6: Chapter 6 The Crocodile Ancestor Appears, A Race Against Time

Sunlight shone through the branches of the ancient trees, casting dappled shadows on the clearing in the forest.

The players poured out of the Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin like a burst dam, instantly filling the small clearing.

Some breathed in the fresh air greedily, some fell to their knees to kiss the soil, and others buried their faces in their hands and wept—it was the catharsis of surviving a disaster.

Lin Ye stood by the coffin, his gaze sweeping across the surroundings.

About five thousand players had survived, a number higher than he had anticipated.

In his past life, only a little over three thousand players arrived in the Big Dipper Star Field in the same batch; it seemed the information he had revealed earlier had indeed saved some people.

But with five thousand people crowded together, the scene was still chaotic.

"Oh my god! We're finally in a normal place!"

"The air here... is so fresh! Better than Earth!"

"Look at those trees! That flower is glowing!"

"There are NPCs! There are NPCs over there!"

Following the exclamations, Lin Ye looked toward the edge of the clearing.

About thirty indigenous people stood there, men and women, young and old, wearing simple hemp or animal skin clothes, holding tools like stone spears, wooden clubs, and pitchforks.

They were huddled together, their eyes filled with a mix of fear, curiosity, and vigilance, like a group of wild rabbits that had suddenly stumbled into a strange territory.

At the head was a white-haired old man leaning on a twisted wooden staff.

The wrinkles on his face were as deep as gullies, but his eyes were bright, staring fixedly at the Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin, his lips moving silently as if reciting some prayer.

Lin Ye recognized these people.

They were villagers from Li Family Village on the border of the Yan State.

It was the first village Ye Fan encountered after arriving in the original story.

The villagers were kind and simple, but their Lifespans were generally not long—being close to the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land, even without entering the forbidden zone, the occasionally drifting archaic aura would erode the Lifespans of Mortals.

"Elder." Lin Ye stepped forward, using a tone as gentle as possible. "May I ask what region this is?"

The old man raised his head, his murky eyes lingering on Lin Ye's face for a moment, then looking at the Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin behind him, and finally spoke slowly, his voice as hoarse as a broken bellows: "Yan State... border of the Southern Domain. You... fell from the sky?"

"You could say that." Lin Ye nodded. "We traveled from the starry sky in that bronze coffin."

"Starry sky..." Awe flashed in the old man's eyes. "Indeed, the star charts changed drastically last night, the nine stars aligned, and I knew something major was going to happen. I didn't expect it to be the descent of heavenly beings."

Hearing the words "heavenly beings," the surrounding villagers knelt down one after another, kowtowing toward the Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin.

To them, anyone who could cross the starry sky in a coffin pulled by nine dragons, if not an immortal, what else could they be?

"Please get up, Elder." Lin Ye helped the old man up. "We are not heavenly beings, just... lost travelers. May I ask which direction the nearest town is in? We need to replenish our food and water."

"There is a small town thirty miles to the east." The old man pointed eastward. "However..." He hesitated for a moment. "It has not been peaceful in the mountains recently. There are Yao Beasts roaming, and they have already injured several hunters. If you are going to the town, it is best to travel together, travel during the day, and be sure to find a place to stay before dark."

Yao Beasts.

Lin Ye's eyes narrowed.

Right, the Big Dipper Star Field was not a peaceful world.

Here, Yao Beasts ran rampant, barbarians wreaked havoc, and there was infighting between the major Holy Lands and aristocratic families.

If players died here, there was no such thing as a respawn point—death meant true death, and they would have to start over from Level 1.

"Thank you for the warning." Lin Ye took something out of his storage space—a few medicinal herbs he had casually picked outside the Great Thunder Sound Temple.

Although they were Mortal-grade, they should have some value in this world. "Please accept this small token of appreciation."

The old man took the herbs, smelled them, and his eyes lit up: "red glow grass? This is good stuff for healing wounds and stopping bleeding! On behalf of the whole village, I thank you, sir!"

