Chapter 438 - 307: The Extra Shadow

Chapter 438: Chapter 307: The Extra Shadow

It twisted and struggled, already severely injured.

"Alright, stop. Don’t electrocute it to death."

Tang Wen approached, looking at the wrist-thick Black-eyed Snake on the ground.

Generally speaking, after snake-type Exotic Beasts reached the Sixth Grade, they often achieved Mastery in the Size-Changing Skill.

The Green Water Python was like this, and so was the Black-eyed Snake.

The Thunder Rock Crocodile Turtle looked simple and honest, its eyes revealing a trace of embarrassment. "I’m not very proficient with the Transformation Skill yet. I accidentally made myself too big."

Tang Wen had no intention of blaming it. He looked at the Black-eyed Snake on the ground and said, "I smell the Dream Demon Flower on you. Where is it?"

The Black-eyed Snake struggled a couple of times but didn’t speak.

After a moment, Tang Wen spoke again. "I am a Beastmaster. If you talk, you might live."

As he spoke, he cast Zige on it, dispelling most of the hostility and killing intent in the Black-eyed Snake’s heart.

But snake-type Exotic Beasts were the most vengeful, and this one was currently pinned under the Thunder Rock Crocodile Turtle’s foot. It was hard for it not to feel hatred.

Even Feng San Niang secretly shook her head. She always had faith in Tang Wen, but she didn’t think he could get any information out of this snake.

He cast Zige several more times.

The Black-eyed Snake finally flicked its tongue and spoke in a cold, slimy tone, "Beneath this pool is an underground river. If you swim through it, you can find and pick the Nightmare Flower. But the passages are complex. You’ll never find it unless I lead the way."

Tang Wen smiled. "An underground river, huh? That does sound troublesome. But how do I know you’re not lying to me?"

The Black-eyed Snake hissed, flicking its tongue, and said no more.

Tang Wen was conflicted. He wanted the snake’s head as proof of his trial’s success, but he also wanted the Nightmare Flower.

After some thought, he said to the Stone Dragon, "Go check the bottom of the pool and see if there are any Nightmare Flowers."

The ground trembled slightly. A few breaths later, water erupted from the pool.

"HISS!"

A massive, furious black serpent shot out from the water.

"So there was a female snake after all." Tang Wen smiled faintly. Without giving the first Black-eyed Snake a chance to speak, he unleashed his Sword Gang, shattering its reverse scale and severing its head.

The Thunder Rock Crocodile Turtle summoned Thunder and instantly refracted it. The giant black serpent that had just burst from the pool was immediately paralyzed by the electricity.

The giant black serpent was also a Sixth Grade Black-eyed Snake.

It seemed unable to shrink its body, likely because it was about to lay eggs.

Under the combined assault of Hu Niannian and the Crocodile Turtle, the huge black snake was soon on the verge of death.

Tang Wen saw his chance and, with a single strike of his Sword Gang, lopped off the giant snake’s head.

[Basic Blade Skill (Wind-breaking Blade), Grandmaster (Saber Aura Realm) (1917→2011→2109/12000)]

Two slashes, two Sixth Grade Exotic Beast heads.

His Swordsmanship Grandmaster experience had risen slightly.

Real combat was making him improve at lightning speed.

The two Sixth Grade beasts had each contributed nearly a hundred proficiency points.

That was worth half a month of arduous training.

A fire lit in Tang Wen’s heart. ’It looks like I need to change my training plan.’

’I can’t just keep grinding away in a secret chamber.’

’Coming out to kill some Exotic Beasts leads to faster progress!’

Killing wouldn’t advance skills like the Eight Vajra Techniques, but it did provide more direct combat experience.

The Stone Dragon stirred up the pool’s bottom as it searched, turning the water murky.

Feng San Niang deftly used her Wind-Controlling Blade to gouge out the Black-eyed Snakes’ eyes, skin them, and extract their Blood Marrow.

The Black-eyed Snake could control water and was attuned to darkness.

It was considered a dual-Attribute Exotic Beast.

Tang Wen took advantage of the lull to check his recent experience gains.

The progress of his Night Divine Fist went without saying.

Besides Night Divine Fist and Swordsmanship, another Skill had gained a significant amount of experience: the Stealth Technique.

[Stealth Technique, Expert (9873/12000)]

In a while, Tang Wen had to go to the Ten Thousand Mountains, to the White Tiger Tribe.

Hu Lan had specifically invited him on a mission because she valued his Stealth Technique.

’If I can raise my Stealth Technique to the Grandmaster Level before then...’

He would feel much more confident and secure.

"Is this the Nightmare Flower?"

WHOOSH.

A huge splash erupted at the pool’s surface, and the Stone Dragon appeared just beneath the water.

It was balancing a Stone Slab on its head.

On it rested several black flowers.

