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Translator: Silavin & Tia
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Only the cultivator who spat out blood after being punched by Yang Kai remained in the skies above the swamp, staring ahead blankly. The changes that took place in front of him were so sudden that he could not understand what was going on. He didn’t even manage to see what it was that had attacked from under the water. By the time he realised what was going on, his companion and the other man were gone. Only bubbles remained, emerging from underwater to burst at the surface of the swamp. It was absolutely terrifying!
Without even bothering to think twice, he immediately turned around and fled. How could he even think about rescuing the others? He had just seen a whip-like object piercing through his Junior Brother’s chest. Furthermore, his companion had been dragged into the swamp. It was almost certain that his Junior Brother was dead by now. They might be Fellow Brothers, but even a Husband and Wife would escape separately in the face of great danger. What was abandoning a Junior Brother under such dangerous circumstances? It was only natural that protecting his own life took precedence.
He had only just turned around when he heard a loud explosion coming from behind him. Turning around in shock, he saw a humanoid figure flashing out from under the swamp water at the speed of lightning. That person was dripping wet and his hair was a clumped mess. Even so, he immediately recognised that person as the man he and his Junior Brother had tried to ambush just now.
*Hong…*
A huge spout of water erupted from the place where that man came out of the water. Droplets filled the sky, falling down like torrential rain. Following closely behind that person, a huge figure leaped out of the depths of the swamp and landed heavily on the surface. It cast a dense shadow over the water, obscuring the two humanoid figures.
“A toad…” The cultivator raised his head to look, the word ‘toad’ flashing through his mind. It was not until this moment that he finally got a good look at the perpetrator’s true appearance. It turned out to be a large toad with bumpy warts all over its body and a pair of eyes that nearly bulged out of their sockets. Awe-inspiring Monster Qi exuded from its body and it was easy to see that this toad was not a creature to be trifled with.
When he realized he had been watched by this large toad during the time he and his Junior Brother had been secretly lying in ambush, he couldn’t help feeling a tingle of fear crawling across his scalp. At least he knew what that whip-like object was now. It was obviously the tongue that came flicking out of the toad’s mouth.
Ten metres above the ground, Yang Kai wiped the mud away from his face and secretly cursed his bad luck. He never imagined that such a Monster Beast would be hidden beneath the swamp. When he detected the hidden trace of vitality beneath the swamp earlier, he had simply assumed that it was a third person in this group of ambushers. It wasn’t until this incident occurred that he realised he was mistaken.
The first young man who launched a sneak attack on him earlier was gone. It was most likely that the young man had been eaten by this toad. At this moment, the Monster Beast was staring at him with bulging eyes; its gaze never left him as its lower jaw expanded and contracted, making a rumbling sound.
Yang Kai was just about to check which Order this Monster Beast was when the evil beast suddenly opened its mouth and spat out a large water ball. The water ball burst with a loud bang. Following that, a thick and dense fog covered the entire surroundings in a flash. Yang Kai’s entire vision was filled with white in an instant and he could not see anything. Even his Divine Sense was obstructed and could only stretch out approximately fifteen metres around him.
Pain spread out across the surface of his body as if burned by fire. It was also accompanied by a strange hissing sound. Yang Kai’s expression turned solemn. This fog was truly impressive. Not only did it have the effects of obstructing both his sight and Divine Sense, but it was also highly caustic! The poison was so strong that Yang Kai had never seen a match for it before.
If ordinary cultivators fell into such an environment, only death would await them. It was fortunate that he had a powerful Dragon Clan bloodline and Half-Dragon Body, so Yang Kai had a natural resistance to poison. The poison in this fog might be powerful, but it was not enough to kill him, it would only cause him some external injuries at most. With his restorative abilities, he would recover quickly once he was outside the range of this fog.
Not far away came the screams of the other cultivator from earlier. The screams were filled with great agony, as though suffering from horrible injuries. Judging by how the screams kept shifting around, he was probably searching for a way out.
“Don’t move!” Yang Kai shouted quickly.
Unfortunately, it was too late. The sound of a mighty wind slicing through the air rang out and that cultivator’s screams turned into a muffled groan.
“Help…” A cry for help resounded through the air, fluctuating erratically due to the rapid movement of his body. He only managed to shout for help once before he went completely silent.
Yang Kai could not see anything, but he could imagine what had happened to that person. That person must have been caught and delivered into that toad’s mouth, suffering the same fate that befell his companion.
[This is a Fifth-Order Monster Beast at the very least!] Yang Kai quickly made a judgement in his heart.
The cultivators that could enter the Blood Monster Cave Heaven were not generally weak, and if they were weak, then it would only mean that they had very good luck. Otherwise, they could not have managed to secure an entrance for themselves. Even so, the two cultivators from earlier were killed by the toad in an instant. Launching a sneak attack might have helped somewhat, but a Fourth-Order Monster Beast could not have killed a peak Emperor Realm cultivator in one move.
Yang Kai stood motionlessly in place and waited for a while, but the toad made no movements either.
Mulling over the situation, he had the feeling that this toad retained its wild instincts even though it was a high Order beast. Hence, it turned a blind eye to any stationary targets because it could only hunt with great accuracy when its target moved. This logic was in line with the previous two times it attacked.
After considering all this, Yang Kai could not be bothered to waste more time in this place. He immediately began to sway his body. He had only just begun moving when the soft sound of something slicing through the air came from the depths of the fog. Immediately after that, he felt something tightening around his body as though he had been caught by a whip. It was followed by a powerful pull that tried to drag him in that direction.