A System prompt sounded in Lin Ye's ear:

[Favorability with Li Family Village +50 (Friendly)]

[Obtained Title 'Friendly Outsider': 5% discount when trading with villages within the Yan State]

Not bad, a good start.

Lin Ye was about to continue asking about the specific situation of the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land when a sharp sound of piercing through the air suddenly came from behind him.

It wasn't the wind, nor was it the chirping of birds, but the sound of something... space being torn apart.

He turned around abruptly and looked at the Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin.

The coffin lay quietly in the center of the clearing, the nine dragon corpses motionless, as if they were just ordinary sculptures.

But Lin Ye could feel that the space inside the coffin was fluctuating, not the steady fluctuation during the voyage, but a violent, chaotic one, like a pot of water about to boil.

"This isn't right..." His expression changed drastically. "The Crocodile Ancestor's pursuit... isn't over yet!"

Before he could finish speaking, the lid of the bronze coffin exploded!

It wasn't opened by someone from the outside, but was blasted away by a terrifying force from within.

The heavy bronze coffin lid flew spinning into the air, tracing a parabola, and crashed heavily into the woods a hundred meters away, breaking several ancient trees.

Dark red mist surged from inside the coffin.

It wasn't blood, nor was it miasma, but a thick, dark red substance that seemed to have life.

The mist churned, condensed, and finally formed a blurry outline at the mouth of the coffin.

That was a claw.

Covered in dark red scales, each one the size of a washbasin, with edges as sharp as knives.

The tips of the claws were like hooks, flashing with a metallic cold light.

Just by revealing one claw, the terrifying pressure caused the temperature in the entire forest to drop by ten degrees.

"Roar—!"

The roar came from within the coffin, not transmitted through the air, but acting directly on the Soul.

The players and villagers present covered their ears at the same time, crouching down in pain.

A few weak-constitution players had blood leaking directly from their mouths and noses, and damage numbers floated above their heads.

-50!

-63!

-78!

Lin Ye endured the pain of his Soul being torn apart and shouted: "Run! Everyone! Run east! Go to that small town!"

But it was too late.

A second claw reached out from the coffin, and the two claws gripped the edge of the coffin, pushing hard.

A skull of unimaginable size slowly rose from the mouth of the coffin.

It was the head of a crocodile, but ten times larger than any known crocodile.

The scales on the surface of the head were dark red, and in some places, they were damaged, revealing the rotting flesh beneath.

The eye sockets were hollow, but two clusters of ghostly green Soul fire burned deep within.

The giant mouth opened, revealing dense, dagger-like fangs, with bits of flesh and black blood scabs hanging between the teeth.

The Crocodile Ancestor's Divine Thought!

It had actually followed them! It crossed the starry sky and chased them to the Big Dipper Star Field!

"No... impossible..." A player collapsed to the ground, muttering to himself, "This thing... how do we fight it? We're only Level 1!"

Indeed, how could they fight?

Lin Ye calculated rapidly.

The Crocodile Ancestor's Divine Thought was at least Level 200, and its HP was probably in the hundreds of millions.

Players were generally Level 1-3, with attack power of twenty or thirty points, unable to even force damage.

This wasn't a battle; it was a massacre.

The Crocodile Ancestor's head stretched completely out of the coffin, its ghostly green Soul fire sweeping over the ant-like crowd below.

It didn't attack immediately, but... took a deep breath.

It wasn't breathing air, but devouring life essence.

Lin Ye felt his life force being forcibly extracted, turning into wisps of white light, gathering toward the Crocodile Ancestor's mouth.

It wasn't just him; all the players, all the villagers, and even the surrounding grass and trees were withering rapidly.

[You are affected by 'Life Devour', losing 2% of maximum HP per second]

[Current HP: 200/200]

[-4]

[-4]

[-4]

"Interrupt it!" Lin Ye gritted his teeth, took the bronze lamp from his storage space, and ignited the Buddha Fire.

The faint golden light expanded into a three-meter-wide light shield, covering him, Chen Hao, and Su Qingyue.

The effect of Life Devour was weakened, and the HP loss per second dropped to 1%.

But others were not so lucky.

Players fell like wheat, and white lights lit up in patches.

