Azure Star is also a Pokémon Master!

Su Yi followed Rotom's directions to investigate. Indeed, the footprints were very blurry, and their specific shapes were no longer discernible. However, they were still barely discernible and did not seem to be from any particularly large monster.

"Are there any more traces around?" Su Yi walked around the area, but the guide insects did not react at all. In this case, either there were no traces, or the traces had become so blurred that the guide insects could not detect them.

The Odogaron sniffed the air but couldn't detect anything. Then it suddenly looked down at the area below the platform, looking both surprised and uncertain.

"It seems that monster hasn't returned here for some time. Is this just a temporary lair?"

"Never mind that, getting the skeleton is the priority!" Su Yi released the scratching bird and pointed to a small, broken rib that was about to fall over, saying, "Use Solid Stone Strike to knock it down!"

"Caw!" The scratching bird quickly dug out a rock and threw it at the skeleton above.

Bang! Click!

The bone slammed to the ground with a thud. Although it was only a small section of the ribcage, it was still about the length of a person.

The Scratcher suddenly trembled, showing a similar sense of surprise and uncertainty as the Odogaron.

Su Yi didn't notice anything amiss. He recalled the scratching bird, walked to the skeleton, and together with Lu Cao, cleaned the mud, tar, and other filth off the skeleton before storing it in his [Items] folder.

"Mission accomplished, let's head back now." Su Yi said, recalling his companion, opening the "Hunting Guide," and preparing to leave.

You are now trapped in a miasma-filled realm, unable to leave.

"???" Su Yi was stunned, then exclaimed, "The Vaal Hazak?! It's already appeared? When?"

This hint had only appeared before when Kushala Daora descended upon the Ancient Forest, but its appearance this time, coupled with this description and considering that it is the Elder Dragon most likely to appear in the Rotten Vale, makes it undoubtedly Vaal Hazak.

Su Yi quickly released the Odogaron and asked, "Odogaron, are the Vaal Hazak nearby?"

The Odogaron ran to the edge of the platform and looked down. The miasma in the middle layer was as thick as a fog, and the dark yellow miasma completely enveloped the pile of bones on the platform below.

"Howl howl," the Odogaron roared softly, finally letting out a deep sound as if it had made up its mind.

"I remember that when Vaal Hazak appeared, it would allow monsters like Sinjaw to appear around it. Moreover, it appeared by using miasma to absorb the life force of living creatures, so it needed a certain number of living creatures around it to provide energy. Therefore, its Elder Dragon aura may not be as obvious as that of other Elder Dragons."

"Is it because we were a little far away from it that the Odogaron didn't sense it clearly?" Su Yi analyzed.

Given Odogaron's fearless nature, it's likely that it's long since become insensitive to Vaal Hazak's intimidating presence.

"I should have thought of this when the miasma became unusually thick," Su Yi said with some regret.

I had planned to quickly collect a bone and leave, but I ran into the Vaal Hazak clearing the miasma, so I can't teleport anymore unless I climb up to the Coral Highlands like I did when I left the Rotten Vale last time.

“But…” Su Yi looked up.

Above the Valley of Miasma, in the air layer bordering the Coral Highlands, the air was already filled with a dim yellow miasma, to the point where you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Su Yi was really afraid that the Odogaron might accidentally slip and fall off the platform or the rock wall.

"Let's go back to camp first," Su Yi said.

The miasma in the Rotten Vale is actually a kind of microorganism that consumes oxygen, decomposes corpses, and obtains energy. The Vaal Hazak does not have the ability to create miasma, but it can collect miasma and control it to obtain energy for itself.

When the miasma in the Valley of Miasma becomes too dense, it will appear to collect the miasma and, incidentally, use the dense miasma to hunt for life energy.

Although the Vaal Hazak's actions were solely for its own benefit, they cleared away excess miasma, thus maintaining the oxygen levels in the valley at a level suitable for other organisms to survive. In a sense, this also protected most of the creatures in the area, thereby preserving the ecological balance.

It can be said that the ecosystem of the Rotten Vale is inseparable from the Vaal Hazak, and the Vaal Hazak also cannot live without such an environment that continuously generates miasma.

"Let's go back to camp," Su Yi said.

Now we can only wait for the Vaal Hazak to collect and consume enough energy.

Chapter 76 Encounter in the Miasma: Is Something Wrong?

