"So the Rotten Velkhana is seeking death?"
Eudora said in disbelief.
"Perhaps it can sense that it's on the verge of losing control."
Thinking of the瘴雾 (zhàng wù - miasma fog) Rotten Velkhana appearing in the Ancient Forest in the game, Li Fan made a guess.
"In that case, death would be a release for the Rotten Velkhana, but why did it go to the bottom of the瘴气之谷 (zhàng qì zhī gǔ - Miasma Valley) back then?"
Eudora expressed her curiosity.
"Judging by the timing, all this happened after Xiao Ming was born. I suspect it might have completed some mission."
"The miasma is coming, meow! Put on your masks quickly."
Dielu said, distributing masks from her backpack to the two of them.
The Rotten Velkhana flew higher and higher, quickly passing through the upper layers of the Miasma Valley and reaching the Coral Highlands.
The research base had already flown away, and with the limited hunting under the restrictions of the Starry Fort, not many hunters were carrying out missions here.
The threat it could cause was very limited, but due to its strange behavior, Li Fan decided to track it.
So the team took the elevator back to the surface.
As the miasma spread, a large amount of coral in the water withered and rotted, and the Rotten Velkhana began to wreak havoc.
Groups of monsters like the Namielle, Tobi-Kadachi, and Pukei-Pukei scattered and fled.
Even the Odogaron didn't dare to linger.
Before long, the sky turned gloomy, and a drizzling rain began to fall, and the pervasive miasma slightly receded.
The Rotten Velkhana's roar lowered in pitch, and it gradually became calmer.
"It's raining again, meow."
Dielu extended her cat paw, preparing to catch raindrops with her paw pads.
Feeling a chill in her paw, Dielu quickly retracted it and said in surprise, "They've turned into ice pellets, meow..."
Drip... Splash...
The sound of raindrops quickly turned into the sound of hailstones hitting.
Gradually, the wind around them became strong, and a chill descended.
Boom! A flash of white lightning exploded in the clouds.
The continuous and drastic change in weather immediately made the team tense.
Whoosh~
A swirling mass of hailstones emerged in mid-air, and from the swirling ice crystal fragments, Li Fan vaguely saw a pale purple dragon-like figure.
"It's here..."
Li Fan muttered.
Roar!
The Rotten Velkhana, which had been much calmer, suddenly let out a fierce roar towards the sky. The miasma that had receded surged upwards, all rushing towards the sky.
Boom!
White lightning struck again, and a figure with a pair of black wings on its back was illuminated at the summit of the Coral Highlands.
The simultaneous presence of the Rotten Velkhana, Namielle, and Velkhana in the same area was completely beyond the team's expectations.
Arriving at a higher-lying coral in the water, the Velkhana slowly descended.
The pale purple scales stacked in a net-like pattern on its body shone with a crystalline brilliance, like jewels.
The moment its four claws touched the ground, a layer of azure ice spread outwards.
The leaf-shaped corals in the water stopped swaying and quickly froze.
The Velkhana strode with light steps to the edge of the coral in the water, which was covered in ice pillars, and looked down at the Rotten Velkhana roaring below.
Hmph~
With a cold snort, a puff of cold air emerged from its beak.
The Velkhana's bright yellow eyes immediately became sharp.
"Is this the Velkhana, meow? It looks so noble."
Dielu said, taking out her 3DS to take pictures. Compared to the quick sketches compiled by the editor, this method of recording was more efficient and accurate.
The Rotten Velkhana gazed upwards for a moment, its wings covered in reddish-brown rotten flesh slowly flapped, and its body lifted off the ground.
Roar! The Velkhana let out a fierce roar.
The Rotten Velkhana was stunned and hovered in mid-air.
Li Fan's eyelids twitched, and the corners of his mouth turned down.
"What did the Velkhana say?"
"Is it warning the Rotten Velkhana, meow?"
The man and the cat asked anxiously.
"The Velkhana said... 'Who permitted you to approach, you ugly thing.'"
Li Fan translated.
"It's that aggressive..."
Eudora was deeply surprised.
"Uh... the Rotten Velkhana has landed, meow. It seems to have been greatly affected."
Dielu said with some worry.
Roar... Roar... Roar...
The Rotten Velkhana lowered its head and let out a low growl, constantly repeating that it hadn't been like this before, then turned and walked back to the cliff leading to the Miasma Valley.
Whoosh~ Whoosh~...
The Namielle flapped its bat-wing-like black wings and took off from the summit.
After circling for a moment, it dived towards the Velkhana.
The Velkhana spread its wings and flapped them gently, and a gust of cold wind blew up, causing a large number of blocky ice masses to fall from mid-air.
