CSMCDB - Chapter 101
Chapter 101
"Roar-!" Lin Jinyu's voice was drowned out by the furious roar. Wen Yuncheng grew agitated. What was all this nonsense! This was the last year of the Beast Tide, yet such a mess had to happen.
The first time she came to the forest, she encountered a dragon. The second time, two sovereigns were fighting. Both were rare events, so why did she have to be the one to run into them?
[The L-Long Aotian effect?] 1947 said hesitantly.
Wen Yuncheng didn't reply. Other Long Aotians received fortuitous encounters and benefits, but she got nothing. But this time, it was a conflict between two sovereigns. A single fight should resolve it. There was still some time before the Beast Tide ended, and she was far from the depths, so it probably wouldn't affect her much… right? "Do you want to go back? Or… should we find a place to hide first and continue hunting after things calm down?"
"Let's hide for now," Lin Jinyu said, not wanting to return just yet.
Wen Yuncheng found a nearby cave, only to discover an Earth Bear inside, trembling in fear from the sovereigns' battle. The brown bear was curled up into a large ball of flesh inside the cave, looking surprisingly… cute?
Fearing the Star Cannon would destroy the cave, Wen Yuncheng sent Number One inside to provoke the bear, intending to lure it out and kill it. However, the bear was utterly terrified. It remained unmoved despite being charged, rammed, and beaten by Number One. Since Number One couldn't break its defense anyway, it preferred being "harassed" to leaving the cave.
"…My turn?" Lin Jinyu offered thoughtfully, seeing that the mountain of flesh remained motionless even after Wen Yuncheng sent in both Number One and Number Two.
Wen Yuncheng shook her head and took out the Flying Sky Shuttle. This Earth Bear has high physical defense? So what if its physical defense is high? Wen Yuncheng ordered Number One to move outside the cave, then walked in herself and directed the Flying Sky Shuttle to stab at the Earth Bear's head with all its might.
"Aoo!!" The Earth Bear roared, trembling. It turned its head and saw the Star Lord 1st Layer ant standing behind it, raising a paw to swat it down. Wen Yuncheng instantly swapped places with Number One. The Earth Bear slapped Number One into the cave floor, only to see that the "ant" had somehow gotten outside. It let out a suppressed roar of anger and charged out of the cave on all fours.
The moment it charged out, Lin Jinyu's sword formation trapped it. The Star Power swords exploded instantly. Gripping a Profound-rank longsword, Lin Jinyu unleashed her sword intent, bringing the blade down and cleaving through the Earth Bear's skull.
The Earth Bear hadn't activated its innate skill, clearly not expecting such an ambush waiting for it outside. Thus, under Lin Jinyu's charged attack, it was easily slain without any resistance.
Wen Yuncheng guessed that the Flying Sky Shuttle had likely affected the bear's judgment; otherwise, it wouldn't have been so… reckless.
She put away Number One and Number Two, as well as the Star Cannon she had set up outside but hadn't had a chance to use. Wen Yuncheng also recalled the Enemy-Annihilators one by one, leaving only three to stand guard at the cave entrance. There was nothing of value in the cave, just a large crater left where Number One had been slammed into the ground.
And just like that, they had secured a temporary safe zone.
Once they had settled in, Wen Yuncheng took out her storage ring, intending to contact Yan Ling, while Lin Jinyu prepared to report her safety to Qiu Fei.
"Teacher, why are the sovereigns of the Demonic Beast Great Forest fighting? Lin Jinyu and I don't plan on leaving. I want to kill more demonic beasts for experience. It would be great if I could break through to the 2nd Layer of Star Lord."
Yan Ling was also in the forest at that moment, getting a headache from watching the battle erupting in the depths. She replied, "Alright, just be careful. Send out a distress signal if you're in danger. As for why they're fighting… I have no idea. They're probably just bored and looking for trouble."
Wen Yuncheng gave a dry laugh, hearing the resentment in Yan Ling's voice. Yan Ling was probably also hunting demonic beasts, and the battle in the depths was likely affecting her as well.
The battle didn't gradually end until evening. As for who won or lost, Wen Yuncheng had no way of knowing. After things in the depths quieted down, she resumed hunting Earth Bears and Wind-Thunder Leopards.
That night, Wen Yuncheng started a bonfire and bought two salt-baked chickens from the system store to share with Lin Jinyu. As they were eating, 1947 suddenly spoke up. [Someone's coming.]
Wen Yuncheng paused and glanced at the Enemy-Annihilators circling on guard above. Who could it be? Just as she was wondering, she saw a little girl peeking at them from behind a tree. The girl was wearing a small pink and white dress and met Wen Yuncheng's gaze.
Why would there be a child in the middle ring of the Demonic Beast Forest? Was she one of the teachers' children?
[…She's a 2nd Layer Star King.] 1947 said after a moment of silence. [She's probably a demonic beast in human form, attracted by the food.] Could this be… Wen-cub's belated romantic luck? the old father thought.
Lin Jinyu had clearly noticed the little girl as well. Her expression tensed, but when she saw the girl's gaze glued to the salt-baked chicken in her hand, she understood.
Wen Yuncheng swallowed. A Star King? Could she fly? If she could fly… they probably wouldn't be able to escape. Demonic beasts can take human form? Shapeshifting demonic beasts were all high-level and intelligent. If this one could take human form, she could probably talk, too.
[Give her something to eat. Maybe she'll leave after she's finished.] 1947 suggested. Of course, it was also thinking that maybe they could trade a salt-baked chicken for a little follower.
