CSMCDB - Chapter 30

Chapter 30

"What is this…" It smelled so, so good! The man had been impatient, but his gaze was suddenly drawn to the palm-sized braised bone that appeared in Wen Yuncheng's hand. He didn't know what kind of demonic beast bone it was, nor how it was made, but the aroma it gave off… Gulp. He swallowed his saliva, snatched the bone from Wen Yuncheng's hand, and was about to say something more when he saw her suddenly toss out a small iron box. The moment the box touched him, it exploded, and a burst of flame instantly engulfed him!

"Go!" Wen Yuncheng instantly deployed an RX-78 Pursuer and an EZ-8 Self-Destructor. Lin Jinyu reacted with extreme speed, pulling a scroll-like paper from her ring and infusing it with Star Power. The scroll immediately ignited, releasing a large amount of black smoke that was incredibly acrid. Lin Jinyu pulled Wen Yuncheng along, skirting the edge of the sea of fire to escape the encirclement.

"Bang!" Wen Yuncheng detonated the two small robots without looking back. If that Winged Tiger could really smell the braised bone, it would surely be here any second—

"Roar!!!"

It was here.

"What was that?"

"What kind of scroll is this!"

"What's that sound? A demonic beast?…"

The black smoke enveloped the five people, making it impossible to see even a hand in front of one's face. Lin Jinyu dragged Wen Yuncheng along, running without looking back for about three minutes before they finally escaped the black fog. However, they didn't stop. They only slowed down when they heard the familiar roar of the Winged Tiger again from the distant rear.

But once they stopped, they had no idea where they were again.

Wen Yuncheng felt a bit desperate, but there was nothing she could do. She could only silently pray that they wouldn't encounter any more powerful demonic beasts. After all, no matter how good the braised bones were, they cost fifteen points each. Wen Yuncheng's gaze shifted to Lin Jinyu, who had stopped and seemed to be surveying their surroundings. She actually… really wanted to spar with Lin Jinyu. Just one spar, and if she lost, she'd get 150 experience points. If she won, it would be 2000 experience points plus 50 points! But given the current situation, it was clearly not the right time to casually suggest a spar.

"We might not be on the outskirts anymore… Let's go to the river." The river would at least serve as a landmark, and the chances of their teachers finding them would be higher.

As for finding fellow students from their academy? Neither of them wanted to run into disciples from other sects again.

Unfortunately, plans could never keep up with changes.

While Lin Jinyu was observing the moisture in the soil to find a water source, another dragon's roar echoed from the depths of the forest! This time, the roar was exceptionally furious. After recovering with the system's help, Wen Yuncheng quickly steadied and comforted Lin Jinyu. Then, they heard the Demonic Beast Forest descend into even greater chaos. All sorts of bird calls, roars of fierce beasts, and high-pitched cries from unknown demonic beasts mixed together in a horrifying cacophony, as if they had stumbled into a bizarre slaughterhouse. Following the dragon's roar was a wave of power that washed over them in an instant. However, this pressure didn't come from a dragon, but from—

A Star Emperor.

"That's one of the Empire's Protectors," Lin Jinyu said in a low voice. "The headmasters of the various academies and the experts from the major sects have probably all gone into the depths of the forest as well."

"Are dragons… really that powerful?" Wen Yuncheng couldn't help but be astonished.

"According to records, the weakest a dragon can be upon reaching adulthood is a Star King." Of course they were powerful. However, dragons also had their flaws, such as difficulty reproducing and a long transition from youth to adulthood. But dragons also possessed lifespans far exceeding humans and incredibly tough bodies. Dragon scales, bones, and horns were all top-tier forging materials, and dragon blood could directly improve a cultivator's physical constitution.

However, all of this was still too distant for them.

"What's that? A Gugu Bird?" Wen Yuncheng saw a shadow approaching in the sky and squinted her eyes, asking curiously.

"Hmm?" Lin Jinyu looked over, her expression changing. She grabbed Wen Yuncheng and dove into the woods, breaking into a run. "That's a Abyssal Crystal Eagle."

[Star Lord, 3rd Layer.] 1947 thoughtfully provided a note. [This eagle's beak and claws are made of Abyssal Crystal. Abyssal Crystal is a biological mineral that is extremely hard and grows slowly. It can also self-repair if damaged. It sells for two thousand seven hundred crystal stones per kilogram.]

Wen Yuncheng: !!!

Two thousand seven hundred crystal stones? Star Steel sold for around eight hundred and sixty per kilogram within the academy. This Abyssal Crystal was three times that price? Even if this was the market price and not the academy price, it was still terrifying. But then she remembered it was a biological mineral, and a mineral from a Star Lord-level demonic beast at that, and Wen Yuncheng calmed down.

The Demonic Beast Great Forest had completely descended into chaos. Whether it was the pressure from the human experts or the racial suppression from the dragons, the demonic beasts were all on edge. And the students still inside the forest at this time were in a truly miserable state.

"We must seal off the Demonic Beast Great Forest."

"The disciples from our sect haven't returned yet!"

"The academy's students haven't all gathered either!"

"The demonic beasts are already rioting. If this continues, the Beast Tide will arrive soon! Those frightened, bloodshot beasts have lost all reason. They'll desperately try to flee the forest!" The city lord's face was grim. "I must defend this city. I cannot joke with the lives of so many ordinary citizens in the cities behind us."