Yang Kai was waiting for this very moment; thus, he immediately broke out into a grin and reached out both hands to grab the thing that was binding him. The slippery feeling was extremely disgusting as there was no need to think to know that it was the toad’s tongue.
His hands transformed into Dragon Claw. Gripping the tongue firmly, his body abruptly sank downward as he shouted, “Come up!”
An overwhelming force poured out of his hands as he grabbed the toad by the tongue and forcibly threw it up into the air. At the same time, he silently surged the Fire Element Power in his Dao Seal. A layer of black flames covered his entire body. Burned by the Golden Crow’s True Fire, the toad’s tongue involuntarily loosened its grip.
The moment the restraints binding him disappeared, Yang Kai released his grip and threw the toad away. Standing still, he cocked his ear to the side and listened attentively. He soon heard the sound of something being sliced into pieces. These sounds were immediately followed by the sounds of large objects falling into the swamp with loud splashes.
[Done!] He dusted off his hands and quietly stood there waiting. A short while later, the fog in the swamp slowly dissipated and his vision returned to normal.
He looked in the direction of the sounds he heard towards the end and saw pieces of a corpse scattered all across the swamp. The incisions on the corpse were precise and crimson red blood dyed the ground red. The direction in which he threw the toad was where the Void Cracks were distributed. Those Void Cracks were something even he was reluctant to touch, let alone the toad. Its huge body had passed through several of those Void Cracks. The only ending for the toad was to be sliced into pieces, thereby losing its life in an instant!
Yang Kai waved his hands in front of him to disperse the fog that still lingered before walking in that direction and lowering his head to examine the pieces of the corpse. He soon found two Human corpses that were so badly corroded that they were no longer Human-shaped. He was secretly rendered speechless. It had not been long since these two people were devoured by the toad and yet they were already in such a state. It could be seen just how corrosive the acid in the stomach of this toad was.
These two men had been lying in ambush in this place, hoping to earn some money from the dead. Who could have known that they would end up in the stomach of this Monster Beast? It could be said that they got what they deserved.
After retrieving the Space Rings belonging to these two people, Yang Kai got to work and finally found the toad’s Monster Core. As expected, it was in the Fifth-Order. Moreover, it was a Water Element Monster Core. The energy contained within the Monster Core was extremely pure and singular, which was perfectly suitable for a cultivator to refine and use.
Blood Monster Divine Monarch was certainly impressive. The method to cultivate and modify these Monster Beasts was absolutely invaluable. It could guarantee every single Monster Beast would have a Monster Core that could be transformed into an Open Heaven material. If one could obtain this method, it would not be long before their great force rose to power and prosperity.
It was uncertain whether this method was included in Blood Monster Divine Monarch’s inheritance, but if it was, the value of the inheritance would greatly increase.
This was the first Fifth-Order Monster Core that Yang Kai received so far, so he carefully put it away. However, he was in no hurry to leave. On the contrary, he carefully searched his surroundings until he found a certain spot. After that, his figure sank and disappeared into the swamp.
He had discovered something interesting when the toad dragged him into the water just now. It was just that he was attacked without warning and did not dare to take his enemy lightly until he could figure out his strength; therefore, it stood to reason that he would investigate the area carefully now that the fight was over.
There was poison in the water. Moreover, it was even stronger than the poison in the fog. It was obvious that the toad Monster Beast had been living in this place for countless years. During that time, the toxins in its body must have merged with the nearby water source and caused this phenomenon.
Yang Kai activated his Dragon Source and a layer of Dragon Scales appeared on the surface of his body, instantly making him feel much more comfortable.
After sinking to a depth of several dozen metres, Yang Kai came to a halt. Although the muddy water was turbid and his visibility was poor, he could clearly perceive his surroundings with his Divine Sense. There was an area in front of him that was several tens of metres wide. More importantly, the area was filled with a dense and pure Water Element Power. The Water Element Power was so dense that it condensed into a fog, occupying a small space underwater that was incompatible with the turbid and dark muddy waters in the surroundings!
Yang Kai slipped into the fog and took a sniff. What entered his nose was a faint but clean scent. This was most likely the hiding place of the Toad Monster Beast. It had probably relied on this dense Water Element Power to become a Fifth-Order Monster Beast. If a cultivator were to refine and absorb the dense Water Element Power in this place, they would definitely be able to condense a Fifth-Order Power. It was no different from refining Fifth-Order materials.
This place was one of the Cultivation Paradises scattered across the Blood Monster Cave Heaven that he had heard so many stories about.
The Blood Monster Cave Heaven was the Small Universe left behind after the death of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. After the death of Blood Monster Divine Monarch, this place experienced the baptism of countless years. The Yin, Yang, and Five Element Powers in this Cave-Heaven were divided and transformed as a result. Eventually, they gathered and accumulated in numerous areas within the Cave-Heaven to form Cultivation Paradises.
That was why it was not a must for cultivators to slay Monster Beasts for benefits when they entered the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. They could achieve the same results if they could find a Cultivation Paradise that was suitable for their cultivation use.
If any other cultivator came to this place, they could only choose to cultivate and refine the Water Element Power; however, Yang Kai had the Sealed World Bead. He could transfer this Cultivation Paradise into the Small Sealed World and transfer it out again when he returned to Void Land. By doing so, Void Land’s disciples could use this Cultivation Paradise for their cultivation.
many thanks 👑
I knew it! A toad