Chapter 37: Targeted by Su Xiao
A gravel path led deep into the forest. After walking along it for over ten minutes, Su Xiao came across a fork in the road.
Glancing at the map, he learned that the left-forward path led to Eternal Moon City, while the right-forward path led to Abyss Serpent Manor.
Based on Su Xiao's speculation, the nature of Eternal Moon City was similar to the Arans City of the Sera Empire, housing many commoners. As for Abyss Serpent Manor, it was an ultra-high-risk area, guarded by over a thousand Tianba Clan warriors.
After walking about half a kilometer along the right-forward path, the gravel road gradually widened, but the surroundings grew quieter. The chirping of insects ceased, and the birds and beasts that had frequently appeared were nowhere to be found.
Continuing for another two kilometers, a wooden bridge appeared ahead. The river beneath it surged violently, scouring the nearly half-meter-thick bridge pillars.
The wooden bridge was built smoothly. On the wooden pier at the bridgehead, a forked-tail serpent was carved. A thick rope was tied at the top, from which purple ribbons hung, fluttering in the wind.
After crossing the wooden bridge, stone steps appeared ahead. Only a few withered leaves lay on them, indicating that someone regularly cleaned this place.
Su Xiao followed the steps forward. A breeze blew, rustling the trees on either side.
Soon, the steps ended, the terrain leveled out, and a large cluster of pavilions appeared ahead.
These pavilions were built closely together, numbering several hundred, varying in height. Despite the many buildings, they formed a cohesive whole. Abyss Serpent Manor had arrived.
Abyss Serpent Manor was built against a mountain. A large stretch of the mountain range had been leveled, leaving only a single mountain behind, which seemed to serve as a backdrop for the manor.
A nearly ten-meter-high gate stood ahead. In front of the gate were four Tianba Clan members. Their skin was light blue and had a sheen, covered in a layer of mucus.
Under the chins of these four Tianba Clan members grew transparent tendrils, about the thickness of a pinky finger, roughly ten centimeters long, with very thin tips, some even forked.
The aura of these Tianba Clan members was completely different from those seen in Front Guard Village. The Tianba Clan in Front Guard Village were fierce, but at least they didn't have mucus on their bodies.
The Tianba Clan at the gate of Abyss Serpent Manor were more like monsters on the verge of mutation. Their auras were unstable, savage, brutal, and cold.
Su Xiao picked up a small stone from the ground and signaled for Bubu Wang and Amu to hide nearby. Baha was to scout from above but not get too close to Abyss Serpent Manor.
Su Xiao tossed the stone in his hand toward the gate.
Bang~
The stone hit the door panel. The four Tianba Clan members suddenly raised their heads, their dark-blue eyes scanning the surroundings.
Su Xiao grasped the hilt of the blade at his waist. He didn't bother to conceal his presence. Four Tianba Clan members were nothing he couldn't handle.
Their eyes met. The four Tianba Clan members stared at Su Xiao for a moment before turning back to the tall wooden door. Together, they pushed open the two leaves of the door, which creaked loudly.
"Time... right?"
"No one... dares to impersonate..."
The four Tianba Clan members spoke in low voices. From their tone, it was clear that their minds weren't entirely lucid.
Seeing this, Su Xiao was quite surprised. The four Tianba Clan members seemed to have misunderstood something.
"Don't just stand there. Drink... the Source Water, then go to Front Guard Village."
One of the Tianba Clan members urged. Seeing this, Su Xiao stepped forward. He had already mastered the Tianba Clan's language and could adapt on the fly.
"Has the person arrived? Why so slow?"
A female voice came from inside the door.
"Arrived..."
"Make him hurry..."
Before the words finished, the female voice shouted, "He's an outsider!"
A female Tianba Clan member rushed out from the wooden door. She held a nearly 1.2-meter-long sword without a guard. Her clothes were much newer, her skin had no mucus, and she wore earrings.
Infiltration failed. Su Xiao drew the long blade at his waist and rushed forward.
Clang!
The blades clashed, sending out a shockwave. The ground beneath the female Tianba Clan member's feet cracked. She tilted her body, dragging her blade forward.
With a screech, sparks flew. The female Tianba Clan member spun like a dancing butterfly, executing a spinning slash aimed at Su Xiao's throat.
Pfft!
Dragon-Slaying Flash thrust downward, directly piercing the female Tianba Clan member's chest, penetrating her heart, and pinning this "butterfly" to the ground.
Su Xiao grabbed the female Tianba Clan member's chin with one hand and yanked.
Crack~
The long blade in the female Tianba Clan member's hand slipped, clattering to the ground.
Picking up the Soul Coin Pouch on the ground, Su Xiao looked at the four Tianba Clan members at the gate.
This was the absolute gap in technique. The moment before the female Tianba Clan member executed her spinning slash, Su Xiao had already predicted she would do so. What followed was simple. Instead of dodging, he used a faster method, a single thrust to pierce the enemy's vital point.
