"If someone tries to steal the second boss, you focus on the boss—I'll handle the killing!"
On the way to find the second boss, Jiang Yuan said to the others in the team channel.
Since Jiang Yuan had already started killing, turning everyone in the team into red names, it was no longer suitable to split up and search. The five of them grouped together, moving as one to find the boss Ox Gold.
At this point, many teams still hadn't secured the first boss, so the competition for the second one wasn't too fierce yet.
"Roar!"
Just then, the sacred beast Xuanwu beside Jiang Yuan suddenly let out an inexplicable roar. The green serpent coiled on its turtle shell rose upright, its head pointing directly at the eight o'clock direction.
"Yuanzi, what does this mean?"
Seeing the strange behavior of the sacred beast Xuanwu, Ding Ye immediately looked at Jiang Yuan and asked.
"No idea, it's never done anything this weird before."
Jiang Yuan shook his head. The sacred beast Xuanwu was just one of his summon skills, unable to communicate with him like his spirit pet Beiluo Shimen, so he couldn't understand what its actions meant.
"Could it be giving us a hint?"
Watching the sacred beast Xuanwu frozen in place for a while, Wen Ding Cangsheng seemed to guess something from its movements and asked uncertainly.
"No way, it's just a skill of mine, not as mystical as you're making it out to be!"
Jiang Yuan felt Wen Ding Cangsheng's words were a bit far-fetched and quickly waved his hand in response.
"Mystical or not, let's trust it this once and head toward the eight o'clock direction to find out!"
Wen Ding Cangsheng decided to take a gamble, leading his mount toward the direction the sacred beast Xuanwu had indicated.
"Let's go! It can't hurt to check it out."
Cang Shu Buding agreed with Wen Ding Cangsheng, said to Jiang Yuan, and followed behind him.
"Go! Let's see if you're really that smart!"
Jiang Yuan issued an "attack and advance" command to the sacred beast Xuanwu. This command meant keeping the summon in attack mode while moving forward to scout.
Soon, the sacred beast Xuanwu, having received the order, shifted its massive body and took the lead at the front of the team, acting as a guide.
"Whoa! No way?"
"Oh my god! It's true!"
After following the sacred beast Xuanwu in the eight o'clock direction for about three to four hundred meters, Ding Ye and Cang Shu Buding pointed ahead and exclaimed in surprise.
Looking in the direction they pointed, Jiang Yuan was also stunned. Under a large tree ahead stood a lone figure, its overhead information showing it was the second boss of the Xuanwu Seven Mansions—Ox Gold!
"Hey! That's incredible!"
Wen Ding Cangsheng looked at Jiang Yuan's summon Xuanwu in amazement, never expecting that his tentative try would actually lead them to the boss!
"Could it just be a coincidence?"
Faced with such a bizarre phenomenon, Jiang Yuan was still a bit skeptical, so he temporarily chalked it up to coincidence, planning to test the sacred beast Xuanwu again after defeating this boss!
"Hurry, let's start! There's no cover around here, easy to get spotted!"
Wen Ding Cangsheng scanned the surrounding terrain and quickly urged everyone.
In an instant, the team members swarmed forward, launching an attack on the boss Ox Gold.
Just as Jiang Yuan's team began fighting, a team quickly approached from not too far behind, led by none other than the top-ranked player on the leaderboard, Aoshi Longhuang.
"Oh, Brother Longhuang. Long time no see. What, thinking of stealing?"
Jiang Yuan, with his bright red name, heard the noise, turned around, and saw it was Aoshi Longhuang, whom he hadn't seen in a while. He stopped attacking and addressed him.
Aoshi Longhuang's team also had a few players below level 130, so like Jiang Yuan, they had chosen the level 120 "Xuanwu Seven Mansions" quest.
"Let's go, we'll look elsewhere."
Faced with Jiang Yuan's challenge, Aoshi Longhuang surprisingly didn't try to snatch the boss. Instead, he backed down, said something to Yi Dao Po Wan Fa beside him, and led his team away quickly.
"That Aoshi Longhuang didn't cause trouble for us—did he suddenly grow a conscience?"
After Aoshi Longhuang's team left, Ding Ye took a break from the fight, looked at Jiang Yuan, and asked.
"I thought they'd jump in and steal it. I was ready for a fight."
Wen Ding Cangsheng, well aware of the grudge between Jiang Yuan and Aoshi Longhuang, turned and smiled as he said.
"As long as he doesn't mess with me, I won't mess with him. Peace is best. If he dares to make a move, I won't let him off easy."
Jiang Yuan turned back to deal damage to the boss while saying in the team channel.
After Aoshi Longhuang's team left, no other team discovered their boss. They smoothly defeated Ox Gold and obtained the corresponding token.
"Come on, let me test again if the sacred beast Xuanwu can really sense these bosses' locations."
After defeating Ox Gold, the first sacred beast Xuanwu disappeared. Jiang Yuan immediately summoned another one, said to the group, and mentally gave the "attack and advance" command to the sacred beast Xuanwu.
"Roar!"
The sacred beast Xuanwu raised its turtle head high, let out a massive roar, then dragged its huge body, turned around, and headed toward the three o'clock direction.
The third boss of the "Xuanwu Seven Mansions" was called Female Earth Bat. Jiang Yuan and the others followed the sacred beast Xuanwu for about five minutes before stopping in front of a cave.
"The third boss is inside this cave?"
Seeing the sacred beast Xuanwu's massive body halt in front of the cave, Ding Ye glanced back at Jiang Yuan and said.
"You've got thick health, go in and find out."
After Jiang Yuan spoke, Ding Ye didn't waste words and dove straight in.
"Damn! This is a cheat!"
Soon, Ding Ye's utterly shocked voice came from the cave.
"Oh my god! It really is!"
"666~! Jiang Yuan, this sacred beast Xuanwu of yours is a total cheat!"
As the others entered the cave one by one and found the bat-shaped boss inside, Cang Shu Buding and Wen Ding Cangsheng said to Jiang Yuan simultaneously.
If finding Ox Gold the first time could be chalked up to coincidence, then the second time they had completely followed the sacred beast Xuanwu's lead, and it had actually guided them to the third boss—this couldn't be explained by coincidence anymore!
What Jiang Yuan didn't know was that his sacred beast Xuanwu was formed from the star power of the northern "Xuanwu Seven Mansions," giving it an innate strong affinity with these seven stars!
He checked the time—less than half an hour had passed since the event started. At this rate, they could complete at least three rounds of tonight's event!
(I've got COVID, guys. Yesterday, I had a high fever that wouldn't go down, so I really couldn't update. I'm a bit better today, trying my best not to miss updates.)