Each white light represented a player's death, Level -1, and equipment dropping.

The villagers were even more miserable; they were NPCs, so if they died, they were truly dead and would not respawn.

In just ten seconds, one-third of the clearing was empty.

"It can't go on like this..." Lin Ye's brain worked frantically. "The Crocodile Ancestor's goal is to devour life to restore its power. It is currently just a Divine Thought, without a physical body, needing a large amount of life essence to condense its form. Once it completes the condensation, the entire southern region of the Yan State will suffer."

What to do? Can't fight, can't escape, just wait to die?

Wait...

He suddenly remembered something.

In the original story, after Ye Fan and the others arrived at the Big Dipper Star Field, the bronze coffin was not immediately abandoned.

The coffin itself was a supreme treasure with the ability to suppress evil spirits and traverse the Void Realm.

The reason the Crocodile Ancestor could follow was that it had attached itself to the coffin and teleported with it.

But what if... they blew up the coffin?

As soon as this thought appeared, it grew wildly like weeds.

The bronze coffin was a treasure, yes, but it was also a carrier.

If the carrier were destroyed, the Crocodile Ancestor's Divine Thought would be exposed to the rules of heaven and earth of the Big Dipper Star Field and be suppressed.

While it was impossible to eliminate it, it would at least buy some time for the players to escape.

But how to blow it up?

Lin Ye's gaze fell on the inside of the bronze coffin.

There, the coffin walls were covered with runes.

Among them were some energy nodes; if multiple nodes were destroyed simultaneously, it might trigger an energy overload, leading to...

"Su Qingyue!" He turned his head abruptly. "Can your Ice Control freeze the inside of an object?"

Su Qingyue was taken aback, then nodded: "I can try. But it will take time, and it consumes a lot of energy."

"Help me freeze three locations inside the coffin." Lin Ye pointed out quickly. "The third rune in the seventh row on the left wall, the ninth rune in the fifth row on the right wall, and that largest rune in the very center of the coffin bottom. Freeze them at the same time, the deeper the better!"

"Okay!" Su Qingyue didn't ask why and raised her hand directly.

She closed her eyes, pressed her hands in the air, and forest-white cold air emerged from her palms.

The cold air drilled into the coffin like a spirit snake, spreading toward the three positions Lin Ye had specified.

Wherever it passed, a thin layer of ice formed on the bronze surface.

The Crocodile Ancestor seemed to sense the threat, turned its head toward Su Qingyue, and the ghostly green Soul fire expanded abruptly.

"Your opponent is me!" Lin Ye shouted, raising the bronze lamp and injecting all his remaining Divine Power.

The Buddha Fire surged, expanding from the size of a fist to the size of a washbasin, the golden light as dazzling as the sun.

The light shone on the Crocodile Ancestor's head, and white smoke hissed from the surface of the scales, just like a red-hot iron block immersed in cold water.

-1!

-1!

-1!

The damage numbers were pitifully small, but extremely insulting.

The Crocodile Ancestor was enraged; it gave up devouring life, opened its giant mouth, and a dark red beam of light sprayed out.

Wherever the beam passed, space twisted, and grass and trees turned to ash.

"Dodge!" Lin Ye pushed Chen Hao, and he rolled to the side.

The beam grazed his back, his hemp clothes instantly charred, and a burning pain came from his skin.

A huge damage number floated above his head: -128!

More than half of his blood was gone!

Lin Ye gritted his teeth and swallowed a red glow grass he had taken from his storage space.

A cooling sensation came from the wound, and his HP began to recover slowly.

"Isn't it done yet?!" He shouted.

"Almost!" Su Qingyue had fine beads of sweat on her forehead, clearly consuming a lot of energy. "The last rune... is frozen!"

The moment the words fell, Lin Ye moved.

He picked up a fist-sized stone from the ground, concentrated all his strength in his arm, and threw it violently into the coffin.

The target was not the Crocodile Ancestor, but the largest rune at the bottom of the coffin.

While the stone was in flight, Lin Ye wrapped his last bit of Divine Power around it, forming a thin energy coat.

