ASER - Chapter 106
Chapter 106: Sea Martial Falcon BOSS
Hang Xiujin and the others, of course, had no idea that A'Diao had spent two days completely demolishing seven or eight bandit lairs scattered within the inner circle of the rainforest canyon, spanning a fifty-kilometer radius.
Bandits were bandits; their methods were similar—either women or money.
This allowed A'Diao to replicate her methods. The female cultivators who had been harmed fully demonstrated what "a woman's meticulousness" meant, ensuring these sinful bandits were tortured to the point of doubting their very existence.
In just these two days, her Mental Power surged continuously every day.
This method killed several birds with one stone, providing maximum satisfaction. Witnessing it was both physically and mentally uplifting, even promoting longevity. These unfortunate female cultivators could also resolve their inner turmoil and face the future anew. Moreover, whenever they recalled these encounters, it would generate continuous goodwill towards A'Diao.
A small investment yielding a huge profit.
Anyway, Toilet thought it was excellent and didn't find A'Diao's meticulous scheming to be a bad thing.
If scheming could be meticulously self-benefiting while also benefiting others, with only the wicked suffering any loss, it was naturally a superior, overt strategy.
However, late the next night, just as dawn was breaking, a young bandit who was strung up quietly opened his eyes. He carefully observed the female cultivator on guard duty not far away, noticed she was cultivating, then observed the others. Confirming that the terrifying fiend was not present, he knew this was an opportunity not to be missed!
His fingers, bound behind his back, twitched slightly. A wisp of green smoke coiled around the ropes, and in a moment… a puppet separated from his actual body.
He landed lightly but endured tearing pain from all over his body, especially his nether regions. His heart filled with extreme resentment, he wished he could go over and dismember these lowly women. However, fearing he would make a sound, he bypassed the small path, entered through a small door, found a hidden passage, and then swiftly escaped the cave through it. When he smelled the fresh air outside and saw the starry night sky, his excitement was beyond words.
Heaven was on his side!
Still, he had to be cautious.
He carefully ran a good distance away before finally summoning his aircraft… A streak of light soared upwards. He turned his head, staring hatefully at the area, and let out a cold sneer.
"Since I've survived this time, in the future, I will make these people suffer a thousand, a hundred times more."
He turned his head and departed with grim determination.
Little did he know, A'Diao, who had been squatting nearby, revealed herself.
Toilet: "Chase after him? He's probably going to find other accomplices along the coast. It might be an even bigger flock to fleece."
Having reaped immense benefits these past few days, Toilet had grown quite fond of these bandits. Seeing A'Diao intentionally leave a sliver of life in this young man's Spirit Cluster, it assumed she wanted to cast a long line to catch a big fish.
A'Diao, however, had no such intention.
"The coastal area is teeming with experts. Letting him escape is merely to have him deliver a message."
"There's plenty of time."
Early the next morning, A'Diao specifically informed the other bandits that one of their own had escaped. The female cultivators were furious, while the remaining bandits were even more miserable. After all, dying together was one thing, but now that one had escaped alone, what was to become of them?
After farming another surge of Mental Power, A'Diao left the cavern, glancing at the plants clinging to the cave entrance, the mountain wall, and other surfaces, before flying out of the rainforest.
By now, her Mental Power reserves had reached 25 million. However, she didn't use it, saving it for the time being, as she needed to decide its primary application based on the situation in the coastal region.
In any case, her Mental Power was surging and continued to grow. Initially, she received a stable and increasing 900,000 daily from the Jinling education system, which was projected to soon surpass one million. The bandits were now providing her with nearly 10 million Mental Power each day, and she estimated she could continue farming them for a few more days.
A'Diao was in an excellent mood.
Carrying this excellent feeling, A'Diao turned invisible and, riding her aircraft, plunged into the dense layer of fog.
The Green Eagle armor materialized on her body, covering her completely. Through her goggles, she could see the location of the Sea Martial Falcons. However, this time, A'Diao's target was not them, nor did she intend to engage them in an aerial battle. She avoided the flock but trailed behind, following them back to their roosting place.
The highest peak in this area, standing tall at an altitude of five thousand meters, was enveloped in a layer of fog. If not for someone previously well-versed in the local geography, they might not even realize such a high mountain existed here.
