Chapter 162 - 143: Things Are No Longer the Same!

Chapter 162: Chapter 143: Things Are No Longer the Same!

"Then let’s go take a look!"

Ji Zhixing made his decision immediately. Since there was an opportunity, he naturally wouldn’t let it slip by.

"Alright, I’ll take you there!" Xu Cheng didn’t dawdle. Without even bothering to clean up his disheveled appearance, he immediately led the two of them out.

The trio left the Dead Wood Regeneration Forest and headed west, with Xu Cheng walking at the front to lead the way.

"Wait a minute."

Not long after leaving the Dead Wood Regeneration Forest, Xu Cheng seemed to realize something. He suddenly stopped and turned to look at Ji Zhixing and Xiao Mingyue with a confused expression.

"I only came back because I was struck by lightning. It’s still early—why did you two come back so soon?" He looked them up and down, sensing something was off. It was highly unusual for them to return to the Dead Wood Regeneration Forest this early in the day.

"We just had terrible luck and ran into a complete nightmare," Ji Zhixing said casually, not slowing his pace.

"What nightmare?" Xu Cheng paused for a second before hurriedly catching up.

"Gongye Zhou," Ji Zhixing replied.

"That unlucky? You ran into him again?" Hearing this, Xu Cheng shook his head, looking at the two with sympathy.

"That guy is too fast. In the entire Spirit Ruins Treasure Land, no one can beat him in speed.

"But you’re lucky you only ran into Gongye Zhou and not Yu Mengdie as well.

"If you had encountered Yu Mengdie, her attacks would have likely prevented you from even calling out to the Azure Sky Divine Wood to teleport you back.

"You probably would have been completely controlled by her, only getting teleported back by the Azure Sky Divine Wood after taking a direct punch from Gongye Zhou."

As Xu Cheng spoke, he couldn’t help but shudder. Although he had never fought Yu Mengdie himself, he knew just how bizarre and unpredictable her mental attacks were.

Hearing this, Ji Zhixing merely smiled and didn’t explain. Back when he was only at the second tier, Yu Mengdie had already struggled to control him. Now that he had broken through to the third tier, she stood even less of a chance—especially when he was with Xiao Mingyue. In fact, he and Xiao Mingyue had just tested this out not too long ago. He figured that the next time Yu Mengdie saw them, she would definitely take a detour if Gongye Zhou wasn’t by her side.

"This is the area where I found that dark cloud and Thunder Pool earlier."

Half an hour later, Ji Zhixing, Xu Cheng, and Xiao Mingyue arrived at a region of rolling hills.

The land was completely barren of weeds, covered entirely in earthy-yellow hills. The hills weren’t tall—the highest peaking at only a few dozen meters—but they rolled on endlessly, stretching as far as the eye could see. The dirt on the ground was parched and cracked, emitting a crisp CRUNCH CRUNCH with every step. A dry aura permeated the windless air, leaving the surroundings in dead silence, save for the sound of their footsteps on the fractured earth.

"This place..."

Seeing the landscape, Ji Zhixing and Xiao Mingyue exchanged a glance. They had seen this area before. However, they hadn’t entered the hills at the time, opting instead to detour somewhere else. If he remembered correctly, taking a detour from here would lead them straight to the Twisted Forest in less than half an hour.

With this thought flashing through his mind, Ji Zhixing turned to Xu Cheng and asked, "How are we going to find this dark cloud and Thunder Pool you mentioned?"

The area was simply too vast. Blindly searching with just the three of them could take forever.

"There’s no other way. Finding it is purely based on luck." Xu Cheng threw his hands up in resignation. "But if we run into anyone else, maybe we can ask around."

Ji Zhixing nodded, left with no choice but to follow Xu Cheng on a seemingly aimless search.

The trio trekked forward, cresting hill after hill. Every time they crossed a peak, the scenery ahead looked exactly the same. They walked for over half an hour but still found no trace of the dark cloud or the Thunder Pool.

"It sounds like there’s a fight up ahead."

Right at that moment, their ears perked up as they caught the faint sounds of a battle in the distance. The noise wasn’t loud, but in the empty, silent wilderness, it was exceptionally clear.

"Come on, let’s go take a look." Struck by a sudden thought, Ji Zhixing immediately led the group toward the source of the commotion. He wanted to check out the situation. If possible, they could ask the combatants if they had seen the dark cloud and the Thunder Pool.

The three of them sped up, crossing a few more hills until the scene ahead came into full view.

In a relatively flat clearing, two figures were engaged in a fierce brawl. One of them was wearing a light blue dress, completely shrouded in mist that coalesced into a pair of Water Mist Scissors. It was Jiang Qingqian. The other was an unfamiliar young man dressed in a dark combat suit. He wielded a long saber with fierce, sharp techniques, each strike accompanied by a howling WHOOSH as it sliced through the air. His strength was impressive, allowing him to fight Jiang Qingqian to a standstill.

"It’s Jiang Qingqian!" Their eyes lit up.

Jiang Qingqian, who was in the middle of her fight, also noticed the trio. Her eyes instantly brightened, a look of pleasant surprise washing over her face.

Her opponent, a student from Yun City University, saw Ji Zhixing and the others approaching and his expression quickly soured. Without another word, he turned and fled into the distance.

Seeing the man escape, Jiang Qingqian didn’t bother giving chase. She swiftly made her way up the slope and arrived in front of Ji Zhixing’s group.

