Chapter 34: Elf Bow, Into the Water

Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Elf Bow, Into the Water

"Whatever it is, as long as we can do it, we will definitely help!" Li Qiang and Zhao Gang spoke up one after another, their faces bearing ingratiating smiles.

In their eyes, if they could help geniuses like Gu Zheng, they might be able to reap some benefits from the association.

Ji Zhixing’s expression, however, shifted slightly.

"This Otherworldly Secret Realm is so dangerous, and Gu Zheng’s group is much stronger than us," he pondered rapidly in his mind. "What could they possibly need our help with that they can’t handle themselves?"

He glanced at the three people behind Gu Zheng, then at his own group.

All three of them had fused with Tier One genes; their strength wasn’t on the same level as the other group’s at all. Among Gu Zheng’s group of four, even the weakest was a genius who had fused with a Tier Three gene. Gu Zheng himself had fused with the Tier Four Sword Feather Peacock gene.

They wanted the three of them to help with something they couldn’t handle themselves?

"Something isn’t right," Ji Zhixing warned himself, growing vigilant.

He spoke up, "Brother Gu, it’s too dangerous here. There are even Tier Three Genetic Beasts roaming around. We should find a Spatial Passage and leave as soon as possible."

As he spoke, he subtly moved closer to the lake nearby. If things went south, the water offered at least one route of escape.

"Don’t worry," Gu Zheng smiled, his tone gentle. "This Otherworldly Secret Realm has just appeared. The space is unstable, so there must be many Spatial Passages. Once we finish our business, we’ll take you to find a Spatial Passage to leave."

As he spoke, the three people beside him had already walked over discreetly, subtly boxing Ji Zhixing’s trio in.

Li Qiang also noticed something was wrong. The smile on his face froze, and he asked nervously, "B-Brother Gu, what do you need us to do?"

"You’ll know when we get there." Gu Zheng turned and walked in a certain direction.

His three companions followed, sandwiching Ji Zhixing’s group in the middle, leaving absolutely no room for negotiation.

Ji Zhixing felt increasingly uneasy, but he had no choice but to follow. The opposing group of four vastly outclassed them in strength; fighting back offered no chance of winning.

Li Qiang and Zhao Gang turned pale. They exchanged glances, too afraid to say another word.

The group walked along the lake for about ten minutes before the view ahead suddenly opened up.

A valley appeared before their eyes.

The mountains on both sides were steep, the entrance to the valley was wide, and the interior was littered with jagged, bizarre rocks. Deep within the valley, a massive black silhouette was coiled atop a boulder.

It was a snake, suffocatingly huge.

"That’s... a Two-Winged Thousand Steel Python!" Ji Zhixing’s pupils shrank as he recognized the genetic beast.

Li Qiang and Zhao Gang recognized it too, their faces instantly draining of color.

A Tier Three Genetic Beast.

"That’s..." Upon seeing the Two-Winged Thousand Steel Python, Ji Zhixing also spotted the fiery red rocks at the valley entrance.

"What we need you to do is help us lure out that Two-Winged Thousand Steel Python in a moment." Gu Zheng turned to face the trio, the smile vanishing from his face as he revealed his true colors. "Once you lure it out, run as far as you can. If you manage to escape, you’ll be safe."

"What?" Li Qiang’s eyes widened, his voice trembling. "That’s a Tier Three Genetic Beast! If we lure it out, how could we possibly escape?"

Zhao Gang was frantic too. "Brother Gu, we have no grudges against you. You can’t do this!"

Gu Zheng ignored them. He raised his hand, took out a palm-sized boat, and casually tossed it into the lake.

The small boat expanded in the wind, transforming in the blink of an eye into a wooden boat with a carp-shaped bow, floating steadily on the water.

Gu Zheng leaped onto the wooden boat, and his three companions quickly followed.

One of the four reached out and produced a silver curved bow. Standing at the stern of the boat, he looked down condescendingly at the three on the shore, a cold sneer on his lips.

"If you don’t want to test the accuracy of my Elf Bow, you’d better not think about running away before luring out that Two-Winged Thousand Steel Python."

He raised the silver curved bow in his hand—faint light flowing across its body—and aimed it at Ji Zhixing and the other two on the shore.

