The group’s advance began to slow down.
That was because, from this point on, they no longer encountered ordinary Thorned Willow Trees—only Hundred-Year Thorned Willows, along with Two-Tailed Phantom Foxes and several ordinary Phantom Foxes.
Using their initial ambush strategy, they killed four Two-Tailed Phantom Foxes.
Some of the more cautious ones had hidden from the start and tried to escape after the Hundred-Year Thorned Willows were slain, but all of them were caught and killed by Bai Qiu.
Through actual combat, Bai Qiu confirmed that the control effects of the Two-Tailed Phantom Foxes had indeed strengthened.
Without using Dreamy Blossoms, a close-range mental shock could stun him for about 0.5 seconds.
As for their illusion ability, it never had a chance to be used.
The skill required casting time, and before it could be activated, Bai Qiu had already smashed their heads apart.
Another hour passed.
Bai Qiu and the others had killed nine Hundred-Year Thorned Willows, nine Two-Tailed Phantom Foxes, and thirty-seven ordinary Phantom Foxes.
Everyone except Bai Qiu leveled up once again!
Bai Qiu: Level 21
Zhang Shiyao: Level 17
Ning Xingxue: Level 16
Zhao Daqiang: Level 16
Huang Qi: Level 16
Originally, Zhao Daqiang and Huang Qi were one level lower than Ning Xingxue.
However, as levels increased, the experience required grew significantly.
Now they relied entirely on shared experience from the party, receiving the same amount.
Ning Xingxue was close to Level 17 but not quite there yet, while Zhao Daqiang and Huang Qi still had a bit more to go.
At higher levels, it becomes increasingly difficult to widen the gap.
By Level 30, the experience required to reach Level 31 might even exceed the total experience needed to go from Level 1 to Level 15.
However, in this secret realm, they were almost always fighting enemies above their level.
As a result, Bai Qiu gained a considerable amount of experience as well.
He had also leveled up once here and was now less than 10% away from reaching Level 22.
“Whoosh—” A sharp sound cut through the rain.
Bai Qiu’s expression changed, and he immediately shoved everyone away.
The others were sent flying several meters backward.
“Smack!”
A branch as thick as Bai Qiu’s arm lashed violently against him.
His already soaked clothes exploded with sprays of water upon impact!
Immediately after, the barbs on the branch scraped across his body like a saw.
His already tattered clothes were torn open in an instant, and even his flesh was sliced, leaving a shallow wound.
But the attack didn’t stop there.
A tremendous force sent Bai Qiu flying nearly ten meters.
He hit the ground and rolled, crushing a large patch of Dreamy Blossoms beneath him.
“Brother!” Zhang Shiyao, who had been pushed away by Bai Qiu, shouted in concern.
She had witnessed his clothes being shattered by the blow before he was sent flying.
If he hadn’t pushed everyone aside just now, that branch would have struck them instead—and the consequences would have been unimaginable.
“I’m fine! Take everyone and retreat a hundred meters! This is just the boss!” Bai Qiu shouted.
After rolling once, he quickly got back on his feet and dodged several branches lashing toward him again.
If his Strength hadn’t been high enough—and if his body hadn’t been further enhanced by magic—this strike would have caused far more than just minor damage!
Even so, after being hit once, Bai Qiu had no intention of tanking another attack.
A branch as thick as his arm striking his body felt like searing pain!
“Whoosh!” Bai Qiu pushed his Fivefold Arcane Crystalized Eyes to the limit and reinforced his body with magic.
He sensed the incoming attacks of the branches and charged forward at high speed.
During the sprint, he even stuffed a Dreamy Blossom into his mouth.
The branches seemed to come alive, wildly thrashing in all directions.
However, they didn’t appear to target anyone other than Bai Qiu—after all, his advancing speed was simply too fast!
Feeling the surrounding water-elemental mana drifting through the air, Bai Qiu noticed that each swing of the massive branches disrupted the rhythm of the torrential rain, throwing the nearby water-elemental mana into disarray.