Seeing that it couldn't break through, the Namielle suddenly stopped abruptly, tilted its neck back, and a jet of water erupted from its mouth.
Sizzle~ Sizzle~...
Amidst the dense sound of freezing and cracking, white steam churned.
The ice layer that had been formed was continuously shattered, and the Velkhana flew away from the coral in the water to dodge.
At this moment, the Namielle quickly flapped its black wings, wanting to continue the pursuit.
However, the cold wind flowing in the air quickly froze the surface of its water-storing skin, forming a layer of frost with ice crystal patterns.
As its flight movements became increasingly stiff, the Namielle could only retreat to a distance.
"The Velkhana didn't form an ice armor, and the Namielle didn't enter a water-entangled state. It seems they won't fight."
Li Fan made a deduction.
The result was as he had predicted, both dragons were consciously keeping their distance.
"Looking at it this way, it seems the Rotten Velkhana attracted the Velkhana. As for the Namielle... it seems to be around every time the Rotten Velkhana appears."
Eudora was puzzled.
"Indeed, the two dragons must have some connection."
Li Fan speculated.
"Perhaps they are good friends, meow?"
Dielu proposed.
"It's possible. Since the Namielle can't do anything about the Rotten Velkhana's loss of control, it can only accompany it."
Li Fan agreed.
"Can't we find a way to help it?"
Eudora felt that Li Fan might have a solution.
"Currently, it seems only the Felyne's ghost fire can block the influence of the miasma, but the Rotten Velkhana has completely integrated into the miasma environment. The miasma has become an important part of its metabolic process. Unless a substitute is found, it's difficult to correct it."
Li Fan informed them.
"Even you find it difficult, then there's probably no way."
Eudora was surprised that even powerful Elder Dragons in the ecosystem would face such a predicament.
"The Velkhana shouldn't stay for too long. We need to hurry to the Elder's Recess to deploy our operations, otherwise, once it forms an ice armor, it will be even more difficult later."
Li Fan stated the deployment plan.
"That makes sense. The combat power it displayed just now was already extraordinary."
Eudora agreed.
"Let's find a safe airspace first. I'll have Patcher air-drop the heavy shield."
"Ah! We have to ride Huihui again?"
Eudora said with lingering fear.
"It's not just for speed, mainly because if the Honoka encounters the Velkhana in the air, it might be in danger."
Li Fan stated his concerns.
Monsters in danger can be put into a recovery ball to hide, but the Honoka doesn't have that function.
A single breath from the Velkhana could turn the airship into an ice block and crash.
The safest way is to prevent it from operating in hazardous areas.
"Alright. I've also been trying to fly with the Dragon Hot-Gland Jet recently. Maybe I can get some inspiration from Huihui."
After agreeing, Eudora and the team rode on the Sunny and began to gallop away, looking for a safe area where the airship could land.
Li Fan, bouncing around, looked down.
In the continuous drizzle, he watched the Namielle at the bottom of the cliff crawl to the edge of the cliff, seemingly with no intention of leaving.
In the Elder's Recess, beneath the largest columnar crystal.
The Xeno'jiiva was attempting to resonate more strongly with the crystal.
Specks of blue light flickered in the air.
The brightness of the Xeno'jiiva's body gradually increased, but as the azure blue carapace on its body gradually thickened, most of the dazzling light flowing within its body was covered and obscured by the carapace.
However, in the gaps where the carapace was stacked, luminous veins resembling constellation lines appeared.
The glowing crystal spire also slowly increased in brightness.
But it didn't last long, and the light within the pillar quickly dimmed.
At this moment, the Xeno'jiiva's mouth slightly opened, and it exhaled a scorching breath.
Why can't this King go any further after resonating with the crystal to a certain extent?
The Xeno'jiiva felt confused.
After pondering for a long time without results, the Xeno'jiiva shifted its gaze to the Barroth in front of it, which had its back to it.
Roar~
The Xeno'jiiva expressed that as its chief guard, it was deeply gratified by its unwavering protection.
Roar~~? A moment later, the Barroth turned its head and tremblingly asked if it could leave.
Roar~
The Xeno'jiiva said no, you haven't received your reward yet.
With that, it raised its right foreclaw and smashed it into the crystal.
Boom~
Countless crystal fragments splashed onto its body, and the Barroth dared not move to dodge.
The crystal surface quickly melted into a hole as its foreclaw pressed down.
Roar~
The Xeno'jiiva said that this connects to the royal palace where I was born. There are a large number of highly pure Elder Dragon crystals there. From now on, you can swallow Elder Dragon crystals here.
As my chief guard, you are not allowed to swallow those low-purity crystals on the periphery anymore.
The Barroth's belly stuck to the ground, and it slowly crawled to the edge of the pit to look.