Before Tang Wen could speak, the Crocodile Turtle said, "That’s it. That smell is truly awful."

With that, it half-retracted its head into its shell.

The Stone Slab floated to the surface.

Guided by Tang Wen’s Spiritual Power, it flew to his side.

A foul stench assaulted his nostrils.

Tang Wen held his breath, but the smell lingered.

Feng San Niang quickly stepped forward, manipulating the wind to lock the smell away layer by layer.

But strangely, they could both still smell it.

Tang Wen recalled the Pharmacist’s Notes and forced himself to look away. "The smell can also be transmitted through Spiritual Power. Don’t look at it."

Hearing this, Feng San Niang also turned her head.

Sure enough, the smell vanished instantly.

"It stinks worse than fish left out for months. Don’t tell me we have to eat it?" Feng San Niang asked, still shaken.

Tang Wen gave a wry smile. "We’ve been smelling it for so long, we’re bound to have nightmares when we sleep. When we get back, I’ll process it, and the smell will be gone. Besides, although the stench is potent, it won’t even cling to the container it’s stored in. Don’t worry too much."

After speaking, he closed his eyes and placed the flowers into a container filled with vegetable oil.

The Nightmare Flower repels both water and oil.

As long as it was sealed off from the air, it could be preserved for a long time.

The Stone Dragon’s muffled voice sounded out, "I didn’t see any river passages at the bottom."

’No underground river?’

’Then where did these Nightmare Flowers come from?’

Tang Wen didn’t investigate further.

Once Feng San Niang finished processing the Sixth Grade Exotic Beasts’ Blood Marrow, the group set off to find their next target.

The Thunder Jade Vein had a very low yield. It was widespread but barren.

Consequently, there weren’t many Exotic Beasts either.

After a full day of searching, they had only managed to hunt down two Sixth Grade Exotic Beasts and a few Extraordinary Exotic Beasts.

Sixth Grade Exotic Beasts were formidable, but they were powerless against Tang Wen’s group.

Underground, there was no distinction between night and day.

After fighting for many days, their taut nerves had never truly relaxed.

Tang Wen was growing weary in both body and mind.

Feng San Niang sensed this and, very considerately, took his hand. "We haven’t slept for three or four days straight. We’re exhausted. Why don’t we find a place to rest?"

Tang Wen squeezed her palm, a sweetness like honey spreading through him. He commanded, "Stone Dragon, dig a cave for us deeper in!"

The ground trembled gently, and the Stone Dragon’s voice came from below. "There’s already a cave dug out."

The group followed it at a rapid pace. Half an hour later, the Stone Dragon’s voice sounded out again.

The ground then split open, revealing a deep, dark, circular hole.

The entrance opened up on the Thunder Jade Vein, its edges neat, like a natural deep well.

Looking down, it was filled with shadows and seemed almost bottomless.

"Let’s go down."

The two White Tigers manipulated the wind, carrying everyone as they slowly descended.

After descending for a good few hundred meters, the sound of rushing water suddenly reached their ears.

Once their feet touched the ground, Tang Wen looked around and saw that it was a natural stone cave.

It was about the size of an indoor basketball court.

And its ceiling was as high as a palace’s.

The source of the rushing water was actually an underground river flowing through the cave.

Wind followed the flowing water, pouring into the space.

The air inside the cave was cold and fresh.

FWOOSH.

Feng San Niang took out a torch, lit it, and casually stuck it into a crack in the rock.

"This place isn’t bad at all."

She took out her Void Stone, which was full of supplies, and lit a fire barrel and a brazier. It was unclear what kind of oil was added, but the flames shot up over half a meter high, illuminating a radius of several dozen feet.

Half of the underground space was lit up.

As the flames brightened, Tang Wen’s mood lightened as well.

He looked up and saw that the deep shaft they had descended through had been completely sealed at some point.

He sat on the folding lounge chair Feng San Niang had prepared, watching her bustle about preparing food and water. Every so often, she would bend over, her clothes stretching taut to reveal a stunning figure, and his mood relaxed even further.

The White Tigers, the Crocodile Turtle, and the Stone Dragon shared the two Black-eyed Snakes.

The snake meat, already cooked through by the Thunder, was exceptionally savory and aromatic.

Tang Wen casually took out an eye from one of the Black-eyed Snakes. It didn’t feel like flesh and blood to the touch, more like a stone. It was said that it could be made into Curiosities or used in medicine.

After eating and drinking his fill, Tang Wen lay down on his side on a blanket, preparing to take a short nap.

In a daze, he saw the flickering firelight casting the shadows of him, her, and the Exotic Beasts onto the wall.

There were the shadows of two people lying down, two cat-like shadows perched on the Crocodile Turtle, the massive silhouette of the Stone Dragon, and one more...

’Huh?’

’Why is there one more?!’

A cold shiver ran down Tang Wen’s spine! He was instantly wide awake!