changed as he pointed to the mist up ahead. “It’s coming!”

Zhu Yao immediately stuffed back her three views and took a closer look. As he had said, a pitch-black figure appeared out of the mist made of layers of poisonous gas. Coarse breathing sounds could be faintly heard, and the poisonous mist seemed to have grown thicker as well.

A moment later, the figure grew bigger and a thick rotten stench suffused into the air. The figure began to grow clearer as well, until it revealed its rough silhouette.

The corner of Zhu Yao’s lips twitched. “This… is the cow-like demonic beast that Squad Captain Nangong drew?” Just how did he draw a two-legged creature into a four-legged living being?

“It should be.” Zhonggu Lu nodded as well, and then said with a stern look. “Though the illustration was a little out there, it’s still looks rather similar to a pig.”

How is it similar!? Zhu Yao pointed at the demonic beast that was breathing poisonous gas. “How is that two-legged creature similar to a pig?”

“It’s figure is really similar. Dongfang girly, your eyesight is really poor.”

Your eyesight is poor, your entire family’s eyesights are poor.

“It has hands and legs, so it’s clearly…”

“A dog!” A cold confirmation sounded from behind.

“Master, why are you here?” Zhu Yao was stunned. Wasn’t he teamed up with Squad Captain Nangong? They were headed to the other side to inspect the terrain.

“I was worried about you.” Yu Yan walked past his disciple, his face did not carry the slightest bit of guilt for acting on his own. What if my disciple courts death when I’m not looking again? He glanced at the black figure in front. “It’s a dog!”

“……”

“…”

“What’s with both of your eyes?” Zhonggu Lu rolled his eyes. “It’s clearly a pig.”

“No, a dog.”

“It’s definitely a pig.”

“Isn’t that supposed to be a sheep?” Another voice weighed in as well.

Yue Ying… The corner of Zhu Yao’s lips twitched. Why was he here as well? What happened to splitting up in teams?

Zhonggu Lu: “You guys must believe me. That’s a pig.”

Yu Yan: “A dog.”

Yue Ying: “Sheep…”

Zhu Yao: “…” Was she the only worried that student Nangong was on his own right now?

Roar~~~

A loud roar interrupted the four’s debate. A large mass of poison gas came spraying in the direction where the four of them were hiding.

“Crap, we were discovered.” Zhonggu Lu’s face changed. In a flash, he retreated to the back. “Retreat!”

Yu Yan grabbed onto his disciple, and then along with Yue Ying, they retreated several dozens of meters away. They then looked at the place were they were hiding just earlier. The bushes had already begun to wilt as they get dyed with layers of black, and they did not have any signs of life before long.

And that poisonous gas was beginning to spread towards them as well at incredible speed. That ferocious roar grew even louder and clearer.

“Let’s go!” Zhonggu loudly shouted. “To the Purifying Pond.”

The moment his voice fell, a black substance shot out of the mist and flew towards him.

“Watch out!” Zhu Yao called out to notify him. Zhonggu Lu materialized a defensive barrier at the nick of time, yet it was still useless. The black substance broke directly into the barrier. Fortunately, he was nimble enough to dodge it by shifting his body to the side, and the black substance grazed his body as it fell onto the ground with a long bang. In an instant, a large crater was formed, and it was even expanding still, corroding everything in its surroundings. The rotten smell grew thicker, and Zhu Yao was dumbfounded from this sight. This is basically a biological weapon, right?

Zhonggu Lu’s body was grazed by it as well, and his mystic robe began to melt. Hurriedly stripping it off, he was saved from being corroded himself.

With such a powerful corrosion that could instantly corrode such a large crater, it was no wonder Squad Captain Nangong said that one would die from being touched by it. If the corpse and bones were melted as well, then wouldn’t that be certain death?

The surroundings of the crater began to emit out poisonous gas as well, and they had no choice but to make a detour out. The roar of the demonic beast sounded from behind once more, and the black poisonous substances from earlier suddenly came smashing at them like raindrops.

“Hurry and dodge!” Zhonggu Lu loudly reminded them. It was already too late for the four of them to run, so they had no choice but to dodge those raindrop-like poison as they flew. The surface of the ground looked as though they had been smashed by a rain of falling boulders, craters appearing one after another. The moment a crater was filled with poisonous gas, they would form a large mass of poison mist in the next moment.

They had no choice but to stop. “What do we do? We can’t escape now!”