Toilet was curious why A'Diao had decided to target the bird's nest. "Didn't you think fighting avian Demonic Spirits in the sky wasn't cost-effective?"
It had originally assumed she would stick to fleecing those bandits.
"The excavation marks in those bandits' lairs are very recent. Based on the growth cycle of some newly formed moss on the surfaces, it's only been about half a month."
"The governments of the Five Prefectures also issued summons around this time. Before this, I'd never heard of such a dangerous Sea Martial Falcon den on this route, nor of these bandits. It's clear they all emerged around the same period. Either someone learned about the changes in the Southern Sea Region and the appearance of this Sea Martial Falcon den, and then consolidated these bandits to stir up trouble here, or—even these Sea Martial Falcon Demonic Spirits are colluding with them. Considering the missing wilderness cultivators who were acting furtively, this matter is quite significant."
A'Diao hadn't even finished speaking when Toilet sensed a hidden conspiracy. "If it's the latter, humans colluding with Demonic Spirits, then the secrets of this Southern Sea Region incident are likely extremely perilous. You must be careful."
Naturally, she had to be cautious. If it was confirmed that some formidable powerhouse was there, preparing a devastating ultimate attack, A'Diao would definitely turn tail and flee immediately.
Fight, my foot! She'd just find another place to fleece resources.
High mountains, grey mist. Under the low temperatures, frost was thick. Beneath the cliffs lay a vast, frigid cave, its interior extending into a zone of minus 100 degrees Celsius, exuding a bone-chilling cold.
This time, A'Diao didn't rashly send her large moths to fly in and investigate. Instead, from the outside, she examined the data on the Spiritual Energy emanating from the cave and the growth patterns of the surrounding cold-hardy plants.
In addition to this, she also found some feathers dropped in the forest outside the cave and studied them as material samples.
"Avian creatures have a much higher level of alertness than ordinary Demonic Spirits, and they are fast. Furthermore, they usually don't just have one entrance; there are likely other access points."
If any disturbance occurred, these avian creatures would rush out from other openings. Any extermination method she might devise would easily startle them, causing them to fly out. However, they wouldn't flee; they would likely regroup and then return to besiege her.
It would be a case of trying to steal a chicken only to lose the rice used as bait.
After collecting these materials, A'Diao secretly captured a few Sea Martial Falcons and hid in the dense forest on the mountaintop, activating her Dimensional Spirit Plant Body and holing up inside.
Laboratory equipment had already been installed inside. She used these materials to conduct experimental analysis and, by combining this with her previous findings, determined the approximate size and growth rate of the bird flock.
"So, it's their breeding season. No wonder they're so aggressive. Any approaching spacecraft were attacked, both for defense and to consume energy."
Sea Martial Falcons were different from ghouls. The latter primarily derived energy from the flesh and blood of cultivators, but Sea Martial Falcons possessed much stronger digestive systems. They could even directly consume energy equipment from spacecraft and mineral materials, extracting the substances they needed—the metallic sheen on their feathers originated from this.
This period was indeed the breeding season for many den-dwelling creatures, so that wasn't surprising. Could it be that some people were merely exploiting this phenomenon to profit from air disasters?
A'Diao wasn't entirely sure. She, of course, preferred there to be no underlying conspiracy, as it would make it easier for her to go "monster hunting" there. Regardless, the depths of this den still needed to be explored.
To probe its depths.
Toilet thought to itself: Actually, she's just greedy for money. Sea Martial Falcon eggs are very valuable.
But Sea Martial Falcons were not easy to kill. After all, the conditions for chain explosions like those in the fog layer didn't exist here.
Toilet only saw A'Diao take out a lot of… venom.
All sorts of them, a full twenty different types. Previously, after spending 9 billion, she had 1 billion remaining. She had used 500 million of that to buy a forbidden-grade spacecraft, and most of the other 500 million was spent on grade four, five, and six talisman materials. However, 100 million had also been spent on these venoms.
With her 10 billion completely spent, this person was now in a hurry to come to the southern region to make some money.
While A'Diao was busy using live Sea Martial Falcons to concoct venom, a high-grade spacecraft, also worth several hundred million, was flying at top speed towards the fog-laden area where Hang Xiujin and her group had been ambushed.
