Chapter 59: Angry Birds
Walking along a stone passage, Su Xiao frequently glanced around warily.
After entering the "Bilumark Alchemy Proving Grounds," he felt a sense of unease, as if immense danger lurked here.
The bright flashlight beam swayed as the Little Emperor followed closely behind Su Xiao, now clinging to him as a lifeline.
Su Xiao temporarily needed the Little Emperor, so he let him tag along.
"You've been here before?"
"Never."
"Then how do you know which direction to go?"
"A strange intuition—only this path is safe; entering any other entrance would mean death."
Su Xiao stopped paying attention to the Little Emperor, his focus razor-sharp.
After ten minutes of walking, a faint glow appeared ahead in the stone passage, and the air carried a slightly sweet scent.
[You have entered the outskirts of the 'Bilumark Alchemy Proving Grounds.' Alchemy toxin density has increased. The air filtration device is about to fail. Please activate a higher-grade air filtration device, costing 150 Paradise Coins per hour.]
Su Xiao paused—Reincarnation Paradise was clearly taking advantage of the situation.
"Activate."
The transparent barrier around him strengthened, and the sweet scent in the air vanished.
[You are being eroded by Kanison toxic gas, losing 10 Health Points per second. Effect lasts 5 seconds.]
Within just a few seconds, Su Xiao was poisoned, and his health began to plummet.
He had only just reached the outskirts of the "Bilumark Alchemy Proving Grounds" without even seeing an enemy, yet his health had already dropped by nearly half. This wouldn't do.
After a moment's hesitation, Su Xiao took out Bubuteni's core, preparing to summon him.
Bubuteni was a biological Imperial Armament, linked to alchemy. Su Xiao wondered if it could resist this toxic gas.
Bubuteni appeared and immediately began frolicking around Su Xiao.
Su Xiao checked Bubuteni's status and noticed a small line of text at the bottom of its information.
[Eroded by Kanison toxic gas, taking 1 point of True Damage per second.]
Bubuteni couldn't fully resist the alchemy toxin, but the health loss was minimal. With the recovery effect of the Snow Goddess's aura, Bubuteni was safe.
Bubuteni snorted, seemingly repulsed by the sweet scent in the air.
A sense of vitality emerged. Under the Snow Goddess's aura, Su Xiao's health began to steadily recover, and the suffocating feeling from the alchemy toxin gradually faded.
"Is this your Imperial Armament? I've never seen one like this in the records."
The Little Emperor reached out to pat Bubuteni's head.
"Grrr..."
Bubuteni growled threateningly, baring its sharp teeth. Its usual goofy demeanor around Su Xiao vanished.
If the Little Emperor's hand dared to come any closer, he'd lose his entire arm.
"What a fierce Imperial Armament."
The Little Emperor wisely stepped back, seeing the wolfish glint in Bubuteni's eyes.
"Bubu, stay alert to the surroundings."
At Su Xiao's command, Bubuteni wagged its tail and trotted over, rubbing against his leg.
Su Xiao gripped Dragon-Slaying Flash and moved forward, with Bubuteni following behind.
The closer he got to the end of the passage, the brighter the glow became. He turned off and put away the flashlight.
Reaching the passage's end, a gentle breeze brushed Su Xiao's face, and he stood frozen in place.
The scene before him was stunning. He was deep underground, yet before him lay a vibrant, lively landscape.
Ahead was an endless open space. The ceiling was a hazy white, its structure unclear, but the light came from there.
The wind rustled the grass on the ground, creating a sea of emerald. In the distance, a few trees could be seen, their leaves whispering in the breeze.
Stepping onto the soft grass, Su Xiao felt as if he weren't underground but on some beautiful prairie.
"How can there be a place like this beneath the palace? Unbelievable."
The Little Emperor stood dumbfounded.
"How is the ecological balance maintained here?"
Su Xiao looked up at a few small birds flying overhead. They were about the size of sparrows, with striking blue feathers.
Seeing these blue birds, Su Xiao suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
A dozen or so blue birds circled above Su Xiao, flying faster and faster until they began to glide like swifts.
Strangely, these blue birds only focused on Su Xiao, ignoring the Little Emperor entirely.
Here they come!
Su Xiao held Dragon-Slashing Flash horizontally in front of him. A blue blur shot toward him with a whoosh.
The blade traced a semicircle in the air, precisely cutting into the bird.
A slight resistance met his blade. Su Xiao's expression changed—this was the first time he'd felt this in the "Slash the Red" world. These blue birds had considerable physical toughness.
He cleaved the blue bird in two, and its body flew past either side of him.
Bang.
Two muffled thuds sounded simultaneously. Su Xiao glanced at the grass beside him, where arm-thick holes had appeared, plunging into the depths.
Such powerful diving force—if that blue bird had hit Su Xiao, it would have left a fist-sized bloody hole.
And there were still over a dozen of these blue birds circling above.
The death of one blue bird seemed to enrage the others. These beautiful little creatures dove down in unison, bodies rigid and pointed beaks like awls.
Su Xiao stepped back several paces as the birds streaked past him.
Bang, bang, bang...
Mud splattered, and grass clippings flew everywhere as the birds plunged into the ground.
Su Xiao stood watching. A dozen of these birds he could handle, but a hundred would be fatal—he couldn't dodge that density of dives.
After a few minutes, there was no movement from the holes. Su Xiao approached and saw traces of blood—pale blue blood—at the edges of the deep holes.
These birds were launching suicide attacks, dying on impact as they buried themselves in the ground.
Su Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. He'd barely entered the outskirts of the "Bilumark Alchemy Proving Grounds" and already received a harsh welcome.
"Woof, woof."
Bubuteni barked loudly in the distance. Su Xiao turned to look, then followed Bubuteni's gaze.
"How can there be so many?"
Su Xiao grabbed the Little Emperor, leaped onto Bubuteni's back, and ordered it to immediately activate its skill "Full Speed Charge."
Full Speed Charge (Active): When activated, increases Bubuteni's movement speed by 100%, consumes 10 Mana Points per minute, and can carry heavy loads.
"Bubu, run."
Bubuteni bolted without hesitation, the wind rushing past.
Riding on Bubuteni's back, Su Xiao turned to look behind him.
Several hundred meters back, the sky was filled with over a thousand of those blue birds.
A hundred could kill Su Xiao; a thousand was a disaster.
Fortunately, Bubuteni was fast. It ran with its tongue out, glancing back at the flock.
"Don't look around—focus on running!"
Su Xiao was startled by Bubuteni's antics. This goof had once tripped while carrying him.
"Tree!"
Su Xiao shouted.
Bubuteni was charging straight toward an ancient tree dozens of meters in diameter. Hearing Su Xiao's shout, it quickly straightened its head and veered sharply to avoid the tree.
Bubuteni barely scraped past the tree, missing it by less than twenty centimeters.
Thud.
Su Xiao felt the Little Emperor's body jolt as his head smacked into the tree. His eyes rolled back, and he passed out.