Hesitantly, Wen Yuncheng used her points to buy another salt-baked chicken, wrapped it in oil paper, and stood up. She walked over. The little girl tilted her head, watching her from behind the tree, showing no fear, not moving or hiding. Wen Yuncheng approached step by step, slowly placed the salt-baked chicken on the ground, and then, watching the little girl, backed away step by step.
The little girl smiled, picked up the wrapped chicken from the ground, and vanished in the blink of an eye.
Wen Yuncheng saw a flash of white light. Only after confirming with 1947 that the creature had truly left did she begin to relax. She looked at the half-eaten salt-baked chicken in her hand and couldn't help but click her tongue in amazement. The food from the system store was just too overpowered. A high-level demonic beast like that should have been in the depths of the forest, yet it was lured out? Well, it was also possible she was just passing by and suddenly caught the scent.
"A demonic beast?" Lin Jinyu only spoke up after the little girl had disappeared. She had sensed something was wrong earlier but hadn't dared to speak rashly.
"Yes, a 2nd Layer Star King, but I don't know what kind… Thankfully, she had no killing intent." Wen Yuncheng sighed in relief. "Let's eat quickly. We'll bury the bones when we're done."
"She was probably just passing by. Perhaps it's related to the battle during the day," Lin Jinyu mused.
"Maybe?" Wen Yuncheng shook her head. In any case, this cave was no longer safe. They would leave first thing in the morning. Since the demonic beast had retreated, it probably wouldn't come back to attack them. Counting the days, there weren't many left until the end of the Beast Tide. They might as well just hunt a few random demonic beasts for experience during this time and start heading back.
The two of them quickly finished eating and cleaned up the area. Lin Jinyu began to cultivate, while Wen Yuncheng summoned Number One and Number Two to help her assemble a Star Cannon.
As she worked, Wen Yuncheng tried to guess what had really happened. She had read plenty of novels in her past life and felt that with her intelligence, she might be able to figure out the reason. But after thinking for a long time, she still couldn't make sense of it. Wen Yuncheng spread out a map and studied it carefully. The Green Water Pool and the Demonized Dragon Ape were completely unrelated. Why would the Green Flood Dragon King have a conflict with the Dragon Ape? Was there a secret treasure in the depths of the forest? Had a spirit fruit ripened? But if that were the case, all seven sovereigns should have erupted into a chaotic battle to seize it. And if it were truly a treasure, the Empire would have gotten involved, too.
It was truly baffling. Wen Yuncheng sighed, fitted the part in her hand into place, and suddenly realized she had lost contact with one of the guarding Enemy-Annihilators. 1947? What's going on?
[I-I don't know either…] 1947 was also baffled. [Did it run out of power?]
But the other Enemy-Annihilators were fine. If it were a power issue, one wouldn't just suddenly… While she was talking with 1947, Wen Yuncheng discovered that another Enemy-Annihilator was gone. Did they really run out of power? Wen Yuncheng put down the part and decided to go outside to see what was happening. The moment she stepped out, she lost contact with the last guarding Enemy-Annihilator.
What the hell? Did they all run out of power? She clearly remembered fully charging them just yesterday. Wen Yuncheng was speechless. She planned to find the Enemy-Annihilators and recharge them. She took out three more, charged each one fully, and sent them out. Then she began searching the surrounding ground for the first three.
[Wait, something's wrong! Get out of here!] 1947 suddenly became alert, its mechanical voice unusually sharp with urgency. Before Wen Yuncheng could ask why, she realized she had lost contact with one of the Enemy-Annihilators she had just released. A chill ran down Wen Yuncheng's spine. Her first instinct was to go back and get Lin Jinyu so they could escape together, but she forced herself to stop. The unknown entity was nearby. She couldn't-she couldn't go back. That would put Lin Jinyu in danger too.
What should she do? 1947 could detect Star Kings, but it hadn't sensed this hidden presence at all. This meant the person was definitely skilled in concealment, and their rank might even be above Star King…
Wen Yuncheng unfolded her Mechanical Wings and turned to flee. The moment she moved, the person could no longer hold back. A giant palm made of Star Power slammed into her. The small Profound-rank shield on Wen Yuncheng's chest instantly expanded, and the Defensive Jade also emitted a burst of light, blocking the attack.
"Ha." The person seemed to laugh, finding it amusing. Seeing Wen Yuncheng activate her Mechanical Wings to escape, they struck again with another fierce palm strike. It sent the small shield flying, and the Defensive Jade Wen Yuncheng had just acquired, despite emitting bursts of light, couldn't withstand the attack and shattered with a crack.
[A Star Venerate, it's actually a Star Venerate-]
"Interesting Star Power. And so many Profound-rank spirit treasures on you. Which sect's elite are you? Oh, Star Academy…" The person seemed out of touch with current events. Wen Yuncheng was captured effortlessly, and only then did she see it was a strange old man. "Driven by Star Power, a Star Lord can fly? …Has the Empire developed this much after I was in seclusion for just a dozen years or so?" he muttered to himself, casually shattering Wen Yuncheng's Mechanical Wings.
"W-Who are you?" Wen Yuncheng coughed up a mouthful of blood. She didn't recall Number One and Number Two. Taking advantage of the fact that the old man hadn't done anything more to her yet, she had Number One leave a message on the ground. She hoped Lin Jinyu would send a distress signal, hoped the Empire would come to the rescue.
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