"Break for me!"

The stone hit the center of the rune precisely.

"Click..."

A slight cracking sound.

The frozen rune, under the impact of the stone, developed a crack on its surface.

The crack spread rapidly, diffusing like a spider web to the entire rune.

And as this rune shattered, the other runes connected to it also began to collapse.

Chain reaction.

Inside the bronze coffin, the energy began to spiral out of control.

The ghostly green rune light became chaotic and violent, flickering and jumping like a short-circuited wire.

The coffin body trembled violently, emitting an unbearable groan.

The Crocodile Ancestor's Divine Thought let out a terrified hiss, wanting to break free from the coffin, but it was too late.

The energy overload reached a critical point.

"Boom—!!!"

A deafening explosion.

Not a physical explosion, but an overload of spatial energy.

The bronze coffin exploded from the inside, and countless bronze fragments flew in all directions like cannonballs.

The runes on the coffin walls burned and annihilated in the explosion, releasing the last of their energy.

The Crocodile Ancestor's Divine Thought was hit head-on by the shockwave of the explosion, the dark red mist was torn and shredded, and it let out a scream of extreme misery.

Its head projection began to collapse, and the ghostly green Soul fire flickered like a candle in the wind.

But Lin Ye knew this wouldn't kill it.

Divine Thought was formed by obsession; unless purified by the most Yang and rigid power, or worn away slowly over time, it was difficult to eliminate completely.

The explosion only severely injured it and bought some time.

"Now! Run!" Lin Ye pulled Chen Hao and shouted to Su Qingyue.

The three of them ran wildly toward the east.

Other surviving players also reacted and followed behind, fleeing for their lives.

The villagers had long since disappeared; they understood the terror of this land better than the players.

Behind them, the Crocodile Ancestor's hiss gradually weakened, but that malevolent killing intent locked onto Lin Ye like a maggot on a bone.

It remembered this ant who had destroyed its carrier and severely injured its Divine Thought.

The thirty-mile journey became incredibly long in this race against time.

The players ran with all their might, but their Constitution attribute determined their speed.

Some fell behind and were dragged away by Yao Beasts that suddenly rushed out of the forest; some collapsed from exhaustion and could no longer crawl up; others panicked and ran into even more dangerous areas.

Lin Ye and the other two kept running at the very front.

The doubling of all attributes of the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body showed its advantage at this moment.

Lin Ye's agility was twice that of an average player, and his stamina was also twice as high; he could run five kilometers at a sprint speed without slowing down.

Although Chen Hao's attributes were average, he was being pulled by Lin Ye and could barely keep up.

Needless to say, Su Qingyue's foundation in ancient martial arts made her even surpass Lin Ye in stamina.

An hour later, the outline of buildings appeared ahead.

It was a small town, with a wall made of bluestone only three meters high, looking simple, but in this wilderness, it was already a safe shelter.

There were guards at the town gate, wearing simple leather armor and holding spears, looking nervously at the fleeing players.

"Open the gate! Open the gate quickly!" The players running in the front shouted.

The guards hesitated for a moment before opening the wooden gate.

The players poured into the town like a tide, then collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.

Many people logged off directly—not exiting the game, but forced disconnection, which was the System's protection mechanism for the limit of mental endurance.

Lin Ye didn't rest immediately; he stood at the town gate, looking back at the road they came from.

At the end of the horizon, above the mountain forest, the dark red mist was slowly dissipating.

The Crocodile Ancestor's Divine Thought had temporarily retreated, but Lin Ye knew it wasn't dead.

As long as the obsession remained, it would one day make a comeback.

"Brother Ye, we... survived." Chen Hao sat on the ground, his face as pale as paper.

"For now." Lin Ye said in a low voice. "That thing holds a grudge. We need to be careful in the Big Dipper Star Field from now on."

Su Qingyue walked over and handed Lin Ye a medicinal herb: "Your wound needs treatment."

Lin Ye only then felt the burning pain in his back.

He took the herbs, chewed them until crushed, and applied them directly to the wound.

