Lin Bai immediately sensed the abnormality within himself, but he couldn't stop the bestial instinct spreading within him, gradually consuming his rationality. Even his superior mental strength couldn't help him. This was a nature originating from the depths of the human heart, a wildness left behind from the struggles with beasts at the dawn of humanity. The curse merely amplified and distorted this trait.
"Damn it, the Divine Dragon Visualization Diagram is useless too."
The Divine Dragon Diagram in Lin Bai's mind dissipated, his heavy breathing becoming increasingly rapid. The distant roars of beasts constantly stimulated Lin Bai's fragile nerves, tempting him to join this night of slaughter belonging to the beastmen.
He persevered for more than ten seconds. Lin Bai's blood was boiling, sweat poured down his skin, and he was steaming. His innate Dao Body was a perfectly evolved physique, with top-tier immunity and resistance to negative influences. Otherwise, perhaps due to the curse related to the gods, Lin Bai wouldn't have been able to withstand it for so long.
But after only a few seconds, Lin Bai also felt his strength waning. His stomach felt like it was on fire, reminding him to quickly... replenish his energy.
"Heh, I should have called Gu Yuena. She definitely has a way to break the curse."
Lin Bai sighed, ceasing his resistance. With a wave of his arm, he summoned Ying Tian, leaping onto the dragon's back. The Dragon Knight's passive ability activated; while riding, Lin Bai and Ying Tian shared abnormal resistance.
"Phew, much better."
Lin Bai breathed a sigh of relief, his mind clearing as if he had just finished exercising. His mind felt incredibly relaxed, every emotion under his control, even anger and killing intent could be regulated.
"Buzz?"
Ying Tian shifted restlessly, the beastification curse shared through the weak life force making it somewhat uncomfortable, but that was all it was—turning a dragon into a beastman was far more difficult than turning a human into a beastman.
After the clarity, the wildness returned, and Lin Bai's eyes began to redden again. Fortunately, with Ying Tian sharing the burden, Lin Bai was able to maintain his conscious mind.
Feeling the tremors coursing through his body, Lin Bai exclaimed in surprise, "My innate Dao Body is adapting to the beastification curse. Such strong immunity! At this rate, I'll probably be able to maintain my sanity through the night without Xiao Tian."
Lin Bai smiled, his crimson eyes giving him an eerie air. He rode Ying Tian into the sky, gazing in the direction he had come from. A battle
had already broken out there. Hundreds of adventurers transformed into beastmen had completely lost their minds, frantically attacking nearby alien beastmen.
"Just as I thought. Different races, beastmen will attack each other, not just normal creatures."
When Lin Bai saw the beastmen from the Ayala tribe, he noticed they were all powerful beastmen, and the village lacked much sign of life. This meant they weren't hiding their strength, but truly only had beastmen. Where had the numerous ordinary beastmen gone? They likely hadn't met a good end.
"The Black Tiger Beastman didn't mention this, probably secretly plotting something, but Ning Fengzhi should be able to figure it out, so I don't need to worry about it."
Lin Bai adapted to the curse as he flew towards Dean Flander's direction. When he saw him in the distance, Dean Flander, transformed into an eagle-headed man, was flying in the air searching for prey. Seeing Lin Bai approach, he immediately flew over.
"I don't have time to fight you."
Lin Bai muttered, patting Ying Tian's dragon scales: "Just finish this quickly and incapacitate him."
A speed-type Soul Master who has lost his mind cannot withstand Ying Tian's attack by relying solely on physical strength.
Ying Tian opened its huge mouth and spewed out gray-black dragon breath, which hit Flander, knocking him from the sky and causing him to crash to the ground, creating a shallow crater.
Lin Bai released his mental power to slightly intercept the attack, preventing Flander from being too badly injured. After confirming that he was not seriously hurt, he carried him towards the depths of the plateau.
The journey was smooth, and in the latter half of the night, Lin Bai's mind cleared, and at the same time, the dungeon notification sounded.
[Optional Task 1 completed. Rewards will be issued along with the completion reward upon completion.]
"Just one task? That was easy."
Lin Bai felt like he hadn't done anything. He tried to leave Ying Tian's back. Without Ying Tian sharing the pressure of the curse, his bestial instincts surged again, but this time Lin Bai withstood the onslaught on his own, several times easier than before.
He opened his panel and saw that his physique and perception attributes had each increased by three points, a pleasant surprise.
There was still some time before dawn, and Lin Bai wouldn't feel tired even after staying up all night, so he planned to complete the level as soon as possible and continue with Ying Tian.
About an hour later, Lin Bai passed a hill, about ten meters high, which appeared very flat from the ground. Although called a hill, the raised area was actually over a hundred meters high.
A dense wave of malice swept over. By the time Lin Bai reacted, Ying Tian had already been attacked. The intense malice was almost directed at Ying Tian, and its powerful defenses were completely ineffective. Under a grayish-white aura, it instantly lost its fighting ability, its aura weakened, and its life force flickered.
"Who's causing trouble? Show yourself!"
Lin Bai roared, pressing his hands against Ying Tian. He activated his Time-Space Divine Spark, reversing time. A mysterious white light flashed, and everything went back one minute.
"Huh?"
A soft exclamation echoed across the empty plateau.
The sound was like a thunderclap, making Lin Bai's heart sink. The unknown enemy seemed to have noticed the time reversal, and its power level was definitely beyond his ability to handle. He considered whether to directly rewind time to before entering the dungeon, and let them chase him back to the dungeon if they dared.
Seemingly sensing Lin Bai's wariness, the mysterious voice sounded again, "Little guy, I mean no harm. Come closer."
No harm?
Lin Bai sneered. Ying Tian was almost killed by the opponent's seemingly harmless action. This was called no harm? What a lie.
However, this exposed the opponent's weakness. Lin Bai put aside his apprehension and considered whether to approach. His intuition told him that the secret in this dungeon was definitely related to this mysterious voice.
If only he had a clone skill.
Lin Bai never believed that time reversal made him invincible. He recalled Ying Tian and Flander into his small world, flew a few steps forward, and stopped three hundred meters from the hill.
"Who are you? Since you mean no harm, why don't you show yourself?"
Lin Bai released his telekinetic power, searching the surrounding area for signs of life. His soul power was incredibly pure, making him extremely sensitive to the aura of living beings; even ordinary Title Douluos like Tang Hao couldn't hide their presence near him.
But after searching, Lin Bai found nothing. It was as if, apart from sparse vegetation, there was no sign of life at all.
"Don't waste your energy. I'm deep underground."
(End of Chapter)