Chapter 109: Giant Lizard of the Earth

Muffled breathing came from between the boulders. Nie Yan cautiously scouted ahead and caught sight of the belly of a giant lizard.

It was a Terra Basilisk!

Nie Yan had long known that he would inevitably encounter it here.

The lizard was hidden among the rocks. It was five yards long, covered in spikes, and looked no different from a Tyrannosaurus rex.

Looking toward the other side, Nie Yan noticed a deep, dark cave nestled between the boulders. If one didn’t observe carefully, it would be hard to notice.

Looking from this side toward the cave, it seemed bottomless.

“I need to avoid this lizard,” Nie Yan thought. Sneaking into the cave without disturbing the lizard would not be an easy task.

Nie Yan cast a Super Insight ability on the lizard.

Terra Basilisk: ??-level Elite.

Nie Yan vaguely recalled that this Terra Basilisk was supposedly an elite creature of level thirty or higher. If it landed even a single blow on him, he would be finished.

However, this Terra Basilisk wouldn’t stay in this area permanently.

Nie Yan waited patiently.

After several dozen minutes, the Terra Basilisk stirred slightly, slowly rising to its feet and climbing onto a large boulder. Its massive tail swept across another boulder not far from Nie Yan, striking it with a loud crash that shattered the rock into pieces.

Pattering sounds followed as fragments of rock flew toward Nie Yan’s position.

-23, -27, -26—damage numbers floated above Nie Yan’s head.

Nie Yan dared not move even slightly, fearing detection by the Terra Basilisk.

Suddenly, the Terra Basilisk halted its steps and turned its head toward the rubble below.

Nie Yan’s heart skipped a beat. He buried himself deeper behind the rock, motionless, as if time had frozen.

The Terra Basilisk turned its head again and lazily crawled slowly away into the distance.

Thankfully, the Terra Basilisk hadn’t discovered him. Nie Yan exhaled in relief. Watching the lizard move farther away, Nie Yan cautiously peeked out and stealthily made his way toward the cave.

A gust of cold wind blew from deep within the cave as Nie Yan entered. The interior was damp, and the walls were covered with deep scratches—clearly left by the Terra Basilisk.

This was the Terra Basilisk’s cave. Every two hours, it would leave to sunbathe on a distant cliff for about five minutes.

Nie Yan’s current damage output was insufficient to harm the Terra Basilisk effectively. Even if the lizard stood still while Nie Yan continuously shot at it, his damage wouldn’t exceed the lizard’s healing rate.

If he hadn’t known the Terra Basilisk would leave for a while, Nie Yan wouldn’t have dared to come here.

He ventured deeper into the cave. As he progressed, no light penetrated anymore. It was pitch-black all around, and he couldn’t even see his hand in front of his face. Nie Yan could only move forward slowly, relying on his senses.

Fortunately, aside from the occasional visits by the Terra Basilisk, there were no other monsters in this place.

Time was pressing. If the Terra Basilisk returned and smelled Nie Yan, it would charge in without hesitation and tear him to shreds.

Nie Yan quickened his pace, spreading his arms wide to expand his perception range. He would immediately avoid any obstacles his fingertips touched.

After about three minutes, he still hadn’t reached the end of the cave. Nie Yan faintly noticed a faint light coming from deep within the cave.

“Could there be a treasure chest?” Nie Yan’s thoughts quickened as he moved toward the source of the light.

In his previous life, when he had searched here, the treasure chest had already been looted. This time, he was the first to arrive, making it an unexpected surprise.

Indeed, Nie Yan found a silver-glowing treasure chest in a corner of the cave. He checked it and was relieved to find it unlocked. Otherwise, a level thirty locked chest would be impossible for him to open.

Treasure chests were divided into locked and unlocked types. Unlocked chests could be opened by any player of any class and level, while locked chests required lockpicking skills or keys of corresponding levels.

Nie Yan squatted down and began to open the chest.

System: Opening the treasure chest. Progress: 10%… 30%…

With a click, the chest opened. Nie Yan reached into the bottom and pulled out two items. He checked the attributes of one.

Darkness Pendant (Silver): Accessory. Requirements: Strength 20, Agility 30.

Attribute Description: Strength +7, Dark Vision +3.

Restriction: Usable by all classes and factions.

Seeing it was an accessory, Nie Yan’s heart raced. It turned out to be an item that enhanced dark vision. He could wear it now. His strength and agility had already met the requirements thanks to his good equipment.

Putting on the Darkness Pendant significantly improved his vision, allowing him to vaguely make out the surrounding environment, although still very limited. For the early stages, it was already quite impressive.

He checked the other item. It was a scroll.

Thunderfire (Intermediate Scroll): Requires Intelligence 30 to activate.

Attribute Description: Releases Thunderfire within a 20×20-yard area, dealing 200 damage and lasting for 15 seconds.

Casting Requirements: A set of gestures and movements.

Class Restriction: Human Rogues, Human Paladins, Human Warriors.

