Chapter 125: Unknown Hatred

The soul-corpses were not as agile as the mosquitoes, and Yun Qing easily swatted them.

Critical hit -200;
Combat experience +390;

After being struck by her, the soul-corpse did not turn into ash but, just like last time, vanished into the dungeon, leaving behind a pile of loot. It turned out that swatting soul-corpses was just as effective as swatting mosquitoes, yielding critical hits. She hadn't realized the flyswatter was so useful.

Just as Yun Qing prepared to lure another soul-corpse over, she noticed there was no notification for obtaining items. She then remembered that the creature, Liuliu, had found the dungeon too dangerous and hadn't followed her in. It meant there was no dog to help her pick up the loot, which felt quite inconvenient. She hadn't had to pick up items herself in a long time, so Yun Qing walked over to the pile of loot.

Obtained: 10 taels of silver.

Yun Qing tested it again and discovered that if she activated the sticky function of the flyswatter, she could guarantee a critical hit on the soul-corpses, achieving a one-hit kill. If the sticky function was disabled, the critical hit rate dropped to thirty percent, and it was easy to miss due to the obstruction of the frame. With the sticky function active, as long as she was careful not to be attacked, she didn't fear being swarmed by the soul-corpses.

Soul-corpses carried a "soul-corpse toxin." Back at Wheatfield Village, Yun Qing's collection skill level had been too low to harvest this toxin from them. However, in this dungeon, the loot from the soul-corpses was mostly silver, with no sign of their toxin. Yun Qing had not forgotten her goal of finding a cure for the soul-corpse toxin, nor had she forgotten Ye Tao, who was blinded, back in Ye Family Village.

During a fight, one soul-corpse spat a puddle of blue saliva onto the ground. Yun Qing tried to collect it, but found it impossible. She had hoped to dig up some soil to help her "Universal Antidote" formula research a cure, but unfortunately, this was a dungeon; one could not simply dig up the earth whenever one pleased. It seemed the soul-corpse toxin would have to be found slowly.

She had obtained the Universal Antidote formula some time ago. During her time with the merchant caravan, the guards were formidable, and she, as the cook, had never encountered danger on the road. She had only seen beast carcasses, never soul-corpses, so she had no opportunity to harvest the toxin.

Wei Yi: "I have the Fireball spell; I'm the one who burns them."

The soul-corpse toxin would be obtained sooner or later.

***

In pursuit of more experience and faster leveling, Yun Qing ignored the rapid durability consumption of the flyswatter and killed the soul-corpses in the dungeon as quickly as possible.

...

Fang Rui and Wei Yi went in and out several times, but they found neither the mother nest nor any other people. Fang Rui said somewhat dejectedly, "The hallucinogenic power of the mist here is too strong. Even the innate martial artists from Rizhao Town who entered last night didn't come out. They must have searched many times and failed to find anything."

Wei Yi could guess what Fang Rui was implying, but he didn't want to give up. Growing more determined with every setback, he said, "Brother Fang, I don't believe it. It's just a tiny mosquito; what can it do to me? I'm going to search again. There are many paths inside I haven't explored yet. Even if I have to turn the mosquito nest upside down, I'm going to see what kind of mother mosquito is causing all this trouble."

Some people consider many things objectively when acting, while others rely entirely on their intuition. The rational Fang Rui found himself unable to argue with the intuition-driven Wei Yi, so he had no choice but to accompany his companion at the risk of his own life.

The two entered the underground once more. To their surprise, the poisonous mist was not as dense as it had been on previous occasions, and the range of their spiritual perception had increased. What they didn't know was that this was because Yun Qing had dispersed the soul of Qin Yan from the mother insect.

Wei Yi possessed a natural, sharp intuition. He sensed a powerful presence in the depths of the nest and headed straight toward it. The minor monsters along the way could no longer hinder the increasingly bold Wei Yi. Together, they soon reached the location of the mother nest.

"Brother Fang, there's a big one inside!"
"Brother Wei, shouldn't we wait for the leader and the people from Rizhao Town?"
"It's just a small mosquito, not even seventh-rank. No need."

