C11 To Lure the Tiger away from the Mountain
A new day brings new hope.
Xiao Hao glanced at his information page, noting his Stamina had dwindled to 45. There was still a bit of time to grind for monsters. The bullet screen had alerted him that the Deep Sea Phantom's levels were increasing by tens, marking significant milestones. For the Phantom, there was little difference between a level 1 monster and a level 10; both could be dispatched with a single basic attack. Even the Peacock Mantis Shrimp could only withstand a few such hits. A special move would still take it out in one go.
That's why Xiao Hao prioritized leveling up the sea horse. He had bound himself to the Peacock Mantis Shrimp for its "tank" role, so if he were discovered, the shrimp could buy him some extra time with its blocks. Xiao Hao hadn't anticipated the Peacock Mantis Shrimp possessing the unexpected boon of an undying body. This allowed him to use Shadow Vanishing for extended periods, significantly boosting his chances of survival.
Yet, no matter how detailed the battle plan, Xiao Hao felt uncertain when facing the Deep Sea Phantom. The level gap was vast; anything over ten levels was considered a "major boundary." It was best to avoid engaging the Phantom if possible.
The bullet screen had also mentioned a remaining mini-boss named "Snail Darter." But since Xiao Hao needed to gather soul tonic herb that afternoon, he had no intention of confronting it in the morning. The disparity between minor monsters and a mini-boss was stark; the former were typically levels 1 or 2, with the weakest at level 0, not even dropping a Spirit Bead.
From a few minor monsters, Xiao Hao had collected just 50 Spirit Beads, precisely the amount needed to level up the mantis shrimp by five. With the shrimp leveled, he stopped his monster hunt and returned to his room to recalibrate.
Once his mind was at peace, Xiao Hao opened his door and set out. He followed the bullet screen's directions, riding the Peacock Mantis Shrimp. After covering nearly a kilometer, the bullet screen's prompts grew more frequent. Just three to four hundred meters more, and he would reach the area where the Phantoms were known to wander.
I hope the host doesn't take a wrong turn.
The host has got this. He seems to possess a sense of perception beyond that of ordinary people.
Xiao Hao kept moving forward until a distant shriek from the Deep Sea Phantom pierced the silence.
He had been spotted.
Xiao Hao wasn't taken aback. He swiftly stowed the Peacock Mantis Shrimp and dashed toward the Shellfish House using Shadow Vanishing.
He used the landscape as cover and vanished from sight in no time, but the Deep Sea Phantom relentlessly pursued him.
The Phantom grew disoriented after a while, its skull oscillating as it sought Xiao Hao's trail. The flesh clinging to its face undulated with the movement, drifting through the water.
Soon, a light a few hundred meters away caught its attention.
Fueled by rage, the Phantom pressed on, refusing to believe that Xiao Hao could make it back to the Shellfish House over such a distance.
The memory of his previous narrow escape had stoked a fiery rage in the Phantom's chest.
It had never been mocked like this before!
As the chase continued, confusion set in.
How could this human sustain his skill for so long?
Before long, the lights ahead flickered out once more.
The Phantom, realizing Xiao Hao was likely heading back to the Shellfish House, decided to cut him off and block his return path.
It was eager to give this human a taste of intellectual defeat!
The Phantom soon approached the room, which remained dark.
Knowing his return to the Shellfish House was impossible, the Phantom's excitement caused its rows of teeth to part, revealing flesh tethered to the molars that tore as its mouth opened.
He hadn't come back yet!
Imagining the carnage to come, the Phantom readied itself to rip open his chest and devour his still-beating heart.
With each thought, its excitement grew, the gap between its teeth widening. The flesh on its cheeks stretched taut as its jawbone strained downward. The Phantom's gaping maw now grotesquely distorted, large enough to fit a football.
Before long, the Deep Sea Phantom noticed a shadow inching toward it!
With a shriek of excitement, the Phantom gave chase, its ten Sickle Fingers plunging into the earth for leverage, propelling it forward in pursuit of the shadow.
The shadow, sensing the oncoming surge, darted into an area riddled with complexity—dense aquatic vegetation and an irregular terrain.
Finding a shadow in such a place was no simple task.