Roar~
My chief guard, get familiar with the environment of the royal palace.
The Xeno'jiiva said and pushed the Barroth with the back of its claw, causing it to fall into the pit.
Roar~~~
Hearing the Barroth's increasingly distant cries for help, the Xeno'jiiva finally remembered that the Barroth didn't have wings.
Bang~ Plop~
The Barroth, sucking in air forcefully to save itself, landed relatively smoothly on the crystal wall with its bloated belly as a buffer.
Recalling its encounter with the Xeno'jiiva, the Barroth only felt it was a fateful encounter.
That day, it was happily digging the ground with its hemispherical jaw as usual.
When it realized something was wrong, its body was already shrouded by a huge shadow behind it.
After turning around and staring for a moment, the Barroth was so scared that it entered a state of stunned immobility.
But the Xeno'jiiva praised it for its courage, for daring to look the King in the eye without even blinking, and for being a rare brave monster in the Elder's Recess.
After that, it was vaguely appointed as the chief guard.
Its daily duty was also very simple: to stand guard for the King.
Now that it had finally escaped, the first thing the Barroth thought of was to flee.
However, it was not optimistic about its future direction.
The main reason was that the ecosystem of the Elder's Recess was becoming increasingly incomprehensible.
The large bird that lived in caves and could emit blue light.
The bone-like giant snake that could freely carve its way through the rock strata.
And that King...
It felt that it could not adapt to this change.
When exploring an escape route, it saw glowing Elder Dragon crystals everywhere, completely different from what it had eaten in the outer areas.
A question mark appeared above the Barroth's head.
Crunch~
Its hemispherical jaw embedded in the ground, it scooped up a piece and put it in its mouth.
After chewing for only a few times, the Barroth's wide eyes flashed with starlight, and it entered a state of stunned immobility with its mouth slightly open.
Boom~ Whoosh~
Huihui, who was diving, suddenly stopped and hovered above the ground.
After the two people and one cat jumped off, Huihui soared into the sky to scout from high above.
Eudora leaned her forehead on the ground, unable to help but gag.
Li Fan and Dielu were also not in good condition, so the team rested for two hours before heading towards the Xeno'jiiva's location.
Seeing the azure blue carapace formed on its body, Li Fan was first stunned.
Because in his inherent impression, the carapace formed by the Xeno'jiiva should be crimson red.
Did it have to undergo a molt to turn red, or was the azure blue carapace normal?
Li Fan was muttering to himself at this moment.
Finally, he felt that the azure blue carapace was the color formed by the normal development of the Xeno'jiiva.
First, the characteristic annotation did not show any abnormality. Secondly, the development of that crimson Xeno'jiiva was clearly interrupted by the Lavasioth, and it was likely a premature birth.
In other words, the crimson carapace of the crimson Xeno'jiiva was more likely an abnormal manifestation.
Roar~
The Xeno'jiiva sensed Li Fan approaching from a distance and immediately transmitted a dragon roar with its consciousness.
"Li Fan! You've finally come to see this King!"
"Alas~ Recently, I predicted that an ominous presence was approaching, so I've been busy trying to find a way to deal with it."
Li Fan sighed.
Roar~ Roar?
"Ominous presence? Is it related to the significant slowdown in crystal generation?"
The Xeno'jiiva asked curiously.
"Not exactly. The slowdown in crystal generation is because a node in the New World's ecological cycle has collapsed, and there's no solution yet. Fortunately, with the current reserves of Elder Dragon crystals, this is not a threat."
Li Fan felt that with the current reserves, it would be fine for Xiao Ming and Huihui to absorb for another few hundred years.
The Rotten Velkhana no longer controlling the miasma flow would not lead to rapid ecological changes.
Roar! Roar?
"This King knows. It's Sunny's subordinates, isn't it?"
"That's right. One of them is called the Black Dragon. Not only is it Sunny's subordinate, but it also hates the New World for a long time."
Roar~ Roar?
"Black Dragon... Just hearing its name makes this King's anger rise. Where is it? This King will go and eliminate it!"
The Xeno'jiiva impatiently flapped its wings.
"The Black Dragon's residual or injected power alone can cause monsters to mutate violently. The descriptions in the Old World refer to it as the strongest Elder Dragon that even gods fear. The Elder Dragon-level monsters targeted in the Elder Dragon Crossing were also all orchestrated by it. It's very difficult for us to defeat it. Only by uniting all the forces of the New World can we possibly fight it."
Li Fan didn't want to dampen Xiao Ming's confidence, but some things had to be told truthfully.
Roar...
"There is actually a monster this strong, and it's also Sunny's subordinate... This King is not afraid. Let the Black Dragon come."
As Li Fan had expected, the Xeno'jiiva had no intention of fleeing.