Chapter 312: Quest Cleared (2)

"Notification: The evil spirit has contaminated you. For the next three minutes, you'll lose 500 HP every minute. This affliction cannot be cleansed."

Everything happened in a blur, and Mascot and the Black Tortoise didn't have time to react. Fortunately, Shen Jingbin hadn't forgotten to grab ahold of them when she'd dodged the spirit's attack.

"Hahaha, you thought the Vermilion Bird's blood alone could stop me? Think again! I'm going to exterminate the two of you and your little pets! From this day forth, there will no longer be Divine Beasts in this world. Nothing is going to stop the Shinra Sect from conquering the world!" The man's face suddenly changed into the woman's, and she stared at Shen Jingbin with a malicious grin.

Shen Jingbin touched the wound on her face and pulled out a healing potion to restore her HP. She felt her anger slowly bubble up from within her dantian. This spirit dared to harm her face? Ha, Shen Jingbin wouldn't be Chinese if she didn't get her revenge!

The woman arrogantly laughed. "Heh, are you angry? Enraged? Do you want to kill me? Let me tell you something: I'm in the Vermilion Bird's body. If you kill me, he'll die too. Come at me if you've got the stones for it. Without the Vermilion Bird, you're never going to find the Azure Dragon. And, without collecting each of the four Divine Beasts, you won't be able to defeat the Shinra Sect!"

"You talk too much. Just try me, and you'll find out whether I dare to kill you or not!" Shen Jingbin took out her Divine Weapon, Snow Sealing Mist. Her eyes went cold, and she lunged forwards along with Mascot. Even the little Black Tortoise started to slowly crawl forward; its tail leaving behind a golden trail on the ground.

Shen Jingbin hadn't forgotten what the man had said: he would revive when pushed to the edge of death. He didn't go into detail, but for someone as smart as her, it wasn't difficult to figure out what he'd meant. She paid no mind to the woman's threat.

Normally, Shen Jingbin wouldn't be a match for the woman at all, but the blood the Vermilion Bird had swallowed allowed him to further suppress her power. As a result, they were evenly matched. They exchange blows round after round, but neither of the two was able to defeat the other.

Shen Jingbin, however, was getting anxious. She knew that her time was limited. This stalemate couldn't drag on; she had to do something…

Aha! The anti-spirit water that 101 gave her!

To hell with using it the right way. All that was left was for her to wing it!

She decisively pulled out the white ceramic bottle, unstoppered it, and splashed the water at the woman; hitting her right as she approached Shen Jingbin.

"Ahhhhhh!" The woman's high-pitched scream could immediately be heard.

"Go, Mascot!" Shen Jingbin cried out.

Mascot shot forward like a bullet and bit the woman's neck. At the same time, Shen Jingbin waved her horsetail whisk and prepared to use her ultimate skill.

Bullseye. The woman collapsed onto the ground with Mascot's teeth still around her neck.

"You… you'll regret this… Once I die, the Vermilion Bird… will too… Nobody… will survive…" She breathed her last breath before she managed to finish, and her face changed back to that of the man's.

'Ding-a-ling!' Shen Jingbin was just about to check on the man when the sound of a bell rung by her ears. The red string that was tied around her pinky began moving as if someone was tugging at it.

"Time's up! You have to return," Came Xu Sheng's voice from the dark void above her. Then, a transportation formation appeared behind her.

"…"

Behind her was the exit portal, and before her was the real Vermilion Bird, who may or may not be dead. What a decision to make…

Shen Jingbin took a deep breath and decided she had to first check on the man.

Xu Sheng snapped at her the moment she stepped forward, "Stop! You won't be able to come back if you take another step forward!"

Her foot froze in mid-air. A few seconds later, she pulled it back. She then patted Mascot's head, placed her two pets back into her pet inventory, then turned around and stepped into the formation, disappearing on the spot.

What she didn't see was that after she left, a flash of golden light formed a circle around the Vermilion Bird. The light became brighter and brighter until it created a golden shield that covered the man.

After a while, the man's chest started to rise and fall in time to his shallow breaths, and his left pinky unconsciously twitched.

"What happened?" The formation sent Shen Jingbin back into the room she was in before. When she looked up, she saw Xu Sheng's anxious face.

"You didn't see it?" Shen Jingbin had assumed that Xu Sheng had seen everything based on what she'd said before.

"Of course I didn't, I could only see you. What happened?"

Shen Jingbin sighed. "The evil spirit was eliminated, but… the real Vermilion Bird seemed to have died with her. I'm sorry, I wasn't able to save the Vermilion Bird," She said as she opened her quest window. Then, all of a sudden, she saw the 0/1 for her quest, 'The Divine Beast's Salvation' had turned into 1/1, followed by the familiar 'Ding!'

"Congratulations on completing the quest 'The Divine Beast's Salvation'. Quest reward: The Vermilion Bird's younger form (1) (Please retrieve this reward from the Vermilion Bird's true form), 30,000 Experience, 90 taels of silver, 500 Chivalric Prestige in the Southern Sea, Qianfang Temple's Overseer, Xu Sheng's, Goodwill towards you has increased by 100 points, Qianfang Temple's Lead Disciple, Shao Feng's, Goodwill towards you has increased by 150 points."

Shen Jingbin blinked in astonishment. What happened? Quest cleared? How did that happen? Was it a bug?