Brother, You're Being Naughty!

The two did not enter Bright Moon Swamp immediately. Instead, they went to a small town near the swamp to rest and prepare, planning to enter the following morning.

That night, Long Haochen and Li Xin carefully studied the map and field guide for Bright Moon Swamp issued by the Adventurer's Guild.

The outer regions of Bright Moon Swamp were relatively safe, with numerous wetlands where First Level magical beasts often appeared. The deeper one went, the more dangerous it became.

The depths of Bright Moon Swamp not only contained large amounts of poisonous swamp gas, but also many powerful magical beasts. Second and Third Level magical beasts were plentiful, and there were even a few Fourth Level ones. Even Fourth Tier professionals would find it difficult to survive deep within the swamp.

Before coming here, Long Haochen and Li Xin had already purchased two bottles of Poison-Avoidance Pills and some food from the Adventurer's Guild. Together with the map and field guide, they were thoroughly prepared.

It was not until noon the next day that Long Haochen and Li Xin entered Bright Moon Swamp. At noon, the scorching sunlight dispersed some of the swamp gas, greatly reducing its effects upon entering the swamp.

Long Haochen and Li Xin quickly passed through the outer region and continued deeper inside.

"Brother, look!" Li Xin pointed ahead.

Long Haochen followed the direction of Li Xin's finger. The area ahead was shrouded in a vast expanse of pale green swamp gas. Under the direct sunlight, some of it could vaguely be seen dispersing, but its coverage remained enormous.

Long Haochen and Li Xin swallowed Poison-Avoidance Pills before cautiously heading forward.

Due to the swamp gas, the depths of Bright Moon Swamp were noticeably dimmer than the outer regions. After walking for over three hundred meters, the two stopped.

It was not that they did not want to continue, but the narrow path ahead was blocked by all manner of dark green vines.

"Sister, be careful. These vines are highly poisonous."

Li Xin and Long Haochen drew the twin swords from their backs. They cleared away the poisonous vines as they slowly advanced, without letting down their guard in the slightest.

The moment they emerged from the narrow path covered in poisonous vines, a low roar came from nearby. Concealed by the swamp gas, an unknown creature lunged straight at Li Xin.

Li Xin snorted coldly, twirled her blades, and thrust both swords forward like lightning.

Knight Third Tier skill, Lightning Thrust!

"Roar—"

The unknown creature was driven back by Li Xin, letting out an unwilling growl.

Long Haochen focused his gaze and finally got a clear look at the creature that had launched the sneak attack.

It was a fairly large lizard, its entire body covered in dark green scales. The exposed portions of its body were covered in poisonous pustules. Its tail was raised high, and the tip curled into a hook that gleamed dark green. The tail hook was obviously extremely venomous.

It was a Mutant Scorpion-Tailed Lizard. Ordinary Scorpion-Tailed Lizards only had venomous tail hooks, but this one was poisonous from head to toe.

"Brother, this Scorpion-Tailed Lizard is roughly at the peak of Second Level. It is perfect prey for you."

Long Haochen nodded. "Sister, Teacher told me to complete the mission alone. You cannot interfere later."

Li Xin rolled her eyes at Long Haochen. "Relax. I will not make a move. I am only responsible for protecting you from sneak attacks by other magical beasts."

Magical beasts were divided into ten levels, with each level further divided into initial, middle, high, and peak stages. The higher a magical beast's level, the greater its intelligence. Ordinary magical beasts generally needed to reach Sixth Level cultivation before they could possess intelligence no lower than that of humans.

Compared to humans, magical beasts were one tier lower. This Mutant Scorpion-Tailed Lizard at the peak of Second Level was equivalent to a human at First Tier Tenth Level, so Long Haochen had more than enough ability to deal with it. The only thing he needed to watch out for was the deadly poison on its body.

Rush, Pure White Blade!

Long Haochen launched the first attack. Relying on its tough scales and tail hook, the Scorpion-Tailed Lizard continuously blocked Long Haochen's fierce assault, its defense airtight.

Long Haochen was not in a hurry. He was waiting for the Scorpion-Tailed Lizard to reveal an opening, then he would kill it in one strike.

Repeatedly suppressed by Long Haochen, the Scorpion-Tailed Lizard gradually became agitated. It roared, raised its upper body slightly, and swiped its two venomous claws at Long Haochen.

Long Haochen performed a sliding dodge beneath the claws and arrived beneath the Scorpion-Tailed Lizard's belly, then fiercely stabbed upward with his sword.

"Roar—"

The Scorpion-Tailed Lizard cried out in pain. Long Haochen pressed his advantage, stabbing its abdomen three times in quick succession before getting out from beneath it. Afraid that its blood might be poisonous as well, he did not dare linger.

The three strikes Long Haochen landed in the Scorpion-Tailed Lizard's abdomen were all infused with spiritual energy. Its internal organs were destroyed by the spiritual energy, and with its blood flowing endlessly, it soon collapsed and ended its brief life as a beast.

"Brother, do not forget to take the Demon Crystal."

Long Haochen nodded and used his sword to thoroughly give the Scorpion-Tailed Lizard a "cesarean section," digging the Demon Crystal out of its body.

A First Level magical beast's Demon Crystal was worth at least one gold coin, while a Second Level magical beast's Demon Crystal was worth at least ten. Naturally, Long Haochen would not pass up such a valuable item.

Aside from the Scorpion-Tailed Lizard's Demon Crystal, Long Haochen did not even leave its corpse behind. The corpse of a Scorpion-Tailed Lizard could also fetch a good price.

Long Haochen poured spiritual energy into the Forget-Me-Not Ring on the middle finger of his left hand. The pale golden patterns on the ring seemed to come alive as a faint blue light flowed across them. With a flash, both the Demon Crystal and the corpse were stored within the ring.

The Forget-Me-Not Ring was not only a token Cai'er had given Long Haochen, but also an extremely precious spatial ring and magical accessory in its own right. It could store roughly ten cubic meters of items.

Moreover, the Forget-Me-Not Ring came with a defensive skill. As long as Long Haochen infused it with spiritual energy, the ring could release a pale blue shield. The shield's strength increased according to the amount of spiritual energy used and could withstand attacks from professionals below the Fifth Tier.

This was also Li Xin's first time seeing Long Haochen use this ring. Curiously, she grabbed Long Haochen's hand and carefully examined it.

"Brother, isn't this the kind of ring only girls wear? Oh—Brother, you're being naughty!"

Faced with Li Xin's teasing, Long Haochen unconsciously blushed again.

Seeing this, Li Xin became even more certain of her suspicions. She had not expected such a young boy as Long Haochen to already have girls pursuing him.

For some reason, Li Xin felt a little disappointed and dejected, as well as somewhat jealous, as though something she loved had been taken away.

There were dangers everywhere around them, and this was not the time to get to the bottom of things. Li Xin could only let Long Haochen off for the time being.

The two continued deeper. Along the way, Long Haochen successfully killed nine Second Level magical beasts and completed the mission for this trip.

The pale green swamp gas grew increasingly dense, and after their earlier battles, both of them felt somewhat dizzy.

"Brother, quickly take two Poison-Avoidance Pills."

Li Xin poured four pills from the bottle, giving two to Long Haochen and keeping two for herself.

After the two swallowed the pills, their dizziness eased somewhat. Just then, the scene before them suddenly changed.