Su Nan was both surprised and delighted.
He was delighted because after wasting a dozen or so Future Sight opportunities, he had finally found the Tiger Demon.
He was surprised because of the effectiveness of the Magic Source Bead in attracting magical creatures. Even though he had anticipated that the Magic Source Bead's effect might be good, he didn't expect it to be this pronounced.
Without hesitation, Su Nan entered the mysterious cave with the Magic Source Bead in hand.
The cave was massive, with smooth and flat walls that seemed to have been blasted open by a powerful force, sloping downward underground.
Two minutes later, he reached the end of the cave and found himself in a vast underground space. There, he saw a massive creature, about four meters tall, with crimson eyes, lying down.
Underneath the Tiger Demon's body was a stone platform covered in intricate patterns.
This place used to be where ancient powerhouses suppressed dark thoughts. The Tiger Demon intended to use the residual power of the formation to suppress the dark thoughts.
Upon seeing the Magic Source Bead in Su Nan's hand, the Tiger Demon's rationality, which had been on the verge of being controlled by dark thoughts, completely disappeared. It pounced on Su Nan suddenly.
"You died."
"This...," Su Nan's face darkened.
Wasn't it supposed to be possible to attract the dark thoughts using items containing magical aura? This was different from the script.
Could it be that the Magic Source Bead couldn't attract dark thoughts? Or did it require a Magic Stone?
A troubling thought crossed his mind.
If it was indeed the case, then he would have to figure out a way to snatch the Magic Stone from Li Ye.
"No, it shouldn't be the fault of the Magic Source Bead. The Magic Source Bead is just a trigger."
Suddenly, Su Nan thought of another, more significant possibility, and he shook his head in disbelief.
"The Tiger Demon was already on the verge of being controlled by dark thoughts, so it doesn't matter if it's a Magic Stone or a Magic Source Bead. Both would stimulate the Tiger Demon and lead to its complete control."
Realizing this, he suddenly realized that he had underestimated the difficulty of the mission.
Climbing the mountain and finding the Tiger Demon didn't mean that he could lure out the dark thoughts.
How to lure out the dark thoughts was the real challenge!
"Since the Magic Source Bead stimulates the Tiger Demon, I'll just put it away."
With his mind working, Su Nan came up with an idea.
Once the cooldown for Future Sight was over, he began to foresee again.
"You know that to lure out the dark thoughts inside the Tiger Demon, it's not enough to rely solely on the Magic Source Bead; you also need the cooperation of the Tiger Demon."
Using Celestial Shift twice, he arrived at a spot about a hundred to two hundred meters from Tiger Roar Town.
There was no sign of the Tiger Demon in the hollow, so he took out the Magic Source Bead. Along with the Tiger Demon's roar, a massive cave appeared before his eyes.
He quickly put away the Magic Source Bead and entered the cave.
Two minutes later, he reached the end of the cave's underground space and saw the Tiger Demon with its crimson eyes.
The Tiger Demon didn't attack him immediately this time. Su Nan quickly explained his intentions. Upon hearing that Su Nan had a way to extract the dark thoughts from its body, the Tiger Demon was not only not happy but also launched an attack against him.
"You died."
Right before his death, Su Nan saw a look of distrust in the Tiger Demon's eyes. He realized that the Tiger Demon didn't trust humans, even though it was on the verge of being controlled by dark thoughts.
"As expected, the Tiger Demon was influenced last time, and it wasn't because the Magic Source Bead couldn't attract the dark thoughts."
Su Nan breathed a sigh of relief, as long as it wasn't the fault of the Magic Source Bead, everything would be fine from now on.
As for the problem that had arisen during the previous foreseeing, he didn't pay it much attention.
The fact that the Tiger Demon didn't trust humans would be a headache for other players, but not for him.
Since the Tiger Demon didn't trust humans, he could just turn into a demon.
"You activate the Wheel of Fate and transform yourself into the appearance of a Wolf Demon. Then, you re-enter the cave."
Inside the cave, the Tiger Demon didn't attack him immediately this time. Su Nan quickly explained his intentions. After hearing that Su Nan had a way to extract the dark thoughts from its body, the Tiger Demon was very excited.
Su Nan told the Tiger Demon that to lure out the dark thoughts, he needed an item containing pure magical aura, and using such an item would cause the Tiger Demon to lose control and require its cooperation.
After listening to Su Nan, the Tiger Demon agreed to cooperate and told him that it would put itself into a deep sleep.
In that state, it wouldn't wake up even if it was attacked, and it could only be awakened in a specific way.
After a brief exchange, they quickly reached an agreement, and the Tiger Demon began to put itself into a deep sleep.
Three minutes later, the Tiger Demon was completely asleep.
The first foreseeing ended, and Su Nan was asked if he wanted to continue.
"Continue!"
Without any hesitation, Su Nan used another foreseeing, knowing that the situation was developing in the best direction.
"The Tiger Demon cooperates with you, putting itself into a deep sleep and telling you how to awaken it."
