Chapter 50: Chapter 50 Robbing the Dragon’s Lair
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Zhu Minglang had never expected that a group of Cliff Vultures inhabited this area. The bait he finally managed to hunt was torn away, piece by piece, by these creatures, which felt just like having the flesh scraped from his body, utterly painful!
Big Black Tooth had already charged up, putting in great effort to guard the food.
But these Cliff Vultures were incredibly agile; they didn’t engage with the Black Ocean Violent Dragon at all, soaring high into the sky immediately after stealing a piece of meat.
They even knew to distract Big Black Tooth with several of their members, while others quickly took away important parts of the Fake Dragon…
Big Black Tooth was completely enraged, opening its maw of the Azure Dragon and generating a powerful force from its deep lungs, capable of tearing apart anything, and it ferociously spat it towards the Cliff Vultures.
Ancient Dragon Warfare Skills, Sundering Roar!!
This Sundering Roar tore a greyish-brown Cliff Vulture to shreds, its thick feathers scattering, and its blood sprayed in mid-air.
This Cliff Vulture was utterly dead.
But that changed nothing; those cunning Cliff Vultures didn’t care about the life or death of their companions. In fact, they snatched up the Fake Dragon’s corpse even more greedily after witnessing the brutal demise of their peer!
Before long, the once succulent-looking Fake Dragon was reduced to a messy pile of rotten flesh, leaving behind only bones and fur of no value.
Big Black Tooth revealed all its teeth in fury, wishing it too had wings to fly up to the treetops and bite each and every one of the Cliff Vultures to death.
Zhu Minglang could only smile bitterly.
Indeed, in this world, not only humans possess intelligence. The seasoned hunters of the great forest knew how to avoid the strong and achieve their goals.
Luckily, Zhu Minglang was not a novice at survival; he had treated the meat of the Fake Dragon in a certain way.
It wasn’t some clever tactic, simply some spices, thinking that if he didn’t catch good prey, he might as well marinate the meat first, preserving it for Big Black Tooth.
Tracking the scent of a group of Cliff Vultures that could fly might be difficult, but tracking the extremely distinctive scent of the spices was easy. The fragrance would always drift through the air, and even if it was faint, it could still point out the direction.
‘ “Dare to steal our stuff, let’s raid their nests,” Zhu Minglang said with a cold huff.
“000000~~~~” Big Black Tooth immediately howled, the embarrassment from earlier instantly gone.
The master is truly the master, wise and resourceful!
“You go back to the Spirit Realm first, Bai Qi and I will follow up,” Zhu Minglang extended his palm and recalled Big Black Tooth back into the Spirit
Realm.
He called out Bai Qi, who looked sleepy and drowsy.
Ever since emerging from the Ice Pupa, this little guy seemed to be drowsy at all times, rarely ever truly alert.
However, upon hearing that Big Black Tooth and Zhu Minglang had been bullied by a flock of Cliff Vultures, Bai Qi’s expression changed. It immediately transformed into the combat form of the Ice Morning White Dragon, and although its body was not large, it could fly with Zhu Minglang by harnessing the wind.
“Can you smell the spices, just follow the scent,” Zhu Minglang said to Bai Qi.
Bai Qi had a strong sense of smell, and even though the Cliff Vultures had left a while ago, it was able to accurately find the direction.
They swooped through a pine forest, and ahead, the jungle became more primeval. Occasionally, they could see giant ancient trees stretching skyward, towering over the rest of the forest, while massive vines hung from their trunks, surrounded by colorful birds.
They were deep inside the forest now, and Zhu Minglang realized he was being somewhat reckless.
But going back empty-handed was not an option. They would soon find the nests of those Cliff Vultures, whose crown feathers were considered a luxury in the city—I saw some tailors in the foundry treating them like jewels.
“There’s actually a cliff.”
The green branches and leaves were like the waves in an ocean, unevenly spreading over the vast earth, with a cliff suddenly rising among the giant pines and spruces.
The cliff was quite imposing, with few visible steep rocky areas. The entire high cliff was covered with old pines, climbing vines, and rock moss, incredibly lush.
Numerous creatures inhabited the top and bottom of the cliff, and Zhu Minglang spotted a few Cliff Vultures struggling near the middle part of the cliff, fighting over the very Fake Dragon meat he had gone to great lengths to obtain!
“Their nest is midway up the cliff, can you fly over there while hiding your aura?” Zhu Minglang asked Little White.
Little White indicated that hiding its aura was easy, but it couldn’t maintain this form; it would have to transform into the Exquisite White Dragon.
“Then find a place to set me down; we’ll stealthily approach,” Zhu Minglang suggested.
Cliff Vultures were cunning, and they never pitied their comrades.
The best way to wipe them out was to corner them in their nests, or they would easily scatter in all directions.
They were likely dividing the spoils in their nests at the moment—with only a few Cliff Vultures keeping watch outside. It was a good opportunity to eradicate them!
This raid could make them a small fortune.
Zhu Minglang reached the side of the cliff, where he saw cracks in the cliff face and many vines; climbing over by hand was not a difficult task.
With Little White by his side, Zhu Minglang had more courage. When he spotted venomous snakes and evil birds, Little White’s mere glance would scare them into retreating.