Fang Rui smiled bitterly and shook his head. Had their family been away from the world for too long? Why did someone at the peak of the third rank not hold a half-step seventh-rank exotic beast in any regard?

Without waiting for Fang Rui to reply, Wei Yi used an evasion technique and entered the territory of the mother nest. Fang Rui had no choice but to follow closely.

Once inside, Wei Yi didn't waste words. With his broadsword in hand and fire spiritual energy blazing upon it, he had been searching for this wretched mosquito all night. His anger was at its peak, and he struck toward the mother insect with a blade condensed with explosive fire energy.

The mother insect waved its two front legs to block the blow. Whether it was because Wei Yi's energy was too hot or the insect feared fire, it forcefully pushed away the sword the moment they made contact. The mother insect's strength was immense, sending Wei Yi, who had leaped into the air to strike, flying. Wei Yi performed a backflip and landed steadily on the wall. He gripped his sword tighter and laughed heartily, "Hahaha! I didn't expect a little bug like you to have some strength. Now, let me show you the power of this master!"

Before he had even finished speaking, he unleashed the "Law of Heaven and Earth." His stature and his sword grew several times larger out of thin air. As he leaped, he struck at the mother insect's body like Mount Tai descending.

The mother insect instinctively felt the power of that gathering energy and dared not be careless. Its four hind legs gathered together to receive Wei Yi's strike. It gripped the blade with the hooks on its legs while simultaneously stabbing its two front legs toward Wei Yi's chest like blades.

Wei Yi dispelled the "Law of Heaven and Earth," returning his body and sword to their original size. The blade that had been gripped suddenly shrank, and the mother insect's grasp met empty air. Seizing the opportunity, Wei Yi performed a "Thousand Catty Drop," avoiding the two front legs while landing on top of the mother insect.

Struck, the mother insect sprayed out a string of mosquito eggs from its rear. At this moment, Fang Rui also appeared within the mother nest using an evasion technique.

"You really are disgusting!" Wei Yi cursed. A fire spirit talisman appeared in his hand. He jumped away from the mother insect's range and threw it at the piles of mosquito eggs in the water.

General fire could not burn mosquito eggs in water, but Wei Yi was using a spirit talisman meant for Foundation Establishment stage cultivators. Burning these unranked eggs was a simple matter, even in water.

Seeing its eggs destroyed, the mother insect fell into a frenzy. Its six legs, sharp as top-tier spirit weapons, attacked Wei Yi in unison. Although Wei Yi was reckless and large-bodied, he was also extremely agile. With his peak Qi Refining strength, he fought the peak sixth-rank exotic beast—which had a damaged soul—without falling into a disadvantage.

Seeing that there were many nutrient-rich substances in the water, Fang Rui conceived a plan. He scattered a type of wood-element spiritual seed into the water. Catalyzed by his spiritual energy, the seeds quickly sprouted. Invisible to the naked eye, the roots easily pierced the outer defenses of the mosquito nutrient solution, absorbing its essence and growing rapidly.

Furthermore, under Fang Rui's deliberate control, some of the roots—finer than spiritual energy itself—took advantage of the mother insect's battle with Wei Yi to enter its body from the water below, slowly draining its strength.

Just as Wei Yi and Fang Rui were engaged in a fierce battle with the sixth-rank mother insect, Leader Jing, the Town Mayor, and the others finally found the group that had been lost in the underground poisonous mosquito nest. To their heartbreak, the warriors from the town who had entered the night before had all been wiped out. Of the people who had gone missing that day, all but Yun Qing, Wei Yi, and Fang Rui had been found dead.

Lacking Wei Yi's intuition, they hadn't been able to pinpoint the mother nest, but they had followed the sound of water to the underground river. Seeing the vast swaths of mosquito larvae on the river, Mayor Lu was so angry his whole body trembled. If these scourges were not eradicated, the people of Rizhao Town would never live in peace. They joined forces to kill and clear the massive clusters of larvae from the underground river.