Chapter 170: Intense Bloodlust And Evolving Trait (Part 5)
A strong feeling of unease suddenly washed over Azrael, as if something terrible was about to happen.
The sensation was similar to what he had felt during his Eonrift trial and again in Mira’s office—a feeling that seemed to come directly from the world itself.
A sense of urgency rose within his heart, urging him to quickly locate the hideout of the Transcendent Organization.
’What’s going on?’ Azrael frowned, trying to discern the reason behind this unsettling feeling.
But even after the strange sensation faded away, he could not figure out what was happening.
He turned his gaze toward Elyara, who was still communicating with the animals and some low-level monsters, and drew in a deep breath.
’Let’s hope she discovers the location of their hideout quickly...’
A few minutes passed before the animals and monsters Elyara was speaking to suddenly scattered in all directions.
Elyara then walked over to Luo Bingqing and Azrael and explained, "Let’s head deeper into the forest. As soon as any of them finds a clue, they will inform us."
Through the small ice birds he had sent high into the sky to monitor their surroundings, Luo Bingqing saw that the animals and monsters Elyara had spoken to were now searching for others of their kind, communicating with them.
As the message spread, more and more animals and monsters joined in, dispersing throughout the forest to search for clues.
’It’s really amazing,’ Luo Bingqing thought as he observed the ever-growing network of creatures working together to track the hideout of the Transcendent Organization.
From birds to armadillos and even insects, they scoured the forest tirelessly—searching from the skies to the depths underground.
Through the whispers carried by the wind, Azrael too could sense what was happening.
"Where should we go?" He asked.
Elyara pointed to the northeast. "According to some of the animals, they have occasionally seen people with a strong smell of human blood on them entering deeper into the northeast region of the forest."
"A strong smell of blood?" Luo Bingqing raised an eyebrow.
"Hmm," Elyara nodded. "Animals and monsters are extremely sensitive to the scent of blood. Since these people frequently enter and leave the forest, their smell left a strong impression."
Azrael recalled Joseph’s mention that the Transcendent Organization required large amounts of human blood for some reason. Combined with the reports of such a strong stench, he concluded that the animals were most likely speaking about members of the Transcendent Organization.
"Let’s go then," Azrael said, taking the lead. His steps were noticeably faster than usual.
Both Luo Bingqing and Elyara raised their eyebrows at his sudden haste, silently wondering why he seemed to be in hurry.
Still, since they too wanted to find the hideout as soon as possible, they did not question him and simply followed.
As they pressed deeper into the forest, they occasionally felt the auras of nearby monsters.
But with the aid of Luo Bingqing’s ice birds and the voices Azrael could hear carried by the wind, they easily avoided the beasts that could be evaded without altering their course.
"Hmm?" Luo Bingqing suddenly frowned, his expression sharpening.
"About three kilometers ahead, in the direction we’re moving, there’s a Class Level monster."
Elyara and Azrael’s expressions remained calm upon hearing this. All three of them were confident in handling Class Level monsters with ease, so long as they were not elite specimens close to Level 25.
"A normal Class Level monster?" Elyara asked.
"Yes. It’s a black serpent, around Level 16."
"There is no need for us to change direction then," Azrael replied.
Neither Luo Bingqing nor Elyara objected, and a few minutes later, they spotted the sleeping black serpent Luo Bingqing had mentioned.
The serpent resembled an enormous king cobra, its body nearly a meter thick and stretching close to fifty meters in length. The monster lay coiled around a massive tree, its slumbering form exuding a faint, sickly green smoke that drifted into the air like a poisonous mist.
The most dangerous thing about this creature was its venom, a deadly toxin potent enough to endanger even Epic Level warriors if they were infected.
Azrael looked at the monster and although the earlier sense of urgency had not returned again, he knew he could not afford to delay for long.
As a result, before Luo Bingqing and Elyara could even discuss how to deal with the serpent, Azrael stepped forward, his eyes flashing with green light.
Woosh!
A sharp wind spear materialized beside him, spinning rapidly like a drill.
Now that he had embedded the Nether Wind Substance, the strength of his wind abilities had doubled and even his casual wind attacks were now exceedingly lethal.
The moment Azrael conjured the wind spear, the black serpent—resting nearly one hundred meters away suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of dread that jolted it awake.
"Go."
As soon as the serpent stirred, Azrael spoke calmly, and like a missile, the wind spear shot forward.
The sound of air splitting apart echoed through the surroundings and in just a second, the wind spear had crossed a hundred meters and was rushing straight toward the serpent.
Hissing in alarm, the serpent spewed a volley of venom to intercept the attack.
But the wind spear only dimmed slightly as it clashed with the venom before continuing forward unimpeded.
Seizing the moment, Azrael exerted his control. Just as the serpent opened its mouth wider to release more venom, the spear darted inside, piercing directly down its gullet.
The instant it entered, Azrael’s eyes gleamed again, and the spear exploded—shattering into hundreds of razor-sharp wind blades that rampaged through the serpent’s insides, tearing its body into shredded meat from within.
Hisssss!
The black serpent writhed in agony, its massive body thrashing violently and knocking over several trees.
But the storm of blades inside its body did not relent, and within seconds, its life force was extinguished.
Luo Bingqing and Elyara stared at Azrael strangely, confusion written on their faces.
It was not that they were surprised by the serpent’s death—they could have slain it just as easily themselves.
Rather, it was the way Azrael acted, so impatient and abrupt.
Coupled with his unusually fast pace since entering the forest, they began to wonder if something was wrong.
"Are you alright? You’ve seemed to be in a hurry ever since we entered the forest," Elyara asked with a frown.
"I just don’t like this muddy ground and the damp air of the rainforest," Azrael replied evenly, his expression unchanged. "The faster we finish here, the sooner we can leave."
A look of understanding flickered across Luo Bingqing and Elyara’s faces. Though they personally had no issue with the rainforest’s environment, they knew not everyone shared the same tolerance for such damp, oppressive places.
Without pausing, Azrael strode forward and stored the black serpent’s corpse in his storage ring.
The three of them continued deeper into the forest and the farther they went, the more monsters they encountered.
Since Epic Level beasts dwelled only in the core regions, they did not run into any, and easily dispatched the ordinary Class Level monsters they did encounter.
From time to time, Elyara would commune with the trees, asking whether they had noticed the suspicious individuals the animals had spoken about earlier.
Guided by the trees’ responses, they continued in the right direction.
Hours slipped by as they pushed deeper. By the time six hours had passed, they were already far inside the forest.
At that moment, a small bird suddenly fluttered down and landed on Elyara’s shoulder.
Elyara communicated with it briefly, and then a smile spread across her face.
"Found it."