Chapter 127: Collective Slumber

The dark-feathered creature didn't rush to attack Ji Changfeng; it planned to wait for Su Nan to return and catch them all at once.

The white-feathered creature chuckled, "I almost forgot about the other one. Big brother, you're quite considerate."

Just as they were speaking, the dark-feathered creature noticed something and suddenly looked towards Turtle King Lake, saying, "They're here!"

Hearing this, the other two creatures also looked in that direction.

They saw a figure approaching rapidly, and it was none other than Su Nan with Zhang Yang's appearance.

Upon seeing Su Nan, Song Zhi first felt relieved, but then he remembered something and hastily said, "Zhang Yang, my friend, you must leave quickly. You are no match for them!"

Cheng Dao quickly added, "There are three late-stage spiritual-level creatures here. Don't come any closer and throw your life away."

"Hmph! Since you're here, don't even think about leaving!" The gray-feathered creature sneered and, like a lightning bolt, charged towards Su Nan with incredible speed.

Su Nan remained calm, and the premonition on his panel had already ended; the outcome of the creatures was predetermined in his eyes.

As he watched the approaching creature, he waved his hand, conjuring a winged serpent.

"Those three guys were hoping you'd come to save them. I thought it might be a big catch, but they're just early-stage spiritual-level trash," the creature sneered upon seeing Su Nan's summoned serpent, showing disdain in its eyes.

However, before it could finish its sentence, a deep blue color appeared within the fiery serpent's red body, spreading rapidly and consuming most of the serpent's length in the blink of an eye.

Simultaneously, streaks of lightning erupted from within the serpent's body.

With water, fire, and lightning powers combined, Su Nan's mana was depleted by half in an instant.

From his previous premonition, he already knew that this amount of mana was just enough to deal with the creatures before him.

A violent aura surged from the fiery serpent, significantly increasing its power, far beyond its initial early-stage spiritual-level strength.

"What is this..."

Feeling the terrifying aura emanating from the fiery serpent, the creature's face changed, and it instinctively tried to move to the side.

However, before it could react, it suddenly felt a sharp pain in its head, as if an arrow had pierced its mind, and its consciousness blanked out in an instant.

During that moment of blank consciousness, the gray-feathered creature was filled with confusion and fear; it knew what kind of attack it had suffered.

It didn't understand how a human, who was clearly a mana-based martial artist, could use soul power.

Soul power was silent and invisible, and apart from the attacked gray-feathered creature, no one could detect it.

Su Nan's soul power, without the use of his Transcendent Spirit Body, didn't have a significant effect against a peak spiritual-level creature. It could only momentarily blank its consciousness.

But in that brief moment, when the creature's consciousness was restored and it tried to scream, the red and blue intertwined winged serpent had already filled its vision completely.

The creature wanted to dodge, but it was too late.

"Boom!"

A deafening roar, and before the creature could utter a word, it was devoured by the fiery serpent.

Flames billowed, and even from a distance, the other two creatures could feel the terrifying power that made their hearts tremble.

The two creatures changed their expressions, and when the flames dissipated, they saw the gray-feathered creature's head had exploded.

"Second brother!"

"Brother!"

The two creatures' eyes were about to burst, and they couldn't believe what they were seeing until the gray-feathered creature's body fell, forcing them to accept the reality before them.

Looking at Su Nan again, their expressions turned fierce, and their eyes filled with killing intent.

"This..."

Seeing this scene, Song Zhi and the others were stunned.

That wasn't an ordinary early-stage spiritual-level creature; it was a peak spiritual-level creature. Even at their peak, the three of them would have struggled to deal with it together.

Now, such a creature had been instantly killed by Su Nan, completely shattering their understanding of the situation.

Even Ji Changfeng had a strange look in his eyes, and he looked at Su Nan with surprise.

[Congratulations, you have completed the daily task "Hunt a Spiritual-Level Creature." 15 Spirit Power points have been awarded.]

[Current available Spirit Power: 15 points.]

Two of the three tasks refreshed by the task card had been completed, except for "Escort Ji Changfeng to Tianyun County." 

"Damn you, human! You dare to kill my second brother? Today, I swear to tear you apart!" The white-feathered creature roared and transformed into a white giant bird, its wings vibrating like swords as it shot towards Su Nan.

Its speed was so fast that it created a sonic boom!

Su Nan remained unfazed, repeating the same process as before.

He launched his soul power preemptively, and the powers of water, fire, and lightning surged. The red and blue interwoven winged serpent reappeared.

His previous attack had already consumed half of his mana, and this time it would be fully depleted.

"Boom!"

The serpent exploded again, scattering white feathers in all directions.