The demonic beast from behind caught up to them as well. A large figure stepped out of the poisonous mist. Possessing a muscular figure, there were a pair of ram horns on its head, and four limbs that were shaped like a dog’s. With its entire body made of purple, its two paws were raised in the air and two were on the ground. On the sides of its lips, two long teeth could be seen. It would occasionally ooze out a black liquid with incredible stench, and the mere sight of it was incredibly disgusting.

This demonic beast was neither a cow, sheep, pig nor a dog. If it were to put down its front paws, it would unexpectedly look the same as the creature that Squad Captain Nangong had drown.

Everyone present: “…” So it wasn’t student Nangong’s art being unrealistic, rather, this demonic beast was simply too abstract.

The surrounding poisonous gas was growing ticker by the second. Since they couldn’t get out, they could only fight!

Zhonggu Lu immediately cast an art and summoned several hundred vines, trapping the demonic beast in front of them. Zhu Yao immediately materialized millions of icicles and shot them at the demonic beast. That strange-looking demonic beast however did not dodge either. Instead, it opened up its bloody mouth and madly shouted out. It was incredibly piercing to the ears.

The vines that were still lush green earlier instantly wilted and turned into ashes, while the icicles that filled the sky immediately turned into water as well. Furthermore, they were tainted by the poisonous gas, and they fell back to the ground as poisonous rain. Yu Yan immediately materialized a fire dragon which charged up into the sky. The sky was instantly filled with flames, burning the poisonous rain in time.

When they thought that things were finally settling down, Zhu Yao remembered what her biology teacher had told them a long time ago. If water were to encounter fire, it would turn into… steam! In the face of this venomous demonic beast, the situation became even more dire as poisonous steam was formed.

That’s right. The poisonous mist grew thicker.

The four’s range of movements grew smaller, and in just a few moments, merely a few square meters of area remained untouched by the poisonous mist. That demonic beast suddenly opened its mouth wide, black sparkles could be seen from within, as though it was about to spit something in their direction. Naturally, it was definitely the poisonous liquid that smashed the ground into a crater from earlier.

What to do? Ice, fire, and wood type attacks were all ineffective, and the demonic beast’s magic defense was simply too high.

Yu Yan’s expression sank. With a twist of his hand, he summoned his Life Artifact – the lightning sword.

“Master…” Zhu Yao’s heart clenched. If he were to use lightning-type arts, their identities would be exposed.

“No matter.” Yu Yan stroked her head. They were left with no choice right now. At the very most, they would face some troubles in the future. Just as he was about to attack, a gust of wind swept past from the sky above, instantly scattering the poisonous gas that surrounded them. Student Nangong who was “abandoned” by his team was standing within the wind. He came to save them! As expected, he was definitely a great party member!

“Hurry and go!” He only had the chance to utter this, as the surrounding poisonous gas was already beginning to gather once more.

The four of them immediately caught up with him as quick as possible. While scattering the poisonous gas with wind-type arts like he did, they madly flew towards the direction of the Purifying Pool. The enraged roar of the demonic beast resounded behind them. They did not dare to stop. As they flew towards the Purifying Pool, they thought that the demonic beast would stop chasing after them. However, the moment they heard the ‘sousou’ noises, black poisonous liquid came shooting at the small group of five.

They immediately flew to the shores of the Purifying Pool, and with a few resounding bangs, craters once again appeared in the surroundings. Strangely, in a radius of a few squared meters from the Purifying Pool, the poisonous gas would immediately scatter.

However, the poisonous gas outside the Purifying Pool grew thicker, and in just a few momembers, the figure of that demonic beast appeared. However, it did not dare to approach them, and simply contained to patrol around several meters away.

“What’s going on?” Zhu Yao pointed at the demonic beast and said. Then, she looked towards student Nangong. “Didn’t you say that it wouldn’t follow us here?”

“I don’t know either.” Nangong was confused as well. “When I came here the last time, the demonic beast would return right after we arrive in this pool. No matter what we did, we could not lure it in. Today… it might have been in a good mood.”

“…” This reason was a little too nonsensical!

“Alright, with the Purifying Pool here, let’s take this opportunity to bring it down. “Squad Leader Nangong’s eyes shone and he said. “This is simply a god-sent opportunity.”

He inspected the terrain and said. “This poisonous mist is incredible, but it can still be scattered with wind-type arts. Adding that we have our divine physiques, even if we’re latched on by the poisonous gas, sustaining for seven minutes or so isn’t difficult. Not to mention this pool can instantly scatter the poisonous gas. We can use wind-type arts as our shield, and then take turns in pulling the demonic beast and coming back here to detoxify. As long as we aren’t injured by the poisonous liquid, defeating this demonic beast at a slow pace isn’t impossible. What do you guys think?”