This mission had been reported to the academy superiors.
"Actually, if the coastal front line wasn't so critically undermanned, it would still be too dangerous for just the two of us to go."
Wu Ze, a teacher from Yunzhou Academy, said this to Duan Fei, a stern young man with a crew cut. Upon hearing this, Duan Fei replied nonchalantly, "Naturally, we don't plan on a direct confrontation. Based on their previous reports, there shouldn't be any Forbidden Master-level bandits there. Since they are below the Forbidden Master realm, as long as we avoid being surrounded, we can maneuver and gather some intelligence."
"That's true. Judging by the current situation, there's likely more than one bandit lair over there, perhaps with other accomplices. If we don't deal with them, it won't just be dangerous for people from our Yunzhou; those from other prefectures passing through here will also be at great risk."
"However, I can't shake the feeling that there's something fishy about those Sea Martial Falcons. It's too coincidental. There's never been a den of such avian Demonic Spirits here before, at least not on this flight path."
Duan Fei deeply agreed.
"And that cultivator who saved Hang Xiujin and the others… I'm afraid he's no pushover either. He's too strong. Your peak combat power is B6, and while I can contend with A-rank, the gap between us and him is too vast. Neither of us would be his match. This person has likely also become aware of the other bandits and might be in the process of eliminating them. We could run into him if we go."
Wu Ze was very cautious and suggested, "Perhaps we should first investigate the situation with the Sea Martial Falcons."
Duan Fei was indeed arrogant, but not brainless. He certainly knew who he couldn't afford to provoke, so he agreed.
The spacecraft then flew towards the fog layer. At their current speed, they would arrive in about eight hours.
This time could not be wasted. Duan Fei's Spiritual Power had already reached C6-rank. Combined with his top-tier equipment and Spirit Plant Body, he could effectively fight one rank above his own. However, he also aspired to advance his Spiritual Power to B-rank as soon as possible. At that point, he would gain access to even more resources and benefits from the academy, and his combat power might even approach A-rank—a significant improvement from his current state.
He would also be able to surpass the top students from the other academies in the Five Prefectures.
He wanted to be number one in the Five Prefectures!
But just as Duan Fei entered the cultivation room, a message suddenly came through on his wrist-communicator.
Duan Fei's expression flickered with surprise.
The Li siblings and Zhao Guang from Hanzhou Academy had all left their respective academies but had not yet arrived in the Southern Sea Region.
At normal travel speed, they should have arrived by now. Could it be that they also took this route?
However, given the Li Clan's wealth, their spacecraft would undoubtedly be top-tier and wouldn't have crashed in the fog. Did that mean they had discovered something and were also in the vicinity of the fog layer?
The Li Clan was the foremost power in Yunzhou, one of the southern Five Prefectures, and their family's strength was formidable. The Li siblings ranked among the top three in the academy, directly challenging his own standing. If they were to reap the benefits from the fog-covered area, it would be far from ideal for him.
A'Diao finished concocting the mixed venom and tested it.
Eye-Shredding Gaze: This venom is of a relatively high grade; to draw a single thread requires an expenditure of ten thousand Mental Power.
Damn it!!!
A'Diao, who had painstakingly created this astonishingly effective venom, cursed inwardly.
This is venom, not bloody leeks!
She was furious but unwilling to give up on poisoning, which was the most labor-saving method. She secretly weighed the potential returns and finally made a decision.
A'Diao first had Sparrow stay outside to survey the airspace conditions, essentially acting as a lookout to prevent any unforeseen incidents.
Hang Xiujin's group would likely have sent word back. Even if not enough time had passed for reinforcements to arrive, she worried that the other party might possess a multi-billion-credit spacecraft similar to that of the Baili Family.
After making arrangements, A'Diao implanted the venoms into the corpses stored within her storage space. She then emerged from her Dimensional Spirit Plant Body, spent half an hour exploring the entire mountain, and located all the concealed exits. She placed these corpses in sections of the internal passages leading to these hidden exits. However, a large moth was positioned on the murals in front of each corpse. Finally, she applied a sealing Daoist art to these openings from the outside.
