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This was a massive toad, more than three times the size of the Fire Cloud Bat King. What sent chills down Xunuo's spine was the blood-red line, as wide as a palm, that ran from its head to its tail. This instantly reminded Xunuo of the Red-Line Toad encountered in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.
The venom sprayed by the Red-Line Toad could corrode a Cultivator to death in an instant upon contact, something Xunuo had witnessed firsthand. Even magical artifacts dared not come into direct contact with such poison. The horrific scene of Changsun Wuji being poisoned to death by the Red-Line Toad was still fresh in Xunuo's memory, instilling a deep fear of the Red-Line Toad.
Upon seeing the blood-red line on this toad's back today, Xunuo immediately thought of the Red-Line Toad. However, upon closer inspection, it seemed somewhat different. Although this toad's back was also dark and shiny, it was unusually smooth, unlike the Red-Line Toad covered in unsightly bumps that made one feel nauseous. This toad exuded an overwhelming sense of terror.
As Xunuo pondered in uncertainty, the Fire Cloud Bats, led by the Fire Cloud Bat King, dove down once more. The Giant Toad arched its back, and the red line running through it suddenly flashed with crimson light, as if flowing like water, covering its back with a layer of blood-red substance. Then the Giant Toad lifted its massive head and opened its mouth to unleash dozens of nearly a hundred black fireballs towards the swarm of Fire Cloud Bats.
Seeing this, the Fire Cloud Bats uniformly shot out a barrage of crimson fireballs. In an instant, black and red fireballs collided mid-air. Although the crimson fireballs were ten times larger than the black fireballs, only the enormous fireball from the Fire Cloud Bat King could block the black fireballs. The other crimson fireballs needed three or five at once to intercept just one black fireball to disperse it. Even so, several dozen black fireballs broke through the Crimson Fire Net and struck towards the Fire Cloud Bats. Suddenly, dozens of Fire Cloud Bats fell from the sky amidst thick smoke.
This time, the Giant Toad was prepared; it flicked its long tongue and pulled a fallen Fire Cloud Bat into its mouth with a "gulp." The crimson fireballs that hit its back merely flashed red light before bouncing off as if it were indestructible. Seeing this scene, Xunuo felt slightly relieved. It seemed that this Giant Toad should not be a Red-Line Toad after all.
Although Xunuo found it difficult to escape amidst the battle between two groups of beasts, compared to the fear of the Red-Line Toad, Xunuo was more willing to accept this situation with the Giant Toad. The Fire Cloud Bats appeared to be attacking fruitlessly and suffering continuous losses without any intention of retreating. Under the leadership of the Fire Cloud Bat King, they continued their dive attacks; in no time at all, nearly twenty percent of their numbers had been lost.
Xunuo initially intended to use the Great Illusion Concealment Talisman to retreat and find another way around. However, observing the battle situation, it seemed that within half an hour, this group of Fire Cloud Bats would be nearly wiped out. As for this remaining Giant Toad, Xunuo felt much less fear.
This toad was a Third-Grade Monster; while its defense was indeed solid, Xunuo believed there were ways to break through its defenses. Moreover, this Giant Toad seemed disinterested in leaving this Lava Swamp; if Xunuo circled around from a distance, it might not even pursue. Having made up his mind, Xunuo settled down to watch the spectacle.
The battle below unfolded as Xunuo had anticipated—intensely brutal—the Fire Cloud Bats visibly dwindling in number. Originally numbering in the hundreds or thousands, they lost more than half in an instant. Xunuo nodded inwardly, waiting for the Fire Cloud Bats to be completely annihilated before proceeding with his plan.
However, after sitting for a while longer, Xunuo began to feel restless. The fiery cloud formed by the Fire Cloud Bats had significantly shrunk; yet their attacking power remained undiminished. Furthermore, those remaining were either higher-level or more powerful in magic. In contrast, while the Giant Toad's attacking power seemed unchanged, its defense had severely declined. The red substance on its back that resembled a shield or cover had become almost invisible; now the Fire Cloud Bat's attacks could break through and strike directly at the toad's body.
Although the Giant Toad's defenses were formidable, after several rounds of attacks, it finally sustained a few wounds on its back. At this moment, the blood-red lines that once ran across its back had completely vanished, leaving behind a giant toad that was entirely glossy black. The wounds on the Giant Toad's back continued to multiply and worsen with the relentless assaults from the Fire Cloud Bats, directly impacting its offensive capabilities.
Despite the decreasing number of Fire Cloud Bats, when the Giant Toad's strength was weakened to a critical point, the tide of battle suddenly shifted in favor of the Fire Cloud Bats. This was the outcome Xunuo dreaded most. If the Giant Toad emerged victorious, Xunuo felt confident in either fleeing or fighting. However, if the Fire Cloud Bats won, Xunuo truly doubted his ability to escape from these hairless creatures with astonishing speed. If he were overwhelmed by them, his chances of winning would be slim, and he could very well find himself embroiled in a bitter struggle.
