Rock Lizard Boar

"Where do you want to go next?" Yun Mo asked, looking at Wen Qingxuan beside him.

Following the rushing stream at the far end of Peach Blossom Valley, the two had made their way into this ancient forest.

Wen Qingxuan surveyed the steadily widening stream and said calmly, "Do you have any ideas?"

"While we were resting earlier, I connected to the token with my mind. It has a map of the Spirit Road, but it costs quite a few spirit points. I think we should find more natural treasures and try to exchange them for the map. With a map, we won't have to buzz around like headless flies."

A blood-red token appeared in Yun Mo's hand. Since he had given some of the tokens he had obtained earlier to Wen Qingxuan and some to Tan Feng's group, his current token was only of second-stage quality.

"The map costs a thousand spirit points. Natural treasures aren't that easy to find. Rather than looking for those, I think we'd be better off hunting spirit beasts." Wen Qingxuan turned her gaze from the rushing stream to Yun Mo.

"Spirit beasts? Sure." Yun Mo nodded. Deep down, he preferred natural treasures that posed no danger. They were safe and could still help him grow stronger.

Along the way, Wen Qingxuan had also explained the Spirit Road's spirit beasts to Yun Mo in detail.

Like the tokens, spirit beasts were divided into nine grades. The higher their grade, the greater the danger-and, naturally, the more spirit points they yielded.

"Then let's follow this stream. As long as we find a lake or somewhere similar, it should be easy to find spirit beasts." Wen Qingxuan seemed to quicken her pace a little, leaving Yun Mo somewhat puzzled.

They followed the rushing stream and soon reached a cliff. The water plunged over its edge into a moderately sized pool below.

"Let's head down now. We can rest there for a while and look for spirit beasts in this ancient forest."

The ancient forest was fairly large, but strangely, they had not encountered a single spirit beast along the way. Yun Mo found that rather curious.

Yet just as Yun Mo and Wen Qingxuan were looking for a way down, a faint sound came from the bushes.

Crack.

It was the sound of a branch being stepped on. Had their senses not been so keen, they might well have missed it. Clearly, something was following them.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Yun Mo turned his right hand, and the Steel Needles appeared in his palm. Without another word, he shot them into the bushes. "Let's see what managed to follow us all the way here."

Roar!

The Steel Needles sliced through the air and vanished into the bushes, immediately drawing a series of furious roars.

Yun Mo and Wen Qingxuan exchanged a glance, gathering force around their bodies. They could sense that this presence was no ordinary one. It even carried a faint hint of danger.

A pig-like spirit beast charged out.

Its enormous body had a glossy coat like obsidian, gleaming with a faint, cold light. Its eyes resembled two deep, luminous pearls, shooting out piercing looks as though they could see through all illusion. Long, sharp horns on its back stabbed toward the heavens, while its tusks were like razor-sharp daggers. When it bared its teeth, their sinister white gleam made it hard to look straight at it.

"A Rock Lizard Boar." Wen Qingxuan's delicate brows knitted slightly as she spoke calmly. She did not particularly want to fight this kind of spirit beast.

The Rock Lizard Boar was a fifth-grade spirit beast of the Spirit Road. Though formidable, it could not withstand their combined attacks. However, its entire body reeked, and it could spray black-and-white slime from between its brows, which made Wen Qingxuan feel rather sick.

"Since we've run into it, we might as well finish it off. It's worth five hundred spirit points. If we find two, we'll have our map." The Flexible Sword appeared in Yun Mo's hand. He paid little heed to how disgusting it was.

"Then you take the front. We'll attack together!" Wen Qingxuan nodded. As long as she was careful not to let it touch her, she would not get any of that disgusting stuff on herself.

Yun Mo did not mind. Stamping hard against the ground, he shot toward the Rock Lizard Boar. Force surged through him, and the Flexible Sword instantly stiffened as he slashed fiercely at the space between its brows.

Wen Qingxuan leaped up beside him, her graceful figure flashing to the Rock Lizard Boar's flank. Her golden Long Spear became a long dragon, cleaving down toward its shoulder.

The Rock Lizard Boar fixed its savage gaze on the two humans. It could sense the extreme danger they posed. Even when they had entered its territory, it had not shown itself, merely following them closely.

What it had not expected was that these two humans would discover it following them and even wound it with Steel Needles. That had utterly enraged it.

The Rock Lizard Boar roared again. The space between its brows split open, spewing streams of foul-smelling black-and-white slime that coated its body. At the same time, its sharp claws slammed against the ground. The spikes on its back shifted, then shot toward the two in an instant.

Yun Mo pressed his lips together and flicked his wrist. The Flexible Sword, which had been slashing toward the beast's brow, became supple again. As it danced, it formed a vortex that enveloped every incoming spike.

Then he slowly traced a circle with his arm, drawing the spikes around his body. Finally, force erupted from him, sending all the spikes shooting back at the Rock Lizard Boar.

On the other side, Wen Qingxuan snorted coldly. Gripping the shaft of her spear, she spun it into a golden wheel, knocking down the spikes before her one by one. Then she pushed lightly off the ground and thrust her spear forward, driving its tip deep into the Rock Lizard Boar's shoulder. Blood sprayed out.

