133: Chapter 133 One Wave After Another

After the rest, the group quickly hit the road; after all, they were still far from completing the assessment mission.

"We still need to kill 3 Vicious Beasts of the Subtle Realm and gather 10 stalks of mist condensing grass," Ding Siyi said.

Han Xu withdrew his vigilant gaze, spinning his short blade in his palm with a clean arc, his tone carrying a hint of coldness.

"We've already dealt with two Vicious Beasts of the Subtle Realm, so the remaining three shouldn't be hard to find. However, mist condensing grass mostly grows in damp hollows where the miasma is thickest, so we must be wary of ambushes in the shadows."

Li Menger's complexion eased slightly after her Mental Energy had just been combed through; the white light at her fingertips dimmed a little but remained steady.

"I'll try using my Mental Energy to probe the surrounding vegetation. The leaves of the mist condensing grass will emit a faint blue fluorescence, so they should be identifiable within the miasma. However..."

She paused, her eyes sweeping over the direction from which the fog-striped leopard had charged earlier.

"Before the auras of those two Vicious Beasts disappeared, they seemed to have retreated toward the heart of the valley. There might be a herd gathered there."

Zhang Wen nodded, tapping the sky-splitting startling thunder spear lightly against the ground. The sparks of electricity at the spearhead scattered small flickers, dispelling the encroaching mist.

"Let's head southeast first. When I observed the flow of the miasma earlier, the fog was weaker in that direction, and I could vaguely hear the sound of flowing water—mist condensing grass loves moisture and is highly likely to grow by the water."

"Maintain formation on the road. Ding Siyi, take the center; Li Menger, stay in the rear to maintain detection; Han Xu and I will guard the flanks."

As the four of them just walked out of the rocky area, Li Menger suddenly let out a low cry.

"Fifteen meters ahead, there's abnormal movement under the ground! It's not a living creature; it's like... roots wriggling?"

Before she could finish, the soil under Zhang Wen's feet suddenly churned. Several gray-black vines, as thick as an arm, burst from the soil, their tips bearing barbs, and wrapped directly toward his ankles.

"It's a Heart-Rotting Vine!"

Ding Siyi reacted extremely quickly. Crimson Pearl Immortal Fire instantly condensed into several fire spikes at her fingertips, shooting precisely toward the base of the vines.

The moment the flames touched the vines, a blue-black smoke rose immediately. The vines emitted a "sizzling" sound of burning, and the barbs softened, but they didn't completely wither.

Instead, more vines burst from the surrounding soil, wrapping toward the four of them.

Han Xu flashed, his short blade carving out two cold beams of light, severing the vines wrapping toward Li Menger at the waist.

"This thing fears fire but has extreme resilience. We must burn its main root! Li Menger, can you locate the main root?" Zhang Wen said, severing another vine.

Li Menger closed her eyes tightly, her Mental Energy penetrating the soil layers to probe downward, beads of sweat seeping from her forehead.

"Three meters to the northwest! The main root is as thick as a bucket, and it's wrapped in quite a bit of rotting flesh; it must be growing by absorbing the nutrients of Vicious Beast corpses!"

Zhang Wen seized the opportunity to take a half-step back, raising the sky-splitting startling thunder spear high. Lightning surged along the spear shaft, forming a semi-arc of blue electric netting.

"Ding Siyi, lend me your fire!" Ding Siyi understood immediately, condensing the Crimson Pearl Immortal Fire in her palm into a fireball and throwing it toward the spearhead of Zhang Wen's spear.

The moment the fireball hit the electric net, the blue electric light instantly enveloped the flames, transforming into a scorching fire-electric net that slashed down toward the main root of the Heart-Rotting Vine.

With a "Boom," the fire-electric net smashed into the ground, causing the soil to vibrate violently. The main root was ignited instantly, and thick blue-black smoke billowed up.

The surrounding vines lost their support and quickly withered and curled up.

Zhang Wen retracted his spear and was about to speak when Li Menger's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Where the main root is burning, there is mist condensing grass! There are about five stalks!"

Han Xu immediately stepped forward, using his short blade to push aside the charred soil. Sure enough, he saw a few small grasses with leaves emitting a faint blue fluorescence, with unburned vine debris still stuck to the leaves.

He carefully dug out the mist condensing grass by the roots and stored it in the jade box at his waist: "Five more stalks to go."

Just then, a dull beast roar suddenly came from afar, shaking the surrounding miasma slightly.

Li Menger's Mental Energy tightened instantly, and the white light at her fingertips trembled violently.

"It's a Vicious Beast of the Subtle Realm! It's to the northeast, about fifty meters away, and it's coming this way! It's very fast, it looks like... a Scarlet Flame Bear!"

Zhang Wen's eyes narrowed, and the sky-splitting startling thunder spear lit up with electric light once again.

"The Scarlet Flame Bear has thick skin and flesh, and it can breathe fire. It is precisely the nemesis of Ding Siyi's Crimson Pearl Immortal Fire."

"Han Xu, go ahead and ambush it; look for a chance to attack its eyes or abdomen. Li Menger, use your Mental Energy to lock onto its movement trajectory and report its position at any time."

"Ding Siyi, prepare to condense the Crimson Pearl Immortal Fire. When it gets close, burn its front paws first to restrict its movements!"

