Chapter 103: Blooming Rose of Ice

Chapter 103: Blooming Rose of Ice Upon clearing the last monster of the batch, the countdown for the next one began. The time spent on clearing didn’t seem to affect the interval before the next batch was summoned. It was fixed—10 minutes after the death of the final monster from the previous wave. Thus, they didn’t have to worry about getting swarmed by multiple batches at once. It was an upgrade, especially when compared to the first wave, where the spawn interval was fixed regardless of monster deaths. "Phew..." Arthur sighed as he chopped down the last monster in his area. The reason he was tired wasn’t due to the strength of the monsters but because he had to move around himself and refrain from relying on the golden field that banished all enemies. After all, loot boxes were important, and they needed to be collected properly. He didn’t want to get scolded by Xu Tao or Jehanne again. "Go and collect the loots, then launch the signal when you’re done," he shouted at the guards on the wall. "I’ll take a short breather for now." Arthur sat down on the ground, wiping sweat from his forehead—or at least pretending to. He didn’t actually sweat from fighting weak monsters. His "tiredness" was more mental than physical. The defenders on the wall were bold. They rushed in and opened the loot boxes, gathering the contents into the Rare Storage Rings Xu Tao had let them borrow. With those rings, they could open loot boxes, store the items efficiently, then retreat and dump everything at the designated collection spots. Of course, they didn’t need to worry about a sudden influx of new monsters. As soon as Xu Tao figured out that the timer was based on the last monster’s death, he made sure to immobilize a few enemies on his side to give everyone enough time to gather loot before triggering the next wave. This method not only gave the defenders time to rest between waves, but it also kept the battlefield clean—with every piece of loot collected before the next horde appeared. Xu Tao decided on the strategy and passed the message along to everyone else in classic telephone-game fashion. Naturally, the message was shortened for clarity: "Gather all loots after each wave." It made for faster and easier transmission. [Currently cleared 5 batches out of 20. Next wave will be summoned in 10 minutes.] They had just finished the fifth batch and were now waiting for the sixth. Judging by the difficulty curve—roughly a 30% increase in power per batch—the next wave of monsters should average around level 18. That should still be manageable. But the increase was compounded, meaning that by the 16th batch, they’d be dealing with level 256 monsters. By the 19th batch, enemies would be as strong as a level 562 powerhouse! ’Even if we conserve our strength, the boss monster will be beyond help...’ Xu Tao noted silently. He estimated the boss monster would hit level 731! Even Jehanne’s Bunny mode wouldn’t be a match for something like that. Xu Tao shook his head. ’I can’t rely on Jehanne alone when that time comes... I need to be ready too.’ Of course, Xu Tao had already prepared for it. He reached for his ring and pulled out a brown bottle filled with pale blue pills. It was obvious what they were—Condensed Qi Pills! Each one could increase his Cultivation by at least a thousand points. Currently, he was at Qi Gathering, 2nd Stage. Essentially, each pill he took would raise him by one whole stage! The bottle originally held ten pills, but he had already used two. One was during the time he crafted the second Log House. He’d done his best to absorb all the Qi within, but couldn’t fully contain it—fearing it would overload his meridians. The second was just before he logged out, fighting against the snakes. At that time, he’d used it like an external battery, tapping into the Qi instantly without letting his Cultivation rise. As a result, not a single drop went into leveling up—completely wasted. But now, he was ready. He knew exactly how much Qi the pill provided, and his meridians and Dantian had expanded enough to absorb it safely. Not to mention, he now possessed an item that could help him control the surge of Qi from the pill. He picked out one glowing blue pill and popped it into his mouth. The moment it touched his tongue, the cold, condensed Qi sealed inside began to pour out like a flood. Its intensity was enough to make a normal cultivator explode—but Xu Tao quickly unfolded the Celestial Fan, spreading all its ribs at once. As he did, a barrier materialized around his body. It was a formation that blocked all external attacks from entering. However, it worked both ways—it also prevented Qi from leaking out unless permitted. "Hurk...!" Xu Tao felt as though his meridians were on fire, and he gritted his teeth. If he faltered now, even for a breath, the condensed Qi would rampage through his body and rupture his meridians. Even so, he refused to waste the pill’s power. He began circulating the Qi rapidly, cycling it through his Dantian at a speed of a thousand revolutions per second. No other cultivator would have been able to match his pace! Drop by drop, he absorbed the pill’s essence, and soon... GRAAAAGH! ...The sixth batch of monsters arrived. ’Shit! They came too fast, I need more time...!’ Xu Tao thought immediately. Ten minutes had passed in a blink, forcing Xu Tao to open his eyes prematurely. He was still far from consolidating all the Qi from the pill, which meant he couldn’t disable the barrier yet—otherwise, he’d waste the remaining Qi still coursing through him. ’Good thing I came prepared.’ As soon as the monsters appeared, a massive wall of ice enclosed their spawn point on all sides. Not just north, south, east, and west—but also above and below—were sealed off, making escape impossible. Once the cube was fully formed, thin flaps—like icy petals—began rising along its sides, folding in like a blooming flower. When the transformation completed, the cube resembled a massive rosebud made entirely of translucent blue ice. Or... not entirely blue. From the base, a hint of red began to seep upward, slowly spreading toward the tips of the frozen petals. Those stationed at the walls looked on in awe as the flower bloomed—whispers of fear and amazement passing among them. ’Blood Ice Rose Trap Formation... Who would’ve thought I’d end up using this heretical technique myself.’ Xu Tao smiled wryly, shaking his head. "Let’s just hope that thing doesn’t track me down for using its technique..."