It was an intermediate rare scroll. Even when players reached levels thirty to forty, this scroll was extremely valuable. It had a very low drop rate in the wild and was a consumable item that ordinary players couldn’t afford. For Nie Yan at this moment, it was priceless—possibly even more valuable than the Darkness Pendant accessory he had just obtained.

The scroll required 30 Intelligence to use, but Nie Yan could temporarily boost his Intelligence with equipment and remove it afterward.

Nie Yan put the Thunderfire scroll away and continued deeper into the cave.

After walking for a few more minutes, he discovered another treasure chest, this time a golden one. Unfortunately, this chest was locked.

A level thirty golden chest required at least intermediate lockpicking skills to open, which was currently impossible for him.

Nie Yan could have learned the lockpicking skill at level five, but early-stage lockpicking skills were scarce. He had visited the auction house multiple times without finding any for sale. The skill book for lockpicking had to be obtained by killing monsters, with a drop rate of less than one in ten thousand. Spending so much time farming for a skill book wasn’t worth it for now.

Regretfully, he had to leave. However, Nie Yan heard some noises coming from the cave entrance, making his heart tighten. Bad news—he had to leave because the Terra Basilisk was returning!

Heavy footsteps echoed through the cave, rapidly approaching.

Nie Yan, relying on his dim vision, sprinted toward the depths of the cave.

A faint light pierced through ahead, and the wind howled inward—there was the exit!

Nie Yan quickened his pace. Soon, he reached the end of the cave and stopped. Ahead was a vast cliff, hundreds of yards high, with cold winds howling.

It was as if a mountain had been split in two, with steep cliffs on both sides and a deep gorge below, where dense jungle could faintly be seen.

Nie Yan estimated the distance. The widest part of the gorge was over a hundred yards, while the narrowest was about fifty yards.

The spot where he stood was the closest point to the opposite cliff, approximately fifty yards away.

The reason he had come here was to reach the opposite cliff. This was the only way for him to get there at the moment.

Nie Yan scanned the opposite cliff with his gaze but found nothing.

Behind him, the Terra Basilisk’s footsteps grew louder. Time was running out.

“There’s no time left. It should be okay,” Nie Yan thought. He retreated about ten yards to familiarize himself with the terrain and avoid colliding with obstacles during the run.

At that moment, a massive figure rapidly approached from the shadows behind him.

Nie Yan quickly used an acceleration scroll and started running, accelerating toward the cave exit, his movement speed increasing rapidly.

The Terra Basilisk lunged from behind. Even in the relatively narrow cave, its speed was astonishing. Roaring sounds like rolling thunder came from behind.

Nie Yan’s speed reached its maximum, drawing closer to the cave exit—ten yards, five yards, three, two, one. At the cave entrance, he leaped like a cannonball, flying toward the opposite cliff.

The wind howled past his ears, cold gusts battering his head. Nie Yan felt something behind him rushing out of the cave along with him as he plummeted toward the gorge below. It must have been the Terra Basilisk.

Nie Yan soared diagonally toward the opposite cliff, rapidly descending, his speed increasing.

If this motion were converted into a mathematical model, it would be a projectile motion with air resistance. Nie Yan would continuously approach the opposite cliff during this motion until he collided with it or fell to the ground.

Nie Yan fell about a hundred yards, getting closer and closer to the opposite cliff. He quickly activated the Feather Fall ability from his Feather Fall gem, drastically slowing his descent until it was slightly faster than a feather’s.

Nie Yan quickly scanned the approaching cliff. A cave entwined with vines caught his eye in the distance, about ten yards away—there it was!

Nie Yan shot out a strand of webbing, sticking it to a cluster of plants on the cliff wall, halting his fall.

Nie Yan hung from the cliff, slowly pulling the webbing to climb upward. With his right hand, he grabbed onto plants growing from the cliff, suspending himself midair.

System: You have discovered Ryendord.

Ryendord was where Nie Yan was located. It was a towering mountain, surrounded by steep cliffs. Looking upward, its peak pierced the clouds. It was said that the Ryendord Temple lay atop, though Nie Yan had never climbed there before.

The ability from the Weaver’s Ring was still on cooldown.

Nie Yan checked the distance to the cave entrance. It was about five yards away. If he used the Weaver’s Ring ability one more time, he could reach it.

In his previous life, Nie Yan had heard of someone reaching this place using the Weaver’s Ring and Feather Fall gear, which had seemed incredible at the time.

Now, experiencing it firsthand, he realized that miracles were not out of reach!

Twenty seconds later, the ability on the Weaver’s Ring cooled down.

Nie Yan shot another strand of webbing from the Weaver’s Ring, sticking it to the vines at the cave entrance. He tugged the webbing to ensure it was secure, then rapidly climbed up, flipped over, and entered the cave.

Inside, Nie Yan discovered it was a massive lava cave. Though the entrance was small, the interior was vast and unique, with stalactites hanging from the ceiling, forming a distinctive landscape.

Wave after wave of scorching heat rolled in from deep within the cave. It was said that a level sixty elite Fire Elemental slept deep inside. Entering further would awaken it. Nie Yan’s purpose for coming here was not to disturb it—he had no intention of dying.