The group stood in front of a forest, behind them lay the bodies of slain monsters.
"This is the place!" Xiao Jie declared as he gazed at the dark, dense woods before him.
Duan Hun Forest, located in the northwestern part of Canglin State, was a land beyond the civilized world. It was filled with towering trees, thick forests, primal mountain ranges, and where monsters, particularly from the Demon Race, frequently roamed. Ying Baiyu had turned into a demon there and gathered a host of demonic subordinates, many of which were bird demons.
As they journeyed, the aerial demon attacks were relentless.
Therefore, everyone had switched to remote weapons and both Flipped Cake and An Ran had summoned their pets, a giant eagle and a large crow.
Despite the help, the fight was still tough. Ground demons were manageable, but airborne ones were problematic; if they didn’t descend, they were almost untouchable, and even if they did, they would circle and swoop, making them difficult to handle.
Fortunately, although these Bird Demons could fly, they needed to come in close to attack. Some could shoot feathers as a means of attack from a distance, but their range was no farther than a bow and arrow. While the battle was grueling, it was not insurmountable.
Along the way, they managed to defeat quite a few minor monsters.
However, facing the dense forest ahead, doubts arose among them. Entering Duan Hun Forest meant possibly stepping into the den of monsters and triggering a monster wave.
Moreover, in this game, high levels and superior Equipment didn’t guarantee dominance; terrain, visibility, and order of actions all affected the outcome of battles.
Even for a strong team like Xiao Jie’s, rashly entering this dense forest swarming with Bird Demons was perilously risky.
Hao Mie spoke sternly, "Same old rules, we scout the terrain before making any plans. Who’s going this time?"
This was an implied necessity, as had been the case in the previous two boss fights—plan first, then act.
However, Xiao Jie volunteered, "Let me do it this time."
"You?" Hao Mie expressed his surprise.
Others were equally astounded; they recognized his skill level but hadn’t expected Xiao Jie to volunteer for recon.
With suspicion, Hao Mie asked, "How do you plan to do it? There are many flying monsters in these woods, and Qinggong alone won’t suffice."
Ye Luo suggested, "Maybe I should go instead, I can stealth in."
"Heh, no need to rush, I’m the only one suitable for this since we need recon and to confirm if the Boss is there—as for how I’ll do it—watch."
Walking to the edge of the forest, Xiao Jie soon entered the range of Duan Hun Forest and equipped the Phantom Spirit Pearl.
Then he activated its Equipment Effect, Transform into Human form!
[Transform into Human: Randomly transforms you into a human form that blends with the surrounding environment.]
With a ’puff,’ a mist enveloped Xiao Jie, and when it dispersed, he had transformed into a half-human, half-bird creature.
Covered in fluffy feathers, with a pair of dopey large eyes, he looked somewhat daft and inadvertently comical.
He greatly resembled the condor from The Return of the Condor Heroes, especially the version played by Gutianle.
He also bore a resemblance to a Moonkin from World of Warcraft.
He seemed quite intelligent looking.
Xiao Jie tried to maneuver and discovered he had only changed in appearance; he was essentially still himself and could even use his wings like hands to wield weapons.
Trying out flying, he found the wings were merely for show and couldn’t lift him at all; every flap was just a flutter.
Fortunately, he could still use Qinggong; with Flying Cloud Chasing Moon followed by Yan Hang, with the large chubby bird gliding through the sky, it actually looked somewhat like flying.
Alright, that should do.
"Feng brother, what spell is this?" Jiu Jianxian exclaimed.
And An Ran was even more astounded, "I say, you can transform into a bird? I haven’t even learned that! Where did you learn this Skill?"
"Equipment Skills only. You guys keep on leveling here, I’ll go scout thoroughly and might be inside for a longer time, we’ll keep in touch via YY."
With that, Xiao Jie made his way into the forest alone.
Despite his nonchalance, Xiao Jie was somewhat nervous. Even though he had transformed, whether he could fool the monsters’ eyes was still uncertain; he had placed the Invisibility Talisman and Escape Light Talisman in his shortcut bar, ready for use.
As he walked onward, a strange shrill—"guagua"—soon echoed above his head.
That call was familiar. It was from a common creature in Duan Hun Forest—the Bone-eating Demon Bird.
A common demonized bird species.
Looking up, he saw a Bone-eating Demon Bird warily eyeing him.
Calm, Xiao Jie activated his Beast Language Skill, a necessity in a monster ecosystem where there are both ’demon’ and ’monster’ categories. Demons are higher-level, able to assumed human-like forms, and possess higher intellect, sometimes even capable of communicating like human-formed monsters.
As opposed to ’monsters,’ which are fully demonized beasts.
This creature was clearly the latter.
Bone-eating Demon Bird: Level 18, Life Value 460.
"Good morning, have you eaten?" the Bone-eating Demon Bird asked.
Xiao Jie thought to himself that the bird was quite polite and responded, "Good morning, not yet."
"Guagua, big fat bird, have you seen anyone coming?"
"I saw them, those folks outside look quite yummy."
"Guagua, yummy, I want to eat. Where are they?"
"They are just outside the woods. Just fly straight out towards the southwest."