Sensing Su Nan's weakened state, in an instant, the remaining dark-feathered creature also took action.

It had been waiting for the moment when Su Nan's mana was exhausted!

If it were any other mana user, in such a situation with no mana left, it would be no different from a lamb to the slaughter.

But Su Nan was not an ordinary mana user.

The power of his elemental and spiritual energies surged, instantly replenishing the depleted fire and water mana.

Though he only had two types of power, it was enough.

This time, Su Nan held nothing back, releasing all of his fire and water mana in one go.

A third winged serpent formed.

Although it lacked the lightning power of the previous two, its overall strength was not much weaker.

"It's impossible! How do you still have mana left?" The final dark-feathered creature was now panicked.

Run!

As long as it could dodge this attack, it still had a chance to turn the tables.

After witnessing the power of the serpent, the creature didn't hesitate and turned to flee.

However, like the previous two creatures, as soon as it made a move, Su Nan's soul attack arrived.

Another thunderous boom, and the dark-feathered creature, covered in black feathers, fell.

"Run! Everyone, run!"

Seeing their three leaders all defeated, the lower-level creatures were terrified and fled for their lives.

"Is it all over now?"

Song Zhi and the others exchanged glances, their faces filled with disbelief, as they looked at Su Nan as if he were a ghost.

These weren't ordinary early-stage spiritual-level creatures; they were peak spiritual-level creatures. Even in their prime, it would have taken all three of them to barely deal with one.

Yet now, Su Nan had instantly killed one, shattering their understanding of the situation.

Even Ji Changfeng walked over, saying, "If I'm not mistaken,

 you should have used some kind of racial talent just now, right?"

"Racial talent?"

At these words, Song Zhi and the others were stunned.

Then they all thought of something and couldn't help but exclaim, "Could it be that you've merged with some ancient monster bloodline, Zhang Yang?"

"Exactly, I was lucky enough to obtain an ancient monster bloodline before," Su Nan replied without hesitation.

That was the only way to explain why his strength was so formidable.

"It's really an ancient monster bloodline!" Getting Su Nan's confirmation, Song Zhi and the others looked at him with envy.

Su Nan didn't dwell on this topic and changed the subject, saying, "The Thought Monster has left. We can continue on our way."

"It's gone? That's great!"

The three of them didn't ask any further.

According to Ji Changfeng, the Thought Monster wouldn't have stayed for long, so it was normal for it to leave now.

Su Nan collected the bodies of the three creatures, and after a brief rest, the group continued on their journey.

Although this unexpected encounter had caused a slight delay, it didn't take them too long.

Inside the carriage, Song Zhi and the others looked at Su Nan with different eyes, filled with a hint of admiration.

Su Nan turned to Ji Changfeng and had an idea. He took out a turtle egg and said, "Elder, I obtained this egg by chance about a year ago, but I haven't been able to hatch it. I'm not sure why. Maybe you, as an advanced-level Xuan practitioner with vast knowledge, might know how to hatch a turtle egg."

Ji Changfeng's eyes showed surprise when he saw the egg that resembled a stone. He immediately took it and examined it carefully.

Cheng Dao and Miao Hong were also curious and came closer.

After a moment, Ji Changfeng said, "I don't know what kind of creature this egg is from, but I can be certain that it's not an ordinary monster's egg. It's very likely the egg of a Monarch-level monster!"

"The egg of a Monarch-level monster?" Upon hearing this, Song Zhi and the others were astonished.

However, Ji Changfeng shook his head regretfully, saying, "It's a pity. This egg has lost all signs of life. It's completely dead."

"A dead egg?" Song Zhi and the others looked disappointed, and Su Nan felt the same way. However, he didn't share their sentiment.

Clearly, Ji Changfeng hadn't detected the faint trace of life remaining inside the egg.

That was normal since the vitality within the egg was so faint that it was barely perceptible.

When Su Nan first acquired the egg, he couldn't detect any sign of life within it, considering it as nothing more than a piece of stone.

Without the game's introduction, most people wouldn't be able to discern the faint trace of life hidden within.

Ji Changfeng returned the turtle egg to Su Nan and said, "If there were a glimmer of life left, it might have been salvageable. What a shame."

Su Nan put away the turtle egg and was curious. "If there's even a tiny bit of life left, can it still be saved? How would you save it?"

"It's quite simple. You just need to find some treasures that can replenish vitality," Ji Changfeng explained. "There's a type of elixir called 'Jingling Dew,' which can achieve this. If you soak the monster's egg in it, it can slowly restore vitality."

Soak it? Su Nan's eyes gleamed.

He didn't have Jingling Dew, but he had another treasure that could replenish vitality.

