Chapter 225: The Hordes' Wild Dance

After the two sides split, the four, including Qingxia the Daoist nun, walked toward the Miao Frontier tribe.

"I hate rain!" Ma Er Ke Si muttered.

They were crouching outside the Miao Frontier tribe, sheltering from the rain.

All they could see was the black canopy of sky, with rain pouring down in sheets.

Beyond that, they could capture no useful information; only the continuous sound of rain striking the ground.

"Hold on a bit longer; in another hour the clouds and rain should clear!" Qingxia the Daoist nun said, watching the rain blocked by the shield, squinting at the heavens.

That was no good news for them; gu insects fear fire, and with the rain flooding, the power of flames would be diminished.

Before Legend, their individual strength still struggled to defy the forces of heaven and earth.

"Watch out!" Ma Er Ke Si's face suddenly changed, and the two alchemical pistols in his hands were ready to fire.

The portable tactical visor he wore was updating reconnaissance data.

"Unit form: Humanoid

Unit type: Normal unit

Estimated energy level: Level 10

Unit danger level: Weak (37.9% chance of information concealment; this data calculated by system 3.5. For more detailed, stable calculations, upgrade to version 4.0.)

The soundless alchemical bullet instantly pierced the rain curtain, leaving Wu Jian and the others puzzled, then a fleeting visage emerged within the rain, as if its skin had been stripped, swollen and whitish from being soaked.

Water ghost?

Wu Jian and the others' expressions suddenly changed as well; their senses had not detected a thing—this rain was abnormal, capable of shielding their perception.

Wu Jian instantly drew his sword and slashed; the approaching water ghost was shattered by the heavy blade, and in the next instant countless red threadworms flew out of the ghost's body, darting toward Wu Jian's seven orifices.

"Five Thunder Talisman!"

Qingxia's face froze; a Five Thunder Talisman instantly struck Wu Jian, turning all the red threadworms into char.

Meanwhile, the priest beside them had already applied the Shield of Light to Wu Jian, so the Five Thunder Talisman caused no harm.

Although it was their first cooperation, they were all veterans, possessing basic tactical competence.

The few water ghosts were strange, but for them it was a piece of cake; with little effort they eliminated all the water ghosts.

"Something's wrong, this rain is off, the Miao Frontier tribe must be in trouble too!" Qingxia's face turned cold; unexpected events kept occurring, a bad omen indeed.

She couldn't help but glance back at Ma Er Ke Si; with their perception lost, his detection methods were more effective than theirs.

In the Multiverse, countless civilizations always exist.

Relying on the Net, these civilizations each display their own brilliance.

Although according to the Kunlun Mountain doctrine, using external artifacts is merely Heterodox Paths, Qingxia, who has seen the Net, still agrees that external items are part of strength.

At least before she masters the One Force Breaking Ten Thousand Methods, external items clearly help her survive better.

"Go take a look!"

After donning the mech, Ma Er Ke Si used the mech's built-in sound transmission system to relay the detection data displayed on the mech's screen to the other three.

Within the mech's reconnaissance range, countless red dots indicating enemies were visible, and the area with the densest concentration of red dots must be their destination—the Miao Frontier tribe.

It was a mountain path, the lush forest now appearing rather gloomy.

"Something's watching us!"

Wu Jian squinted; even with his perception blocked, his battle-hardened body still easily sensed those covert gazes.

"Seems we're not the only ones after the Mountain God's artifact; these mountain spirits and wild monsters aren't idle either!" Qingxia understood the situation.

The Mountain God's slumber has thrown the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains into outright rebellion.

Sure enough, as they advanced toward the Miao Frontier tribe, all manner of ox demons and snake gods leapt out.

Within the rain, black mist coalesced into a variegated tiger that lunged at them; Wu Jian let out a roar and, with a spinning heavy sword, cleaved the tiger in two.

Qingxia the Daoist nun's Five Thunder Talisman script never stopped; the rain then turned all the airborne red threadworms into char.

When Qingxia and her party reached the village gate, the fighting there was even fiercer than on the mountain path.

Masses of gu insects swarmed the village, entangled with various bizarre ox demons and snake gods.

However, it was clear that these gu insects were at a disadvantage; when they bit the monsters, they quickly turned completely black and then fell to the ground, shriveled.

"Where are the villagers?"

Qingxia the Daoist nun's expression grew serious, and she again cast several Five Thunder Talismans, slashing the nearby ox demons and snake gods to death.

