131: Black scale beetle

He opened his mouth to instruct Hei Ye.

"Be careful, its venom is very potent."

Li Wen and Chu Yu noticed the movement at this moment and were about to take action.

Their Mental sense began to perceive, and upon only discovering a single sinister black python, they relaxed.

They allowed Hei Ye to step forward and deal with it.

That mantis was particularly bloodthirsty and acted cleanly and decisively.

This was something Chu Yu and Lin Shu had discovered during their few days together in that spiritual land.

But this wasn't a big deal.

Since it liked it, they would just let it do as it pleased.

Seeing that he made no move, Li Wen also stopped his command.

He looked over, slightly confused.

Seeing this, Chu Yu thought for a moment and came to his side.

He offered him an explanation.

Li Wen suddenly understood; it enjoyed killing and disliked having its kills stolen.

Then the opportunities to deal with isolated beasts later on could be left to Lin Shu.

Anyway, a kill was a kill regardless of who made it, and conserving some stamina was excellent.

Ziyu was slightly agitated beneath Lin Shu, blue arcs of lightning flashing around it.

Clearly, it really wanted to try its strength.

Lin Shu gently patted it, interrupting him.

A beast battle of this Rank was not something he could participate in.

It was better to wait for the next time, and only strike when a good opportunity arose.

Hei Ye flashed over like a streak of black light, followed immediately by its silver-white blades, while the sinister black python rapidly fleeing ahead felt waves of cold light approaching it.

Its cold snake eyes felt indignant, thinking it was truly being bullied too much. Did they really think it was easy to mess with?

It stopped fleeing, and its agile body narrowly dodged the white blade light.

It exposed two sharp, slender fangs, its mouth slightly agape.

Instantly, purple venom shot out like a water column.

The substance smelled foul and was highly corrosive; anything it touched would be instantly dissolved.

Facing the dangerous purple venom, Hei Ye twisted its body and skillfully evaded it,

then suddenly accelerated under the somewhat disbelieving gaze of the sinister black python.

Before its mouth could even close, Hei Ye was already beside it.

The silver sharp blade flashed with white light, reflecting in its emotionless snake eyes.

Just as it was about to resist, it felt something easily pierce its body.

Looking down, it discovered a bloody hole.

Its defense was rendered useless before Hei Ye.

It immediately became critically wounded, about to turn into a corpse.

Hei Ye did not rush forward, but instead continued to unleash several waves of Blade Qi, one after another.

It only stopped after hacking it into pieces.

Li Wen and Chu Yu raised an eyebrow; Lin Shu's beast's strength was truly exaggerated.

That sinister black python, which was around Fifth Rank, was slain in mere moments.

This level of strength was not much inferior even when compared to theirs.

Hei Ye's subsequent cautious actions were also flawless.

This was exactly how one should deal with this type of beast.

49 points of proficiency successfully arrived.

Lin Shu gazed at the distant valley, realizing more and more that this was a treasure trove.

Hei Ye quickly flew back, its expression indifferent.

It gave a look and nodded toward Ziyu.

The meaning was obvious.

Which was: If you're weak, train more.

Ziyu avoided its gaze, not daring to look directly at it.

Currently, he had no way to resist.

The small interlude ended, and the three continued deeper into the valley.

This area was not the habitat of the Black Scale Beetle.

At this moment, a large river with surging waters appeared before their eyes.

The river water was pitch black like ink, emanating a strange aura.

The waves surged and roared, the rising spray wildly dancing like black giant beasts.

Sunlight spilled onto the water's surface but could not penetrate the heavy darkness.

Gazing at the black river water, an inexplicable sense of unease shrouded their hearts.

"This is the Black Water River."

"It runs through the entire Soul Severing Mountain Range."

"It is fraught with danger; sometimes, even foreign tribes hide within it, attacking passing students and snatching beast resources."

Chu Yu nodded in agreement, clearly sensing many powerful auras below.

Lin Shu's eyes flickered, penetrating the depths below.

Sure enough, just as Li Wen said, the bottom was filled with scattered water-type beasts.

Panel attributes were clearly visible, piece by piece.

Their Ranks were quite high, all around Sixth Rank.

This was truly good, a great place; once his Rank increased later, he would grind proficiency here.

The three cautiously flew over this section of the Black Water River.

They left this area.

They pressed further into the valley.

Indeed, just as Li Wen had said, the number of High Rank beasts was not too great.

They were all scattered, occupying their own respective territories.

Along the way, the three searched for traces of the Black Scale Beetle.

While also collecting the spirit objects hidden in the crevices.

In this regard, Li Wen was much more proficient than Lin Shu and Chu Yu.

His half a year spent here was not wasted.

Although they only obtained spirit objects around Fourth Rank, it was better than nothing.

He, whose family background was not wealthy, was already satisfied.

Naturally, there were even more Advanced spirit objects inside.

However, wild High Rank spirit objects would be consumed by the guardian beasts once they matured.

If they hadn't matured, the beasts would guard them closely, attacking any enemies who tried to snatch the spirit objects.

Along the way, Hei Ye hunted several beasts that either actively attacked or were discovered by chance.

Their Ranks were around Fifth Rank, and they were still easily subdued, allowing Lin Shu to gain a good amount of proficiency.

Walking through the black jungle, although it was daytime, visibility remained low.

The beasts inside the Soul Severing Mountain Range were basically all black, perfectly achieving Fusion with the environment, making them difficult to spot without careful observation.

Stepping onto the somewhat hardened ground, Lin Shu's pace suddenly halted.

Within his sight, a black giant tree, about waist-high, attracted his attention.

A Black Scale Beetle was hidden inside.

While traveling, Lin Shu constantly scanned and searched the surroundings, and he finally managed to encounter one.

When Li Wen and Chu Yu saw Lin Shu stop, they immediately looked solemn and scanned the surrounding environment.

Had a foreign tribe arrived?

Or was there some other danger?

They instantly entered combat readiness.

Lin Shu waved his hand, signaling that there was no danger.

He walked up to the two of them and spoke softly.

"There is a Black Scale Beetle in that tree."

"There was some movement inside just now."

"I happened to catch sight of it."

Although the two of them hadn't noticed anything.

They still trusted Lin Shu greatly, despite only knowing him for a short time.

It was enough to see that his personality was extremely steady.

He never did anything he wasn't confident about.

Following the direction of his finger, that black giant tree was somewhat conspicuous.

Lin Shu signaled to Hei Ye with his eyes, and the latter immediately understood.

It turned into a black shadow and rushed over.

Ziyu also took small steps forward to hold the line.

Tu Yao, however, remained motionless, guarding Lin Shu's side.

Li Wen and Chu Yu also commanded their respective beasts.

They surrounded the area from the outside, preventing the Black Scale Beetle from escaping.

As an earth/dark dual-attribute creature, it was practically in its element in this environment.

If they were careless, it could burrow deep underground and vanish.

"Crack!"

A cold flash instantly fell, and the waist-high large tree was immediately split into two halves.

Immediately, a brown beetle the size of a basketball rushed out.

Its body was circular, and the shell above was a mix of black and brown.

As it stretched out, it revealed many jointed limbs that were strong and powerful.

It seemed to realize that the situation was not right.

It immediately curled up, starting to roll rapidly, resembling a solid black ball.

Clearly, it wanted to retreat quickly.

But this was a mission target they had finally encountered.

How could they easily let it leave?

Hei Ye was the first to step out and refuse.

Surging, fierce blade light pointed directly at the Black Scale Beetle!

...