The Source of Life!

The reward for ranking first in the Survival mission was a treasure condensed from pure life force. If he used it to soak the turtle egg, it would undoubtedly be far more effective than Jingling Dew.

Even though he only had a single drop, he could dilute it for use.

He couldn't wait to try it, but it was apparent that it wasn't possible right now. He would have to wait until they arrived in Tianyun County.

The horses continued to gallop, and everyone on the carriage was rapidly recovering, including Su Nan.

Killing three spiritual-level creatures may have appeared easy for him, but it had actually depleted both his Secret Power and Elemental Power.

If he were to encounter more monsters now, he would either refrain from acting or rely solely on his physical strength.

However, doing so would undoubtedly expose his secret of being able to merge different bloodlines, which was not an option.

Moreover, he had limited uses of his premonition ability left.

At this point, he only had two uses left today!

Nevertheless, they couldn't avoid what was coming.

Over the next hour of their journey, they encountered a succession of monsters.

More than a dozen of them!

The only fortunate aspect was that these monsters were of the common variety, and Su Nan didn't need to intervene as Song Zhi and the others dealt with them.

Ji Changfeng's expression turned grim. "It seems that the damage to the Heavenly Dome Barrier is getting worse, and its suppression of monsters is weakening."

Su Nan listened silently without expressing any opinion.

He wasn't worried about this issue; after all, one million players would arrive tomorrow. Even if they were distributed evenly, over ninety thousand would come to Dongchen Province, and with the players' rapid growth rate, they would easily handle common monsters within a month.

The number of monsters didn't affect him much.

As the carriage sped forward, an hour later, Ji Changfeng suddenly warned, "Ahead is the Giant's Peak. Be cautious, everyone!"

Giant's Peak, the second of the three danger zones.

Su Nan looked ahead and saw three enormous peaks lined up several miles away, resembling three giants. Each peak was separated by a few miles, covered in ancient trees, lush and green.

Staring at the remaining two premonitions on his panel, Su Nan hesitated. Should he use them now?

They were still an hour away from reaching Tianyun County, and there was another dangerous place besides Giant's Peak.

Using up all the premonitions here would leave them vulnerable in the future.

"Two premonition chances might not be enough in a real crisis. Let's cross this area first."

As the mountain range grew closer, Su Nan didn't rush to use his premonition. He only activated it when they were just a kilometer away from Giant's Peak.

[You and Ji Changfeng's group arrive at Giant's Peak in a carriage. This is a formation of three parallel mountain peaks, rumored to house three powerful monsters.]

[One minute later, you reach the base of the first mountain peak at Giant's Peak, and everything here seems calm with no incidents.]

[Two minutes later, you reach the base of the second mountain peak at Giant's Peak, and you still haven't encountered any danger.]

[Three minutes later, you reach the base of the third mountain peak at Giant's Peak, and it also appears unusually quiet, with only the sound of galloping horse hooves on the road.]

[Unknown to you, as you passed by the third mountain peak, a pair of eyes from the mountain watched you.]

[The first premonition ends. Do you want to continue?]

Being targeted by a monster again? Was his luck this bad?

Su Nan's heart sank. In Turtle King Lake, he had used a lot of premonitions to resolve the situation. If he was targeted again this time, he might be powerless.

"Continue."

This was his last chance today. If it didn't work, he could only have the others stop the carriage and wait until the game refreshed after midnight.

[On the third mountain peak of Giant's Peak, a colossal creature, measuring up to five meters in height, gazes at you.]

[You're quite lucky; this monster doesn't seem interested in you and doesn't launch an attack.]

[One minute later, you leave Giant's Peak and continue toward Tianyun County.]

[Two minutes later, everything around you remains normal, with no signs of danger.]

[Three minutes later, you encounter another common-level monster, which you dispatch with a water arrow.]

The monsters on Giant's Peak didn't attack them?

Su Nan breathed a sigh of relief. Although he had seemingly wasted two premonitions, it had put his mind at ease.

The carriage continued to bump along, and Song Zhi controlled it while remaining fully alert to the surroundings.

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, half an hour went by.

Su Nan leaned against the side of the carriage, feeling drowsy, and gradually fell asleep.

He didn't know how much time had passed.

Suddenly, the carriage jolted violently, and he woke up with a start.

Su Nan opened his eyes, but the next moment, what he saw instantly sobered him up.

He realized that he wasn't the only one; everyone else had fallen asleep.

Even Ji Changfeng and Song Zhi, who were driving the carriage, were fast asleep.

For some reason, none of them had awakened yet.

"Something's wrong!"

Su Nan's face turned pale as he immediately realized that something had gone awry.

(End of this chapter)