This type of Daoist art certainly couldn't withstand a high-intensity assault from a flock of Sea Martial Falcons; it would be breached within minutes. However, its purpose was not to block the Sea Martial Falcons.
After these preparations, she took out her spacecraft and deliberately activated it, letting it fly around the vicinity.
In a short while, her perceptive eyes sensed a large number of red dots emerging from the upper part of the cave system within the mountain…
They were coming out!
As they flew out from the depths of the mountain caves, A'Diao calculated their distance. She first collectively activated eighteen perceptive gazes, locking them onto the eyes of the corpses.
Indirect eye contact—Eye-Shredding Gaze activated!
Three million Mental Power was consumed in minutes as the eighteen corpses collectively released the venom. The eighteen large moths also ignited, consuming Spiritual Power in the process. They emitted flames that reacted chemically with the venom, instantly transforming it into a massive, billowing cloud of potent toxic gas…
Just then, the flock of Sea Martial Falcons rushing out from below arrived and, caught off guard, flew straight into this large cloud of toxic gas.
Eighteen exits, eighteen clouds of toxic gas, three thousand Sea Martial Falcons…
They detected the presence of the toxic gas and felt immense pain upon inhaling it. Some of the weaker ones died on the spot.
Bang, bang, bang! Most of the Sea Martial Falcons still reached the barriers and began to ram them, attempting to fly out to escape the toxic gas. The barriers trembled violently. It was unclear whether they realized that continuing this way meant certain death, or if…
From outside, A'Diao heard a loud, piercing cry originating from the depths of the den below.
Damn it! There was a BOSS down there that knew the situation and was commanding them!
A'Diao quickly saw the dense cluster of red dots begin to fly back towards the depths of the den. She immediately activated her armor's stealth, an invisibility technique, and the stealth function of her camouflage Spirit Plant Body. Finally, she slapped a grade-five invisibility talisman on herself and pursued them into the den.
The weaker, level-three Sea Martial Falcons could no longer hold out, their corpses littering the passageways. A'Diao flew around, collecting their bodies, but the main contingent of Sea Martial Falcons continued to fly deeper down.
Three million Mental Power had been spent, yet she had only collected 800 bird corpses, not even a third of the anticipated return. A'Diao gritted her teeth in frustration at the BOSS, but she didn't forget to remain cautious and composed. Just as she tracked them to the middle section of the den, at an altitude of 3,000 meters, she suddenly received a warning from Sparrow.
"Master, I'm detecting an approaching spacecraft!"
A'Diao frowned. Impossible. Calculating the time, even if Hang Xiujin and her group had contacted Yunzhou Academy immediately after escaping, they couldn't have arrived this quickly.
Unless it was a different group.
"You first shut down your energy systems, enter hibernation mode, and hide. The equipment these people possess should be capable of detecting your presence."
But A'Diao suspected the other party had already detected it.
Because when Sparrow detected them, if their spacecraft was highly advanced, its systems should also be capable of receiving electromagnetic wave signals.
Sparrow had no choice but to hide. Otherwise, if it were found and its information source traced, they would quickly be able to pinpoint her location!
A'Diao's prediction was correct.
"There's a signal in those mountains. Someone is likely using equipment as a lookout. Increase speed. Once we enter the mountains, conduct an immediate carpet search."
Aboard the spacecraft, the young man issuing the orders had his sword-like eyebrows slightly furrowed. He tapped the hilt of the sword at his waist with one hand, his fingers drumming against it, and said coolly, "That person should have detected our arrival by now. They might try to flee, but they could also continue with whatever they were doing. Split into two teams to establish a blockade. Prepare the high-pressure spatial cannons and be ready to attack at any moment."
"This Sea Martial Falcon den hasn't been discovered by others yet. They are only level three, but their numbers are vast, and it's their breeding season. A single egg can sell for three million star coins—it's an enormous profit. Young Master Li, you needn't worry. We have ample personnel this time, and Mr. Chen is also on his way. He will undoubtedly lend you his strength."
Li Yuankai didn't say much. However, the glamorous beauty beside him, who was applying nail polish, smiled and said, "Eldest Brother is naturally unperturbed. Even if Mr. Chen doesn't arrive, Eldest Brother's current peak combat power is B+. With an armor burst, he can contend with an A-rank. As long as there are no level-five Sea Martial Falcons in that den, we can secure this flock."
