Chapter 454: Little White Is About to Evolve?

"This human skin map is a Main Quest item? Since there's a notification like this, it means it won't disappear and can be taken out."

Yang Ling's expression was grave as he thought about what Ji Tianming had just said.

He needed to use the map to find the source of the radiation after it dissipated, that Old Ancestor, in order to obtain the Crimson Refined Fire Flood Dragon Sect's inheritance!

"I'll be leaving the dungeon in another ten days. There's no way I can complete this quest within the dungeon time."

"But after I get out, I'll be heading to Fire Flood Dragon Island soon. Will this map be useful then?"

As he mused, Yang Ling suddenly felt an itch in his nostril.

He touched it. His nose was bleeding.

He immediately ran outside, not daring to linger.

When he was still over a hundred meters from the mine shaft entrance, Yang Ling regrouped with Little White, and then the man and his pet hunkered down right there.

Not going deeper into the mine shaft, nor approaching the entrance.

"Now I can confirm that the Fire Spirit Pearl was expelled by the Old Ancestor Ji Tianming mentioned."

"This Old Ancestor is almost certainly a flood dragon, very likely a divine beast of the same rank as the Water Qilin."

"But the Water Qilin at least doesn't carry radiation on its body. How does this Old Ancestor come with his own radiation source?"

As Yang Ling pondered this, he glanced at the Fire Crocodile Boots on his feet, his heart aching terribly.

Out of an entire set, only a pair of boots remained.

The rest of the equipment had been blasted apart by that sworn brother of his!

Originally, the complete Fire Crocodile Set could boost his Strength by 60 points and his Agility by 20 points.

Now only the Fire Crocodile Boots' boost of 20 Strength and 20 Agility remained.

Flame Immunity for thirty minutes, fire poison immunity for thirty minutes, 30% physical damage reduction, and the attached Fireball skill, all gone.

"The Fire Crocodile Set's set attributes are quite good, but its innate quality is lacking. The material is made from Fire Vein Poison Crocodiles."

"It simply can't withstand the output of a Fourth-Rank Grandmaster."

"I need a stronger set!"

As he thought this, another commotion came from outside. It seemed more people had come to hunt down the Sixth-Ranks here.

Yang Ling focused all his attention on sensing everything. Seeing that all the newcomers were Sixth-Rank, not even a Fifth-Rank among them, he let out a breath of relief.

That day, he killed over a dozen more Sixth-Ranks.

The second day, there was no movement outside.

The third day, still no movement.

It was as if the Great Dream Dynasty's Divine Guard Bureau had already learned that this place was a tough nut to crack and had stopped sending Sixth-Ranks to their deaths.

"They're probably waiting for the Fire Spirit Pearl to fully emerge, for the radiation to drop or even disappear, before directly sending Fifth-Ranks and Fourth-Ranks to clean up."

"That's fine too. I won't need to wait for that day anyway."

Yang Ling hadn't been idle during this period. As long as no Sixth-Ranks came looking for trouble, he continued to search for Crimson Fire Iron Ore to chisel.

Never mind whether this Crimson Fire Iron could be taken out.

The experience was real and tangible.

The fourth day, the fifth day, the sixth day.

Although he gained quite a bit of Experience Points, his Level stubbornly refused to reach 100.

One day, as Yang Ling was excavating a deposit of Crimson Fire Iron Ore, he suddenly chiseled straight through the rock face.

A corpse tumbled down through the gap.

The corpse's face was hideously contorted, with extremely severe radiation marks.

"Huh, I've seen him before. Didn't Zhuang Xu go looking for the Fire Spirit Pearl with them? How did this guy die here..."

"The radiation level here shouldn't be enough to kill him. This is... his heart is gone?"

Yang Ling's expression turned several degrees graver. He silently filled in the gap and went elsewhere to continue mining Crimson Fire Iron Ore.

In the blink of an eye, another three days passed.

Yang Ling chiseled Crimson Fire Iron while watching the quest timer on his Status Panel.

"After today, once it hits midnight, I can exit the dungeon."

"The radiation levels have been increasing these past few days. Good thing my body's sturdy enough to withstand it."