The four Tianba Clan members approached. Three held long blades, and one was unarmed. They had been somewhat disoriented moments ago, but once the fight began, they snapped back to normal.
As long as these Tianba Clan members didn't wield bows and jump around, Su Xiao could handle them much more easily. Of course, the premise was that their numbers didn't exceed a certain limit.
No sooner had this thought crossed Su Xiao's mind than over a dozen figures leaped onto the gate. They all held longbows, and their skin was covered in a layer of mucus.
Seeing these dozen or so Tianba Clan members, Su Xiao immediately leaped backward. This was unwinnable. Four melee-type Tianba Clan members were already tough to deal with, and adding these dozen or so Drowning-type Tianba Clan members made it impossible.
Bang, bang, bang...
Arrows embedded themselves near Su Xiao. During his backward leap, he swung his blade forward, clanging as he severed an incoming arrow.
As soon as Su Xiao landed, he stopped in place. Over a dozen arrows pierced the ground around him. Against predicted arrows, the most effective method was to stand still.
Ice spread across the ground, slowing the pace of the four charging "Soaking-type" Tianba Clan members. Seizing the opportunity, Su Xiao retreated several flashes of movement.
After running about a few hundred meters, Su Xiao found that the Tianba Clan members behind him weren't pursuing. What relieved him was that the Soaking-type Tianba Clan members weren't too difficult to deal with. Their Soaking ability couldn't be transmitted to Dragon-Slaying Flash, so it couldn't affect him.
After waiting for about half an hour, Su Xiao returned to the main gate of Abyss Serpent Manor.
The four mucus-covered Tianba Clan members were still standing there with their heads drooping. This led Su Xiao to conclude that as long as he didn't provoke a conflict with them, they would remain in a state of mental fog, possibly even mistaking him for someone else.
The Apostle's Eye floated beside Su Xiao. After scanning, he understood what was happening. These mucus-covered Tianba Clan members weren't much different from normal ones. The problem lay in the ability "Source: Erosion."
Normal Tianba Clan warriors had a "Source: Erosion" ability level of around Lv.45, while these mucus-covered ones had levels as high as Lv.70.
The higher the degree of "Source" erosion, the more chaotic the Tianba Clan's minds became. Through preliminary testing, Su Xiao learned that while sounds could alert these Tianba Clan members, as long as he didn't engage them in combat, they wouldn't be too aggressive.
Knowing this, Su Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to infiltrate Abyss Serpent Manor, Bubu Wang quickly ran to his side.
"Woof."
"Indeed, her destination isn't Abyss Serpent Manor."
Su Xiao glanced at the manor ahead and turned back toward the direction he came from. He first crossed the wooden bridge, ran about two kilometers, and arrived at the fork in the gravel road.
As soon as Su Xiao reached the fork, a few wildflowers by the roadside "came to life." These were plant lifeforms that Bubu Wang had irrigated with [Natural Source].
Equipment Effect 1: Spring of Life (Passive): This equipment can collect natural energy...
Note: If ordinary plants are irrigated with the Spring of Life, they can be granted spiritual life for a certain period.
...
The existence cycle of these few small wildflowers was very short, only about 13 hours. After all, before irrigating them, Bubu Wang had diluted the "Spring of Life" with water. No, it had added a bit of the Spring of Life to a large bucket of water.
A total of 107 plant lifeforms were distributed across this area. They had only one mission: to wait for Beini, allowing her to quickly contact Bubu Wang through them.
And all of this was prepared for Xi, unless she had incredible luck and managed to eliminate all traces along the way.
What was Beini best at? Treasure hunting, of course. But treasure hunting couldn't rely solely on luck, so she had to pay attention to every clue in the places she passed. Over time, Beini had made this a habit, a instinct.
Beini didn't take five days. It only took her half an hour to find Xi's trail near Front Guard Village. Then, through the sensing of the plant lifeforms, she contacted Bubu Wang.
Beini was good at finding trails, but when it came to tracking, Bubu Wang was more professional.
"Meow."
Beini, hiding in the grass, called out. Bubu Wang quickly stepped forward, following Beini to the spot where Xi had appeared.
12 minutes later, Bubu Wang arrived at a location Xi had passed through.
"There are still spatial fluctuations, very faint and unstable. That space-type teammate of Xi's is a half-baked space user."
Baha observed and concluded.
Bubu Wang began searching nearby, sniffing.
"Woof."
"Chase."
"Woof!"
Bubu Wang started running quickly. Every so often, it would stop and continue searching. It wasn't tracking scent but rather aura.
Bubu Wang's running speed grew faster. Baha flew high in the sky, its sharp eyes locked onto any suspicious objects.
Yes, this was what it meant to be targeted by Su Xiao. Either don't give him any chance, or if there was a chance, he would drag the enemy out.
After Su Xiao's team moved at full speed for nearly three hours, they finally burst out of the forest. Baha swooped down from high altitude.
"Found them! East, 1.7 kilometers away. Three people, no vehicles."
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. He just quickened his pace.