"They should still be inside; the scanner still shows many life signals!" Ma Er Ke Si kept firing both pistols without pause, and with the aid of the auxiliary design system, he eliminated each solid monster.

As for the fluttering gu insects, he preferred to roast them with a flamethrower.

But in this downpour, using a flamethrower was not a good idea.

"I'll clear the way!" After a brief assessment, Qingxia the Daoist nun immediately took notice.

The Mountain God's artifact must not fall into others' hands; who knows what would happen. Just the high‑difficulty side quests in the Dungeon make it clear what should and shouldn't be done.

"Heaven and Earth boundless, the cosmos lends law, law arises from the heart, life perpetually unending!"

Qingxia the Daoist nun swept her dust away, and a clear radiance radiated in all directions; whether ox demons, snake gods, or the swarming gu insects, all fell within its luminous dome.

"What a joke!"

Ma Er Ke Si stared in terror at his tactical visor as Qingxia the Daoist nun's danger rating surged from normal straight to terrifying.

He knew that those who walk the magical path usually have ways to boost strength, but he hadn't expected Qingxia the Daoist nun's hidden power gap to be so vast.

"My innate divine skill won't hold much longer; press forward quickly!"

Qingxia the Daoist nun's face suddenly turned pale; an innate divine skill, without mastered ability, is essentially a life‑risking gamble.

The four rushed into the village's depths and found the Miao Frontier tribe's people struggling to fend off a monster.

"Unit form: Humanoid

Unit type: Leader unit

Energy level estimate: Rank 18.

Unit danger rating: Terrifying (99% chance of information concealment; this data was calculated by the 3.5 system. For more detailed, stable calculations, please upgrade the system to version 4.0.).

Calling it a monster is a stretch; it looks more like a living person whose skin has been stripped.

It stands about 2.4 meters tall, its whole body blood‑red, with not a trace of skin; fat, muscle and fascia are all exposed.

Even when swarmed by countless poisonous insects, it still appears as valiant as a war god. Its blood seems even more toxic than the insects' venom; any poisonous insect that bites the monster falls to the ground.

Several swollen men from the Miao Frontier, whose every move exudes tiger‑and‑leopard strength, are grappling with the monster.

It seems more like a desperate bid for time; the monster crushes one man's throat in a single grip, tearing flesh from his body, while its own wounds heal rapidly. The scene looks both terrifying and bizarre.

"Let's go together! I've received a mission to guard the Miao Frontier tribe!" Qingxia whispered, then shared the mission with the others.

WuJian and the two others exchanged glances, nodded, accepted the mission outright, and charged forward.

WuJian's heavy sword is ill‑suited for dealing with those insects, but it is extremely brutal against a solitary monster.

A single slash sent the war‑god‑like monster flying, and before it could rise, holy light, thunderlight, and special projectiles followed in succession.

The monster roared repeatedly, yet it could not retaliate.

With everyone's full‑force assault and the aid of some special poisonous insects, the leader monster was eliminated in no time.

When the leader monster died, the bull‑ghosts and Snake Demons that had besieged the mountain stronghold scattered in disarray.

"Thank you all for stepping in!"

After the crisis was averted, an elder with a solemn expression received Qingxia and the three others.

When he saw Qingxia, he already understood why they had come.

"We are acting on the Mountain God's command, here to retrieve the Mountain God's Treasure!" Qingxia said bluntly.

She narrowed her eyes, watching the elder's every move; the poisonous insects were strange and required caution.

"I suppose that's the case!" The elder's expression remained unchanged, his wrinkles deepening, a look of sorrow appearing on his face.

"After we helped the Mountain God eliminate the Snake Demon last time, we grew greedy for the Mountain God's Treasure and fought a war with the Xiangxi tribe. In the clash, the Treasure lost its power, inviting mountain spirit wild monsters to come knocking!"

"Even if you hadn't come here, we still intend to return the Mountain God's Treasure to the Mountain God!"

"We ask that you, esteemed elders, speak a few kind words to the Mountain God on our behalf, so that he may grant us his favor and protect our peace!"

The old man produced a seal and handed it to Qingxia; his sorrow deepened, for a moment of greed had brought a massacre upon the mountain stronghold, a loss far outweighing any gain. Now he can only pray for the Mountain God's magnanimity to once again protect their tribe, lest disaster strike soon.

Only after the Mountain God fell into slumber did they realize how dangerous the Hundred‑Thousand Great Mountain truly is.

