All of their attributes had decreased by 40%, and the most crucial aspect was that the troublesome poison attribute had been temporarily eliminated. For Zhuge Xiang and the others, this was their sole opportunity to defeat the two-star Demonic Moth.
The intense interaction between the antidote pill and the poison within the Demonic Moth's body caused it unimaginable pain. It struggled to maintain its flight. If it did not attack now, when would it?
Employing Ghostly Steps, Hua Nongying closed in like a phantom. This was not her first encounter with a two-star demon beast, so she knew precisely what to do. With the short knife in her hand, she created two blade flowers aimed straight at the Demonic Moth's compound eyes.
Though the Demonic Moth was currently in excruciating pain, it knew it was temporary. If its eyes were destroyed, even if it eventually recovered, they could defend themselves.
The mechanical puppet had already been destroyed. With a flick of Lu Yuling's wrist, numerous thin yet resilient threads coiled around the Demonic Moth. Even if all the Ice Silk threads were to collapse, as long as they could impede its movements, it would be worthwhile.
Utilizing the Clear Wave Palm and her cultivation level at the fourth stage of the Qi Nourishing stage, countless threads encased the pink wings of the Demonic Moth. Snapping a single chopstick in half was easy, but breaking a chopstick held in one's hand was not so simple. That was the rationale. Despite being a two-star demon beast, its attributes were reduced by 40%, so the Demonic Moth could not collapse in a short period. Nonetheless, the sound of threads breaking was incessant. Within a few breaths, it seemed as if the Ice Silk threads would completely rupture.
Originally, the Demonic Moth had intended to employ its pink wings to block the dagger aimed at its eyes. However, at this moment, its pink wings were entangled by the Ice Silk. Nevertheless, dealing with a two-star demon beast that had attained sentience was no easy task. Since its pink wings were ensnared, it simply lifted its head and spewed threads from its mouth toward Hua Nongying.
Although the threads of the two-star demon beast were no longer poisonous, Hua Nongying still dared not be ensnared by them. Her expression changed, and she swiftly sidestepped, evading the threads that shot out of the Demonic Moth's mouth.
Simultaneously, Ji Wuxue's sharp sword light and Ling Wufeng's resplendent flying daggers also arrived, targeting the Demonic Moth's eyes. Compared to the demonic bear, this Demonic Moth was even more challenging to deal with. After all, its mouth was a vulnerable spot that could spew threads to block attacks in critical moments.
"Although this creature is merely a two-star demonic beast, it poses a greater threat than the demonic bear…" Everyone harbored the same thought when confronting the Demonic Moth.
Formidable physical defense, flight capability, poison attribute, intelligence, and the ability to shoot silk threads from its mouth for long-range attacks—these traits combined could conceal the existence of the mouth's weakness. With all these factors considered, Ling Wufeng and the others felt that they would be unwilling to face a two-star low-grade Demonic Moth, even if they were up against a two-star mid-grade demonic bear.
Swoosh…
A swift arrow darted past. Previously, Zhuge Xiang had utilized the Concealment Jade he obtained from Lei Potian to toss the antidote pill into the Demonic Moth's mouth. Now, Zhuge Xiang took advantage of the Concealment Jade again to approach the Demonic Moth. The Hundred Refinement Bow released another sharp arrow.
The Breath Control Jade allowed Zhuge Xiang to stealthily advance five meters closer to the Demonic Moth without being detected. How quickly could an arrow, with a range of 100 meters, be released from a distance of five meters? At this proximity, even if Lu Yuling's mind was sharp, she would only catch a glimpse of the arrow's flash.
With an additional 30 points of attack, the arrow dealt an extra 3 points of damage while ignoring 30 points of defense. Meanwhile, the Demonic Moth's attributes decreased by 40%. With a piercing screech, Zhuge Xiang's arrow directly pierced into one of the Demonic Moth's compound eyes. The scarlet Qi Force carried a savage aura, completely obliterating the compound eye.
"Success, there's still one eye remaining." Hua Nongying and the others rejoiced at Zhuge Xiang's timely arrow.
However, before Zhuge Xiang and the rest could capitalize on their gains and further the battle's outcome, the Ice Silk entwined around the Demonic Moths finally snapped completely. The Demonic Moths, now freed and enduring the intense pain caused by toxins and Antidote Pills in their bodies, flew crookedly upward.
Seeing the Demonic Moth take flight, everyone instinctively became wary. When injured, it could trigger the ferocity of the demon beasts. Clearly, the Demonic Moth was going all out.
However, just as everyone was on guard against the Demonic Moth's next storm of attacks, the Demonic Moth decisively turned around and flew towards the poisonous pool. It had actually fled…
Two-star demonic beasts, when faced with a few human cultivators equivalent to one-star low-grade demonic beasts, not only failed to unleash their ferocity when injured but also chose to flee? This situation left Hua Nongying and the others dumbfounded. They did not know whether to laugh or cry. Since the Demonic Moth had escaped, they should be safe now, right?
However, at this stage of the battle, would Zhuge Xiang allow the demon moth to escape? This was their only opportunity to kill it. It represented a substantial amount of experience points, and valuable items were likely to be dropped.
Furthermore, now that the Demonic Moth, with its activated intelligence, knew how to escape, wouldn't it seek revenge once the effects of the antidote wore off? At that time, its entire body would be shrouded in poisonous gas again, and all its attributes would be restored. Killing it would become impossible.