The Phantom's initial thrill subsided, giving way to a more calculated approach. It ceased its futile rage against the landscape and returned to the vicinity of the Shellfish House to resume its vigil for Xiao Hao.
The Sickle Fingers' palms were sticky, marred with mottled decay. The Phantom's gaunt chest heaved subtly, a clear sign of growing impatience.
The shadow, hardly expecting the Phantom to be patient, began to creep closer once again.
In a sudden twist, the Phantom's head spun 180 degrees to peer behind. Its eyes locked onto the shadow as its neck contorted like a wrung-out towel, veins bulging and throat muscles taut to the point of snapping.
The Phantom's body followed its head's lead, the sinister Sickle Fingers slicing through the air as it lunged forward!
Startled, the shadow retreated back into the maze of terrain.
After an hour of this cat-and-mouse game, the Phantom's patience had completely eroded.
Maybe the human had already slipped away to gather soul tonic herbs!
The Phantom made a beeline for its lair, but after covering several hundred meters, light emanated from the Shellfish House it had just left.
If he hadn't left, then even if he was hiding inside, he wouldn't survive the day!
This time, the Phantom was determined to stand watch at the door, to witness his demise firsthand.
But as the Phantom returned and hovered before the Shellfish House window, it spotted a black and gold Shadow Hippocampus floating inside. Its pointed snout was depressingly perched on the light switch of the Shellfish House.
Overcome with fury, the Phantom's whole frame quivered.
It had been duped yet again!
I had been thoroughly played for a fool!
With an angry shriek, the spirit hurried back, praying that the human hadn't found the soul tonic herb!
...
Elsewhere, Xiao Hao plucked the last soul tonic herb, its faint blue glow fading as he released a deep breath.
Surveying the mountain strewn with corpses, Xiao Hao couldn't help but feel a pang of melancholy.
Had it not been for the prompts on the bullet screen, he might have been searching these grisly peaks for the soul tonic herb indefinitely.
Holding the herb in his hand, he hadn't anticipated its grim origin.
Naturally, the soul tonic herb required a multitude of souls to feed on to flourish.
Spirit type monsters had more ways to enhance their power than merely collecting Spirit Beads.
The bullet screen had gone off-topic again, but Xiao Hao had already put the pieces together.
If the soul tonic herb could bolster the strength of spirit type monsters, then the wild monster corpses littering the landscape were likely the handiwork of the Deep Sea Phantom.
Xiao Hao recalled that level 0 wild monsters didn't drop Spirit Beads.
Yet spirits had other means to exploit these lowly creatures.
Stowing the soul tonic herb in his spatial ring, a surge of alarm from the Shadow Hippocampus confirmed his ruse had been uncovered.
No matter, he had already harvested all the soul tonic herb he needed.
The journey from the Shellfish House had taken roughly ninety seconds at the Deep Sea Phantom's pace.
Xiao Hao couldn't afford to linger; he vanished into the shadows, taking an alternate route back.
His Immortal Body might extend the duration and frequency of his skill usage, but it couldn't sustain them indefinitely.
Thankfully, having used the soul tonic herb, his stamina had fully replenished to 100.
As he skirted the outskirts of the corpse mountain, Xiao Hao narrowly missed crossing paths with the spirit.
From a distance, he heard its scream of rage—a sound laden with brutality and insanity. Xiao Hao sympathized.
Where he tread, life withered.
A small patch of soul tonic herb, nurtured by a mountain of corpses, had been ravaged by his hand.
The soul tonic herb, so laboriously cultivated, had been decimated in one fell swoop. How could the spirit not seethe with fury?
Xiao Hao didn't stop at the essentials; he swept up everything in sight, useful or not...
After deploying his skill non-stop for two minutes, Xiao Hao had to revert to his human form to catch his breath.
Mounting the Peacock Mantis Shrimp, he hastened his return.
He couldn't be certain if the Deep Sea Phantom would be so incensed as to storm back to the Shellfish House.
"Ah!"
A female ghost's shriek echoed from behind, sending shivers down Xiao Hao's spine.
The Phantom was on his tail!
Xiao Hao had scoped out an ideal hiding spot, yet no matter where he tried to conceal himself, the Phantom adeptly shifted course, relentlessly pursuing him.
What was happening?
How had it located him?
Alarm bells rang in Xiao Hao's mind. He summoned the mantis shrimp once more, urging it to make a swift getaway.
