With the necessary materials in his backpack and his mind focused, Su Bai prepared to return to the Sombre Forest. Although Eldoria Village seemed peaceful, the stillness only reminded him how fragile that peace was in this world. The fight with the Dark Demon Queen still weighed heavily on his mind, but he knew he had to improve his skills if he wanted to face greater challenges ahead.
After adjusting his equipment and ensuring he had enough recovery potions, Su Bai headed into the wilderness. The path to the Sombre Forest was familiar, but every time he crossed that boundary, he felt danger lurking in every shadow.
Upon arriving at the forest, he noticed the air was heavier, and the fog seemed denser than during his last incursion. Wasting no time, he began his search for the Coral Snakes, creatures he was already familiar with. The forest's terrain was complicated and labyrinthine, slowing his progress.
As he moved forward, Su Bai not only hunted monsters to fulfill his mission; he also took every opportunity to perfect his blocking and rebounding technique, a skill that, if fully mastered, could be his salvation in more difficult battles.
After approximately an hour of hunting, Su Bai finally managed to defeat a Silver Ring Snake, a level 5 creature, and his experience bar crept closer to the next level.
—403
"Hissss…"
The Silver Ring Snake collapsed to the ground, dropping a pouch of copper coins and its valuable gallbladder.
A golden glow enveloped Su Bai as his body absorbed the energy from the defeated monsters. At that moment, he leveled up once more. LV7!
"Finally..." he muttered as he assigned his attribute points, increasing his strength as usual.
The improvements in the Celestial CloudSword also manifested, boosting his attack by an additional 35 points. However, something continued to bother Su Bai.
"It's hard to level up like this... I've been hunting monsters for more than an hour, and I've only managed to advance one level." He complained to himself as he collected the last monster's rewards. "This game is too harsh."
Still, Su Bai knew he had to press on. He had already gathered enough Elite Coral Snake Gallbladders and only needed one rare Coral Snake Gallbladder to complete the elder's mission. As he continued through the forest, a gentle breeze rustled the leaves, creating a deceptively peaceful atmosphere.
"Ah, a cave!"
Su Bai stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed an entrance partially covered by vegetation. The flattened grass at the entrance indicated that something large had recently passed through.
"It seems a Coral Snake went through here..." he pondered as he used his sword to clear the grass.
The silence inside the cave was unsettling. No creature emerged to acknowledge his presence, confirming that the cave must be much deeper than it appeared. Determined, Su Bai adjusted his gear and ventured inside.
The interior of the cave was wide and dark, but small bluish lights emanated from the walls, illuminating the path faintly but enough to avoid tripping. Su Bai touched the walls and discovered that the lights came from tiny stones emitting a mysterious glow.
"This must be part of the game's system, something to light the way," he thought as he continued down the tunnel.
As he ventured deeper, the cave began to slope. The air grew heavier, and an unpleasant smell started to fill his lungs. A cold sweat ran down his back as he noticed that the ground and walls were coated with a sticky, foul-smelling substance.
"This is not a good sign..." he muttered, covering his nose with one hand, trying to endure the nauseating stench.
Cautiously, Su Bai advanced slowly to avoid slipping, but his feet unexpectedly lost traction, and before he could regain his balance, he slipped.
"Damn it!"
Su Bai fell backward and began sliding rapidly down the inclined ground. The viscous substance acted like a lubricant, making it impossible to stop. Instinctively, he tried to stab his sword into the ground, but before he could, he found himself falling into what seemed to be a large chamber.
Upon landing, his body hit something soft and wet. A much stronger stench than before assaulted his senses, causing immediate nausea.
"This… this is blood…" Su Bai quickly stood up, covering his nose and mouth while trying to steady himself. But when he lifted his gaze, what he saw took his breath away.
In front of him lay a gigantic snake, dead. Its head was as large as a three-story house, and its body stretched, winding through what appeared to be a chamber spanning kilometers. Surrounding the giant snake, the ground was littered with smaller bodies: dozens of thousands of Coral Snakes, all dead, bathed in a lake of their own blood.
"What the hell…?" Su Bai muttered, unable to fully process the magnitude of what he was seeing.
The ground was covered in copper and silver coins, and among them were countless potions and pieces of scattered armor. It was a massive treasure, loot worthy of an army.
"This is… incredible!" he exclaimed, his eyes scanning the vast cave. "With all this, I could… sell millions…"
Su Bai couldn't help but smile at the thought of the fortune before him. Activating the game's automatic coin collection system, the system picked up a total of 74,000 copper coins and 263 silver coins, letting the loot fill his inventory.
However, something about the scene still unsettled him. The giant snake, despite being dead, seemed to have fallen under strange circumstances. The air was thick with tension, as though something else might appear at any moment.
"What killed this creature?" he wondered, as curiosity and intrigue wrapped around him. Despite the wealth in front of him, Su Bai knew he had to stay alert. Something could be lurking in the depths of the cave.