Is he talking about swapping tanks? It is indeed a good plan. After everyone considered it for a moment, they all nodded their heads.

“Then that’s settled.” Squad Captain Nangong looked at the demonic beast that was still loitering outside. He did hand seals with one of his hand, materializing a shield of wind which instantly enveloped his surroundings like a spiral of wind. Then, he took the lead and charged out.

Just as Zhu Yao was about to cast an art, a shield of wind had already begun to envelop her surroundings. When she turned to take a look, her eyes landed on a certains someone who was just putting down his hand. “Master?”

“Don’t leave too far away from your master.” He instructed as he began to fly up.

Zhu Yao instantly felt her heart warming up. Who says “warmth” is useless?

Squad Captain Nangong’s plan may sound perfect, but it did not account for the boss’s tough muscles and hard skin. Furthermore, the various mystic arts that they threw on it earlier were all completely ineffective. Though the five of them were not injured, they did not have any advantage over it either.

Squad Captain Nangong seemed to specialize in wind-type arts, but at the very most, he could only drive away the mist. Whenever he were to throw a wind blade at the opponent, a ‘miss’ damage marker would float up. It lacked destructive power. Zhu Yao and her master did not find it good to simply use lightning-type arts either. Fortunately, her master’s sword skills were at the very peak as well. With a sky filled with spiritual swords, he firmly locked the demonic beast’s movements. Furthermore, his cold sword intent was the only thing that could break past its skin, and thus became the main DPS of the team.

Zhu Yao knew all five types of mystic arts. Other than the lightning-type arts, she was most familiar with either water or ice, which were the elements she researched deeply on in order to teach Little Radish well back then. However, this demonic beast was simply unafraid of them. When the icicles struck its body, not even a single scar was left on it. The words ‘miss’ constantly floated above its head.

Zhonggu Lu was even more unfortunate. His wood-type arts basically wilted before they could even form, leaving behind a bunch of dead grass. Yue Ying was still able to provide some help as he restrained the demonic beast with her master. He retracted all of the devillic energy in his body, and was using mystic arts to attack like everyone else. Zhu Yao did not know what he was thinking, and did not want to bother either, simply letting him do whatever he wanted.

“You guys hold on, let me catch my breath.” Zhonggu turned around and returned to the Purifying Pool to detoxify himself. With a defeated look, he said as he walked. “This demonic beast is really… It’s as though it’s born to be my mortal enemy. It instantly destroys all of the life within my wood-type arts.”

Life? Zhu Yao was stunned for a moment, as something flashed across her mind. She raised her head and looked carefully at that demonic beast. Ever since she entered the tower, all of the living creatures would have names and levels shown above their heads, as though she was looking at a net game’s point of view. She had asked her master about it, and it seemed like this was something that only she could see. Zhu Yao had thought that this was a cheat that Realmspirit had given her. This demonic beast was no exception, with the words ‘Early-stage Demonic Beast (Poison)’ floating about it, though its name was red in colour.

As for Zhonggu Lu and Squad Captain Nangong, the words above their heads were initially ‘Unknown Deity (Level 1)’. After making their introductions, the words above their heads turned into their own names, and their colours changed from yellow to blue.

Zhu Yao was not entirely mindful of these words in the beginning. Now that she thought about it, these names were truly similar to the settings found in net games. Red names signified enemy targets, like the current demonic beast. Yellow names referred to passive targets, where they would only turn red and counterattack when they receive an attack. Those heaven-defying rabbits in the plain back then chased after them because she poked it a little, and they did not bite her on their own initiatives. The reason why Zhonggu Lu and Nangong Cheng had blue names, was because they had formed a party with her! The names would only turn blue if they were party members of the same party.

In that case, in the brackets next to the names, that should be where the levels and attributes were displayed.

This demonic beast was a poison-type, and according to the rules of net games, poison was a type that deprived life. Water, wood and fire type attacks were thus ineffective on it. It would thus make sense why a bunch of ‘miss’ would float above its head when she struck it with icicles.

If they wanted to deal with it, then the only choice would be…

Zhu Yao immediately flew towards the Squad Captain. She had to inform the Squad Captain of the raid guide. “Squad Captain…” Eh? What was the Squad Captain called again? “Nangong… Huang (Yellow)?”

“I’m Nangong Cheng!” Flips table! Who the hell is Nangong Huang?

“Aiya! Whatever! In any case, it’s all about the same~”

“…” How are orange and yellow about the same? The colours are different, alright?

“Why are you here?” His expression darkened as he released a wind blade to blow away the poisonous mist near Yue Ying and Yu Yan. He did his best to provide support to the main DPS players.