Chapter 117: Coiled Hornless Dragon, Five Poison Player
Chapter 117: Coiled Hornless Dragon, Five Poison Player
“How could this person know the Tuojiang River Basin so well? Even Ethereal Green Robe with the Brocade Map of the Dujiangyan Waters probably isn’t as familiar and skilled, managing to easily find a completely safe passage,”
Ye Rong followed the person carefully, not daring to get too close for fear of being discovered. Luckily, that person’s Sword Light was a thick, dark green, illuminating the river water several yards around him. Several demonic creatures circled near the Sword Light, wailing like ghosts and howling like wolves, chilling the soul. Even following from afar, he wouldn’t lose track.
From the look of it, this person seemed like a Demonic Path Disciple, but he couldn’t be certain. There were possibilities like Houdao Xiaosheng, who had obtained Demonic Path cultivation techniques and a Demonic Weapon Flying Sword.
However, this person’s knowledge of the Tuojiang River Basin far surpassed his own. They had actually found a safe channel near a Water Eye without suffering any attacks.
“Is… is this the legendary biggest boss in the Tuo River, the Coiled Hornless Dragon?”
Following the mysterious figure ahead, weaving left and right, Ye Rong watched with his heart pounding as groups of level 70-80 Monsters streaked past him. Fortunately, he had realized it wasn’t that the mysterious person knew some safe passage; he likely possessed a treasure that made all the Monsters in the area steer clear. Ye Rong just needed to stick close to him to avoid danger.
But the sight before him truly shocked Ye Rong. The enormous shadow coiled at the riverbed stretched over a hundred yards in length from head to tail, and even lying still it was dozens of yards high. With every breath it took, thousands of Aquatic Demonic Creatures were unconsciously sucked into its mouth. The displacement of millions of tons of water caused violent swirling currents nearby, like a level-ten typhoon.
Ye Rong had seen the Brocade Map of the Dujiangyan Waters in Ethereal Green Robe’s possession. Though he hadn’t memorized much, he recalled the biggest bosses in the rivers. The Tuo River housed a Coiled Hornless Dragon, a Coiled Hornless Dragon (drake), a Rare Grade Aquatic Demonic Creature, a terrifying monster of level 150!
This Coiled Hornless Dragon’s strength wasn’t something current Players could handle. It wouldn’t be outmatched even by the Sect Leaders and elders of some third-rate Sects.
Though Ye Rong couldn’t be sure from such a distance, judging by its appearance and overwhelming presence, believing there was another equally terrifying Aquatic Demonic Creature in the Tuo River besides the Coiled Hornless Dragon was hard.
“Is this guy insanely brave? This isn’t just tugging a tiger’s whiskers anymore; it’s pulling a dragon’s beard!”
Ye Rong was dumbfounded, watching the person inch closer to the Coiled Hornless Dragon, his mouth hanging open in shock.
“Fuck me, I need to be ready to run at any moment. If this Coiled Hornless Dragon gets riled up, I don’t want to die alongside this idiot!”
Even as he muttered this, his eyes remained fixed, staring intently at the person’s movements.
“Great Coiled Hornless Dragon, this junior Yanhuoluo Jin humbly requests one Gonggod Divine Talisman.”
The person knelt, lighting a piece of Eight Cassia Incense. The white smoke didn’t rise in a straight line but instead formed individual cranes that let out light cries and fluttered upwards.
“ROAR! Who, who wakes me with Eight Cassia Incense?”
The slumbering Coiled Hornless Dragon took a long time to rouse. It lifted its head slightly and spoke fluently, its voice like thunder exploding beside their ears. It sucked in a tremendous gulp of water, sweeping Yanhuoluo Jin off the riverbed and slamming him dozens of meters away.
“Oh Great One, I am merely a junior. I formally hail from the Fifth Poison Sect. May I receive your generosity and grant me a single Gonggod Divine Talisman?”
Yanhuoluo Jin shouted loudly. Though he held the task token required by his Sect, he anxiously trembled in fear before this colossal abomination. One bite from it would end him – clenching his fist tight, he prayed it would again dismiss him.
“Five Poison Sect? Hmm… vaguely recall something like that. But forging a single Gonggod Divine Talisman wastes me sixty years of sleep time. Why should I give it to you?!”
The Coiled Hornless Dragon’s enormous head suddenly darted right before Yanhuoluo Jin. Staring up at rows of dagger-sharp fangs towering taller than himself, he quaked uncontrollably, any excitement he’d felt back at the Sect upon securing this task vanished entirely.
“Anything you desire, Oh Mighty Lord Panchi! Name your request – mountains of blades, seas of fire – I am prepared to deliver! Nothing shall halt my efforts!”
“Hmph. Well then…” A remarkably thoughtful expression crossed Panchi’s draconic face as drool dripped from the corners of its maw. Its voice rumbled like colossal stones grinding underwater. “Sixty years without moving makes a dragon hungry… ah, freshly caught Flood Dragons, five of them! Fetch them for me, and this talisman is yours.”
“Fl-Flood Dragons! Y-yes… Flood Dragons! Five Flood Dragons! I… I shall bring them for your feast with all haste…”
His voice faded weakly, hands slumping listlessly by his sides. Yanhuoluo Jin truly suited his player name now; all color drained from his face. The weakest Flood Dragons were level 70-80 Monsters – where could he possibly capture five whole ones to sate the Coiled Hornless Dragon’s appetite?
…
Watching the entire scene unfold from his hiding spot, Ye Rong’s face was a shifting mask of uncertainty. While Yanhuoluo Jin’s pleas proved relatively obscure to Ye Rong, the Coiled Hornless Dragon’s roars proved impossible to ignore.