He quickly calculated the distances: about four hundred meters to the Shellfish House and an equal distance to the Phantom.
The Phantom would close in on his location in roughly thirty seconds, but it would take a full minute to reach the Shellfish House.
This meant the Phantom's speed exceeded 13.3m/s, while his own couldn't dip below 6.6m/s.
The numbers raced through his mind. The mantis shrimp wasn't built for speed, but the Shadow Hippocampus's Black Aurora Shadow certainly surpassed 6.6m/s. Still, that was the sea horse's speed, not necessarily his own!
Xiao Hao's Shadow Vanishing was somewhat quicker than the mantis shrimp, so he decided to recall it and proceed on foot. He could sustain the Shadow Vanishing for a good few dozen seconds.
Regrettably, endurance didn't equate to speed.
Warnings flashed continuously, signaling the Phantom's approach, while the Shellfish House remained agonizingly out of reach.
This was it!
At this rate, Xiao Hao stood no chance of outrunning the Phantom!
Xiao Hao forced himself to stay cool-headed. The Shadow Vanishing was the same skill, after all; it made no sense for the sea horse to outclass him by such a margin.
If it was a matter of physical prowess, Xiao Hao now possessed the Immortal Body—an advantage the sea horse lacked.
What's the difference, exactly?
The Aurora Black Shadow...
The Aurora...
Shadow Ribbon...
Drifting...
That's it!
Drifting!
Xiao Hao's Shadow Vanishing clung to the ground, but the Shadow Hippocampuses could float and glide forward effortlessly!
Xiao Hao attempted to make himself float, yet he struggled to gain control.
As he floated, Xiao Hao experienced a sensation of weightlessness, finding it challenging to keep his balance.
There was no time for him to gradually master balancing.
Xiao Hao's predicament was akin to riding a bike for the first time—with the added pressure of needing to speed race!
The inherent risks were all too clear!
A dazzling black shadow zipped ahead at breakneck speed, with the Deep Sea Phantom trailing behind, screeching in frustration.
It realized the black shadow had picked up pace!
It wasn't that the phantom couldn't match the speed; rather, the shadow could reach the Shellfish House before it could catch up!
Upon closer inspection, this dazzling black shadow seemed erratic, twitching back and forth as if seized by convulsions.
The door to the Shellfish House creaked open, courtesy of the sea horse within.
The black shadow surged through the water barrier and slammed on the brakes!
Still, it crashed into the coral wall, blood trickling down Xiao Hao's forehead as he winced in agony.
Through the thin veil of water, Xiao Hao had a clear view of the seething phantom.
Its body was a network of bulging purple veins, and its clenched yellow teeth, visible all the way to the back molars, gnashed in fury as it emitted a continuous, deep growl—its rage was palpable.
The door stood wide open, yet it hesitated to cross the threshold.
True to the game's hint of a "safe zone," the door's openness was no invitation to the wild monster.
Enraged, the phantom leaned forward, daring to try and breach the Shellfish House!
Xiao Hao was petrified. If the wild monster could actually enter the Shellfish House, it wouldn't have settled for just grabbing his pajamas before!
As the phantom's upper body forced its way through the water barrier, the lighting inside the Shellfish House intensified dramatically!
The phantom's gnarled, branch-like arms burst into flames, its ten Sickle Fingers glowing red-hot as if about to liquefy, and the tattered cloth draped over its form caught fire from the burning limbs.
The phantom let out a heart-wrenching shriek and swiftly withdrew into the depths, its form hissing and bubbling like a red-hot iron plunged into water.
After a short while, soothed by the icy embrace of the sea, the phantom's agony eased. It cast a wary glance at the Shellfish House, not daring to encroach any further.
Mutual animosity was palpable between them. Xiao Hao watched with a cold, mocking smile as the spirit slunk away in defeat.
A deep-seated feud had been established.
Neither party would rest until the other was vanquished.
Wild monsters varied in intellect; some lacked it entirely, while others, like the phantom, possessed a cunning mind.
From the outset, it had clung to him with the tenacity of a rabid dog.
Xiao Hao was no saint, and his patience had limits. The soul tonic herb was merely a down payment.
A day would come when he would exact a fatal toll from the phantom.