As soon as the orders were given, a black bear standing two meters tall burst through the thick fog. Its brownish-red fur exuded a scorching aura, and sparks constantly sprayed from its mouth; it was indeed the Scarlet Flame Bear.

Seeing the four of them, a fierce light appeared in its eyes. It violently raised its front paw and slapped toward the nearest person, Ding Siyi.

"Now!"

Zhang Wen met it with his spear, the electric light at the spearhead piercing directly toward the Scarlet Flame Bear's front paw.

The Scarlet Flame Bear felt pain and roared. Just as it was about to retreat, Han Xu, who was ambushing on the side, suddenly flashed out, his short blade piercing directly toward its left eye.

The Scarlet Flame Bear instinctively tilted its head, and the blade grazed its cheek, leaving a wound deep enough to see the bone.

Li Menger immediately synchronized the Scarlet Flame Bear's movements to her teammates.

"It's about to turn and spit a fireball! It has an old injury on its left hind leg; its movements will be half a beat slower!"

Ding Siyi immediately condensed the Crimson Pearl Immortal Fire and threw it toward the Scarlet Flame Bear's left hind leg.

The Crimson Pearl Immortal Fire landed on its leg. Although it failed to burn through the fur, it made the Scarlet Flame Bear stumble in pain, delaying its fireball-spitting action for a moment.

Zhang Wen seized the opportunity, circled behind the Scarlet Flame Bear with his spear, and avoided its tough fur, precisely piercing into its old injury with the spearhead.

Electric current poured in instantly. The Scarlet Flame Bear let out a shrill scream, its body staggering and falling to the ground.

Han Xu immediately stepped forward, his short blade against its throat, and stabbed down fiercely.

Confirming that the Scarlet Flame Bear had no life left, Ding Siyi breathed a sigh of relief.

"We've gathered three Vicious Beasts of the Subtle Realm; we still need five stalks of mist condensing grass."

Li Menger suddenly spoke at this moment, her eyes carrying a hint of confusion.

"In the direction the Scarlet Flame Bear came from, my Mental Energy detected a faint blue fluorescence; there should be more mist condensing grass there."

"Also... the miasma there seems thinner than in other places; perhaps we can take the opportunity to rest for a while."

Zhang Wen nodded, signaling everyone to follow: "Let's go gather the mist condensing grass first, then see the situation over there."

"The assessment mission is almost complete, but our goal is to take first place, so we still need to work a bit harder."

The four of them walked in the direction the Scarlet Flame Bear had come from. They hadn't gone far when Li Menger stopped in her tracks.

"We're here. Right by the water hollow ahead, there are six stalks of mist condensing grass!"

Just as the group was about to step forward, several figures rushed out from the grass.

When the black shadows darted out from the grass, the miasma they stirred up was filled with ferocity.

Leading them was an Azure-Striped Giant Leopard with a shoulder height of nearly three meters. Its silver-gray fur was covered with dark blue stripes, and its pair of beast eyes glowed with bloodthirsty red light; it was indeed a Vicious Beast at the Peak of the Microscopic Realm.

Behind it followed four slightly smaller Black-Striped Leopards, their movements as swift as ghosts, each carrying the aura of the Early Stage of the Subtlety Realm.

"Not good! It's a herd ambush!"

Zhang Wen's heart sank. He immediately held the sky-splitting startling thunder spear horizontally in front of him, the electric light at the spearhead surging.

"Han Xu, protect Li Menger and Ding Siyi; deal with two Black-Striped Leopards first! Leave this Azure-Striped Giant Leopard to me!"

Just as Han Xu shielded Li Menger behind him, a Black-Striped Leopard on the left had already pounced close, its sharp claws whistling through the air as it swiped toward his throat.

He had just achieved his Breakthrough to the Early Stage of the Subtlety Realm, and his aura was not yet stable. He could only barely dodge to the side, his short blade slashing hastily toward the leopard's belly, but it only left a shallow mark on its fur.

The Black-Striped Leopard roared in pain and turned to pounce again, while the other two Black-Striped Leopards seized the opportunity to circle to both sides of Ding Siyi, leaving her no time to condense the Crimson Pearl Immortal Fire.

The white light at Li Menger's fingertips flickered violently. Just as her Mental Energy was about to lock onto the trajectory of a Black-Striped Leopard, the Azure-Striped Giant Leopard suddenly let out a deafening wolf howl.

The invisible sound wave caused her mind a sharp pain, and the white light instantly dimmed.

"Zhang Wen! Its sound wave can interfere with Mental Energy!"

Before she could finish, the Azure-Striped Giant Leopard had already charged fiercely toward Zhang Wen, its wolf claws slapping toward the spear shaft with a strong wind.

Zhang Wen met it with his spear. With a crisp "clang," he felt his arm go numb and had to retreat three steps to stabilize his stance; the electric light at the spearhead dimmed slightly.

This power at the Peak of the Microscopic Realm was more than twice as strong as his own right now!

"Sister Siyi, quickly use fire to burn the Black-Striped Leopard's eyes!"

Han Xu shouted at Ding Siyi while dodging the Black-Striped Leopard's attacks.

Ding Siyi seized the opportunity to condense three small fire spikes, shooting them precisely toward the eyes of the Black-Striped Leopard on the right.

The leopard let out a miserable cry, blinded in one eye, and its movements slowed by half a beat.

Han Xu seized the opportunity and thrust his short blade directly into its neck.

"Ghostly Throat-Slit!"