Once the demonic beasts broke through their city, everything would become uncontrollable. Firstly, there were too many demonic beasts, and secondly… the small cities in remote areas were mostly inhabited by ordinary people with low Star Power. They had no ability to protect themselves against demonic beasts.

Once the city fell, the nearby towns would be plunged into endless terror and helplessness. And if the dark rats lurking in the corners of the Empire seized this opportunity, it would trigger another wave of troublesome riots and uprisings. Although it wouldn't shake the foundations of the Empire, it would still cause a major headache at such a critical time.

A full eight hours had passed since the first dragon roar, and it was now almost evening.

Qiu Fei rushed back to the town and scanned the returned students from Star Academy, but she couldn't find her precious disciple anywhere. Her eyes reddened with anxiety. She turned her head and saw the weary, travel-stained Yan Ling.

"Have you seen my disciple?" Yan Ling's gaze swept across the students' faces before finally landing on Qiu Fei.

"No." Qiu Fei gritted her teeth and turned to re-enter the forest.

"Wait." Yan Ling closed her eyes for a moment. "Can you confirm if your disciple is safe?"

"I can't contact her."

"I can't contact mine either." Yan Ling sighed and took out a map of the Demonic Beast Great Forest from her ring, spreading it on the table. "Let's see which places might be blocking the communication stone's signal."

"Is my disciple with your disciple?" Qiu Fei slammed her palm on the map and questioned with a frown.

"I don't know." Yan Ling pushed Qiu Fei's hand away. "If you're not going to look, then just go find her yourself. If you run into my disciple, remember to bring him back."

"…"

"Calm down. Getting anxious and crying won't help. You're a grown woman, don't be embarrassing." After finishing her lecture, Yan Ling began to study the map carefully, her brow furrowed as she tried to figure out where the two little rascals had run off to. She remembered Wen Yuncheng mentioning a slope? And a Winged Tiger…

Qiu Fei bit her lip as she looked at Yan Ling's profile. Everyone knew Yan Ling had the most explosive temper. She would solve any problem with force, hated wasting words, held grudges, and liked to use her fists on anyone who annoyed her. When she was irritated, she'd pepper her speech with "this old lady" and profanities… But a person like this, when faced with something important, was often the one who could calm down the most. In the face of serious matters, she could set aside all personal issues.

This was also… one of the things Qiu Fei admired about Yan Ling. Otherwise, they wouldn't be drinking and chatting together so often despite their mutual dislike.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, and looked down at the map. "The ores that can block communication stones are…"

Wen Yuncheng and Lin Jinyu were in a miserable state, utterly miserable.

They had encountered the Abyssal Crystal Eagle. Fortunately, the eagle had poor eyesight and didn't spot them. But later, they ran into a Star Warrior-level bear. Just as they were about to deal with the bear, they saw the giant wolf following behind it…

A giant wolf, bigger and stronger than the bear, as if it were on steroids. The paw prints it left on the ground were probably the size of basketballs.

After finally escaping that perilous situation, they were preparing to head to the river to be picked up by their teachers, only to turn and come face-to-face with a green-eyed python, hissing and flicking its tongue. A quick sense told them it was a Star Master, 2nd Layer. The tip of the snake's tail was fiery red, and when it gathered Star Power, it would glow and then… it could fire a Star Power cannon. The power wasn't outrageous, about the same as the C-01 Guardian's Star Power cannon.

But it still wasn't something they could handle.

Flee, flee, flee… There were demonic beasts everywhere they went. Weak demonic beasts were followed by strong ones, and strong ones were followed by even stronger ones. Fortunately, the truly powerful demonic beasts didn't even glance at them, single-mindedly focused on running outwards.

Wen Yuncheng and Lin Jinyu had originally wanted to flee along with the demonic beasts, but unfortunately, the moment the beasts noticed humans following them, they would immediately turn to attack…

They were forced to the riverbank by a Gale Wolf, and as they fled along it, they discovered a waterfall. By the time they were cornered near the waterfall, they were helpless. For some reason, their communication stones couldn't be activated…

[There's a large pool below, jump!]

Wen: We'll fall to our deaths, right? We definitely will!

Wen Yuncheng no longer held any hope for her own Long Aotian opportunities; she just wanted to get back safely!

But no matter what… if they didn't jump, they would be torn apart by the Gale Wolf. If they jumped, there was still a sliver of hope.

"Do you dare to jump?" Wen Yuncheng took a deep breath and asked. "There might be a pool below, we could—" Before she could finish her persuasion, the instant the Gale Wolf lunged, Lin Jinyu pulled her and jumped. The rapid fall from a great height and the rushing water around them terrified Wen Yuncheng so much that she couldn't make a sound. Her eyes were wide, her mind a complete blank. All sound vanished from her ears, and her entire body seemed to lose all sensation, even though she was holding Lin Jinyu's hand. Her heartbeat seemed to stop—

I'm going to die.

A splash erupted, and in an instant, they were enveloped by the current. Wen Yuncheng sank abruptly, choking on several mouthfuls of water in an instant. Her heart began to pound violently, as if trying to make up for the few seconds it had missed. She instinctively struggled, but her vision gradually darkened… However, before she could pull her hand away, it was gripped tightly. A force from her left hand pulled her upward, toward the surface.

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