Chapter 1 The Dragon Cave

Nie Yan looked up at the cliff. In the middle of the cliff was a cave. Gigantic dragons moved about on the cliff face. Their scales were as crystal-clear as quartz, refracting rays of dark purple light under the sun.

"Have you checked everything? How many are there exactly?" Nie Yan asked. Judging from the color of these dragons, they should be Purple Dragons. The Purple Dragon race wasn't much in terms of defense or physical attacks, but possessed excellent magic abilities. In his memory, there was a Purple-Eyed Ground Dragon nest nearby. He wondered if this was it.

"We've currently discovered seven Purple-Eyed Ground Dragons. We don't know if there are any more inside the cave," Yin Hui Zhi Ye said from the side.

"How do you know these dragons are Purple-Eyed Ground Dragons?" Nie Yan asked.

"When they went out to hunt and drink, we followed them. Based on their characteristics, we confirmed they were indeed Purple-Eyed Ground Dragons."

Hearing Yin Hui Zhi Ye’s answer, Nie Yan nodded. Yin Hui Zhi Ye's work was quite thorough.

Certain that it was the right place, Nie Yan decided to go up and take a look. His target was the Purple-Eyed Ground Dragon eggs in the cave.

Regarding the Purple-Eyed Ground Dragons, there were some stories from his previous life. It was said that several large guilds besieged an injured Purple-Eyed Ground Dragon, but a warrior took advantage of the situation and snatched the dragon egg that the Purple-Eyed Ground Dragon dropped. That player obtained the Purple-Eyed Ground Dragon egg, and after it hatched, he rose to become an expert, his level also rapidly advancing into the ranks of top players. The guilds, consumed with jealousy because the dragon egg was stolen, sent people after that player several times, only to be slaughtered. The Purple-Eyed Ground Dragon became famous as a result, ranking among the top three of all pets.

In his previous life, flying mounts existed, but they were rare. Players also didn’t level up as quickly as they did in this life. Once some pets were leveled up, they could hold their own.

Later, players discovered this Purple-Eyed Ground Dragon nest. Several large guilds successively organized large guild teams, trying to kill one or two Purple-Eyed Ground Dragons to obtain their eggs, but without exception, they all failed, and countless teams were wiped out. Later, he heard that someone had stolen a dragon egg from the Purple-Eyed Ground Dragon's cave and hatched it. Whether the news was true, Nie Yan didn’t know.

However, these past events were enough to prove that the Purple-Eyed Ground Dragon was quite strong. Compared to the Golden Ground Dragon, its melee ability might be inferior, but in terms of magic ability, the Purple-Eyed Ground Dragon was undoubtedly number one, far stronger than the Golden Ground Dragon. In his previous life, the Golden Ground Dragon could only rank in the top ten, while the Purple-Eyed Ground Dragon had always held steady in the top three, never being shaken from its position. No wonder Nie Yan was tempted.

In his previous life, players used all means to obtain the Purple-Eyed Ground Dragon. Nie Yan wanted to obtain the dragon egg in this life, but he knew it wouldn't be easy.

The Purple-Eyed Ground Dragon belonged to the ground dragon category, not a flying mount. Although it had some flying ability, it could only last for five or six minutes, and it couldn't attack enemies while flying, because flying was a very strenuous activity for them.

Nie Yan and Yin Hui Zhi Ye observed below the cliff for a while. Every so often, one or two Purple-Eyed Ground Dragons would come out to forage, but no matter what, there would always be at least three Purple-Eyed Ground Dragons guarding the cave.

These Purple-Eyed Ground Dragons were all Level 200 mutated Lords, extremely powerful in combat. None of the Purple-Eyed Ground Dragons were easy for Nie Yan and the others to deal with. Stealing the dragon egg from the dragon's nest, one could imagine how difficult it would be. He didn’t know how those players in his previous life had accomplished this feat.

About to do something so dangerous, Nie Yan seemed quite calm. From the beginning of the game until now, he had done many dangerous things, and this wasn't the first time.

When Yin Hui Zhi Ye, Su Yue, and the others heard that Nie Yan was going to enter the dragon cave to steal dragon eggs, they looked at him in disbelief, thinking they had misheard. But seeing Nie Yan's serious expression, they realized that Nie Yan wasn't joking. Stealing dragon eggs from under the noses of seven Level 200 Purple-Eyed Ground Dragons—probably only Nie Yan dared to do something so crazy!

Just as Nie Yan was about to make a plan, a thief next to him exclaimed, "Nie Yan, be careful!"

"It's a Seventh-Order Dark Sandstone Scorpion!"

"Damn, it's coming down!"

Nie Yan looked up and saw a giant scorpion with black wings swooping down from the sky, the wind howling and a black sandstorm swirling in the sky.

"Nie Yan, get out of the way!"

Yin Hui Zhi Ye, Su Yue, and the others quickly dodged to the side.

"A Dark-attribute flying creature?" Nie Yan's eyes suddenly narrowed, and he smiled slightly. Why should he dodge?

Watching the Sandstone Scorpion swoop down from the sky, Nie Yan didn't dodge or evade.

Yin Hui Zhi Ye and Su Yue anxiously tried to call Nie Yan away, but they heard a loud bang, and darkness enveloped the position where Nie Yan was. A strong sandstorm swept over, and Yin Hui Zhi Ye and Su Yue used their arms to cover their faces, involuntarily taking a few steps back.

