With the experience from last time, Hao Yun's group prepared themselves by grabbing onto the ropes as soon as they stepped onto the trail. This way, they could swiftly use the ropes to swing away from the cliff in case of a landslide, avoiding this extremely dangerous geological disaster. As expected, without any surprises, after everyone climbed up the steep mountainside along the steps, the landslide occurred once again.
Without saying a word, Hao Yun's group swiftly grabbed onto the ropes as soon as they heard the rumbling from above. They dodged the falling rocks using the ropes, leaping and climbing up the mountain while avoiding the shower of debris. To save time, they didn't linger on the patch of land that collapsed entirely on the way up. Instead, they crossed that area quickly, climbing to a higher point where a rock jutted out from the cliff, forming a small platform.
The plot on the rescuer's side unfolded similarly to before—three tigers followed Hao Yun's group's example of using ropes to escape. Unfortunately, Doctor Tiger fell off the cliff, but White Tiger and Bad Temper successfully used the ropes to escape as well. Then, after some friction caused by Bad Temper, the two groups temporarily reconciled and ventured back into the mysterious grove shimmering with a faint blue-green light.
White Tiger and Bad Temper, with their consciousness fully reset, were equally mesmerized by the fantastical scenery before them. Hao Yun's group, having seen this sparkling forest for the second time, marveled at its enchantment but remained vigilant. They knew they would soon face an attack from Little Tiger. Therefore, upon entering the forest, they quickly assessed the surroundings and planned their route to evade the explosions.
To avoid arousing suspicion from Little Tiger, Hao Yun's group pretended to be drawn in by the blue-green glow of the grove, gradually moving deeper into the trap. They feigned surprise at the sight before them, even stooping down to pretend to be fascinated by the shimmering grass. However, they were keenly aware of Little Tiger lurking among the trees, rapidly disappearing from view as everyone was distracted by the spectacle.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" A series of explosions erupted overhead.
"Watch out!" Dao Lao immediately shouted a warning as the explosions echoed through the air. Subsequently, Hao Yun's group, still in their crouched positions, swiftly darted sideways, rolling multiple times before escaping the range of the falling debris caused by the explosions.
Although Hao Yun's group successfully avoided the sudden explosions, they were surprised to see White Tiger and Bad Temper also swiftly dodge alongside them. They realized that the two tigers had been maintaining a high level of vigilance towards them all along, ready to retaliate if they made any hostile moves. It was this constant vigilance that enabled White Tiger and Bad Temper to react promptly when Hao Yun's group acted unexpectedly.
"Is everyone okay?!" Dao Lao shouted loudly after the ordeal. At the same time, he quickly checked the monitoring data of the mold spirit energy tracking system to ensure that he hadn't been contaminated by the toxic mushroom debris.
"We're fine. The poisonous mushrooms didn't touch us!" Hao Yun replied to Dao Lao first, then cautiously peeked out from behind a tree trunk to check on White Tiger and Bad Temper, who were hiding behind another tree not far away. Judging from White Tiger's shaking head, their condition seemed to be alright as well.
"Phew! Phew! You, you give back my mom and dad. You, you all will die!" At that moment, Little Tiger's hoarse voice, accompanied by heavy breathing, suddenly came from a direction not far from where everyone stood.
Everyone peeked out from their hiding spots to see Little Tiger standing fearlessly amidst the grove, bathed in the blue-green light. Despite his heavy breathing and saliva dripping from his mouth, he wore a grotesque grin on his face, seemingly in extreme pain.
What chilled everyone's hearts was that Little Tiger's body was emitting a constant blue-green glow, complementing the radiant light of the grove. However, his pupils had shrunk to tiny dots, and the whites of his eyes had turned blood-red. Combined with his gradually contorting face and raised fur, it was evident that his body was undergoing a terrifying transformation.
"Huff! Huff! You actually managed to escape the trap just now? That's quite surprising! Humph! But it doesn't matter; in the end, you will all die here, just like the others, as sacrifices for my deceased parents!" Little Tiger's voice trembled as he spoke. Sweating profusely, he crouched on all fours, digging his sharp claws deep into the soil.
"Everyone, this is the true form of Little Tiger. In fact, he is the ingredient we need to refine the Yin Dan," White Tiger, panting heavily, staggered over to Hao Yun's group, explaining with Bad Temper by his side.
"Little Tiger is the ingredient for refining the Yin Dan? What's going on?" Although Hao Yun's group had learned about Little Tiger's situation before the previous failed mission, Dream Jia still pretended to be completely unaware, hoping to extract more information from White Tiger.
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CHAPTER 176: BEASTIFIED LITTLE TIGER
"I'm not entirely sure about the specific details. All I know is that as the chosen one, Little Tiger can only fully unleash the enormous potential hidden within him after entering the Glowing Forest. It's only under these circumstances that the special substance secreted from his body possesses powerful medicinal properties. And your task as the second-class chosen ones is to refine Little Tiger into Yin Dan. Because only Yin Dan refined by the second-class chosen ones can receive the blessings from the heavens, possess the ability to cure the ailments within Village Chief, and rejuvenate him to continue benefiting the villagers of Yinmu Village." White Tiger replied, almost stumbling after he finished speaking.