The medicinal effect of the red glow grass was excellent; the pain quickly subsided, and his blood and energy began to stabilize and recover.

"Just now..." Su Qingyue looked at him, "How did you know to destroy those three runes?"

"A guess." Lin Ye replied, his expression unchanged, "The structure of those runes was clearly energy nodes; destroying the nodes would trigger a chain reaction. I saw similar records in the scriptures of the Great Thunder Sound Temple."

This explanation was quite far-fetched, but Su Qingyue did not press for more.

She just looked at Lin Ye deeply and then said, "You saved me once. I owe you a life."

"It was just mutual aid," Lin Ye waved his hand, "Without your freezing, I wouldn't have been able to destroy the runes either."

The System notification sound rang in both of their ears simultaneously:

[Su Qingyue Favorability +30 (Friendly)]

[You obtained Reputation +100]

It worked.

Lin Ye breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. In his past life, his favorability with Su Qingyue only reached 'Friendly' after they completed a difficult mission together; in this life, due to the life-saving grace, it was achieved ahead of time.

"What do we do now?" Chen Hao asked, catching his breath, "This town looks... quite poor."

It was indeed poor.

The small town was called "Qingshi Town" and was one of the most remote settlements in the southern region of the Yan State.

There were only two streets in the town, and the houses were mostly wood and stone structures, many of which had fallen into disrepair over the years.

There were not many pedestrians on the streets; they were dressed plainly and looked malnourished.

But Lin Ye knew that there was an important functional facility here—the Post Station.

The transportation System of the "covering the heavens era" was very primitive; there were no teleportation arrays, so players had to rely on carriages, mounts, or walking on their own legs for long-distance travel.

And the Post Station was the place that provided carriage rentals and route information.

More importantly, there was a "Mission Board" in the Post Station that would post some local missions.

Completing these missions could not only earn experience and money but also increase local reputation and unlock more functions.

"Let's go to the Post Station first," Lin Ye said, "We need to understand information about this world, and we also need to accept missions to level up."

The three of them walked into the small town.

Residents on both sides of the street curiously sized up these "visitors from outside the heavens," pointing and whispering.

Lin Ye could understand some of it—the common language of the Big Dipper Star Field was similar to Chinese, just with some differences in accent.

The Post Station was located in the center of the town, a two-story wooden building with a wooden sign hanging at the entrance with the character "Post" written on it.

Walking into the lobby, it was very spacious, with only a few tables and chairs and a counter.

Behind the counter sat a middle-aged man with a goat beard, who was yawning, clearly indicating business was slow.

"Three guests, do you want to rent a carriage or stay at the inn?" Seeing someone come in, the owner perked up.

"Let us check the missions first." Lin Ye walked to the wooden board on the wall.

There were more than a dozen animal skin papers pinned to the wooden board, each with a mission written on it. The handwriting was sloppy, but legible.

[Collect Wolf Skin: Requires complete wild wolf skin × 10, reward 5 copper coins per piece]

[Escort Caravan: Escort the caravan to 'Black Rock City' thirty miles away, reward 20 copper coins]

[Clear Rat Infestation: The grain warehouse in the east of the town has a rat infestation, need to eliminate at least 50 giant rats, reward 15 copper coins]

[Find Herbs: Requires 'Hemostasis Grass' × 20, reward 2 copper coins per plant]

These were all the most basic missions, and the rewards were pitifully small.

The currency System of the Big Dipper Star Field consisted of copper coins, silver coins, and gold coins, with an exchange rate of 100:1.

And the initial funds players obtained from the System were 100 Spirit Stones, with 1 Spirit Stone exchangeable for 100 gold coins... In other words, the rewards for these missions were almost negligible for players.

But Lin Ye knew that one could not just look at the surface rewards.

Mission rewards were not just money, but also experience, reputation, and... the possibility of triggering follow-up missions.

He took down the two mission slips for "Clear Rat Infestation" and "Find Herbs" and walked to the counter: "We'll take these two missions."