"What a coincidence! You guys actually came here too." Jiang Qingqian was slightly excited to see them. This was the first time in a long while that she had run into them outside of the Dead Wood Regeneration Forest.

"Xu Cheng brought us here to look for a moving dark cloud and a Thunder Pool," Xiao Mingyue explained, before asking, "Qingqian, have you seen them around here?"

"A dark cloud and a Thunder Pool?" Hearing this, Jiang Qingqian thought for a moment before her eyes suddenly lit up. "While I was fighting that guy just now, I saw Gu Zheng from the genius class.

"I also heard the sound of thunder rumbling in the distance at the time. Gu Zheng immediately rushed off in the direction of the thunder."

"Gu Zheng?"

Hearing the name, the three of them paused simultaneously.

Xu Cheng’s expression quickly turned ugly. He had bad blood with Gu Zheng, but he also knew Gu Zheng’s strength and was well aware that he was absolutely no match for him.

However, upon hearing Gu Zheng’s name, neither Ji Zhixing nor Xiao Mingyue showed any change in expression. The two exchanged a glance, secretly hoping that they would actually run into Gu Zheng. After all, their current strength was leagues ahead of what it used to be. Working together, they definitely wouldn’t be weaker than Gu Zheng.

"Which direction did Gu Zheng go? And where did the thunder you heard come from?" Ji Zhixing immediately asked.

"That way." Jiang Qingqian didn’t hesitate, immediately pointing out the direction. However, right after doing so, she added with some hesitation, "Are you guys really going there? Given your history with Gu Zheng, he’ll definitely attack if he sees you."

Beside them, Xu Cheng chimed in, "Zhixing, why don’t we just let it go? We still have a while left in the Spirit Ruins Treasure Land. Maybe we’ll get another chance to stumble upon that dark cloud and Thunder Pool next time."

"It’s fine." Ji Zhixing shook his head, then told the two of them, "Ming Yue and I will go look for the dark cloud and Thunder Pool. You guys don’t need to follow us."

"How can I do that?" Xu Cheng immediately shook his head upon hearing this. "I’m the one who brought you here. I’m definitely going with you."

Jiang Qingqian nodded in agreement. "It’s rare for us to run into each other outside the Dead Wood Regeneration Forest. I’m definitely going too.

"Besides, if you guys hadn’t shown up just now, I really might not have been a match for that guy from Yun City University."

Helpless, Ji Zhixing and Xiao Mingyue could only let the two of them tag along as they hurried in the direction Jiang Qingqian had pointed out.

On the way, Xiao Mingyue asked Jiang Qingqian about what had happened earlier. Jiang Qingqian gave a brief explanation, stating that she and the Yun City University student had previously fought over a treasure and formed a grudge. Running into each other this time, they naturally broke out into a fight.

Xiao Mingyue nodded in understanding and didn’t press further.

RUMBLE...

The group continued onward. After walking a bit further, they heard a roar of thunder rumbling from the distance.

"Found it!"

Hearing the thunder, Ji Zhixing’s eyes lit up, and he immediately quickened his pace.

Xu Cheng and Jiang Qingqian exchanged a glance, gritted their teeth, and hurried after him. Although they were worried about running into Gu Zheng, they reasoned that there were four of them in total. With Ji Zhixing having broken through to the third tier, their combined strength meant that even if they did encounter Gu Zheng, they might still be able to put up a decent fight.

"It really is him!"

After crossing several more hills in rapid succession, Ji Zhixing finally spotted a dark cloud and Thunder Pool moving at a low altitude up ahead.

The dark cloud wasn’t large, spanning roughly twenty or thirty meters in diameter. It was pitch black, hovering in midair like a dense clump of ink. Countless flashes of electricity flickered within, purple lightning weaving through the cloud layer and emitting loud CRACKLES. It truly looked just like a floating Thunder Pool. The entire mass drifted along steadily, moving neither too fast nor too slow as it floated toward the distance.

At the same time, Ji Zhixing spotted a figure with Sword Wings spread wide, flying in midair and closely tailing the dark cloud. That figure was none other than Gu Zheng.

"Let’s go," Ji Zhixing said before accelerating, charging straight toward the dark cloud.

"Ji Zhixing?"

In the distance, Gu Zheng noticed their approach from midair. Seeing Ji Zhixing, a cold glint instantly flashed in his eyes.

"You’ve got a lot of nerve! You saw me here and still dared to come over? Don’t tell me you actually think breaking through to the third tier makes you a match for me?" Gu Zheng sneered. Flapping his wings, he abandoned his pursuit of the dark cloud ahead and charged straight for Ji Zhixing’s group with murderous intent.

His speed was incredible; every beat of his Sword Wings propelled him dozens of meters forward. In the blink of an eye, he rapidly closed the distance between them.

"Watch out! Gu Zheng is coming for us!" Xu Cheng yelled a warning at the sight of this, instinctively manifesting a bolt of lightning.

"Watch out? He’s the one who needs to watch out!" Ji Zhixing reached out and summoned the Nine-Tiered Tide Rod. Gripping it firmly, he took a deep breath, his eyes locked onto Gu Zheng diving down from the sky, surging with fierce fighting intent.

"Ji Zhixing! You got lucky with that sneak attack in the Blood Beast Secret Realm last time, but let’s see where you can run today!" Gu Zheng’s voice echoed from above, laced with chilling murderous intent.

"Run? We’ll see who ends up running today!"