Putting the fragments together, Ye Rong grasped the essential story:
A Five Poison Sect Player received a prized quest: retrieve the fabled Gonggod Divine Talisman. Its resting place? Well, dragons are notoriously jealous guardians. By sneaking around, listening carefully, Ye Rong overheard the price demanded: five living Flood Dragons!
“What is a Five Poison Sect Player doing clear over in Qingcheng territory? Isn’t their Sect based in Yunnan? What could this Gonggod Divine Talisman possibly be that a Coiled Hornless Dragon would possess it, demanding five live Flood Dragons in exchange?”
Ye Rong found the scale of the quest equally shocking. A quest so difficult must offer rewards worthy of the effort – the Gonggod Divine Talisman had to be extraordinary, its very name radiated power.
“ROAR!”
The Coiled Hornless Dragon roared again, a low thunder vibrating through the water as its slitted eyes slid lazily across the gloom. Did its gaze pause towards the shadowed fissure where Ye Rong hid? A moment later, it shifted its immense weight, settling back upon its coils. Sleep reclaimed the ancient beast shortly thereafter.
“It saw me!”
Ye Rong’s heart pounded wildly, and his body tensed to the extreme until he saw the Coiled Hornless Dragon make no move to harm him. Slowly, his muscles released. It seemed the ancient beast either mistook Ye Rong for an associate of Yanhuiluo Jin or deemed him too tiny a nuisance – a mere ant beneath its notice – to bother crushing.
Ye Rong immediately activated his Sword Flight and fled, taking the path Yanhuiluo Jin had used earlier. It was the only route available.
Only by following the other Player’s exact trajectory could he bypass the swarms of aggressive Aquatic Demonic Creatures nearby. Otherwise, Ye Rong feared, escaping this nightmare would prove impossible.
“Huh? Didn’t that guy have some strange treasure to repel Monsters? Why’s he fighting now?”
Ye Rong braked sharply. Up ahead, Yanhuoluo Jin stood waist-deep in murky, silt-laden water – locked in fierce combat against a serpent twice as thick as a man’s thigh! Both combatants swirled and twisted violently through the muck, obscuring the details of their strife.
Fluorescence Microscopy Technique!
Ye Rong cast his spell. His sight instantly sharpened tenfold across the current-churned gloom, resolving the distant struggle like peering through stirred crystal. The tactical status of the raging battle came keenly into focus mere yards away.
“Fight on! Battle fiercely! Best outcome? Let both bleed themselves dry, battered and broken!”
For this Five Poisons Player intruding into the Tuo River territory Ye Rong privately claimed as his own grinding zone, Ye Rong naturally harbored no goodwill. Moreover – Demonic Path Player! Slaying this one wouldn’t incur Karma Point penalties; it spurned virtue rewards! With sufficient strength? Ye Rong would instantly mimic Shushan Sword Alliance tactics at Wind and Thunder Immortal Manor: enforce martial law for 1,000 miles! Ban all players from entering unless formally authorized!
Such brutal clampdowns… triggered fierce resistance initially – especially within Sichuan Region, legendary for its overwhelming player density. Then, the Shushan Sword Alliance unveiled their brutality: one massacre involving thousands… Thereafter? Almost no one dared openly challenge that alliance’s momentum. Everyone reluctantly obeyed.
Control the Tuo River thereafter? Exclusively Ye Rong’s Qingcheng Sect allies could grind levels and hunt boss-level Aquatic Monsters here! Outsiders hunting coveted aquatic elites? Forget rewards related to Tuo River quests flowing externally? Impossible!
Monopolize one critical zone? Benefits multiply geometrically – tenfold initially; rapidly swelling to hundredfold, then thousandfold gains…
However, Fluoroscent Close Examination cleared another matter: minor disappointment struck Ye Rong. That burly water serpent couldn’t match Yanhuoluo Jin. Each slash of Yanhuolo Jin’s Demonic Weapon visibly drained vitality – leeching traces of life-force per hit.
Secured around Yanhuiluo Jin’s forearm rested a single foreboding object: a Gouged Eyesocket Leech. This flickering organic jewel pulsed with faint crimson light as if still tethered to its original host. A jet of high-pressure water shot violently – Bullseye? Yanhuo Jin’s chest… yet the living gem on his wrist simply absorbed the impact with a faint tremor, neutralizing the force.
“Who dares skulk there? Come forth!” Yanhuiluo Jin suddenly bellowed mid-parry. Without turning, his free hand flicked sharply – launching a speck of piercing gold light!
“Discovered!”
Shock seized Ye Rong. Pure muscle memory brought his flying Black Phoenix Sword clashing forward. Sparks flew where precise blocks deflected lightning-quick attacks traveling serpentine paths. More terrifying? The vengeful projectile adjusted its approach trajectories over a dozen times mid-flight. Only Ye Rong’s honed instincts blocked each near-hit. Disturbing fact: Yanhuo Jin coordinated such a complex linear thrust while simultaneously locked against a giant serpent! How? Overkill reaction time! His combat control bordered supernatural!
“Hold on! Not treasure… Five Poison Sect masters Gu Arts and lethal concoctions! It’s a Golden Silkworm Gu!”
Ye Rong blurted out in sudden recognition. Now clearly visible after dodging its assault: the thing fluttering agitated air with its translucent wings before Ye Rong’s sword tip glinting gold – an infamous Golden Silkworm Gu possessed legendary deadliness within the game’s culture!
No wonder its approach felt untrackable and nearly impossible to parry! This Gu possessed genuine spiritual autonomy! Ye Rong cursed mentally; he’d momentarily forgotten Five Poison Sect’s most signature skillcraft!
The supreme art of Gu wielding! The Hundred Poisons Golden Silkworm Gu!