When Su Yi rode the Crippled Dragon back to the lower-middle level, the miasma around him was already quite thick.

"Cough cough cough! It really is like Resident Evil!" Su Yi coughed a few times in the miasma, and immediately felt his body gradually becoming tired and weak, with a feeling of dizziness.

"We need to get back to camp quickly!" Su Yi knew that these symptoms would eventually kill him.

The appearance of Vaal Hazak completely silenced the already quiet environment of Rotten Vale. Even the occasional rustling noises sent chills down one's spine, turning the scene from Monster Hunter to Resident Evil.

"How about you play some upbeat music, Rotom?" Su Yi suggested.

"Isn't that a bit inappropriate, Rotom? Won't it disturb something in the miasma, Rotom?" Rotom's phone peeked out from the side pocket of his backpack and whispered.

"You're a Ghost-type Pokémon, are you scared too?" Su Yi asked in surprise.

"Do you have some misunderstanding about Ghost-types? Ghost-types like to scare people, and that doesn't conflict with Ghost-types being afraid," Rotom said irritably.

"There's no other way, Burning Worm, I'm counting on you." Su Yi carefully released the Burning Worm into his arms.

"Chirp?! Uh-oh!" The burning insect was initially happy to appear, but when it saw the dim yellow miasma and the eerie skeletons on the ground, it was so frightened that it burrowed into Su Yi's arms.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid." Su Yi patted the burning insect's back, comforting it like a child.

After finally calming the burning insect down, Su Yi held it and said to the miasma outside, "Use Spark."

With a bang, the scattered sparks opened a gap in the miasma, and as the five red antennae around the burning insect's neck ignited like candles, the miasma around Su Yi dissipated considerably, and its corrosive effect on him vanished instantly.

"Thank you so much, Burning Bug!" Su Yi exclaimed. From being a hand warmer at the beginning to an expert at hatching eggs, and now a magic weapon for dispelling miasma, the Burning Bug, though small in size, has played many roles and helped Su Yi a great deal.

"Mmm~" The burning insect nestled its hindquarters in Su Yi's arms and wiggled happily.

Hiss hiss.

A faint, low growl came from the miasma.

"Roar!" The Odogaron roared, tensing its muscles. It lowered its six claws, which it had retracted, and combined them into the Ten-Edged Odogaron. In the dim yellow mist, one after another, fierce Jaw Dragons, their bodies shrouded in mist and their eyes gray, crawled out, emitting groaning roars like zombies.

"Kill them!" Su Yi shouted.

The Odogaron roared as it charged out, its claws swung wildly, swatting away the Ferocious Jaw Dragons that had been deeply corrupted by the miasma.

"There are too many! Great Jaw Dragon, come out and manage them!" Seeing the endless stream of Jaw Dragons, Su Yi immediately thought of releasing their leader to command them.

"Hiss hiss hiss!" The Great Jaw Dragon was somewhat afraid of a certain being in the miasma, but having already gained intelligence, it was not completely dominated by this superior pressure. Instead, it vibrated its gill-like organs on both sides, emitting vocal signals to command the Great Jaw Dragon.

The ferocious jaw dragons, corrupted by the miasma, initially wanted to retreat, but another force compelled them to attack the living creatures before them. Thus, the ferocious jaw dragons were now crawling restlessly, neither daring to advance nor willing to retreat.

“The Vaal Hazak can use miasma to control the Sinister Jaw Dragon to some extent, but this control is not particularly strong. In other words, it needs to be quite close to control it!” Su Yi immediately tensed up and vigilantly observed the surrounding situation.

at this time

Ugh!

From the depths of the miasma came the terrifying wail of the Yellow Springs, followed by a chilling roar of ferocious beasts, and the sounds of fierce battle echoed from the distant miasma.

呲呲呲!

Flickering red lights appeared in the dim, yellowish miasma.

"What is the Vaal Hazak fighting?!" Su Yi asked in surprise.

"Howl!" A slightly familiar roar pierced through the miasma.

"Ugh! Awooo!"

The yellowish miasma suddenly converged towards a central point in the distance, and its powerful gathering ability created a gale that howled.

"Ugh!" Su Yi hugged the burning insect in his arms, lowered his head, and resisted the swirling miasma.

"Su Yi Miao!" Dew Grass, which had been retrieved into the ball at the beginning, suddenly rushed out of the capture ball.