"Are you two alright?" Seeing White Tiger stumbling and Bad Temper's heavy breathing, Hao Yun frowned and asked.
"We're okay for now." White Tiger shook his head in response, then turned around to show Hao Yun his back and pointed to Bad Temper's arm and the back of his neck. It was then that Hao Yun's group realized that although the two tigers managed to dodge the explosion in time, they were a beat slower in reacting after Hao Yun's group, resulting in them getting some toxic mushroom debris on them while avoiding the blast. And now, the toxins were starting to take effect on them, causing their sudden discomfort.
Seeing that White Tiger and Bad Temper were not in mortal danger despite being infected with the toxin, Dream Jia asked, "So, in order to refine Yin Dan, you have to kill him? Isn't there any other way?"
White Tiger shook his head stiffly. "No, there isn't. Only by using a sufficient amount of the medicinal ingredients can a Yin Dan with adequate efficacy be refined. Although we're not murderers, for the safety of the entire Yinmu Village, we have to bear the responsibility of slaughtering our kinsmen! Besides, sacrificing the self for the greater good, isn't that also worthy of praise—"
"Nonsense! You not only want to kill me but also intend to throw me into the fire alive, turning me into a pill! You're willing to sacrifice me and my parents' lives to secure a happy life for yourselves! This, this is unfair!" Little Tiger angrily interjected.
"Little Tiger! Your parents' death was an accident! We never intended to harm them! We only want you! And after everything is done, your parents will land on the Island of Bliss and receive the blessings of the gods, becoming their servants—” White Tiger tried to explain, but Little Tiger cut him off, swinging his hand like a blade to cut down a nearby large tree, then hurling the half-trunk towards White Tiger.
"Bang!"
The half-trunk snapped the tree behind White Tiger in half, deeply embedding itself into the soil behind the tree. White Tiger sucked in a breath of cold air. If Hao Yun hadn't quickly pulled him away before the broken trunk flew towards him, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
"That's enough! Stop deceiving me! My father accidentally overheard the conversation between my two uncles! They not only knew about your plan to lure me here but also discovered your conspiracy to use poisoned mushrooms to paralyze me in my beastified state and burn me alive through the hands of my parents to refine Yin Dan. They also found out that the so-called reward tickets provided by Village Chief were fake, and after everything is done, they plan to kill my parents first. Then, you disguise yourselves as our family and take a boat trip to the depths of Lake Bliss, creating the illusion of us being sent to the Island of Bliss to receive the blessings of the gods!"
"In fact, there are no gods on the Island of Bliss! It's all an illusion! All the villagers who were sent to find medicinal ingredients before were eventually killed by you and buried in the Glowing Mountain Forest!" At this moment, Little Tiger, now fully beastified, roared furiously to the sky. His roar was so loud that it pierced through the towering trees and reverberated across the entire Glowing Mountain Forest.
Seeing Little Tiger's angry expression and the embarrassed looks on White Tiger and Bad Temper's faces as their deceit was exposed, Hao Yun's group realized how difficult their current situation was. It was evident that White Tiger and Bad Temper accompanied them here to supervise and force them to refine Little Tiger into Yin Dan, and then kill them to silence them.
From Little Tiger's words, Hao Yun's group also learned that not only were the so-called reward tickets provided by Village Chief fake, but also the information about the Island of Bliss was likely all lies fabricated by Village Chief and others. This made Hao Yun's group, who had originally planned to use the tickets to go to the Island of Bliss and see if they could leave this fabricated world, once again lost in confusion due to their extinguished hopes.
If the Island of Bliss wasn't the passage to escape from here, then how could they leave? Could it be that their current task wasn't truly the one that could help them depart but just a part of it? Then what was the ultimate task they needed to complete? And where was that task? Or perhaps, was the Countess deceiving them from the start, aiming to trap them forever in this so-called game show? Hao Yun's trio couldn't help but furrow their brows, pondering swiftly.
However, regardless of whether Little Tiger's words were true or not, and regardless of whether completing this task would aid in their escape, the current situation didn't allow Hao Yun's group to dwell on it too much. Because, after Little Tiger's howl to the sky, he stared at them like prey, his blood-red eyes filled with murderous intent, causing Hao Yun's trio to quickly regain their focus and prepare for battle at any moment.
"Hmph! It's a pity, but there's no easy way out! You may wish for my demise, but the heavens refuse to see me perish! I'll lure all those who seek to harm me here and eliminate them, until no one dares to even think about harming me! All secrets will be buried here, and no one will ever know the secrets within me again!" Little Tiger spat out a purplish vine full of thorns as he cruelly smiled, his blood-filled jaws brimming with sharp teeth.
The atmosphere was tense, as the rampaging Little Tiger could launch an attack against Hao Yun's group at any moment. Thus, Hao Yun's trio tightened their nerves, not daring to slack off even for a moment. However, at this critical juncture, White Tiger spoke with a tone filled with regret, "Alas! What a pity! If Little Tiger hadn't discovered our plan beforehand, now would have been the perfect opportunity to refine him!"