"Also, you might not know this," he added. "Like us, you are all Tier One Gene Cultivators. But Brother Gu broke through to Tier Two not long ago.

"So, if you don’t want to die, you’d best not think about resisting."

"You!" Li Qiang and Zhao Gang were furious, their fists clenched and their bodies trembling.

They never expected Gu Zheng and his group to be so vicious. Back at the camp, they had been perfectly polite, only to turn hostile in the blink of an eye.

Ji Zhixing’s heart also sank.

"Tier Two..." he calculated rapidly in his mind. "Gu Zheng has already broken through to Tier Two. With the other three having fused with Tier Three genes, the three of us Tier Ones have absolutely no room to resist in a head-on clash.

"We can’t outrun them, and we can’t outfight them."

He looked at the Two-Winged Thousand Steel Python coiled in the valley, then at the wooden boat on the lake, and took a deep breath.

"Alright, I don’t need to tell you what to do, do I?" The man holding the Elf Bow on the boat waved his weapon dismissively. "The sooner you get it done, the easier it is for everyone."

The others rowed the boat a bit further away from the shore.

Li Qiang and Zhao Gang looked at Ji Zhixing, their eyes filled with despair.

Ji Zhixing didn’t speak; he simply bent down and picked up a stone from the ground. He took a deep breath and threw it hard into the valley.

The stone traced an arc in the air and landed at the valley entrance with a crisp CRACK.

Inside the valley, the Two-Winged Thousand Steel Python remained perfectly still, as if it hadn’t heard a thing.

"Do it with me." Ji Zhixing glanced at Li Qiang and Zhao Gang, then bent down to pick up another stone. This time, he threw it further.

Seeing this, Li Qiang and Zhao Gang gritted their teeth and also picked up stones, hurling them into the valley.

After several stones were thrown in succession, the giant python finally reacted.

Its body twitched slightly, then it slowly raised its head, its cold, slit-like pupils sweeping toward the valley entrance.

"HISS!"

A low, raspy hiss erupted from its throat, sounding like grinding metal, piercing their eardrums.

Then, it moved.

Its dozen-meter-long body unfurled, charging toward the valley entrance like a black torrent. The massive body crushed the ground, sending gravel flying and kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Run!" Ji Zhixing shouted, turning on his heel.

Li Qiang and Zhao Gang also fled for their lives, the three of them scattering in three different directions.

Li Qiang and Zhao Gang ran away from the lake. There was a dense forest in that direction, and the thick canopy might offer a place to hide.

Ji Zhixing, however, ran close along the edge of the lake. His speed couldn’t compare to a speed-type like Liu Qifan, but he wasn’t slow when running at a full sprint.

After rushing out of the valley, the Two-Winged Thousand Steel Python paused slightly, seemingly judging which direction to pursue.

On the wooden boat, the young man holding the Elf Bow watched the fleeing trio, a cold sneer curling the corner of his mouth.

"They run pretty fast."

He raised his bow, nocked an arrow, and took aim at Li Qiang, who was running in the lead.

"However, if we let you escape and you go out spouting nonsense, it would ruin our reputation."

The bowstring vibrated as the arrow tore through the air.

Li Qiang was running for his life, completely oblivious to this. The arrow flashed through the air and pierced his calf with a sickening THWACK.

"Ah!" Li Qiang screamed miserably, crashing to the ground and rolling around, clutching his leg.

"Haha, did you really think I’d let you get away?" The man on the boat laughed, his gaze shifting to Ji Zhixing.

Of the three, allowing one to flee a bit further should be enough distraction for them to grab the Hematite.

He nocked another arrow, drew the bowstring, and aimed at Ji Zhixing.

"Damn it!" Ji Zhixing’s expression changed drastically when he saw this.

"The only chance of survival is in the water!" he realized.

He abruptly changed direction, no longer hiding his intent. In a few strides, he rushed to the edge of the lake and leaped.

SPLASH!

The icy lake water instantly swallowed him.

"He went into the water?" Gu Zheng frowned.

"Brother Gu, don’t worry about him," Liu Qing laughed, his tone relaxed. "Once the Two-Winged Thousand Steel Python gets a bit further away, we’ll go grab the Hematite. We can just come back and find him afterward.

"That guy is an idiot. So what if he dives into the water? It’s not like he can stay submerged forever, right?"