The spikes Yun Mo had redirected returned at that same moment, puncturing dozens of bloody holes in its body.

Awooo!

The searing pain sent the Rock Lizard Boar into a frenzy of roars. Its cries soared into the clouds, scattering the birds and beasts of the forest. Ferocity blazed in its crimson eyes, and its enormous body swelled even further. Its breath filled the surroundings with a rank, bloody stench.

It reared up, its foreclaws, each the size of a human head, radiating boundless menace. Ignoring Wen Qingxuan at its side, it swiped viciously at Yun Mo.

Yun Mo's expression tightened slightly. Ferocious beasts were naturally blessed with powerful bodies, whereas physical strength was not his specialty. With that in mind, he shifted his feet, moving with a somewhat airy grace as he evaded the Rock Lizard Boar's swipe by a hair's breadth.

When its attack missed, the Rock Lizard Boar did not pursue Yun Mo. Instead, it swung its spike-covered tail in a sweeping strike at Wen Qingxuan.

Wen Qingxuan had thrust her spear several times into its flank, but its tough hide and protective coating of black-and-white slime kept those wounds from being fatal. Seeing the long tail sweep toward her, she neither dodged nor retreated. Her delicate hands tightened around the golden Long Spear, and she met it head-on.

Boom!

The collision unleashed terrifying vortices of air. They swept through the surroundings, making the ancient trees rustle violently.

Wen Qingxuan was hurled backward, a flush of red rising to her face, but

it soon faded.

The Rock Lizard Boar's tail, meanwhile, had been almost completely cleaved through by the Long Spear. Only a thin strip of flesh still connected it, keeping it from severing entirely.

Awooo!

The agony of its mangled tail made the Rock Lizard Boar roar wildly once more, but its crimson pupils abruptly contracted. It sensed the danger lurking within their bodies-a terror capable of taking its life.

The space between its brows quivered, and black-and-white slime immediately sprayed out again. This time, rather than coating its body, it shot toward Yun Mo and Wen Qingxuan. Then its claws scrabbled at the ground as it tried to seize the chance to dive back into the bushes.

"Trying to run? We finally found a spirit beast. How could we let you get away just like that?"

Yun Mo stepped forward, shooting like an arrow toward the Rock Lizard Boar's face. Then, under its terrified gaze, he ignored the slime's toxicity and drove the Flexible Sword viciously into the space between its brows.

The brow that had still been spraying slime suddenly burst open. All the black-and-white slime inside erupted in every direction at astonishing speed. Even Wen Qingxuan, who had already retreated swiftly, failed to escape it.

Wen Qingxuan looked down at her red dress, now covered in black-and-white slime, with an ugly expression. She knew about the Rock Lizard Boar's slime and had been extremely careful, yet she had still been splashed.

Looking over the spirit beast before him, Yun Mo took out his token and placed it over the Rock Lizard Boar's head, converting it into spirit points and collecting them.

Turning back and noticing Wen Qingxuan's sour expression, he could not help asking, "What's wrong? Is it the slime's poison? I have antidote pills."

Seeing Yun Mo produce a pill bottle and prepare to approach, Wen Qingxuan snapped, "Don't come over yet."

"Hm?"

Yun Mo frowned. Only then did he realize that he was giving off waves of foul stench. Having pierced the sac between the Rock Lizard Boar's brows at close range, he had been sprayed with black-and-white slime almost from head to toe. Although Wen Qingxuan had been standing farther away, she was covered in slime as well.

The corner of his mouth twitched. He shook his head, sending slime flying, and said to Wen Qingxuan, "I really didn't think of that at the time. I have clothes in my Storage Ring. We just need to find somewhere to wash."

Wen Qingxuan glared at him, then turned and headed toward the pool beneath the cliff.

Yun Mo shrugged and followed her.

After walking for a while, the two stood beside the pool. The sky had already darkened, and the water shimmered beneath the moonlight.

"Go stand guard over there. Give me the clothes." Wen Qingxuan stared at Yun Mo. She felt that he was not exactly a decent person.

Yun Mo licked his lips and said, "What kind of clothes do you want? I only have robes, though I have quite a few colors."

"Give me all of them."

The corner of Yun Mo's mouth twitched. Light flashed in his hand, and he handed over several robes and inner garments. "Keep these for now. Once we kill some more spirit beasts, we can exchange points for other clothes through the token."

Wen Qingxuan stared at him. "If you dare peek, I'll hunt you to the ends of the earth."

Yun Mo rolled his eyes at her, then turned and headed into the forest. He needed to find some small demonic beasts to fill his stomach and, while he was at it, see where he might find more spirit beasts. He still needed five hundred spirit points to exchange for the map in the token.

Only after his figure had receded into the distance did Wen Qingxuan breathe a sigh of relief. She slowly undid her long dress and walked into the pool.

With her slight obsession with cleanliness, she had long since found the strange smell on her body nearly unbearable. Worse still, that disgusting black-and-white slime was stuck in her silky hair.

Yet she failed to notice that, beneath the bright moonlight, a thick, pitch-black shadow was swimming through the depths of the pool. As though it had discovered the intruder, it was heading toward Wen Qingxuan.