Chapter 166 - 136: Time to Reveal Your Health Bar, Hidden Boss

Chapter 166: Chapter 136: Time to Reveal Your Health Bar, Hidden Boss

Under the sunlight, the thirty-six Water Drop Gems sparkled brilliantly. As if sensing each other’s presence, they began to tremble slightly, their surfaces shimmering with a clear light.

Everyone couldn’t help but hold their breath as they gathered around the gems, their eyes wide open, refusing to miss a single detail.

The shimmering light grew increasingly dazzling, and the frequency of the flashes quickened. Finally, at a certain moment, all thirty-six gems erupted with a breathtaking radiance before merging together to form a necklace composed of thirty-six Water Drop Gems.

This was the true form of the Great Sage’s relic.

The moment the necklace saw the light of day once more, a brilliant emerald glow outlined a scroll before everyone’s eyes. It was a map of Giant Demon Valley.

On this map, two pitch-black areas were clearly marked. One was located outside the valley, almost at the edge of the map, while the other was situated in the deepest part of the valley.

"That location..." Ji Xiaoyu said, her gaze fixing on the spot outside the valley. "It’s the Curse Altar we destroyed."

"Yes." Yu Zhun nodded slightly, shifting his attention to the other location on the map. "There are a total of two Curses that need to be lifted in Giant Demon Valley.

"One only requires obtaining a single Spring Token and gathering useful information from the Human Circle to find and break it.

"The other requires obtaining all the Spring Tokens to locate its corresponding position."

"This is pretty close to what I guessed," Yu Zhun said softly. "Destroying the Curse in the Holy City wasn’t the best ending.

"Let’s go." Glancing at the direction indicated by the map, he walked toward the deepest part of Giant Demon Valley without hesitation.

That area had already become the main battlefield of the Human Demon war. Amidst earth-shattering battle cries, the Giant Demons and the awakened humans from the Human Circle were fiercely fighting each other.

Both sides turned a deaf ear to the arrival of Yu Zhun’s team, as if completely unaware of their presence.

"Looks like we need to speed up." Yu Zhun frowned slightly as he looked at the fallen Giant Demons and humans. "If they keep fighting, our perfect first clear might fly out the window."

"Chairman Yu, have you already guessed what the other Curse is?" Zhou Yunhao asked, unable to contain his curiosity upon hearing the hidden meaning in Yu Zhun’s words.

"Yes." Yu Zhun quickened his pace, speaking calmly. "Aside from the Guardian Giant Demons at the springs that we had to kill, the other Giant Demons have never been hostile to us from start to finish.

"Have you ever wondered why?"

"Well..." Zhou Yunhao paused for a moment. "Isn’t that just to make it easier for the Giant Demons to capture the players and take them into the Human Circle?"

If they were hostile, players could easily kill the Giant Demons, which acted as normal mobs, and wouldn’t be captured by them at all. That would mean players could move freely around Giant Demon Valley and actively search for the spring locations.

"Of course not." Yu Zhun shook his head. "Not everything in the Dungeon exists solely to target players."

"Could it be that the Giant Demons are also targets we need to protect? Is that why they aren’t hostile to us?" Ji Xiaoyu blinked, a bewildered look on her face. "But if the Giant Demons don’t die, how do we protect the humans?"

"That brings us to another question." Yu Zhun smiled. "Do you remember how the Giant Demons appeared in the legend told by the Defender?"

"They appeared suddenly after the Holy Land was Cursed."

"How could such a powerful race appear out of nowhere?

"I lean more toward the idea that they were transformed from another race.

"Based on that assumption, think about it..." Yu Zhun dangled the Relic Necklace in his hand. "Why would the Great Sage’s relic have such a huge impact on the Giant Demons?"

"Are you saying..." Zhou Yunhao shuddered, staring at Yu Zhun in disbelief. "The Giant Demons used to be humans too?"

Humans had turned into man-eating monsters?

"When we killed the Giant Demons acting as Guardians of the springs, I observed them carefully." Yu Zhun paused for a moment. "Their bodies aren’t much different from humans. It looks more like some kind of mutation—or rather, a Curse.

"If the Giant Demons were originally human and only turned into their current state because of a Curse...

"Then the method for a perfect clear is very simple.

"What we need to do has never been to help the humans win this Human Demon war.

"Instead, we must end this war from its source."

"But..." Ji Xiaoyu looked conflicted. "The Giant Demons have eaten people. Can they really return to being humans?"

"That, I don’t know." Yu Zhun shook his head slightly. "Perhaps we’ll find the answer at the true source of the Curse."

As he spoke, the group arrived at the second Cursed land marked on the map.

It was a tunnel located in the very center of the Giant Demons’ activity area. Deep and dark, its destination was completely unknown.

Upon entering, an inexplicably cold aura enveloped everyone, causing them to shudder.

When they reached the very bottom of the tunnel, the space suddenly opened up to reveal an altar.

Yu Zhun couldn’t help but narrow his eyes slightly. Compared to the altar in the Holy City, this one was much larger. Clearly, the source of the Curse wasn’t in the Holy City, but here.

As they approached, waves of gray airflow surged from within the altar, coalescing into a blurry gray humanoid figure right before their eyes. The figure looked like a woman.

"To think..." The gray figure opened its hollow mouth, and its voice echoed from every corner of the underground altar.