The owner took a look, nodded, and recorded it in his ledger: "For the rat infestation mission, you need to go to the east of the town and find the grain warehouse manager, Old John, to collect tools. The herb mission has no location limit, but Hemostasis Grass usually grows on the hillside to the south. A word of warning: Yao Beast activity has been frequent lately, so be careful when leaving the town."

"Many thanks."

The three left the Post Station and went to the grain warehouse in the east of the town first.

The grain warehouse was a stone-built structure, and an old one-eyed man was sitting at the entrance, smoking a dry pipe.

Seeing the mission slips in Lin Ye's hands, the old man grinned, revealing a mouth full of yellow teeth: "Here to throw your lives away again? Fine, the tools are over there, take them yourselves."

The so-called tools were just a few rusty short knives and several rat traps.

Lin Ye did not take a knife; he took out the bronze lamp from his storage space—although the Buddha Fire might not have much effect on rats, it was at least more useful than a short knife.

Chen Hao and Su Qingyue each took a knife, and the three of them walked into the grain warehouse.

The warehouse was piled full of sacks, and the air was filled with a mixed smell of grain and mold.

"Rustling" sounds came from the corners, and pairs of small red eyes flickered in the shadows.

Giant rats.

Not ordinary rats, but a mutated species influenced by Spiritual Qi; each was the size of a house cat, with sharp teeth and agile movements.

Their level was between 3-5, which was quite dangerous for 1st-level players.

But the three of them were not ordinary players.

"I'll be the main attacker, A-Hao will provide cover, and Su Qingyue will use ice spikes for long-range support." Lin Ye simply assigned the tactics and then lit the bronze lamp.

The Buddha light lit up, and the giant rats let out sharp hisses, clearly not liking this light.

But they did not flee; instead, they were enraged and swarmed up in groups.

Lin Ye advanced instead of retreating, holding the bronze lamp, concentrating the Buddha light at the lamp's opening, and sweeping it across like waving a torch.

-15! -12! -18!

Damage numbers floated up. Buddha Fire dealt double damage to Yin-evil entities; although the giant rats were not considered Yin-evil, they belonged to the "Filthy" category of creatures and were also somewhat suppressed by it.

Chen Hao provided finishing blows from the side; his attack power was not high, but he was steady. Every time a giant rat was burned by the Buddha Fire, he would stab into its vital point.

Su Qingyue's ice spikes were like sniper rounds, each one accurately hitting the giant rats' eyes or throats, dealing fatal damage.

Although her Ice Control was only Elementary, combined with the bonuses from the Vast Cold Spirit Body, its power was not to be underestimated.

Three minutes later, the warehouse was quiet.

Over fifty giant rat corpses lay on the ground; the mission was complete.

[Mission 'Clear Rat Infestation' completed]

[Obtained 500 Experience Points]

[Obtained 15 copper coins]

[Qingshi Town Reputation +10]

Two white lights flashed on Lin Ye's body—he leveled up, from level 1 to level 3.

The 200% experience bonus from the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body, plus the 20% extra experience from the Pioneer title, made his leveling speed extremely fast.

Chen Hao and Su Qingyue also each leveled up to level 2.

"Continue, let's go to the southern hillside to gather herbs." Lin Ye did not rest.

The three left the grain warehouse, turned in the mission to Old John, and then left the town heading south.

The southern hillside indeed had Hemostasis Grass growing, a type of green plant with serrated leaves.

But there was danger here too—wild wolves.

Not ordinary wild wolves, but "Wind Wolves," a type of Yao Beast that could manipulate weak wind elements, with a level between 5-7.

They moved in packs, with at least five or six in each pack.

Lin Ye and the others had just picked five stalks of Hemostasis Grass when they were surrounded by a pack of seven Wind Wolves.

"Trouble," Chen Hao gripped his short knife, his voice dry.

"Not trouble," Lin Ye laughed instead, "Perfect for leveling up."

He took the initiative and charged up.

The bronze lamp swung, and the Buddha Fire traced golden trajectories in the air.

The Wind Wolves were fast, but Lin Ye's agility was higher; every time, he could dodge before the wolf claws reached him, and then counterattack.