Sheer numbers weren't an issue; they had three combat spacecraft with heavy artillery capabilities and sufficient manpower, enough to annihilate a large number of Sea Martial Falcons.
If there weren't absolute benefits to be gained, why would they have delayed their journey to the southern coast?
"I'm just afraid someone might beat us to it. The situation feels… off," Li Yuankai suddenly said.
Li Zhaowu frowned, put down her nail polish, and looked at the screen in front, her expression turning slightly grave. "It is off. There are no bird flocks in sight."
Could it be that the person who arrived first has already dealt with all these bird flocks?
Impossible. If the other party had a large contingent, they would have detected them long ago. If not, and it was merely a small number of individuals, what kind of extraordinary capability would that require?
Or perhaps some special methods?
However, the greater possibility was that the other party was a Forbidden Master.
In that case, they wouldn't be able to deal with them at all.
But regardless, the Li siblings were absolutely unwilling to concede this wave of benefits.
After all… The two siblings exchanged a glance, a hidden glint in their eyes: After all, it was highly probable that a medium spirit gate, or perhaps even a large spirit gate, existed here.
A'Diao was also panicking. The other party had arrived so quickly; they must have already been in the southern coastal region, received prior information, and been aware of the situation in the fog. Daring to come despite all this indicated they were well-prepared and possessed the strength to directly overwhelm several thousand Sea Martial Falcons.
Perhaps, like Cui Liang, they had a whole hornet's nest behind them—kill one, and a swarm would appear.
To avoid unnecessary risks, she had to finish her business quickly and avoid their main thrust.
"It's still possible to get out now. If I turn invisible and flee, even if they have a Forbidden Master, they wouldn't be able to stop me. But damn it, I'm not reconciled to just leaving!"
The thought of the venom she had spent half a day researching and concocting, how she had painstakingly eliminated these most troublesome bird flocks, only to have someone snatch the fruits of her labor before she could fully enjoy them—it was incredibly frustrating!
Nevertheless, A'Diao released a large moth to fly out and survey the situation. In a short while, through the moth, she observed the conditions within the fog layer outside the mountain.
"The composition of the fog layer has changed. It seems several spacecraft are concealed within the fog."
A'Diao frowned.
Such a large-scale operation indicated the other party was significant, but there likely wasn't a Forbidden Master among them yet. Otherwise, a Forbidden Master would have already entered the mountain, and their movements wouldn't be so covert.
The other party was clearly wary of her as well, choosing to first establish defensive measures and lock down the area—yet they were evidently unwilling to let her escape. Given such confidence, could it be they had Forbidden Master reinforcements?
After a moment's thought, she made a decision.
"Half an hour. If I can't succeed within half an hour, I withdraw!"
A'Diao increased her speed and, five minutes later, saw an extremely frigid subterranean space ahead.
Water dripped and instantly turned to ice.
But A'Diao suddenly stopped, her scalp tingling.
There was a Sea Martial Falcon BOSS down here; she was certain of it. But her initial assessment had been level 5. However, upon witnessing the phenomenon of water instantly freezing, she knew her judgment had been mistaken.
Son of a…
Toilet also realized: "It's normal for the temperature to be low enough for water to freeze instantly, but there shouldn't be any water droplets to begin with. Unless, in such extreme cold, another energy source is constantly melting the ice. It's either a spirit gate, or there's a level-six Demonic Spirit. Its Spirit Core would be too high-grade, far exceeding the ambient energy levels here, and its operation would cause instability in the air temperature…"
If it was the former, the existence of a spirit gate, then given the power required to nurture such a vast flock of Sea Martial Falcons, it was likely a large spirit gate.
"If it's a large spirit gate, and considering it's currently the breeding season when their racial genes are at their most active, and since Sea Martial Falcons are of a higher tier than ghouls, the BOSS below is very likely a level-six Demonic Spirit."
A level-six Demonic Spirit… that would require a Forbidden Master to even have a chance of dealing with, and even one Forbidden Master might not be enough.
Was this something she could handle at her current level?
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