Chapter 118: Corrupted Jungle
As they went deeper into the forest they came upon a path. Nearby was the skeletal remains of a corpse, covered in brambles. Beside it was a damaged parchment, on which they could make out some text.
“Alice, don’t listen to that evil wizard. Don’t let his wickedness infect your beauty.”
“I’ll always be with you, even after death. Even if the evil corrupts you. You’ll always be the Alice I love… The flower fairy who helped us escape from the jungle.”
Ye Cang picked up the parchment, and looked at the remains under the brambles.
“Hidden Quest - The Corrupted Fairy. Would you like to accept? Instance allows up to 10 people.”
“Accept.”
“Congratulations. You’ve discovered the instance - Corrupted Jungle!”
Ye Cang felt rather sad as he looked at the path in front of him. “This is an instance…”
ThornyRose was delighted. They found a hidden instance dungeon!!
“There’s still two spots. Bro…” Zhang ZhengXiong looked at Ye Cang who was still staring at the words on the parchment. Ye Cang just sighed. “Just invite SpyingBlade and NalanMoon.”
ThornyRose also noticed the sadness in Ye Cang’s eyes. It wasn’t faked. She remained silent. Why does he look like he’s mourning his dead wife? They immediately called NalanMoon and SpyingBlade over.
After waiting for a bit, Ye Cang sighed again. Am I fated to not be able to get over this love? He smiled bitterly. Little Ye Tian took hold of his hand, Lin Le gave him a hug, and Zhang ZhengXiong firmly squeezed his shoulder. He faintly laughed. “What’s done is done. A’Xiong, about Lil’Dino’s Remodelling Plan. What clinic do you think is best? Also look up what’s fun around there so we can play around and enjoy our vacation.”
“Don’t worry bro, Little Tian has already planned everything out. Korean Beauty is Korea’s best clinic. We’d have to invest about 50% of our total funds, but we’ll definitely let Lil’Dino become a beauty and fulfill her dreams. Another 15% will be used for travel expenses. The rest will be our living expenses. Finally, the remaining amount will go towards buying a house by the seaside.” Zhang ZhengXiong laughed.
FrozenCloud felt guilty. For her to get plastic surgery earlier, they were going to use 50% of the money they earned. She was moved, but more than that, she was afraid of what would happen when they learned the truth. They would definitely hate her. It was difficult to find such sincere friends. Although being with them caused her to have to see a psychiatrist, and they might be stupid; but they always treat her well and haven’t let her down. They looked after her as if she was their close relative. As she thought of her real family’s cold criticism, she began to feel unwell. She looked towards ThornyRose and FrozenBlood. Am I one of Sister Rose’s people or part of the stupid party? The time to make a decision was fast approaching. She gripped her tonfas tightly, and her brows wrinkled as she fell deep in thought… Just what path should I take?
After waiting a while, SpyingBlade walked out of the shadows. “It was really hard getting to this place. Those treants are so strong, I could only take on one by myself…”
ThornyRose’s heart shook. He could actually solo one!! That thing was really ** without fire!!
NalanMoon also arrived. “So this was where they came from. The source of those ‘super rare’ skillbooks. I had some of my people along with your Thorns and Roses members go farm for them, but the results weren’t too good. The monsters here… Ugh~ They’re too damn strong. How did you kill them so fast? In order to get here, I had to use stealth skills…”
“Trade secret…” Ye Cang crossed his arms and said. At this time, a few treants made their way over. Lin Le swung his back, and 3 flame flasks flew out. They howled in pain as they were inflicted with stun. The rest of the party easily finished them off. NalanMoon nodded. “So that’s how it was. Those bottles that burned the monsters, how much for them?”
“Not for sale…” ThornyRose said, looking at Ye Cang. She also crossed her arms, lifting up her 36Es. NalanMoon’s gaze followed Lin Le as he returned to Zhang ZhengXiong’s side. Then she saw it. That… that shield. Such a dazzling shield. Looks like the equipment they got from the blacksmith wasn’t normal.
“Alright, we’re all here. Let’s go.” Ye Cang looked at the other 9, then turned and took the lead to enter the instance.
Everyone followed, entering the corrupted jungle. The inside appeared like a maze of trees, which towered up into the sky. Roots and brambles covered the ground, leaving only one path. Although it was daytime, it was as dark as if it was night. Before entering, besides scamming people of their gold and money, Ye Cang had gathered many herbs, mushrooms, shrubs, and corrupted treant materials. He had pretty not missed a single one during their entire journey, as if he was plucking feathers from a chicken.
“Let’s buff and heal up first.” Ye Cang saw that everyone had entered, and began to cook.
What made everyone grateful was that he actually took out the one thing he could cook, the monstrous bird meat, and made a defensive dish. However, they then fell to hell when they saw that the rat stew had leveled up. He had added in the Burnt Corrupted Treant Woodchips and Sap. The stink seemed to penetrate deep into their bones. NalanMoon was beginning to develop a phobia for white hair. Though there might be many people who could beat her, those who could really make her feel fear were few. In China, there were only a couple. Now, there was one more. Ye Cang’s cooking was not only disgusting, but he even managed to make it worse every time… This guy would definitely become famous in the future…
After going into shock; the party, that had obtained their buffs, began to explore the instance. They travelled through the maze-like jungle and arrived at a three way junction. There was a dark treant sleeping in each path. If they fought one, it would inevitably attract the other two. Hearing Ye Cang’s description, Little Ye Tian felt discouraged. “These corrupted treants appear much stronger than the ones outside. It’s not only larger, the color of their skin is similar to the luster of steel. Their defence is probably even tougher.”
Insane Corrupted Treants (Strengthened Elite - Corrupted): Treants that reside in the corrupted jungle. They have a strong recovery ability.
“Lele, don’t be stingy with the flame flasks. Use them if you have an opportunity. It’ll be up to you to restrict them.” ThornyRose received Ye Cang and Little Ye Tian’s analysis, then warned Lin Le.
“Mm!” Lin Le said, treating these tree as if they were just experience. After having thrown over 300 bottles, he was already very skilled.
“Shaking Bear, Little Tian, be ready. Save your light abilities for when we’re in trouble.” ThornyRose continued giving orders. In case Lin Le couldn’t keep the treants tied down, they needed a backup plan. The treant’s ability to heal could be this instance’s defining feature. They needed to be as careful as possible.