Chapter 59: Encountering the "Desert Oasis" Once More

No one voiced any objections.

Without Yu Yan, they would have to find ways to keep surviving.

Reuniting with Rong Jingtao and the others was clearly a sound idea, especially for Rong Xue’er. Not only was Rong Jingtao the strongest in their group, he was also her father, so Song Yi’s suggestion was exactly what she wanted.

The six of them quickly decided on their next three days’ course of action.

Meanwhile, Yu Yan, accompanied by Yun Duo’er and the three little crocodiles, had also found a nest of Rainbow-plumed Gold-spotted Plovers.

The Rainbow-plumed Gold-spotted Plover was a spirit bird unique to Giant Crocodile Island, ranging from rank two to rank five in power.

Despite its bird-like name, it could barely fly; its wings were little more than decorations. Those above third rank could unleash either the Earth Spike or Quicksand skill. Above the fourth rank, they could use both abilities, and not only that, but they were nimbler than the yellow-grade Gold-spotted Plovers, and their feathers could harden for extra defense.

Ordinary physical attacks from fourth rank or below couldn’t even harm them.

But this posed no issue for Yu Yan—her wind affinity powers were the natural bane of the Rainbow-plumed Gold-spotted Plover. With her speed and aerial advantage, the plovers were reduced to little more than moving targets.

The nest Yu Yan encountered contained plovers ranging from first to fourth rank.

There were two adults—a fourth rank and a third rank—the rest were all first-rank chicks. She didn’t even need the Fire Rhinoceros Horn to kill them. Unlike the thick-skinned, heavily defended Crocodylus Azureback, the delicate chicks could be easily dispatched with the sharp leaf of the Featherleaf Ficus.

The plovers were small; Yu Yan only needed to avoid the occasional Earth Spike.

With “Windwalk” protecting her, the plovers’ Quicksand skill failed to hinder her at all. Effortlessly, Yu Yan used the sharp Featherleaf Ficus to slit the fourth-rank plover’s throat. The third-rank mother, sensing danger, quickly cast Quicksand with a soft “puff.”

Suddenly, she and two chicks beside her vanished beneath the earth.

Yu Yan: “…”

She’d thought Quicksand was useless against her, assuming it had been aimed at her daughter instead!

Yun Duo’er couldn’t fly, and with the thick layer of leaves and humus concealing marshes on Giant Crocodile Island, Quicksand in such an environment could indeed put Yun Duo’er in real danger. Yu Yan, who’d been about to rush to her daughter’s aid, now found herself at a loss for words.

That mother plover truly embodied the saying, “When disaster strikes, lovers fly their separate ways,” with remarkable fidelity.

“Your team has met the requirements to exit. Would you like to leave the instance?”

Yu Yan gathered up the remaining chick plovers, tying them together with the three little crocodiles, and then silently thought, “Exit.”

She returned to reality, anxious to make the most of her time.

Yu Yan immediately sent Yun Duo’er into the Plant Spirit Realm to settle the little crocodiles and plovers.

She also handed over the corpse of the Azure-backed Crocodylus to Yun Duo’er for burial.

For some reason, though she’d entered many high-level instances in recent days and encountered countless monsters, she’d only gathered a few bird eggs, snake gallbladders, turtle eggs, and so on. Some viviparous monsters had babies inside them—at which point Yu Yan simply couldn’t bring herself to kill. Say what you will about her being softhearted or maternal, but when she encountered pregnant monsters, even knowing they were the easiest kills, Yu Yan always pretended not to see and moved on.

Yet she rarely came across newborn creatures before, and now, in this Giant Crocodile Island instance, she’d brought back two full nests!

Did this mean that at the start of an instance world, high-level monsters either had no offspring or only those yet to be born? And as the instance’s power gradually manifested, the eggs or unborn young began to develop?

Yu Yan wasn’t sure if her guess was correct.

Perhaps it was pure coincidence—she’d have to see in the future.

After leaving the A-rank Giant Crocodile Island instance, Yu Yan got a six-hour cooldown. However, she’d walked less than five minutes before stumbling into another instance. Fortunately, it was only the lowest F-rank. She entered, and with a gust of wind blades, dispatched a pair of Narrow-winged Mantises engaged in unspeakable activities.

Their rank wasn’t high, only first.

But it was enough for her and her daughter to qualify for exit.

The journey that followed was uneventful. After the F-rank instance came two E-rank ones, then a D-rank. Perhaps high-level instances always attracted a cluster of lesser ones nearby? In her previous life, Yu Yan skirted around high-level instances, so she’d never noticed this before. After four instances, she’d covered about a kilometer on foot.

Just as she was feeling rather fortunate, another instance appeared ahead.

Almost instinctively, Yu Yan reached out her hand—

S-rank Instance: Desert Oasis.

Hostile Creatures: Quru, Fire Tuo, Lightning Yong, Snow-capped Wolves, Soul-eating Spiders, Sand Worms, Mystic Rats, Black-spotted Antelopes, and more.

Attention: “Instance levels range from F to 3S, F being the weakest, 3S the strongest!”

“Do you wish to enter the instance?”

Yu Yan: “…”

Well, wasn’t this a familiar instance.

She had already been here once during the adaptation phase; her spirit beast, Little Qing, came from this very terrifying instance. Even with the instance at only ten percent power during the adaptation period, she’d endured plenty of hardship.

The snow-capped wolves, masters of teamwork, as relentless as maggots clinging to bone.

Soul-eating spiders, appearing out of nowhere, dishing out a sting that made you wish for death.

And those sand worms, as thick as a bus—were they really just “worms”? If someone called them dragons, Yu Yan wouldn’t have argued.

Their strength was unimpressive—the highest only third rank—but killing one meant being drenched head to toe in spurting blood, like taking an icy shower in the height of summer.

The smell was dreadful; Yu Yan had scrubbed herself a dozen times but couldn’t rid herself of the stench. In short, this instance had left her with deep psychological scars. Now, with the instance’s power at thirty percent, Yu Yan, for once, felt a twinge of fear.

Maybe she should take it easy—after all, as long as she was alive, endless possibilities remained, didn’t they?

But then she remembered: in just over two months, there would be no cooldown period for instances. If she wanted to find her loved ones, she’d have to rely on sheer luck—everyone entering the same instance, and then miraculously meeting in the endless, boundless world within.

Yu Yan’s unwillingness to give up won out in the end. Gritting her teeth, she said, “Enter.”

This time, however, she didn’t consult Yun Duo’er in the Plant Spirit Realm.

For instances below A-rank, taking her daughter along for experience was one thing. But Yu Yan had no intention of letting her daughter taste an S-rank instance at thirty percent power!

The consequences could well be more than she could bear.

There were a thousand ways to teach a child to grow up; throwing her into genuine peril was not one Yu Yan wished for. As long as she was alive, her daughter would always have her to protect her. If, after being reborn, she couldn’t even protect her own child, what meaning would her new life have?

Yu Yan’s gaze grew sharp as she appeared atop a high ridge, yellow sand swirling all around her.