Upon seeing the Demonic Moth take flight, Zhuge Xiang dashed forward and leaped high, landing on the creature's back. With the enhancement of the Bloodthirst Technique and the Star Chasing Boots, Zhuge Xiang's speed remained astonishingly fast.
Violent Steps!
Standing on the back of the moth, Zhuge Xiang immediately activated Violent Steps. This technique involved gathering Qi Force at the soles of one's feet and releasing it in a single breath to achieve an instantaneous, super-high-speed movement. The Qi Force released in that moment could even crack the limestone floor beneath one's feet, clearly showcasing its extraordinary power. Standing on the moth's back, Zhuge Xiang unexpectedly employed Violent Steps as an attacking skill.
The effect of the antidote made it difficult for the Demonic Moth to fly. With Violent Steps, the Qi Force that instantly erupted made it cry out again and actually landed.
Seeing that Zhuge Xiang was chasing after them, Lu Yuling and the others reacted very quickly and also chased after him. Compared to letting the demon beast escape, it would be truly safe if they could kill it.
With Violent Steps, Zhuge Xiang instantly appeared at the top of the secret chamber. With his head upside down, Zhuge Xiang held the Blood Refined Saber tightly with both hands and infused his Qi Force into it, holding it in…
The speed of Violent Steps caused Zhuge Xiang's feet to step on the top of the secret chamber and even bend his legs. Then, he endured the pain in the meridians under his feet and glared fiercely, falling down like a cannonball.
It wasn't enough, it wasn't enough…
The whistling wind brushed past Zhuge Xiang's ears as he descended rapidly. His gaze remained fixed on the Demonic Moths entangled by Lu Yuling and the others below. The effect of the Breath Control Jade would only be detected by the Demonic Moths when Zhuge Xiang was within a five-meter radius. Sensing the infusion of Qi Force into the Blood Refined Saber, the Qi accumulation for the Blood Lightning Slash was not yet complete.
Accelerated by gravity and executing a sudden leap, Zhuge Xiang descended from the sky at an incredibly fast speed. His entire body was enveloped in blood-red Qi Force, his face displaying a ghostly expression. Finally, when he landed on the head of the Demonic Moth, the Blood Lightning Slash reached its climax at the crucial moment.
By the time the Demonic Moth realized that Zhuge Xiang was above its head, it was already too late. Falling from the sky, the distance of five meters was relatively short under the high speed. Combined with the relentless assaults from Lu Yuling and the others, the Demonic Moth could not react in time to dodge as Zhuge Xiang closed in.
The scarlet saber light accompanied the sound of wind and thunder as Zhuge Xiang held the handle of the Blood Refined Saber with both hands. Stepping on the head of the Demonic Moth, he inserted the entire handle of the saber into the creature's head through its eyes, leaving only the handle exposed…
With a stomp of his feet, Zhuge Xiang somersaulted backward in the air while firmly gripping the Blood Refined Saber with both hands, before landing on the ground. As he pulled out the saber, an emerald-green liquid flowed out along with it. The shrill scream was short-lived. The body of the Demonic Moth lying by the poisonous pool twitched a few times before ceasing all movement…
After deactivating the Bloodthirst Technique, a wave of weakness washed over Zhuge Xiang, causing him to kneel on one knee. His chest heaved like a bellows, and he panted heavily, resembling a bull. Killing this Demonic Moth had taken a toll on him several times greater than the Demonic Bear. Two-star demonic beasts were indeed not easy to vanquish, as proven by both the Demonic Bear and this Demonic Moth.
This was especially true for the Demonic Moth. If it weren't for Zhuge Xiang's stroke of inspiration to throw the antidote pill into its mouth, if he had not coincidentally dropped the antidote pill during their previous encounter, and if he had not found the Precious Jade of Aura Concealment on Lei Potian's corpse, allowing him to successfully deliver the antidote pill, Zhuge Xiang and the others would not have survived under the Demonic Moth's relentless assault. Though they had managed to slay the Demonic Moth, their success could be attributed to an irreversible series of fortunate events.
Fortunately, regardless of the dangers they faced or the strokes of luck they encountered, Zhuge Xiang and the others had succeeded in killing this immensely powerful Demonic Moth. There was no point in lamenting over its power. Such self-reflection did not align with Zhuge Xiang's character. He knew that they had achieved their objective, and that was sufficient.
"Ding! You have slain a low-grade 2-star Elite Demonic Moth. You have obtained 1,600 EXP. You have obtained the Piercing Arrow. You have obtained the Wolf Fang Arrow Formula. You have obtained Restoration Oil."
As the Demonic Moth met its demise, the system's mechanical notification rang out as promised. Elite monster? Upon hearing the system's notification, Zhuge Xiang was momentarily taken aback. It made sense. Although both were two-star low-grade creatures, the Demonic Moth was several times more powerful than the Demonic Bear. This must be what they called an Elite monster. Even the EXP rewarded was different—it was almost twice that of the Demonic Bear.
Furthermore, with a substantial 1,600 EXP gain, he also acquired three items at once. Judging by their appearances, there was a skill book on archery and an arrow manufacturing formula. Finally, what was the purpose of the repair oil? Curiosity piqued, Zhuge Xiang retrieved it from his inventory.
"Repair Oil (Consumable): Can restore 30 points of persistence of any equipment."
"Phew, I've finally vanquished this two-star demonic beast. Now, let's see what treasures the cave holds." After taking a moment to rest, Hua Nongying spoke with an expectant expression. Her words caught everyone's attention. The two-star demonic beast had been defeated, and it was time to reap the rewards.