At that moment, Xunuo became increasingly frustrated to discover that the concealment effect of the Great Illusion Concealment Talisman was beginning to weaken. "Just when it rains, it pours," Xunuo muttered under his breath as he flicked his wrist and tossed out over ten Formation Flags to set up a Defensive Array. Fortunately, his movements were discreet, and he quickly activated the array's functions without drawing attention from either side engaged in battle.
With no way to escape, he could only prepare for the worst. Xunuo promptly opened the Mysterious Yin Pot and inquired about the weaknesses of these two types of beasts from Bai Wuxi. Upon hearing Xunuo's description, Bai Wuxi was taken aback and leaped out of the Mysterious Yin Pot to glance at the battlefield. His expression changed several times before he swiftly dove back into the pot. However, Bai Wuxi immediately began explaining these two types of beasts along with a hypothesis he had.
Xunuo recognized the Fire Cloud Bats. Bai Wuxi introduced an unusual aspect of them: every swarm of Fire Cloud Bats contained a Third-Level Fire Cloud Bat King. Reaching Third-Grade Monster status was their limit, and advancing was extremely difficult for Fire Cloud Bats. They could potentially reach Second-Level Monster status through self-cultivation, but advancing to Third Level required external assistance. Firebane Grass was considered the best elixir for their advancement.
This brought up Firebane Grass's refining properties; when Bai Wuxi suggested capturing it to help Xunuo eliminate Evil Poison from within him, it was due to this very function. The greatest obstacle preventing Fire Cloud Bats from advancing to Third-Grade Monsters was their impure bloodlines; they not only possessed beast blood but also had interbred with ordinary bats. As low-level beasts without any cultivation methods, they relied solely on their bloodline power to break through bottlenecks, making their impure bloodlines a significant hindrance to advancement. Firebane Grass could purify these impurities in their bloodlines and facilitate their progression.
This was quite similar to how Bai Wuxi had advised Xunuo to use Firebane Grass to remove Evil Poison—both aimed at refining away harmful elements within their bodies. Whenever a Fire Cloud Bat King died, the remaining Fire Cloud Bats would stir and search for Firebane Grass. The strongest among them would claim this grass and become the next Fire Cloud Bat King. As long as there was still a king among them who was in his prime, he would strive to obtain this Firebane Grass before others could seize it and threaten his position.
"These two factions of beasts are fighting over Firebane Grass," Bai Wuxi asserted confidently. For this hypothesis to hold true, there had to be Firebane Grass present in this area. Bai Wuxi then mentioned another type of beast: the Fire Lizard Toad.
The Fire Lizard Toad represented an ultimate state for this type of beast; referring to it as Fireline Toad would be more accurate at this stage. This beast had a long lifespan and advanced slowly. The Fireline Toad also required the refining properties of Firebane Grass for its advancement but could not rely on consuming it; instead, it coexisted with Firebane Grass so that its refining effects could work gradually and persistently over time. In turn, Firebane Grass benefited from being protected by the Fireline Toad; together they thrived.
According to Xunuo's observations, if this particular Fireline Toad had developed a red line about palm-width across its back, then there must be a piece of Firebane Grass nearby because this Fireline Toad could begin producing fire scales and eventually advance to Fourth-Level Beast status, becoming a true Fire Lizard Toad. This transformation undoubtedly required long-term refinement from Firebane Grass.
Upon hearing this, Xunuo felt both astonished and excited; he instructed Bai Wuxi and others to prepare as he carefully scanned towards Lava Swamp. The two factions of beasts were locked in fierce combat, creating chaos throughout Lava Swamp. Xunuo dared not release his Divine Sense for fear of drawing attention to himself amidst such turmoil; instead, he widened his eyes and searched cautiously.
At that moment, the black fireballs released by the Fireline Toad were significantly weaker in both quantity and power than at first; they no longer posed a threat to the Fire Cloud Bats. Similarly, the remaining capable of launching crimson fireballs among them were less than half their original number. However, at this point, the flying abilities of the Fire Cloud Bats began to show their effectiveness; those unable to spit fireballs resorted to picking up stones of various sizes from the ground and diving down towards the Fireline Toad with them. Such attacks would normally pose no threat but under these circumstances—given that the Fireline Toad was already heavily injured—these assaults only added fuel to the fire and further endangered its situation.
As the Fire Cloud Bat scoured the area for boulders, it depleted the stones surrounding the Lava Swamp and began to expand its search radius, gradually approaching the hill where Xunuo was hiding. Fearing that it might collide with the magic array, Xunuo disabled the defensive function, leaving only the ability to shield his Divine Sense. If any fool dared to intrude, he would simply eliminate them without revealing his presence.
At that moment, a Fire Cloud Bat flew straight towards the mound where Xunuo was concealed. Upon seeing this, Xunuo realized that its target was a stone the size of a grinding wheel located in front of the magic array. He worried that the creature might not be able to grasp such a massive rock and instead crash into the magic array. With that thought in mind, he quickly formed a spell gesture and prepared to unleash the Crimson Gale Spell.
Just as the Fire Cloud Bat was about to seize the boulder, it suddenly shot sideways and flew several feet away. Then, to Xunuo's astonishment, the stone changed position three times in quick succession before rolling back up the hill and plunging directly into the magic array.
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