Versatile Mage

 The Night-Curtain Eagle was shockingly fast. It did not take them too long to reach the Nanling Mountains.

 “We are currently in the White Magic Falcons’ territory. Luckily, my eagle shares the same lineage. We won’t have much trouble flying across their territory,” Nighthawk said while pointing at the mountains that were covered in dense trees below.

 “We should be very close to them,” Lingling said.

 Mo Fan observed the pitch-black mountains. He was able to see clearer with his Shadow Element.

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 The canopy layer of the palm forest was a favorable habitat for flying creatures. Many demon creatures hid their nests in the thick canopy, allowing flocks of flying creatures to soar into the sky and form a huge net to defend their territory when necessary.

 The middle of the palm forest was a swamp, and the trees had long been soaked in it. The water was not deep, barely reaching the ankles of a person. The clear water was flowing slowly. It looked like the forest was growing out of the surface of a lake under the moonlight. The surface of the water was glittering like crystals.

 The forest was deadly silent. A hellish hound with a menacing aura walked past, and the little creatures in the area immediately fled for their lives in panic.

 “Lian Xishan, are you sure this is the right place?” Houndman asked impatiently.

 “Of course, we already discovered this place when we were searching for the Totem Beast. According to the man, this is where the Totem Beast lives, but for some reason, he suddenly decided to leave. He’s always been a strange man,” the man called Lian Xishan said confidently.

 “I also think this is the place we have been looking for,” Ke Lingxi of the Research Union said.

 Many species had their own living habits. Ke Lingxi had only learned there was such a unique forest in Nanling Mountains a little while ago.

 Moths preferred to live in woods with a readily-available source of water. Ke Lingxi believed the place was perfect for the Moon Moth Phoenix to fall into a deep slumber!

 “This place isn’t very big, we should be able to find it quite easily. You two, go up to the canopy and look around, the rest of us will be heading in this direction,” Zeng Guanglie said.

 The group began to split up. Some time later, the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound started sniffing, as if it had picked up a scent.

 “This way,” the Houndman told the others after receiving his Summoned Beast’s hint.

 The group immediately followed the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound. They soon discovered a spacious pond that did not have many trees in it. The water was still enough to reflect the starry night sky, unbelievably stunning.

 An oval cocoon was hanging above the center of the spacious pond. They could see its shadow on the surface of the pond. Houndman, Ke Lingxi, Zeng Guanglie, and the others held their breaths upon seeing the cocoon. Their faces were soon brimming with joy!

 They found it! They actually found it!

 They had found an ancient Totem Beast. They would achieve great success once they handed it to Su Lu!

 The discovery of a Totem Beast was extremely significant. The Black Totem Snake of Hangzhou was able to drive away the demon creatures of the Nanling Mountains that were invading the city all by himself. A Totem Beast was far stronger than an ordinary Ruler creature in the wild!

 The giant blue cocoon was floating in the air between the sky and the spectacular painting across the surface of the pond. However, as they took a closer look, they realized the cocoon was being held by tiny strings of silk, their ends tied to the trees nearby. In other words, the giant cocoon was actually hanging in the air. It was a rare and spectacular sight.

 They were quite confident that the Totem Beast, Moon Moth Phoenix that they had been looking for was inside the giant cocoon!

 The light of the moon and the stars were watching over the giant blue cocoon. Meanwhile, the cocoon seemed to be absorbing the energy of nature, like a beating blue heart!

 “Are we going to break the cocoon apart or bring the whole thing back?” Zeng Guanglie asked.

 “Just bring the whole thing back. I doubt we can break through the cocoon that easily,” Houndman said.

 “You people, go and break the silk,” Ke Lingxi ordered his men.

 A few Mages jumped onto the trees that the strings of silk were tied to. However, they failed to break the silk despite trying everything they tried. Even burning them with fire did not seem to work.

 “Humph, move aside, a bunch of useless pricks!” Zeng Guanglie mocked them. He quickly summoned his golden flames.

 The golden flames sprang at the strings of silk. The silk finally started to melt away slowly after burning for some time.

 “As expected of a Totem Beast! Only a Soul-grade Fire can burn through the silk,” Ke Lingxi exclaimed.

 His flames finally ate through a section of the strings holding the giant cocoon up after some time. The giant cocoon slanted sideways after the silk broke. The remaining strings of silk continued to hold it in place, preventing it from falling to the water below.

 “Say, is the thing inside still alive?” Houndman asked curiously, studying the cocoon. He had already ordered the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound to take a closer look as he spoke.

 The Dreadful Curse Hell Hound stood below the cocoon and started sniffing. It suddenly lifted its gaze and grinned, revealing its fangs while uttering a deep growl.

 Houndman followed its gaze, and saw a woman with the wings of a moth on her back walking out from the woods. She was glaring at them with eerie eyes. Her face had turned a strange blue too. She seemed pretty angry!

 “It’s you. I’m sorry, we are no longer interested in you. You better leave now if you don’t want to die,” Houndman grinned mockingly when he saw it was the moth woman, Yu Shishi!

 They obviously knew Yu Shishi had been turned into a moth woman by the Moon Moth Phoenix. The Moon Moth Phoenix was much more valuable than she was!

 “What are you trying to do!?” Yu Shishi snapped furiously.

 “Nothing really, it’s just that our master has a hobby of collecting antiques. We believe the Moon Moth Phoenix is the perfect present for his fiftieth birthday. We also believe that only a special creature like a Totem Beast is worthy to be our master’s mount and Contracted Beast!” Houndman smiled.

 “A Totem Beast will never sign a contract with a human, nor will it submit to a human to be his mount!” Yu Shishi snapped.

 “Don’t you worry about that, our master has his ways!” Houndman rebutted.