The Black Tiger Beastman struggled several times to no avail. His straight beard trembled with each movement, his heart sank uncontrollably, and his straight back relaxed.
"What do you want to know?"
Ning Fengzhi nodded. Good, he knew what was good. When gathering information, the worst thing was encountering someone you couldn't communicate with.
"Tell us everything you know about the beastification curse. Don't even think about lying; we have ways to detect lies."
Ning Fengzhi had a deer-like face, but his oval eyes were as sharp as a carnivore's, as if he could see through people's hearts.
The Black Tiger Beastman glanced at Chen Xin. Seeing that he didn't speak, he understood that Ning Fengzhi was in charge. He couldn't help but feel a little absurd. Why would a werewolf who could instantly kill him listen to a deer-man?
He shook his head, dispelling the absurdity in his mind: "What I said before was the truth. The Ayala tribe has only been established for a little over ten years, and they know very little."
"There are many small tribes on the plateau, all originating from the orcs' nighttime revelry. Humans from outside come to the plateau to search for treasure. As long as they endure the pain of transformation, they will receive a blessing and become new orcs, guarding the plateau generation after generation."
"As for the source of this blessing, legend has it that it comes from the heavens, a blessing bestowed upon us by the great beast god."
Ning Fengzhi frowned. He didn't think turning humans into orcs was a blessing. Hearing the Black Tiger orc's words, he realized he was originally human, yet now he completely identified with the orc identity. This curse probably
had the power to alter perception. Reaching this conclusion, Ning Fengzhi's heart sank. He glanced worriedly at his daughter beside him. He had thought that with him and Uncle Jian present, the dungeon wouldn't be dangerous, but the curse affected everyone. Rongrong was probably the weakest among them; if the curse posed a danger, she would be the first to be affected.
Suppressing his worries, Ning Fengzhi continued his interrogation: "You said you're searching for treasure, but what kind of treasure could possibly make humans risk their lives to come to the plateau?"
The black tiger beastman's eyes widened in astonishment, then turned to contempt, his gaze as if he were looking at a fool.
Sword Douluo sensed the mockery in his eyes, tightening his soul power chains. He released a small amount of his previously concealed sharpness, instantly severing the black tiger beastman's animal hide robe. Hair broke off, and bright red blood flowed.
"Continue," Sword Douluo's voice was cold and indifferent, devoid of any killing intent, yet conveying a palpable, bone-deep killing intent.
The black tiger beastman endured the pain, curling up and pressing his muscles and fur against the wound. "Legend has it that the entire plateau is the lower realm palace of the great Beast God. Wild beasts and beastmen are His people, guarding the treasures within the palace to prevent humans from disturbing the gods."
Lin Bai, standing behind, raised an eyebrow. Beast God? A racial god, perhaps? He wondered if such a divine status existed.
The others weren't as relaxed as Lin Bai. Unaware that the gods were dead, they were somewhat flustered upon hearing the Black Tiger Beastman's words. They knew that legends of gods existed on the Douluo Continent, and some were even believers.
Ning Fengzhi turned to Sword Douluo, who shook his head; the Black Tiger Beastman wasn't lying.
He remained calm, continuing his interrogation of the beastman, determined to uncover all the secrets of the plateau.
"One last question, how do we deal with the nighttime berserk state?"
Ning Fengzhi lowered his voice, while Sword Douluo channeled his soul power to isolate the surrounding noise, preventing the answer from leaking out.
"It's simple. Just offer your sincere faith to the Great Beast God and completely accept the powerful beastman identity, and the nighttime berserk problem will be solved."
The Black Tiger Beastman was forthcoming with his knowledge.
Ning Fengzhi's expression changed. This was an unacceptable method for them. Simply offering faith was uncomfortable enough, let alone accepting the beastman identity.
Lin Bai couldn't penetrate Sword Douluo's soul power protection and couldn't hear what the Black Tiger Beastman was saying, but he guessed the side quest wouldn't be that simple.
Knowing he wouldn't hear anything more if he stayed any longer, and that Ning Fengzhi had already been more than generous by letting them hear the information from before, further entanglement was risked, as the Seven Kill Sword in Sword Douluo's hand was no less sharp.
"Dean, it's getting dark, we should go."
Lin Bai lowered his voice, gesturing for Flander to look at Sword Douluo.
If Sword Douluo went berserk at night, a single move could send them to their deaths.
Flander, seeing the Sword Douluo's sharp edge, also thought of this, his arm trembling slightly. "Yes, it's time to go. We should head higher. According to the Beastmen, this should be the edge of the plateau. The secret of the curse is most likely deep within the plateau, but we can't travel at night. After dark, we'd better split up."
"Dean is right."
Lin Bai nodded; in fact, he had already thought of a way to remove the beastification curse.
The first method is to activate the power of the Time-Space Divine Spark. Even if only one ten-thousandth of its power can be used, the essence of the Divine Spark will not change, and even the strongest curse cannot affect Lin Bai, who possesses the Divine Spark.
After learning of the existence of the Beast God, Lin Bai deduced that in the original universe of the dungeon, gods also had varying degrees of strength. According to his beginner dungeon introduction, the Time-Space God appeared at the birth of the universe and is undoubtedly one of the most powerful gods. The beastification curse may have originated from the Beast God, but it could not compare to the power of the Divine Spark.
The second method is to utilize the skill of the Dragon Knight and
the dragon to share damage, weakening life sharing. Lin Bai has already seen that Ying Tian did not change after entering the dungeon, indicating that the beastification curse will not affect the dragon. To cure the beastification, he can activate the skill of human-dragon fusion to weaken the curse. Lin Bai can then heal himself by relying on his innate body's resistance to external forces.
However, being the first to stick one's head out, Lin Bai has not yet shown his ability to solve the curse. After all, his method is not universal, and he cannot abandon Dean Flander. Moreover, he is also very interested in the secret beneath the plateau in the optional quest.
He and Dean Flander quietly left the group, heading towards higher ground.
A few who remained clear-headed also broke away from the group, exploring in different directions.
Many more, however, succumbed to blind obedience; the beast-transformation curse was powerful, with significant side effects, and they were more interested in following the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School for a share of the rewards.
The air on the plateau was thin, but the sky was exceptionally clear, cloudless, and the azure expanse seemed almost within reach. The distant mountain peaks met the sky, and the warm sunlight couldn't mask the chill of approaching night.
Soon, darkness fell.
Lin Bai had separated from Dean Flander, keeping a kilometer's distance to ensure they wouldn't come into contact unnecessarily.
Stopping on the Gobi Desert, Lin Bai felt a surge of animalistic instinct rising from the depths of his heart. A primal hunting desire compelled him to breathe rapidly, greedily capturing the scent of his prey in the air.
(End of Chapter)