Su Qingyue's ice spikes provided precise support, hitting the Wind Wolves' vital points every time, causing freezing and slowing effects.

Although Chen Hao was flustered, under Lin Ye's command, he gradually found his rhythm.

Ten minutes later, all seven Wind Wolves were dead.

Lin Ye leveled up to 4, and Chen Hao and Su Qingyue leveled up to 3.

And just at this moment, a deafening roar came from deep within the hillside.

Not a wolf howl, but... something even more terrifying.

The three of them turned their heads simultaneously and looked toward the top of the hill.

There, a giant wolf with a snow-white body and a silver moon mark on its forehead was looking down at them from a high vantage point.

Its size was three times that of a normal Wind Wolf, its eyes were cold, and its aura was powerful.

[Silver Moon Wolf King (Elite)]

Level: 10

HP: 2500/2500

Skills: Moon Blade, Wolf Howl, Bite

Level 10 Elite BOSS!

Lin Ye's expression was grave.

With their current levels, dealing with normal Wind Wolves was fine, but against the Silver Moon Wolf King... their chance of winning was no more than 30%.

"Retreat?" Chen Hao asked in a low voice.

"We can't retreat," Lin Ye shook his head, "The Wolf King's speed is faster than ours. We have to fight."

He took a deep breath, took out the bodhi seed from his storage space, and held it in his palm.

The Comprehension Ability bonus pushed his thinking speed to the limit.

He quickly calculated the Wolf King's attack patterns, skill cooldowns, and movement trajectories in his mind...

"A-Hao, you circle to the left and attract its attention, but don't take it head-on; focus on dodging. Su Qingyue, aim your ice spikes at its eyes and nose; those are its weak points. I'll be the main attacker."

"But you're only level 4..." Chen Hao worried.

"It's enough."

Lin Ye gripped the bronze lamp tightly and threw his entire focus into the battle.

The Silver Moon Wolf King moved.

It did not immediately pounce but looked up to the sky and howled.

"Awoooo—!"

Skill: Wolf Howl.

The sound wave spread like a tangible force, and the three of them simultaneously felt dizzy and their movements became sluggish. This was a crowd control skill.

Immediately after, the Wolf King opened its mouth and spat out a silver-white crescent-shaped light blade.

Skill: Moon Blade.

The light blade was extremely fast, reaching Lin Ye in the blink of an eye.

His pupils constricted, and he instinctively dodged to the side.

"Swoosh—!"

The Moon Blade grazed his shoulder, spraying a burst of blood. A damage number floated up: -87!

Such high attack power!

Lin Ye gritted his teeth, advanced instead of retreating, and charged toward the Wolf King.

The Buddha Fire of the bronze lamp burned to its limit, the golden light illuminating half the hillside. He leaped up and smashed the lamp body hard against the Wolf King's nose bridge.

Weak point attack!

-124! Critical hit!

The Wolf King felt the pain, let out an angry roar, and swept its front claws horizontally. Lin Ye could not change direction in mid-air and had to take it head-on.

"Bang!"

He was swatted away, falling heavily to the ground, his HP dropping below the danger line.

"Brother Ye!" Chen Hao was anxious and, ignoring everything, rushed up, stabbing his short knife into the Wolf King's hind leg.

-23!

The damage was pitifully low, but it attracted the Wolf King's attention.

The Wolf King turned its head, its blood-red maw snapping down toward Chen Hao.

Just at this critical moment—

"Freeze!" Su Qingyue's cold voice rang out.

Three ice spikes shot toward the Wolf King's eyes in a triangular formation. The Wolf King instinctively closed its eyes, and the ice spikes hit its eyelids; although they didn't deal much damage, the accompanying freezing effect slowed its movements by half a beat.

This half-beat saved Chen Hao's life.

Lin Ye climbed up from the ground, swallowed a stalk of red glow grass, and charged at the Wolf King again.

This time, he didn't use brute force but concentrated the Buddha Fire into a thin, long "needle," aiming at the wound on the Wolf King's nose bridge that had been hit before, and stabbed it in hard.

