Chapter 202: The Sinister Smile of the Lake Bottom Death Demon (April 3750 Monthly Ticket Bonus)

Perhaps it was because the distance between them was too close just now, or perhaps the tree deer, restored to its original state by the owl-headed, received some stimulation.

Even though Qin Chuan once again used Shadow Escape to conceal his aura, the tree deer still did not stop this time.

Clinging to the opponent's back, watching their twisted posture, Qin Chuan, hidden in the shadows, showed a thoughtful expression.

According to his experience clearing Milian Evil Demon Forest last time and the Special Affairs Group's experience clearing other dungeons, normally a dungeon contains only three types of dungeon creatures.

Normal creatures, leader creatures, and the dungeon boss.

Their strength increases from weak to strong.

But the situation before him seemed to break this rule.

According to the strength tier corresponding to an A-rank dungeon, the Wraith Servant just now should be a first-tier normal creature.

The tree deer is even weaker, barely reaching Hall Tier, but its speed is very fast.

Is it a new change in the A-rank dungeon, or does this tree deer, as the mainline clue, have something special?

Besides that, the tree deer's form of existence is also special.

It resembles the Crystal Clan very much, but according to intelligence, the Crystal Clan should be humanoid.

A special Crystal Clan? Or something else? Qin Chuan flickered again, shifting to another shadow, greatly closing the distance and stepping out from the shadows.

Having learned from before, Qin Chuan struck much harder this time; the Corpse Wolf Fang slashed swiftly, and in a moment it cut the tree deer into eight pieces.

Seeing the tree deer still trying to heal, Qin Chuan stomped, crushing its largest piece.

The tree deer fell still.

The prompt still present before him proved that Qin Chuan had not yet obtained the mainline clue.

With a thought, he began to crush the tree deer's remaining body until shards of crystal littered the ground, making its original form unrecognizable.

Among the shards, a small piece of black-gray crystal, surging with a strong ominous aura, finally appeared and caught Qin Chuan's attention.

He carefully pinched it up, his expression slightly solemn.

【Congratulations, player obtained mainline clue: Ominous Crystal Core】

In the next instant, Qin Chuan's expression changed slightly, and he instantly fled into the nearest shadow.

Boom—

An invisible giant claw slammed heavily onto the shadow, and a vague silhouetted spirit emerged from nothing, its scarlet eyes fixed on the shadow.

【Dungeon creature: Wraith Leader】

In the shadow, Qin Chuan emerged from the Dark Flame State, his expression slightly grim.

The opponent's aura had reached the Epic Tier.

Such a powerful creature also possessed a stealthiness that he had almost failed to notice.

No wonder it's an A-rank dungeon; even the leader creatures are this troublesome.

Qin Chuan shook his head slightly, stepped out from the shadow, and snapped his fingers the moment the opponent lunged.

The Wraith Leader was instantly shrouded in darkness; regardless of whether it had a shadow, at that moment darkness was its shadow.

Star·Shadow Erosion Body, activate!

Ah—

Letting out a strange cry, the Wraith Leader's blurry outline was instantly eroded more than half; after all, it was Epic Tier, so even taking a direct hit from Shadow Erosion Body only left it heavily wounded.

Before the Wraith Leader could act, in the darkness Qin Chuan had already walked up to it and pointed a finger at its body.

A pitch-black hollow three-petaled flower appeared on the Wraith Leader's body; as one petal became solid, countless black slashes erupted from within, instantly tearing it apart into nothing.

Star·Threefold Extinction, first strike! The darkness faded; Qin Chuan gripped the Corpse Wolf Fang and gazed toward the Lake Bottom Death Demon·Kasakaban, quickly vanishing into the fog‑shrouded deep forest. —10,000 m…5 km…2 km… Qin Chuan slaughtered the attacking dungeon creatures all the way, drawing ever closer to the dungeon boss.

Unlike yesterday's clearing of Milian Evil Demon Forest, the Screaming Demon Lake's horizontal difficulty rating is only two stars, meaning it's not considered hard among A-rank dungeons, the proportion of leader creatures is lower, and most of the dungeon creatures are Wraith Servants.

In fact, this is also one of the reasons Qin Chuan chose this dungeon.

Besides the initial Wraith Leader, Qin Chuan encountered only one more Wraith Leader on his way.

Unlike the first time, this Wraith Leader was scouted by Qin Chuan using the Sundial's Second Endowment to detect hostile units, after which he actively killed it.

Compared to last time, this mainline clue seems to be hidden even more deeply.

As of now, Qin Chuan's mainline clue remains only the Ominous Crystal Core, and he doesn't know when the next one will appear…

【Mainline clue discovered】

Well, then now.

Qin Chuan glanced at the indicated direction, then at the Sundial's Third Endowment‑locked dungeon boss position and current distance, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

So…

The mainline clue is with the dungeon boss, right?

The last 1,000 meters, Qin Chuan suddenly accelerated.

As the thickening fog and the increasingly clear, hair‑raising screams assailed him, he surged into the Demon Lake hidden behind the mist.

The fog vanished before his eyes; the Demon Lake was unfathomably deep, its surface calm as a mirror.

It seemed like an abyss that inspired dread.

Qin Chuan drew a deep breath, leapt from the lakeshore, and swiftly sank under the control of Star·Water Master.

Closer, even closer.

Although the depths were pitch black, relying on the Water Master's perception, he could feel the distance to a huge humanoid shape below shrinking.

The Sundial's Third Endowment lock also confirmed this.

The crystal‑clear screams echoed in Qin Chuan's ears; even after staying in the Screaming Demon Lake for over an hour, he still found it hard to adapt.

Sundial's Second Endowment, activate! Scan all hostile units within 10,000 meters! After glancing at the result, Qin Chuan showed an 'as expected' expression.

Beside the dungeon boss, two Wraith Leaders lay hidden.

Gripping the Corpse Wolf Fang tightly, Qin Chuan burst forth and lunged fiercely at the dungeon boss at the lake bottom.

Two Wraith Soul Leaders swiftly appeared, waving their sharp giant claws as they attacked Qin Chuan. In this dim, lightless lake bottom, Qin Chuan raised his hand and pressed down hard; without needing the Silent Darkness Moment, his Shadow Eclipse Form instantly erupted, severely wounding the two Wraith Soul Leaders at the same time as he launched an attack at the dungeon boss sealed in the lake bottom.

Ah—

Two cries of the Wraith Soul Leaders burst out without distinction, but in an instant they were drowned out by an even more terrifying shriek.

The attacked Lake Bottom Death Demon Kasakaban seemed as if it were truly dead, showing no movement; only an increasingly terrifying shriek stirred a violent dark current in the lake bottom, sweeping toward Qin Chuan.

Qin Chuan's expression slightly changed; activating the Silent Darkness Moment and simultaneously hiding in the shadows, he transformed into Dark Flame, with a 55% high damage reduction, he stubbornly endured this terrifying blow, then quickly reappeared, gripping the Corpse Wolf Fang, he fiercely slashed at the opponent's body.

Crack—

Accompanied by a crisp cracking sound, a wound instantly appeared on Kasakaban's waist.

Looking at the gray-black crystal shard oozing an ominous aura at the wound, Qin Chuan's pupils contracted sharply.

Crystal Clan?

But the wound's cross-section exactly matched the ominous crystal core he had obtained? A sudden pang of panic made Qin Chuan break out in a cold sweat behind his back; he slowly raised his head, looking toward the face revealed beneath the flowing hair of the Lake Bottom Death Demon Kasakaban.

On that incredibly handsome face, the smile was fiendish like an evil spirit! (End of chapter)