Pa!

A crystal glowing with divine energy rolled across the dark green-colored grass. As of the current stage of the game, we might be the only party crazy enough to use a top-tier magic stone that was worth 87k RMB as bait, especially since we still might not be able to catch the goddamned speeder after this. He was just that fast!

"Here he comes!"

Dark Pupils revealed to me that Dragon Domain Scavenger was finally on the move once more. I tightened my grip around the Chill of the Nine Provinces and said, "Change of plans. I’m going to find an angle and Xuanyuan Slash that bastard to disrupt his rhythm. After that, I want Lian Xin to freeze him with Frozen Domain. Don’t worry about missing. Frozen Domain has a 100% success rate, and the guy’s just a miniboss!"

Lian Xin nodded in acknowledgment. "Got it, big brother!"

……

On the map screen, it looked like Dragon Domain Scavenger was charging toward the Divine Crystal in a straight line. In reality, he was smart enough to change his direction randomly right before he was about to grab the loot. It was how he had managed to best us the previous times.

Whoosh!

I used 10 Divine Energy Points to activate Heavenly River Transformation. Then, I ran across the trees in search of a new angle. Right when Dragon Domain Scavenger was about to make contact with the Divine Crystal, I immediately fired a giant golden sword at him. It was of course the Xuanyuan Slash!

BOOM!

A small half of the forest was shredded to pieces just like that. The SSS Rank Ancient Divine Skill was just that powerful.

"Urgh…"

I knew I got him the second I heard his painful groan.

Lian Xin flashed right into the center of the flying rocks and smacked Dragon Domain Scavenger right on the head with her scepter. At the same time, she cast Frozen Domain and froze him in ice.

I raced toward the miniboss and cast Cold of the Nine Provinces just in case the bastard broke out earlier than expected. Then, I leaped into the air, brought down my sword with both hands, and nailed his thigh onto a giant rock on the ground.

"AHHH…"

Dragon Domain Scavenger let out a bloodcurdling scream and struggled, but there was nothing he could do to free himself or harm us. After Lin Yixin pulled away his black scarf to reveal the face of a pervert, he bared his teeth at us and uttered furiously, "What the hell do you want, you despicable humans?"

I plucked the Divine Crystal out of his hands, tossed it into my bag and sneered at him, "Why aren’t you running? You love to run, don’t you? Ahh?"

Dragon Domain Scavenger hugged his pierced thigh and let out another ear-piercing scream. "I’ll stop, I’ll stop running, so please spare my life, hero!"

In response, I punched my sword’s pommel with my right fist and caused the sword to sink a couple more inches into the ground. Satisfied, I sat down on the rock on the opposite side of Dragon Domain Scavenger and smiled at him. "To be honest, we were hoping to ask for your help…"

He said with an ashen expression, "You call THIS ‘asking’? For help?!"

Crack!

Another rock shattered. This time, it was Lin Yixin stabbing her Dragonfrost into the rock right next to Dragon Scavenger. It was 1 cm away from piercing his thigh. She said with a bright smile on her face, "Of course. Also, watch your tone, you piece of shit. Take a mile, and just see what I’ll do to you."

Dragon Domain Scavenger shivered from head to toe. "Devils, you’re all devils with beautiful exteriors but blackened hearts on the inside! Ah, how did I fall into this state?"

I curled my lips. "Relax, we just want to ask you a couple of questions. We’ll let you go if you answer honestly."

He gulped. "You want me to ask me some questions?"

"Yes."

"Well, shoot."

"What do you know about the treasure of Dragon Domain, the Dragonslaying Sword?"

"The Dragonslaying Sword?" he repeated, a bit confused. "I’ve been roaming this place for seventy thousand years, and I can tell you that I’ve never heard of ‘Dragonslaying Sword’ before. That being said, I know of a cyan sword outside the Dragon God Cave. Maybe that’s the Dragonslaying Sword you’re searching for?"

"A cyan sword?" I furrowed my brow.

"Yes. It is a demonic sword with incredible demonic power. It is said that anyone who wields the sword will gain royal power, but I think it’s a sword that only a devil can use. As far as I’m aware, everyone who has approached the sword has died for one reason or another. That is why I’ve never even gotten close to the sword."

"Where is it right now?" I asked.

A cunning glint appeared in Dragon Domain Scavenger’s eyes. "If you wish to know the location of the sword, then you must pay the necessary price. I won’t tell you anything otherwise."

He Yi grew a bit angry. "Pooh! You think you’re in a position to negotiate with us? Do you want to die?"

I raised a placating hand. "Calm down, Eve. Just leave it to me."

I moved my face closer to Dragon Domain Scavenger’s before asking, "What do you want?"

He replied, "For starters, I want a payment of ten thousand gold. I may have become a mere scavenger in Dragon Domain, but in my prime, I was a Sword Hero equivalent in my thief guild. My pride as an expert will not allow me to trade you information for cheap. I would rather die."

I nodded. "Makes sense. Very well, I’ll pay you ten thousand gold. Here!"

A money bag appeared in my hand, and I stuffed it into his tunic myself. However, he wasn’t satisfied yet. He glanced at He Yi and Lin Yixin next before licking his lips lustfully. "I have one more request to make."

