"With a soft splash, the last crocodile-like creature, a strange being from another world, collapsed slowly into a pool of blood.
Xu Que dragged the corpse of the Spirit Hunger Crocodile to the lake's edge, then with a mighty heave, tossed it into the water.
The once-clear lake water was instantly stained red with blood. Soon after, the water began to bubble and churn as if boiling.
A great column of water surged upward, followed by a massive abyssal maw that devoured the corpse of the Spirit Hunger Crocodile.
The creature's body was about sixty meters long and thirty meters wide, and though Xu Que had no interest in its weight, it was certainly large enough to feed several hundred people for some time.
Its skin was a deep blue, covered with rough scales that gleamed with a metallic sheen under the sunlight. Its head was wide and flat, with piercing eyes that glowed with a fierce light. Its enormous mouth was lined with sharp teeth, each over a meter long, capable of easily crushing rock and steel.
Xu Que looked at its massive wings, spanning over forty meters, and couldn't help but imagine slicing them off to make a delicious fish fin soup.
Unfortunately, this creature was not native to this space.
In fact, it was just a projection.
As to why the projection was so lifelike, Xu Que wasn't sure, but it didn't matter. He was waiting for the creature to dive beneath the water.
As the corpse of the Spirit Hunger Crocodile drifted past the giant, Xu Que readied himself.
With a great splash, the water surged again, and the creature slowly began descending into the depths.
Xu Que held his breath and followed, descending with it into the lake's depths.
The water was cold, but he paid it no mind—this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
As the creature approached a stone slab, Xu Que drew his black longsword and lightly sliced across it.
A white spatial node instantly appeared.
In less than three seconds, Xu Que disappeared into the node, leaving the space behind.
"Hmm, this bastard hid a forbidden relic in such a place, even sinking it underwater," Xu Que muttered, looking around the environment.
Indeed, this was the place where the prophet, Gamalan, had hidden the forbidden relic!
Navigating the decaying underground palace, Xu Que moved swiftly to the location noted in the journal.
After avoiding a massive two-headed serpent, he quickly darted down a corridor.
When he saw the four forbidden stone pillars, he eagerly checked the nearby forbidden markers.
It was the same as described in the journal—four columns to unlock. Xu Que almost laughed out loud.
He never expected looting treasures to become this easy.
He swiftly activated the unlocking method, and a golden treasure chest materialized before him.
With a few deft movements, he unlocked the final seal, took the treasures from the chest, and vanished into the anchor point space.
When he reappeared, he was at the center of the island.
Four strange creatures were watching him intently, and Xu Que's lips twitched. He had been so focused on looting, he had forgotten to secure his exit.
"Damn it, next time I'll make sure to clear the exit point. If this had been a BOSS, I'd be dead for sure!"
The creatures roared and charged toward him.
Xu Que quickly threw his black longsword into the air, activating the Sword Mastery technique, narrowly avoiding an attack from a Double-Eyed Tiger and landing a punch squarely in another's abdomen.
With a series of swift slashes, Xu Que took down two of the Double-Eyed Tigers and then rushed toward the remaining one.
With a swift motion, his sword struck, ending the beast's life in an instant.
Seeing only one Double-Eyed Tiger left, Xu Que didn't rush to kill it. Instead, he summoned his almost-adult White Cloud Marten.
"Little one, I've raised you for so long, it's time to test your strength." Xu Que gestured toward the last tiger.
The White Cloud Marten chirped and dashed toward the Double-Eyed Tiger.
The massive tiger, seeing such a tiny creature, was about to strike it down with a swipe, only to be surprised as the marten swiftly darted and bit its neck.
The tiger froze, trembling uncontrollably, and its body began to shake.
Xu Que grinned as he saw the poison taking effect.
He had not expected the little one's speed to be so extraordinary, and the venomous bite was proving effective.
"Well done, this could be useful for Dream Chu's defense."
Just as Xu Que thought the little creature's power was insufficient, the White Cloud Marten unleashed a lightning strike.
"Zzzz!"
The strong current coursed through the Double-Eyed Tiger, severely weakening it.
Xu Que was taken aback by how quickly the tiger was incapacitated.
"Well, didn't expect this little one's lightning to be as powerful as Pikachu's Thunderbolt, not just a paralyzing effect like the Thunder Cloud Marten."
As the Double-Eyed Tiger perished, Xu Que summoned the White Cloud Marten back into his space.
He rubbed its soft white fur and chuckled.
"Come on, little one, don't be so grumpy."
The marten growled, baring its teeth at him in clear protest.
Xu Que smirked. "Heh, wait until I hand you over to a new owner. You'll understand what it means when a true father is always your father."
Thinking of how Dream Chu used to pet that dark cat in his past life, a wicked smile appeared on Xu Que's face.
He returned the marten to his space and checked his direction before heading toward the BOSS area.
Along the way, Xu Que encountered few strange creatures, uncertain whether it was his presence affecting the surroundings or the creatures simply avoiding him. Either way, it took him less than fifteen minutes to reach the center of the dense forest.
Seeing the massive Ape Demon watching him from afar, Xu Que strode confidently toward it.
These beast-like creatures could sense any foreign presence immediately, so Xu Que didn't bother to hide, preferring to face it head-on.
The Ape Demon roared, its huge arms pounding its chest.
"Ha! This guy is showing off!" Xu Que smiled, gripping his black longsword as he charged at the creature.
Seeing the small prey rush toward it, the Ape Demon dug its feet into the ground, preparing to crush Xu Que with its raised arms.
When it leaped toward him, Xu Que suddenly stopped, raising his sword to strike the sky with the Heavenly Slash technique.
"Thwack!"
Blood poured from the demon as it was cleaved in two.
"Congratulations, Human Xu Que, you have successfully completed the B-level [Lake Heart Forest D], gaining territorial rights, 16 Spirit Iron Ore, 23 Spirit Crystals, 3 Spirit Stones, and daily income from your territory. Please check the trade hall interface."
"Congratulations, Human Xu Que, after big data analysis, your higher-level territory is detected. [Lake Heart Forest D] is now folded into [Hell's Gate]..."
Xu Que didn't mind the bloody stench on him, nor did he pay attention to the system's notifications. He picked up five glowing orbs and headed toward the direction they had come from.
For him now, the smell was nothing. He recalled how in his past life, he and Duan Jiude once had to crawl out of the body of a giant centipede. The stench was unbearable, even after soaking for four days in odor-removal water, and those days had been uncomfortable, with everyone around him avoiding him, even at mealtime.
Over ten minutes later, Xu Que climbed out of the lake. Although he didn't look great, the smell was gone.
Back at the entrance, he saw Liang Jinyu and the others still meditating. Xu Que took out his timer.
It had taken him just over an hour to clear the B-level dimensional space, and he was impressed by his own strength.
But since the dimensional rift wouldn't last much longer, Xu Que decided to wake them up."