Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“I see…” said Gao Peng thoughtfully. He still found it hard to believe that there was a way for any monster to purify and awaken its bloodline. It was simply incredible. He just had to see it for himself…
If Da Zi found out about this, it would surely want a piece of it, as well! That greedy little rascal… Gao Peng couldn’t help but smile at the thought of Da Zi at that moment.
He had no idea where Da Zi was right then. He only knew that it was still alive somewhere, judging from the fact that their Blood Contract was still intact. It might have been a slacker and a glutton at times, but Gao Peng had to admit that it had its cute side as well.
Back to the subject at hand, Gao Peng had never heard of such an incredible material. He had never even seen any mention of it in a monster’s evolutionary route. It must have been some sort of evolutionary shortcut that defied all conventions in the realm of monster evolution.
Gao Peng had never believed that this ability of his was without fault. He hadn’t thought that it would lay out a monster’s entire evolutionary route and all the possibilities it could unlock before him.
Every monster had a life of its own, possessing a vast range of possibilities and potential. For instance, an aquatic dragon would be able to evolve once it received an actual dragon’s dragon orb and anointment. This would constitute an evolutionary shortcut. However, such a method couldn’t be easily replicated. In fact, it was extremely reliant on one’s chances of meeting an actual dragon.
After conducting countless experiments, Gao Peng came to the conclusion that no human or monster was born blessed with luck. Could this material that Desolion was talking about be something that couldn’t be replicated?
Gao Peng began to feel a thrill of excitement. “These materials you speak of, can they be found in every maze?”
“No, they can only be found with absolute certainty in one of these rare labyrinths. Ordinary stone labyrinths also have a certain chance of spawning them,” replied the Desolate Frost Lion.
“Are you sure? Have you eaten one?” asked Gao Peng.
The Desolate Frost Lion nodded. “Yeah. Once, back in the labyrinth you found me in. It was only then that I found these materials could be found in ordinary labyrinths, as well.”
So that’s why its monster grade is so high. A thought suddenly dawned on Gao Peng. “What’s the average tier of the monsters living in one of these special labyrinths?”
“At least Overlord-tier,” the Desolate Frost Lion said hesitantly. It didn’t sound sure. “However, the tier of those living in ordinary labyrinths may vary. The lowest among them may be King-tier, while the most powerful among them would probably be Emperor-tier.”
Gao Peng frowned. Looks like I had best steer clear of these special labyrinths for now. Let’s start with the ordinary labyrinths first.
After making his mind up, Gao Peng turned in for the night, but not before ordering his familiars to take turns keeping watch.
The next day, he set off alongside his familiars. The nearest labyrinth lay approximately 600 miles away from them, in the southeast. Standing on top of a hill, it was built with brown stone, crude and primitive-looking.
As he had no idea what kind of monsters awaited him in the labyrinth, Gao Peng decided to first capture a monster nearby to ask for more information before venturing inside. The monster he captured was a yellow-feathered parrot called a Wolfskin Parrot.
Before it was captured by the White Steel Bladed Beast, the Wolfskin Parrot had its tail feathers up in the air, hiding in a corner of the woods and watching a couple of other monsters engaged in intercourse.
[Monster Name]: Wolfskin Parrot
[Monster Level]: Level 31 (Commander-tier)
[Monster Attribute]: Wood
[Monster Grade]: Excellent
[Monster Ability]: Reinforced Hearing Level 1
[Monster Description]: A critter living in the northern plains of the Black Fog World, it is a cowardly yet quick-witted. It likes to pry on the secrets of other monsters, which usually gives it a huge sense of accomplishment. Dislikes include water.
The yellow-feathered Wolfskin Parrot warily observed its captors, who had now surrounded it. As if knowing that the bipedal creature standing before it was calling the shots, the Wolfskin Parrot began ingratiating Gao Peng by making itself look as pitiful as possible. It waggled its wings about in a strange dance before Gao Peng, as if trying to appease him. It seemed to honestly think that it could buy its freedom from Gao Peng by dancing as ridiculously as possible in front of him.
Clearing his throat, Gao Peng allowed Dumby to connect his soul with that of the parrot. This was a new ability that Dumby had gained after upgrading his Soul Power ability to Level 5. Furthermore, after its ascent to Emperor-tier, Dumby had also awakened another ability—Bone Mastery, which was already at Level 5 when it was first awakened.
Dumby’s Bone Mastery ability served to reinforce its Yin Skeleton of Death ability, allowing it to further increase its own combat power and versatility.
“Tell me, what kind of monsters live in the labyrinth over there?” Gao Peng asked the Wollfskin Parrot.
Stunned, the Wolfskin Parrot squawked, “Pigs. Lots of them.”
After interrogating it for a while, Gao Peng now knew that a species of red-skinned pigs lived in the labyrinth on top of the hill. These creatures could walk upright, cook, and sew clothing like human beings.
The Wolfskin Parrot had seen a couple of these red-skinned pigs walking around outside the labyrinth, preparing some sort of stew in a huge cauldron with seven of the parrot’s sons and a few other monsters in it.
When they finally finished the stew, they threw their leftovers down the hill.
“How did you know all this?”
“I only had a sip of that stew!” Finally, the Wolfskin Parrot was released, free to resume its voyeuristic ways, while Gao Peng led his familiars to the labyrinth’s entrance.
Unlike the Desolate Labyrinth, this one only had one main entrance. Also, the walls of this labyrinth were three feet taller, give or take, than those of the Desolate Labyrinth.
A huge bronze door was fitted in the main entrance. It was riddled with tiny holes, through which Gao Peng could see absolutely nothing. After peeking through the holes of the door a few times, Goldie tried to push it open. It hadn’t expected it to swing open so easily. The bronze door slowly swung open with a creak…
Inside the labyrinth, Gao Peng could see a number of soot-covered cauldrons hidden away in a corner, each as big as an aquarium. Stacks of neatly chopped firewood were arranged in another corner, each of them bound with vines.
Gao Peng could only let Dumby and the White Steel Bladed Beast enter the place with him, as Stripey was just too big.
Two days earlier, the White Steel Bladed Beast had finally reached King-tier by leveling up to Level 51. Its overall power had increased drastically as a result.
Behind the door hung five Jackal Wolfmen corpses. Each of their heads was nailed to the bronze door with a rusty nail, some of which were covered with dried blood. They were hung in such a way that their eyes were perfectly level with the holes on the bronze door.
Gao Peng frowned. Something felt off about these pigmen. They seemed almost civilized. They had their own culture, were capable of manufacturing metal instruments, and even knew how to cook and bleed their quarry out by letting them hang on the wall.
Gao Peng had a strange feeling about this…
Dumby casually waved a hand at the dead corpses nailed to the back of the door. Coming back to life, the five Jackal Wolfmen corpses began pulling the nails out of their heads. Once they had both feet firmly planted on the ground, they began lurching stiffly towards Dumby.
Flesh that had long been dried-out fell off their bodies with each step they took…
