Chapter 44: Breaking Defense]
In the silent forest, a black-robed figure flashed with red lightning under his feet. Two first-level red ice snakes hidden not far away were instantly charred, and a burnt aroma of barbecue filled the surroundings.
Red ice snakes, ice attribute, cold poison, good at hiding—if not treated within half a day after being bitten, the body would gradually stiffen, the blood would freeze, and death would follow.
They were common magical beasts outside the Monster Mountain Range and were particularly hated by mercenaries. These creatures had a very low chance of producing magic cores, their small bodies were inedible, and they held little value.
"Xiao Bai, one of them has a magic core. You don't want it?" Yao Lao saw Xiao Bai smash the magic core of the red ice snake with irritation and couldn't help but speak.
"No, I have too many in hand, and I can't carry more!" Xiao Bai shook his head, slightly irritated.
It wasn't aimed at Yao Lao, but rather because he had been in the Monster Mountain Range for five days now, searching over ten cliffs without finding the cave mentioned in the original book.
Moreover, this Monster Mountain Range truly was a paradise for magical beasts. There were simply too many first-level beasts, which made him increasingly annoyed.
When he had first entered the mountains, Xiao Bai had been very interested in magical beasts. After killing one, if there was a magic core, he would carefully extract it. Every time he got one, he felt a bit excited—it was like playing online games in his previous life, killing monsters for loot.
But now, Xiao Bai almost felt sick at the sight of a first-level beast. He began to admire the Sword God of Shilipo, who wasn't tired of killing small monsters every day.
If it weren't for the two red ice snakes ambushing him just now, he wouldn't have even bothered.
"Take your time! If what Tiancanzi said is true, then with each cliff you check, your chances of finding the right one go up!"
Yao Lao noticed Xiao Bai's growing boredom and floated out to gently comfort him.
Xiao Bai rubbed his brow. Ever since entering the Monster Mountain Range, he hadn't retracted his soul power. Though the scanning range was small and the energy consumption minimal, he still felt a bit fatigued.
He didn't know where Xiao Yi Xian's mercenary group was. He'd encountered many mercenary teams in the past few days, but hadn't found a single girl matching the description from the original book.
Hearing Yao Lao's words, Xiao Bai nodded. "At this point, I can only say—hm?" He suddenly sensed something unusual in his surroundings.
"Huh?" Yao Lao, mid-stroke of his mustache, also paused in surprise.
"Why are there so many of these things here? Did we stumble into their lair?" Yao Lao muttered suspiciously.
"Senior, do you know what these are?" Although Xiao Bai saw them through his soul perception, he couldn't recognize them.
"Hehe..." Yao Lao didn't answer right away. Instead, he gave a strange smile.
Soon, several strange monsters began to emerge from the surroundings—about twenty of them.
They looked like human-ape hybrids, slightly taller than an average person, very muscular, their white skin tinged with green and covered in wrinkles. They looked extremely hideous—and worst of all, they were completely naked.
"Disgusting!" Xiao Bai cursed inwardly.
These strange monsters surrounded him and Yao Lao, staying more than ten meters away. They neither attacked nor retreated, simply staring at the two with small, beady eyes.
Xiao Bai scanned them. About ten were second-level, the rest first-level—not enough to pressure him.
He was just curious what these indecent creatures were up to.
"Roar!"
A roar echoed from a distance, and the surrounding monsters grew agitated. In one direction, they parted quickly, forming a three-meter-wide path.
Three larger monsters stepped into the clearing—stronger and more imposing. They stood not far from Xiao Bai.
Xiao Bai examined the three. Two were peak second-level, and one had reached third-level.
"Senior, what kind of magical beasts are these? They seem quite intelligent." Xiao Bai asked curiously.
"Haha~ Boy, these are macaques, and yes—they're interested in men!" Yao Lao gave Xiao Bai a mischievous grin.
"Macaques!" Xiao Bai suddenly recalled the monsters mentioned in the original book.
Yao Lao explained further. Macaques weren't truly intelligent, but they were social creatures. Females were generally stronger than males, and the species functioned under a matriarchal structure. In modern terms, it was a female-dominated society.
Male macaques had low status. Aside from liking their own kind, they also found humans attractive.
Though they looked grotesque, they had refined aesthetics when it came to humans. Male macaques fancied beautiful human women, while female macaques were attracted to handsome men.
Some males couldn't endure the treatment in their tribe and fled. Female macaques, however, never left. This led to rumors that macaques liked human women—very few knew that they were, in fact, attracted to both genders.
The third-level beast before them was a female macaque.
Xiao Bai felt sick. As he looked at the indecent group around him, cold light flickered in his eyes.
"Roar!"
Just as he was about to strike, the third-level beast barked two commands at the second-level beasts beside it.
They roared back, clearly reluctant. Only after the third-level one growled again did the two begin moving toward Xiao Bai—hesitantly.
"This female macaque ordered the two to bring you back to its cave! They resisted because they fear you might steal its favor!" Yao Lao explained in real-time.
"Hehe~" Xiao Bai sneered coldly, suppressing his nausea.
The soul power of the late mortal realm burst outward without restraint. At the same time, the Ice Flame Thunder in his body surged to the surface.
Sensing that overwhelmingly strong soul power, Yao Lao wasn't surprised. But the moment he saw the red-hot, extremely yang thunder, his expression changed, and he hurriedly floated high into the air.
His current soul strength was too precious to be burned by this brat.
"What a monster!"
Yao Lao gazed down in shock. This was his first time seeing Xiao Bai go all-out.
With Xiao Bai at the center, red lightning burst out over a ten-meter radius. The nearby macaques were first stunned by the soul shock—then charred in an instant by the spreading thunder.
The first- and second-levels turned into coal. The third-level macaque groaned and lasted only two more seconds before collapsing.
Once his soul confirmed that nothing living remained, Xiao Bai withdrew the Ice Flame Thunder.
Now, an empty, blackened circle surrounded him. Heat shimmered in the air. Wisps of green smoke curled upward, and the air reeked of burning flesh.
"Creatures like macaques shouldn't exist. From now on, I'll kill any I see!" Xiao Bai thought of that female macaque's earlier actions and felt nauseated again. His tone was filled with killing intent.
He then glared at Yao Lao—this old man was definitely up to no good!
Yao Lao saw his look and knew Xiao Bai was disgusted. He rubbed his nose awkwardly. He had indeed been a bit mischievous.
But really, it wasn't all his fault—his disciple had talked so much about it before that he was dying to see Xiao Bai get flustered.
Now he finally did—though it was a pity Xiao Yanzi wasn't there to witness it!
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(End of this chapter)