His nostrils were stuffed with two scraps of cloth to catch the occasional nosebleed.

A series of clangs rang out as the Crimson Fire Iron before him was chiseled clean once again.

"It's been over twenty days now, and I still can't level up?"

Yang Ling was somewhat helpless. He was starting to suspect that the Experience Points needed from Level 99 to Level 100 might be the sum total of the last ten levels.

Otherwise, how could he possibly fail to gain even one Level after mining like a madman all this time?

"Even I'm stuck for this long. When other players reach this level in the future, they'll probably be stuck even longer between 99 and 100!"

Time ticked by, bit by bit.

Yang Ling found a few more deposits of Crimson Fire Iron Ore and continued his output.

The Green Dragon Ring was truly packed to the brim, feeling like it was about to burst.

As he chiseled, the rock wall before him collapsed once again.

And this time, when it collapsed, a cavern of immense proportions appeared before Yang Ling.

A wave of scorching heat assailed his nostrils.

Yang Ling hadn't taken a Flame-Averting Pill, so he felt like even his throat was burning hot.

"Zhuang Xu, hand over the Fire Spirit Pearl. We'll deliver it back to the sect together. We all share in the rewards!"

"That's right! What's the big idea, hogging all the benefits for yourself? If you don't hand over the Fire Spirit Pearl, we won't let you go up. You can die down here with the Fire Spirit Pearl!"

A large group of Sixth-Rank experts was surrounding Zhuang Xu.

Zhuang Xu was in terrible shape. There wasn't a single patch of intact flesh on his entire body.

Even his eyes were beginning to glow with a green light, looking as if he were about to mutate from the radiation.

Just when he couldn't find a way out and was unwilling to hand over the Fire Spirit Pearl, a rumbling sound came from the opposite direction.

Everyone turned their heads in unison. They saw Yang Ling holding the Centenary Refined Kylin Pickaxe, staring at them with a look of complete astonishment.

"Yang Ling, the Supervisor of the Crimson Fire Iron Mine."

Someone said offhandedly.

Zhuang Xu, for reasons unknown, suddenly hurled the object in his hand toward Yang Ling.

"Supervisor Yang, this is the Fire Spirit Pearl! Take it up quickly and claim the reward. I'd rather let you have it than let them!"

What!? The Fire Spirit Pearl!?

Don't come over here!

Yang Ling was utterly aghast. Watching that red-glowing object fly toward him, he immediately used Object Control to stop it!

The next moment, before he could even react, Little White suddenly moved.

It transformed into a bolt of lightning and swallowed the Fire Spirit Pearl that was locked by Object Control in one bite!

The vast cavern instantly fell into a dead silence.

The group of Sixth-Rank experts surrounding Zhuang Xu hadn't expected it. Zhuang Xu himself hadn't expected it either.

Yang Ling least of all hadn't expected that Little White would beat him to it and eat the Fire Spirit Pearl.

After Little White finished eating the Fire Spirit Pearl, it wobbled a few steps and then crashed to the ground, motionless.

Beneath its dark-gold shell, it seemed a crimson network of veins was endlessly spreading and surging.

"Holy crap! This Yang Ling's spirit pet ate the Fire Spirit Pearl!?"

"He's finished. Once he goes up, he can just wait to have his cultivation level crippled!"

"Can't even control his own spirit pet. Serves him right if it dies!"

Seeing how things had unfolded, the Sixth-Rank experts present naturally wouldn't make any other drastic moves. They just watched Yang Ling and the Little White on the ground with cold, mocking expressions.

"My Fire Spirit Pearl..."

Zhuang Xu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He had taken such a huge risk, and this object had ended up being eaten by a mere spirit pet!

"Little White won't be in any trouble, right? Zhuang Xu said earlier that eating the Fire Spirit Pearl requires certain prerequisites..."

As Yang Ling thought this, Little White's body was suddenly enveloped in red light.

"This is bloodline mutation? Little White is about to evolve?"

Yang Ling's eyes lit up. Since it could evolve, that meant the residual radiation on the Fire Spirit Pearl wouldn't affect it!