"You take out the Magic Source Bead once again and try to attract the dark thoughts inside the Tiger Demon."
"As soon as the Magic Source Bead is taken out, the previously sleeping Tiger Demon is stimulated. Its eyelids twitch, showing signs of waking up."
"Fortunately
, the Tiger Demon is in a deep sleep, and a full minute passes without it actually waking up."
"You heave a sigh of relief. However, at this moment, you see a black mist suddenly emanating from the Tiger Demon's body."
"You realize that it's the dark thoughts."
"The dark thoughts rapidly shoot towards the Magic Source Bead in your hand. Afraid to continue holding the Magic Source Bead, you immediately throw it away."
"The Magic Source Bead falls to the ground, and the dark thoughts rush into it like hungry wolves."
"Two minutes later, the dark thoughts have completely entered the Magic Source Bead, and everything returns to calm."
"You don't dare to be careless and wait for another minute before attempting to wake up the Tiger Demon."
"The second foreseeing ends. Do you want to continue?"
"Success!"
Su Nan breathed a long sigh of relief, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
This mission had consumed a large number of foreseeing attempts, but it was all worth it.
"Continue foreseeing."
To be on the safe side, he didn't hesitate to use another foreseeing.
...
At the foot of the mountain.
Seeing the smile on Su Nan's face, Song Zhi asked, "Brother Zhang Yang, what's making you so happy?"
Su Nan looked at the group of people and said, "I'm sorry, everyone, but I need to return to my world for a moment."
"Return to your world?"
Cheng Dao and the others were momentarily puzzled, but then they realized that Su Nan was also a player from another world.
"Brother Zhang Yang, if you have something to do, go ahead. We're relatively safe here, so you don't need to worry about us."
Su Nan nodded and said, "Be careful, I'll be back in a few minutes."
After saying that, his figure disappeared in front of everyone.
"The abilities of players from other worlds are really amazing. I wonder how he does it?"
Seeing Su Nan disappear, Song Zhi and the others were amazed.
On the other side, several players saw Su Nan disappear and wondered, "Why did Zhang Yang log out of the game?"
"Who cares about him? He probably regrets not agreeing to Night Brother's conditions now that Night Brother's mission is almost complete. He doesn't want to stay here anymore."
"I wonder how he'll react when he comes back and sees that Night Brother has surpassed him in the mission."
Su Nan's disappearance left them bewildered and curious about what would happen next.
Several people exchanged knowing smiles, as if they had already witnessed the scene where Su Nan was pushed down to third place.
Little did they know that at this moment, Su Nan had already used the Heavenly Teleportation once and arrived in the forest a kilometer away.
Heavenly Teleportation could only be used for a maximum of one kilometer at a time. Although he could use it twice consecutively according to his foresight, he had to be cautious in reality.
A few minutes later, a sudden tiger roar echoed.
The forest trembled, and even though they were far away, everyone could feel the terrifying power contained in that roar.
"This is... the Tiger Demon is about to appear!"
Several players' eyes lit up, not surprised but delighted.
At the same time, Li Ye, who was still lying there like a corpse, also heard the tiger's roar, and his body couldn't help but tremble.
"Is it finally coming?"
Li Ye's face showed anticipation as he continued to wait quietly for the Tiger Demon to arrive.
A large number of evil spirits quickly surrounded Su Nan, intending to tear him apart.
Su Nan paid no attention and put away the Magic Source Bead. He activated the Wheel of Fate and switched to the appearance of Lang Shisan.
After doing all this, he headed towards the already appeared cave.
"Tiger King, I've come to help you get rid of the magic thoughts!"
Just as he arrived at the end of the cave and saw the gigantic Tiger Demon, Su Nan, transformed into a Wolf Demon, quickly spoke.
Upon hearing Su Nan's words, the Tiger Demon became instantly excited. In its crimson eyes, there was both anticipation and doubt. "You've come to help this king? How can a low-level spirit like you help this king?"
Su Nan reacted quickly and explained the situation as foreseen.
After listening, the Tiger Demon became thoroughly excited. "Very well! If you can really extract the magic thoughts from this king's body, this king will not treat you unfairly."
"In the future, in this Tianyun County, no, in this Dongchen Province, this king will watch over you. No monster will dare to harm you!" The Tiger Demon exclaimed with excitement.
Upon hearing this, Su Nan felt delighted. If he could really get the Tiger Demon's protection, walking among the demon clans as Lang Shisan would be like a fish in water.
After all, the Tiger Demon, at present, was as powerful as an imperial-level entity twenty years ago, and his words carried immense weight.
Perhaps helping the Tiger Demon this time and gaining his protection would be the greatest reward!
With this in mind, a gleam of excitement appeared in Su Nan's eyes.
The following events unfolded just as foreseen.
The Tiger Demon allowed itself to fall into a deep sleep and gave Su Nan a method to awaken it.
The awakening method was simple: just stab a sharp object into the Tiger Demon's paw, and it would awaken.