Buddha Fire entered the body, burning the internal organs!

-211!

The Wolf King let out a scream of extreme misery, its massive body twisting crazily, knocking down several trees nearby.

But it wasn't dead yet. The health bar had only one-tenth left.

"Final blow!" Lin Ye shouted.

Su Qingyue and Chen Hao attacked simultaneously.

Ice spikes pierced into the Wolf King's eyes.

The short knife stabbed into the Wolf King's throat.

The Buddha Fire from the bronze lamp exploded from the inside.

Three damage numbers floated up in succession: -78! -45! -333!

The Silver Moon Wolf King collapsed with a crash.

[Successfully killed 'Silver Moon Wolf King (Elite)']

[Obtained 2500 Experience Points]

[Obtained Reputation +50]

[Qingshi Town Reputation +30]

Three white lights flashed consecutively on Lin Ye's body—he leveled up directly from level 4 to level 7! Chen Hao and Su Qingyue also leveled up to level 5.

Beside the Wolf King's corpse, four items dropped: a complete wolf skin, two wolf fangs, a piece of silver Ore, and a... Skill Book?

Lin Ye picked up the Skill Book first.

[Obtained: Moon Blade (Skill Book)]

[Quality: Fine (Green)]

[Description: Records the cultivation method of the Silver Moon Wolf King's innate skill 'Moon Blade']

[Effect: After learning, you can master the skill 'Moon Blade', consume Divine Power to fire a crescent-shaped light blade, dealing Wind-attribute damage]

[Learning Requirements: Level 5, Spirit 10]

It was just right for Su Qingyue to use.

Lin Ye handed the Skill Book to her: "It's yours."

Su Qingyue took it without declining. She used it immediately, and the Skill Book turned into points of light and merged into her body.

[Su Qingyue learned skill: Moon Blade (Elementary)]

[Effect: Consume 15 points of Divine Power, fire a crescent light blade, dealing (Spirit × 1.5 + 30) points of Wind-attribute damage, cooldown time 10 seconds]

[Current Mastery: Elementary (0/100)]

Then there was that piece of silver Ore.

[Obtained: Moon-patterned Iron Ore]

[Quality: Rare (Blue)]

[Description: A special iron Ore containing the power of moonlight, can be used for forging weapons or refining Magical Artifacts]

[Effect: When added during weapon forging, it can add the 'Moonlight' attribute (attacks deal weak moonlight damage)]

A forging material, keep it for now.

The wolf skin and wolf fangs were mission items, which could be turned in for missions or sold to NPC merchants.

"Time to go back." Lin Ye looked at the sky; the sun had already begun to set in the west, "The wild is more dangerous after dark."

The three gathered enough Hemostasis Grass and returned to Qingshi Town.

Turning in the herb-gathering mission, they gained another 500 experience and 20 copper coins. Adding the previous gains, Lin Ye was now level 7, and Chen Hao and Su Qingyue were level 5, which was already considered the first tier among players.

And they had entered the game for less than six hours—thirty-six minutes in real time.

"Find a place to rest and replenish stamina," Lin Ye said, "Tomorrow morning, we go to the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land."

"Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land?" Chen Hao was startled, "Brother Ye, that place sounds very dangerous!"

"Dangerous, but the Opportunity is also great." Lin Ye looked to the west, where nine black mountain peaks stood like nine giant pillars reaching the sky under the setting sun, "There are nine archaic sacred fruits there that can allow us to directly open the wheel sea secret realm. And..."

He paused, his voice low: "I have a premonition that we won't stay in that small town for too long. A bigger storm is coming."

Su Qingyue followed his gaze, remained silent for a moment, and then nodded: "I'll go with you."

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled over the small town, casting long shadows of the three of them.

And in a place they couldn't see, in a dark corner of Qingshi Town, a pair of eyes was silently watching them.

The owner of those eyes was wearing a tattered cloak and holding a shattered bronze mirror in their hand. On the mirror's surface, the figures of Lin Ye and the other two were reflected, along with a line of small text slowly appearing:

"Chaos... Heavenly Emperor... finally... appeared..."