"Why didn't it go back?! What happened, meow?" Lucao thought that Su Yi had immediately returned to the Pokémon world after recalling it.

"Aibo, it seems we're very lucky to have encountered another ancient dragon," Su Yi said with a wry smile.

"Meow?!" Lu Cao clung to Su Yi's back and looked ahead.

A dragon from the underworld, with a classic two-winged, four-legged ancient dragon skeleton and covered in rotting flesh, stood with its back to them. Its wings, covered in corpse flesh, spread out like a curtain of death. Miasma gathered around its body and coiled around its flesh-covered body, forming a grayish-white miasma armor.

"The ghoul dragon that rules the underworld!" Su Yi shouted.

Ugh!

The Vaal Hazak roared, and the miasma around it spread and swept across. In front of it, a dark figure broke through the miasma like a cheetah, leaped high, and launched a fierce pounce on the Vaal Hazak. At the same time, its huge mouth, which was surrounded by crimson dragon energy, viciously bit down.

"A ferocious clawed dragon?!" Su Yi exclaimed in surprise.

"Hoo!" The Odogaron snorted, bared its teeth, and let out a series of low growls.

"Howl!" The Ferocious Claw Dragon swiftly leaped onto the back of the Vaal Hazak, then viciously tore at the fleshy armor on the Vaal Hazak's body with its blood-red claws.

In an instant, dark red rotting flesh scattered everywhere, looking incredibly bloody and gruesome, but it was just a layer of armor from the Vaal Hazak.

The Vaal Hazak roared fiercely, and the miasma surrounding it swirled around the Dire Claw Dragon. The miasma, which had become incredibly dense, frantically devoured the Dire Claw Dragon's life force. Then, the Vaal Hazak suddenly raised its front body, causing the Dire Claw Dragon on its back to stagger. Then, the miasma attacked again, and the Dire Claw Dragon was finally forced to loosen its claws and fall off the Vaal Hazak's back.

The Vaal Hazak turned around, its twisted claws slashing fiercely at the Dire Claw Dragon, instantly knocking it aside.

"Howl!" The ferocious clawed dragon quickly rolled over and roared fiercely without fear, its claws poised to strike again.

"Are all the Odogaron drakes this brave?" Su Yi stared in disbelief.

"Howl?!" The Ferocious Claw Dragon sniffed the air, then suddenly turned its head to look at the Odogaron, and immediately roared as it switched targets.

“???” Su Yi was stunned. Then, he saw the terrible wounds all over the body of the Ferocious Claw Dragon, as well as the resentful look in its eyes as it looked at him and the Odogaron.

"You're that ferocious clawed dragon that fell from the Coral Highlands into the Rotten Vale?! You're not dead?!" Su Yi exclaimed in shock.

"Was it the towering rock pillars above the Rotten Vale that saved you?"

All Su Yi could think of was that the Ferocious Claw Dragon did not fall directly to the bottom of the Rotten Vale, but instead crashed onto a rock pillar closer to the Coral Highlands. After being cushioned, it first landed on the rock pillar platform above the Rotten Vale, and then descended to the bottom of the Rotten Vale in search of food.

In the new year, I wish everyone an appetite as strong as a Deviljho, and energy as abundant as a Bazelgeuse, so that you may grow scales and jade at the same time and bravely climb to new heights!

Chapter 77 United We Stand!

"Howl!" Because of its resentment towards the Odogaron and Su Yi, the Ferocious Claw Dragon immediately changed its target and pounced on the Odogaron.

"They hold grudges quite a bit!" Su Yi immediately released the Dazzling Bird and shouted, "Dodge it!"

Upon seeing the man who killed his wife, the Dazzling Bird was filled with rage, and its luminous membrane immediately unfolded.

With its enhanced properties, the dazzling flash only needed a short warm-up before bursting into a blinding flash, instantly illuminating the dim environment.

Woohoo!

The Vaal Hazak behind the Feral Dinosaur was also instantly affected.

Su Yi: I'm sorry, Vaal Hazak, I didn't mean to.

The charging ferocious dragon was suddenly stunned by the flash of light, and for a moment it was at a loss. It lost its footing and fell and rolled. Seeing this opportunity, the draconian dragon immediately used its Cleave Claw, which slashed out a white claw light and tore a terrible wound on the ferocious dragon's body.

"Great Jaw Dragon! Use siege!" Su Yi shouted.