Zhu Minglang stepped on the cracks and grabbed the vines. He was quite agile, and soon he arrived near the Cliff Vulture nest, using an ancient pine tree past its prime for cover.
“Can you subtly deal with those few Cliff Vultures keeping watch?” Zhu Minglang inquired.
Little White’s eyes, which resembled icy white stars, glowed faintly, and soon an unusual breeze began to swirl around the cliff, blowing over the Cliff Vultures standing guard there.
The wind was strong, and even the cliff vultures, creatures adept at flying, struggled to maintain their balance. They had no choice but to land on the old trees, seeking shelter from the sudden powerful gusts.
“Great opportunity!”
Zhu Minglang immediately leaped out, stepped on the protruding rocks a few times, then grabbed a vine and rapidly slid down.
As he landed in front of the cave, Zhu Minglang swiftly darted into the cliff cave, and the strong wind outside conveniently ceased.
“If there’s wind… there must be other exits,” Zhu Minglang deduced after entering the cave, his brow quickly furrowing.
If this were the only entrance, Zhu Minglang planned to start sweeping through immediately. The few cliff vultures outside could be ignored, but none inside the cave would have a chance to escape.
But the cliff vultures’ cave having other exits was the best proof that the winds were circulating.
The other entrances had to be blocked!
While still undetected, Zhu Minglang walked deeper into the cave. It wasn’t as dark inside as he had imagined. Large cracks in the cliff overhead allowed light to spill in.
The cliff vultures were gathered in the spacious area of the cave, feasting on pseudo-dragon meat. It was evident that these vultures had reached the demon spirit level and, having developed some demon cultivator abilities, each piece of fake dragon meat they digested made them stronger. Even their next molt might produce tough feathers capable of resisting attacks from fierce Hmph, the law of the jungle, the survival of the fittest. Did they really think with a bit of cunning they could steal food from the jaws of a tiger?
Zhu Minglang had already spotted another exit. The next step was to simply have Little White create an ice wall to seal the two exits. Afterwards, he could leave the rest to Big Black Tooth, who was full of draconic fury with nowhere to vent it!
Little White suddenly uttered a faint call, lifting its gaze to the crack above the cave where the light was filtering through!
“Boom!!!!”
A loud noise came from the crack, and immediately countless small stones and rock dust rained down, startling Zhu Minglang.
The light disappeared abruptly, and the cave became very dark. Zhu Minglang looked up at the crack in surprise, barely managing to see a large claw covering the widest part of the opening. Fortunately, the fissure was narrow and long, leaving just enough light to see clearly.
“Dragon Claw?” Zhu Minglang gasped.
No wonder this group of cliff vultures lived halfway up the cliff; there was an even more powerful creature at the very top. And judging by the shape of the claw, it was clearly a dragon!
Dragon Cliff!
This was a Dragon Cliff!
These cliff vultures were the dragon’s neighbors, or perhaps its subordinates.
Giving the vultures another look, it was clear they weren’t bothered by the “upstairs” powerful predator. Aside from being startled by the initial dust fallout, which caused them to flap their wings a few times, their mealtime was undisturbed.
Zhu Minglang had intended to clear out the cliff vultures, but now he didn’t dare to summon the Black Ocean Violent Dragon recklessly. Its presence would quickly be noticed by the creature above the mountain fissure… This was its Dragon Cliff!
“What kind of dragon is it, a mature Green Forest Dragon perhaps?” Zhu Minglang started to identify the dragon by its claw.
Considering the surrounding environment, along with the color and shape of the dragon claw, the chances were good that it was a Green Forest Dragon.
The Li Chuan Plain was home to many extensive forests, with the Green Forest Dragon being one of the most common wild dragons. Zhu Minglang had heard that the Nan Family of the Ancestral Dragon City-State had a Sacred Forest—a noble and mysterious land for raising dragons.
Some important members of the Nan Family had the opportunity each year to enter the Sacred Forest for trials. Those lucky enough might come out with a young dragon and the capable ones might even subdue a mature Green Dragon!
Of course, Zhu Minglang had heard this from Li Shaoying and Nan Ye.
The Li Family ruled the Ancestral Dragon City-State, governing all within.
The Nan Family were gentry with a lineage of dragon trainers, uninterested in anything but dragons.
Zhu Minglang refrained from acting rashly for the moment.
Although Little White’s power should allow it to crush the mature Green Forest Dragon, slaying dragons did not carry significant meaning—living dragons were more valuable than dead ones.
Since this was a Dragon Cliff, then this cliff vulture’s cave was a Dragon Cavern!
“Most giant dragons do not constantly guard their treasure vaults, so often some subordinate species live in the dragon vaults filled with treasure, such as griffins, pseudodragon venomous sparrows, rock snakes…”
At this moment, Zhu Minglang suddenly recalled a passage from a book.
What was the name of that book again…?
Path to Wealth?
Indeed, it was the one he had randomly grabbed in the Book Pavilion, written by some brainless author!
However, the books descriptions of dragon lairs were accurate!
These cliff vultures were the guardians of the dragon’s treasure hoard! “Robbing the Dragon’s Lair is the quickest way to make money! ” Zhu Minglang never dreamed that he would actually have such a day!!
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