Chapter 163
Ye Bai's gaze lingered on the intricate patterns for a moment, and just five seconds later, she received a system notification:
【You have gazed upon the Infernal Mark of a Hell Lord, and your soul has been scorched.】
【You have gained 10 points in 'Demon Language' proficiency.】
Along with the notification, Ye Bai noticed her health and mana bars drop by 500 and 100 points, respectively.
This was one of the Hell Lord's unique passive abilities. The downside was that a close examination would inflict real damage, while the upside was, of course, the increase in proficiency in the Demon Language.
As long as she didn’t stare for more than five seconds, she could avoid this effect.
"Heh... foolish little insect, do you not know that the divine cannot be gazed upon?" A snake head emerged from the magma, pursuing Ye Bai as she fled.
The serpent's body extended from the magma, seemingly endless, with no visible end or branching point, clearly a result of some special magic.
Due to the massive size of the snake demon Lord Kedar, it appeared slow, but in reality, it moved with incredible speed, quickly overtaking the Hell creatures that had been chasing Ye Bai ahead.
Among these Hell creatures, the intelligent and swift ones quickly made way for Kedar, while the others were ruthlessly crushed beneath its enormous body, vanishing without a trace, merging into the serpent's form.
For the chaotic denizens of Hell, 'friendly fire' was an all-too-familiar occurrence.
At the same time, just as the snake demon Lord had indicated, for normal players, the Infernal Mark represented damage that could not be mitigated by magic resistance or defense. It was best avoided altogether; even if it offered rewards in language proficiency, it wasn’t worth the risk, as looking too long could lead to death.
Yet, recovering from the shock, Ye Bai... not only had to look, but she had to look hard.
【...You have suffered a soul burn.】
【You have gained 10 points in 'Demon Language' proficiency.】
【...You have suffered a soul burn.】
【You have gained 10 points in 'Demon Language' proficiency.】
【...】
Realizing her health had dropped to a dangerous level, she leveled up immediately! She wasn’t about to let this opportunity slip away; experience points were meant to be seized!
Of course, such extreme measures came with risks, so Ye Bai also pulled out a magical scroll containing the paper doll from her backpack. It could serve as her other set of eyes, alerting her to danger from an informational standpoint.
In that fleeting moment, Ye Bai even entertained the thought of whether the paper doll could alter the Infernal Mark on the Hell Lord—what would happen if it could?
Meanwhile, as soon as the paper doll appeared, it saw Ye Bai riding on Ottofis, rushing toward the spatial rift, with a Hell Lord in hot pursuit. It was utterly shocked, though its perspective was slightly off.
The paper doll marveled, "Truly, Lord Bai Ye is impressive! Just a slight display of power has drawn out a demigod-level foe!"
Ye Bai replied, "Uh... th-thank you."
Chapter 117
Ye Bai didn’t have time to clarify to the misled paper doll that she hadn’t intentionally attracted the Hell Lord. The spatial rift was not far from the fortress, and as they spoke, the rift, glowing with an otherworldly light, was already in sight.
The massive snake head was still about thirty to forty meters away from Ye Bai, while the previously leading Hell creatures had fallen behind, clearly unable to match the speed of the snake demon.
Observing the 'Infernal Mark,' Ye Bai seized the opportunity, using 【Insight】 on the snake demon.
【Snake Demon Lord Kedar】
Level: ??
Health: ????????/????????
Skills: Decapitation Rebirth, ????, ????
Weaknesses: ????, ????, ????
As expected, the level difference was too great; aside from one rebirth skill, all other information was obscured by question marks, with only 'Decapitation Rebirth' visible.
As the name suggests, Decapitation Rebirth is the snake demon's signature skill. When a head is shattered, if it cannot be defeated in one go, the snake demon can use this ability to repair its head, allowing it to regrow, reflected in a powerful healing effect on its health bar.
Ye Bai knew the abilities of ordinary snake demons, but a Hell Lord would naturally awaken corresponding abilities from the 'High-Level Hell Skill Pool.' Until she witnessed Kedar using its skills, she had no idea what it was capable of.
Generally speaking, large monsters often struggle with spellcasting; even if they possess magic, it tends to be powerful but costly. Kedar's relentless pursuit without casting any spells to hinder Ye Bai confirmed this.
Thus, from their current distance, Ye Bai should be able to enter the spatial rift before the snake demon caught up.
Kedar, the snake demon lord, noticed Ye Bai's prolonged gaze at the Infernal Mark and spoke cryptically:
"The fate of the last pitiful creature who sought knowledge through the Infernal Mark... oh, I misspoke; there was no last one. You are the first, and your greed is somewhat admirable."
Suddenly, just as it finished speaking leisurely, and with Ottofis mere steps from the spatial rift, the snake demon's head abruptly 'zoomed' in Ye Bai's vision. It suddenly accelerated, covering nearly thirty meters in an instant!
The snake demon was a type of demon, and demons excelled at instilling fear. Its earlier feigned lag was merely a game to toy with Ye Bai.
The sudden, intense image jolted Ye Bai, leaving her breathless. Before she could react, a red, flame-licked snake tongue shot from the demon's mouth, like a chain, hurtling straight toward her.
"Swish!"
Yet, in that critical moment, Ye Bai felt a sudden lightness beneath her, creating a small gap between her and the massive snake head.
The snake tongue, which had been long enough to ensnare both her and Ottofis, instead grazed past her face, the scorching wind whipping her hair back in a flurry.
In that instant, the surface dweller, riding a donkey, surged into the spatial rift.
The once-certain snake demon lord Kedar paused slightly, a flicker of surprise crossing its crimson, fiery eyes. But that moment of shock was quickly replaced by a deeper greed.
Without hesitation, a red light flashed across Kedar's body, and it magically elongated again, transforming into an independent giant serpent, continuing its pursuit.
The spatial rift, originally only four meters wide, could not accommodate Kedar's twenty-meter-wide massive head. However, as the red light enveloped it, the rift rippled with a strange wave, allowing the giant serpent's head to slip through as if it were parting water.
For demigods, the size limitations of the spatial rift were non-existent. As long as they could obtain the spatial coordinates on the other side, they could use their own power to cross over.
The light and shadow shifted, and the familiar sensation of spatial travel washed over her.
"Ahh!"
The cool sea breeze, accompanied by Ottofis's triumphant call, snapped Ye Bai back to reality—at that critical moment, Ottofis had also suddenly accelerated, evading the snake demon lord's pursuit!
"Ottofis, you’re amazing—!" Ye Bai's cheer was cut short as the area beside the spatial rift rippled like water, and the giant snake head materialized out of thin air.
Ye Bai's voice caught in her throat, her scalp prickling. The speed at which Kedar had crossed the spatial rift exceeded her expectations.
This speed, in many ways, represented its strength; Kedar was not yet level 80, and colliding with it would not end well.
"Whoosh..." Just like before when it had assisted Ye Bai, Kedar allowed her and Ottofis to slide down a long-awaited, soft, slippery tentacle onto its head.
Realizing the dire situation, Ye Bai shouted as she slid down, "It's really strong! We need to go..."
However, her voice was completely drowned out by the ravenous Kedar, who had just finished its last meal.
"What a feast! Time to eat!"
The waves churned, tentacles swept, and Kedar's spiritual form and physical eyes both glimmered with a bright green light, its expression ecstatic as it prepared to feast.
"What is this..."
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