They were shocked. In such a strong sandstorm, Nie Yan was probably doomed!

How could a player fight against a Seventh-Order flying creature?

Nie Yan had to admit that the Sandstone Scorpion's sandstorm was very powerful. Just as the Sandstone Scorpion crashed towards him, he used Gale Step, combined with the Shadow Dance skill, sticking close to the Sandstone Scorpion, and dodging the Sandstone Scorpion's attack.

The Sandstone Scorpion landed, its eyes searching for Nie Yan's figure. Its hooked tail was raised high, ready to attack at any moment.

Just then, a figure leaped onto its back.

The Sandstone Scorpion felt someone on its back and struggled violently, stirring up an even more intense sandstorm.

With a soft thud, the Bloodthirst Dagger in Nie Yan's hand pierced into the back of the Sandstone Scorpion's head. The Sandstone Scorpion cried out in pain and swung its giant tail out.

Nie Yan dodged the attack of the Sandstone Scorpion's giant tail, and with a low shout, he slashed open the wound with the Bloodthirst Dagger. With a soft thud, black liquid spurted out, splashing on Nie Yan.

Damage values of over ten thousand floated above Nie Yan's head. He took out a bottle of Advanced Antidote from his bag and drank it.

The poison effect was dispelled.

No matter how the Sandstone Scorpion struggled, it couldn't shake off Nie Yan from its back.

After a while, the Sandstone Scorpion's movements gradually stopped. Nie Yan took out a black crystal core from the back of the Sandstone Scorpion's head. The thing was in his hands!

Yin Hui Zhi Ye, Su Yue, and the others were extremely anxious outside. The sandstorm caused by the Sandstone Scorpion was too amazing, and they couldn't get close at all. They could feel the Sandstone Scorpion in the center of the sandstorm seemed to be struggling violently.

They were puzzled, what exactly happened?

After a moment, estimated to be less than two minutes, the sandstorm slowly calmed down.

"The sandstorm has stopped!"

"Quick, find Nie Yan!"

If something unexpected happened to Nie Yan, they couldn't bear the responsibility!

Yin Hui Zhi Ye looked up, and the scene that entered his eyes stunned him. He saw the Sandstone Scorpion lying quietly among the sand dunes, black blood gurgling from its head, seeping into the sand dunes next to it. It was already dead.

When the dust settled, Nie Yan came walking over, his body only slightly stained with some black liquid and sand.

Yin Hui Zhi Ye, Su Yue, and the others looked at Nie Yan, and then at the Sandstone Scorpion's corpse behind them, their breathing slightly stagnating. They couldn't describe their shock at this moment. That was a Seventh-Order flying creature! Under Nie Yan's dagger, it was like grass, easily taken care of.

Looking at Nie Yan walking over, Su Yue understood what Yin Hui Zhi Ye had said before: the King's Way! Under my dagger, if I want you to die, you will definitely not live past the next second, whether it's against people, or against large flying creatures like the Sandstone Scorpion!

Nie Yan casually threw the Dark-attribute crystal core to the Ghost Dragon in the pet space, letting the Ghost Dragon digest it.

"Nie Yan, Sandstone Scorpions are social creatures. More Sandstone Scorpions might come over later," Yin Hui Zhi Ye reminded Nie Yan.

Nie Yan nodded and smiled, "I'm hoping they'll come in greater numbers." After such a long time, the Dark-attribute crystal cores in Nie Yan's bag had been almost completely consumed by the gluttonous Ghost Dragon and Darkwing Dragon. He needed to replenish some. Seventh-Order crystal cores were still quite good.

Yin Hui Zhi Ye thought for a moment, and realized that he was indeed overthinking it. Nie Yan didn't care about Sandstone Scorpions at all! He had always admired Nie Yan, but today, he was shocked again.

Over the next period of time, Nie Yan scouted the situation near the Purple-Eyed Ground Dragon's nest, and used the Climbing skill to climb up the rock wall, hiding behind the protruding rocks, and checking the situation inside the cave. Inside the cave, one sturdy Purple-Eyed Ground Dragon after another walked back and forth. They were guarding very closely. The light inside the cave was very dim, with faint flames flickering. It was probably subterranean fire. Dragons generally liked to be active in volcanic areas, because such places were suitable for their cubs to hatch.

It would be difficult to sneak in. During this time, quite a few Sandstone Scorpions came to their deaths, allowing Nie Yan to obtain a lot of Seventh-Order Dark-attribute crystal cores.

After the Ghost Dragon in the pet space continuously ate several Seventh-Order Dark-attribute crystal cores, its size increased a lot. Possibly because of its soul form, the Ghost Dragon's ability to absorb and digest Dark-attribute crystal cores was better than the Darkwing Dragon's. Plus, it was only Sixth-Order, so eating a few Seventh-Order Dark-attribute crystal cores immediately took effect.

Nie Yan could feel that the Ghost Dragon's aura had climbed to the peak of the Sixth-Order, and it would soon break through the Sixth-Order barrier and advance to the Seventh-Order. If it could advance to the Seventh-Order, he wouldn't have to fear the Flame Giant Bird anymore.

The Ghost Dragon was different from the Darkwing Dragon. The Darkwing Dragon was a melee combat-type flying mount. After advancing, its defense and attack would greatly increase, but it was difficult to obtain skills. If the Ghost Dragon advanced to the Seventh-Order, it could learn two new skills! Nie Yan couldn't help but look forward to it.