When an unknown evil demon knocked on their door, their village was nearly wiped out; a powerless Mountain God's Treasure is like a hot‑potato, and they now dare not hold it.

He cannot even imagine how they'd resist if famous monsters came knocking; now they can only pray for the Mountain God's protection.

"You must act quickly; after the Mountain God falls asleep, the evil demons he once suppressed will begin to break their seals one by one. If we don't awaken the Mountain God soon, the Hundred‑Thousand Great Mountain will become a paradise for monsters!"

"Roar!"

As the old man finished speaking, a roar seemed to echo from afar.

"It's back..."

The waning elder strained to watch the increasingly violent rain curtain outside, his face completely drained of color.

"What is it?" Ma Erke Si asked, his intuition telling him it must refer to some leader monsters.

"The legendary ferocious beast, the monster Xiangliu!" the old man exclaimed astonishingly.

The two foreign players felt nothing yet; Qingxia and WuJian nearly jumped up—could they even touch that thing called Xiangliu?

Regardless of the version, Xiangliu is an absolute great demon; some versions even have it arm‑wrestling with Da Yu. How could they possibly take it on?

Even if they know such over‑limit monsters can't appear, this great demon could still grant them a full "Legend" template, which isn't impossible.

A human's life, a tree's shade—they wouldn't dare meddle with this.

"Take the Mountain God's Treasure; we will return immediately to awaken the Mountain God!"

"We aren't going to look for clues?" Ma Erke Si asked, somewhat puzzled.

"This is clearly a story‑driven timed‑kill leader; based on my experience, we can definitely slay it at its weakest!"

"Believe me, if you understand what the term Xiangliu signifies, you would never go looking for dung!" WuJian told a cold joke only people from Jiuzhou could get.

Ma Erke Si nodded, half‑understanding.

Sure enough, this Dungeon outside their own civilization's lineage is riddled with trouble—far too many puzzle elements.

But from their words, he could infer one thing: the so‑called Xiangliu must be a super‑monster akin to a divine descendant.

Although they are Zongwang Players, capable of soloing some leader monsters, tackling the super‑leader monsters of a 20‑person Dungeon is still beyond them.

Don't be fooled by how easily they dealt with the skinless monster earlier; a regular 20‑person full‑roster 15‑person squad would likely lose many lives before bringing it down.

Meanwhile, the priest Jia Er Si‑Ke Er Mo Si frowned.

"Even if we don't hunt that timed leader monster, we won't seek that lone…"

Before he could finish, a message from Mu Yi appeared in the team channel.

【Mu Yi: I've already obtained the Mountain God's Artifact from the Xiangxi tribe; let's regroup at the place we left before.】

【Mu Yi: I've encountered a high‑difficulty challenge leader—Xiangliu. You go find the Mountain God first; I'll take care of it and be there soon.】

Several Zongwang Players in the stronghold, watching the team messages refresh on their retinas, fell into contemplation.

Compared with Ma Erke Si and Jia Er Si‑Ke Er Mo Si, who were amazed by Mu Yi's speed and strength, WuJian and Qingxia held an even deeper respect for Mu Yi's courage.

"Sss… impressive!" WuJian inhaled a breath of cold air.

The speed with which the former obtained the Mountain God's Treasure proved that a single person can be stronger than four.

The latter, as a member of the Jiuzhou lineage, dared to proactively challenge Xiangliu—what a…

Without the former's strength backing it, this would be sheer bravado; but with strength, it can only be called a self‑sacrificial, fearless act.

One should know that even the ancient war god Ying Long hesitates at the mention of Xiangliu.

Not because it's that strong—could any mightier being surpass Chi You, Xing Tian, and the like?

The main point is Xiangliu, that fellow; outsiders don't know, but it looks roughly like a hydra.

But cultivators of the Jiuzhou lineage, who could possibly not know how disgusting this thing truly is.

The Classic of Mountains and Seas is ultimately just a book; a few brief notes cannot elaborate in detail.

Xiangliu can control floods and poison water realms, yet that isn't even Xiangliu's original intent.

Simply put, Xiangliu is an ancient‑style waste‑processing station; whether it's filthy matter or the aberrant qi that pervades the world—plagues, viruses, stains—it accepts them all without refusal.

It even actively draws these things toward its location; after a long time this thing has become saturated with Xiangliu, a whole moving mass of filth.

Fighting Xiangliu is basically like battling a lump of sentient filth.

(End of chapter)