As the Tiger Demon slept, Su Nan swiftly took action. He took out the Magic Source Bead, and the magic thoughts within the Tiger Demon's body were stimulated, causing its eyelids to twitch.
Su Nan remained calm, switched his character to Zhang Yang, and waited patiently.
A minute later, a wisp of black smoke, as if unable to resist its desire for the Magic Source Bead, quickly emerged from the Tiger Demon's body.
Seeing this, Su Nan dared not hold the Magic Source Bead any longer and immediately tossed it aside.
The magic thoughts swiftly moved towards the Magic Source Bead and enveloped it.
After a little over a minute, the magic thoughts finally completely entered the Magic Source Bead.
Just as the magic thoughts entered the Magic Source Bead, a completion message appeared before Su Nan.
"Congratulations, you have completed the main quest 'The Curse of Magic Thoughts,' First Phase. Do you wish to claim your rewards now?"
"Claim!"
"Congratulations, you have obtained an ordinary-level Demon Scripture."
"Congratulations, you have obtained an ordinary-level Bloodline."
"Congratulations, you have gained 30 Demon Points."
"Congratulations, you have obtained a drop of Demon Blood."
"The second phase of the main quest has been unlocked. Please check the quest list for details."
Of the four rewards, aside from the Demon Blood, there was nothing particularly eye-catching. Su Nan chose not to retrieve the Demon Blood right now.
He knew without looking that it was definitely something infused with demonic energy. If he took it out now and triggered another change in the magic thoughts, it would not be worth the risk.
Main Quest: The Curse of Magic Thoughts
Quest Phase 3: Completely Eradicate the Magic Thoughts
Quest Difficulty: Five Stars
Quest Rewards: Spirit-level Demon Scripture, Spirit-level Bloodline, 45 Demon Points, Art of Magic Seed, one Spirit Treasure
Quest Countdown: 30 days.
"Another five-star quest!"
Su Nan's body trembled, and his eyes showed surprise.
"The last five-star quest was to hunt demons, and this time it's to eradicate magic thoughts."
"It seems that whenever it involves demons, the quest rating is always high. This should be because demons are exceptionally tricky."
Su Nan wasn't excited about receiving another five-star quest. Instead, he looked serious.
The last demon he encountered wouldn't have been something he could handle if it hadn't been for the Demon Emperor's Altar.
This time, it certainly wouldn't be easy either.
Fortunately, the countdown this time was quite long, a whole month, so there was no rush.
He switched his character back to Lang Shisan before waking up the Tiger Demon.
Stabbing a dagger into the Tiger Demon's paw, the Tiger Demon opened its hazy eyes, as if it had just woken up.
Su Nan quickly said, "Senior Tiger King, the magic thoughts in your body have been extracted."
"So fast?" The Tiger King instantly woke up, and its massive body stood up abruptly.
It closed its eyes and sensed the changes in its body.
After a few breaths, the Tiger Demon opened its eyes, filled with joy.
"It's gone! Those damned magic thoughts are really gone!"
"Haha, it's been twenty years, and this king has finally gotten rid of those damned magic thoughts."
The Tiger Demon's thunderous laughter echoed in the underground space for a long time, causing Su Nan's ears to ring.
After a while, the Tiger Demon finally calmed down from its excitement.
Its enormous body rapidly shrank and transformed into a well-built middle-aged man.
The Tiger King patted Su Nan on the shoulder and said excitedly, "Younger brother, from now on, you can call me big brother, and you will be this king's younger brother!"
"In Tianyun County, and no, in Dongchen Province, if anyone dares to treat you unfairly, they will have to answer to this king!"
The Tiger Demon was very casual and mistook Su Nan's transformed Wolf Demon appearance as his younger brother.
"By the way, my name is Tiger Roar Heaven, what's your name, younger brother?"
Su Nan was not polite either. Since the Tiger Demon treated him as his younger brother, he naturally wouldn't refuse. He smiled and said, "Big brother, I'm Lang Wu."
He continued to use the alias from before.
"Lang Wu? Younger brother, that name is not fierce enough. You should call yourself Lang Zhen Tian," the Tiger King suggested.
Su Nan's
mouth twitched, and he quickly changed the subject. "Big brother, the magic thoughts are still in that bead. Do you have any way to eradicate them?"
Upon hearing the term "magic thoughts," the Tiger Roar Heaven followed Su Nan's gaze and focused on the Magic Source Bead, his expression instantly turning serious.
"Those magic thoughts are condensed from the remains of a powerful ancient demon. Even ancient powerhouses couldn't erase them, let alone this king." Tiger Roar Heaven shook his head.
After a pause, he added, "If this king is not mistaken, the bead you used should be formed from a large amount of pure demonic energy."
"Now that the magic thoughts have entered the bead and are nourished by the demonic energy within, they will recover quickly. It's already good enough if you can find a way to suppress them!"
Hearing this, Su Nan's heart sank, and he asked, "What should we do? Should we just throw it away?"