Chu Danqing did not rashly approach Da Bao. He waited until Da Bao had completely eaten the Cave Beast Priest before making a move.
By then, Da Bao's health had already fully recovered. He carried the treasure chest over to Chu Danqing.
"Here, treasure chest." Da Bao handed the Excellent Grade treasure chest to Chu Danqing, then said, "Berserk... feels bad."
"Can't... control it."
"Next time, run... farther away." Da Bao did not mind Chu Danqing avoiding him. Instead, he thought Chu Danqing had done the right thing.
In his berserk state, he was completely ruled by violence and savagery. This time, he had the Cave Beast Priest as a target, so nothing had gone wrong.
But everything feared that one chance in ten thousand.
Chu Danqing's heart sank. If Da Bao were kited from afar until his health fell below thirty percent, wouldn't he instantly become an engine of total annihilation?
"All right, I understand." He agreed aloud, while inwardly considering how to solve the problem.
He stored the Excellent Grade treasure chest in his Storage Space, with no intention of opening it immediately.
The Cave Beast Priest and the skeletal monkeys were dead. All that remained was to blow up Fallen Blossom Cave.
As for the Cave God, he had no intention of venturing deep into Fallen Blossom Cave.
There was not much time left, so he planned to open it after returning to Dimension Paradise.
"Let's go. Get up the mountain quickly—we're pressed for time," Chu Danqing said.
Setting up all that gunpowder was no easy task, and Da Bao was no help with it.
If he did it himself, even an hour would be cutting it close.
"Donkey... too slow." As Da Bao spoke, he untied the donkey and drove it down the mountain on its own. He would pull the cart himself.
There would be no more fighting ahead, so Chu Danqing did not care about Da Bao's stamina consumption.
With Da Bao pulling the cart, the efficiency and speed were naturally far greater than the donkey's.
Before long, they arrived at Fallen Blossom Cave.
"It's this big? Looks like we can only blow up the passage." Chu Danqing had originally planned to blow up the entrance, but one look showed that it was no smaller than a football field.
The passage, on the other hand, kept narrowing. As far as the eye could see, it was only wide enough for two people to walk side by side.
Moreover, the entire passage spiraled downward at an incline, like a winding mountain road inside the mountain itself. It could twist all the way down to the foot of the mountain before disappearing into the earth's veins.
Chu Danqing unloaded all the gunpowder from the cart, took out paste, and began sticking the explosives to the passage walls.
He did not even spare the ceiling.
He could not reach it with his height, but having Da Bao lift him was enough.
Once the explosives had been attached, he took out the fuse wire and connected all the gunpowder together.
This was the most complicated and tedious step. Chu Danqing needed to ensure that all the explosives detonated at roughly the same time.
That required a certain amount of planning. He was not a professional, so the wiring looked somewhat messy.
As the work neared its end, Da Bao suddenly said, "Black Hollow... watching us."
Chu Danqing's movements froze. Instinctively, he looked into the pitch-black depths of Fallen Blossom Cave.
Da Bao's 8 points of Perception, coupled with the greatly enhanced sensing efficiency of his bestial instincts, gave him extraordinary intuition.
The chance of him being wrong was minuscule.
Chu Danqing swallowed. The Cave God watching him was not a good thing.
A gust of wind suddenly rose from within the cave. Da Bao immediately stepped in front of Chu Danqing, his body covered by Blood Rage Power, while a bloody gleam surfaced on his claws.
He let out a berserk roar into the cave, using it to warn the Cave God.
Yet when the wind reached Chu Danqing's ears, it turned into a seductive female voice.
"The lord has affection, this humble woman has intent; life after life, may we be well with you."
Restlessness surged within Chu Danqing. He decisively slapped himself across the face.
The slap left a clear five-finger mark on his face, and his cheek quickly reddened and swelled.
But the clarity it brought Chu Danqing, along with the fading restlessness, spared him from being bewitched by the Cave God.
At some point, a crimson figure had appeared in the depths of Fallen Blossom Cave.
With a red bridal veil over her head and a red wedding gown on her body, she stood at the very limit of Chu Danqing's vision.
Hidden Mission: The Cave God Marries Off His Daughter. Marry the Fallen Blossom Maiden and complete the wedding ceremony. Mission Difficulty: ??? Grade (???) Mission Rewards: Hidden Profession ×1, Profession Bloodline ×1, Permanent Summon · Fallen Blossom Maiden, Paradise Points ×100000, Attribute Points +25 Mission Failure: None Accept? Yes/No (Note: After accepting the hidden mission, completing the Trial Mission will not result in return. You may return after completing the hidden mission.)
At that moment, Dimension Paradise displayed the mission panel.
"Accept my ass!" Chu Danqing selected No without the slightest hesitation, then lit the gunpowder fuse. "Run!"
Without another word, Da Bao turned around, grabbed Chu Danqing, and fled outside.
The Trial Mission's difficulty was a question mark, its rewards lavish enough to make Chu Danqing's strength swell beyond measure, yet failure carried no cost whatsoever.
This was no longer as simple as a trap falling from the sky.
The fuse had been lit. The flame rapidly raced along it, detonating most of the gunpowder in an instant.
Chu Danqing's work had been just short of completion. A small portion of the gunpowder had not been linked together.
But the completed portion was enough. The explosive force was enormous, directly causing the entire cave to collapse.
Amid the explosions, Chu Danqing heard an incomparably shrill cry. At first it sounded like a woman's voice, but upon closer listening, it was more like the roar of some beast.
Even after the rumbling gradually died down, the disturbance did not disappear.
Fallen Blossom Cave had completely collapsed, yet black, petroleum-like grease seeped out through the earth, wriggling little by little.
Chu Danqing saw it too. He suspected that thing was the Fallen Blossom Maiden.
He checked the return timer. There were only three minutes left.
"Can we kill it?" Chu Danqing asked Da Bao.
Da Bao decisively shook his head. "Not... human. She'll eat me. Not a match."
"Then what are you standing around for? Keep running!" Chu Danqing turned and clenched Da Bao's fur in a death grip.
Da Bao reacted quickly as well, sprinting all the way down the mountain.
At the same time, the black grease completely seeped out from underground. It did not take on the shape of a woman, instead spreading over the ground like rotten mud.
Dense eyes emerged over its surface. They did not seem to have grown from within it, but rather looked as though they had been soaked into it, swaying with its slow movements.
The muddy grease gradually adapted to its surroundings, moving faster and faster. It locked onto Chu Danqing and quickly caught up to him.
Da Bao carried him as he fled while Chu Danqing observed it.
"It's caught up! Thirty seconds until return!" Chu Danqing shouted.
Without hesitation, Da Bao used all his strength to hurl Chu Danqing forward, then turned and pounced at the muddy grease.
"You... run!" He blocked the muddy grease and shouted at Chu Danqing, whom he had thrown far away.
Da Bao understood that his Agility was inferior to the other's. Rather than being caught, he might as well face it head-on.
Thirty seconds. He could hold out!
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