I shrugged and shot him a generous smile. "Speak. I will satisfy your demand as long as it’ll give us the location of that cyan sword."

He pointed at He Yi and Lin Yixin and said, "I want these two girls to give me a kiss. Only then will I—"

BANG!

I punched Dragon Domain Scavenger in the face so hard that an incisor flew out of his mouth. Not done yet, I grabbed an Earth-grade spear, plunged it through his other leg and snarled at him, "You really are a fucking turd, you know that? Still want that kiss now?"

His face grew even more ashen than before as he screamed, "No! No! Spare me!"

Behind us, the girls shuddered in unison—

Beiming Xue: "I didn’t know big brother could be so brutal…"

Lian Xin giggled. "Dragons get pissed off when you touch their reverse scales. In Lu Chen’s case, it’s super obvious what his reverse scale is…"

Lin Yixin: "..."

He Yi: "..."

While Lin Yixin and He Yi were hiding their smiles, Murong Mingyue rolled her eyes and urged me, "Sigh, can we get the coordinates and stop wasting time with this idiot already?"

"Okay!"

I seized Dragon Domain Scavenger by the collar and threatened, "Speak. Where is the cyan sword? Don’t say I didn’t warn you; I will cut off your head if you dare to trick us!"

He nodded. "It’s… it’s just in front of the Dragon God Cave. Dragon God Cave is about 15 kilometers south from here. You must never enter Dragon God Cave, however. As far as I’m aware, all those who have made the attempt have perished."

"I see…"

I grimaced. "Dragon God Cave is the place where the Dragon God resides, right? The Dragon God Strella?"

"Do… do not utter that name in my presence! It is just a devil now!" Dragon Domain Scavenger stuttered while shivering uncontrollably. It was obvious how terrified he was of Strella.

To be honest, I felt like shivering myself. Strella was one of Heavenblessed’s Nine Sovereigns of the Purgatory, and there was little to no chance a boss that powerful could be beaten by mere players. However, while there was risk, the other side of the same coin had immense profit, and such a boss could only yield so much profit that my brain itched just thinking about it. Still, our main quest was to reclaim the Dragonslaying Sword, not face Strella itself. Unless absolutely necessary, we should strive to avoid it at all costs.

……

I searched through my bag for a bit before fishing out a tamer-exclusive, Heaven-grade iron whip called Spirit Snake Dance. I used it to tie up Dragon Domain Scavenger’s hands before making him lead us toward our destination. He couldn’t move nearly as fast as before after we messed up both of his legs, and that was perfectly okay with us.

Lin Yixin and I moved at the forefront and stayed close to Dragon Domain Scavenger. Considering how cunning the miniboss was, there was every chance he would escape if we gave him the opportunity. On the way, we took out every mob we ran into to replenish our Divine Energy Points. There was a high chance that a guardian boss would be protecting the cyan sword, and if Mountain Guardian was any indication, all the proper bosses in Dragon Domain were monstrous. Therefore, it was necessary to accumulate as many Divine Energy Points as possible.

Almost two hours later, we passed through the dense forest and arrived at the heart of the draconic valley. I could even sense the power of multiple Domains emanating from the area. I counted at least five powerful Domain wielders ahead of us, so our path to the Dragonslaying Sword could only be a thorny one.

Rustle rustle...

Dragon Domain Scavenger suddenly came to a stop and refused to take even a step further. He pointed to the front and said, "The cyan sword is just a kilometer away from here. However, the death aura of that place may be strong enough to trigger the undead toxin inside my body once more. I would rather die than transform into a mindless undead, so forgive me if I say that this is as far as I go."

I had noticed the aura myself, so I nodded and loosened his bindings. "Thank you, Dragon Domain Scavenger. You are free to go now!"

"Thank you, adventurers of the later generation!"

The second the miniboss regained his freedom, he immediately dashed into the forest as fast as before. Heavens, has he healed from the wounds we inflicted upon him already? That’s insane!

……

I activated Fusion Armor and stepped into the cyan fog. The death aura ahead of us was so thick that even I, a former undead, found it difficult to endure. Lin Yixin felt even worse than I did because she was a light wanderer. Blade circulating with holy energy, she said, "The aura here is absolutely disgusting…"

He Yi trotted up to us and said, "Yeah. Be careful, everyone. Something’s clearly not right about this place."

Suddenly, I spotted wisps of cyan energy and unfamiliar runes rising to the air amid the thick fog. Beiming Xue pointed and said, "Look, there’s a cyan sword over there! Is that the Dragonslaying Sword?"

A dazzling sword surrounded by runes was floating in the air, and the amount of energy it carried could only be described as vast. I nodded without hesitation. "It has to be the Dragonslaying Sword! I can feel the power coursing through it!"

"Who’s that guy below the sword though?"

"Hmm…"

……

Directly below the floating sword was a mountain of corpses at least ten meters tall. There were humans, succubi, elves, beastmen, dwarves and even undead. Their bodies had rotted away after many years, and their rusted armors looked like they would fall apart at the slightest touch. Kneeling at the top of the corpse hill was a human with three swords in his torso. He was gripping a banner with countless arrow-riddled holes on the flag.

"Ugh…"

The human abruptly opened his eyes after letting out a strain sigh. From this distance we couldn’t know whether he was alive, or an undead.