By reading these disturbances, he could predict incoming attacks and evade them in advance!
After sprinting dozens of meters, he finally caught sight of the source of those giant branches.
It was a massive willow tree towering up to fifty meters tall.
Its trunk was so thick that at least five adults linking arms wouldn’t be able to encircle it!
Millennium Thorned Willow Tree — Level 30 (Lord-Class)
Strength: C+
Magic: D
Endurance: C
Agility: None ~ D
As for its skills—no need to look. They were all question marks.
“Splash… splash…” Bai Qiu’s feet moved rapidly, creating constant splashing sounds across puddles.
Footprints of mud were left behind as his expression turned serious.
While dodging the incoming branches, he continued to think.
Since a Lord-Class Thorned Willow Tree had appeared, then a Lord-Class Phantom Fox was likely nearby as well!
Bai Qiu scanned his surroundings, his eyes constantly shifting in search of a target.
Finally, behind the Millennium Thorned Willow Tree, he spotted three tails.
“Found it! So it’s there!” Bai Qiu revealed a delighted expression.
While evading attacks, he began moving side to side, but he didn’t approach the Lord-Class Phantom Fox.
His objective had already been achieved.
At first, he had been desperate to locate the Lord-Class Phantom Fox because he was worried it might circle around and attack Zhang Shiyao and the others.
But now it seemed that wasn’t its intention—instead, it was hiding behind the tree, watching the battle and waiting for an opportunity to ambush him.
It seemed his displayed strength had made even the Lord-Class Phantom Fox wary.
It had no intention of targeting anyone other than him.
Seeing this, Bai Qiu took out the Tidal Staff and began disturbing the surrounding water-elemental mana…
Of course, that wasn’t his true intention.
Zhang Shiyao looked at the team interface and said excitedly, “Brother says we should go in and support him! He’ll draw the aggro up front—if we lie flat on the ground and crawl forward quietly, we won’t be detected!”
“How far does your Noble Phantasm range extend? And what are their effects?” Zhang Shiyao asked again.
She needed to know this—after all, the Millennium Thorned Willow Tree had an attack range of up to a 200-meter radius!
Zhao Daqiang spoke first, “I’m an Archer-type. My attack range can reach about 1000 meters, but the optimal damage distance is around 100 meters. My effect is penetration—it reduces the target’s defense by 50% within a 1.5-meter radius at the point of impact, lasting for one minute.”
“As for power… it’s probably not much stronger than your magic arrows.”
“I’m a Saber-type,” Huang Qi said.
“My Noble Phantasm has two attack modes. The first is melee, which is sustained output—it boosts all attributes, attack damage, attack speed, and adds magic damage effects.”
“The second is a one-time ranged attack. It reduces the target’s overall attributes, attack damage, attack speed, and defense for a short period, lasting eighteen seconds.”
“As for damage… don’t count on it. At most, I can apply debuffs. The range is within 70 meters.” Huang Qi sounded a bit uncertain.
Clearly, melee combat was out of the question for him, but fortunately, his Noble Phantasm had both melee and ranged functions.
Ning Xingxue looked helpless.
Compared to the other two, her Noble Phantasm seemed even less useful…
“I’m also a Saber-type. My Noble Phantasm enchants my weapon, allowing me to consume mana continuously for five seconds to unleash sword energy slashes with sword intent. The attack range is within 10 meters.”
“It has a tearing effect that prevents the target from recovering from injuries. That’s about it… If I cover you while you activate your Noble Phantasms… it should work.”
“Phew…” She took a deep breath, then added, “But I also have a zone-exclusive skill. It should… no—it will definitely help him!”
“What is it?!”
“Triple Mark.”
— The end of the Chapter–
TL note : Join Patreon to support the translation and to read up to 50 chapters of the release :
https://www.patreon.com/DeCakraWnloverz
